How Can You Drive A Male Ghost Crazy? - Chapter 1
Chapter 1: I Want to Summon a Soul
“Xu, did you sleep well?”
A clear, ethereal voice drifted from far away into Lou Xu’s ears. Lou Xu struggled to open his eyes. The bedroom ceiling, both familiar and unfamiliar, was the first thing he saw.
The room seemed veiled in a layer of white mist. Lou Xu squinted, his breathing accelerating rapidly. Before his mind could even react, his hand instinctively reached out to the side.
It was empty. No one was beside him in the bed; he was alone.
This should have been an ordinary day, but Lou Xu felt an unwarranted palpitation. His body felt light, yet he was deeply submerged in the bed.
If he hadn’t known he was at home, the feeling was like drowning, with countless water ghosts clinging to his body.
Lou Xu exerted all his strength and broke free from the bed. As he sat up, the room seemed to spring back to life.
He saw his lover, He Qing, dressed in home clothes, push open the bedroom door and walk toward him.
He Qing smiled faintly, but his eyes were vacant and lifeless: “It’s a rest day. You woke up so early. Why don’t you sleep a little longer?”
Lou Xu wanted to reply, but his throat was inexplicably dry. In an instant, it returned to normal: “Come here.”
He Qing obediently walked up to him and embraced Lou Xu’s head, pressing it against his abdomen: “What’s wrong?”
Lou Xu usually loved this intimate posture, but today he only found it strange. He didn’t want this slight doubt to affect their morning time, so he buried himself in He Qing’s body as usual and said, “It feels like I haven’t seen you in ages.”
A few laughs came from above his head. He Qing gently stroked the top of his hair: “How can that be? Haven’t we always been together?”
He Qing rubbed his hair little by little until his fingers threaded through Lou Xu’s locks, then he said something nonsensical: “Even if we don’t meet for a long time, don’t miss me. I am always by your side.”
Lou Xu hated hearing words that clearly implied separation. He looked up, intending to scold him, but his throat was like a deflated balloon, unable to make a sound.
The home clothes, which should have been pristine white, were now stained bright red. He Qing’s abdomen was covered in fresh bl00d, which dripped onto the floor, making a drip-drop sound.
He Qing’s already vacant eyes turned pitch black. The horrifying pupils magnified endlessly in Lou Xu’s vision. The room plunged back into darkness.
“Hah… Hah…” After a series of rapid gasps, Lou Xu woke up. He was drenched in sweat, his chest heaving violently.
Lou Xu struggled to get out of bed, but the restraints on his body restricted his movements.
As Lou Xu woke up, the world, which seemed to have paused, resumed its motion. He heard the sound of a trolley, followed by the door opening.
Two doctors followed by three nurses entered, one of whom was pushing the trolley, dispensing morning medication.
The two doctors at the front walked up to Lou Xu’s bed and asked with a warm smile, “How are you? Can you control yourself?”
The sweat on Lou Xu’s body hadn’t subsided, and the impact of the dream still lingered, but he quickly adjusted his expression, showing the same smile as the doctors: “I can.”
The other doctor spoke: “We will keep the restraints on for three more hours, and then we will check on you again, alright?”
“Okay.”
A nurse took the medication from the trolley, poured a cup of water, and fed the pills to Lou Xu.
Lou Xu smiled even more gently: “Thank you.”
The doctors and nurses pushed the door and left. After the door closed, the slightly older doctor instructed the nurse behind him: “Three hours won’t be enough.”
The room returned to silence. Lou Xu completely pulled himself out of the dream. It had been a long time since he had been to this hospital.
Nanshan Sanatorium is, in fact, a private psychiatric hospital.
During the years he was with He Qing, he rarely had episodes, and even when he did, they were minor. He Qing never had the heart to send him to the hospital.
He was in the hospital now because He Qing was dead, having died to save him.
Nanshan Sanatorium allows family visits from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM every Tuesday and Saturday. Today was Saturday, and the nurse had informed him two days ago that someone was coming to visit.
The morning dream was not a nightmare for Lou Xu; it was arguably the happiest day he’d had since He Qing passed away.
Half an hour after taking the medication, the nurse came in and removed the abdominal restraint band, elevating the bed so he could see outside the window.
The private sanatorium has excellent greenery, and Lou Xu’s ward arguably has the best view in the entire facility, but he had no interest in looking—what was so special about a few flowers and trees?
The management of the enclosed ward area is very strict; calling it a prison wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Although there is no manual labor, he is restricted everywhere. There are two doors both inside and outside the room, accessible only by card swipe.
Today’s visit was a rare opportunity for Lou Xu to go out. He had dealt with psychiatric hospitals many times and knew how troublesome discharge could be.
At 3:00 PM, Lou Xu’s ward door was opened again. Led by the nurse, he walked to the enclosed area’s recreation room.
It wasn’t the open recreation area of the regular wards; this area was mostly empty and used for visitation. After all, this wasn’t a real prison where people had to meet in handcuffs.
Pushing open the door to the recreation room, Lou Xu saw a familiar face inside—He Qing’s mother.
The woman was clearly still immersed in grief over her son’s death. Her eyes were still red and swollen, and the sadness deepened when she saw Lou Xu.
“Mom,” Lou Xu greeted her as he sat down.
