The weather was pleasant, with half the sky painted in evening glow.

Ji Tong emerged alone from the school cafeteria, heading toward the classroom. Suddenly, a black butterfly appeared before her eyes, slowly flapping its wings before finally landing on her shoulder.

Ji Tong looked at it with delight, knowing this was He Feng. He had mentioned the night before that to avoid her frequent distraction, he could remain by her side in the form of moths, insects, or birds in the future.

The butterfly wings were quite large, black with green patterns – rather beautiful indeed.

“Let’s head back to the classroom in a bit.”

Ji Tong strolled to a secluded pond area. The black butterfly flitted around her, and Ji Tong’s gaze followed it left and right in circles. “Stop teasing me. You’re making me dizzy with all that spinning.”

The butterfly settled on a leaf before her eyes. Ji Tong folded her hands and rested them on the stone railing, gazing at the lotus leaves in the pond. She let out a long sigh and said, “I really wish the college entrance exams would be over soon.” She touched the green edge of its wing with her fingertip. “Your patterns are truly beautiful.”

The butterfly remained motionless.

Ji Tong withdrew her hand and boredly looked toward the pond bottom again. “The water here is really dirty.” She watched quietly for a while. “Why does that lotus leaf look a bit reddish?” Ji Tong stared intently. “It really does look a bit red.”

Seeing it ignore her, she helplessly checked her wristwatch. “Let’s go, time to head back and do homework.”

The butterfly flew to her shoulder.

As Ji Tong walked, she poked at its long antennae. “You’re quite lazy too.”

…

The weather gradually grew colder. Ji Tong traveled back and forth between two points, living ordinary little days within an extraordinary life.

Though studying was intense in the senior year, physical education class was still mandatory. The former warm-up activities had become running drills. In the formation, one young face after another panted heavily while shouting about being tired.

There were few girls in the science class. Ji Tong was relatively tall among the girls, positioned toward the back of the female students, with male classmates behind her.

Just reaching the second lap, commotion suddenly arose from behind.

“Hey, look at that.”

“Is that a butterfly or a moth! It’s huge!”

Two sensitive words pierced Ji Tong’s ears. She immediately looked up and saw the black butterfly rapidly fluttering its wings in mid-air.

The entire class became restless. “Wow, a black butterfly!”

“So beautiful!”

Some attention-seeking boy jumped up trying to catch it. Fortunately, the butterfly reacted quickly, making a sharp turn and flying even higher.

“Class Seven, what are you doing? Want to run two more laps?” the PE teacher shouted at them. “Catching butterflies – how old are you! That kid in the yellow cap at the back – jumping so high, want to fly with it?”

A burst of laughter followed.

The butterfly flew to Ji Tong and landed on her collar.

The formation ran on, everyone continuing to whisper among themselves. “It’s so cold now, how is it still outside?”

“Never seen such a big butterfly before.”

“What butterfly? That’s clearly a moth.”

“Your family has moths this big?”

“There are even bigger ones than this.”

Ji Tong lowered her eyes and deliberately blew at the butterfly. Its antennae swayed as if in a fierce wind, and it shifted position to show its displeasure.

Ji Tong stifled a laugh, but then saw the butterfly suddenly leave her body, flying high and circling overhead.

“Ji Tong, this butterfly really likes you – it’s only flying around your head.”

“So romantic, like Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai.”

Gan Ting turned back with a reproachful look. “What nonsense, you talk too much.”

Ji Tong couldn’t be bothered with them. She looked up again, but the butterfly had flown away.

…

Starting from last week, Ji Tong no longer let Zhou Xin pick her up and drop her off at school.

First, she had He Feng’s company; second, Zhou Xin was busy with work, and Ji Tong didn’t want to trouble her with daily worries about herself. But Zhou Xin was concerned, so Ji Tong had to bring Gan Ting along, lying to Zhou Xin that someone was walking the same route.

Ji Tong became increasingly bold walking at night. She firmly believed that no matter what situation she encountered or what kind of evil spirit she ran into, He Feng would appear in time to protect her.

“Transform back. I haven’t seen you in so long.”

He Feng seemed addicted to being a butterfly, circling around her twice before taking his original form.

“Is being a butterfly fun?”

“Not bad.”

