The second "lucky bag" was won by a netizen named "Wang Xiaoming."
Ke Xue initiated a video call, which the other party accepted instantly and gifted a "Moon Waterfall."
[Ahhh! Even the last chance is gone, excellent!]
[For the first time, I've seen a live stream audience hoping not to win the lucky bag. Really something new.]
[Upstairs, you're not quite right. We're genuinely happy for this netizen that when encountering ghosts, they happen to be connected to the host for problem-solving. It's definitely not just for watching the drama!]
Appearing on the live stream screen was a young man in his twenties, handsome by average standards. However, deep dark circles under his eyes made him look somewhat mentally exhausted, as if he hadn't slept for two days and nights.
[Bro, even in this state, you're staying up late watching live streams? I declare you the host's true fan!]
[Xiaoming, are you okay? Maybe sleep for a bit before continuing? I'm worried you might die in my phone later – and this phone is brand new!]
Xiaoming clasped his hands towards the camera, thanking everyone for their concern. "Twenty years of professional night-owl experience. Just had a physical last week, doctor said I'm perfectly healthy."
The next second, Wang Xiaoming looked at Ke Xue tearfully and said, "Host, what's the deal with constantly dreaming about the same scenario? A while back, I kept dreaming my grandpa was scolding me."
"Now he's stopped scolding and started hitting. As soon as I close my eyes at night, my grandpa appears behind me, chasing me with his walking stick. It's made me nervous every time I try to sleep."
"For nearly two or three months now, I haven't had proper rest!" Wang Xiaoming pointed accusingly at his dark circles.
[You're thinking about him day and night. Either you miss your grandpa, or he misses you. Hurry and buy some fruits, milk, go visit your grandpa.]
[I heard if you often dream of someone, it means they are thinking of you.]
[Upstairs, I heard it's the opposite – dreaming of someone means you are thinking of them?]
[You two lovebirds, shut up! Couldn't it just be he's scolding you in your dreams because he finds you annoying?]
Xiaoming showed a bitter smile. "The problem is, my grandpa passed away when I was very young."
[Yikes, no wonder you got picked. Did you forget today's theme is 'Ghost Encounters'?]
[What does that mean? The old man scolding you must be because you did something wrong, right? Did you, unfilial grandson, forget his memorial offerings? The old man sees others have tributes but he has none, so he's angry and scolds you in your dreams at night!]
Xiaoming felt wronged. "That's not fair! Even though my grandpa passed away when I was in elementary school, I was raised by him in the village. We were very close. After I started working, I go back to my hometown every month to burn spirit money for him."
"At first, when I dreamed of him, he just stared at me without speaking. I thought maybe he was short on money down there, so I went back that weekend to burn more spirit money. But after that, he started scolding me."
"I thought maybe he lacked other things, so I burned all sorts of random items for him – like the latest iPhone, villas, sports cars, maids... even the funeral supply shop owner recognizes me now and offered me a VIP card!"
[Funeral supply shops sell all that? I thought it was just gold ingots and spirit money.]
[Upstairs, clearly you don't make ancestral offerings often. Funeral supply shops are very trendy now. The iPhone releases a new model in the morning, and by afternoon the funeral shops have it too.]
[So the old man scolded you for two or three months straight? He's quite the scolder.]
[Xiaoming's Grandpa: My grandson did something wrong, I won't say what. I'll stew in silence and make him guess.]
"Not exactly." Xiaoming took out a calendar marked with his dream dates, looking puzzled. "My grandpa only scolds me on Saturdays. Sometimes on Sundays, but rarely."
[Is there a special meaning to that timing? Is Saturday the most yin-heavy day of the week? How strange.]
[There's a saying that after death, people have to work down there too. Maybe Xiaoming's grandpa has to work Monday to Friday and only has time to enter dreams on weekends.]
[Upstairs, you... you... why bring up ghost stories so suddenly?! Thinking about working for decades up here before retiring, enjoying a few years, then having to work down there... makes life feel hopeless!]
After Wang Xiaoming finished, Ke Xue pursed his lips, unable to hold back a laugh. "I'm guessing you work a six-day week."
Xiaoming's eyes widened. "That's right! The company I work for has alternating weekends but allows shift swaps. To go home and visit each month, I always take single days off, then take three or four days in a row at the end of the month."
[Thinking about it, the old man is quite considerate, knowing not to disturb your work.]
[Saturday, as darkness falls, Grandpa down below: Look at the time, it's time to scold my grandson again. Let's go!]
