After entering the winery, Jiang Luo’s expression finally softened a little.
The interior décor of the winery was much more normal than the outside—practically no different from a human manor.
Red lanterns hung from the trees lining the path, guiding their way forward. Ge Zhu looked around and said to Lu Youyi, “This kind of feels like that hot spring hotel they took us to last time.”
Spacious, luxurious—more like a vacation estate than a place for a meal.
They walked past flowing streams, rock gardens, and blooming flowers, following the red lanterns all the way to the dining hall. Jiang Luo pushed the door open first and, sure enough, saw the malicious ghost impeccably dressed, sitting properly at the dining table.
The malicious ghost turned his head elegantly at the sound of footsteps. His thin lips curled into a flawless smile.
His outfit was indeed meticulous today, bringing out his handsomeness to the fullest. But that smile—no matter how you looked at it—just made you want to punch him. It was that punchable.
Jiang Luo was now completely sure: the creepy ghost sedan chairs and the seductive ghost ladies at the winery entrance were all Chi You’s doing.
He refused to believe that Chi You—head of a major family—didn’t know how to flaunt wealth properly. Back during that two-week trip abroad, the guy was hopping between luxury hotels without even blinking.
D*mn it.
He’s not even human.
Jiang Luo forced a fake smile. “Oh, Mr. Chi, you’re quite early.”
His tone could not have been more sarcastic.
Chi You smiled and patted the seat next to him.
They had to maintain the image of a harmonious couple in front of their friends. Jiang Luo rolled his eyes and walked over to sit beside him. Once everyone had taken their seats, a beautiful female ghost brought out the dishes.
Jiang Luo made a point to inspect each dish. Fortunately, everything—including the food and wine—looked normal. The dishes were steaming hot and smelled delicious.
The wine was an even bigger surprise. Its aroma was rich and mellow—so enticing it made you want to swallow your tongue. It must’ve been a top-tier brew. Even Jiang Luo, who wasn’t a fan of alcohol, couldn’t resist having an extra glass.
This meal was meant to celebrate Jiang Luo and Chi You becoming a couple. Ordinarily, there’d be teasing and banter aimed at the couple. But the others, seeing the elegant way the malicious ghost dined, were too intimidated to say anything. They all chickened out and went silent.
But as the meal went on and the drinks flowed, they gradually relaxed. Laughter and conversation returned to the table.
Still, no one dared make jokes at Chi You’s expense.
Every now and then, they tried to recall what Chi You was like back when he was human—but drew blanks.
Back when they were teaching, he seemed like a gentle person.
Seemed like someone who liked helping others?
But now, those words felt wrong when applied to Chi You—twisted and disturbing.
Jiang Luo ate at a slow, relaxed pace, occasionally chatting with Wenren Lian beside him, ignoring Chi You the entire time. The malicious ghost, unwilling to be ignored, wiped his lips with a napkin, then poured a glass of wine and said, “Shall we have a drink?”
Jiang Luo turned his head, picked up his own glass, and clinked it against his. “And what are we toasting?”
“To tonight’s reunion,” the malicious ghost said.
Jiang Luo smiled and downed the wine in one go, then raised his glass again. “Then I’ll toast to tonight’s surprises.”
The malicious ghost finished his wine and paused for a moment. “Are you mad?”
“Why would I be?” Jiang Luo smiled gently. “I loved my surprises. How could I possibly be mad?”
He gave the malicious ghost a soft, dreamy smile. But Chi You felt strongly that Jiang Luo was up to something.
Jiang Luo looked at Chi You and, as if suddenly remembering something, said, “I want some hot water.”
Chi You snapped his fingers, about to summon someone, but his difficult-to-please lover spoke up, “Go get it for me.”
The entire dining table went dead silent. Everyone continued eating, but their eyes all shifted subtly to watch the scene unfold.
Chi You sat frozen for three seconds—then finally stood up and, under everyone’s watchful eyes, calmly walked out to fetch hot water for Jiang Luo.
Being ordered around by your partner in public—any ordinary man would find that humiliating. But the malicious ghost did it without protest.
Someone quietly sucked in a breath. “Hiss…”
They hadn’t expected that even Chi You doted on his partner.
Chi You returned shortly after. As soon as he set down the hot water, Jiang Luo reached for the kettle—but his fingertip got scalded and recoiled instinctively.
The malicious ghost let out a soft sigh, poured a cup, added some cool water, and handed Jiang Luo the perfectly warm drink.
Jiang Luo smiled at him. “Thanks.”
He took a sip, but as he set the cup down, he accidentally knocked his chopsticks to the floor.
Jiang Luo glanced down at the chopsticks, then turned his gaze back to Chi You with wide, pitiful eyes. “…”
His eyes said it all: I’m not bending down to pick that up.
Chi You sneered, “Say it. What else do you want me to do? I might as well finish the whole list in one go.”
Jiang Luo blinked innocently, still gazing at him.
The curve of the malicious ghost’s lips grew sharper—and eerily sinister. Just as everyone else was holding their breath, he abruptly stood up again and walked out.
Wenren Lian thought he’d left in frustration. After Chi You’s silhouette disappeared, he hesitantly said, “Jiang Luo… isn’t it kind of wrong to boss him around like that?”
Jiang Luo shook his head and couldn’t help laughing. “No, Wenren, you don’t understand. He actually likes it when I act this way.”
Did he really think Jiang Luo hadn’t noticed how much Chi You secretly enjoyed it?