“I want to fly too.” Her peripheral vision unintentionally swept across the overpass in the distance. “What is that person trying to do?”

He Feng followed her gaze and saw a man lying on the railing, about to climb over. Like a gust of wind, he flashed over and pushed the ghost out of the man’s body with one palm strike. The ghost had an ugly face with half its scalp missing. Upon seeing it was a patrol officer, it was so frightened it turned and ran.

Ji Tong watched as He Feng chased after it. She quickly ran up the overpass, only to see the man sitting collapsed on the ground in a daze.

He Feng returned to her side. “Go home.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going after him.” As soon as he finished speaking, He Feng disappeared again.

Ji Tong poked the man with her finger. “Are you alright?”

The man lifted his eyelids, shook his head, pressed his thin hands against his temples, and knocked hard several times.

“How are you?” Ji Tong looked at his dark eye circles, pale complexion, and somewhat scattered gaze. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

The man lowered his hands, leaned his head against the iron railing behind him, closed his eyes, and said nothing.

Asleep? Or unconscious?

Ji Tong shook his shoulder. “Hey.”

The man half-opened his eyes. “I’m fine.” He supported himself on the railing to stand up, looked around, and slowly walked away. After just two steps, he collapsed face-first to the ground.

…

Passersby helped call an ambulance. Ji Tong felt relieved to go home only after seeing him taken away.

He Feng had gone to chase the ghost. Ji Tong did practice problems while waiting for him. After one o’clock, she really couldn’t stay awake and prepared to turn off the light and sleep.

As soon as the light went out, He Feng appeared before her. “A’Zhi.”

Ji Tong turned on the light, and the room returned to brightness. “Did you catch it?”

“It got away.”

“Got away?”

“Mm.”

“There’s actually one you can’t catch up to?” Ji Tong frowned. “Then what do we do?”

“I came to tell you not to wait for me.”

“You’re continuing the chase? But you’ve been chasing for so long already – can you still catch it?”

“I caught its scent. I can find it by following the trail.”

“Then be careful.”

“You be careful of everything when I’m not here. I’ll call Meng Yuan over. If anything happens, just find her.”

“Will you be gone for a long time?”

“Hard to say.”

“Alright then, hurry and go. I—” Ji Tong thought he would say a few more words of farewell, but he didn’t. Before she could finish speaking, He Feng vanished in a flash. She stared blankly at the empty room for a while before turning off the light to sleep.

…

The next evening after school, walking home and passing the overpass, a man blocked her path. Ji Tong looked up and said, “Oh, it’s you. Are you alright now?”

The man’s head was still wrapped in gauze, looking haggard. “Thank you for yesterday.”

“No need to thank me.”

“I saw it.”

Ji Tong didn’t understand. “Saw what?”

“That one in the black cloak,” the man paused, “the ghost.”

Ji Tong’s expression froze, her heart filled with shock.

“I heard him talking to you.” The man stepped down one step, moving closer to her. “Do you have yin-yang eyes?”

“…”

“I’ve been waiting here for you all day. I just wanted to ask you,” the man patted his forehead, “no, ask him for a favor.”

“What favor?”

“I want him to help me find someone – more precisely, a ghost.”

“He’s not around recently.” Ji Tong studied his weak face. “Can I ask you a few questions first?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Do you know you were possessed?”

“Yes.”

“Can you normally see ghosts?”

“No.” The man sighed. “As for why I could see him that day, I don’t know either. Maybe it was affected by being possessed.”

Passersby walked by, and the two stopped talking. After they passed, the man suggested, “Let’s find another place to talk.”

Ji Tong checked the time. “How about tomorrow? It’s getting a bit late now, and I’m afraid my family will worry.”

“Just twenty minutes.” The man broke out in a sweat from anxiety. “Ten minutes. I really can’t wait any longer. Please.”

“…”

“Please.”

Ji Tong went with him to stand by an empty flower bed, and the man began introducing himself: “My name is Yi Rui. I’m a freelance photographer. I had a girlfriend named Xiao Zhen who died two years ago.”

Ji Tong was never good at comforting people. After holding back for a long time, she managed to say, “My condolences.”

