I Lost!

Ye Weiming comforted himself.

The movie was over an hour long. Only five minutes had passed.

The beginning was good, but the rest might not be.

As the ambulance's siren wailed, the protagonist was resuscitated. When he came to, he found a scruffy man in a suit sitting beside him.

Smoking arrogantly.

The protagonist pursed his lips and said nothing.

To his surprise, the Nurse seemed not to see the Suit Uncle at all. She scolded the protagonist angrily:

"Sir, this is a hospital. For the sake of your health and that of others, please don't smoke."

The protagonist glanced at the Suit Uncle, only to find that the cigarette was now in his own hand.

Next, the protagonist encountered a Perverted Grandpa.

The old man wore a red shirt, and his eyes were extremely lecherous.

He crouched on the nurses' station and blew a sheet of paper away, making the Nurse bend down to pick it up.

Perverted Grandpa crouched on the nurses' station, staring at the Nurse's ample backside.

Ye Weiming sternly condemned such lewd behavior.

But he had to admit, the Nurse's butt looked pretty good.

Besides the Smoker Uncle and Perverted Grandpa, the protagonist also saw a pretty, weepy Crying Aunt.

As he saw more and more "strange people,"

the protagonist repeatedly told the doctors that he could see things other people couldn't.

But in the doctors' eyes, the patient had suffered a mental breakdown and should be admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

At long last, he was discharged.

From the "master," the protagonist learned that his failed suicide attempt had opened a door in his body.

He could see ghosts, and the ghosts could possess him and control his body.

What followed was a series of amusing interactions between the protagonist and the four ghosts.

Perverted Grandpa possessed the protagonist, who then flirted with the aunt hanging laundry next door.

The Crying Aunt possessed him, and during a residents' meeting, he and the aunt clung to each other and sobbed.

The Smoker Uncle possessed him, making the protagonist's home seem as if it had been hit with a smoke bomb.

A child possessed him, and he went on a cake-eating rampage.

The audience in the theater never stopped laughing.

Ye Weiming also dropped his reserve and laughed along with them.

A failed suicide attempt followed by discovering he could see ghosts was a classic Hong Kong movie setup.

But as he laughed, Ye Weiming began to feel a little bitter.

They'd both borrowed a classic Hong Kong movie setup, so how come Lin Chuan's version felt even better than his?

Ye Weiming didn't realize that,

without noticing it, he'd begun to regard Lin Chuan as his equal, or even his superior.

The story moved into its next phase.

To get rid of the ghosts, the protagonist had to fulfill their wishes.

The first wish was to help Perverted Grandpa find his camera.

After a series of twists and turns, they finally found it.

As it turned out, the camera belonged to a lonely old man living in the hospice ward. He'd been Perverted Grandpa's childhood friend.

The two old friends reunited across the years and drank together, chatting merrily.

Just then, a beautiful Nurse came over to stop them:

"Haven't I told you many times? Your health doesn't allow you to drink!"

Seeing how happy the old man was, the Nurse didn't disturb him. She gave him a few reminders and then left.

The protagonist's eyes followed the Nurse wherever she went.

Later, the protagonist complained to Perverted Grandpa, asking why he hadn't said where the camera was when he already knew.

Perverted Grandpa told him that it was a rule among ghosts.

A ghost could only tell someone who was alive once that person had sensed some of the ghost's memories.

The scruffy Smoker Uncle's wish was to have a car.

The protagonist had no idea where to get a car for him, so he could only go steal one in the middle of the night.

The car belonged to a Little Boss, who thought the protagonist was the man having an affair with his wife.

He wanted to run the protagonist over, but didn't dare, so he could only chase him on foot.

The protagonist panted until he could run no farther.

He begged the Little Boss, saying he could communicate with spirits.

The Smoker Uncle did his part, furiously blowing cold air at the car until the Little Boss was freezing inside.

The Little Boss turned on the air conditioning, and the car finally warmed up again.

After the protagonist pleaded with him, the Little Boss reluctantly agreed to help.

And so, the protagonist embarked on a one-way trip of following people around.

The protagonist was clumsy at tailing people, but unexpectedly effective.

The Little Boss's Wife thought he was a lunatic, so she paid him no mind.

The protagonist followed the Little Boss's Wife all the way to the hospital and discovered the truth.

As it turned out, the Little Boss's Wife wasn't having an affair. She was sick with lung cancer.

She had chosen to forgo treatment because she didn't want to affect the baby in her belly.

The protagonist told the Little Boss the truth.

In the end, the Little Boss went to talk to his wife, trying to change her mind:

"Why didn't you tell me? You have to get treatment!"

His wife said, "I think it's more important for our child to live than for me to survive.

"Even though we'll grow old... our child will grow up..."

By the time she finished speaking, the Little Boss was already in tears, crying like a helpless child.

Quite a few people in the theater quietly pulled out tissues.

