"Hey, yeah- hello. There's a ghost haunting my basement, it's really disturbing my thoughts while I write. Oh- what do I write? Fanfics... Sure. My address is 221B Baker Street, thank you," Xingqiu set his phone down, sighing to himself.

Xingqiu had a really annoying ghost in his basement. Well- his aunt Yelan's basement, he really just lived with her, paying partial rent. Xingqiu was a writer, he wrote mostly love stories with complex feelings mixed in and with an understandable plot. But lately, a ghost has been screeching when he's either writing or trying to sleep. Xingqiu tried the candles, weird speech from the bible, salt, etc., but nothing happened so he ended up hiring some people.

Xingqiu plugged his ears as the ghost made its high-pitched screech. He couldn't wait for it to disappear.

After around 20 minutes, there's a knock on the door, and Xingqiu is eager to open it. A boy around his age is standing there, eating a popsicle. He had pale blue eyes, ruffleable and fluffy hair, he wore a crop-top white hoodie, a cryo vision on his belt and white sweatpants.

"H-hi," Xingqiu says like a Wattpad character.

"Hello, I am Chongyun, here to annihilate a ghost haunting your house," He says officially.

Damnit, he's adorable and he takes his work seriously, how will I survive? Noooo, I sound like a character in my books!

"Yes, umm," Xingqiu clears his throat, "come with me, the ghost is in the basement."

Chongyun follows Xingqiu to the basement after Chongyun takes off his shoes- a quick yet awkward walk.

"I notice you have a vision. I haven't seen a vision bearer in a while," Chongyun says.

"Same here. But the ghost here has been screeching whenever I try to write or fall asleep," Xingqiu explains as they stand on the carpeted floor of the basement.

"Write?" Chongyun asks.

"Yes, I write in my freetime, after school," Xingqiu explains.

Chongyun goes over to the washing machine and dryer, crouching down to inspect.

"What do you write? Fantasy, Adventure, Non-fiction, Science fiction...?" Chongyun asks, eyes darting around the machine.

Oh my gosh, he even knows all the genres I like!

"I normally write romance novels or novels that include swordsmanship, one of them actually got really popular in Inazuma," Xingqiu explains from his spot on the last step.

Chongyun suddenly pauses.

"Are you Zhenyu?" Chongyun asks, turning to the blue-haired boy.

"Uh- Yeah, that's my pen name.. Have you read my book?" Xingqiu asks, taken by complete surprise.

"Yes I have, the way you wrote the main character and his determination to keep fighting was miraculous. I went to Inazuma on a job and heard of a popular book and thought to buy it," Chongyun explains, the compliment makes Xingqiu turn red.

He even read my book?! He's a keeper! NO NO you JUST met him!

"It seems the ghost fled at the sight of my Yang energy, I am finished," Chongyun says.

"How much do you charge?" Xingqiu asks, taking out 20 dollars he grabbed earlier for this very reason.

"$15 will do," Chongyun says.

"How about I give you 15 and a boyfriend?" Xingqiu flirts.

"What do you mean by that?" Chongyun asks, clearly confused at the statement.

"Oh nothing..." Xingqiu mutters.

Dangit, he's dense as a rock. Wait a minute, that can come in use- I'll just say I have another ghost to see him again! If his attitude is kind out of his work then we'll 100% be friends!

Chongyun climbs up the stairs, Xingqiu close behind.

"Well bye, Zhenyu," Chognyun says, opening the door to leave.

"Oh umm, Zhenyu isn't my actual name. Pen name, remember?" Xingqiu says.

"Ah, then what is your name?" Chongyun asks.

"X-Xingqiu," Xingqiu says.

"You seem nervous," Chongyun notes.

"A-ah, well you see.. Umm, this is a really- really old house and, uhh... There might be more ghosts later! So can I- like, request you to come over some other time this week if another ghost shows up..?" Xingqiu asks.

YES! A believable lie, very unlike my characters!

"I will come if you call, Xingqiu," Chongyun reassures, "I will be off now. I bid my farewell."

"Y-yeah! Bye, Chongyun!" Xingqiu waves as the boy walks away.

