Chapter 154 Extra

Chapter 154: Side Story

Chen Zui stepped out of the elevator, groceries in hand. As he unlocked his apartment door, a chill permeated the air. He glanced towards the window—it was closed.

Odd.

Lately, the room temperature had inexplicably dropped. Though subtle, Chen Zui noticed it as he put away the vegetables and meat.

Unbeknownst to him, a male ghost stood beside him, his face deathly pale, only his dark, hollow eyes visible. The ghost craned his neck, scrutinizing Chen Zui's purchases.

Le Ziyou: "Always the same old stuff, huh?"

He grumbled. He’d been in this apartment for half a month, and the man consistently bought the same few items.

Chen Zui changed into comfortable clothes and began preparing dinner. Donning an apron, he deftly chopped vegetables. The invisible ghost hovered nearby. Le Ziyou leaned against the kitchen island, chin propped in his hands, observing Chen Zui. Each time he watched Chen Zui cook, he felt the man exuded a certain domestic charm—a well-built man with a husbandly aura.

Soon, Chen Zui had prepared a dish and a soup, their aroma filling the room. He retrieved a can of beer from the fridge, removed his apron, and began to eat, occasionally checking his phone for work updates.

Le Ziyou sat opposite him. Despite his earlier complaints about the repetitive meals, he now found himself salivating, his mouth watering. It had been an eternity since he’d tasted human food; he’d almost forgotten its flavor.

The apartment, occupied by a single person, was remarkably quiet. Chen Zui didn’t watch TV or scroll through videos, so there was barely a sound.

After dinner, Chen Zui watched the news for a while. Le Ziyou, too, peered over, his daily entertainment limited to following Chen Zui’s routine.

During this time, Chen Zui responded to a few work messages before heading to the treadmill for his run.

Chen Zui noticed the treadmill’s settings had changed—another peculiar occurrence. Lately, the apartment had been host to numerous strange little incidents, as if someone else were present.

He reset the values and began his workout.

Le Ziyou sat on the treadmill, facing Chen Zui, taking in the close-up view of the man’s physique. Chen Zui was shirtless, his muscles not overly bulky but well-proportioned, firm, and powerful—precisely to Le Ziyou’s liking.

As Chen Zui began to sweat, Le Ziyou reached out to touch him.

He longed to feel the warm sweat droplets with his own cold body. His fingers traced the beads of sweat as they rolled down, trickling into the contours of Chen Zui’s abdomen.

An hour later, Chen Zui finished his run. After a brief rest, he headed for a shower.

Le Ziyou trailed him like a shadow. The man under the shower was completely naked. Le Ziyou was now accustomed to this sight and no longer felt the initial shock.

He waited impatiently for Chen Zui to finish washing himself, to emerge clean and fragrant.

After his shower, Chen Zui went straight to bed.

The curtains were drawn, the lights extinguished, plunging the room into absolute darkness. Le Ziyou eagerly awaited Chen Zui’s slumber. It wasn’t long before he was sure Chen Zui was asleep, and then he stealthily began his nightly meal.

As a ghost, he required yang energy. Initially, he hadn’t understood why he felt so weak and frail until he encountered an elder ghost some time ago. The elder ghost explained it, and only then did he grasp the truth.

He just never imagined absorbing yang energy would involve… this.

But to survive, he had no choice. The elder ghost had advised him to either choose a random person daily or select someone he fancied as a long-term meal ticket. However, the long-term meal ticket had to be someone visibly rich in yang energy and robust; otherwise, they wouldn’t last more than a few days before being drained dry.

Le Ziyou had no desire to constantly switch between people for yang energy.

So, the elder ghost accompanied him as they scouted the streets for his long-term meal ticket. That’s when he spotted Chen Zui stepping out of a car.

Le Ziyou: "I choose him."

The elder ghost glanced over: "Good choice."

He patted Le Ziyou’s shoulder: "Go on, live well!"

Le Ziyou nodded emphatically, bid farewell to the elder ghost, and followed Chen Zui. What he didn’t know was that the elder ghost had been gay in life, which was why he’d suggested this particular method of absorbing yang energy.

Le Ziyou gently tugged down Chen Zui’s underwear a little.

He only needed to feed once every three days to ward off weakness. He’d been with Chen Zui for over half a month, feeding five times. This was the sixth. Though initially difficult, he had grown accustomed to it.

And yang energy was truly delicious.

Le Ziyou couldn’t wait. He took a bite—it was the familiar, faint rose fragrance from Chen Zui’s body wash. After savoring it for a moment, the flavor he loved would emerge.

Le Ziyou diligently honed his technique, which was gradually becoming masterful.

Chen Zui, still asleep, furrowed his brows slightly. Le Ziyou used his limited ghost energy to ensure Chen Zui wouldn’t awaken, thus preventing any interruption to his meal.

He held his "food" lovingly, taking bite after bite, his mouth full.

—

7 a.m.

Chen Zui opened his eyes precisely on time. As he went to wash up, Le Ziyou, full and content, was still sound asleep.

Over the past half-month, nourished by Chen Zui’s yang energy, Le Ziyou’s ghost energy had significantly increased, making him appear like a healthy ghost.

Chen Zui performed his morning ablutions.

In fact, there was another strange occurrence over the past two weeks. Usually, after such a period, as a healthy adult male, he would have relieved himself.

But recently, he hadn’t felt any such urge.

It wasn’t due to fatigue.

It felt as if the need had already been met.