By this point, the movie had shifted from its earlier comedy and humor, gradually moving into tearjerking and heartwarming moments.

Many viewers were moved to tears.

After getting the car, the protagonist went swimming at the beach with the Smoker Uncle.

It was the Smoker Uncle's second wish.

The blue sea lifted the spirits of many in the audience, too.

Meanwhile, the protagonist and the Nurse grew closer and closer.

The protagonist wanted to buy something for the Nurse.

But after a series of misunderstandings, he ended up in the detention center instead.

Since the protagonist had no one he knew, he could only ask the Nurse to come and bail him out.

The Nurse arrived and rescued him like a goddess.

It was also the first time the protagonist opened up to the Nurse.

He was an orphan.

On the way home, the Nurse pressed her ear to the protagonist's chest. Only after a long while did she lift her head and look him straight in the eye:

"Your parents gave you a very strong heart!"

The protagonist's heart thumped wildly. After getting off the bus, he kept grinning foolishly all the way home.

Only after the Smoker Uncle reminded him did the protagonist remember that he'd bought the Nurse a gift,

and that gift was why he'd ended up in the detention center.

He handed the Nurse a huge box full of gifts.

Inside were all the movie tapes the protagonist loved watching.

The Nurse accepted the heavy gift and thanked him, awkwardly but politely.

The protagonist stood there waving goodbye to the Nurse, completely unaware of how heavy her steps had become.

The Smoker Uncle reminded him:

"Go help her carry it!"

The protagonist finally understood and ran after the Nurse.

He accompanied her all the way to the bus stop.

This time, he didn't need the Smoker Uncle to remind him. He got on the bus with the Nurse.

On the bus, the protagonist recalled the moment when the Nurse had listened to his heartbeat.

He wasn't about to let her have all the fun. He wanted to listen to her heartbeat, too.

The Nurse didn't refuse...

After getting off, the protagonist saw the Smoker Uncle sitting beneath the bus stop sign.

The protagonist sat down beside him, and the Smoker Uncle wanted to press his ear against his chest to listen to his heartbeat, too.

The protagonist was so embarrassed he could hardly stand it.

Unnoticed by anyone, the protagonist and the ghosts had grown closer and closer.

Quite a few people in the theater wore knowing smiles.

The protagonist was listless and dejected, but the audience could tell he was a good guy.

And the Nurse was gentle and fragile. Their interactions were odd, but amusing.

A lot of couples were reminded of how they'd first met.

Some bolder couples had already started kissing.

One by one, the four ghosts' wishes were fulfilled.

The child's wish was to watch a movie with an incredibly juvenile title: Peach Blossom Hero vs. Chrysanthemum Monster.

Soon, it was time for the Crying Aunt's wish.

Her wish was, unbelievably, to go grocery shopping with the protagonist.

At the market, the Crying Aunt linked arms with the protagonist, beaming with joy.

She looked at one vegetable, then another.

The Crying Aunt was actually a young woman in her early thirties. She looked quite lovely as she shopped for groceries.

But to the Vegetable Vendor Uncle, the scene looked entirely different.

He saw a grown man holding his fingers in a delicate, feminine pose and speaking in an affected voice.

The Vegetable Vendor Uncle clenched his fists.

In the end, the Crying Aunt came away with a full haul. She specially made the protagonist seaweed rice balls with water celery.

Soon, the story reached its turning point.

The Nurse's father was about to die, but she insisted she didn't want to visit him.

The protagonist had never had a family and longed to be close to one. He thought even one last meeting with a family member would be precious.

He didn't want the Nurse to lose that chance, either.

The Nurse refused, and for the first time, she and the protagonist came into conflict.

As it turned out, when the Nurse was little, her mother had been gravely ill. Every day, she would listen to her mother's heartbeat.

As her mother's heartbeat gradually weakened,

she grew more and more afraid of being alone with her mother.

She was afraid her mother might leave at any moment.

But her father had left them with nothing but endless waiting.

Later, the protagonist visited the Nurse's father and brought her his last words.

The protagonist told the Nurse he had four ghosts with him and could talk to them.

The protagonist said, "He's glad he got to be with you before he died, and he's grateful to you, too."

"Your father said there's something he wants you to have. He left it somewhere you used to meet often."

The Nurse looked at the protagonist coldly, thinking he was talking nonsense.

After the Nurse misunderstood him, the protagonist became despondent for a while.

He lost his temper with the four ghosts who came to comfort him.

He angrily demanded to know why they wouldn't leave him alone.

After that, the protagonist tried to kill himself again.

The next day, the Nurse, staring blankly on the rooftop, spotted the bedding in the corner.

Her father had often scolded her there. It was a place they both knew well.

In the corner, the Nurse found a shoebox. It was a gift from her father.

Suddenly, she heard her father's voice beside her.

"You're dressed up so nicely for a date. How could you go without a pretty pair of shoes?"

Nurse's face was streaked with tears.