Xingqiu closed the door and ran to his bedroom, grabbing a pillow and hugging it tightly.

ASHItshihsihtihtishtishtiht I need to go out with him he's so cute and handsome and strong and smart and he's professional and he lisssteened and he respondedd and noivheaiovhioaehvoiehvioaenvioae!

"I really want to get closer to him, don't I?" Xingqiu asks himself.

"Get closer to who, exactly?" A strong voice asks.

"E-eh?" Xingqiu looks up from his pillow to see his aunt, Yelan, standing in the doorway to his room.

Yelan waits patiently for her answer, raising an eyebrow at his tense posture.

"Oh, Aunt Yelan, you scared me," Xingqiu chuckles to himself.

"Well? Who are you talking about?" Yelan asks.

If I say it was the guy who exterminated the ghost, she'll see right through my attempts to see him again... So I guess I'll lie and say he's an online friend...

"I met him online," Xingqiu starts.

"Who?" Yelan asks.

"Chongyun, a pretty cool dude, hehehe..." Xingqiu looks to the side, heartbeat rising.

"Okay, well don't get glued to your screen. Do your homework. And how did the ghost thing go?" Yelan asks.

"It was exterminated, but the person said that there might be another ghost. It's not bothering me yet though- so I can wait to call them again," Xingqiu lies.

"I see," Yelan says, then turns swiftly and walks to her room.

YES. I lied correctly! Er- I wouldn't say lying, actually, it's more like sugar-coating the truth. Oh! I should make a character say that!

The author excitedly opens his laptop and writes his thoughts in his notes.

"Oh, maybe I could put it in chapter two- there was a little something missing in there..." Xingqiu mutters to himself.

"Go to bed!" Yelan shouts from her room.

"Sorry!" Xingqiu shouts back, shutting his computer with a slap.

...

Right when Xingqiu wakes up, he hops out of bed and runs to Yelans room.

"Hey Yelan," Xingqiu calls, opening the door to her bedroom.

"Yes?" Yelan turns her head to see her nephew.

"A ghost is bothering me again, can I call the ghost guys?" Xingqiu asks politely.

"Sure, but leave me out of it," Yelan sasses, turning her head back to her computer, typing a few words in.

"Okay, thanks!" Xingqiu immediately runs to the basement.

It wasn't wise to call someone to exterminate a ghost when you don't have one- so the solution; make a fake ghost! The carpeted basement was actually not haunted, but some of the floor was concrete and the ceiling wasn't finished. So that was slightly spooky.

Xingqiu glanced down at the guitar he never used. It was the 'haunted' thing, but there was really just a speaker he killed with his vision playing a guitar song behind it. The speaker made the song eerie and haunted.

Xingqiu presses the play button and places the speaker back to its original spot behind the guitar. He then grabs his phone and types in a number.

"Hello, there's a ghost haunting my house. Yeah, I'd like someone to come... Can I request someone?.. Yes, Chongyun? He was very nice to me and did the job quickly. Huh? Oh yeah... Mhm, thank you," Xingqiu sets his phone back into his pocket and went upstairs to wait by the door.

...

A knock was sounded.

"Xingqiu!" Yelan calls, "get the door!"

"I got it!" Xingqiu shouts back, opening the door.

"Hello again," Chongyun says.

"Hi," Xingqiu says with a grin, glancing at his icy blue eyes.

"Will you escort me to the stray spirit?" Chongyun asks politely.

"Oh yeah, of course! I can escort you anywhere in this house" Xingqiu says.

Xingqiu leads him to the basement.

Make a conversation, Xingqiu! He obviously doesn't know you just flirted with him. Say, uhh.. "Same-ish place as last time, a weird coincidence, right?" And then you can get more information on spirits and ghosts!

But no matter how much he pestered himself to talk -even when Chonyun started studying around his guitar- he couldn't mutter a word.

You idiot! He's standing back up! Say something before he asks for $15 dollars again! Give him the boyfriend you offered last time!

"H-hey, Chongyun, err, uh.." Xingqiu can't use his words, he doesn't remember being this nervous last time.

"Yes?" Chongyun asks, turning his head towards the bookworm.

