Chapter 2 — Resurrecting a Millennium of Love

Within less than half an hour, I had already accepted a barrage of absurd realities: So Canh was a thousand-year-old ghost, he had kissed me, and now he was demanding a bath. I reached up, gently brushing my lips with my fingertips. That kiss… surely it was just to borrow a bit of my living breath, right? I sat there in a daze, completely losing track of time, until So Canh finally emerged from the bathroom. But the thing was… he wasn't wearing any clothes. His physique was muscular yet remarkably lean, with well-defined abdominal muscles and smooth, flowing lines down to— I hastily whipped my head away, stammering, “Why, why, why on earth are you not wearing clothes?!” “The clothes are too small. They don't fit.” I cast a furtive glance from the corner of my eye and saw that he had at least put his inner undershirt back on. I let out an “oh” of understanding and slowly straightened my posture. “Well, I'll take you out to buy some clothes tomorrow. You can't just keep wearing the exact same outfit forever.” So Canh’s long hair was still damp, cascading loosely over his shoulders, with a few stray strands clinging to his cheek. Good grief, he was drop-dead gorgeous. I grabbed the hair dryer from the cabinet—an item that hadn't seen the light of day in ages—and patted the sofa cushion next to me. “Come here, sit down. Let me dry your hair.” So Canh was wonderfully obedient, settling down right beside me without a fuss and letting me tousle his hair with the warm breeze. The dark locks dried quickly under my hands, and for some reason, my heart softened completely. Taking advantage of the moment while he wasn't paying attention, I quietly leaned down and took a deep breath. He was so incredibly handsome… no, beautiful in a ghostly sort of way! Even his hair smelled amazing. “Tonight… where shall I sleep?” So Canh turned his head to ask. I instantly dropped the hair dryer, pretending as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. “My apartment only has one bed. If you don't mind, you can just share it with me?” “Wait, do you… even need to sleep?” I had naively assumed supernatural beings were entirely exempt from human routines. So Canh tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear. “It is not strictly necessary, but I am capable of it.” “When we sleep… may I hold you?” I froze. “Is this… to harvest more of my living breath?” So Canh gently brushed my hand aside, his gaze turning deeply earnest. “I would never, ever do anything to harm you. It is merely… for peace of mind.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose, my heart fluttering nervously. “Oh… well, then go right ahead. I have no objections.”

So Canh actually held me in his arms the entire night, leaving my heart in complete disarray, buzzing like a disturbed beehive. Even though we were both grown men—well, one man and one ghost, to be precise—the problem was… damn it, I actually liked men. Especially the way So Canh held me: fiercely tight, as though he were terrified I would suddenly vanish into thin air. It felt as if I had been bound up with ropes all night long, yet I was entirely willing accomplice. I rubbed my aching, stiff neck the next morning. “Let's go buy you some proper clothes today. We need to find things that actually fit your frame.” He nodded in agreement. So Canh was tall with a statuesque posture, broad shoulders, and long legs—the quintessential model built to pull off any style. The moment the female sales assistants in the men's boutique laid eyes on him, their eyes lit up like floodlights, looking as though they wanted to clear half the store and force him into every single outfit. I dug through the mountain of discounted clothes, pulled out a few reasonably priced items, and handed them to So Canh. “Here, go try these on.” He stepped into the fitting room. Just then, a sales clerk sapped up to me with a beaming smile. “My, is your boyfriend a professional model? He is devastatingly handsome!” I felt a hot flush creep up my neck and frantically waved my hands. “No, no, no, not at all! We're just friends. Just friends, really.” Friends who had met just yesterday and shared a bed by nightfall. “Oh, come on, don't be shy! Modern society is very open-minded; nobody discriminates anymore!” The clerk winked playfully. “My professional intuition is never wrong. The way your boyfriend looks at you, his eyes practically melt! You two are deeply in love, I can tell!” She even gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up. “Be very happy together, okay?” The corners of my mouth twitched uncontrollably. “Ah… thank you.” Her overwhelming intensity made me somewhat restless, so I used the excuse of needing fresh air to step outside. I pulled out my phone to check my bank balance, staring at the meager digits before looking up at the sky and letting out a melancholic sigh. Not long after, a man dressed as a Taoist priest, stroking his wispy beard, drifted over to me. He narrowed his eyes and inspected me from head to toe. “Young man, your aura of destiny is pitch black, and you are entirely shrouded in malevolent resentful energy. You have unquestionably tangled with something unclean!” “If you do not sever ties immediately, the future disaster will be unimaginable. I fear a grave calamity awaits you!”

My entire body stiffened. Shrouded in resentful energy? I whipped my head around to glance back inside the boutique—So Canh hadn't come out yet. I lowered my voice. “Master Taoist, please enlighten me.” He chuckled cunningly, reaching into his cloth pouch to pull out a thick stack of yellow paper talismans inscribed with vermillion ink. “These are my absolute finest disaster-repelling talismans! Carry them on your person, and I guarantee malevolent spirits will flee and all poisons will be kept at bay!” “The price is quite reasonable as well. This much will suffice!” He held up six fingers. “…Sixty?” The Taoist stared in disbelief. “What are you talking about! These are no cheap street-vendor trinkets! Six thousand!” “High efficacy, long-lasting quality! Every single coin goes toward unmatched craftsmanship!” I was left speechless. Confirmation obtained—he was a swindler. I turned on my heel to walk away, but the Taoist hurriedly pursued me, shouting at the top of his lungs. “Hey, hey, hey! Don't leave just yet! If you find it too expensive, I can offer a discount! Four thousand!” “If four thousand won't do, three thousand is fine! I am already taking a loss here!” “One thousand! Buy one get one free! This is my absolute best offer! It cannot possibly get any cheaper!” With a completely deadpan expression, I replied, “No thank you.” And with that, I casually stepped back inside the shop and closed the door. Although I had no way of knowing if the old man’s words held any truth, my intuition whispered a profound certainty: So Canh would never hurt me. Without a doubt, he was… a good ghost.

