WATCS Chapter 3: Birthmark
No way… he drank his blood?
No wonder it had that metallic taste…
Gu Yi clutched his throat, his face twisted in disgust. He didn’t know whether to spit it out or swallow it. “Why did you feed me your blood? You’re not some zombie… or vampire… are you?”
Bo Si shot him a look. “Zombies only drink human blood. They don’t go around feeding people theirs.”
“Then you…”
“If you ask one more question, I’ll cut out your tongue and feed it to a dog.”
“…"
That shut him up real quick. Every question Gu Yi had got stuck in his throat.
“There’s a lot you wouldn’t understand even if I explained it.”
Bo Si stood up from the edge of the bed and said, “All you need to know is—I saved you. Your life belongs to me now. From now on, whether you call me Dad or Boss, you’ll live here and work for me.”
“……”
Gu Yi stared at him stiffly.
Bo Si glanced back and caught the look on Gu Yi’s face—desperate to ask but too scared to speak. A flicker of amusement flashed in his eyes. “Alright, go ahead and ask. But not too many questions.”
“...You want me to work for you. What kind of work?” Gu Yi asked weakly.
Bo Si replied, “Coffin shop. You’re going to help me sell coffins.”
“Coffin shop!?”
Gu Yi was stunned. “Y-You mean the kind of coffins that… hold dead people?”
Bo Si nodded. “There’s no other kind of coffin.”
“But why would you sell coffins?” It didn’t match his vibe at all.
Bo Si’s face darkened. “What, you got something against people who sell coffins?”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” Gu Yi quickly shook his head. “I just… don’t really know how to sell something like that…”
“I’ll teach you. You don’t need to worry about that right now.”
Bo Si lit another cigarette and took a drag. “Listen up, kid. Don’t underestimate selling coffins. There’s a saying—‘Coffin, coffin, promotion and fortune’. What we do isn’t just about burying the dead. We provide full-service funeral arrangements—burial, feng shui, equipment, the whole package. When business is slow, we even exorcise ghosts and ward off evil. Bottom line, selling coffins is very profitable.”
Gu Yi stared in awe. “So… you’re actually a ghost hunter disguised as a coffin seller, using the shop to hide your real identity—”
“Nope.” Bo Si cut him off flatly, blowing out a puff of smoke. “I really just started doing it because selling coffins makes good money.”
“……”
Gu Yi coughed, choking on the smoke.
Bo Si chuckled. “Still soft. Don’t worry—I’ll train you properly. You drank my blood, so get some sleep. If your eye starts hurting again, tell me. I’ll help ease it.”
“What’s wrong with my eye, anyway?” Gu Yi was still confused. “It hurt so bad earlier, but after I drank your blood it stopped… Is there going to be some kind of side effect?”
“There’s only one side effect,” Bo Si said casually, glancing at him from the corner of his eye. “From now on, you can only drink my blood. Otherwise, your eye will hurt so bad it’ll kill you.”
“……”
Gu Yi’s mind was in total chaos.
Or maybe it had been like this for a while now.
What was real? What was fake? He couldn’t tell anymore.
The pain in his left eye was real. The taste of blood in his mouth was real.
And this man, Bo Si, as unreadable as he was… was also real.
It didn’t make sense. His head ached.
Gu Yi reached up to rub his eyes, but before he could, his stomach growled.
The sound echoed awkwardly through the large room.
Even more awkward was the look Bo Si gave him—subtle, but knowing. “Hungry?”
“……”
Gu Yi didn’t answer.
Of course he was hungry. He hadn’t eaten a single thing since being kicked out of the Gu family…
Bo Si stared at him for a moment, then walked over to the table and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. “I’ll cook something. I’m deducting it from your salary.”
“I can just eat instant noodles,” Gu Yi said quickly. “One bowl is enough.”
“Eat noodles? Looking like that?”
Bo Si didn’t even turn around. “You wanna stay a scrawny virgin your whole life?”
“……”
Gu Yi was at a loss for words.
That night, he ate Bo Si’s egg fried rice. Then he lay down on the bed—and quickly fell asleep.
Strangely enough, after everything that had happened, he slept straight through the night.
Maybe the fried rice was just that good. He had never tasted anything so delicious. And even though this man was a stranger, there was a strange warmth that seeped into his heart.
That night, he didn’t have any nightmares. His eye didn’t hurt anymore either. But when he woke up, the unfamiliar surroundings and strange air still made him feel lost.
Gu Yi got out of bed and saw he was in a spacious room, decorated in black and white tones—simple and elegant, but not depressing. His bed faced a window, and the morning sun streamed through the glass, warm on his face.
He hadn’t forgotten what happened the night before. He knew this was Bo Si’s home. He knew he’d been kicked out of the Gu family. He was no longer a student.
Thinking about it all still made him feel a little empty inside.
But for now, all he could do was comfort himself with: “Since I’m here, I might as well settle in.”
He remembered everything from last night’s conversation with Bo Si clearly. Though he understood the words, he couldn’t make sense of them. And Bo Si clearly didn’t want to explain more—so asking probably wouldn’t help.
