Ghost Marriage

Jin Jiuchi slumped over the door and clutched his stomach, coughing.

Oh God… that was really one hell of a kick! He had truly underestimated the strength of this kid. Who could have guessed that their little body could hold so much power? Should he be grateful that they did not kick him on the balls??

"Die…?" Jin Jiuchi laughed, almost breathless due to the mixture of throbbing pain and amusement. However, this kind of pain was nothing he had never gone through before. He soon recovered and straightened up, still with his back against the door in case the jade doll planned to launch another attack again. "Who told you that I want to die?"

Nian sneered as if they had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. "Entering the bus on your own volition, testing the Cycle's boundary, challenging the rules… if that's not called seeking death, then what is?"

Well, when they put it like that… it did sound like Jin Jiuchi had attempted many brazen – okay, maybe a little bit stupid – deeds. But in his defense, he had never seen anything so bizarre yet magical like this place before! So it's natural for him to get curious and want to explore, right?!

"Wait," Jin Jiuchi suddenly recalled something important. "What is this Cycle you are talking about? Just now, Tang Ye also mentioned that…"

The mockery in Nian's sneer deepened. They looked like they wanted to push Jin Jiuchi down from the third floor. "And you're not even a player."

It was honestly disconcerting to see such an expression on that ethereal face, and a child to boot! Alas, whatever could Jin Jiuchi do? He had been gone for so many years that everything had become abnormal upon his return. The more he thought about it, the more melancholic he felt. It was like the world no longer welcomed his presence.

"Bad kid…" he murmured sadly. "How can you be so stingy? Didn't they teach you to always be kind to others?"

"Ha!" They scoffed out loud. "Sure, just keep holding on to that stupid mindset of yours and you won't even know how you die or who kills you. Let me tell you one thing, newbie, if you want to survive in this world, the first thing you have to do is to get rid of your stupidity."

"Stu—" Jin Jiuchi sputtered, shocked and affronted in equal measure. "How am I stupid!"

Nian rolled their purple eyes in contempt. "And the fact that you're asking this question already proves your stupidity. Forget it," they turned away with a harrumph, long ponytail swishing behind their back. "Why am I having this kind of idiotic conversation with you?"

"I–It's not like I want to speak with you either!" He glowered out of spite. He did not expect the exquisite child to have such a stinky attitude. Goodness, just what has the world become?! "Bad Nian'er! Do you know what they will do to naughty children? First, they will starve you until your stomach feels like caving in. They won't budge even if you beg on your feet…" Jin Jiuchi chattered on and on, spouting out one menacing sentence after another.

The jade doll ignored him, of course. They went to turn on the switch, bathing the room in a hazy light from the flickering lightbulb above.

In an instant, Jin Jiuchi fell silent, mouth hanging open as he stared at the room in front of him. And judging from Nian's rigid posture, they were rendered speechless as well.

Red. Bright red decoration dominated his vision. The thick curtain on the window was red, the silky canopy draped over the king-sized bed was red, the mattress, blanket and pillowcase was red, and there were a few large 'double happiness' stickers stuck on the wall. Not only that, there was also a pair of exquisite bridal shoes on the side of the bed, its tips facing the door. It was as if… a bride was supposed to sit there just a moment ago, waiting for the arrival of her newly wedded groom…

Jin Jiuchi stared at the bridal shoes unblinkingly, only to hear Nian growl out in a milky voice, their tone nothing but threatening, "Don't you dare touch anything here!"

Hearing those words, Jin Jiuchi snapped back to his senses and offered the jade doll a wounded look. "Do you think I'm such a mindless person? Of course, I know not to touch things that don't belong to me!" He was kinda offended to hear Nian'er say something like that. Excuse him, no one respected boundaries and personal territory more than Jin Jiuchi, okay?!

His mind quickly drifted to the things Tang Ye had said in the lobby. "Ghost marriage…?" He murmured out loud, brows furrowing. "This is the bridal room? How are we assigned here? There must be some kind of error here. Let me go and ask Madam Liu…"

"Wait." Little Nian grabbed his arm, stopping him before he could even open the door. They gestured at the clock on the wall. "It's already past ten pm."

There was only one rule in this place: nobody was allowed to leave their room after ten. It meant that Jin Jiuchi could no longer go to find Madam Liu to demand an explanation and switch their room.

It also meant that… they had to stay here for the night??

Jin Jiuchi was astonished. "We are staying in… in this room?! Are we even allowed to?!"

"It seems like you're more concerned about staying in the bridal room rather than the fact that this is a ghost marriage," Nian pointed out flatly.

Jin Jiuchi asked in pure confusion, "What's so weird about ghost marriages?" As far as he knew, it was a traditional practice that had been going on for thousands of years. Jin Jiuchi vaguely recalled that there was an old man in the asylum who had always talked about the ghost marriage in his family. Over time, Jin Jiuchi had also picked up a thing or two.

In response to his question, Nian scrutinized him with their beautiful purple eyes that were slightly narrowed. "...You're such a weirdo," was what they said in the end.

Jin Jiuchi pouted his lips sullenly. "I know I haven't been back for long. You don't have to say it like that, you know!"

"What are you…" Nian's words were interrupted by multiple crisp snaps outside. They immediately forewent the conversation in lieu of moving to the window beside the door. They brushed the curtain away with a finger and peeked out.

"What? What's wrong?" Jin Jiuchi moved to stand behind Nian, bent down and peeked out through the small gap, his chin nestled on top of Nian's head.

Suddenly enraged, Nian swung their elbow behind and hissed, "Can't you scram a little further? Why the hell do you keep following me?!"

Jin Jiuchi rubbed his aching side and grumbled under his breath about how ruthless Nian'er was. "...I'm your big brother, remember?" Though complaining, he still moved to the other side of the window and peeked out to see what was going on.

"Big brother, my ass…" he heard Little Nian curse softly under their breath. Jin Jiuchi gasped at him, shocked. How rude! Who taught this child to curse at such a young age?!!

Soon, Jin Jiuchi could no longer complain because he was distracted by the scene of lightbulbs going off one after another outside the corridor, swallowing whatever dim lights that illuminated the apartment and turning it pitch black.

Then something started to crawl out from the darkness…