Promises

Liu Xiaodan waited for Li Feng to puke, but he only froze before him. Because of that, he left without saying more. He figured Guangru must have done something for the wonder boy not to puke at his father's face.

He went past the dorm and saw that the crowd from behind still had not dissipated just yet. He continued outside and took a bus to the commercial district. If he walked, he might run into Chuan Nayi on her way back from jogging.

The father and son waited at the stop like everyone else. Unlike normal, Liu Xiaodan paid for two since he asked Guangru to be visible even just for one day.

They got in and picked a spot next to the window. Guangru pressed his palm against the glass, leaving a print inside. He looked up to Liu Xiaodan who gave him a small smile before the bus started. They sat together in silence. The kid was only looking out, seeing more of the city from this perspective.

Liu Xiaodan was sending a text to his bros about spending the afternoon outside the dorm. He knew they would be investigating again, but having Guangru away would be for the best.

They got off at their stop, the child hopping from one step to another as he did. Liu Xiaodan was holding his hand while his other one was occupied by Liu Heima. The father endured the cold skin of the ghost child as he brought him to the department store.

Guangru's white shirt with a ruffled middle and dark shorts were too old-looking and creepy as his father described it. He wanted to buy the child something more casual. They went to check shirts, the father being attentive like dressing up his little brother.

The mothers who saw them giggled and enjoyed the sight. Guangru stared at the ladies with a blank expression, but his father patted his head as if saying 'no.'

He thought of only buying a shirt and shorts, but the potential doting father ended up shopping for more. Having his own child to dress up was fun and had been a stress reliever for the events of the past few days. It did not matter if the cause of the stressful week was the child himself.

Guangru changed into his new clothes in the restroom while Liu Xiaodan was having lunch at a fast-food chain.

The beautiful child that looked like a ghost from old ages—was now a cute boy in a hoodie and cargo shorts. His shoes were the rubber ones that lit up when he walked. He also had a hat with a helicopter fan on top. They passed by a pet store and got a hip costume that fitted Liu Heima as well.

The overall image of the child changed, but he was happy as long as Liu Xiaodan accepted him as his own.

The child had Liu Heima on the table next to him. He was only eating the soft cream in a cup he wanted to try. Liu Xiaodan was eating a full meal, attending to his phone from time to time. He opened the camera and got the child in the frame. He did not want to press 'Capture' without letting him know. The ghost child only smiled at his camera lens, and the photo took itself.

Liu Xiaodan was surprised a little, but not because of what happened. The photo was stored in his gallery: a photo of a real ghost in modern clothes eating soft cream.

If only he could show this cute child to Chuan Nayi…

Liu Xiaodan blushed at his own thought. He felt like he wanted to show off how cute their supposed child was. The idea of getting married to Chuan Nayi came to him—as well as the memory of the kiss she gave him that night.

He exited the camera and continued to eat even with a heated face. He glanced at the ghost child who was more occupied, looking out of the glass wall. His fluster vanished and decided to stare at the child before Guangru cast his gaze upon him.

...

"It's just two. What do you want to do next, Guangru?" Liu Xiaodan asked the child as they walked along the streets. They were just taking a stroll, the cute child earning gazes from the people. He noticed how the kid made himself shrink under the eyes of the passers-by. The father then offered to carry him so they would not bother what could have been a sleeping child.

"Sorry. I just had too much fun with this." Liu Xiaodan chuckled, earning a hum from the child. He glanced at the boy and wondered if ghosts like him still get tired. It was normal for a child like him to get tired after hours of walking around.

Liu Xiaodan stood in front of the street and waited for the green light to go red. The cars were moving fast due to the absence of traffic. The people chatted while waiting until something wild started to happen.

Directly across Liu Xiaodan was a mother with a child and a bag at hand. The mother was holding her child's hand before fidgeting and letting go. She soon got on her phone, talking enthusiastically with someone. Based on what the horseman could read from her lips, they were about to meet with her.

Her daughter, who was around four, was playing with a plastic doll. Due to her forceful handling, the doll's head popped out of its neck. The head rolled to the street.

There were weak gasps, and the child looked to her right to see no cars coming. It was still green light so it was not yet safe to go. However, the child stepped into the street to retrieve the doll's head. Liu Xiaodan felt the time was slowing down.

A sports car suddenly came out of nowhere and dashed through the street. They were clearly speeding and booming loud music. The driver had spectacles on for style and was not really attending to the road but to his girlfriend. When he noticed the girl, it was too late to stop.

He kicked at the breaks, but the car was too fast to slow down. Cries of hysteria echoed, and Liu Xiaodan just had to do what he thought he should.

In a blink of an eye, the girl disappeared from the street. However, the sports car reacted like it had hit a wall. The back part flew up, and the car flipped upside down. The roof skidded through the asphalt, screeching along with the people. The mother's heart stopped as her daughter was nowhere to be found. She was scared she could have been hit by the car.

The turtle car managed to stop itself after skidding for almost seven meters away from the crossing. The passengers of the sports car were wounded, but there was no blood on the street.

Behind the crowd, the girl was standing with her doll in both hands. She looked around in confusion, only to cry out to call her mother. The people were confused, but they were happy the girl was not hurt.

Hiding from a corner was Liu Xiaodan who was taking deep breaths. Guangru was standing next to him as if waiting to be carried again. The father's chest rose and fell as he breathed aloud.

Just earlier, he felt his entire body dissolved into the wind. He managed to pick up the girl and the doll at the speed a little less than of light. He looked down at his hands and legs, which were intact again after the sudden motion.

