Chapter 23: Another contract?
Surprisingly, the moment Suyang heard my words, he froze and his facial expression appeared aghast.
Huh? This guy....was afraid of ghosts? The corner of my mouth curved into a sinister smile. I evilly gazed at Suyang and vowed that I must make him lose his mind before I quit.
“Hey, do you believe in ghosts?”
“There are no such thing as ghosts!” Suyang straightened his chest and spoke in his clear, shaky voice. But it didn’t seem like he was saying it to me. It sounded like he was trying to self-hypnotize himself.
Now that I was certain Suyang was afraid of ghosts, I slowly got up from the couch and swayed my way to his side. I adopted a frightening expression and whispered, “Ghosts....are things that you cannot see! Perhaps, there is one hanging by your living room window right now!”
I calmly lifted my hand and pointed towards the living room window that had no ghost.
Suyang followed the direction of my finger and stared. I clearly noticed his pupils widening.
“AHAHAHAHAHA!” Seeing him like this, I couldn’t help but burst out into laughter. “I can’t believe you’re scared of ghosts!”
Suyang solemnly looked at me, “Who said I’m afraid of ghosts? I already told you. There are no such things as ghosts in this world! Why would I be afraid of something that doesn’t exist?”
“Yes yes yes. There are no ghosts in this world. No need to worry...” I patted Suyang’s back in a comforting manner.
If I were honest and told him that his apartment was already the home of many ghosts, he would probably be scared shitless. In addition, I was afraid he would kick me out. So after scaring him a bit, I hopped back to my room.
I stared at my bedroom window for a long time. There wasn’t a ghost in the living room, but there was one in my room.
After I was certain I had locked the doors, I moved my chair over and sat by the window to observe the mistress.
“Honestly, tell me what’s the point of being a ghost? You can’t carry weight on your shoulders. You can’t raise your hands to strike. You can’t even touch a person you want to touch. What’s the point of staying in this world? Why don’t you leave? Is there something you miss too much and want to hold on too?”? Suddenly, I asked the mistress all the questions that had been going through my mind after all these years.
Her lifeless pupils became alert, and the mistress fixedly glared at me like she wanted to say something. However, since she opened her eyes too wide, bright red blood was spilling out from the rim of her eyes.
By now, I was accustomed to seeing fierce-looking ghosts, so it didn’t affect me much anymore. “Are you crying? See? As a ghost, you can’t even speak and express yourself. I can’t guess what you’re trying to say....”
Hearing my words, her pupils became lifeless again. She vented, and now she had to suppress her thoughts again.
“I heard from Grandmother Meng that ghosts stay in this world due to resentment. Something about their so-called aura makes it impossible for them to leave. Could this be you too?”
“I know your spirit has not dispersed because you were shoved off the balcony. But you chose to be the home-wrecker first! Plus, the woman who caused your death had been seized and locked up already. I feel like you shouldn’t continue to hold to a grudge but release instead...”
Somehow, my topic changed to persuading the mistress to accept her fate and free herself.
“Don’t you think my words are true?” I tested.
The next second, the mistress disappeared.
Huh? My words were effective?
I stood up and opened the window as I lightly poked out my head and looked to my left and right. The mistress was gone. This was the first time she had left my apartment window. It was honestly a good thing, but I was a bit worried. Where did she go?
Was she gone forever?
“Where did you go?” Was this what mothers feel when they urge their kids to go to school? Yet, when they finally do go, there is a sense of loss?
While I was searching for the mistress all over my room, a document was trying to slid its way through my door crack.
I went over and yanked open the door to catch the crouching Suyang clumsily trying to push the document through.
He lifted his head and blinked his deep huge eyes at me as he stood up. Rather than trying to stuff the document through my door crack, he thrusted it into my arms instead.
“What is this?” I grabbed hold of it. I had a bad premonition the moment I saw the A4 paper document.
Employee Contract.
I was flabbergasted when I saw these two words on the first row.
Was he specialized in manufacturing contracts?
I was too lazy to guess and directly asked Suyang, “What is this?”
“Employee Contract.”
“I can read the words. I’m asking you why you’re giving an employee contract to me. Are you sure if it’s for me?”
“After much consideration, I have realized you are very useful in helping me gain inspiration for my creation. So, I would like to hire you as an assistant.”
“You. Want. Me. To. Be. Your. Assistant? Don’t joke around with other people’s occupation. It is not funny.” There was a lack of faith and distrust in all my words.
Suyang ignored my skepticism and continued, “You don’t have a job right now, and I need an assistant. This is a win-win for both of us.”
I don’t know why Suyang was so determined to have me as his assistant, but I wasn’t going to give up on such a good opportunity. However, I pretended to hesitate because I wanted to remain reserved. “Hmmm...Let me think about it. After all....”
“If you want to know the specifics, your monthly wage would be 10000 rmb. Meals and accommodations are provided.”
“Okay! I’ll do it!” The moment I heard how much he was willing to paying me, I no longer cared to remain reserved.
“I haven’t explained the contract yet...” Suyang appeared stunned by my reaction. He didn’t seem to realize how alluring the salary was.
“It’s fine. In any case, I’m sure it is clearly stated in the contract. I’ll slowly go through it later. Where do I sign? Last page, right?” I was worried Suyang will renege his offer, so I quickly grabbed a pen. Just as I was about to sign my name on it, Suyang stopped me.
Did he regret already? I was startled.
“You’re not going to read this before signing?”
“No, it’s fine. It’s okay. I’m very talented and capable of many things. Whatever you want me to do wouldn’t be much of an obstacle for me.” Then, I elbowed Suyang and swiftly signed my name and urged him as well.
Suyang casually signed his name on the contract as he sighed at me. “Considering how you didn’t seriously go through the contract, I feel like it is necessary for me to tell you as my assistant, your most important job is to guide me to the correct state of mind.”
“Guide you into a state of mind...what do you mean?” This is the first time I heard of such a role.
“Remember the first time we met? Do you remember what Shen Shaoqian and I were doing? Something like that. In order to create impactful writing, I need to personally live the character’s life. I need to be in his exact mood in order to write vividly.”
I somewhat understood as I nodded, “So I have to act? I have to act whatever role you want me to act?”
Suyang nodded. He seemed proud of my understanding, “Yes. Acting. I also need it to be realistic.”
“Ok. Acting is no problem. When I was young, I often lied. So now, I’m very experienced at pretending.” I effortlessly boasted. Suddenly, Suyang got very close to me and forced me to back up against the wall.
He bent his waist, and there was only the distance of a fist between our faces. Although he looked very sloppy at the moment, it couldn’t conceal his natural beauty.
I pulled back my neck and was at my wits’ end.
“Uh...what are you doing?”
Suyang’s eyes twinkled like stars as he pursed his mouth and smiled gracefully. He slowly spoke, “My next creation is related to love.”