Chapter 2

"Smack!"

A slap jolted Bai Nan awake.

"You've really grown up! I called you for ages and you didn't come; you were just slacking off!"

Huang Ying vented all the anger she had suffered elsewhere on her, and Bai Nan listened silently with her body bent over.

Perhaps it was the intense sunlight, but she felt parched after only a few words. Seeing Bai Nan's deadpan, unyielding demeanor, she became even more furious.

"Did I bring you here to sleep?! If you don't want to work, get back home and clean the toilets! You stink like a toilet, just looking at you is bad luck!"

Just as Huang Ying raised her hand, ready to slap her again, Bai Di gently tugged at the long sleeve of her mourning dress beside her.

"Aunt Ying, my grandfather was just looking for you."

A clear male voice rang out, and Bai Nan glanced at it.

"Oh, Xiao Lu, why did you come in this blazing sun? It's so hot today, you could have just sent a message to your aunt." Huang Ying's expression changed quickly.

Where is Master Zong?

"backyard."

Huang Ying turned to leave, but Bai Lu quickly stopped her.

"Aunt Ying, my grandfather wants you to bring Bai Di along too, saying he wants to teach him how to play chess."

"Okay, okay, Auntie will go right away."

After the two left, Bai Nan took the water glass that Bai Lu handed her, took a big gulp, and then wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

Thanks.

Bai Lu seemed hesitant to speak, but ultimately said nothing, only letting out a sigh: "Sigh... Aunt Ying, she—"

"I'm going to help in the backyard. You can play by yourself." Bai Nan raised her hand to interrupt him, and then went to the backyard alone.

"Squeak—"

Summer insects are the noisiest of all the year.

Bai Nan straightened his aching back, the blazing sun overhead and the stacks of papers on the table all emitting a dazzling white light that made him dizzy.

Working in a bent-over position for long periods of time can cause numbness in the legs and feet, leading to loss of sensation.

Before her mother could slap her again, she quickly shook her legs, then wiped the back of her neck to get rid of the suffocating stickiness, and continued bending over to work.

This was her first day here. She rushed over to attend the funeral so early in the morning. That's really something.

They said they came to pay their respects, but in reality they were just doing free labor.

This unusually grand funeral was arranged by Master Zong for his father-in-law, whose surname was Li and whose nickname was Li Laokou (Old Man Li).

But most of the people who came to help were from the Bai family, since Master Zong's surname was Bai. As a prominent elder of the Bai family, all the relatives who wanted to curry favor with Master Zong, just like her mother, came.

Li Laokou's mourning hall was set up in the front yard, while those who helped him were in the back yard. The biggest difference between the two yards was the sunshade.

There were only a few short pomegranate trees in the backyard, with white silk cloth tied to their branches, which made the unripe green fruits look even greener.

Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst, and green fruit is useless if you can't eat it.

The smarter relatives all stayed near Grandpa Zong, taking advantage of the air conditioning. But her mother insisted on dragging her to sit in the blazing sun.

However, she had gotten used to Huang Ying's occasional lapses in judgment; to put it nicely, she was just a lunatic.

The old man on the chair waved to her: "Nannan, come and have a cup of tea with Grandpa."

The old man was not yet seventy, but his hair was completely white, and he was extremely thin, with deep hollows in both cheeks.

It looks like a ninety.

He is Bai Lu's grandfather, Bai Zong.

"grandfather."

Bai Nan put down the paper money in her hand and happily went over.

As soon as she sat down, Bai Zong noticed the redness and swelling on her face, but he said nothing and calmly looked away.

He then placed a cup of tea beside her and said, "Drink up. The sun has been scorching these past three days, so don't overwork yourself."

"Bai Nan?!"

Her mother looked over again with a warning in her eyes, and Bai Nan's hand, which was about to take it, trembled.

"Grandpa, my mother has also worked hard for a long time. Can we offer this cup of tea to her first as a sign of respect?" she asked cautiously.

In her eyes, Bai Zong was a person she couldn't understand at all. He started his own business at a young age and made a fortune. Now he has led the Bai family to become a leading enterprise in the area.

