I’m a Girl, He’s a Psycho, and This is Fine

The silence in Dorm Room 415 had become strangely comforting.

The lights buzzed softly overhead, casting a warm glow across the room as Fu Yunshen lay in bed, one arm over his eyes. Shi Mo sat at her desk, flipping through an ancient text on talisman crafting, trying to ignore the subtle chill that had crept into the room.

Something didn't feel right.

Again.

Shi Mo's Gu worm stirred violently inside her.

Its agitation was never random.

A haunting pressure pressed down on the room like fog creeping under the door.

She looked over at Fu Yunshen.

He hadn't moved—but his body was stiff, his breaths shallow.

Then, without warning, a loud bang echoed from the corner of the room.

Shi Mo jumped to her feet.

A chair had tipped over.

But no one had touched it.

Fu Yunshen sat up slowly, eyes locked on the empty corner.

There—just for a second—Shi Mo saw her.

A woman.

Bent at an unnatural angle, her body twisted grotesquely, black hair falling like a curtain over a pale, decaying face.

Her presence sucked the warmth from the room in an instant.

The stepmother's ghost had returned.

Shi Mo's blood ran cold.

The spirit's face slowly lifted—lifeless eyes peered through strings of wet, matted hair, her jaw slack, mouth open wider than any living human's should be able to.

Shi Mo reached into her drawer and pulled out a talisman. Her fingers trembled.

"Let me devour her," the Gu worm hissed inside her.

"She's full of resentment. The taste will be exquisite."

Shi Mo's vision blurred. Her body wavered, caught between resisting the urge and unleashing it.

Fu Yunshen stepped in front of her.

The ghost snarled.

Shi Mo's hand brushed his shoulder as she steadied herself. "Don't let her speak."

Fu Yunshen glanced at her. "Why?"

"She can curse you if you respond."

The ghost lunged.

Shi Mo threw a talisman. It ignited mid-air, but the spirit swerved unnaturally, skittering across the wall like an insect, her limbs contorting.

She hissed a string of indecipherable words. Shi Mo felt her knees weaken.

"She's chanting. Stop her!" the Gu warned.

Fu Yunshen drew a blade—small, black, jagged—and slashed the air, slicing a veil of dark mist that had begun to swirl.

The ghost shrieked.

Shi Mo stumbled forward and slammed a charm to the floor. A ring of blue light erupted, temporarily pushing the spirit back.

But it wasn't enough.

The ghost twisted her head fully around to face them—upside down—and gurgled a sound no human throat could produce.

Then she screamed.

A violent wave of psychic force exploded outward, shattering the desk lamp and rattling the windows.

Shi Mo's body jolted—her Gu worm surged.

It wanted out.

It wanted her.

Shi Mo's vision tunneled, her heart pounding like thunder.

"Let me eat her. Let me eat her. Let me—"

"Enough!" she roared, voice breaking.

She bit her tongue and swallowed the pain. It grounded her.

Then, with clarity like lightning, she pulled the strongest talisman from her pouch.

It was the soul-bound seal—crafted by her grandfather before his death. A last resort.

She slammed it against her palm, letting her blood activate the ink.

The paper glowed gold.

She whispered the final incantation and threw it directly at the ghost.

It struck.

The spirit froze mid-screech, body stiffening as if paralyzed.

Her scream broke off into a gurgle, and then—

Silence.

She exploded into black mist and dissipated into nothingness.

The room returned to stillness.

Shi Mo collapsed to the floor, gasping.

Fu Yunshen caught her before she hit the ground.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

The weight of what just happened hung between them.