Chapter 268

These two words 'good person' — I'm not being praised like this for the first time.

I should humbly say thank you, then flirtatiously toss my hair: 'Miss, your gaze is like a torch; you saw through my shining point at a glance!' Or I should let out a long sigh and self-pityingly say: 'Actually, I am not a good person, merely a lowly wretch.'

Just as I was hesitating, Yao Yirong suddenly coughed twice, looked at me weakly and said: 'Hai Sheng, I'm so sleepy, I want to nap a while.'

'Mm, then sleep; I'll come see you tomorrow.' I stroked her soft, silky hair and gently lowered her body.

'Can you wait until I fall asleep before you leave?' Yao Yirong suddenly grabbed my hand.

'Okay, don't be afraid, I'll stay here.' I gripped her hand without hesitation. At that moment, an indescribable emotion welled up in my heart—expansive, somewhat painful, somewhat heavy.

Probably after more than half an hour, Yao Yirong fell asleep, a faint smile like crystal, clear and moving, her eyebrows slightly trembling, like a gentle sleeping beauty.

Yao Yirong was moving at this moment, yet I felt no trace of appreciation for her beauty. If I'm not mistaken, her illness is probably not simple; otherwise, why would Yao Wenju's face be so grave?

I gently covered Yao Yirong with a blanket, then ran downstairs. After sitting beside Yao Wenju, I nudged him and asked: 'Brother Wen, can you tell me what illness Yirong has?'

Yao Wenju gently set down the cigarette in his mouth and said flatly: 'The doctor said she has a tumor in her brain that's compressing the nerves; surgery is no longer possible, and she can live at most three more months.'

'What? Why did this happen suddenly!' Even though I was mentally prepared, I was still startled by the news.

'You ask me, who should I ask!' Yao Wenju suddenly sprang up, his eyes blood-red with rage, and kicked the chair I was sitting on hard.

I could feel his heart churning with grief at this moment; he loved his sister most, yet at this moment Yao Yirong has contracted a fatal illness, beyond remedy.

I had wanted to ask him what I could do to help Yao Yirong; of course, even though I was grief-stricken, that sentence was just an unconscious thought. I had merely thought it, not spoken it. Then Yao Wenju suddenly grabbed my collar, his eyes red as he stared at me: 'Hai Sheng Chen, can you agree to one request of mine?'

'Mm, go on...'

'You, marry my sister—how much money do you want? Name your price.'

'Ah...' My eyes widened enormously; I could hardly believe it. Only after Yao Wenju repeated it did I believe I had heard correctly.

'Why me?' I was still very surprised, not understanding why Yao Wenju would choose me.

'Because of my sister,' Yao Wenju let go of me, then turned his back, gazing toward the second floor with deep eyes and said: 'I can tell my sister likes you. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so eager to have someone find you. I heard from the servants that when she talks to you she stays lucid. A person whose nerves are compressed by a tumor often acts crazy and foolish. Don't you see that?'

If you ask me what I feel right now… it's like thunderbolts striking the top of my head, seas overturning. No, that still can't describe my current mood. But after the shock, what fills my heart is an even harder-to-describe heartache.

What virtue or ability do I have to deserve a woman as beautiful as a fairy falling for me?

'What, you don't agree?' Seeing my hesitation, Yao Wenju furrowed his brows.

'Hehe,' I laughed self-mockingly in front of Yao Wenju.

'You, do you know who I am?' In front of Yao Wenju I pointed at myself, ignoring his surprised expression, and muttered to myself: 'I don't have handsome looks, nor an outstanding background; indeed, I am a disciple of the Innate Absolute Sect, destined to be alone for life.'

'I always thought love was far away from me, but I never imagined that Cupid's divine arrow would one day strike me.' I looked up at him and said self-mockingly: 'Do you know that, to me, marriage is the ultimate extravagance?'

'You mean you agree!'

'No,' I firmly shook my head. Yao Wenju wasn't angry; instead, he was very puzzled and asked me: 'Why?'

'Don't ask why, I don't know either!' I stood up again, stared straight at Yao Wenju, then coldly said: 'You may think I don't understand love because I've had few relationships. Or you might think the current situation isn't bad for me, but before you let me marry Yao Yirong, before you figure out whether I actually like Yirong, I want to ask you: is this fair to your sister?'