The nurse stepped out and closed the door, waiting outside the ward entrance. The recreation room had many monitoring devices, and she could rush in immediately if any accident occurred.
“How are you doing here? This hospital doesn’t look like a comfortable place.” On her way up, He Qing’s mother could sense that the hospital was not as warm and cozy as they advertised.
“It’s good. The doctors are taking great care of me.”
He Qing’s mother gripped Lou Xu’s hand, which was resting on the table: “Tell me the truth. If it’s not working, let’s get you discharged. We wouldn’t have sent you here if we hadn’t been absolutely unable to manage you.”
She was referring to the first two days after He Qing’s death. Lou Xu hadn’t tried to commit suicide; his life was saved by He Qing, so of course he couldn’t bear to die.
However, he couldn’t feel his own existence. This floating, unreal sensation drove him mad. He couldn’t accept feeling so adrift, so he repeatedly cut his bl00d vessels and flesh with a knife until his skin was torn and his flesh blurred with bl00d.
Only when the color of bl00d spread did the pain follow. After self-harm, he could maintain a certain period of clarity. He survived by relying on the sensation of pain.
Lou Xu gently pulled his hand free and placed it over the woman’s hand. Below his arm were cobweb-like scars. He gave a light laugh, a laugh that made the woman shudder, and finally only said, “Don’t worry.”
The rest of the words he kept hidden in his heart: Qing Qing told me this morning that he will always be with me. With him here, I don’t need to do this.
The woman talked with Lou Xu for a long time. During this time, Lou Xu’s behavior was completely normal, except that he kept staring at a spot behind the woman.
It was as if someone were standing there.
After the woman left, Lou Xu returned to his ward. When the room was empty, Lou Xu spoke toward a certain spot: “Will you be here every day from now on?”
Yes, since ten o’clock that morning, his He Qing had returned.
He Qing stood by the window and replied, “If you are obedient.”
The restraints on Lou Xu had been removed due to his calmness, and he could now move freely: “Am I not well-behaved?”
He Qing walked to the bedside and turned Lou Xu’s hand over: “Not well-behaved. You used a knife to cut my husband’s arm. I don’t like it.”
Lou Xu pulled He Qing into his arms, resting his head on his abdomen: “I will be obedient. I don’t want to be here anymore. Can we go home?”
He Qing didn’t speak, only stroking Lou Xu’s hair repeatedly.
When facing He Qing’s mother, he knew exactly how to act to elicit sympathy. This way, he could use the woman’s pity to be discharged as soon as possible.
Sure enough, half a month later, after He Qing’s mother’s second visit, she submitted a discharge application to the hospital.
Under the hospital’s assessment, Lou Xu’s condition had indeed improved, and they had no reason not to release him.
However, from that day on, He Qing disappeared again.
Lou Xu returned to their home. It had been exactly twenty-five days since He Qing’s death.
Since He Qing’s mother planned for Lou Xu to move in with her, she hadn’t hired anyone to clean the villa.
A layer of dust had settled in the rooms. Lou Xu returned to the bedroom, where their framed photo was still on the bedside table.
He took out a tissue, wiped away the dust on every picture, and then gently kissed the He Qing in the photo: “Qing Qing, I will bring you back. Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone.”
“You said you would always be with me. You want me to do this too, right?”
“We will be together forever, always.”
Lou Xu started going to work normally. He Qing’s relatives frequently called, mostly skirting around the issue of his mental health, and he answered each one, acting like a normal person.
“Xiao Xu, is the company busy lately? Come over for dinner tonight. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
Lou Xu held the phone with one hand and marked something in a notebook with the other. Under the red marker strokes were crossed-out phone numbers: “Hmm, Mom, I have a meeting tonight. How about I visit you another day?”
Sunlight streamed through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, shining on the man. He was wearing a well-fitted suit, and the way he looked down with his head tilted sideways was extremely focused.
No one would have guessed that the numbers in the notebook were all contact information for geomancers and spiritual masters.
A man whose appearance screams materialism is doing things outside the realm of science. This is beyond ridiculous; it is absurd.
People would say he had lost his mind.
“About Qing Qing…” The woman paused for a moment and continued, “Don’t blame yourself. At the time, it was…”
Lou Xu stopped writing and twirled the pen between his fingers: “Mom, what are you talking about? Qing Qing’s matter is in the past, isn’t it? We all have to look forward.”
“Yes, yes, look forward. I won’t mention it again. You must be busy then, I won’t bother you anymore.”
After hanging up, Lou Xu placed the phone face down on the table and picked up the red marker to circle one of the numbers.
Looking forward is too idealistic. He doesn’t want this idealism without He Qing.
Lou Xu dialed the circled number. A few seconds later, the call was connected. Lou Xu leaned back in the soft chair, his posture unusually relaxed: “Hello, I am Lou Xu.”
“Feng Shui, face reading, what do you need consultation for?”
Lou Xu continued to twirl the marker in his hand: “I want to summon a soul.”
The person on the other end hesitated for two seconds before replying: “Do you want to ask the deceased a few questions?”
Lou Xu tapped the table with the pen: “No. I want to summon my lover’s soul, but I don’t plan to be separated from him again. Please bring extra supplies, preferably things that can trap a soul in the house.”