Ke Xue asked, "Two or three months ago, during Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day), did you go home and burn offerings for your grandpa?"
Wang Xiaoming nodded. "Of course I did, such an important day."
"I heard elders say when burning things for the underworld, the underworld messengers take a cut as a handling fee. But during Qingming, so many people burn things that the fee is lower, so people down below get more. That day, I made sure to burn a lot."
[Got it, kind of like highway tolls being waived on holidays.]
[I also heard my grandma say that. Every time she burns spirit money for my grandpa, she says even though we burn a lot, the underworld messengers take a portion when delivering from above to below. Then ghosts process the paper money into underworld currency and take another cut. If there are wandering ghosts nearby snatching money while it's being burned, you get even less. So she always burns a huge amount.]
[I have a question. With so much money and gifts during Qingming, is Qingming like New Year's for those down below?]
[Thinking back to what the ghost grandma said about rapid development down there, I didn't expect this aspect too.]
Xiaoming suddenly slapped his forehead. "Something I forgot to mention. The first month my grandpa visited me, he was alone. The second month, there was a familiar ghost beside him – my grandpa's good friend, Grandpa Han. When my grandpa scolded me, Grandpa Han was there trying to mediate."
"This month, when my grandpa started hitting me, Grandpa Han even tried to stop him, but couldn't."
Ke Xue immediately understood the reason. "Before telling you the cause, I want to ask you a question."
Xiaoming sat up straight attentively.
"Think carefully. When your grandpa and Grandpa Han were alive, were they truly good friends?"
Xiaoming thought carefully and confirmed, "They had a great relationship!"
"When my grandpa was still alive, every year on my birthday, he would take me to Grandpa Han to get a gift. Sometimes even if I wasn't in the village, he'd go get it for me. I found it strange, but Grandpa Han always had one ready."
"My grandpa died before Grandpa Han. Even after Grandpa passed, Grandpa Han would still prepare birthday gifts for me every year. And every time he saw me, he was very happy, even pulling me to my grandpa's grave to chat with him."
[Sounds like the two old men were really close.]
[I'm not so sure. If they were good friends, why would the host ask such a weird question?]
[Also, the host's phrasing is subtle. The host asked about when they were alive. Two possibilities: one, they were good friends while alive but not after death; two, they weren't good friends while alive but became so after death.]
Ke Xue smiled slightly. "What I'm about to say might shatter your childhood impression."
[Let me hear it!]
[My gut says there's tea (drama) here. Moving towards the tea!]
"Your grandpa and Grandpa Han were not good friends when alive. In fact, they were rivals – at least, that's what your grandpa unilaterally believed."
Xiaoming: "!"
Xiaoming seemed to understand. "So my grandpa came to me because I burned spirit money for Grandpa Han during Qingming?"
Ke Xue nodded. "Exactly."
Xiaoming was questioning his life. He couldn't believe that the person he thought was his grandpa's best friend was actually his rival.
"You'll understand once I finish explaining."
Ke Xue knew Xiaoming didn't believe it. Honestly, even after finally figuring out their relationship, Ke Xue found the whole thing quite unbelievable. He could only sigh that human relationships can sometimes be so complex even the people involved don't fully understand them.
Ke Xue recounted their story: "Your grandpa and Grandpa Han were neighbors, grew up together, went to the same elementary and middle school. It's inevitable for two peers to be compared. Your grandpa always saw Grandpa Han as a rival."
"The problem was, no matter how hard your grandpa tried in school, he was always second. Grandpa Han played and ate his way through life yet still got first. Even getting married and having kids, Grandpa Han was first, your grandpa second. Your grandpa always felt stifled."
"Until you were born. Your grandpa held his grandson before Grandpa Han did. He felt he'd finally won one, so he often took you to show off in front of Grandpa Han."
By this point, Xiaoming believed it. He remembered his grandpa often scolding his dad at home: "Look at you! Not as good at studies or work as that Han family's son, fine. But you were even born later, have to call him 'older brother' – always one step behind!"
But towards him, Grandpa was always kind: "Not like my grandson Xiaoming. Even if his dad is behind, he managed to get ahead by himself!"
Xiaoming used to think Grandpa disliked Dad but liked him because of the "grandparent-grandchild bond." The idea of being favored simply for being born earlier than the neighbor's kid seemed too absurd. He never expected life could be that ridiculous!
