01

Lately, Zhang Qinghe had been feeling seriously troubled—someone was following her.

At the end of the Monday morning flag-raising ceremony, she kept glancing toward the senior class section.

Her deskmate said a couple of things to her but got no response, and asked curiously, “What are you looking at?”

She followed Zhang Qinghe’s gaze and suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! I know that guy! That’s Zai Ye, the senior who transferred here this semester!”

Walking alone at the back of his class, keeping a clear distance from everyone else, the boy stood out easily. He was strikingly handsome and tall—your eyes naturally gravitated toward him.

“You know him too?” Zhang Qinghe asked.

“Of course! My cousin’s in senior year. She said he transferred in over two weeks ago, and a ton of girls already like him.” Her deskmate couldn’t stop staring, sighing dreamily. “He’s like a character straight out of a novel—bad temper, gets into fights, total School Tyrant. Ugh, so cool. I love it!”

Zhang Qinghe thought to herself: Yes, that very popular transfer student is the one stalking me.

If it were just the stalking, he’d be nothing more than a creepy pervert. But things were far from that simple.

From a distance, that senior Zai Ye seemed to sense their intense stares and looked over, a strange irritation on his face.

“Crap, he looked over!” her deskmate whispered, instantly shrinking back.

Zhang Qinghe’s gaze calmly swept past Zai Ye’s feet. In the next second, she grabbed her deskmate’s arm and quickly pulled her back toward the school building.

Once they were out of Zai Ye’s line of sight, Zhang Qinghe steadied her breathing and cautiously asked her ever-optimistic deskmate, “Just now, did you see a little kid next to Zai Ye?”

“A kid? No, I didn’t see anything.”

As expected, another denial.

Zhang Qinghe had already tested this several times.

No one but her could see the little girl—about preschool age—who always appeared beside Zai Ye.

What started as a case of being stalked by a creepy senior had now veered into the realm of the supernatural, all because of that invisible little girl.

It all began about a week ago, when Zhang Qinghe started running into Zai Ye frequently on her way to school.

He never spoke to her, just followed from several meters behind, looking visibly irritated and conflicted.

To test if it was just coincidence, Zhang Qinghe changed her route to school. But he still showed up.

And every time she looked over, he’d awkwardly avert his gaze.

Zhang Qinghe: Definitely not a coincidence.

Every single time, the same little girl followed at his feet.

At first, Zhang Qinghe thought the girl might be his younger sister. But she quickly realized that no one else could see the child.

She once saw a passerby accidentally knock the girl over. The person glanced down in confusion, then hurried off. No one else reacted.

Only Zai Ye bent down—pretending to pick something up—and scooped the girl into his arms, letting her climb onto his back.

Who could understand this? The girl was even wearing a red dress that day.

A little girl in a red dress clinging to someone’s back, completely unnoticed by others—classic horror movie material.

Once she noticed the strange presence around Zai Ye, Zhang Qinghe started seeing him all over campus. And always, always with that unnervingly vivid little girl.

During PE class, she’d glance over and see Zai Ye standing under a tree, glaring at her like he was ready to fight someone, twisting the cap of his water bottle until it cracked.

Beside him stood the little girl, staring at her just as intently.

In the cafeteria, Zai Ye would scan the crowd until he spotted her, then casually sit nearby, eating while throwing tense glances her way, brows furrowed.

The little girl would sit in his lap, resting her chin in her hands, watching her too.

Because the second-year and third-year classrooms were in buildings that faced each other, and their classes happened to be directly across, every time Zhang Qinghe turned her head to look out the window, she could see Zai Ye sitting by his window—and the little girl beside him.

Zhang Qinghe had to summon every ounce of willpower she had to pretend she didn’t see them.

The books said it clearly: when you see something like that, you must act like you didn’t.

Once a top student known for her focus and diligence, Zhang Qinghe had been zoning out in class for days, pondering whether there was a scientific explanation for ghosts.

If she had to call the police, how would she even begin to explain?

She’d even started researching supernatural phenomena, learning all sorts of things she used to scoff at.

