Chapter 2

Chen Du finished showering and changed into loungewear in the bathroom before opening the door. Steam escaped from the crack, misting Shi Li's face.
Shi Li couldn't help but curl her lips.
Dead man, why be so secretive at home?
Shi Li "leaned" against the door, watching him wash up with interest.
Chen Du took a new tube of toothpaste from the cabinet under the sink, brushed his teeth while listening to podcasts.
Good guy, it was all in English, quite impressive.
Shi Li listened for a bit but couldn't understand.
The underworld was different from the human world, with no distinction of race, country, or faith—all dead people were a mix. She was surrounded by a bunch of foreign ghosts.
Initially, she was excited and planned to make foreign friends next door—that way, she could learn English without leaving the country—she had missed the postgraduate entrance exam by 2 points in English, which was her weakest subject.
But before taking action, she suddenly realized.
Dead and still wanting to learn English?
She was really damn sick.
So the plan was shelved.
After five years of slacking off, those English words she had memorized late into the night were forgotten clean—truly, you don't bring it when you come, you don't take it when you go.
...Fortunately, Chen Du's full-English torment didn't last long.
He finished brushing his teeth, rinsed the white foam from his fingers, and silenced his phone.
The bathroom suddenly fell into dead silence.
The distant honking outside was mechanically cold, the world busier than five years ago.
Chen Du suddenly lowered his head, his palm pressed against the edge of the sink, water droplets sliding down his high nose into the sink.
In the mirror, only his dark hair and tightened jaw, he seemed to be thinking about something.
Shi Li floated behind him, inexplicably watching him.
Five years apart, why had this person become so strange, so gloomy.
How to describe it... the current Chen Du was more like a ghost than her.
Shi Li almost pressed her face against his to observe carefully.
After about a minute, Chen Du raised his head again, his fair face casting a beautiful reflection in the mirror.
He placed the black toothbrush next to the white electric one on the countertop, adjusted his position meticulously, aligning them perfectly.
They looked like two upright guards standing side by side.
He seemed quite satisfied, curved his lips, and gently touched the cover of the white toothbrush.
That touch was very gentle, like stroking someone's head.
"..."
Shit, being shown affection even after death.
Shi Li floated out of the bathroom angrily, pouting as she "sat" on the sofa, sulking.