Chapter One: The Invitation

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I wonder what sort of feelings everyone would have if, after three or four years since breaking up, their ex-girlfriend suddenly reached out.

As for me, I was conflicted, my emotions tangled and complex.

That afternoon, I had just been fired from my company, and was idly passing time at home on QQ. The avatar that had remained dim in the strangers list for three or four years suddenly lit up, asking me how I was doing. This person was none other than my ex-girlfriend.

Mentioning her brings a stabbing pain to my chest. We dated for three years in high school and continued for a year in college. At the end of our freshman year, she vanished from my world without a single word.

It took me three years to finally blur her presence from my heart.

"I'm doing well, thank you for your concern. How about you?"

I forced a smile, unwilling to lose face, unwilling to let her know how poorly I was actually faring.

"I'm very well, I'm getting married soon. Will you come?"

Hearing this, my heart twisted painfully. Since our breakup, I remained single—not because I didn’t want to move on, but because I truly couldn’t forget her.

I suddenly found myself at a loss for words. What could this mean? My ex-girlfriend is getting married, and wants me to stand foolishly by her side, blessing her and someone else, wishing them happiness and children? That would be either idiotic or simply naive.

"I only want you to come, so I invited only you!"

She followed up with this line.

In that moment, I was completely thrown. For years, she was always on my mind. I had imagined us meeting again, her with her children, me with mine, passing each other and feigning casual greetings.

"Such an important event as a wedding—you can't treat it lightly. Are you inviting our classmates?"

My mind was a mess. The moment I saw her message, all I could think of was her, the way she looked when we were together.

Her name was Su Ying, with a devilish figure and an exceptionally beautiful face. She was the campus belle in our school.

Our relationship had made many jealous, even led to someone attacking me in secret, but I endured it all.

I gave her my whole heart, so when she disappeared abruptly from my life, it took me years to adjust.

"No, I don't want anyone else to come. Only you. Xiao Dong, do you still love me?"

Looking at her QQ message, though there were no emojis, I could vividly picture her expression in my mind. My heartbeat instantly quickened.

"Now, what's the point of saying this? You're getting married!"

"Just say whether you love me or not. Actually, I've been thinking of you all these years, but I couldn't find you!"

Lies. I was always at school, how could she not find me? Su Ying knew where I lived; it was impossible that she couldn't locate me.

"Love!"

Unable to resist the urge in my heart, I replied with a single word.

"Good, then you must come. It's been so many years since we last met. Tonight I'll bring the invitation to you myself. Wait for me at the old place!"

Before I could reply, her avatar dimmed again.

Staring at her faded avatar, I suddenly wanted to cry.

Perhaps it was the sting of unemployment, at my lowest point, her greeting arrived, just like after my failed college entrance exam years ago. Her voice was as clear as ever in my ear.

But this time, it was her wedding. Perhaps this would be our last meeting. My heart felt as if cut by knives.

Yet that evening, I still went out early, skipping dinner at home, telling my family I was working overtime, and donned my cleanest shirt, suit, and leather shoes before heading out.

After graduating college, I returned to our hometown, working at a small company there.

The "old place" Su Ying mentioned was a small grove outside our high school campus. Five or six years ago, we often met there; it was where we shared our first kiss—and many other “firsts.”

At nine o'clock that night, I arrived, having grabbed a bite on the way, and walked into the grove filled with memories. I hadn’t been there for several years, and the changes were striking—the saplings had grown, and many had been cut down.

Leaning against a tree, my mind flooded with memories.

I don’t know how much time passed before a cold wind woke me from reverie.

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“Xiao Dong.”

A voice sounded behind me.

I dared not turn around; hearing that voice, I was too choked to speak, tears swirling in my eyes.

“Xiao Dong, thank you for coming.”

“It’s nothing. Congratulations in advance on your wedding!”

Still, I didn’t turn, but I could feel her hand touch my waist—cool to the touch.

“You…”

Just as I was about to speak, she hugged me from behind, just like she used to in that grove.

“Xiao Dong, if you truly still love me, you must come!”

I said nothing, only feeling a strange sensation. I don’t remember how I got home that night, but when I finally came to, I was lying in my bed, and on my desk lay a red invitation.

This invitation was unlike any I’d seen before. I’d received wedding invitations from friends, but none like this.

It felt soft in my hand, almost like leather, and the writing was jet black.

