Chapter 2#

Homicide#

After Ye Sheng lay down on the bed, he turned on his phone and found that Huang Yiyue had switched to another number to continue bombarding him. Messages came in one after another, overwhelming him.

[Sheng Sheng, Mom has missed you very much all these years.]

[I always wanted to bring you from our hometown to live here, but it hasn’t been easy for Mom in the Xie family all these years. I try hard every day to persuade your stepfather, and it took ten years for him to gradually accept you.]

[Sheng Sheng, Mom knows I wronged you in the past. Will you give Mom a chance to make it up to you? When you come over, you will be the third young master of the Xie family. You won’t have to worry about food, clothing, or expenses, and you will even get a share of the Xie family’s property in the future. Don’t gamble with your future out of spite.]

Ye Sheng remained expressionless and continued to block her.

He never believed there was such a thing as a free lunch in the world.

Based on his understanding of his mother’s character, it would be strange if there wasn’t a trap in this. Even taking a step back, if Huang Yiyue suddenly found her conscience and wanted to atone for her sins, he had no obligation to fulfill her belated motherly love.

Ye Sheng was a premature baby. There is a folk saying “seven survive, eight don’t”, and he was born when his mother was eight months pregnant. When he was born, his whole body was blood-red with purple, his limbs were thin and small, like a monkey cub.

The old people in the village shook their heads when they saw him, saying he wouldn’t survive, and his parents didn’t want him either.

The Ye family was so poor they couldn’t even uncover the pot. The couple wanted a big fat boy who could provide for them in their old age and give them a proper burial, not a money-losing goods like Ye Sheng who was disabled and had a cheap life.

They originally wanted to bury this son alive in the back mountain, pour some soil on him and be done with it. It was his grandmother who desperately stopped them and saved him. Premature babies are generally inevitably weak and sickly, but the Ye family had bare walls. Once the couple got money, they used it to eat, drink, and have fun.

Ye Sheng relied entirely on self-healing for his illnesses. A child who had a low fever all year round actually survived, which could be called a miracle.

The only person who gave him warmth when he was a child was probably his grandmother.

Only his grandmother would stay by his side when he was sick, brewing medicine for him and shedding tears of distress.

And in the second month after his grandmother died, the old man appeared in his world.

Ye Sheng had no feelings for his dead father, nor for his remarried mother. Now that his grandmother was dead and the old man had left, he was all alone, an orphan.

After simply replying to the blessings of a few high school classmates, Ye Sheng turned off his phone and planned to sleep.

In the darkness, slight sounds of tossing and turning came from the upper bunk.

Sure enough, how could a noble son like Ning Weichen get used to sleeping on this cold and hard train sleeper.

Soon, the sound of knocking on the railing came from above, and Ning Weichen’s muffled voice sounded in the darkness: “Ye Sheng, are you asleep?”

Ye Sheng didn’t answer him. He had a good memory and never forgot what he saw. He entered the phone number Ning Weichen had left him before into his phone, and then sent a message.

[Not asleep. But keep your voice down, there are others in the carriage.]

Ning Weichen saw the message and indeed shut up obediently, acting coquettishly with him on the phone.

[What to do, I can’t sleep.]

Ye Sheng: [Listen to songs if you can’t sleep.]

Ning Weichen: [So heartless, brother. Do you really not want to chat with me that much?]

Ye Sheng: [Didn’t we chat during the day?]

Ning Weichen: [Not enough. Chatting with an interesting person is never enough.]

Ye Sheng: [Oh.]

Seeming to sense his coldness, Ning Weichen compromised aggrievedly: [Answer three questions for me, and I’ll go to sleep and stop bothering you, okay?]

Ye Sheng looked at this message, frowned, and recalled every detail of meeting Ning Weichen on the train.

Ye Sheng replied: [What do you want to ask?]

Ning Weichen seemed to smile: [Brother, do you know that the man during the day was actually very interested in you?]

Ye Sheng rolled his eyes. That groping hand had patted his arm so ambiguously twice; he would have to be blind not to know. But he didn’t want to discuss this matter.

Ye Sheng said coldly: [I don’t know.]

Ning Weichen exposed him directly: [Liar.]

[Brother, are you homophobic? Homophobia?]

