Married to the Grim Reaper Against My Will

Your brother is very kind

For the rest of the journey, Ji Mian clung to him almost the entire time. Jiang Wang, no longer his usual cheeky chatter, was eerily quiet, even his gait was stiff.

Finally, they arrived at Building 11, and Jiang Wang actually felt a sense of relief.

"Alright, let's go up."

Jiang Wang gestured with his chin towards the building entrance.

Ji Mian wasn't as scared as before. She released Jiang Wang and glanced towards the building entrance. The entrance was dark and gaping, like the gaping maw of a monster.

She hadn't felt this way before, but once those terrifying images materialized, she couldn't help but recall them. Ji Mian stood still, hesitated for a moment, and asked softly, "Does Coco live with you?"

"Yes."

"Could Coco stay with me?"

"You'll have to ask Zhang Coco. Asking me won't help," Jiang Wang said, then laughed, "Why are you asking me? Do you want me to stay with you?"

Ji Mian: ...

As she spoke, Ji Mian received a message from Coco.

Coco: [Are you asleep? I'm done, I'll be back in half an hour.]

Ji Mian's eyes lit up as if she had grasped a lifeline, and she quickly replied: [No, I'm not asleep yet.] Zhang Keke simply called, "Are you waiting for me? I'm still at least half an hour away."

"Yes, I am." Ji Mian thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Keke, can you stay with me?"

"What?" Keke laughed, "Are you in love with me?"

"I'm a little scared."

"What are you afraid of? Didn't you live alone before?"

Ji Mian glanced at Jiang Wang, covered the receiver, and lowered her voice, "Someone deliberately scared me."

Jiang Wang raised an eyebrow, seeing her cautiously complaining look, and couldn't help but curl his lips.

Zhang Keke shouted, "Who's so mean, staying up so late to scare a little girl?"

Jiang Wang was slightly annoyed, took a step forward, and slowly said, "Me."

Ji Mian glanced at him, turned her back to him, and didn't let him hear. Zhang Keke paused for a moment, her voice becoming more serious. "Was that Jiang Wang just now? Mianmian, how did you end up with him?"

"No...we didn't get together."

Jiang Wang was annoyed and shouted, "What? What's wrong with getting together with me? Am I not good enough for him?"

Ji Mian was surprised. Was this person's hearing that good?

"Don't you know whether you're good enough or not? Stop bullying Ji Mian. We're not the same person." Zhang Keke challenged Jiang Wang over the phone before comforting Ji Mian, "Wait for me, I'm packing my things, I'll be there in half an hour."

After hanging up, Jiang Wang was a little dissatisfied and asked, "How are we different?"

Ji Mian didn't speak, her hands clasped together, standing quietly.

Jiang Wang glanced at her. She was small, her body encased in a clean, oversized school uniform, looking pitifully thin. The zipper of her coat was neatly zipped up to the top, the raised collar concealing her sharp chin, making her face appear even smaller, probably no bigger than his palm. Her smooth black hair was tied in a high ponytail, her gaze pure, her lips slightly pursed, seemingly not wanting to acknowledge him. The warm yellow light of the streetlamp fell on her plain face, making it appear almost translucent.

Overall, she looked frail; he could probably poke her and she'd cry for ages.

“What’s the difference?” he clicked his tongue. “You’re a woman, I’m a man.”

“You’re short, I’m tall.” He said, deliberately looking down at her with a sly grin.

“You’re small, I’m big.”

“You’re soft, I’m hard.”

Ji Mian: …

“Damn. I mean you’re soft, I…” Jiang Wang was at a loss for words, unable to think of any other antonyms, and cursed angrily, “Fuck.”

You’re soft, I f**k? Ji Mian was about to collapse, her face flushed red. She said anxiously, "Can you please stop talking?"

"Damn it, forget it. Just wait." Jiang Wang angrily scratched his hair and squatted down on the curb.

Ji Mian stood to the side, her small frame ramrod straight, like a little poplar tree.

The two of them, one standing and one squatting, waited quietly by the roadside for a while. Jiang Wang habitually took out a cigarette and lit it. Before he could do anything, Ji Mian whispered, "Don't smoke."

Jiang Wang didn't move. After a moment of hesitation, he finally took the cigarette down. He twirled the cigarette between two fingers, tilting his head to look up at Ji Mian.

"What the hell did I do to deserve this? I'm stuck here feeding mosquitoes, and I can't even smoke!"

Ji Mian explained seriously, "You're just trying to scare me."