After realizing she'd misunderstood the male lead, Nurse sought him out and apologized.

The male lead accepted her apology, a little at a loss.

He also told Nurse that he could no longer see the ghosts.

They had left him.

The male lead said that whenever he tried to kill himself, he always felt someone waking him up.

After he woke, he would get angry that he hadn't died.

But this time, he had woken up on his own.

He had changed completely this time. He wanted to live on with Nurse.

After saying that, the male lead grew a little shy. When their eyes met, both of them panicked.

They wanted to look away, but couldn't stop looking at each other.

In the awkward yet romantic atmosphere, the male lead spoke first:

"Your shoes are really pretty!"

The awkward mood was broken. Nurse blinked her beautiful eyes and said earnestly:

"The videotape you gave me had an adult movie on it."

"So you like watching that kind of thing?"

The male lead was so embarrassed he could barely get the words out:

"I-I didn't pick it..."

Nurse casually took a bite of the rice ball the male lead had made.

Her cheeks puffed out adorably.

Seeing Nurse eat one, the male lead took one too. He realized the rice balls were delicious and had another.

With her cheeks puffed out, Nurse asked:

"Actually, I was curious yesterday. Aren't seaweed rice balls usually made with spinach?

So why did you put water celery in yours?"

The male lead replied, "Oh, that's because my mom always says water celery is good for your blood, so I put some in~"

As he said that, the male lead suddenly faltered.

Images flashed through his mind.

When he was little, Crying Aunt had fed him rice balls.

It turned out Crying Aunt had another identity: she was his mother~

He remembered his mother taking him to the market when he was little, stroking his head.

She had wanted to take him shopping at the market again when he grew up.

He remembered how, as a child, he and Brother had been beaten up by another family's kids.

Brother had protected him the whole time. In the end, he had stood outside the movie theater with him, full of confidence.

He had told him that one day, he would take him to see a movie.

He remembered his father buying a new car and excitedly taking the whole family for a drive, saying he'd teach him to swim at the beach.

He remembered Grandpa borrowing a camera from the neighbor next door so they could take pictures together.

The male lead also remembered the day of the car accident.

He was the only one who survived, and he lost his memories of everything that had come before.

The male lead sprinted all the way home.

Looking at the empty room, he couldn't stop the tears from streaming down his face:

"How could you just come and go as you pleased, doing only what you wanted before leaving..."

"Why do you always leave without asking me?"

"You can't leave..."

"Don't leave!"

"Don't go~"

The male lead's voice gradually weakened.

His words shifted from accusations to sobs, and finally became a plea.

Just then, Child Ghost appeared in front of him.

The male lead broke into a smile through his tears.

The child grinned and said, "If you cry and laugh at the same time, hair will grow on your butt!"

The child pointed at the toy soldier by the wall:

"You can have that. It's too childish. I don't like it."

One by one, the other family members appeared beside the male lead.

Perverted Grandpa was still wearing his floral shirt:

"The only thing that can win a woman over is a sincere heart!"

Smoker Uncle held a hand above the male lead's head, showing how tall he was beside himself:

"You've grown so tall~ My son!"

The last person the male lead saw was Crying Aunt. This time, she finally managed to hold back her tears.

The male lead walked over to her:

"Mom~ Can't I go with you?"

Crying Aunt shook her head, happy. Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes, and her voice was stern yet gentle: "No~"

"I'm sorry I left you behind and went first, dear~"

"Mom is truly sorry~"

"You might feel like you're all alone."

"But Mom, Grandpa, Dad, and Brother will always be by your side."

"You have to live on!"

"That girl seems nice. Does she like the seaweed rice rolls I make?"

The male lead nodded emphatically.

"Mm~"

At his answer, Mom could no longer hold back. She hugged the male lead:

"I was worried my son wouldn't recognize me before I left~"

"Thank you for recognizing your useless mom."

"Thank you for growing up so well."

The story ended with the mother and son embracing.

Rice Fragrance began to play, too.

"Remember how you said home was your one and only castle, as we ran beside the river through the rice fields~"

"Smiling softly, I know the dreams you had as a child~"

"Don't cry. Let the fireflies lead you away. The songs of the countryside will always be there for you~"

As the soothing song played, many in the audience felt as if their hearts had been healed.

But the emotions the movie had stirred would not fade.

In the theater, many people had red-rimmed eyes.

Happy Family had filled the theater with laughter from the very beginning, one wave of laughter after another.

By the middle, touching scenes appeared now and then, along with moments that brought knowing smiles.

It was impossible not to laugh.

Then, at the end, the sudden twist caught everyone off guard.

But on reflection, it all made perfect sense.

A bullet called family love had struck the audience right in the heart.

Because of this movie, many people felt like going home to visit.

Ye Weiming was the last to leave the theater.

His thoughts were in turmoil, his heart heavy with emotion, until it all came down to one sentence:

"I lost!"

"And I lost fair and square!"