Chapter 265: Emma, Long Time No See

At this very moment, Constantin regretted it again.

He regretted that he couldn't help but run up here; a second ago, he had been thinking, "To hell with it, I can't spend my whole life hiding from this street, hiding from Emma," but the next second, the mixed scent of paint and oil colors drifting from the studio drilled into his head. This smell was too familiar, just as it had been when she was still alive.

In his memory, her elbows were indeed never clean, always stained with paint.

"This painting is wrong." He held a cigarette in his mouth as he walked up to the flower petals, looking at the woman's pale red hair. The dim smoke drifted before his eyes, then stained the woman's cheek on the canvas, causing Constantin to lose himself in a daze.

"The hair color is wrong, friend."

"It seems you really are Emma's friends—I've only heard of her, never actually seen her." The painter sighed: "This is strange. Since moving in, I've heard about her, and then I've been painting this picture."

"That's right." Constantin walked to the window, looking down at the street through the glass. The hard concrete ground was spotless now, showing no trace of the bloodstains it had once borne: "I heard a strange wind blew her down, right?"

"Yes."

Constantin didn't speak further. He thought, at such a height, Emma probably didn't die a long death? He just didn't know if she had screamed, suffered, or begged for mercy before falling.

Did she ever resent herself?

No one answered his question; there were no demons here, only the echoes of his own memories.

I have to go, he thought; besides nightmares, there is nothing here.

This counts as a farewell, Emma, my dear. I'm sorry.

"Is there a letter from Emma?" Ma Ma Zhaodi suddenly asked from beside him.

"No." The painter shook his head: "Only a package. I returned it to the post office, but..."

"But?"

"But the post office had an incident this afternoon. A mad driver drove a bus right into it. They say the storage room was completely smashed, and all the iron cabinets were flattened—so whatever was inside that package, I'm afraid it's already ruined."

Ma Ma Zhaodi and Constantin exchanged a glance, not particularly surprised—rather, this was to be expected.

"Do we still need to go check the post office?"

"... Let's go back."

On the way downstairs, Constantin lit another cigarette. Ma Ma Zhaodi could see his state was not good: hungry, sleep-deprived, and perhaps a bit heartbroken.

By the British saying, he was probably like a wet stray dog walking by the roadside after heavy rain.

One that had also been kicked by passersby.

Back on the main street, he forced out a few more curses, complaining about the damn rain, the damn subway, and the damn New York, which was hardly different from when he was in London. But he soon fell silent again. Ma Ma Zhaodi guessed he probably lacked the energy to put on his usual bastard attitude.

"Do you want to go eat something good?" Ma Ma Zhaodi suggested first: "Good food helps soothe emotions."

"Old Ma, I just want to sleep right now." Constantin replied impatiently: "I don't want to do anything else. Don't bother me."

Ma Ma Zhaodi felt quite helpless, but he truly had no way to deal with Constantin's current emo mood. When he refused to communicate, this kind of feeling could only be resolved by himself.

"Hi, John."

A woman's voice suddenly rang in his ear, and Constantin's footsteps on the stairs abruptly stopped.

"Emma?!"

He turned his head in shock and indeed saw a young woman waving at him. Her short hair was bright red as fire, crimson as blood, far more vivid and alive than the long hair on the painter's canvas.

"Emma?"

Seeing Constantin's reaction, Ma Ma Zhaodi immediately frowned. His enhanced perception was extremely sensitive, no different from having eyes on the back of his head; but at this very moment, he heard no footsteps behind him and smelled no perfume or the musty scent of raindrops from behind.

He turned around and found that indeed nothing was on the street. His heart immediately made a calculation: at this moment, either Constantin's mind had some problem, or something appeared on the street that he couldn't see.

Coincidentally, at this moment, Constantin was thinking the same thing.

Emma is already dead, he stared blankly at the lady, thinking in his heart, but I can hear her voice and see her figure.

Emma has become a ghost, he thought, or I have gone mad.

Ma Ma Zhaodi, standing nearby, suddenly reached into his pocket and took out a green porcelain bottle. Constantin instinctively glanced over and saw him pour out some clear liquid from it and smear it onto his own eyes.

【Ox Tear】

Price: One thousand US dollars

Note: This item, which occupies a single inventory slot, has limited uses, and whose effects can be replaced by "Open Heavenly Eye" or "Eye-Opening Talisman," probably only ends up being traded for copper coins—but then again, for ordinary people, it might be the most convenient choice to see ghosts.】

When Ma Ma Zhaodi opened his eyes again, he indeed saw a red-haired woman appear on the street. This first experience of seeing a ghost felt quite novel, so he said to Constantin beside him: "It seems you aren't crazy. Your girlfriend really came to find you."

"Ex-girlfriend." Constantin replied: "What was that thing you just took out? Can holy water help people see ghosts?"

"Sorry, I'm an unbeliever and never went to church." Ma Ma Zhaodi replied: "Where we are from, Ox Tears can help people see ghosts."

"Great. I know there's a dairy farm in London. I'll sneak in and get some whenever I have free time."

"I'm afraid cow tears won't work."

At this moment, Emma finally couldn't help but interrupt the two's banter: "Can you respect me? I'm still standing here."

"Sorry." Ma Ma Zhaodi smiled awkwardly: "First time seeing a ghost, not used to it, a bit nervous, so my mouth just won't stop."

Constantin opened his mouth, seeming to think about what good thing to say.

"What's wrong? Seeing me, you don't seem very happy."

"Are... are you okay?"

Good question, Ma Ma Zhaodi silently roasted in his heart.

"What do you think? I'm dead, Constantin."

Hearing this, Constantin calmed down instead.

If she's here for revenge, I have no time to fight with her; I must save my energy to deal with that Morse. He thought, since things have come to this, better to be open and honest, face it calmly, and get straight to the point—best to win her over; maybe she can even help deal with that Morse together.

Don't get too deep, Constantin. You must use everything available to solve that terrible evil spirit.

You don't have time for guilt anyway—after all, you were originally a thorough scumbag.

Thinking this in his heart, he lit another cigarette for himself, then raised his head and flashed his usual sweet smile at the girlfriend who had died because of him.

"Emma, long time no see."

(End of Chapter)