A Secret (GL) - Chapter 20

Warm, moist, and a little viscous.

Gu Shuge’s eyes widened in shock.

The door was opened from the outside, and a female voice drifted in: “Chairman, you called for me.”

Shen Juan immediately snapped back to her senses and said composedly, “I pressed the buzzer by mistake. You may go.”

The board secretary saw the blood on Shen Juan’s hand and exclaimed in alarm, “Your hand is cut! I’ll go get the first-aid kit.”

“No need.” Shen Juan steadied her nerves, gave the girl a small smile, and said, “It’s a minor wound. I’ll wipe it myself. You can go now.”

The girl looked like she wanted to insist, but although the boss’s tone was easygoing, it clearly brooked no disobedience. She had no choice but to withdraw.

Gu Shuge felt a bit lightheaded. Seeing Shen Juan cut her hand just now, she had been too panicked to notice anything else. Now that the panic had passed and her attention was focused on the finger, seeing Shen Juan’s blood triggered an intense, overwhelming hunger in her stomach.

So hungry, Gu Shuge thought. She stared unblinkingly at Shen Juan’s finger, her “mouth” practically watering.

“How did you suddenly manage to touch me?” Shen Juan asked the moment the door was closed.

Gu Shuge was in a state of primal haze. She could still think, but the lure of the blood was like water to someone who had been stranded in the desert for three days without a drop—completely irresistible.

She heard Shen Juan’s question and replied, “I could just suddenly touch you, I don’t know why either.” Her gaze remained fixed on the finger, and her body instinctively leaned down. The tip of her tongue brushed the wound; she didn’t suck, but instead tried her best not to irritate the cut, licking it with extreme care.

The taste of the blood dissolved on her tongue. Strangely, there was no metallic tang, but rather a sensation like drinking warm water on a winter day. It felt cozy, sliding down her esophagus and settling in the pit of her stomach.

The hunger was appeased. A wave of heat rose from her abdomen and spread throughout her body—it was incredibly comfortable.

Shen Juan’s hand gave a tiny tremor. Gu Shuge, already tense and afraid of hurting her by touching the wound, blurted out, “D-don’t move.”

Shen Juan truly went still and did not withdraw her hand, as if she could actually hear her.

Gu Shuge let out a soft sigh of relief and licked again, very cautiously, like a small animal affectionately licking its master’s hand without causing pain. The blood on the finger was quickly licked clean, and miraculously, no more new blood flowed out.

Gu Shuge felt a toasty sensation spread from her throat to her stomach and outward. Her soul-form felt nourished; she looked down at her hands and noticed they seemed less transparent.

A moment later, the heat faded, and everything returned to normal.

Gu Shuge was dazed, not understanding why such a change had occurred.

She looked at Shen Juan. Shen Juan’s expression was a bit unnatural; she had turned her head to the other side, staring out the window in silence.

Gu Shuge blinked, only then remembering that Shen Juan couldn’t see her. She said softly, “How strange. I could suddenly touch you, and suddenly I really wanted to…” She trailed off, feeling a delayed sense of terror. Being a ghost was one thing; after all, she had Shen Juan, so the heart demons didn’t dare manifest to delude her, and she wouldn’t harm others or become a fierce spirit.

But now, she actually found fresh blood delicious.

“Xiaoge,” Shen Juan called her name.

Gu Shuge answered, and then she noticed that Shen Juan’s face was slightly flushed.

“Are you hot?” she asked with concern.

Shen Juan, unable to hear her, continued to herself: “We need to figure out why you could suddenly touch me.”

Gu Shuge’s attention was diverted.

“I think it’s the blood,” Shen Juan continued, her gaze slightly downcast. “My finger was cut and bleeding. The place you… just now… touched happened to be the wound where the blood was flowing.”

Gu Shuge nodded; she thought so too. Then she noticed that as Shen Juan finished the sentence, her face grew even redder. Her phrasing was also a bit unnatural—there was a slight hesitation when she said “touched,” though the rest of the sentence was smooth.

“Are you really okay? Maybe we should turn down the heater a bit?” Gu Shuge grew more worried. Indoor temperatures in winter could easily become too high.

“Let’s verify this theory first,” Shen Juan said, her gaze soft.

Gu Shuge was suddenly moved. Sister must be so happy because I can touch her now. She was suddenly filled with strength. Since she could touch her sister now, maybe one day she could even let her see her.

Gu Shuge felt that being a ghost was actually a state with a bright future and a lot to look forward to.

Shen Juan leaned over to pick up the broken porcelain. Seeing this and guessing her intent, Gu Shuge cried out, “Don’t!”