[Suddenly understand why Grandpa keeps chasing and hitting Xiaoming lol.
Grandpa at first: Fine, he's my own grandson. So what if he burned spirit money for my rival? I can let it slide.
As the burned offerings piled up, he gradually got grumpier: Once wasn't enough, you keep doing it? Burn, burn, burn! Who could be more filial than you?
Finally: You unfilial brat, take this stick!]
[I can understand haha. If a colleague I don't get along with gives my kid a gift, no matter how much I dislike the colleague, I have to accept the gift.]
[Are you filial or not? You burn things for Grandpa every year. But you also burn things for Grandpa's rival. Isn't that just to make Grandpa mad?]
"And every time Grandpa Han saw you and then went to chat with your grandpa at his grave was also to make your grandpa jealous." Ke Xue marveled internally at the pettiness between old men.
[Connecting the dots, I feel Grandpa Han wasn't trying to stop Grandpa from hitting Xiaoming, but was actually gloating, right? Someone as sharp as Grandpa Han wouldn't know that the more he intervened, the angrier Grandpa would get?]
[Upstairs, I think you hit the nail on the head!]
[After Xiaoming leaves, Grandpa Han runs gleefully to Grandpa's grave with gifts: See? Your grandson just bought me these delicious things. You can't have them!]
[Grandpa Han stands at Grandpa's grave: Even though you weren't much, your grandson is pretty good!]
[Laughing so hard. What Xiaoming thought: Burn some for Grandpa, and some for Grandpa's good friend Grandpa Han. Perfect!
Reality: Grandpa: Who told you to burn things for my rival? Don't you know we didn't get along even when alive?
Grandpa Han: Burn it! The more the better! Xiaoming, you're really my good grandson.]
[Even so, I have to say: The two grandpas really are good friends!]
Xiaoming was baffled. "So I shouldn't burn spirit money for Grandpa Han anymore?"
"No." Ke Xue shook his head.
Xiaoming: "?" Burn not okay, not burn not okay either. Isn't this putting him in a bind?!
Ke Xue: "Even though your grandpa had a one-sided rivalry with Grandpa Han while alive, after they went down below, they actually became inseparable best friends."
"If you stop burning spirit money for Grandpa Han, in the future, it'll be your grandpa watching Grandpa Han beat you up."
Ke Xue only understood the whole situation by combining their pre- and post-death experiences. Based solely on Grandpa's afterlife behavior, he indeed seemed close to Grandpa Han as Xiaoming said. Initially, Ke Xue thought so too.
It wasn't until later, when Ke Xue heard Xiaoming mention Grandpa Han appearing in his dreams, that he sensed something off. After reviewing Grandpa's life, he understood the reason.
Who would have thought Grandpa's personality could change so much between life and death!
Xiaoming's face twitched. This was indeed something his grandpa would do.
"Can I ask why my grandpa suddenly became good friends with Grandpa Han?" Xiaoming asked.
"It's related to you."
Xiaoming didn't understand. Did Grandpa, after death, realize Grandpa Han often visited his grave with gifts and suddenly found him to be a good guy?
"After Grandpa Han died, his own grandson was busy with work and only made offerings during Qingming and New Year. But you visited often. Sometimes when Grandpa Han ran out of living expenses, he had to borrow from your grandpa. Your grandpa felt their positions had reversed; he was now the superior one, so he started viewing Grandpa Han favorably again."
[As soon as Grandpa Han arrives down below, Grandpa swaggers up: I stand before you now, see how much I resemble the past?]
[Grandpa: The living me you ignored, the dead me you can't reach!]
[The tool for improving the two grandpas' relationship – Xiaoming!]
Ke Xue: "Of course, that's only part of the reason. The real reason is your grandpa always liked Grandpa Han deep down, but he was tsundere (傲娇) about it!"
[??? I'm confused again. This relationship is too complicated. First, Xiaoming said Grandpa and Grandpa Han were good friends. Host said they weren't. Now you're saying they were always good friends?!]
Ke Xue shook his head. "Emotional matters can't be explained in simple black and white."
"Let me ask you all a question. If you truly dislike someone, do you wish they'd disappear from your sight, or do you seek them out every day?"
[That's true. If Grandpa disliked Grandpa Han, why did he go see him every day? Why be the first to greet him after death? Even generously share money when Grandpa Han was broke?]
[After Death: Me and My Rival Became True Love!]
[Your relationship is somewhat ambiguous.]