'It's like if you had a deep, heart-wrenching love, you lost your beloved but can't forget her, you keep her in your heart, and start a new romance with another woman. Is that fair to your new girlfriend?' Before Yao Wenju could finish, I continued: 'I don't know what love is, but I know what fairness is. Before I clarify my own feelings, if I agreed to you, it would be deceiving Yirong, and I cannot do that.'

'So please give me some time, one week; after one week I'll give you an answer.' I pleaded with Yao Wenju, and after speaking I didn't wait for his reply, directly picked up the gear placed nearby, slung it on my back, and left.

I don't understand love, but that doesn't mean I don't grasp that love is not charity.

'Wait...' I had taken just two steps when Yao Wenju called out to me again.

I stopped my steps; from behind came Yao Wenju's hoarse voice. He said: 'Chen Hai Sheng, you are a good person!'

I hooked my nose, shrugged my shoulders, said nothing, and slowly walked out of the Yao family manor.

It seems I really am a good person. People say: rich and handsome is called a man; rich but ugly is called a husband; poor but handsome is called a male confidant. And poor and ugly? All you can say is, 'Sorry, you're just a good person.'

My rustic demeanor is naturally the epitome of a good person.

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After leaving the Yao family manor, I hailed a taxi that took me to the suburbs. Since that place is an infamous haunted house, the driver didn't dare get too close, only letting me out on the hilltop.

Going up the mountain, uneven graves were scattered everywhere. Of course, there were also a few dilapidated houses nearby; graves and houses were almost intermingled, so when you saw this place you couldn't tell whether it was meant for people or for ghosts.

Before a villa standing behind a high wall, I stopped my steps. It's a house whose wall is taller than a person; from outside the wall you can hardly see what's inside.

'Pangzi, Han Duo… are you in there?' I shouted several times toward the inside of the house, but got no response.

Could I have come to the wrong place? But the infamous haunted house in the suburbs is exactly this one, isn't it?

I was about to go elsewhere to look, but just as I turned, something on the ground caught my attention.

It was a bun; when I pulled it apart, thick yellow juice spurted out instantly. I could tell at once what kind of bun it was—some call it sorghum bun, others call it flowing-sand bun; the filling resembles egg yolk but is much stickier, and biting into it guarantees the filling will squirt out.

This is Pangzi's favorite; whenever he returns home, he almost every morning buys several packs from the teahouse for breakfast, and even if he can't finish them he still carries a few with him, so whenever he's hungry he can pull one out to eat. Those two palm-sized inner pockets of his are specially sewn to hold buns.

I turned around, holding the bun in my hand, but my eyes were fixed on this dilapidated, gloomy old building. There's a ninety percent chance that Pangzi and Han Duo have entered this house. This bun must have fallen from Pangzi's pocket when he climbed the main gate.

But when I shouted loudly into the house several times, there was no response or any movement at all. This doesn't rule out that Pangzi and Han Duo have encountered danger.

Weighing the pros and cons, I decided to climb the gate and go in. Although the situation inside is unclear and I don't know if anything is hidden, if Pangzi and Han Duo truly are in danger, getting help would already be too late.

When it's time to decide, decide; otherwise you'll just bring chaos upon yourself. Having made the decision, I climbed this bronze-made gate; the process was arduous, but I still made it to the top.

Before I could steady myself, my foot slipped suddenly and I fell straight to the ground. My limbs went numb, my nose bled from the impact, and I also took a big mouthful of dirt.

No, this wasn't dirt; after reacting, I immediately felt intense pain in my mouth. Spitting out the sludge, I realized it wasn't ordinary mud but lime mixed with glass shards.

The moment I lifted my head, I froze. The huge courtyard spans about three hundred square meters, but aside from a tall building, it's empty—no trees, no plants, not a blade of grass.

I arrived in the afternoon; although it was near winter, I remembered that just moments ago at the gate the sunlight was still fiercely bright. Crossing this bronze door felt like entering two completely different worlds—I not only felt no ray of sunshine, but instead felt waves of chilling wind blowing in.

Ahead stood a five-story Western-style mansion; from the first floor up, every window was damaged, even spiderwebs stretched across the outer panes. Looking straight ahead, the broken main door revealed a gap of about two centimeters; from afar it looked like a beast's mouth slightly ajar, and I had no idea what kind of monster might come out of it..