Xingqiu steps forward a bit, his foot finding an edge to trip on. Chongyun was too far to catch Xingqiu -AKA the damsel in distress- so he face planted to the floor. Yay. Embarrassment.

"Xingqiu! Are you okay?" Chongyun helps Xingqiu up, examining his face for injuries after he regains his balance.

"I- can you take me to the doctor? Because I broke my leg falling for you" Xingqiu says.

Nooo, that was so cheesy, I need a better one next time.

"Should I call an ambulance, you do not seem to be in pain and you regained your balance quickly," Chongyun says, expression faltering with worry.

"Y-yeah! I mean.. Would, ugh, umm, I'm actually fine," Xingqiu can't build the conversation he wants so he just sighs and gives up, maybe another day.

"Well it is a good sign that you're feeling well. I will take my leave after payment. It seemed like there was a really weak ghost, I couldn't sense its presence, but I couldn't for the other one either. Maybe this was a spirit." Chongyun says.

"Y-yeah, probable... I mean probably.." Xingqiu digs into his pocket for $20.

"I don't have change on me, apologies," Chongyun says.

"Keep the change," Xingqiu says, mentally celebrating the success in talking.

"Is there a reason to give me extra money?" Chongyun asks.

"Yeah! You are super fun to hang around and you have a great style. Just look at that belt, I'd certainly love to see you without it," Xingqiu says with a grin.

"An interesting request, I do not get it. But I need to excuse myself, thank you for the company while I worked." Chongyun smiles and goes up the stairs, puts on his shoes, and leaves.

Xingqiu slowly falls to the floor, covering his red face, moments flashed before his eyes, remembering Chongyun's face up close and his most recent smile, the slightest shock on his face when he pulled out a 20 instead of 15.

Xingqiu ended up thinking about how cute the boy was and ended up sleeping on the floor.

...

The next week, Xingqiu sets up another fake ghost. It's similar to his guitar, but it's a water bottle. It makes a high-pitch squealing sound that Yelan can't hear, but Xingqiu can.

He calls the ghost-exterminating number again and requests Chongyun. Chongyun's unavailable for the day, but he's able to come the next day. So Xingqiu practices and rehearses a conversation with Chongyun and himself.

"Greetings, Xingqiu," Xingqiu says to himself in the basement, trying to mimic Chongyun's calming voice.

"Hi Chongyun!" Xingqiu says.

"Will you lead me to the ghost that's haunting you?" Xingqiu asks Chongyun.

"Of course," Xingqiu smiles and grabs the air (Chongyun's hand) and runs in place, as if going down the stairs.

"The spirit keeps making a high-pitch squeal- it's annoying at times and my Aunt won't believe because she can't hear it herself, so if you would eliminate it I'd be really grateful," Xingqiu explains as he imagines Chongyun crouching down by the water bottle.

"It seems like the spirit fled at my high yang energy... Wait no, the 'my' makes it seem like he's showing off so 'the high yang energy I possess' would be more as if he's a tool and doesn't take his gift for granted..." Xingqiu mutters to himself.

"Anyways, Xingqiu! It's your line! Ehem.. Well since you're done so quickly, would you like to hang out with me?" Xingqiu asks.

"I wouldn't be opposed, where would we go? I have a strict schedule," Xingqiu says.

"Just the cafe down the street," Xingqiu tries to seem calm, even though it's a practice he's slightly shaking.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Xingqiu runs up the stairs, smoothes down his hair and opens the door like he didn't just skip 3 steps of the staircase.

"Salutations, Xingqiu," Chonyun says politely.

Follow your script, Xingqiu, he said hello, now you say hello.

"Hi Chongyun!" Xingqiu says.

"Will you lead me to the ghost or spirit haunting you?" Chongyun asks.

Grab his hand, lead him down, exactly like in the script!

"Of course," Xingqiu smiles, nervously moving his arm closer to Chongyun's hand and grabbing it, he turns quickly and leads him down the stairs. Chongyun's hand is warm, like, incredibly warm.

