Chapter 5: I...have a fiancé (1/2)

The sky is filled with foreboding dark clouds.

The woman in a red and golden dress is engrossed in her thoughts. She is standing right in the middle of the gate. Argh! Again, the smell of rotting eggs. It's the third time. I don't think that it's the people who are saving bathwater. I wonder if my sense of smell is screwed by Wang Mei's kick. I am going to see a doctor after meeting that old man.

I cough loudly, hoping that she will move. She doesn't pay me any attention. She is gazing at the iron gate with a vacant expression.

”Excuse me?” If she wants to admire the design, she should do it away from the gate. She is obstructing my way.

She doesn't pay attention to me at all. She keeps staring like the plain Iron Gate is of great value. Does she want to steal that door? She seems like she is from a good family. Her clothes don't look cheap.

”Hello lady, Can you move? You are in the way.”

Her eyes widen in surprise. She moves out of the way clumsily. I don't spare her another glance. But she follows me in. The heavens must be testing me for my patience these days.

The Fang main house looks simple and elegant. There is a garden with a pond full of koi fishes. It must be nice to take strolls here in the morning.

The maid leads us to the sitting room. She leaves after telling me that the old man will be here soon. The lady in red sits opposite of me, eyeing me like I have grown three heads. I ignore her and observe the painted zodiac constellations on the ceiling. I imagine the lines connecting the painted stars to make the character 'Fang'.

”What have you done to your hair and nose?” A tall man with white powder hair and wrinkled skin, dressed in a black robe, enters the room. He bangs his cane on the floor impatiently and huffs when his eyes meet mine. He takes a seat next to the lady in red.

I ignore his question. I hope to have a private chat with this old man. The lady doesn't leave. The old man doesn't ask her to go either. Instead, the old man is leaning toward the lady. Their shoulders are touching. I make a face at him. This old man doesn't know how to keep a distance from strange women.

”Is it that Wang girl's influence?” The old man snarls.

The lady taps his cheek with her long pale finger. The action is quite intimate. It's only been three years since my grandma died. He already has another woman who is even younger than his daughter in law. This old man is losing teeth, but his lower part still dares to want exercise. Is he not afraid of dying from strenuous activities?

I ignore his question again and wait. The old man flares his nostrils. The lady chuckles and playfully places a kiss on that old man's timeworn skin. I slam my hands on the table in anger.

He is surprised by my action. ”How dare you! You can't even respect your elders. You are the shame of the Fang family.”

”I am the shame, old man? You are one step away from your grave and you take another woman? It's only been three years since she died. You dare to let her shamelessly flirt with you in front of me.”

The old man turns comical, first red and then, green. He stands up in rage and slams the table just like I did a moment ago. ”Don't slander me with your lies.”

”Lies?” I laugh at his face and point at the woman. ”She even dares to kiss you in front of your granddaughter. How will you answer my grandma when you meet her? Her soul might be suffering from watching you... doing this.”

The woman giggles annoyingly. My grandfather thunders, ”I was thinking about choosing you as the Fang heir because your grandmother loved you so much. But her eyes must have been blinded to raise a snake like you.”

”Heir? Don't make me laugh. You want me to take my father's place. When the times come, it will be my brother who will become the head. You can't even raise your son right. He wants to push his responsibilities on me. That man doesn't leave the house. He doesn't want to take over the company or wipe the parasites. I know that you want me to fight those who are eyeing Fang Corporation and make it a safe position for Fang Rui.”

In my past life, that's exactly what happened. Back then, he knew about my relationship with Sung Jun. He called me to meet him and laid out the offer. He would help me break off the engagement with the Mu family's eldest son. In return, I had to take the position of the fake heir. I took the offer. It was all for nothing. I worked for nearly a decade and got nothing. I never got married or dated. I kept myself busy with Fang Corporation to forget Sung Jun and I died wishing to see him again.

The old man is whitened. He says weakly, ”My son was fine. He was bright...if it wasn't for your mother, he wouldn't have turned out like this.”

”Excuses. What's past is in the past. If one doesn't want to move on, nobody can help.” I glance at the slightly ajar door. ”That man only knows how to feel high and mighty. He never treated me as a human being. Now, he wants to use me to take his responsibilities. I don't know if there is any man worse than him.”

The door opens and a younger version of that old man walks in. His lifeless eyes move between me and her until they stop on me.

”Son, don't listen to her. This girl is vile and hateful,” He tells his son with bitterness.

My father, Fang Qi, looks at me calmly. ”You can see her?”

”My eyes are still working unlike this old man,” I reply indignantly.

”Son, what happened?”

”She can see them, father.”

”It can't be...” Old Fang stares at his son with horror in his eyes. He flops down on the chair and shakily clasps his cane like a shield. His eyes are filled with horror. The temperature in the room drops down several degrees.

”She is also...no...no...” Old Fang speaks like a broken radio, not finishing any sentences. He wobbles his head like a toy. I have never seen him like this before. Fang Qi looks like his tongue has tasted a hundred lemons all at once. His icy eyes are fixed the woman like he wants to freeze her with his eyes alone.

He hates someone more than me. That's refreshing.

”Why are you here?” He doesn't clarify who is 'them'. I wonder what this need of mystery here is. I am frustrated with their lack of words. The woman props her chin in her hand and watches us with a coy smile and a twinkle in her eyes. He wrinkles his nose.

”Will anyone cares to explain?” I ask impatiently.