The malicious ghost took charge of all Jiang Luo’s personal items. He loved it when Jiang Luo depended on him—loved being the one Jiang Luo turned to for help. Jiang Luo was happy to indulge this strange little kink of his. Just like how Chi You, even if he acted annoyed or cold on the surface, would still meet Jiang Luo’s every request without fail.
Sure enough, not long after, Chi You returned with a brand-new pair of chopsticks and placed them in front of Jiang Luo.
Jiang Luo curled his finger at him. “Thank you, Teacher Chi.”
Chi You sat back down, looking slightly impatient.
Wenren Lian twitched at the corner of his eye as he watched their interaction, suddenly finding himself speechless.
The wine was fragrant with a strong aftertaste, catching everyone off guard and leaving them all a little tipsy. Once they started getting drunk, their speech became freer. They began playing drinking games—whoever lost had to drink.
Ye Xun and Lu Youyi stumbled over together, arms around each other’s shoulders, swaying as they reached Jiang Luo. Both of them burped from the alcohol. Lu Youyi, tongue already thick, asked, “Chi You… d-do you still remember when you started liking Jiang Luo?”
Jiang Luo stiffened almost imperceptibly. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the malicious ghost, silently signaling him to give a good answer.
Chi You let out a light chuckle, leaning back lazily in his chair. His long fingers intertwined as he looked playfully at Jiang Luo. “Right, when did I start liking him?”
“Was it before I died, or after?”
Ye Xun reflexively interjected, “Before you died.”
“Right, before I died,” Chi You said, furrowing his brows in mock thought. “Oh, I remember now. It must’ve been when we were teaching assistants —I already had deep feelings for Jiang Luo back then.”
“I was hopelessly in love with him.”
Jiang Luo shot him a look of approval.
Not bad—he managed to smooth over the lie.
Ye Xun and Lu Youyi both let out a loud “waaah” in unison, clearly very satisfied with Chi You’s answer. Ye Xun, his face flushed from drinking, perked up with gossip-fueled excitement. Slurring, he asked, “We… we never noticed. Jiang Luo was always scolding you. Why’d you like him?”
Chi You replied calmly, “Because of that mouth of his—so good at talking.”
The two drunks didn’t catch the double meaning in his words and continued rambling on about how shocked they were when they found out Chi You and Jiang Luo were together. Lu Youyi suddenly slammed the table, “Chi You, I u-used to—hic—admire you so much. You better treat Jiang Luo right. Don’t—don’t bully him!”
Before Chi You could even respond, Lu Youyi collapsed to the ground in a drunken heap. Ye Xun followed suit, the two of them ending up snuggled together, snoring away.
“Hahaha, Lu Youyi and Ye Xun are down for the count,” someone else slurred. “I’m kinda drunk too… Let me tell you—thank God Chi You wasn’t there earlier. Wenren told me that during the interviews today, a bunch of people were harassing Jiang Luo… If Chi You had been there, it would’ve been a bloodbath.”
Jiang Luo quickly turned to Chi You, playing up his distress. “You haven’t heard, right? I ran into a bunch of bad peach blossom luck today. People were either trying to touch my hand or stuffing me with little love notes. It was driving me crazy.”
Chi You’s expression darkened. “Who?”
Seeing how well he was playing along, Jiang Luo didn’t hold back. He rattled off five or six names, then looked expectantly at Chi You.
“Can you make sure they never show up in front of me again?”
D*mn it, stop pretending to be job applicants already.
The malicious ghost smiled, gently stroking Jiang Luo’s hair, his eyes sharp as a knife. “Of course, they’ll never appear in front of you again.”
Jiang Luo rolled his eyes. What an actor.
If he hadn’t already figured out that those people were Chi You in disguise, he might have actually believed they were unrelated.
After dinner, everyone else was drunk except for Jiang Luo and Chi You. Chi You had them carried to rooms in the winery and left with Jiang Luo, walking shoulder to shoulder toward their room.
Jiang Luo asked, “This winery is yours?”
The malicious ghost nodded. “Do you like it?”
“It’s too dark—I can’t see anything, so I don’t know if I like it,” Jiang Luo scoffed. “But I did like the ghost sedan you sent Huali to pick us up in.”
Chi You obligingly said, “Then I’ll give it to you.”
Jiang Luo replied, “F**k off already.”
Back in their room, Jiang Luo jumped in surprise.
The entire bedroom—was filled with mirrors.
He instantly understood their purpose. Jiang Luo walked in with an air of feigned ignorance, pointing at the mirrors on the walls at the head and foot of the bed. “What’s all this for?”
Chi You replied meaningfully, “You’ll find out soon.”
Sh*t.
Jiang Luo had a bad feeling Chi You was going all in tonight.
But how had someone who previously didn’t even understand desire suddenly gotten so… skilled?
Suspicious, Jiang Luo calmly walked over to the wardrobe to look for clothes.
“I’m going to shower. If you’re tired, you can go to sleep first.”
Empty words. With the room set up like this, there was no way Chi You was going to just fall asleep.
Unexpectedly, the wardrobe didn’t contain any of Jiang Luo’s clothes.
How was that possible? Knowing Chi You’s obsessive need for control, he always had Jiang Luo’s things fully prepared—everything from underwear and socks to coats and scarves.
Unless… this was on purpose.
Jiang Luo clicked his tongue silently. His fingers brushed past each of Chi You’s clothes one by one until they stopped on a black dress shirt.
Fine, fine.
He’d play along with Chi You’s little game.