With messy hair, Gu Yi walked toward the bathroom. The jade pendant still hung around his neck. He vaguely remembered it glowing when he jumped off the building—but now, it looked completely normal.
He was puzzled, but when he got to the mirror, something even stranger happened.
The birthmark on his left eye—was gone.
Gu Yi stared into the mirror, stumbling a step back in shock.
If he had something in his hands, he would’ve dropped it for sure.
How could that be? That birthmark had been there since he was born—big and dark, the source of years of teasing. He’d long since grown used to its presence. But now, it was just… gone.
Suddenly, he remembered the moment at the school building—Bo Si stepping on him, covering his eye with his hand, and then the pain started, followed by the bleeding. After that, everything spiraled out of control. He saw the past… his mother in a pool of blood, Bai Nuo holding a dead baby, asking him over and over, “Why didn’t you save me?”
And now the birthmark—could it have disappeared the moment Bo Si’s hand touched his eye?
What did it all mean? Who exactly was Bo Si?
Gu Yi stared at his reflection in a daze. Without the birthmark, his face looked clean and clear—but his eyes were tired, and his left eye was filled with red veins.
Gu Yi finished washing up and left the room, his mind still full of questions. When he went downstairs, Bo Si was already sitting on the couch, waiting for him.
Bo Si had changed into a different style of trench coat—but it was still black. No matter what he wore, he always carried an air of mystery.
Gu Yi cautiously walked over. “Um, you…”
“I told you, either call me Dad or Boss. Choose one.”
Gu Yi thought about it for a second, then decided to bite the bullet and go with “Boss.” “Um… Boss…”
“Oh, now you remember I’m your boss?” Bo Si looked up and glared at him, holding up his watch. “10:05. First day on the job and you’re already late. No more talking—your pay’s getting docked.”
“...Huh?” Gu Yi said innocently, “But I don’t know anything. I don’t even know where the coffin shop is…”
“You think I wouldn’t take you there myself? Talk back to me again and I’ll fire you. If I fire you, you won’t have a job—or blood to drink. Then you can just die from the pain.”
“…Boss, I was wrong…”
Gu Yi hadn’t expected to accept this new setup so quickly.
He’d never died before—didn’t know what it felt like. Sure, he had the guts to jump off a building, but he never actually hit the ground. But the pain in his eye? That he had felt—and it was worse than death.
Even if he knew Bo Si would hold that over him in the future, did he really have any other choice?
Gu Yi’s apology was so sincere that Bo Si’s anger mostly faded. He stood up and said, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to work.”
“Um… Boss…”
“What now?” Bo Si turned, clearly annoyed.
Gu Yi pointed to his face. “The birthmark on my face… did you make it disappear?”
Bo Si’s lips curved slightly. “What, you miss it?”
“No, I just wanted to say… thank you…”
The boy’s dazed, awkward expression made Bo Si laugh. He reached out and ruffled Gu Yi’s hair, teasing, “With something like that on your face, you’d probably still be a virgin at 28.”
“……”
Gu Yi realized—he really couldn’t win against this guy in a conversation…
“Here, take this.”
Bo Si tossed a bag at him.
“What’s this?”
“Breakfast. Eat it on the way. If you pass out from hunger, I’m not helping you.”
Bo Si walked ahead, while Gu Yi followed behind like a lost puppy.
As they stepped out of the house, Gu Yi finally realized—Bo Si actually lived in a standalone villa.
...Can selling coffins really make this much money?
Gu Yi was a little dumbfounded.
“What are you staring at? Get in the car!”
Bo Si’s shout snapped him out of his thoughts.
Gu Yi quickly pulled his gaze away, jogged over, and clutched the bag of bread tightly in his hands.
He opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat, gently pulling the door shut behind him.
Bo Si rested one hand on the steering wheel and gestured with his eyes. “Seatbelt.”
Gu Yi looked down and tried to pull it out, but whether it was nerves or just grogginess, his movements were painfully slow.
Bo Si couldn’t take it anymore—he leaned over and buckled it for him, carefully clicking it into place.
“Kid, how the hell did you even survive to eighteen?”
“I’ve got low blood sugar… I haven’t eaten anything. My limbs are a little slow.”
Bo Si smacked him lightly on the head. “Then hurry up and eat. You want me to feed you or what? The longer you take, the more of your pay I’m deducting!”
Bo Si’s fierce tone startled Gu Yi. He immediately ripped open the bag and wolfed down the bread.
As soon as Bo Si mentioned feeding, Gu Yi remembered how he’d been “fed medicine” last night—and instantly got chills...
The rest of the ride was quiet.
Gu Yi ate silently, not saying a word.
Bo Si drove, eyes fixed on the road. When Gu Yi was almost done eating, Bo Si casually pointed to the side, “Water.”
Gu Yi looked over and saw a black thermos sitting there.
He opened it and took a sip—warmth spread through his whole body.
The car continued down the road until it finally stopped in front of a storefront.
From inside the car, Gu Yi saw the black sign hanging above the entrance, with three white characters outlined on it:
“Zhong Xiang Wu” (终详屋).
(T/N: “House of Final Peace.”)
T/N: Please give support on my kofi page, thank you🥑🥑🥑
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