"Well then, Baozi, do you have nowhere to go? Why don’t you live here with me from now on? It’s really nice here."
"Can I?" The boy’s eyes were filled with hope and a touch of flattery.
This sister was even more approachable than he had imagined.
"Of course, you can! We are friends now. You can share everything I have. You’re free to take anything I eat, use, or wear except for Jun Moyan. He’s mine alone, hehe," Wen Xiao’ai said with a laugh.
"Thank you, sister," the boy said, overwhelmed with emotion.
He finally had a place to settle down, no longer needing to walk around scared and on edge.
Wen Xiao’ai smiled and unconsciously reached out to pat the boy’s head.
It was only afterward that she remembered she couldn’t actually touch him.
Wen Xiao’ai’s hand paused just above the boy’s head.
Sensing the sudden loneliness and sadness in the boy, Wen Xiao’ai felt a twinge of guilt as if she had done something wrong.
Pressing her lips together, Wen Xiao’ai was about to retract her hand but then thought better of it and smilingly reached for the boy’s head again, only to touch nothingness.
The boy watched Wen Xiao’ai pretend to touch his head and, seeing her smile, he paused for two seconds before joining in her laughter.
Though he felt nothing, at that moment, the boy felt as if Wen Xiao’ai had truly touched his head.
As they laughed, the boy suddenly felt the urge to cry.
His heart was indescribable.
The Netherworld was very dark, filled with malevolent ghosts, and he was very timid.
Over the years, he had felt even less significant than a ghost, constantly seeking hiding spots to avoid other malevolent ghosts’ bullying.
In the Netherworld, there was no sense of time, only perpetual night. He did not know how often he was bullied each day; he only knew that he often cried.
He cried from fear as much as from being bullied.
Each day, he spent most of his time curled up in a small corner, watching ghostly figures pass through each other on Ghost Street, never interacting.
He had no memory of his past life, so in his understanding, this was the way the world was.
But after coming to the Human Realm, he realized that only they were like that.
Only they were untouched and unseen by anyone. These people were different. They could hold hands, embrace each other, sit together happily and talk over meals, they had various activities to partake in, each had their own life, and they could even run freely under the sun.
But they couldn’t; they shied away from the light.
Even in the Human Realm, they could only hide in the dark. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel•fire.net
He envied them, but he could only envy them.
Every time he saw those people joking and laughing arm in arm, the naturally timid boy felt no jealousy, only inferiority.
He was acutely aware of his difference from them.
Until he met Wen Xiao’ai, who brought him warmth and made him feel less afraid of the world.
And just now, Wen Xiao’ai’s gesture had even let him experience what it felt like to be human.
She didn’t just retract her hand; she didn’t treat him as just a stray soul.
This feeling, he had never had it before.
This feeling, it was really good.
As the night deepened,
At a military facility—
The black iron door of the detention room opened, and two soldiers carrying long rifles walked in.