### Chapter 270: Poor Old Yang
Old Yang, the master of sneaky texts, sent a message so discreetly that he even deleted any incriminating evidence. To ensure Lu Liangting wouldn’t catch on too soon, he set his phone to silent and muted any texts from Xia Qingrong, just in case.
Knowing Xia Qingrong’s usual antics, the moment she got that message, she’d hardly think twice about it or question its authenticity. She’d probably conclude that Lu Liangting had finally wised up and start auditioning brides for him.
In his message, he even dropped a little note saying that the girl could be anyone Xia Qingrong picked — he was game for any choice she fancied.
Oh, Xia Qingrong, not the brightest bulb in the box, but definitely someone who loves to flaunt. Once she saw that, the girls she picked would undoubtedly be closely related to her — either her friends’ kids or her cousins. After all, Lu Liangting’s family is wealthy, and marrying into that would be like winning the lottery!
The humorous part was that Xia Qingrong seemed oblivious to the fact that she had no benefits in this arrangement. According to Lu Liangting, she wasn’t exactly a catch — no good looks, no degrees, no talent, and certainly no family background. Aside from throwing tantrums over mahjong and pretending to be something she’s not, she also had a nasty habit of bullying Lu Liangting’s sister, despite having zero capital of her own.
So, in her little mind, it made perfect sense to find someone familiar for Lu Liangting as a wife. That would totally skyrocket her status in the Lu family, especially once Liangting grew up and started wielding some power.
But that wasn’t even the main point!
Old Yang created this ‘opportunity’ not out of fondness for Xia Qingrong but purely to annoy Lu Liangting. After all, didn’t that brat start this whole annoyance train first?
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth!
Xia Qingrong? Lu Liangting wasn’t fond of her at all. Bringing in some money-grubbing, morally confused girl to flatter him would definitely make him cringe real hard!
From the direction of the kitchen, Lu Liangting strolled back with a disposable cup, gently blowing off the steam from the hot tea inside and taking a sip, looking as relaxed as a cat in a sunbeam.
Seeing him like this made Old Yang want to chuckle.
“Enjoy while you can because tomorrow morning, that smile won’t be sticking around!”
“Old Yang, what’s so funny over there? Want some tea?” Lu Liangting asked, oblivious as he approached.
“Ugh, you’ve already drunk that tea and now you want to serve it to me? How gross!” Old Yang scrubbed his laughing face, glancing at Lu Liangting’s drink with exaggerated disgust.
“I wasn’t going to give it to you; I meant, do you want me to pour you a fresh one?” Lu Liangting countered with a shrug.
“What do you mean ‘of course I won’t give you this’? You think you’re better than me? Pfft! Handle your own leftovers, don’t try to gross me out. Just scram!” Old Yang swatted him away like a pesky fly. “And if I want tea, you better get me a fresh cup!”
“Alright, alright, boss. You win,” Lu Liangting threw his hands up in mock surrender. After dropping the cup on the table, he actually went back into the kitchen to pour Old Yang a new cup, with extra tea leaves for good measure.
“Here’s your tea.”
“This is more like it.” Cradling the cup with both hands, Old Yang settled into a chair with a leg crossed over the other, striking a pose that was anything but demure. Yet, somehow, this carefree demeanor made her oddly adorable, like a not-so-bright little sunshine.
Especially when she stared, wide-eyed, at nothing in particular, taking sips of tea, her petite brows furrowing every time she got a whiff of the suddenly restored smell. She’d furrow and un-furrow the same expression repeatedly, almost as if she was debating with the tea itself.
Lu Liangting, sitting opposite her and holding his tea in a similar fashion, couldn’t help but smile — that little grin creeping onto his lips.
Honestly, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Old Yang’s current body was becoming quite pleasing to the eye.
Now that he had this body, it felt like he’d been reborn halfway. Not too shabby!
That grin in Old Yang’s eyes felt like it held a twist of bitterness.
“What’s got you so amused, punk?”
“I’m not laughing!”
“You’re clearly laughing. Trying to mock me, huh? Just wait!” Old Yang shot back with a threatening tone, feeling much better anticipating what was about to unfold in a few hours.
“I’m not mocking you; I’m genuinely happy for you! Seriously, Old Yang, whether your body is male or female, it doesn’t matter. The key thing is that you’re transitioning from being a ghost to being half a human. I may never have been a ghost, but I know that living feels a whole lot better than haunting. If the living feel nothing, it’s probably because they haven’t endured the torture that comes with being an evil ghost.”
Lu Liangting set down his cup and reminisced, “I’ve helped way too many evil ghosts—men, women, and children. Any conscious evil ghost would never think that being a ghost is better than being human.”
“I remember one ghost saying that being a ghost feels like having your teeth exposed without any lips to protect them. It’s fine initially, but what happens when that stretch goes on forever?”