"T-the spirit keeps making a high-pitch squeal- it's annoying at times and my Aunt won't believe because she.. um, can't hear it herself, so if you would, uh, eliminate it I'd be really- grateful," Xingqiu explains as Chongyun crouches down by the water bottle.

"It seems like the spirit fled at the high yang energy I possess," Chongyun notes.

"Ehem.. Well since you're done s-so quickly, would you l-like to hang out with me..?" Xingqiu asks.

"Where would we go? I have a strict schedule due to my job and health," Chongyun says, turning his head toward the bookworm.

"J-just the cafe down the stret," Xingqiu tries to seem calm, shaking more violently than earlier when he practiced this exact line.

"Stret? I am unfamiliar with that word," Chongyun says.

"Oh, umm, I mean uhh.. Nevermind! I think there'll be another ghost around next week or something because they- like, keep appearing and everything and I'd like to have some time in the basement and stuff and like- umm, I don't know, chill?" Xingqiu says all-too-quickly.

"If you would like some alone time, I will grant that," Chongyun says with a smaller smile than normal.

"O-okay? Sorry, here's your money," Xingqiu tries to give him two $10 bills instead of $15 again but Chongyun only takes one $10 bill and begins to turn.

Xingqiu say something!

"See you next time?" Xingqiu says, but it sounds more like a question than intended.

"Sure." Chongyun walks up the stairs and leaves the house.

"Damnit!" Xingqiu says to himself, throwing the $10 downwards. He watches the bill slowly float down to the floor with a soft landing.

"Why am I like this?" He mutters.

...

Once again, Xingqiu sets up a fake ghost haunting his basement. It takes him about a week to fully collect and assemble the project, along with some help from Xiangling. He plans his next to be on the stairs so he puts this stunt further from the said stairs.

The stunt goes with success, Xingqiu doesn't try to ask him to hang out, but stares at Chongyun; his clothes, his facial expressions, his little fidget habits and how his gorgeous eyes darted from place to place, searching for something.

But in the end, Chongyun looked very confused, as if he was told to complete a math problem he learned how to complete from a month ago.

"From my investigations, I did not find any spirit or ghost in this area, it may have moved," He had said.

Putting his previous plans aside, Xingqiu scouted his neighborhood to any suspicious places to put his new stunt in. He never really went out for walks, he always went from home to school to home, to finishing up homework then to writing if he had the time.

He walked across a bridge, glancing down only to see what he was looking for. A spooky, eerie, haunted spot. But to be more specific than just 'spot', it was an abandoned building. The windows were broken and it was completely abandoned, it also looked like there hadn't been any drug deals either from how untouched the area seemed.

"Perfect!" Xingqiu said to himself, instantly reaching for his pocket.

"Xiangling, you know the stunt you helped me pull for that cute guy? Yeah, can you come to my house again like... Next week or whenever you're free from then?... Oh, sure, I'll check, one moment..!" Xingqiu closes the calling app and goes into his digital calendar to check what dates he had free.

"Sorry for the delay but I'm open every day till now except for the 16th. Okay, sure, the 15th is fine, I'll text you more info- oh, umm, sure. Xingyan coming would be a lot of help, thanks! Bye, love you platonically," Xingqiu hangs up after he gets a response.

...

It's been a week and five days.

And this stunt is a lot bigger than the last one.

Xingqiu gathers at his house with Xiangling, Xiangling's pet, Gouba, and Xingyan, forming a full-proof plan.

But then.

Yelan came down.

"Aunt Yelan!" Xingqiu says, alarmed.

"I was just going to say hello," Yelan says.

"Well hi!" Xiangling says happily.

"Howdy," Xingyan says.

"Well at that, I'm going to leave," Yelan turns and walks back upstairs.

When Yelans footsteps are quiet, the group bursts out laughing.

"What was that!?" Xiangling asks through a fit of giggles.

"I dunno but that was weird," Xingyan says.

"I don't really have visitors often, so maybe she was checking you guys out?" Xingqiu says after a quick laugh.

"Well anyways, let's get our plan ready!" Xingqiu says, standing up. (Xingqiu talking to himself lol)

The three of them grab their materials and walk to the abandoned warehouse.

"Just to be safe, can I scream 'FBI, hands in the air' in a very serious voice?" Xiangling asks.

