Leo sat on the curb, clutching his waist like an old man who'd just lost a fight with gravity.
"Granny, I suddenly couldn't see that ghost lady anymore."
"That's because I sealed your spirit sight temporarily," Granny replied, arms crossed like a strict schoolteacher. "From now on, remember—if you see a wraith, don't make eye contact. My technique just now was a secret Lee family spell, Spirit-Eye Awakening. I borrowed a bit of your essence to open your inner vision."
Leo nodded slowly. He understood about 12% of that.
The night air was cool and gentle. While Leo nursed his sore kidneys with a tragic expression, Granny stood tall beside him, her hair flowing like some shampoo commercial. She turned her head left and right, eyes gleaming with childlike wonder under the city lights.
Towering buildings, glowing neon signs, the roar of cars and electric scooters—everything fascinated her. Last time she'd been topside, automobiles were still rare beasts, and her last host—Leo's dad—had considered his Phoenix-brand bicycle peak sophistication.
But now? Her new descendant didn't even own a bicycle.
"Tch, the Lee family's gone downhill," she muttered.
Ten minutes passed before Leo finally stood up with a groan. "Granny."
She snapped out of her daze, turned, and chirped, "Whaaat?"
"What was my dad like?"
"Eh. He was okay."
"Okay how?"
"Among my hosts, he was the most promising," she admitted, pinching her chin thoughtfully. "Too bad his fate sucked. Bad luck, died early. If he were still around, maybe I'd have broken all my chains by now."
"Wait… chains? You mean like, spiritually sealed? Or sexually—wait no, ignore me," Leo winced. "I've been watching too much anime."
Granny raised an eyebrow. "Your phrasing is weird."
Leo shivered. "So what are these 'chains' exactly?"
She didn't answer. Just smiled wistfully at the city lights. It was a beautiful smile, but deep—layered with old memories. For the first time, Leo saw a trace of age behind her flawless features.
Definitely not the same girl who had been rolling around on the couch earlier demanding snacks.
Speaking of snacks…
As they passed a convenience store, Granny suddenly tugged his sleeve. "I want snacks!"
Leo, picturing her tearing into packaging before paying, quickly shoved her outside. "Wait here. I'll get them."
When he came out, he saw something that almost made him drop his instant noodles.
Granny was chatting animatedly with an old man. A very wrinkly old man. One of his hands was grasping Granny's pale, delicate fingers with the enthusiasm of a teenage boy at prom.
That old bastard!
It was Old Man Quinn—the neighborhood gatekeeper. Dressed in his security guard uniform, he looked like a wilted chrysanthemum when he smiled. And right now, he was smiling a lot.
"Hey hey hey," Leo stormed over. "This is my girlfriend."
Granny blinked.
Old Man Quinn blinked.
Then Old Man Quinn gave Leo a suspicious squint. "Since when do you have a girlfriend? And such a pretty one, too?"
"None of your business," Leo snapped.
"Alright, alright," Mr. Qin chuckled. "I'm not trying to steal your girl."
Leo rolled his eyes. Right. As if you're not famous in this building for 'helping' lonely aunties unclog their pipes.
He grabbed Granny's hand, grocery bag swinging in the other, and stormed off toward the elevator.
Behind them, Mr. Qin's smile stayed, but his eyes… darkened.
Inside the elevator, Leo muttered, "Granny, from now on, stay away from that sleazy old creep."
Granny blinked innocently. "Why?"
"That guy has a bunch of flings in this complex. Total perv. He probably hit on you because you're good-looking."
"He didn't look that way to me."
"That's 'cause you don't know how shady people can be."
She scoffed. "Hmph, I've been alive over a hundred years. You think I need you to teach me about people?"
"By the way, Granny… what's your name? I mean, I can't keep calling you 'Granny' all the time. It's fine in private, but saying that in public feels... wrong."
She karate-chopped his forehead. "You respect your elders, got it?"
Back home, Leo swapped out the bedsheets in the master bedroom. From this day on, that room no longer belonged to him—it was Granny's now. He'd moved into the smaller guest room. Technically, the guest room had been prepared for Granny, but after inspecting both rooms, she picked the one with better lighting and more space.
"I refuse to suffer," she declared.
It was Saturday night. Usually, around this time, Leo would boot up his computer and spend the evening playing PUBG till ungodly hours.
In the living room, he huddled in a corner of the battlefield like a turtle. Only cheaters ran around playing Rambo. On the couch behind him, Granny sat upright, spine perfectly straight, her eyes glued to the TV, sparkling with joy. The glowing screen reflected in her gaze, painting her face with soft blue hues.
She had discovered another marvel of this era.
"Back in my day, TVs were tiny and black-and-white. Sometimes you'd get static and snow. But this thing… it's huge! And in color!"
She flipped channels excitedly, wearing Leo's oversized pajamas.
Leo twitched. "Granny, watch it. Don't say anything that gets us on a government list."
She kept flipping channels, unfazed. "Huh. The evening news still looks the same. Same anchors, same fake smiles."
She paused on a modern TV show—one of those overly dramatic network dramas with soft lighting and way too much whispering.
"Why do all the women on TV look like they came out of the same factory?" she asked, squinting. "Same noses. Same lips. Same dead eyes."
Leo got headshotted by a sniper. "Damn it—freakin' cheaters…" He glanced over at the TV.
She paused on a period drama—The Crown, still looping reruns after all these years.
"Why do all the women in this show look like they were printed from the same royal mold?"
Yup, she'd landed on The Crown—a show where aristocracy met immaculate cheekbones, and no one aged unless the plot demanded it.
"Yup, they do look copy-pasted. Welcome to the age of filters and filler.
The good news? No food shortages, cheap flights, endless streaming content, and nobody needs their parents' blessing to hook up.
The bad? Back in your day, brothels were legal and marriage meant something. Now? Brothels are banned, but cheating is practically a sport.
Progress, huh? Depends on who's keeping score."
Granny tilted her head. "Have you slept with someone's wife?"
Leo froze.
Technically… yes. He wasn't proud of it.
Granny rolled her eyes. "You're just like your father. I swear, what happened to the Lee family's dignity?"
Leo pretended to meditate on life. Getting scolded by your undead ancestor came with the territory.
As he kept playing, he caught a faint scent—his usual shampoo.
He turned. Granny was silently standing behind him, watching the screen.
"This is a computer," he explained. "You've probably seen them before, but in the last twenty years, they've evolved like crazy. They say fire launched civilization; computers launched humanity's flight. Though to most people, they're just for movies and games. This one, though? Takes real skill and IQ."
"I wanna try."
Leo blinked. "You?"
Granny looked genuinely excited.
"…Fine. But don't rage and break my PC."
He gave up his seat. She sat down, back straight, face serious—adorably serious.
Technically, she was just eighteen. Died young and got stuck in a spirit gem.
Still, what the hell was a Battle Soul? She looked totally normal but insisted she was "dead."
In-game, the plane flew overhead. Her character parachuted down.
Leo coached her through looting, moving, and combat controls.
Soon after—
"Ew, there's something dirty on the screen…"
"You're poisoned! Run! Holster your weapon and hit Shift to sprint. Find a car—fast!"
Granny died a slow, toxic death.
"…That's it?" she pouted, tossing the mouse. "This sucks."
Round two. Leo patiently explained everything.
"Don't go in guns blazing. You'll never make it. Hide and wait."
"Also, stop tilting your body with the game. You're not in VR."
"…Wait—Granny, your aim is insane!"
Her performance shocked him. She was clearly a newbie, but her reflexes and accuracy were deadly. She rampaged through the map like a pro.
"This is fun!" she beamed. "I really like this era."