Upside Down Grocery Shop - Chapter 31

Li Chuan hesitated, clearly still wanting to leave.

“Senior, just for a moment, okay?”

Li Chuan hesitated again. “Uncle, you’re really not some kind of swindler, are you?”

“Haha,” Su Ran laughed, “swindlers ask for money. Do I look like someone who’s short on cash?”

“You do.”

Even Li Xiaotong nodded in agreement. “You really do.”

Su Ran was speechless, looking down at his outfit that cost no more than a hundred yuan in total. “Would it kill you to be honest in a nicer way?”

Li Chuan finally sat down, still full of doubts, but for the sake of Li Xiaotong, he decided to listen to whatever Su Ran had to say.

“Xiaotong, go get another chair.”

Although puzzled, Li Xiaotong gave Su Ran a glance, then went to fetch another chair anyway.

Around the round table, the three of them sat down. But with that extra empty chair, the scene felt oddly mismatched.

Su Ran didn’t beat around the bush. “Li Chuan, from the way you’re talking, it sounds like you’ve run into some swindlers before.”

“Yes,” Li Chuan admitted without hesitation. “I’ve met a few. They said the same kind of things you’re saying now, talking about bad feng shui in my house, that my destiny is cursed, and even some nonsense about me being a reincarnated peach blossom star. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

Su Ran felt a pang of exasperation. This line of work had fallen to such a miserable state.

“Alright, first of all, I’m not a professional, just a part-timer,” Su Ran said casually. “Secondly, I’m just saying whatever comes to mind. Don’t take it seriously, just treat it as a joke.”

“Su Ran!” Li Xiaotong hissed softly, clearly embarrassed as she glanced at Li Chuan.

Wasting someone’s time and then saying it’s not to be taken seriously—wasn’t that just playing with him?

Li Chuan nodded. “Uncle, go ahead. You’re already better than those swindlers who demand a hundred taels of silver upfront to ‘ward off bloodshed.’”

Su Ran cast a casual glance, not at Li Chuan, but rather behind him.

It was late at night. Apart from the three of them, the convenience store was empty.

Even the shop clerk, after trying to stay awake, had fallen asleep on the counter.

Being stared at made Li Chuan’s back crawl with unease. His neck and shoulders began to feel colder and heavier.

“When you were alive, you abandoned him. Now you cling to him—don’t you feel ashamed?”

Su Ran’s words made both Li Chuan and Li Xiaotong feel inexplicably uneasy. Why did those words sound so familiar, like something straight out of a horror movie?

The next moment, Li Xiaotong was about to scream, but Su Ran stopped her.

Li Chuan’s face darkened. “Uncle, this isn’t a horror movie! Be honest with you—I might be a man, but I’m actually really scared of this kind of thing. Don’t frighten me.”

Su Ran pointed to the chair next to him. “Don’t make me say it twice.”

The air turned deathly silent. Su Ran glanced around and pulled out a candle.

“Su Ran,” Li Xiaotong cried out in alarm, looking at him. Her meaning was clear—this isn’t one of those candles, right?

“Relax, it’s just a regular candle.”

He lit it in the middle of the table. The warm orange glow looked soft and harmless. Then he snuffed it out. A wisp of white smoke rose into the air.

But in the next moment, both Li Xiaotong and Li Chuan were startled out of their wits.

The smoke didn’t dissipate but instead coalesced. Slowly, it formed a humanoid figure on the empty chair, writhing in panic as if trying to flee but unable to move.

“There’s not much time. Say what you want to say.”

Li Chuan stared at the figure. “This…?”

“Li Chuan, it’s me,” the smoke spoke with an eerie familiarity—it was a voice he could never forget.

“Hui Zhi, is that you?”

“It’s me.”

“How could this be!” Li Chuan was visibly shaken, and Li Xiaotong was on the verge of screaming again, only to be silenced by Su Ran for the second time. What a sheltered girl.

“I’m sorry, Li Chuan. I didn’t mean to cling to you.”

Li Chuan glanced at Su Ran in disbelief. What on earth was this? Were they really communing with the dead?

“Why are you looking at me? Time is short, and this is a one-time opportunity,” Su Ran said, glancing out the window.

Regardless of whether it was real or a hallucination, Li Chuan looked at the smoke and finally smiled. “Hui Zhi, I never thought I’d hear your voice again. This is… great.”