Shen Juan’s blood had dripped onto the floor. Gu Shuge quickly dipped her fingertip into the blood on the ground and then tapped twice on the back of Shen Juan’s hand.

She touched her again.

This was the second time Gu Shuge had touched Shen Juan, but she still couldn’t stop the surge of joy. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Shen Juan—blood really could be used as a medium for touch.

The taps on the back of her hand felt a bit ticklish. The blush that had just receded from Shen Juan’s face returned slightly. She paused and said in a steady voice, “It seems blood can be used as a medium to touch things.”

Gu Shuge agreed.

“In that case, you can use blood to write, and we can finally have a dialogue,” Shen Juan added.

Gu Shuge nodded.

She dipped into the drop of blood on the floor again. Shen Juan watched as the shape of the blood drop changed and then gradually disappeared. Gu Shuge rubbed all the blood on the floor onto her fingertip before crouching down to write on the tile.

She felt a powerful resistance. Moving her finger was difficult, like a person walking against a gale, unable to take a step. Gu Shuge used immense effort just to write a single horizontal stroke, but the blood on her finger wasn’t enough to complete a second stroke.

Although they didn’t speak, Shen Juan could see that the single stroke was written slowly and with great difficulty, and it had ended abruptly. Blood was viscous and not ideal as “ink.”

“Wait a moment,” Shen Juan said. She made another call, instructing someone to go to the blood bank and buy several bags of blood.

The person receiving the order was utterly baffled, unable to fathom why the Chairman wanted blood bags, but he quickly drove to the blood bank anyway.

While waiting for the blood to arrive, Shen Juan continued cleaning the shards. Her wound had stopped bleeding; it didn’t hurt as long as she didn’t touch it. She worked efficiently and soon picked up all the large pieces. There were still some tiny fragments that required a broom.

She sat to the side and stopped touching them.

Gu Shuge sat beside her. She felt very uneasy. On one hand, with the blood bags, communication with her sister would no longer be a problem. On the other hand, she was a bit afraid—she actually craved human blood. It was terrifying.

She recalled a saying she had heard as a child: You shouldn’t feed a guard dog chicken bones, because once it tastes the deliciousness of the chicken, it will become addicted and might start chasing and stealing the live chickens in the yard.

She was worried she would become that “dog that has tasted marrow” and become dependent on the deliciousness of human blood.

She had only been a ghost for nine days; the moral values of human society were still deeply etched in her bones. Just imagining herself drinking fresh human blood made her skin crawl.

Am I going to fall from a spirit into a monster? Gu Shuge thought mournfully.

“Are you nervous?” Shen Juan asked.

Her sudden voice startled the already anxious Gu Shuge, who stammered in reply, “N-nervous.” She also felt very guilty; she didn’t dare tell Shen Juan that she had just “drunk” her blood.

She knew Shen Juan wouldn’t hate her, but what if she found the behavior ghoulish and became afraid of her?

But not saying anything felt dishonest.

Gu Shuge was torn, hesitating over whether to tell Shen Juan about it.

Shen Juan appeared much more composed. She stood up, poured a glass of water, took a sip, and then comforted her warmly: “Don’t be nervous. As long as we can communicate, things will be easy. In a bit, we’ll write on the coffee table.”

The coffee table was made of glass; the surface was smooth and offered less resistance, making writing easier than on the floor tiles.

Gu Shuge was affected by her composure. She took two deep breaths and nodded. She decided that when they got home tonight, she would tell her sister about the lure of human blood.

Somehow, even though she had just been worried Shen Juan would be afraid of her, after that single word of comfort, she felt that Shen Juan might not only be unafraid but might even buy blood from the bank just to “feed” her.

It was a terrifying thought, yet thinking it made Gu Shuge smile.

Nearly an hour later, the blood bags arrived.

The person handling the task was thorough. Since Shen Juan hadn’t specified a blood type, he bought one of every type, except for the rare RH-negative “panda blood” which was hard to find on short notice.

When Shen Juan received the blood, she locked the office from the inside. She took a cup, cut open one of the bags, and poured it in. The metallic scent of blood filled the room; it was quite pungent. Shen Juan furrowed her brow almost imperceptibly, but a moment later she returned to normal, showing no signs of discomfort.

Gu Shuge’s nervous tension had frozen the moment the blood bags were brought in. She felt something was wrong—because looking at this blood, she didn’t feel that “delicious” craving at all.

This blood held absolutely no attraction for her.

“Xiaoge, come here,” Shen Juan called.

Gu Shuge steadied her nerves, thinking that even if she didn’t want to “eat” it, she could still use it. She walked over and dipped her right index finger into the cup. Then, she saw her finger submerge into the liquid, while the surface of the blood remained perfectly still and undisturbed.

She couldn’t touch this blood.