Yi Rui clasped his hands tightly together, seeming very nervous. “Xiao Zhen was six years younger than me. We’re both from Anhui. She loved photography and came here to study. We met at a photography exhibition. As we gradually got to know each other, we discovered many shared interests – photography, travel, gaming, anime, and collecting various merchandise. Later we started dating and moved in together. At the end of the year before last, we planned to go back to our hometown to get married. I had already bought the engagement ring, but she had a car accident – hit her head and died on the spot.”

His hands trembled uncontrollably, and tears fell. “For about half a year, I drank heavily every day, stopped working, locked myself in the room daily, and became ill from neglect. Can you imagine I used to be a 180-pound fat guy?” Yi Rui turned his face away and wiped his tears. “I missed her so much. I often thought about just dying to find her, but then I felt sorry for my parents. If something happened to me, they’d lose half their lives too. I couldn’t afford to die.”

Ji Tong said, “I understand you.”

“I believe there are ghosts in this world. I always feel she’s right beside me. These past two years, I’ve been to many haunted places, hoping that even if I can’t see her, I could find a ghost to ask about her whereabouts. A few days ago, I learned a method to summon spirits, but ended up summoning an evil spirit that wouldn’t leave me alone.”

“You could look for people who can communicate with spirits.”

“I tried, but after a few questions, I could tell they were just scamming for money.”

“You didn’t find the right people. There are indeed many who use this to scam money.”

“So this time I found the right person, didn’t I?” Yi Rui couldn’t control his emotions, tears streaming down his face. “Please help me. I know you can communicate with him. I can burn paper money for him – however much he wants – or provide any other compensation, as long as I can do it!”

“Then I’ll ask him for you.”

“Thank you.” Yi Rui’s hands still trembled. “I don’t know how to thank you. Just, thank you. If you need anything from me, just say it.”

“No need to thank me.” Ji Tong checked the time. “I should head home now. When he comes back, I’ll contact you. Give me your phone number.”

“Okay.” Yi Rui didn’t have paper and looked toward her backpack.

“Oh.” Ji Tong pulled out a pen and notebook, wrote down his number, and prepared to leave in a hurry. After taking two steps, she turned back to warn him, “Don’t randomly summon spirits anymore, and don’t have thoughts of suicide. Acting like this makes you easily targeted. Also, don’t tell anyone else about these things.”

“Definitely.”

“Then I’m leaving.”

“I’ll walk you.”

“No need, you go back.” Ji Tong turned and ran off. She still had to get home before 10:40, or Zhou Xin would panic again.

…

Ji Tong worried about He Feng all day. In the evening, walking home dejectedly, she suddenly saw He Feng under a tree in the distance, lecturing a small ghost. She waited for the little ghost to leave before running quickly to his side, barely containing her inner excitement as she said in a low voice, “You’re back.”

“Mm.”

“Did it go smoothly?”

“Smoothly. I went back to the underworld, which delayed some time.” He Feng wore a hat, and under the brim it was pitch black – his expression couldn’t be seen. “How have things been recently?”

Ji Tong nodded, then asked, “That ghost must have been difficult to deal with. You weren’t hurt anywhere, were you?”

“No.” He Feng suddenly spread his arms wide, the broad cloak falling behind his arms. “Want to check?”

“How would I check?” Ji Tong laughed. “I can’t touch you anyway. You take it off yourself?”

He Feng raised his hand to untie his cloak. Ji Tong quickly stood straight and waved her hands. “I was just joking.”

He Feng pulled down his hood, revealing his head and face. “You don’t need to worry about me. Ordinary people and ghosts can’t hurt me.”

“By the way, there’s something I need your help with.”

“Tell me.”

“Do you remember the man on the overpass who was possessed by that ghost?”

“Mm.”

“He found me the day before yesterday and had a chat with me. The reason he was haunted by the ghost was because he wanted to find his deceased girlfriend, so he tried some extreme methods, which led to attracting an evil spirit and nearly losing his life.” Ji Tong sighed. “When he told me about it that day, he couldn’t stop crying. I felt—”

“Ji Tong.” He Feng interrupted her, not calling her A’Zhi. “Don’t meddle in others’ affairs. There are too many helpless situations between the human world and the underworld – it’s not your place to get involved.”

Ji Tong swallowed the rest of her words and fell silent.