Back in class, her deskmate and the girl behind them were chatting excitedly about Zai Ye, treating him like some fictional bad-boy love interest.

Meanwhile, in Zhang Qinghe’s mind, Zai Ye had already become a dangerous man who kept a ghost child.

As her classmates indulged in their youthful fantasies of high school romance, Zhang Qinghe was seriously, solemnly worrying about her own safety.

She wondered, was Zai Ye following her because her birth date and time had some special significance?

Was this seemingly peaceful campus about to become the site of a supernatural murder case?

.

Watching Zhang Qinghe disappear into the school building, Zai Ye continued to stroll along slowly.

Behind him, a little girl in a pink dress toddled after him, clutching the hem of his pants.

To keep her from being bumped or trampled by classmates who couldn’t see her, Zai Ye—already a lone wolf by nature—had become even more withdrawn since transferring here. He always walked at the very back, keeping his distance from everyone.

His troublesome ghost daughter had zero awareness of the trouble she was causing for her dad. Tugging on his pants, she asked, “Dad, was Mom looking at you just now? When are you going to talk to her and explain everything?”

Hands in his pockets, Zai Ye walked forward, his voice cool: “She doesn’t even remember us. If I suddenly go up to her and say, ‘Honey, this little girl is our daughter,’ she’ll just think I’m insane.”

He glanced down at her, clearly frustrated. “Yeah, and she can’t even see you. No matter what I say, it’s useless.”

“But I miss Mom,” the little girl sighed deeply. “Dad, can’t you try a little harder?”

“If I try any harder, she’ll call the cops and have me arrested for being a creep. And whose fault do you think this is?” Zai Ye snapped.

If his annoying daughter hadn’t time-traveled and then somehow shrunk back into a three-year-old, he would’ve already spanked her butt raw.

“But you’re the one who said it! You said it’d be great if you and Mom had met back in school!” the little girl shouted.

Zai Ye wanted to yell back, but he was afraid nearby students would think he’d lost his mind, so he gritted his teeth and hissed, “Is that what I meant?!”

The little girl blinked. “Wasn’t it?”

Zai Ye—Boss Zai—CEO of a top-tier gaming company, worth billions, successful in both career and family, with a loving wife and daughter.

And now, here he was, back in his teenage School Tyrant days, all because of one casual comment he made while scrolling through his phone with his wife on the couch: “I wonder what it would’ve been like if we’d met back in school. Kinda curious to see what you were like as a student.”

Then, not only did he cultivate both magic and immortality, he also had an unfortunate daughter who possessed a Divine Artifact that could travel through time and space. On a whim, he slapped his forehead and arranged a full-family time-travel package.

Only… due to a mishap, their dear Ms. Zhang Qinghe forgot all about them.

Which led to the awkward situation they were in now.

“It’s one thing if Mom doesn’t remember you, but how come she can’t see me at all?” Qian puzzled, pinching her own chubby little hand as she tried to figure it out.

By all logic, only Mom and Dad should be able to see her in this world. But she’d waved in front of her mom countless times, and still—nothing.

It was really strange.

Father and daughter went through their usual routine of blaming each other, then together stared wistfully in the direction where Zhang Qinghe had vanished.

“Forget it, no use rushing. Didn’t you say she’ll remember eventually? Let’s just wait,” Zai Ye said, leading the child back to the classroom.

His seat was by the window. As soon as Qian stepped into the room, she plastered herself against the glass, eyes fixed longingly on her mom across the way.

The teacher entered, and the noisy classroom fell silent.

Bored, Qian clung to the window like a little gecko, pressing her chubby cheeks against the glass. She puffed out her lips and opened her mouth at Zhang Qinghe, looking like a goldfish blowing bubbles.

Zai Ye couldn’t be bothered to stop her antics. He just pretended not to see her gecko-like behavior.

Across the way, Zhang Qinghe happened to glance over—and caught sight of the little girl clambering all over the window.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She struggled to stay calm, quickly turning her gaze back to the teacher at the front of the room, her mind going completely blank.

Too creepy.