Ye Sheng was slightly stunned when he saw this sentence, his heart thumped heavily, and a chill ran down his back.

After hesitating again and again, Ye Sheng still sent a message.

This answer determined whether he would continue to have contact with Ning Weichen in the days to come.

Ye Sheng: [Yes. Ning Weichen, you aren’t gay, are you?]

Silence for a moment.

A low laugh with an inexplicable meaning came from the upper bunk.

Ning Weichen: [How could that be.]

Ning Weichen: [Of course I’m not.]

While Ye Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, he began to feel a little awkward and planned to skip this topic, but Ning Weichen seemed to have thrown away all etiquette and reserve, becoming aggressive.

Ning Weichen: [Originally, the last question was to ask if you wanted to go to the restroom together. Now I’ve changed my mind.]

Ning Weichen: [Third question: Ye Sheng, what were you thinking when you just asked me if I was gay?]

Ye Sheng was stunned, his brain crashed. He stared at the phone screen in disbelief, looking at this chat that seemed like flirting throughout, and only found it bizarre.

Ye Sheng had a special constitution since childhood, commonly known as Yin-Yang eyes. Dealing with ghosts frequently caused his emotions and desires to be thin, and he had no interest in friendship, love, or family affection in the mortal world. So he never thought that one day he would have such an ambiguous conversation with someone.

“…” Thinking what? Thinking if you are a gay with ulterior motives.

Ning Weichen waited for two minutes and sent two messages with a smile.

Ning Weichen: [So hurtful, brother. You actually think I’m nice to you for the same purpose as that person.]

Ning Weichen: [I’m a little angry ^^]

He said he was angry, but sent a sticker of a small green crocodile squatting on the ground drawing circles sadly.

Ye Sheng pulled the corner of his mouth, perfunctorily sent a “sorry”, and decided to temporarily draw a line with him.

Ye Sheng: [I think our personalities are a bit incompatible.]

Ning Weichen: [Personality incompatibility, so do you plan to ignore me in the future?]

Ye Sheng: [No. It’s just that before I go to Huaicheng, I have to find a job first, so I can’t keep chatting with you. If you are really bored, I’ll send you some mini-games.]

He randomly found a few mini-games on his phone and sent them all to Ning Weichen, hoping this guy would stop.

Ning Weichen was silent for a moment, then sent another sticker. It was a small crocodile with red eyes and tears, frowning as if it was about to burst into tears the next second.

Ning Weichen said pitifully: [Sorry.]

After saying this, he stopped talking.

Ye Sheng heard the sound of the phone being put down on the upper bunk, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and also closed his eyes to sleep.

Ye Sheng originally thought that a proud son of heaven like Ning Weichen would be angry when rejected. Unexpectedly, Ning Weichen’s performance the next day was still graceful and natural.

Ning Weichen would still smile brightly and say “Hi” to him when he woke up. But after speaking, he would sit quietly alone by the table, his straight legs crossed and extended, put on headphones, and play games by himself.

Ning Weichen was good-looking and sweet-talking. When the conductor walked to their carriage, she would stop specifically to chat with him for a few sentences, teased until her face was red and heart beating fast. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to turn her head and remind them: “Something happened on the train last night. Remember to be careful when you sleep at night.”

The conductor said: “Several people in Carriage 7 injured people with knives, although the murderers have been taken away by the guards. But this train in Yinshan has always been unsafe. You are young, be careful.”

Ning Weichen showed a smile: “Okay, thank you sister.”

On the other side.

Ye Sheng lay on the bed looking for part-time jobs everywhere.

He looked around and finally found a haunted house.

The owner of the haunted house was a rich second generation who started his own business right after graduating from university. After seeing Ye Sheng’s photo and learning that Ye Sheng was his junior, he was very enthusiastic.

[Xia Wenshi: Junior, aren’t you moving into the dormitory in June? That’s a coincidence. My haunted house is on Huaian Middle Road, only ten minutes away from the school, very convenient.]

Because of his constitution, Ye Sheng respectfully declined anything related to ghosts, but the location of the haunted house really tempted him.

Ye Sheng: [Senior, what is the shop lacking now?]

Xia Wenshi: [Lacking everything. Lacking NPCs, lacking cleaners, lacking prop masters. You can do whatever you want.]