Liu Xiaodan turned to the child. "Did you… feel that? We just… crossed six meters in less than a second…"

"I can run from your dorm to your school in a second." The child pouted without a hint of smug.

"What?"

"Didn't I tell you? I will give you a part of my power." He looked away as if sulking. "But you seldom use it."

The father remembered what his bros had seen last weekend. A ghastly form of black and white running towards the girls' dorm. It was him for real. Perhaps the same happened when he opened doors twice.

Guangru then smiled at his father as he saw his thinking face. "You don't have to be scared now, Baba. I won't let you get hurt, as long as I get born."

The father would show a relieved face, only to show how relieved he was not.

The trip soon ended when Liu Xiaodan went back to his dorm. Instead of hanging out with his father, the child ran off to the stairs leading to higher floors. For some reason, it seemed that Guangru was off to show off his new things to the residents as well.

Liu Xiaodan knew nothing about those ghosts, but he hoped they would be treating the child as a friend. Then again, he just killed two ghosts in ways that even Liu Xiaodan could not explain how.

The magic one then walked towards the girls' dorm pavilion where the horsemen were gathered yet again. The three waved at him as he got into their eyeshot. He sat down on the space allotted for him, only to notice that they had two more students with them.

Liu Xiaodan did not know whether to say hi or not; they could have been ghosts, too. Not to mention that they were wearing carton masks.

"Ay, Xiaodan, these are Wing and Kite. They look funny, but they don't want to be seen with us, so they wore masks." Wen Taio introduced the two as he noticed Liu Xiaodan making a face. "Anyway, here's the thing. They heard us investigating Chuan Nayi's case so they thought they wanted to ask for our help."

"Someone stole my ring!" The one wearing a white mask with red lines blurted. She held her hands before her chest and cried. "Please! Please! Please!"

"She said her ring magically disappeared." Xu Disung clarified for the other guy. "She said she saw a figure in black take the ring away. Wing, here, claimed that the black figure was in the form of a man. We tried looking for footages, but the hallway camera just jammed during the time of the thieving."

"He was tall and big! Big black!" The one with a white and brown mask copied the actions of Kite.

"We don't have anything to do so we just thought maybe we should take a look." Ruan Jin took a deep breath before sighing. "These girls followed us around until Taio started talking to them."

"The events last night made me believe in ghosts a lot." The bear chuckled as he scratched his head. "It's okay if you don't want to join. You seem to be busy with Chuan Nayi after all."

Liu Xiaodan's gaze zoomed in Wen Taio's wrist. He… was not wearing the bracelet. He then got up and stood in front of the two girls. All eyes were set on him, more when he took a deep breath before glaring at them. "We don't want to help you. Look for the ring yourselves."

"Xiaodan?" Xu Disung called his name.

"So mean! I thought you'd be nice!" Kite hid her face behind her hands. "So mean!"

"Guangru's father is so mean!" Wing cried.

They vanished.

"What the fuck?!" The three other guys threw themselves off the seats. They did not know whether to look around for the girls, look at Xiaodan, or slap themselves to wake up. Funny enough, the three of them did each.

"That did not happen!" Ruan Jin kept on patting his face with force.

Wen Taio ran out of the pavilion and circled around to see if they just jumped off without them noticing. Xu Disung stared at the magic one, thinking that he knew a ghost when he saw one.

Liu Xiaodan was stopped by something before they vanished. Wing mentioned Guangru's name, which meant he knew those ghosts. They could be his friends, and he just shooed them without knowing. Then again, he had no idea why he would bother even if that was the case.

The magic one groaned as his thoughts ran without permission. He lowered his head and pinched his forehead. The ring must have been very important; important enough for them to ask for help. Also, the big black figure.

If it was a ghost like them, they should have been able to deal with it themselves. They could even ask Guangru if they were friends.

"It must be human," he whispered without context.

"Oh, it is?" Xu Disung spoke loud enough to take Liu Xiaodan's attention. He noticed the magic one's lost expression. "The Guangru they mentioned, it was a human? I thought you said he was a cat…"

"N-No, the black figure. It must be human… I think." Liu Xiaodan scratched his head in conflict. He did not realize they were asking about it by then. "They wouldn't need help if it was someone they can find and touch. They know you guys can't see spirits, but you can see humans."

Liu Xiaodan noticed the silence of his bros. He stared at them before sighing, bowing in apology. "I'm sorry for keeping things from you. I just don't know if you'll be comfortable knowing things like them exist for real. I am not, and so I hid it."

While he was bowing, Ruan Jin smacked his head, soon followed by the other two. The video expert watched him complain as he lifted his face and groaned at them. He growled at the magic one. "Stupid Xiaodan! Who do you think we are, huh?!

"I don't care if it's scary as hell, but what if something happens to you!? We wouldn't know how to help you idiot!" He nodded with Wen Taio who agreed.

"You're not supposed to keep things from us." Xu Disung shook his head. He then sighed and looked at everyone. "How about we take turns and hit Xiaodan for everything he was hiding?"

"Guys, please." Liu Xiaodan sighed in defeat. He realized that certain events that had always haunted the school must have decreased their doubts. He felt stupid to underestimate them as his brothers. However, he needed to keep Guangru a secret as much as possible.

Then again, he smiled. "Thank you."

They all smiled back at Liu Xiaodan before Ruan Jin jumped at him. He grabbed the magic one into a headlock and drilled a fist into his head. Questions were drowned in their laughter as they somewhat played in the pavilion. Eyes were set on them from a distance; the certain owner biting their own lip in rage.