“Li Chuan, I know it’s too late for everything now. I know saying sorry is useless, but I’ve been staying near you all this time to avoid certain things. I just wanted to tell you one thing—I didn’t accidentally fall into the water.”

“What!”

Li Chuan’s expression changed.

Li Xiaotong glanced at Su Ran, who nodded slightly—don’t interrupt.

“I was pushed into the water by that bastard. Li Chuan, you’re the only one I can think of now. I’m begging you, please help me get revenge.”

Before Li Chuan could respond, Su Ran’s face darkened. “Shut up!”

Hui Zhi flinched in fright and dared not say another word.

“Uncle?”

“Su Ran?”

Su Ran glared at Hui Zhi. “You abandoned him when you were alive. Now you want to harm him? Unforgivable!”

“No! That’s not what I meant!” Hui Zhi screamed in terror.

Without a word, Su Ran gestured toward the window.

“No!” Her voice vanished, and the smoke dissipated.

It was as if waking from a dream. Li Chuan and Li Xiaotong stared at the table—there was no candle. They turned to look—no empty chair.

Su Ran looked puzzled. “What’s wrong with you two?”

“Uncle, just now?” Li Chuan struggled to believe it had been a dream or an illusion.

“Just now?” Su Ran feigned confusion. “What just now? I saw you zone out all of a sudden.”

“Me?” Li Chuan stared at the open laptop in front of him. That’s not right—I had packed it up and was about to leave.

“Xiaotong, you saw it too, right?” Li Chuan looked at her. The earlier scene had been so vivid.

“Saw what?” Li Xiaotong asked with a puzzled look. “Senior, are you okay?”

Even she didn’t know. A glance at the store clerk, who was grinning at their phone, confirmed it—he’d been dozing off earlier.

It seemed the stress was getting to him. Time to head home and rest.

After packing up his laptop, Li Chuan got up to leave. “Xiaotong, call me if you need anything.”

“Alright, Senior.”

Once Li Chuan left, Li Xiaotong turned to Su Ran. “Why didn’t you tell him?”

Su Ran stood up. “Let’s go.”

At the convenience store, they grabbed some snacks—Li Xiaotong paid, of course. Su Ran didn’t even have a yuan to his name.

“That spirit following Senior—was it really his girlfriend?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen plenty of wandering souls like that.”

“Then why didn’t you let her finish? She said she wasn’t an accidental drowning victim but was pushed into the water.”

Munching on a fish tofu snack, Su Ran replied, “I told you, the line between the living and the dead isn’t just talk. Every world has its rules.”

“But it’s not a perfect world, so some people don’t want to leave after death. That’s understandable, but the condition is—they can’t interfere with the living.”

Li Xiaotong listened intently. “But she was interfering with Senior.”

“There are many ways to interfere. Some linger, some wander causing trouble, and some turn into malicious ghosts. The worst, though, is asking the living to do something for them. That’s crossing the line—it’s dragging the living toward the gates of the underworld.”

Li Xiaotong nodded, finally understanding why Su Ran had gotten so angry in the end.

That Hui Zhi was something else. In life, she’d abandoned Li Chuan for money and even had a child with someone else. After death, she still clung to him. Given a chance to apologize, she had the audacity to try dragging him down with her. Unforgivable.

“Su Ran, Senior… is he alright?”

“He’s fine now. He’ll move on, and so will she. Tomorrow’s a new day waiting for him.” Su Ran took a big bite of squid.

“Su Ran, leave some for me!”

“Who’s the one paying for this? If you wanted snacks, you should’ve bought more.”

Li Xiaotong finally guarded the last piece of duck intestine. ” Su Ran, can I ask you a question?”

“No.”

“I haven’t even asked yet.”

“I already know.”

“Oh, I totally forgot you can read minds,” Li Xiaotong hesitated for a moment. “But I still want to ask—if one day I go down there, will you come to see me?”

Su Ran chewed his food leisurely. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting at such a young age? Let’s go.”

Li Xiaotong realized the topic was too heavy and dropped it. ” Su Ran, how old are you anyway?”

“I think your curiosity is flaring up. Have you been too idle lately?”

“I’m on vacation, remember? You were the one who helped me get it.”

“What a burden to bear.”

“What did you just say? Fine, next time, no food for you!”