TL: hua

Chapter 20: Long Hair

Hearing You Xingyue speak, the shorter young man lifted his head. Seeing You Xingyue, he froze for a second before his brows knitted, a clear look of astonishment flickering in his remarkably gorgeous eyes.

You Xingyue tilted his head, puzzled by the stranger’s surprise.

Surely I’m not so unappealing that it’s a disappointment to look at me?

Besides, it was thirty-five degrees Celsius today, and even You Xingyue felt stifled by the heat. Yet this young man was bundled up tight. Not only was he wearing a hat and a mask, but he was even wearing a jacket.

“Boss.”

The young man pulled down his mask and let out a gentle sigh before breaking into a faint, serene smile. “My name is Ji Ge. I have long heard of the reputation of… Not Keeping Guests.”

It was a face one could never forget once seen. If forced to describe it, You Xingyue could think of no word other than “national beauty” to fit him at that moment.

When Ji Ge mentioned “Not Keeping Guests,” he paused slightly. His tone made it sound as though he had known about the shop for a long time, not from a casual encounter on the internet, but through a far deeper, more meaningful understanding.

You Xingyue adjusted his glasses, mentally resolving to wear the chained pair that enabled his spiritual sight every single day from now on.

Ji Ge possessed long brows and phoenix eyes with vivid features, yet his temperament was extraordinarily gentle. “You are much younger than I imagined, Boss.”

The tall young man with the man-bun quietly looked at You Xingyue. Perhaps intimidated by You Xingyue’s overly refined and handsome face, the man-bun youth freed a hand to touch his own chest muscles. Who knew what was crossing his mind, but a look of deep self-satisfaction spread across his face.

You Xingyue: “…”

This kid clearly has something wrong with him.

Ji Ge tugged at the youth with the bun hairstyle, feeling embarrassed: “This is my friend, Wei Mingsi.”

Wei Mingsi: “Hello.”

Ji Ge: “Boss, may we speak in private?”

Wei Mingsi cast a wary glance at You Xingyue. “Can’t I come with you?”

Ji Ge remained firm. “There are a few things I would like to speak with the boss about alone.”

You Xingyue raised an eyebrow slightly. “After you.”

Ji Ge was in poor physical health, so You Xingyue invited him into the inner room. As the two walked inward, they happened to pass by Zitan.

Relying on its faint spiritual energy and the fact that ordinary mortals couldn’t hear it, Zitan shouted loudly at Ji Ge: “Mwah to the beauty!”

Zitan was indeed a fickle hairpiece. It had originally been winking at a few girls in the shop, but the moment it laid eyes on Ji Ge’s breathtaking beauty, it instantly forgot all about them.

You Xingyue: “…”

Zitan, an absolute shallow dog devoted entirely to good looks.

Ji Ge was startled. He looked around to make sure the girl in the short skirt and Wei Mingsi couldn’t hear him before letting out a soft laugh. “Not Keeping Guests is as lively as ever.”

You Xingyue paused in his steps and asked gently, “Mr. Ji, you know about Not Keeping Guests?”

Ji Ge could actually hear Zitan’s voice.

Both Zitan and Ultra-Thin had minimal cultivation. Even if someone opened their heavenly eye or possessed Yinyang eyes, vessel spirits with such weak spiritual energy were easily overlooked.

Ji Ge: “Yes. I heard my predecessors speak of it in the past. However, my time cultivating has been brief. By the time I could take on human form, Not Keeping Guests had already shut its door for many years.”

He had searched for countless years, but no matter who he asked, there had been no news of Not Keeping Guests. Just as he was on the verge of giving up, he unexpectedly stumbled across information about it online.

However…

The newly reopened Not Keeping Guests had a mortal boss with barely any spiritual energy.

Ji Ge swallowed his bitterness.

In truth, he had already given up. Suddenly learning news of Not Keeping Guests had merely rekindled a flicker of hope. Now, there was no need to feel overly disappointed.

Yet, no matter how Ji Ge tried to convince himself, the disappointment after a dashed hope was always deeply disheartening.

Ji Ge exhaled a long, heavy breath and put on a smile. “A few days ago, a post about Not Keeping Guests suddenly appeared on our university forum. That was how I realized it had returned to the world once more.”

He had troubles that were difficult to speak of.

Having been adept at reading the emotions of others since childhood, You Xingyue casually said, “Since you’ve been looking for Not Keeping Guests all this time, you must be searching for something specific. Would you mind telling me? Perhaps I can be of help?”

Zitan eagerly volunteered itself: “Me! He must want me!”

Zitan was practically wild with excitement.

Pretty girls were great, and rich, pretty girls were even better! But a fellow spiritual being who could see and hear it was the absolute best. Not to mention that Ji Ge was a breathtaking, city-toppling beauty.

A beauty! A wife!

As Ultra-Thin said, a wife has no gender!

Zitan put on a pitiful act: “Take me, beauty! Look at how small I am. If I don’t find someone who is fated to take me soon, I’ll slowly fade away and die. Besides, other than me, there’s only one other vessel spirit in this shop, and it’s a computer!”

Seeing how lively Zitan was, the gloom in Ji Ge’s heart dispersed a little. He shook his head apologetically. “I can’t. I am not suitable to take a vessel spirit back with me.”

Zitan suffered a tragic rejection from the beauty: “Why?! Is it because I’m not pretty enough? Boss! Quick, polish me a bit more and I’ll look great!”

Ji Ge went silent for a few seconds before slowly lifting his hat.

