Hello, Comrade. I'm Here to Marry You!

Su Zhaozhao: "???"

She looked up at Xie Huaizheng, finding this utterly incredible.

What she said made so much sense. Why did Xie Huaizheng have to kill the mood like this?

"No, that’s not what I meant. I’m saying, what are they really afraid of? Is Wang Dahua turning into a ghost scarier, or is a living person like Li Xiuhong scarier?"

’Even if a good person became a ghost, they wouldn’t be as scary as a bad person, right?’

Listening to Su Zhaozhao’s earnest explanation, Xie Huaizheng’s dark eyes narrowed, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips.

"I know. But first of all, this is a materialist world. People don’t become ghosts when they die, so your explanation is invalid."

"Of course I know that. I was just wondering... what if?"

"See? And you say you’re not superstitious?"

Having just come out of those years, many people were sensitive about such things, especially soldiers.

Su Zhaozhao didn’t want to give Xie Huaizheng any ammunition on this matter.

"I’m really not. I was just kidding. Don’t say things like that. It would be bad if someone else heard." Su Zhaozhao wished she could just clamp a hand over Xie Huaizheng’s mouth.

The truth was, Su Zhaozhao believed in the supernatural.

’After all, if this world were truly materialist, why am I here?’

’I should be back in the modern era, enjoying its advanced technology, binge-reading web novels, watching short videos, and keeping up with celebrity gossip.’

’Not living in this godforsaken corner of the Northwest, stuck in the 1980s, an era of extreme material shortages.’

’But this is something I could never tell Xie Huaizheng.’

Su Zhaozhao was so worried Xie Huaizheng would grow suspicious of her that she subconsciously reached out and grabbed his hand. "I’m not superstitious, really. I was just kidding. You have to believe me."

Seeing her so anxious and fearful, Xie Huaizheng recalled his original intention. He had only wanted to distract Su Zhaozhao and stop her from dwelling on Wang Dahua’s death in sorrow.

So he had deliberately used another topic to shift her focus.

It seemed he had succeeded.

Su Zhaozhao wasn’t thinking about that matter anymore.

However, she was now caught up in a different problem.

’She’s afraid of me. Because of my casual remark, she’s now worried to death. Is she afraid I’ll report her for being superstitious?’

’Never mind that things are gradually opening up now; even before, I would never have done something like that.’

’She doesn’t trust me enough. She’s actually worried I’ll report her?’

’Is there really so little trust between us?’

At this thought, a surge of anger suddenly welled up inside Xie Huaizheng. He couldn’t help but reach out, grab her hand, and pull her under a large, nearby tree.

The tree was huge and its leaves were dense. At that moment, the two of them stood beneath it, completely hidden by the shadows of its foliage.

Even if someone walked by, they would never notice anyone hidden at the base of the trunk.

Su Zhaozhao was startled by Xie Huaizheng’s actions. ’No way...’

’Does he think I’m superstitious, so he deliberately brought me under a tree to test my courage?’

She had heard before that the base of a tree was a gathering place for beings from that other world.

So, under normal circumstances, people tried to avoid standing under trees, especially late at night.

’And with just the two of us here at night, it’s even scarier.’

Xie Huaizheng pinned Su Zhaozhao against the tree trunk, his hand gripping her chin.

"Do you know what kind of tree this is?"

Su Zhaozhao shook her head.

"A locust tree," Xie Huaizheng said with a low chuckle. "Do you know the folklore associated with locust trees?"

Su Zhaozhao had read her fair share of horror stories, and hearing Xie Huaizheng’s words, she suddenly recalled the novels she had read before.

’Peach trees ward off evil, while locust trees gather yin energy...’

’They’re much scarier than ordinary trees.’

’In other words, by staying here, we’re being watched by lots of little spirits.’

Out of fear, Su Zhaozhao’s hands uncontrollably wrapped around Xie Huaizheng’s waist, clutching his shirt tightly.

Xie Huaizheng felt how tense the girl in his arms was. ’She really believed what I said, didn’t she?’

"Can we go somewhere else? This place is terrifying."

’This place is so scary, and so dark.’

’I can’t even see his face anymore.’

If they were out on the road, even without streetlights, the sky here was so full of brilliant stars that the moonlight was enough to see a person clearly.

But not here.

Here...

Su Zhaozhao could only feel the man in front of her with her hands. She could make out his tall silhouette but couldn’t see his face.

Her heart began to pound wildly with nervousness.

"Su Zhaozhao, are you really this scared?" The man’s husky chuckle was laced with amusement.

"Of course! Don’t you find any of this scary?"

"Mm, terrifying."

Although that’s what he said, there wasn’t the slightest hint of fear in his tone.

In fact, he seemed to be enjoying the sight of her being scared.

Su Zhaozhao belatedly realized something. "Wait a minute. Didn’t you just say you weren’t superstitious? Then why are you telling me all this nonsense?"

’So she’s not that foolish after all.’

Xie Huaizheng couldn’t help but let out a scoff. Then, his hand caressed her cheek. The soft, smooth feeling was so enchanting he couldn’t bear to let go.

’It feels so good to touch. I really want to stay like this forever.’

"That’s right. I’m not superstitious. You are."

"Then why are you telling me all this? You’ve heard these things too, and you don’t seem to reject them."

"So? Are you going to report me? Just like you thought I was going to report you?"

The man’s voice was low and cool as he laid her innermost thoughts bare.

In that instant, Su Zhaozhao suddenly felt rather mortified.

’So, after all this, he was angry because I thought he was going to report me?’

’Was he mad because he felt I didn’t trust him enough?’

"You brought me here just to scare me because of that?" She wasn’t stupid; she figured out the cause and effect in an instant.

"I’m your fiancé, yet you can’t even give me that little bit of trust. You thought I would hurt you. What kind of person do you take me for, Su Zhaozhao?"

Xie Huaizheng laughed in anger. His hand, which had been gently caressing her cheek, now gave it a hard pinch.

Su Zhaozhao gasped in pain and pulled away from Xie Huaizheng. "Alright, I get it! It’s just that when you questioned me like that, it scared me. I thought you hated this stuff..."

"Why would I hate it?" Xie Huaizheng said, looking up at the dense canopy of leaves overhead, which blotted out the starry sky.

It also plunged the area into complete darkness.

’I even wish that ghosts and gods truly existed in this world. If they did, would it be possible to see the people who have died?’

Once, he had sat under this very tree, time and time again.

Yet, after all these years, he had never seen a single one.

Su Zhaozhao could sense that Xie Huaizheng was now in a state of grief.

Even though she couldn’t see his face, she was incredibly sensitive to emotions.

The aura around him felt wrong.

’Is it because he’s thought of something?’

Su Zhaozhao couldn’t resist reaching out and hugging Xie Huaizheng. "You also wish you could see ghosts, don’t you?"