Ye Sheng: [How much is a cleaner paid a day?]

Xia Wenshi: [No way, junior! You are so handsome and you want to be a cleaner. If you are willing to be an NPC, I will definitely buy trending searches for you and build you into a super internet celebrity. I’ve even thought of the name, called the world’s most handsome male ghost.]

Ye Sheng refused without hesitation: [Thank you senior, but I’m a little afraid of ghosts.]

Xia Wenshi: [Alright, that’s a pity. Cleaner is fine too, it’s settled then. Junior, remember to contact me when you arrive at school.]

Ye Sheng: [En.]

Actually, Ye Sheng lied to Xia Wenshi. He wasn’t afraid of ghosts at all; he was just afraid of being discovered that he could see ghosts.

Ye Sheng didn’t want anyone to know about his Yin-Yang eyes. When he left Yinshan, he had already set a broad road for his future—he wanted to take the civil service exam, become a village chief, and go back to build that backward and desolate mountain.

And Yin-Yang eyes would delay him passing the political review.

The job matter was temporarily settled. Ye Sheng moved his slightly sore neck, and suddenly his phone rang several times. He clicked it open and found that Ning Weichen had sent him several screenshots of game clearances.

The last level of Sokoban; the last level of Link Game; the last level of Super Race. Ning Weichen spent the whole morning clearing all the mini-games Ye Sheng sent him last night. Under these pictures was a cautious sentence.

[Brother, are you still angry?]

Ye Sheng subconsciously looked at Ning Weichen. The young man was wearing headphones, looked up in the thin golden sunlight of the carriage to meet his gaze, pursed his thin lips and didn’t speak. After a while, Ning Weichen lowered his head again and started sending him messages.

[I asked that question yesterday just to remind you to be careful of that person.]

[I was afraid he would hurt you.]

[Sorry.]

Ye Sheng: “…”

He reasonably suspected that this kid Ning Weichen was too bored on the journey and used him for amusement. However, Ye Sheng had solved the job problem now and was in a good mood. Thinking that they were just meeting by chance anyway, he couldn’t be bothered to expose him.

Ye Sheng sent a message: [Are you hungry? Let’s go to the dining car to eat together.]

Ning Weichen was stunned, immediately took off his headphones, stood up, and looked at him with a smile. Striding over with his long legs, his eyes seemed to flow with bright light, and he whispered: “I’ve been hungry for a long time.”

Ye Sheng raised his eyebrows: “Didn’t you eat breakfast?” He remembered that Ning Weichen woke up very early.

Ning Weichen was stunned for a while, shook his head and said: “Didn’t eat. I made you angry, couldn’t eat.”

Ye Sheng almost choked on his own saliva.

“Ning Weichen.” He called his name seriously and told him solemnly: “We only met yesterday.”

Ning Weichen tilted his head and smiled: “En, I know.”

It wasn’t meal time now, so there weren’t many people in the dining car. Ye Sheng called him over to eat to repay the dinner from yesterday; he never liked owing people things. Ning Weichen didn’t decline either, smiled obediently and said thank you, then found a place to eat with Ye Sheng.

While eating, a few people behind them were talking about what happened last night.

“Last night an old man was killed in the toilet. When he was found in the morning, both hands had disappeared, probably chopped off and flushed down the toilet.”

“It seems to be a gang robbery. There were several murderers. It was dark and there was no surveillance, don’t know if the police caught them all.”

“How could they catch them all. The robbers in Yinshan have long been famous, like rats in the gutter. The government has tried several times but hasn’t cleaned them up. They mix in various carriages, meeting them is just bad luck. If you give a lot of money, they cut off a few strands of your hair. If you give little money, they cut off your limbs. If you have no money, they want your life.”

“Damn, you saying this makes me dare not sleep tonight.”

Ning Weichen frowned worriedly after listening, and whispered to Ye Sheng: “Brother, let’s sleep early today. If you want to go to the restroom at night, you can knock on my bed, I’ll accompany you.”

Ye Sheng shook his head: “No need.”

There weren’t many people in the world who could beat him. Ye Sheng thought of another passenger in their carriage and said: “To turn off the lights early, we have to ask our roommate’s opinion first.”

Ning Weichen showed a smile: “I asked, he agreed.”