Holding it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, but I opened it anyway, and was instantly stunned—on the invitation, the groom’s name was written, in traditional characters: Yang Dong.

I was dumbfounded!

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

I kept thinking of Su Ying, recalling her voice in the grove, and realizing I hadn’t even turned to see how she looked now.

All that remained in my mind was her voice, and the feeling of her embrace.

Early the next morning, I got up—not for work, but to look for a job.

I didn’t want to worry my parents with news of my unemployment.

First, I went to the job market, interviewed for a few positions, left my contact info, and wandered the streets. By noon, the weather was getting hot, so I grabbed a bowl of noodles and entered Xinhua Bookstore.

I felt out of sorts all day, as if something was following me. Even at lunch, I barely ate, and after a morning of walking, I wasn’t hungry.

In the bookstore, I picked out a few psychology books. Just then, an old man in sportswear stood beside me, unmoving. I looked up to find him frowning at me.

“Young man, disaster is about to befall you!”

I looked around, confirming he was talking to me, put down the book, and smiled. “Grandpa, this isn’t the bridge, and I don’t have any money.”

Back when I was a student, I often ran into fortune-telling old men on the bridge, who would say disaster was coming and that paying them could avert it.

“Heh, you misunderstand. I’m not one of those charlatans. Just now, standing over there, I sensed a heavy aura of darkness around you, and your brow is shadowed—signs of ghostly energy entering your body. Have you recently felt confused, or done something you can’t recall? Or met a stranger, received something unusual?”

He stroked his beard as he asked.

Thinking carefully, I realized there was indeed something—my ex-girlfriend’s sudden appearance last night, and my complete lack of memory of how I got home.

I only wanted someone to talk to, so I recounted last night’s events to him.

He chuckled, then led me to a spot where we could sit and read.

“Show me your hand.”

I forced a smile and extended my hand.

He grasped my arm, and instantly I felt a sharp pain in my waist and head, as if the world was spinning.

“I…”

He let go, and it took me a while to recover.

“It seems your ex-girlfriend intends to bring you to harm. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have absorbed half your life force and replaced it with ghostly energy to balance the yin and yang in your body.”

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I was bewildered, not understanding a word.

“Did you promise her anything?”

“I promised to attend her wedding!”

Wedding?

The old man pondered for a moment, then asked, “You said she gave you an invitation last night?”

I nodded.

“You opened it?”

I nodded again.

Suddenly, the old man stood, his face showing terror. “This is bad…”

I was confused. How could opening an invitation be bad? Wasn’t it just a wedding invitation?

“Do you know what that thing is?”

I shook my head.

“Here, go home and use this vermillion pen to mark the invitation—you’ll see for yourself!”

He hurriedly pulled out a small vermillion pen from his pocket and handed it to me.

Staring at the tiny pen in my hand, I was truly baffled.

“Ah, I blame myself for being a step too late. Young man, tonight you must take the invitation to the grove. I’ll go prepare some things. At six in the afternoon, remember to call me.”

He handed me a card—like a business card—then got up to leave quickly.

“Sir…”

“Young man, everything will be clearer once you see the true nature of the invitation at home. If you believe me, call. If not, just ignore this.”

“But you will believe me, eventually. Tonight, I’ll explain everything.”

With that, he rushed out of the bookstore.

I sat there, speechless, still dazed.

Looking at the card in my hand:

“Changsheng Agency, Chengdu Branch, Chen Chuyi. Services: exorcism, demon suppression, fortune-telling, marriage, funerary rites. Contact: 150XXXXXXXX.”

I smiled bitterly, looking at the miniature vermillion pen, feeling a vague sense of unease.

After all, Su Ying’s appearance seemed too sudden, and the invitation felt different from those I’d received before.

I didn’t think too much, slipped the card and pen into my pocket, and left the bookstore, heading straight home.

Upon opening the door, I was hit by a smell like burnt pork. At my desk, the red invitation was now covered in countless small spots, freckle-like and glaringly obvious.

A wave of unease swept over me; the burnt pork smell was coming from the invitation.

Quickly, I pulled out the vermillion pen, holding it in one hand and the invitation in the other, and carefully dabbed the pen onto the invitation.

Instantly, as if by magic, the vermillion ink was absorbed completely, and the invitation in my hand transformed into something like pigskin—thin, with clear contours.

Ah!

My scalp tingled with terror, and I immediately flung the invitation out the window!