"Probably not the best idea- hey, where are you going?!" Xingqiu asks.

"FBI! Hands in the air!" She shouts, her serious voice cracking and she starts laughing.

"Are ya' okay? Ya keep laughin' like there's no tomorrow," Xingyan notes.

"I- I'm sorry I just laugh really easily," Xiangling laughs.

"Well then, let's set up, who's playing the music?" Xingqiu asks with a smile.

Over the course of 30 minutes, the whole thing is set up, along with one test run gone through. The stunt was thorough, you'd walk into the warehouse, and instantly see a weirdly-shaped cloth over an unknown object. There were no walls so there was no way to avoid it. Especially with the darkness of the warehouse and the white glow of the cloth.

Chongyun would walk over and lift the cover. Beneath would be one cardboard box, and on it, a lamp with a kids tiara placed on it. The tiara, with the way it's placed on the lamp, will fall to the floor. Chongyun would crouch down and examine the worn-down tiara while Xingyan would throw down one blown-up balloon and two blown-out ones to the floor.

With the noise of the blown-up balloon flying all over, Chongyun would turn to the balloons and examine them. While his attention is drawn away with his back turned, Xiangling would put the cover over the box, lamp and tiara again. After a while, Chongyun would stand and tell Xingqiu some information about the situation. Depending on the answer, Xingyan would throw more balloons down, or Xiangling would send Gouba to run away in a white shirt.

Thus, the plan was done and all that would need to happen was to request Chongyun to come. So he did.

"Yeah, Chongyun again... Sure. I can do that, thanks!" Xiingiqu says over the phone.

"What'd they say?" Xiangling asks from her position from the ceiling.

"We'll have to wait around ten minutes, so I'll go back to my house, don't fall!" Xingqiu says.

"Byeeeeeeee," Xiangling and Xingyan say at the same time.

...

"Chongyun! This time it's not in my basement, but in a warehouse near here, c'mon, let's go," Xingqiu says, reaching for Chongyun's hand again to pull him towards the spot.

The whole speed-walk there, they held hands while Xingqiu rehearsed pick-up lines in his head.

If you let me borrow a kiss, I'll give it right back. I ought to complain to Spotify for you not being named this week's hottest single. Do you like raisins? How about a date? Aside from being sexy, what do you do for a living? I would take you to the movies but they don't allow snacks.

"So Chongyun," Xingqiu says, "aside from being sexy, what do you do for a living?"

"I work as an exorcist? Is this another one of your references to something? You've been asking me these weird questions a lot lately," Chongyun says.

"Oh, ehem, yeah, wait- actually, it's not a reference," Xingqiu says.

"Then what is it?" Chongyun asks.

"A way of talking to a certain someone," Xingqiu explains, hoping for the other boy to ask who's the 'certain someone'.

"Ah, I see," Chongyun says, looking at the sky.

"Chongyun, we're about to turn, the ghost is in this warehouse under the bridge," Xingqiu says after a little bit.

Xingqiu and Chongyun, still holding hands, go down to arrive at the abandoned building.

"It seems like there are many ghosts in your area," Chongyun notes, standing in front of the building.

"Well, let's go in," Xingqiu says to the other.

The two do that very thing. And of course, the first thing you see would be the tiara on a lamp on a box covered by a white cloth.

"I wonder what ghost would hide here..." Chongyun mutters, instantly walking toward the oddly-shaped object.

The pale-blue haired boy lifts the cloth of the object, a light sound follows. He looks down to see an old tiara laying on the floor. With picking up, he turns his body and Xingyan does her part of the plan. She sent down the one blown-up balloon and two without air, the one with the air shot all over until it ran out, while the other two made a weird squashing sound when meeting the ground.

With the sudden noise, Chongyun turns to the overall direction of the three balloons now on the floor. The one that was flying all over was closer to the door, where they had entered, while the other two were about a foot in front of him.

He walks over and crouches down to examine the two laying on the floor. But there was already a problem. Common sense was forgotten for the ones creating the plan. Thomas Paine was disappointed.

