Through the window

Wei Lan collected the towel and walked into the bathroom. It was simple just like the bedroom. White walls and brown flooring. There was a shower head on one wall and a sink and tap on the other. A small folding door separated what he assumed was the Toilet from the bathroom.

He placed the towel on the shelf of the sink, next to the shower gel, and removed the key from his neck.

He placed it on the sink slab and patted it. "Close your eyes and stay quiet until I say otherwise."

"Yes, master."

He turned on the shower and warm water cascaded down his shoulders. He found a bottle of flower-scented shower gel on the sink that screamed that it belonged to a woman. He looked at the date. It should have been thrown away two years ago.

Wei Lan shrugged and began to shower. He was a ghost anyway. He was sure that he would be fine using an expired shower gel.

He started to rigorously wash himself, the dried-up blood flowing down his calf and into the drain very slowly. It must have taken him more than half an hour to get himself completely stain-free. By the end of the routine, Wei Lan suspected he had rubbed away his own skin with the sting that he felt all over his body.

He towelled his head, walking up to the mirror above the sink, looking sideways at his new reflection.

The first word that went through his mind from his new look was "Young". There was no denying that the creature in the mirror was young. Wei Lan recognised the face as his younger self, just a bit more glorified.

He looked at the taut muscles and slim waist. Definitely glorified.

There was a reason that Wei Lan had stayed a Supporting Actor for so long in his previous life. He did not have the body to become the male lead. While his face was pretty, it was a bit on the chubbier side, making him the cute guy, not the hot guy. And in most stories, it was the hot guy who was the Male Lead. Even during his heydays, he did not have such a good and healthy figure.

But his new body, his host-as he had started to call it in the privacy of his head, definitely worked out a lot. And looking at the structure of the Host, he would say the person was a dancer or danced very often and probably had special training.

Wei Lan fell into a heavy mood. He was unsure of everything. As grateful as he was for this second chance, he wished it was in a better world setting, and he really wished he knew what the Host had to go through to give up his chance to live and give it up to a complete stranger of another world, even if that stranger was himself in that world.

"What happened?" he asked the child in the mirror, for that was what he was now. A child. Barely 18 years old. Too young to have given up living. The mirror did not respond. Not that he expected it to. "What was so terrible that you did not even want the chance to struggle to stay alive?"

Only silence answered him.

Wei Lan sighed. He picked up the key from the counter and put it on. "You can talk now."

"Oh! Thank god! There were many things that I wanted to say to you! What is with the long scar on your back? It was clearly created by some great accident! Is that why you were talking to yourself like you were someone different? Do you now regret it? Or do you not remember it at all?"

Wei Lan was curious at those words and tried to look behind him through the mirror, ignoring the flood of questions that the key threw his way. He thought he saw the tail end of something red but he was not really sure of what he saw.

He wondered what the story about that wound was. It had to be something unforgettable.

Wei Lan paused in his examination.

With narrowed eyes, he put the key in his palm.

"Tell me, Little Silver," he began, "did I not tell you not to look?"

The key shivered.

Wei Lan's eyes flashed red and he moved to put the key into his mouth.

The key began to struggle in his hold. "Master! Master! I am so sorry! I did not mean to! I was not even a human and I have no desire to be one! Please don't eat me!"

The poor thing started to sob.

Rolling his eyes, Wei Lan released the key, letting it fall against his heart.

Wei Lan got out of the bathroom and picked up the shirt and jeans from the drawer.

He put on the clothes and looked at the soiled shirt and pants that he had come into this place with. He would have to find a place to wash it or dispose of it. He was not sure which one he wanted to do at the moment.

He stuffed the notepad and the pen in the drawer into his pocket as well. Remembering something, he pulled out the blue Announcement Card from his old pants and stuffed it into a different pocket.

He considered the key that lay on him and then tucked it into his shirt. He had no desire to explain to others why he was still keeping the key close after it brought him to the Ghost Dimension. And yes, he was going to tell the other players what happened.

It was for no other reason than the fact that he needed to establish his role as a human so that they do not suspect him as the escaping ghost.

He left the room through the red door that led into the long corridor and paused for a moment.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Xiao Mu stood in front of him with a long butcher's knife. Everyone stood behind her, Xiao Mei peeking from her shoulders. They had shocked looks on their faces.

Xiao Mu was the first one to get over her stupor.

"What were you doing?" she asked back.

"I asked you first," Wei Lan said, amused.

"So?"

"You are holding a knife in front of my door. I think I should be the one asking the questions here."

"You were taking too long to bathe," Xiao Mu said with disdain, "I mean, I get the idea of wanting to show that you are pretty with the way you looked before but seriously, I need to know what you were doing for so long. There was no way you took so long to bathe!"

"Are you sure you want to know what I did instead of only showering?"

The girl looked for a moment and then her eyes widened in horror. "Ew! Ew! EWWW!"

Wei Lan chuckled at her reaction. "What are you thinking? I meant that something ghostly happened. Are you sure you can handle it?"

His words brought the others out of their musings.

"What happened?" Fairy asked, pushing Xiao Mu out of the way.

"Hey!" the girl shouted, "So rude."

Wei Lan recounted the events that unfolded, hiding the fact that he still had the key with him.

"What about the Ghost stone?" Fairy asked, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Wei Lan had the feeling that his next words would determine if he lived or not.

"What the hell is a ghost stone?" Xiao Mu asked the woman.

Fairy did not acknowledge the girl, her eyes trained on Wei Lan.

"I didn't see any…is it a black pearl?" he asked, considering.

Fairy's eyes gained a greedy hint. "Yes."

"I don't know. I mean, I saw it start to float in the air and ran for my life. The thing was going to regenerate right? I knew it! Thank God I did not wait to see it happen!"

"…"

Fairy, Dr Jackson and Tyger stared at Wei Lan like they were looking at the stupidest person that they had seen in their life.

Xiao Mu laughed and thumped him in the back. "Well done, Lanlan! Finally, you showed some sense! I knew you had it in you! With that face of yours and this fast thinking, you will make a handsome Idol in the future!"

Wei Lan looked at her with an exasperated gaze. "What are you saying? What Idol?"

Xiao Mu smiled. "I recognised you! You are Wei Yulan from that boy group ZX, right? I knew I had seen you somewhere. I was glad when I heard that you were being kicked out of the group. But don't worry! With a bit more practice, you can make your debut in FR2. Isn't that your new team?"

Wei Lan stared at the girl in shock.

Everyone else looked at the two in surprise.

He just received a whole slew of information about the Host just like that! Wow! An Idol who was kicked out of his team and placed in another, huh? And the name was not that dissimilar to his either. Wei Yulan…sounded like a good name.

***

A/N: Thank you for reading!