Ye Sheng’s hand holding the chopsticks paused: “You talked to him?!”

“En.” Ning Weichen crossed his fingers and propped his chin, smiling, as if claiming credit: “I also know his name is Li Jianyang, from Chonghe Village, Yinshan County. He is taking his little daughter to Huaicheng for medical treatment this time. Oh, his little daughter has suffered from a strange disease since birth, sleeping for several days at a time. The bag he is carrying is full of local specialties.”

Ye Sheng: “…You even looked at his bag?!”

Ning Weichen blinked: “Yes, am I very amazing?”

Ye Sheng: “…”

Ning Weichen rested his chin in his hands, looked at him unblinkingly, and said with a smile: “Nothing strange. I haven’t met many people who are impatient chatting with me since I grew up.”

Ye Sheng silently stuffed a steamed bun into his mouth. Thinking to himself, you’ve met one now.

When the two finished eating and returned to Carriage 44, Li Jianyang was not there, leaving only the child sleeping on the bed. The baby girl’s face was red and crumpled into a ball. If her nose wasn’t moving, she would look like she was dead.

What happened last night made the whole car uneasy. Ye Sheng specifically went online to search for this train.

After he searched, his face wasn’t too good either.

Train 1444 had poor security, and incidents of hacking and robbery often occurred.

Yinshan was remote and poor, and this group of villains had long been desperate. Their most notorious trait was their cruelty; after robbing, they always had to cut off something as a souvenir.

At this time, Ning Weichen took off his headphones and shared a relatively old news story with him.

“Brother, this train is really unsafe. It seems to be haunted too.”

Ye Sheng’s gaze fell on his phone, stunned.

This was a murder case that happened in their carriage.

The deceased was a newly pregnant woman named Xiao Fang. Thirty-five years ago, Xiao Fang took the train to find her husband in another place, but was humiliated by a man in the same compartment until she miscarried and died in the toilet.

That year, this heinous rape and murder case shocked the whole country, and the murderer was sentenced to death. But after Xiao Fang died, strange things happened from time to time in this Carriage 44.

Sometimes it was the sound of dripping water from the toilet; sometimes it was the faint singing of a woman in the middle of the night.

Ye Sheng frowned tightly.

Ning Weichen stared at him for a while, lowered his eyelashes and whispered: “I… am a little afraid.”

Ye Sheng: “Are you afraid of robbery or ghosts?”

Ning Weichen: “Afraid of both.”

Ye Sheng comforted: “Nothing to be afraid of.”

Ning Weichen stared at him, hesitating to speak, his beautiful eyes full of pitifulness. Ye Sheng could guess what this kid was planning. He wanted to sleep with him, but didn’t dare to ask because of his homophobia.

Ye Sheng thought to himself, asking is useless, I won’t agree anyway. But being stared at by Ning Weichen for a long time, he still sighed faintly in his heart and took off a fish scale necklace from his neck.

“This is for you, a talisman, it has been blessed. Wear it to sleep.”

Although Ye Sheng disliked the aggressiveness Ning Weichen inadvertently revealed last night, after spending the whole day together, he could still feel that Ning Weichen’s nature wasn’t bad.

This was a young master from the capital, wealthy family, sick in the head, who liked to explore the hundred thousand mountains.

Perhaps the proud children of heaven who grew up with thousands of loves are all like this.

Because they don’t lack love, they have a steady stream of enthusiasm and courage, shining on anyone like a little sun.

Ning Weichen looked at the fish scale, stunned, and asked subconsciously: “What about you if you give it to me?”

Ye Sheng said lightly: “I’m not afraid of ghosts or robbery.”

Ning Weichen still frowned.

Ye Sheng: “Take it or leave it.”

Ning Weichen hurriedly said: “I want it.” He held the fish scale tightly, lowered his head and rubbed it with his fingers for a while, then looked up and smiled: “Thank you, brother.”

Ye Sheng was expressionless and finally spoke: “Ning Weichen, promise me two things.”

Ning Weichen: “You say.”

Ye Sheng: “One, call me by my name; two, stop saying these mushy words.”

Ning Weichen was stunned for a while, couldn’t help licking his teeth, smiled casually, nodded and said: “Okay, I know.”