Imperfect Desires

47 Ghost Stories

"Ms. Bai, follow me. We have a meeting to attend."

"Ms. Bai, where are the meeting minutes?"

"Type the report again!"

"Ms. Bai, I don't like unprofessional people. How can you not know the agenda for the executives meeting?"

"Ms. Bai, where is the file for Royal Gardens project?"

"Can you please walk faster?"

"I suddenly don't fancy the typed report. Give me a handwritten copy."

"Oops, sorry! The report got wet. Go to write again."

"Hmm... It's well written but... This word 'annual reports' is bugging me. Why don't you change it with 'yearly reports'?"

And that's ladies and gentlemen how Xiu spent her first day as the Chief Executive Assistant of CEO Dylan Qiu. By the end of the day, Xiu had only one wish and that was to murder this Mr. Qiu. But boiling him alive in a pot had an even nicer sound to it.

Dylan, on the other hand, was smug seeing her lethargic state. He was supposed to leave work early today but he spent three extra hours just to torture Xiu. But the poor Dylan didn't even realize that he was working overtime along with her. She wasn't alone.

"You have done a good job, Ms. Bai. I'll see you tomorrow." With a satisfied look on his face, he briskly walked towards the elevator while Xiu followed behind him. They rode the same elevator but he went to the underground parking while Xiu got off at the ground floor.

It was close to 9 o'clock when she arrived at her apartment complex. She pressed the button for the elevator and leaning against the wall, waited for it come to the ground floor.

She had closed her eyes when she heard a voice, "Hi, Sweets!"

Xiu opened her droopy eyes with difficulty and looked at Darren's familiar face. "Hi, Mr. McSpicy!" She greeted back, not even noticing what he just called her. She found him very refreshed and energetic even at this time. He was dressed in a tracksuit with Airpods in his ears. He definitely came back from a run.

Darren pursed his lips at that nickname but didn't comment. The elevator door opened and he stepped inside. "Aren't you going up?" He asked and Xiu nodded while joining him inside. He saw the desolate look of Xiu and felt weird since she didn't seem like herself. "Bad day at the office?"

"Bad day?" Xiu snickered as she added, "I think my whole life is about to turn bad."

"I wonder why?" He couldn't resist asking since she was replying without any hesitation.

"Because I'm stuck with a cranky boss!" Xiu exclaimed in distress.

"Oh..." Darren replied.

"Oh? No, no. Your reaction can't be this light." Darren raised his brows at her waiting for her to speak. "That stupid biscuit is too demanding and childish. How can he be this petty? I have never met someone this petty in my whole life!"

"He seems like an awful person," Darren remarked with a frown.

"Awful? He's the worst! He made me write the same report 7 times. BY HAND! And it was a ten-page report. Can you imagine how my wrists have been tortured under his bullying?" Xiu complained as she poured her heart out. Not even realizing that she was not that familiar with Darren.

But since both of them didn't mind this fact. The atmosphere was rather comfortable between them. She talked and he listened silently.

Darren patted her shoulder lightly as he tried to console her in the most awkward way, "There, there. It'll get better."

Xiu looked at him with bloodshot eyes as she shouted, "It won't get better. I'm the bad luck magnet. I have the worst luck in the world. It's like the whole universe is conspiring against me."

"It can't be this bad." Darren seemed uncertain whether it was about her words or his own, he wasn't so sure.

"Forget it, you won't understand. Even I can't understand whether I have the worst luck or this body. But one of us definitely is born with the worst luck." Xiu kept muttering to herself.

"I think you're really tired. That's why you're talking whimsically now." Xiu glared at Darren as they reached their floor and both exited it together. But it wasn't Darren's fault that he was unknown to the fact of Xiu's spirit living in Bai Xiu's body.

"Why are you following me?" Xiu suddenly questioned him as she saw him behind her.

"But I think you're following me." Darren retorted matter-of-factly as he took a couple of steps to overtake her.

"What rubbish! I live on this floor." Xiu replied tenaciously.

"So do I," came the reply from him making her look at him wide-eyed.

Then she saw him entering the passcode of his door which happened to be right in front of her own. It was already established that she wasn't having a good day. But now, seeing him had awakened her inner mischief self.

'Calling me whimsical? Let me tell you how whimsical I can be.' Xiu mused to herself with a mischievous grin.

Darren had barely opened the door when he heard Xiu's surprised voice, "You-You bought this apartment? Really?"

With his hand still at the metal handle of the door, he turned to look at her and said, "Yeah. I can't buy this apartment?"

"No, no. That's not what I meant. But..." She looked like she was having an internal battle and still hesitated before speaking, "Haven't you heard the stories?"

"What stories?" Darren also acted like he was intrigued by her words. "Tell me. I'm all about stories. You can even call me the story guy."

Xiu wanted to laugh at his words but she had to bit it down. Couldn't ruin the performance, right?

Xiu looked right and left to see if anyone was coming and then in a hushed tone said, "I heard the last owner of the apartment had gone crazy here." Darren raised his brows at her as she added, "He claimed... He heard someone calling his name at night."

"Really?" Darren gasped as if he really believed her words.

"Yes. That's why no one wanted to buy it. I'm telling you, there were strange things happening in this apartment. Unknown to everyone." Xiu made a scared look while shaking her head in despair. "It was super creepy." She cringed to add another realistic effect to her super performance.

"Thanks, Sweets. You're such a good neighbor for sharing this with me." Darren thanked her with a sincere look which even Xiu couldn't distinguish.

"My pleasure. That's what neighbors are for." Xiu smiled at him as she opened the door of her own apartment.

While she was about to close her door, Darren stepped inside his apartment and the foyer light flickered. "Haiz! It all started with lights flickering." Xiu said with a touch of pity. "Take care of yourself, Mr. McSpicy." She shut the door with a huge grin on her face.

It was fun pranking people. Especially with ghost stories. She knew Darren won't believe in her words but... A seed of doubt will stick with him at least for a week. And that thought brightened up her mood.

However, she didn't know that Darren wasn't superstitious. He never believed in ghost stories since the time he was a kid. The only reason why he accompanied Xiu with that nonsensical talk was that he could see it made her happy. Her earlier dispirited self was looking candid and mischievous. It was a joke on her part and it was indeed very funny for him.

Unbeknownst to both Xiu and Darren, there was someone around them who actually believed in ghosts and who was scared to death after hearing Xiu's words. Haiz! If only she knew who it was...