You Xingyue looked at the scalp hidden beneath the hat and froze.

Ji Ge was a demon. Logically speaking, if he possessed enough cultivation to manifest such a magnificent human appearance, he should naturally be able to manifest a head of thick, black hair. Yet beneath Ji Ge’s hat, there was no hair at all.

Zitan was thoroughly shocked: Could it be hair loss?!

Ji Ge smiled awkwardly. “Does it look bad? Did I scare you? I don’t have any hair, so I can’t use a hairpin.”

Zitan declared with utter confidence: “It’s fine, beauty! Don’t panic! As long as you grow out even a thin layer of hair and wear me around, I can help you grow it all back!”

You Xingyue slowly knit his brows, studying Ji Ge intently.

Demons capable of taking human form usually possessed deep cultivation. For instance, Li Mao from the Non-Human Planning Bureau always radiated vitality and high spirits. But Ji Ge was different; he oozed weakness from every pore.

Ji Ge adjusted his hat back into place. After a moment of silence, he smiled softly. “I can’t. I am wilting. Even my leaves are almost gone, which is why I have no hair.”

Zitan was stunned.

Ji Ge, on the other hand, appeared quite nonchalant. “I am dying soon.”

Zitan looked at the boss in panic. Did its enthusiastic self-promotion just hurt the beauty’s feelings?

You Xingyue raised a hand and gently stroked Zitan twice to comfort it.

Then, looking directly at Ji Ge, he stated with certainty, “There is something inside Not Keeping Guests that you need. What is it?”

When it came to serious matters, You Xingyue was indeed a reliable person who never beat around the bush.

Ji Ge bit his lip. “A blue-and-white landscape flowerpot. The clay used to fire that pot was very special. I heard it has the property to heal a plant’s root system.”

Vessel spirits possessed special abilities, but artifacts that don’t possess a spirit could also hold extraordinary powers. The flowerpot Ji Ge mentioned belonged to the latter category.

And Not Keeping Guests, an antique shop that had been collecting strange and rare treasures ever since its inception, housed all manner of artifacts.

You Xingyue said, “Let’s check the storage room.”

Ji Ge sighed. “I heard the last flowerpot was smashed to pieces as well. I only came here clinging to a final sliver of hope.”

Without another word, You Xingyue led Ji Ge into the storage room.

Bu Liuke was currently registering antiques inside the storeroom. Ultra-Thin couldn’t see him, but Bu Liuke could write down the details of the artifacts on paper, which Ultra-Thin would then record into a spreadsheet.

Hearing footsteps, Bu Liuke turned around. “Xingyue, do you need something?”

You Xingyue squatted down. “Is there a blue-and-white flowerpot in the storage room that can nourish plant roots?”

Bu Liuke thought for a moment. “We used to have one. Later, the craftsman who made the pot offended the emperor, and the emperor ordered all items created by him to be destroyed. The flowerpot in our house was displayed outside. Before we could save it, the imperial messengers smashed it to bits… That’s just how things were in that era.”

Bu Liuke’s voice gradually faded, and he cast an apologetic glance at Ji Ge.

Though his mindset was kept at that of a child, it didn’t mean he understood nothing. He could tell that this peony, whose beauty was fit to grace an entire nation, was near the end of its life.

Both You Xingyue and Bu Liuke fell silent. The atmosphere in the storage room grew heavy, and even the sound of Ultra-Thin typing on the keyboard vanished.

After a moment, You Xingyue relayed Bu Liuke’s words with a heavy heart.

“Please don’t be like this,” Ji Ge smiled instead. “I was already prepared. It’s just… I’m a little reluctant to part. I haven’t even had the chance to grow old with him.”

He had only come searching with a sliver of hope after hearing that the former boss of Not Keeping Guests was a peony spirit with a thousand years of cultivation. He hadn’t expected the newly reopened shop to have a new owner.

As for the flowerpot, he had known long ago that none remained in this world.

Ji Ge said earnestly, “Truly, I am already content. Please don’t blame yourselves, Boss and Bu Liuke. Life and death are fated; it is only natural.”

You Xingyue merely gave a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes, his expression weighed down with seriousness.

Ji Ge ended up offering a few words of comfort to him instead. Adjusting his expression, he stepped out of the storeroom. “I will cherish the remaining time I have with Mingsi, so I am already very happy. If I make you and Bu Liuke feel sad because of me, I would feel terribly guilty.”

Across five display shelves, You Xingyue looked at Wei Mingsi, who was squatting near the shop entrance, and asked softly, “How did you explain it to him?”

Ji Ge: “I told him I have cancer and that the hair loss is from chemotherapy. In truth, I know a demon at the hospital who helped cover for me. Mingsi doesn’t know anything; he thinks I will definitely get better.”

Ji Ge’s eyes reddened as he forced back his tears. “He even said he wanted to grow his hair long so he could make a wig for me. It’s a pity I won’t be able to use it.”

At the doorway, Wei Mingsi was bickering with the girl in the short skirt. The small bun on the back of his head bobbed up and down as he spoke: “Wei Yiyuan! Stop touching my hair! Don’t you know it’ll get greasy?”

The girl in the short skirt, Wei Yiyuan, sneered. “Tch—I told you to use more conditioner. Just look at that rough mess of hair on your head.”

People coming and going past the entrance cast odd looks at Wei Mingsi’s man-bun, but he ignored them completely, even going so far as to tie a pink hairband around his hair.

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