“Two words—excruciating agony.”
“So when I suggested you embrace your new body, I wasn’t trying to pull a fast one on you or anything like that.”
“I just figured it would help you live a little easier. You’ve had enough suffering in your past.”
“After all that torment in life, you’ve got to have a little joy in d*ath, right? At least let’s cut back on the misery.”
As Old Yang recounted his past—the one where his first love swiped his worker’s compensation and the time he had his rice cooker stolen, making it impossible for him to eat—he made it sound like a joke. Who runs away with a mistress and also steals the original recipe rice cooker?
Most of it was just Old Yang’s way of covering up how pitiful he really felt.
Instead of asking for sympathy, Old Yang preferred to share his tales of misfortune in a light-hearted manner so that others could chuckle at his absurdity.
It wasn’t about pride; she simply didn’t want pity.
After hearing Lu Liangting’s words, Old Yang’s expression softened, but his next comment nearly broke her facade.
“Hey, your new body isn’t half bad! In fact, you look way better than before — quite easy on the eyes too.”
As he said this, Lu Liangting even let out a few chuckles.
Honestly, it was true; a scruffy male evil ghost paled in comparison to a cute, energetic girl. It’s obvious which one was more appealing.
The tea in Old Yang’s hand started trembling as she took a deep breath to calm herself, constantly reminding herself that she was NOT angry. Really, no need to start a fight with this guy right now.
Not far away, Zhao Mingyue, sitting under the lamp reading, glanced up at the commotion.
She couldn’t concentrate on her book anymore and mused to Bai Yu, “Remember what I said when I came back earlier? Those two, they’ve got a thing. They used to squabble all the time, but look at them now — cozying up over tea without a single argument.”
“But I’m worrying; it’s all fine and dandy that Lu Liangting is chatting with Old Yang, but what’s going to happen when they go home? Isn’t his mom rather forceful? Is she going to let Old Yang live with them?”
“With Lu Liangting’s status as the only son and a prized heir, can you imagine how awkward that would be? Just bringing in a completely unknown girl without any background to stay? What would the family think?”
“Did he just pick up a free wife?”
“Son leaves the house, and suddenly there’s a daughter-in-law?”
“They might find out that Old Yang exists in this body and think Lu Liangting is just trying to smooth things over after an awkward night.”
“Feels like a storyline straight out of a TV drama, doesn’t it?”
“Falling from the sky, a daughter-in-law appears, with a picky, petty mother-in-law, and a clueless father-in-law. All set in a wealthy family with the male lead as the sweet yet controlling second generation — aside from the fact that he’s not a misanthropic CEO, he’s got all the tropes covered!”
“Wow, with Old Yang tagging along with Lu Liangting now, it’s practically begging for misunderstandings to brew, not to mention she might get targeted too!”
Zhao Mingyue’s imagination ran wild, and she quietly wished Old Yang luck.
Old Yang was just a ghost, not some petty schemer! How could she possibly hold her own against Lu Liangting’s family?
But Old Yang seemed blissfully unaware of the brewing storm.
“Yeah, that’s a real possibility, and reality is likely to be more intense than you’re imagining,” Bai Yu agreed with Mingyue’s insights.
Mingyue conveniently omitted mentioning the female madmen lurking in the shadows hoping to nab Lu Liangting for themselves.
Among his admirers, there were actually two crazies, one of whom was a sheer creep.
If those other female madmen found out that a ghost had invaded their territory—especially a male ghost—they’d likely scream bloody m*rder.
How could anyone be more pathetic than that?
After struggling for so long with nothing to show for it, suddenly a little male ghost swoops in?
Even a little female ghost could be tolerated, but a male ghost? What the heck?
“Forget it, this isn’t our circus, not our monkeys,” Mingyue shrugged.
As time ticked by, Old Yang took the opportunity to fire off several more texts, mainly to clarify details and avoid mistakes.
Before long, a few hours had flown by.
Breakfast was prepared by the spider. Zhao Mingyue had wanted Bai Yu to show off her culinary skills but quickly decided against it, knowing Bai Yu’s current body situation.
During breakfast, aside from Li Tianan appearing groggy, everyone else looked good, especially Little Moon.
With the ghost gate no longer affecting Little Moon, her condition was improving steadily.
Everything seemed hunky-dory, and Lu Liangting was pleased.
However, a phone call at eight-thirty in the morning hit him like a ton of bricks.
It was Xia Qingrong calling, informing him that she’d already set up a blind date for him, and the girl was about to arrive — so he’d better hurry up and get ready!
Lu Liangting’s face went blank as he hung up, immediately catching Old Yang’s smug expression, feeling enraged yet helpless.
“Ha ha ha, finally getting your comeuppance!” Old Yang cackled loudly.
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