“Sorry, I spoke too harshly. I just hope you can live your life safely and happily.”

“I know.” Ji Tong picked at the tree bark, mumbling, “I just felt sad for him. He loves her so much, and after two years he still can’t let go. It’s too pitiful.”

“There are too many pitiful people. Are you going to help them one by one?”

Ji Tong lowered her head. “Then forget it. I’ll go decline him.” She turned around dejectedly. “I need to go home.”

He Feng followed without speaking to her. When they were almost home, he called out to her: “What’s that female ghost’s name? Birth date, address, time of death.”

Ji Tong spun around suddenly, her eyes shining. “You agreed?”

“Just this once. I won’t help again in the future, and you’re forbidden from getting involved in these matters.”

“Okay, okay, okay. Definitely.”

Yi Rui had already sent this information to Ji Tong. Back in her room, she pulled out the text message to show He Feng, but the screen light was too bright, making He Feng turn his face away. Ji Tong quickly pulled back her phone, nervously asking, “Did it hurt you?”

He Feng turned back. “No, let me see it.”

“I’ll read it to you.”

“No need, just let me look once.”

Ji Tong stepped back, dimmed the screen, and held it at a distance from him. He Feng looked for two seconds and said, “Alright.”

“You remembered it?”

“Mm.”

Ji Tong was amazed. “Do all ghosts have this ability, or is your memory exceptional?”

“My memory is exceptional.”

“That makes sense. You always had a good memory before.” Ji Tong put away her phone, happily saying, “Then I’ll trouble you with this.”

Seeing her secretly pleased expression, He Feng couldn’t help but lift the corners of his mouth slightly. “Go wash up, then study.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going to investigate that female ghost.”

“Okay.”

…

Zhou Xin came in carrying milk and saw Ji Tong put down her phone with a big smile. “What good news? You’re in quite a good mood.”

“Not really.”

“You’re grinning so wide your teeth are showing.” Zhou Xin walked to the desk, studying her. “You’re not dating someone, are you?”

Ji Tong said calmly, “No.”

“Then what are you smiling about? You look radiant.” Zhou Xin leaned against the desk. “The college entrance exam is coming up. If you want to date properly, wait until after graduation. Right now if you’re together, focus mainly on studying together.”

Ji Tong remained silent.

“There really is someone?” Zhou Xin excitedly bent down. “Are his grades good? Where does he live? What do his parents do? How tall is he? Is he sturdy? Men must be sturdy, not weak and frail. Especially in your situation – having a vigorous young man by your side would be perfect.”

Ji Tong didn’t lie. “There is someone, but we’re not officially together.”

Zhou Xin clapped her hands together forcefully. “I knew you’d been acting strange lately. I keep hearing you chattering in your room, but I don’t know what you’re saying. This morning I even mentioned to your grandmother that you might be dating someone. I was right!”

“You were eavesdropping on me.”

“I just happened to hear a few words passing by. I wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose.” Zhou Xin quickly changed the subject. “You still haven’t answered my questions. How are his grades? How tall is he? How much does he weigh?”

“He’s a very smart honor student.” Mentioning these words, Ji Tong’s smile became slightly more apparent. “Pretty tall. I don’t know his weight.”

“What does he look like?” Seeing her beaming with joy, Zhou Xin became even more curious. “Do you have photos?”

“No.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“Really, I don’t.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll wait until you’re willing to show me.” Zhou Xin carefully observed her expression. “But you’re still a minor, so you need to be careful about many things. Mutual affection is good, but you should progress together. Although masculine energy is important, character is more important!”

“I know.”

“So recently when you don’t let me pick you up at night, you’re with your little boyfriend?”

Ji Tong felt her ears heat up under her stare and denied it flatly. “He’s not my boyfriend yet.”

“Okay, okay. If you say he’s not, then he’s not.”

Ji Tong arranged her books and pushed Zhou Xin out. “Go to sleep. I still have some problems to work on.”

“Want some fruit? I’ll go cut you a plate?”

“Sure.”

“How about I also fry you an egg?”

“Mm.”

Zhou Xin turned to look at her. “Having a little boyfriend really makes a difference – even your appetite has improved.” She snapped her fingers. “Wait here, Mom will have it ready in no time.”