FLWS 12

Chapter 12: You’d Better Get Ready to Be a Water Ghost

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Author: Bo He Liang Xia.
“Why are you in such a hurry to leave?” Lu Zhiqing once again hooked her arm around his, her pink lips pouting. “My brother’s still in a bad mood right now. You’d better wait a bit before you go see him.”

“Huh?” Huo Zheng raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“You made your brother angry?”

From what he knew, she shouldn’t really have the ability to make Lu Li lose his temper.

“It’s all that Mu Wanwan’s fault,” Lu Zhiqing complained. “It’s been four years already, and she’s back again—like a ghost that won’t go away. I don’t know what kind of spell she’s cast on my brother, but even after all this time, he still can’t forget her.”

Huo Zheng’s expression turned a little odd. “Mu Wanwan’s still in your brother’s office?”

Lu Zhiqing pursed her lips. “She’s gone.”

Then, realizing something off, her tone shifted, carrying a trace of accusation. “Huo-ge, you already knew Mu Wanwan was back, didn’t you?”

“Zhiqing, you should head back. We’ll talk another day.” Huo Zheng said, and before she could react, he slipped away as fast as oil on a skillet.

“What the—again?” Lu Zhiqing muttered under her breath.

Huo Zheng walked into the office and saw the man sitting on the sofa, eyes closed as if dozing. A teasing smile curved his lips.

“She’s already run off, and you’re still sitting here pretending to be calm? Lu Li, you really are full of surprises.”

Lu Li opened his eyes, his gaze cool and indifferent. “You must be awfully bored today.”

“Looks like you’re not interested in this, then.” Huo Zheng raised a brow, shaking the file folder in his hand.

“What’s that?” Lu Li asked.

“Oh, nothing too important—just some information about Mu Wanwan. But since you’re clearly not interested, I might as well—”

He turned as if to leave, but just as he took a step, Lu Li’s voice came from behind him.

“Seems like you’ll be working overtime for a while.”

The threat was blatant. Huo Zheng’s mouth twitched, and he threw the folder onto the desk in frustration.

“I must’ve owed you in a past life.”

Leaning forward, Lu Li grabbed the folder and tore it open without hesitation.

Time passed quietly. The office was eerily silent.

Huo Zheng glanced at him from the corner of his eye and rubbed his arms.

“So cold…” he muttered.

“Lu Li, looks like Mu Wanwan hasn’t had it easy these past few years.”

Her father and sister had died in a car accident on the same day—losing two family members overnight. Anyone would find that unbearable.

Lu Li’s fingers tightened on the folder, knuckles turning white. His deep eyes made it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

After a long silence, he dropped the documents, grabbed his car keys from the desk, and strode out of the office.

“Lu Li, where are you going?” Huo Zheng called after him.

But in an instant, he was gone.

Huo Zheng shook his head helplessly. “Forget it. I’ll wait until he figures some things out before I tell him the rest.”

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Evening. The sky was painted with fading clouds of red and gold.

The cemetery was quiet—somber and cold.

Withered leaves covered the ground, and the setting sun stretched the man’s shadow long across the tombstones.

Lu Li stood before two graves. On the headstones were pictures of a middle-aged man and a young girl.

The man wore glasses, with sharp brows and bright eyes—a refined and gentle appearance.

Lu Li still remembered the first time he met Mu Wanwan’s father. The encounter had been… quite dramatic.

“Mu Wanwan, you’ve really got some nerve. Who told you to go near the river?” Lu Li said, drying his hair, his school uniform completely soaked.

“If I hadn’t come by when I did, you’d be a water ghost by now.”

When he was angry, his sharp tongue was ruthless. Mu Wanwan didn’t dare talk back—especially since, if he hadn’t saved her today, she really would have ended up a ghost in the river.

She rummaged through her father’s wardrobe, then handed him a shirt with a flattering smile. “Here, this was supposed to be my dad’s birthday gift, but I bought it too small. It should fit you.”