Every time they looked at each other, it was as if they were in two different worlds.

Master Zong waved his hand, indicating that she should do as she pleased.

Bai Nan quickly handed the cup of tea to her mother, but after being glared at fiercely, she took the cup of tea back to Master Zong's side.

“Master Zong, Bai Nan is being immature, please don’t mind. This first cup of tea must be offered to the elders first. If you allow me, I will go to the front yard and offer a cup to Master Li first.” Her mother was bent over so much that she was so nervous that she was rubbing the hem of her clothes with her hand.

Bai Zong suddenly lost interest, put down his teacup, and waved his hand: "It's alright."

"Please don't blame Bai Nan. She's been very stubborn since she was little, and she's even harder to manage once she starts school. I don't know who she took after. Unlike Xiao Lu, who's been smart since she was little. Not only is she physically strong, but she's also very loyal. In a few years, she'll definitely be able to inherit the family business smoothly..." She wanted to add a few more compliments.

Although they were relatives, they could only see each other a few times during major holidays. The fact that they could see each other during this hot summer was all thanks to the good thing that old man Li Laokou died at the right time.

"That kid Moti is infuriating."

Bai Zong was sipping his tea when he heard this and immediately interrupted her.

Huang Ying was a little embarrassed when her flattery backfired, and she could only slink away.

"What were you doing there? You offended someone and now I have to clean up the mess for you."

She stared at Bai Nan's hair whorl as if she were the one who had just said something wrong.

"It's that damn guy again. He's got a mouth but can't utter a single fart. If it were Xiao Di, he would have praised your Grandpa Zong until he couldn't stop smiling. Instead, he's just standing there like a blockhead."

"I don't know what's wrong with these two, grandfather and grandson. It's like gods fighting, and the little devil suffers..."

She kept rambling on and on, but Bai Nan just kept her head down and did what she was doing, completely ignoring her.

The white folded paper flew up and down in my hands, and the morning passed quickly.

Sweat had already soaked his entire body, and beads of sweat from his forehead slid down his chin, dripping onto the neatly folded paper money.

"Alright, go upstairs and change your clothes. Who are you trying to impress with this death act?"

Huang Ying wiped the sweat off the stack of papers with a rag, her face full of disgust.

Bai Nan nodded and got up to leave.

But after bending over for too long, his legs went numb, and he tripped over his own foot as soon as he stood up.

"Thump!" The sound was very loud.

Bai Nan managed to brace herself in time, preventing a severe fall.

"Be careful, you're clumsy."

Huang Ying reached out and patted it, but it landed right on the sore spot on her knee.

"hiss......"

She couldn't help but speak up.

As soon as I opened my mouth, I realized I could barely swallow my saliva; my throat was so dry.

Bai Nan slapped her hand away and limped into the building.

"Girls are just so dramatic..."

After she left, Huang Ying immediately moved next to Master Zong.

Grandpa Zong sighed and shook his head as he watched her retreating figure.

The courtyard was bustling again, with everyone busy with their work.

No one noticed that the curtains of the largest window on the second floor were suddenly pulled shut by a large hand.

As soon as Bai Nan went upstairs, she saw Bai Di peeking out of her room.

Upon seeing her, he immediately followed her into the house.

"Sis, I just saw Bai Lu looking for you. Did you two run into each other?"

"No." She was too lazy to talk to him.

"So, are you going to go find him?"

"Um."

Bai Nan gulped down a large bottle of water before feeling alive again.

"I'm going too!"

"what ever."

Bai Di followed her around like a shadow.

Bai Nan was too lazy to think; even a fool could tell he had no good intentions.

After all, her parents had even canceled Bai Di's college entrance banquet, which was held because he ranked third in the entire school, and specially brought them to Bai Lu's banquet instead, all in an effort to curry favor with Master Zong.

Bai Lu was a complete academic failure, so naturally he didn't get along with Bai Di.

"Sis, could you borrow my Switch for me later?"

really.

"You said you'd buy me this when you got your summer paycheck, but school's almost starting and you still haven't bought it..."