Nobody pays attention to me. This woman and Fang Qi are having a staring war. Old Fang keeps opening his mouth and then, closing his mouth dramatically. The woman is the only one who is enjoying this drama.

”Should I tell her?” She bats her eyes coquettishly.

”Leave.” The iconic one-word reply laced with abhorrence and rage. I am too familiar with this tone.

”I don't want to.” She lazily stretches her arms like a cat. ”You don't care about me, Little Qi. I had to sleep on the street because of that shaman pest. It's been so many days since I had a good sleep.”

”I will call that pest now if you don't leave.” The black lines on the face of 'Little Qi' get darker.

”You are too cruel. It's better if I show her. It's faster that way.” She puckers her lips.

”Just tell me already.” I lose my temper and shout.

”I am going to call him.” He takes out his phone. The woman furrows her delicate brows and stomps her feet on the ground. I wonder whom he is calling.

”I am not leaving.” The woman suddenly runs to him. She shoves him away from Old Fang. She bends her waist and plunges in her head in the chest of Old Fang.

My eyes must be playing tricks on me. I need to see a doctor. My nose smells rotting eggs and eyes see strange things.

I don't know why. I wrap my arms around her slim waist tightly. I am slammed with the smell of dead mice. I ignore the feeling of touching a slippery cold python. I pull her out. Her head comes out without any difficulty as it has never been in there.

”Let me go, you stinky girl!” The woman screams and wiggles in my arms. Her back feels like a flat block of ice against my chest. I feel goosebumps all over my body. I have the urge to throw up. I let her waist go and run away from her.

”How come you are not scared? Your father wet his pants when he saw me like that.”

”Lady, What the hell are you?” I can't forget that feeling of hugging a snake drenched in poop.

”Your reactions are so...” She wraps her arms around herself. ”You even felt me up. Don't tell me that you are into women?”

I shiver when I hear her. The heavens must be trying my patience. I glance at the old man. He is watching me with horrified eyes. He mumbles something incomprehensible. I remember the awkward scene where her head was inside Old Fang's chest. It's a scene straight out of a horror movie. Seeing such things in movies are different than seeing in reality. Normal people shouldn't be able to do what she did. I forgot to be scared and tried to save that old man before I could think. I will never try to save this old man again.

I have already died once. I have accepted the fact that God exists. If God exists, other things must also exist. But, what is she?

”What are you?” My voice is low, but she hears me anyway. She lies down on the couch lazily.

”You can see the dead, Aisa...Just like me....” It's Fang Qi. I don't see the familiar hate and disgust in Fang Qi's eyes. Instead, I see pity. He said my name the first time in both lives.

I don't like it anyway. I can deal with hate. I don't want pity. Pity is worse than hate especially when it is coming from him.

”Have you lost your mind?” I ask him quietly. He's a shut-in man. He rarely goes outside. That's one of the reasons why Old Fang wants me to become the fake heir and handle the company.

The pity in his eyes is replaced instantly with the familiar expression. I think that he realizes what he has done. I wonder if he is going to cut his tongue for saying my name.

”It's up to you whether you believe me or not.” He flicks his robe and storms off.

”Aisa, please go home.” Old Fang weakly follows his son.

I guess that our conversation is over. I didn't get what I want. Instead, I found out that I can see and touch the dead.

”You don't believe me, right?” The woman is still lying on the couch like she owns the house. She might be as well be. Who knows? Both father and son's attitude toward her was unusual. I have had too many shocks today. My head is starting to hurt.

”If you are dead, why can you sleep on that couch?”

She submerges into the couch like she is taking a dip in the water. Only her head is showing. She has a proud expression on her face. I don't know how many laws of physics are broken here.

”Are you really dead?” I think that my brain is really malfunctioning. I won't be surprised if someone comes and say that I have acute schizophrenia. I have already dismissed the idea of being in a dream because of Wang Mei's painful iron kick.

”Yes.”

___

”Hey!”

”Boooooooo!”

”Stinky girl who can see dead people,” The woman in red runs around me like a little child. ”Are you not scared of me?”

”Do you know how many horror movies I have seen?” I tilt my head to the right and cross my arms. ”You are doing a poor job at being a dead person.”

”Argh!” The woman in red grits her teeth in anger. ”Those movies are stealing our thunder. Nowadays, nobody is scared. Do you know how boring it is for us, ghosts?”

”I don't want to know.” I keep walking. The unlucky thing is following me since I left the Fang main house. She is trying different antics to scare me. They are nothing but cheap parlor tricks compared to the movies I have seen in movies. ”Why are you following me?”

”Your sweet father is calling that pest.” Her lips curl downward. ”It will be difficult for me to get inside the main house again.”

”Who is this pest?”

Earlier, Fang Qi threatened this woman with that 'pest'. If that pest can scare her, I should call him too. That way, I can get rid of this chatterbox.

”He is a shaman.” She waves her hands. ”A poor one. There have been many before him, but I am not a weak ghost. The effects of their chanting only remain for a month at most. It's expected...blah blah blah ....with time, people are...blah blah blah ....culture and ---blah blah blah--- This generation even dares to speak...blah blah blah blah....in front of their grandfathers...blah...blah...blah...Nobody remembers filial piety...blah blah blah...Are you paying attention to my words?”

”No, I am not. I am starving and I am going to get food. I want to make plans for my future rather than hear a ghost lecture me on filial piety.”