Jiang Wang: ...

Ji Mian looked down at him. He was hanging his head, venting his anger by clutching a cigarette. All she could see was his messy short hair, as bad as his temper.

Jiang Wang, with his terrible temper, tormented the cigarette until it was completely worn out before finally standing up and throwing it in the trash can.

"Go upstairs and wait."

Ji Mian shook her head, not saying a word.

Jiang Wang started being cheeky again, "Are you worried about things going wrong if a man and a woman are alone in a room together?"

Ji Mian still didn't speak, her eyes lowered, refusing to look at him. Suddenly, a cool sensation touched her forehead. Jiang Wang poked her forehead with his index finger. "Why are you so careless? You've revealed you live alone again."

Ji Mian was startled by his touch and took a step back, covering her forehead.

After a moment, she recovered and replied, "You're right, we shouldn't let bad people know."

"Who are you calling a bad person? You're really arrogant, aren't you asking for a beating?" Jiang Wang looked at her with a half-smile. "If I were a bad person, I would have dragged you to the woods long ago. But luckily, your brother Wang is very kind."

Ji Mian didn't understand the "woods" reference and looked at him blankly.

Jiang Wang met her innocent yet confused gaze and felt unusually uncomfortable. He actually felt guilty? That was strange.

Well, not really. For him, seeing ghosts was commonplace, but guilt was a rare occurrence. Jiang Wang wasn't exactly an honest man, and the people around him were all quite the ladies' man; few girls were as outgoing as Ji Mian. Usually, if he told a ghost story, the girls could come up with an even more perverted one; if he told a risqué joke, the girls could respond with an even more vulgar one.

Jiang Wang scratched his chin, glancing sideways at the person beside him, feeling somewhat helpless against her. He pressed his tongue against his cheek, suddenly wondering if he should tone it down a little.

A figure appeared at the end of the road. Zhang Keke, carrying a guitar, ran up to the two of them. Before she could even catch her breath, she grabbed Ji Mian, pulling her behind her like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

Jiang Wang clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Do you think I eat people?"

Zhang Keke chuckled, "Of course! Master Wang eats people without spitting out the bones."

"If I were to eat people, I'd f*****g eat you first!"

Jiang Wang reached out to slap her head, but she dodged and kicked him, "Get lost!"

"Look at you, so ungrateful!"

The two bickered for a while before Jiang Wang left.

Watching his departing figure, Zhang Keke asked Ji Mian, "How do you know him?"

"Not very well."

"Don't talk to him anymore."

Ji Mian thought about what happened on the wasteland that day and figured Jiang Wang wasn't a bad person. "He's not that bad, is he?"

Zhang Keke linked arms with Ji Mian as they went upstairs together. "He's not really bad, just short-tempered and a bit unserious."

"Jiang Wang, he's always acting like a carefree slacker, which is very attractive to young girls. But he's quite cold inside. Girls flock to him, and they all get hurt. Being friends with him is fine, but falling for him is a no-go. Someone like him, if you do anything to him, you're guaranteed to get hurt. I can't control what others do, but I can't bear to see you get hurt right now."

Ji Mian choked for a moment, then anxiously explained, "I have nothing to do with him."

"Anyway, as long as you know what's going on," Zhang Keke chuckled, chatting with Ji Mian about Jiang Wang's gossip. "You wouldn't believe it, every time Jiang Wang goes to Tianhe Bar, he attracts a whole bunch of girls. A bunch of girls crowd around him; if you didn't know better, you'd think he was the club's most popular male escort. Seeing him go gives me a headache; he's surrounded by a mountain of unwanted suitors. Any girl who ends up with him is truly cursed."

Ji Mian silently thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

As they talked, they entered the house. Zhang Keke casually took down her guitar and placed it against the shoe cabinet on the floor.

Ji Mian, remembering that Zhang Keke had just mentioned the bar, looked at the guitar and asked, "You work part-time at a bar?"

"Yeah," Zhang Keke replied frankly, "You've seen my family's situation. Whether we take the college entrance exam or not, we can't afford it anyway."

"You can apply for scholarships."

"With my current grades, can I apply for scholarships?"

"I know you used to be a good student, and you still have time, you can try."

Zhang Keke smiled, pressed Ji Mian's shoulder, and said seriously, "Besides not having money, there are many other factors. It's not just about wanting to try."

"You still have to try," Ji Mian looked at her seriously as well, "Are you giving up before even trying?"

Zhang Keke paused, "Okay, let's try."