When I returned to the store interior, So Canh had already changed. His hair fell loosely around his shoulders, and he was dressed in a crisp shirt and tailored trousers—radiating a breathtaking charm that seemed to seamlessly blend him into the modern era. That exact fraction of a second made my heart skip two beats. I stood frozen in place for a long while before finally snapping back to reality. Hurriedly pulling him away from the sales assistants who were singing his praises to the heavens, I paid the bill and whisked him away. Walking side by side with him down the street, I asked, “How does it feel?” So Canh glanced down at his contemporary attire. “Very convenient. Very good.” Naturally, human civilization was always evolving. Suddenly, he smoothly changed the subject. “Just now, those women said… we look exceptionally well-matched.” I had no words. Seeing my blushing face in utter silence, So Canh showed remarkable restraint and dropped the matter entirely. Next, I took him to purchase undergarments, a mobile phone, and—at his specific request—spent a small fortune on writing brushes, blocks of solid ink, Xuan paper, and an inkstone. As I swiped my card, a surge of swelling pride washed over me, making me feel like a wealthy patron keeping a celebrity mistress. Even my stride felt significantly more strutting and confident. …At least until half an hour later, when my mood plummeted into an abyss of despair. It looked like I would be surviving on instant noodles for the rest of the month. By the time we finished our shopping spree and returned home, dusk was already painting the sky. I took a quick, perfunctory shower and stepped out to find So Canh standing before my study desk, using his newly purchased writing instruments to sketch something on paper. Curious, I stepped closer to peek over his shoulder. The artwork depicted a young warrior clad in flexible armor, mounted upon a magnificent steed, gripping a long spear with an air of unyielding majesty—the portrait of a spirited, heroic young general. There was only one problem… why did the face of that general resemble my own by at least fifty percent? Moreover, the figure emanated a strangely profound familiarity, as though it pierced straight through the depths of my soul. “Who is this general?” So Canh smiled tenderly, his gaze overflowing with deep nostalgia. “The person I have loved most in this lifetime.” I was speechless. You have got to be kidding me—you already have a lover?! And yet you still followed me home and kissed me?! You have a lover, and yet you held me in your arms all night long as if I were some precious treasure?! What kind of game was this? Was I supposed to be some sort of emotional substitute? Are you kidding me right now? Where was your basic moral integrity as a man?! A sudden wave of regret crashed over me. Was it too late to return everything I had bought today? With a gloomy expression, I muttered a sullen “oh” and turned away to leave. My wrist was instantly caught in a firm grip. “Are you angry? Is my drawing not good enough?” It wasn't about that! Whether it looked good or not had nothing to do with me! He was drawing someone else, not me! I forced a stiff, awkward smile. “It’s beautiful. Very beautiful.” “Then… do you dislike it?” …If you had a romantic partner who went off to sketch pictures of someone else, would you be happy? I nodded, my teeth clenched in simmering frustration. “I like it! I like it to death!” So Canh stared at me in silence for a long moment before suddenly pulling me forcefully into his embrace.

What was he doing… trying to take advantage of me! I tried to push him away, but my limbs refused to obey. His low, resonant voice murmured softly beside my ear. “I was wrong. Do not be angry anymore.” Initially, I had been furious enough to ignore him entirely, but the moment he apologized in that tone, I suddenly felt I had no valid reason to remain angry. The hands that had been pushing against his chest gradually came to a halt. In truth, upon deeper reflection, whatever existed between So Canh and me right now… was entirely undefined. Even though he was exceptionally kind and I didn't care about the boundary between the living and the dead, we had, after all, only known each other for two days… Perhaps all these intimate gestures were merely my own overactive imagination. I was captivated by his beauty, and he craved the warmth of another's presence—it was nothing more than a mutual exchange addressing our respective needs. I gently patted his back. “It’s fine, I’m not angry. It’s just a painting, what could I possibly be mad about?” So Canh’s arms gradually loosened their hold. I offered a bright, sunlit smile and climbed onto the bed to lie down. That night, I drifted into a deeply bizarre dream. In the dream, I was that very same young military general—my hair tied up in a high ponytail, a blade of grass clenched between my teeth, squatting lackadaisically atop the eastern palace wall as I whistled to summon the person inside. “Hey, listen here! It was immensely difficult for me to make this trip back, so why didn't you come looking for me?” Beneath the blossoming plum tree, So Canh lowered his writing brush, lifting his gaze to look at me with serene, gentle eyes as the corners of his lips curved upward. “Because I knew… you would surely come running straight to me without delay.” I chuckled softly, leaping down from the wall in a single bound and closing the distance between us in a few swift strides. “You really know me well. I truly couldn't wait a moment longer, the second I returned I raced straight to your side.” “Three months apart. Did you miss me?”