Chongyun still holds the tiara in his hand as his eyes dart back and forth from the three balloons. The plan specifically (to make it more spooky) said to have the tiara back under the cloth and on the lamp. So for this to happen slowed down the plan.

Xiangling glances at Xingqiu, then Xingyan in the ceiling, pleading for help or what to do next. Xingqiu makes a moving motion toward himself, to tell Xiangling to go towards him. Xiangling nods, understanding to just finish the step without the tiara.

With the silence in the room, Chongyun can hear someone moving a fabric with ease, so he instantly turns towards the thing and pulls two fingers close to his chest, creating a cryo rectangle thingie, Xingqiu guesses it is a seal.

"Halt, ghost," Chongyun orders, holding up the seal as a threat.

Xiangling freezes.

"Chongyun," Xingqiu says, trying to divert his crush's attention.

"Xingqiu, I will ask you to not speak," Chongyun says, then adds on, "please."

Xingqiu goes into silence as Chongyun continues to make around 7 more seals. He makes them float into a circle, a yin yang forming to the middle. He suddenly parts the circle, shaking the warehouse slightly as he engulfs himself in a cryo-ey essence.

"I will also ask you to step back, ghosts like these-" Chongyun starts.

Xingyan suddenly shrieks and starts slipping from her position on the roof.

Chongyun instantly looks up. His eyes widen as he sees that someone is about to fall, but he quickly moves under her so he catches her when she falls (it was clear that she was slipping).

Xingyan was only holding onto a bar with her hands as Chongyun tried to encourage her to fall. The boy covered in cryo realized that the ghost would try to escape at this moment so he quickly made four more seals and made them explode with a pale blue, preventing any spirit from escaping.

Xingyan did end up falling, but Chongyun catches her and puts her down so she can stand.

"No ghost or spirit can trap humans anywhere, or even more of them in the first place," Chongyun states, looking in Xiangling's area of concern.

"Maybe 'cause there ain't any ghost or spirit here," Xinyan says.

"Yeah, c'mon Xiangling and Gouba, you guys can come out," Xingqiu sighs.

Xiangling slowly stands, as she was previously on all fours and Gouba comes out of his corner.

Chongyun stays on guard as the two come into sight.

"It's okay, Chongyun, they mean no harm," Xingqiu explains, noticing the other's tense posture.

"If I may ask, why are they here?" Chongyun asks, his posture calmed and cryo-essence fading.

"Uhh- well... I-" Xingqiu starts, but he doesn't grasp the right way to say things. "Okay! Found the right words!"

Xingqiu fully turns to Chongyun, previously facing Xiangling. Their eyes meet and stay connected.

"At first, it was an actual ghost haunting my basement, but all the others were fake. The moment I saw- err, you knew I was Zhenyu, I really wanted to get to know you better. So that's why I made the first fake ghost, and you figured that you had scared it off with your hotness- or special energy I forgot the name of, and it's super easy to remember, but I forgot it so that's awkward... Was it Yang, Yin? I'm not sure and I'm probably really confusing..." Xingqiu says.

When Xingqiu pauses, he realizes that his eyes drifted away from his crush, so he looks back to see Chongyun's pale blue eyes staring back at him, listening intently. Xingqiu becomes a little more conscious of his words but still finds himself grasping onto terrible choices and random sounds that were supposed to become words but had zero potential in the first place.

"So uhh, the second spirit-ghost thing was uh, a little harder, I spent some money on stuff but realized that I forgot the receipt, just like first kisses, but that's totally irrelevant haha. Kisses... Ehem. Wait, no- the third one I spent money on, but the fourth I needed help with. Unless I only did three... Hmm... -But what I'm saying is that I faked all these things, spent money, and even asked my friends to do this crazy stunt just to hang out- no, watch you work, watch your expressions and watch how your extremely fluffy hair moves with your motions. I'm a bit of a simp for you, Chongyun. And I think I want to be more than friends" Xingqiu says, taking a step closer to the exorcist.

Chognyun takes a bit to find an answer to Xingqiu's words, but his face lights up at realization.

"If you wanted to be my friend so badly, you could've just asked," Chongyun says with a smile.

Xingqiu wanted to die.