By now, Xiaoming and the audience somewhat grasped their convoluted relationship, but were even more confused about why Grandpa scolded Xiaoming in the first place—
If the two grandpas are now good friends, why did Ke Xue initially say Grandpa entered his dreams to scold him because he burned spirit money for Grandpa Han?
Xiaoming voiced his confusion.
"You forgot the live stream so quickly? Why do you think the ghost grandma wanted her good friend to burn a Huawei phone? You probably burned an iPhone for your grandpa but a Huawei for Grandpa Han during Qingming, right?" Ke Xue fired off three questions in one breath.
Xiaoming nodded. "Since I use an iPhone, I burned an iPhone for Grandpa too. As for Huawei, the funeral shop owner gave it to me as a freebie since I bought so much. I just burned it for Grandpa Han."
"That's exactly the problem!" Ke Xue explained helplessly. "While up here people use Huawei, Apple, Xiaomi, etc., down there, everyone uses Huawei."
"The underworld just got internet, there aren't even many signal towers yet. The underworld staff use Huawei phones; Huawei phones have better signal connecting to the underworld network."
Xiaoming's feelings were complicated.
[A chain reaction caused by one phone!]
[Hahahaha the host wasn't wrong, it really was because you burned things that Grandpa scolded you!]
[More stories like this, I want to learn more about life down below!]
[Upstairs, seconded!]
Xiaoming: "So tomorrow, I'll burn a Huawei 'family bucket' for both Grandpa and Grandpa Han?"
"Burn it for your grandpa first, then wait a bit before burning for Grandpa Han. Let him gloat for a few minutes." Ke Xue suggested.
This time, Xiaoming wasn't foolish enough to ask why 'a bit later' and not 'a few days later' – because if he waited too long, his grandpa would get angry again.
Before ending the call, Ke Xue suddenly remembered something and added, "Send some food and fun items. Don't just send random stuff."
Xiaoming looked bewildered. "Huh?"
Ke Xue reminded him, "A while back, you burned two maids – female maids – for your grandpa. It got him an earful from your grandma down there."
A bad premonition hit Xiaoming. "Once when I was overtime at work and couldn't go back, I asked the funeral shop owner to burn offerings for me. He said that month's new product was a paper male model..."
"Yep, so your grandpa and grandma had another falling out over that."
[Grandpa: This grandson of mine, won't even let me rest in peace for a day after death!]
[No wonder Grandpa scolds you on schedule every week. Every scolding is earned through your own efforts.]
As Xiaoming ended the call, the live stream audience was still engrossed:
[Is today really a 'Ghost Encounter' stream and not a 'Friendship' stream? Both the girls' friendship and the old grandpas' friendship are so heartwarming to hear about.]
[Upstairs, your double standards are showing! For the old lady, it's 'girls,' for the old men, it's 'old grandpas'!]
[After two readings, I'm itching to do something. Later, I'm going to buy some funeral shop new releases and burn them for my ancestors. No reason other ghosts get new stuff and mine don't.]
[Upstairs, I totally get that feeling because I feel the same now. But are you sure, knowing ghosts exist, you still dare go out at night? It's almost 11 PM, the time of strongest yin energy is coming.]
[Thanks for the reminder, bro! I've decided to do it tomorrow!]
[So fast, the live stream is ending? Host, stream a bit longer, even just chatting is fine.]
[Host, host, why are the ghosts in the stream all so mild? Aren't there any scarier, more thrilling ones?]
[Yeah, is it because the host's abilities are limited, so he specifically picks easy ghosts to deal with?]
[Upstairs, do you think encountering ghosts is easy? Without the host, would you dare meet even the most ordinary ghost?]
[You shut up first and let us finish!]
Ke Xue thought for a moment and said, "For a first ghost encounter, something too intense isn't good—"
"Besides, people encountering vengeful ghosts are busy being haunted. When would they have time to watch a live stream?"
[Ohhh, I see. But these ordinary ghosts probably don't take much effort, right? And we didn't even see a ghost in the last reading!]
Other fans instantly reacted: [Does that mean we can have another reading!!!]
Ke Xue laughed. So that's what they were waiting for.
[Host, your smile is so pretty~]
[Like a spring flower~]
Ke Xue thought about it. "Alright then, one last reading for today. But next live stream, we can only do two readings."
[Wow, so next stream will be higher difficulty?]
[Great, great! As soon as the sun rises tomorrow, I'm buying professional equipment. Next stream, I'll be fully prepared for sure!]