Li Zihao nodded lightly and smiled shyly. "I just think all this supernatural stuff is pretty interesting. Even though I know ghosts don't exist, I'm still curious about why authors write books like these.
"Sometimes I wonder what the world would look like if ghosts existed. Oh, I even wrote a novel about it."
Li Zihao handed Chu Qingjiu a thick notebook. When Chu Qingjiu opened it, he found pages packed with Li Zihao's handwriting. It was the manuscript of a novel he had written to pass the time.
Chu Qingjiu merely skimmed it and offered a casual compliment. "Interesting idea."
The writing was so densely packed that he didn't particularly want to read it. He only read the opening, enough to know it was a story set in a world overrun by ghosts.
Li Zihao tilted his head back to look up at Chu Qingjiu's beautiful face and asked earnestly, "So do you think ghosts really exist?"
Chu Qingjiu shook his head. "I've never seen one."
Li Zihao let out a brief "Oh," sounding disappointed.
Only after a long silence did he say, "I've seen a ghost."
Chu Qingjiu paused mid-turn of a page, then responded as though nothing had happened. "Really? Tell me about it."
"It was our first year living here. One night, I woke up in a room so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of my face.
"I planted my hand on the bed to push myself up and turn on the light, but my hand landed on a mass of hair."
As Li Zihao spoke, he demonstrated, placing his hand just below the pillow.
In other words, something else had been sleeping beside him, and his hand had touched its hair.
"I was terrified and carefully pulled my hand away. I wanted