Of course, I didn’t throw this question at Chu Ke Huan—doing so would be like asking a ghost for a prescription.
I tried closing my eyes to sleep, but rest eluded me. I tossed and turned until 3 a.m. before finally giving up and picking up my phone to browse the internet.
I sent a message to Ke Fei, but she didn’t read it. At this hour, she was probably in the arms of another man... Just as I decided to drop the idea and try sleeping again, a new message notification lit up my screen.
“Still awake?” The sender wasn’t Ke Fei.
It was the ghost.
I took a deep breath, locked my phone, and pretended I hadn’t seen the message.
But then another vibration accompanied by a second message shattered my resolve.
Once the ghost knocks on your door, even ignoring it leaves you restless. Curiosity got the better of me, and I glanced at Chu Ke Huan’s message:
“Still having trouble sleeping?”
I made up my mind. Tonight, I’d be Constantine—I was going to put an end to this.
“Yes, insomnia. Something good happened, and I’m too excited to sleep.” The moment I hit send, I felt cruel. But this response was safe enough, wasn’t it? Surely he’d take the hint and back off. I rehearsed the scenario in my head and realized I’d already spent too much mental energy on Chu Ke Huan.
“Got engaged? Congratulations.” His response was breezy.
Chu Ke Huan, why would you offer insincere congratulations? Isn’t this bad news for you?
“Thanks. When’s your turn?” I decided to push the cruelty to its limit, wrapping it in casual politeness.
“Not anytime soon. I still have some life goals to accomplish first.”
“What goals? A promotion? More money? Last I heard, you’ve already saved a small fortune. Money doesn’t seem like a problem for you...”
“To buy a house.”
Houses again. I couldn’t help but frown. “Why are so many people so obsessed with buying a house?”
“So, you’re one of those who don’t want to buy?”
“A mortgage will define the shape of my life, and that’s not the shape I want.” The moment I sent this, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
The truths I couldn’t admit to Hao Yi, I could say freely to Chu Ke Huan. To Hao Yi, I’d said that housing prices were unreasonable, the listings weren’t appealing, and there were more pressing things to handle before marriage—all of which were true. But none of them were the real reason I resisted buying a house.
“So, what kind of life shape do you want?”
“I don’t plan to discuss that with you.” My fleeting moment of triumph was short-lived as he flipped the conversation and dragged me into dangerous territory. I scrambled to end it. “It’s late.”
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