As he emerged from the bathroom, he saw a pillow, which had been some distance from the bed’s edge, suddenly slide and fall to the floor.

He stared at the pillow.

Le Ziyou, a restless sleeper, rolled over, almost lying horizontally across the bed.

—

Chen Zui wasn’t superstitious, but he was pragmatic about his safety. So, he rescheduled a meeting today.

He went to a temple.

The moment the master saw him: "You’re haunted by a ghost, and a lustful one at that."

The master’s bluntness left Chen Zui momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond.

The master drew a talisman with cinnabar on Chen Zui’s forehead: "From now on, you will be able to see that ghost."

Then he drew another talisman on Chen Zui’s hand: "This will allow you to touch him."

Miraculously, the talismans vanished after they were drawn.

The master: "This ghost isn’t truly malicious. If you see him, simply persuade him to move on."

That evening, when Chen Zui opened his door, he saw a man rush from the living room and immediately appear before him.

"Didn't buy anything today, huh?"

"But you're home earlier than usual."

"Welcome home, my long-term meal ticket."

The man mumbled, clad in a loose tank top and shorts. He was handsome but had a deathly pale face, utterly devoid of life.

This must be the ghost.

Chen Zui thought, his expression unchanged, as if he hadn't seen a thing. He entered as usual, changed, washed his hands, and began cooking.

Throughout this, the male ghost shadowed him like a cat circling its owner.

"Let me tell you, I slept the entire day today. Pretty impressive, right?"

"And you know what? Ghosts don't dream, but I kinda miss the days when I could."

Chen Zui ate his meal while the ghost opposite him chattered incessantly.

When Chen Zui took a break, the ghost sat right beside him, looking at his phone so closely that his head rested on Chen Zui's shoulder.

"Can't you watch variety shows or dramas instead? I don't like the news."

"Even cartoons would be better."

"Hey, how'd you hurt your finger here?"

Le Ziyou reached out to touch Chen Zui's index finger, where a small cut from handling contracts earlier that day had formed.

Chen Zui watched as the ghost rubbed the spot and muttered, "You should take better care of yourself."

After his break, Chen Zui went to the treadmill as usual. The ghost sat on the control panel, gazing at him with a lovestruck expression, occasionally uttering a suggestive remark.

"Your chest is so big—are you trying to tempt me?"

"Your breathing is so heavy when you run—are you seducing me?"

"Tsk, look at those muscles bouncing around—no sense of male virtue."

Chen Zui only ran for half an hour that day. When he went to shower, the ghost followed him.

"Why only half an hour today?"

"Did I drain you that much?"

"Man, you're just not up to it."

Chen Zui’s hand, turning on the shower, veins bulging.

After showering, he prepared for bed as usual. Once he lay down, the ghost fell silent, lay beside him, and very naturally hugged him.

Chen Zui didn’t move.

About two hours later, he felt the ghost stealthily get up.

Le Ziyou couldn’t sleep—perhaps he’d slept too much during the day, or perhaps…

He glanced at his "food." Perhaps he’d gotten hooked. Even though he’d eaten last night, he wanted more tonight.

He pursed his lips, feeling unbearably hungry.

What’s wrong with an extra meal? Even people on diets have cheat days! Why couldn’t he have one too?

Le Ziyou convinced himself and began to act.

Chen Zui opened his eyes. Just as the master had said, it was a lustful ghost. So this was why he hadn’t been building up tension lately.

The sensation was cool.

Though cool, the tongue was very agile.

There was a strangely comfortable feeling—far better than using his own hand.

Recalling what the ghost had done so far, it didn’t seem harmful—just a bit talkative.

A non-threatening ghost that could also take care of his sexual needs, without the complications of a relationship.

Simply—perfect.

***

Chen Zui closed his eyes again.

Sometime later, Le Ziyou, satisfied after feeding on yang energy, lay down contentedly beside him.

Le Ziyou looked at Chen Zui and said, "You’re really delicious."

And so, Chen Zui pretended not to notice anything. Le Ziyou, the lustful ghost, turned into a gluttonous ghost, feeding every night.

A week later, Chen Zui got caught in the rain during an inspection and, combined with his recent overtime work, got sick, which was unusual for him.

Le Ziyou believed it was because he had drained Chen Zui, making him weak.

So he suddenly became well-behaved.

Chen Zui recovered in just two days, but Le Ziyou continued to watch him worriedly whenever he was home.

He kept nagging:

"Stop working so much and rest."

"Drink more water, not beer."

"You can skip the workouts."

To Chen Zui’s surprise, a week passed, and the ghost who used to sneak a feeding session every night still made no move.

But he was starting to feel…

Another half-month went by.

One night, Le Ziyou lay on his side, staring at Chen Zui’s face. Chen Zui placed his hand where Le Ziyou was lying, pretending to look at his phone.

Le Ziyou murmured, "Hmm, looks like you’ve recovered. Your complexion is much better."

He moved even closer to Chen Zui, almost kissing him.

"Don't get sick again in the future."

Chen Zui put down his phone and turned to look at Le Ziyou. It took Le Ziyou a moment to realize that Chen Zui seemed to be looking at him.

Le Ziyou blinked in confusion.

This time, Chen Zui went ahead and pinched Le Ziyou’s chin and kissed him.

Le Ziyou: !

Le Ziyou: He can see me!

Chen Zui broke the kiss: "You haven't eaten in so long. Tonight, I'll feed you."

Le Ziyou: !!!

Author's Note:

Chen Zui: Delivered right to your doorstep.