I quickly retreated with a flushed face, “Wen Jiubo! Stop being a narcissist! I’m just worried about the villagers!”

Wen Jiubo smiled. “Yes, yes, I know. You should go sleep for a bit”

“What about you..” My tone became softer.

“Me? I’m way more resilient than humans.” Wen Jiubo pinched my nose. “I have other things to deal with.”

Since he said that, I stopped arguing. Besides, I was so sleepy it felt like every cell in my entire body was begging for me to sleep. I nodded before walking towards the guest room.

I knew Wen Jiubo held no empathy for humans. He reacted to everything in a cold way, but why did he treat me differently?

What did I mean to him?

“That guy likes you, doesn’t he?”

Suddenly a soft voice startled me. It took me two seconds to realize that it was Chu Bai.

I fell onto the bed. “No, I don’t think so.”

Chu Bai stayed silent for a second before saying, “Don’t lie to me. He loves you even though you’re a man. My woman’s intuition has never failed me.”

“Unfortunately, you’re wrong this time.” I took off my clothes and threw them on a chair before lying in a sprawl. The ceiling of the old residence was made of wood, with a thick wooden beam in the middle.

“Wen Jiubo.. I must admit he is attractive and good at flirting, but I don’t think he is able to like someone. He’s probably just curious about me.”

“Curious?”

“Em. He’s curious about what kind of person I am, what kind of choice I will make. Though I don’t know why he’s interested in me, I’m aware that I’m just an ordinary college student, and someday, he will lose the interest he has for me,” I replied.

“What about you?” Chu Bai asked.

“Me?”

“Do you like him?”

I turned over and replied, “This is a question you should answer, Chu Bai.”

‘Wh..what?” Chu Bai clearly became nervous. “What do you mean I should answer it?”

“The dream I had last night,” I said curiously. “It was yours, wasn’t it? The streets at dusk, the monster called Gudiao, and Wen Jiubo holding a paper umbrella”

“What?! How dare you take a peek at my dream?!”

“Ouch! You hit my head with my hand, can’t you feel the pain?!”

“I don’t care! You’re so rude!”

“It was you who behaved rudely, not me..” I muttered while rubbing my head. “You lied to me when you said you just wanted to see the world, didn’t you?”

It was Chu Bai’s turn to be speechless.

“You possessed my body because you wanted to see Wen Jiubo, didn’t you?”

Chu Bai didn’t say a word, but I could feel her nodding her head.

“But isn’t this too much of a coincidence? You possessed me, and I happen to know Wen Jiubo..”

“It was not a coincidence.” Chu Bai suddenly interrupted.

“Uh?”

“It was the fan,” Chu Bai whispered. “When you passed by, I saw the green paper fan in your backpack.”

That fan.. right. Wen Jiubo gave this fan to me and asked me to bring it with me when I visited Mr. Cat.

“That man used this paper fan when exorcizing the monster,” Chu Bai said. “When I saw that fan, I decided to follow you without hesitation. I thought you were very intimate with that man.”

I see. She purposely followed me.

How long did Wen Jiubo keep this fan? I was suddenly curious about its history. Wen Jiubo said this was an exorcism tool used to seal a monster by a princess, but how did he get this fan?

“I thought you must be someone close to him.” Chu Bai was upset. “But I didn’t expect your relationship with him to be this close..”

“Ay, you’re wrong!” I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry. “I have nothing to do with that scrooge. Honestly, I don’t know him at all.”

“You don’t know him?” Chu Bai seemed surprised.

I nodded. “I don’t know his identity, his past, where he came from and why he became an exorcist. He is like a puzzle to me, and I only see what he wants me to see.”

“Is that so..” Chu Bai was a little disappointed.

“How about you?” I asked, “What is your story with him..”

“I have nothing interesting to say about him,” Chu Bai suddenly changed the topic. “Anyway, he didn’t..”

Not again. Her voice was too quiet to hear.

“What are you saying?” I asked.

“Nothing!” Chu Bai suddenly raised her voice. “Alright, aren’t you going to sleep? Don’t you have class tomorrow? Sleep now!”

“Uh? But..”

“There is no but! Sleep right now! I want to sleep!”

After saying that, Chu Bai took control of my body and forced me to lie down. “Lights off, It’s time to sleep!”

“Um, that..”

“I don’t care what you’re going to say! Do you hear me!”

“Bu..But..”

“Shut up!”

“No, I’m just trying to say that..you can’t blow out the light.”

“..”

——————————————————

Even though Chu Bai didn’t want to tell me her story, I still saw it during my sleep.

As I drifted off to sleep, while half-awake, I wondered if I should apologize for peeking at her memories again. However, I had no control over this and saw her memories anyway.

I thought it was because of my inherent empathy that it was so easy for me to resonate with others.

Wen Jiubo once told me that mediums could sometime enter the world beyond the gap.

Sometimes, I wished I didn’t have this power

If I couldn’t see, I wouldn’t weep for the others.