He frowned, pouted, and looked on with a cautious, ingratiating expression.

Seeing that expression on his face always irritated her.

Just like how good their sibling relationship is.

When I was six years old.

It was also her first year back home.

Her parents broke three of her ribs.

Because he secretly ran away to his neighbor's house and didn't come back, his parents thought he had been abandoned.

When I was ten years old.

Her parents cut off her long hair, which she had kept for five years.

Bai Di wanted a dashing older sister to pick him up from school.

When I was twelve years old.

Her parents burned all the romance novels hidden under the bed in front of her.

They blamed Bai Di's declining grades on her novel.

And so on and so forth; there are countless similar cases.

Yet, in such an environment, he was able to act out a scene of deep sibling affection in front of her.

"I..."

She wanted to say that she had never agreed to him.

"I don't care, I want to play now, you tell Bai Lu."

"Please, please, I just want to play Zelda. Everyone in my middle school class played it, and they'll definitely laugh at me in high school..."

The only resemblance between the siblings is their pair of amber eyes.

At this moment, tears slowly welled up in his light-colored eyes, just like when he was three years old and acting spoiled.

Bai Nan nodded helplessly.

Anyway, it was just something she wanted to mention to Bai Lu, so she raised her hand and lightly knocked on the door. Generally, Bai Lu would contact her for one of two things:

One problem is that I can't get past the game level;

One thing is that she had another argument and quarrel with Grandpa Zong.

There was no movement from inside the door, and it wasn't locked.

Bai Nan frowned. Bai Lu would lock the door from the inside if he was sleeping.

She gently pushed the door open.

To prevent Bai Di from making too much noise and waking Bai Lu, she slipped into the house and locked him out.

The room was completely dark.

This is consistent with Bai Lu's usual sleeping habits.

He once said that he couldn't sleep if even a sliver of light shone through the curtains, so the room's curtains are double-layered and extra thick.

"Bai Lu?"

She called out tentatively, but no one answered for a long time.

Bai Nan sighed and decided to get his hands on the handheld console first.

After her eyes adjusted to the darkness for a while, she could barely make out a bulge on the bed.

It seems Bai Lu is taking a nap.

She walked quietly to the huge display shelf, remembering that there was a bookcase on the right, and a handheld game console in the bottom drawer.

It should be inside; Bai Lu is used to keeping things in fixed locations.

She gently moved to the bookshelf and squatted down.

Each drawer door has a metal handle in the middle.

Using the soft glow of the watch to illuminate its rounded curves, she touched each layer of skin.

"Snap—"

The wooden drawer was slowly pulled open, creaking as it opened.

The air conditioner blew in just then, and goosebumps instantly appeared all over my body.

My heart was pounding faster and faster, and my palms were sweating profusely.

She was always bold, but she was afraid of the dark and ghosts.

At this moment, the room seemed to be filled with countless ghosts, their breaths exhaling eerie cold air, their blood-red eyes searching for the perfect opportunity to strike...

"What a terrible mind," Bai Nan warned herself, urging herself not to think any further.

Pull the drawer out halfway, and the handheld console is indeed inside.

She immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then reached out her right hand to grab the handheld console.

"call--"

A gust of cold wind swept past her ear.

Bai Nan was so frightened that his hair stood on end instantly, and a chill seemed to rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. His outstretched hand froze on the spot.

His pupils slowly dilated, and sweat silently slid down his forehead into his collar.

On the handheld screen, a pale, bluish hand was gripping the right joystick tightly. The veins on the back of the hand were bulging, and the long, slender fingertips exuded a fierce aura.

"......ah--"

Bai Nan wanted to scream.

But only a few breaths escaped from his throat, which was constricted by fear.

How pathetic! She was so frightened that she lost her speech.

Ghosts won't let you go just because you're scared.

Just as she was concentrating, she clearly felt something cold touch her side, followed by a huge shadow falling down and quickly looming over her head!

No! I don't want to die!

The will to survive instantly overcame fear.

She tilted her head back rapidly, as if willingly offering herself to the ghostly figure. In reality, she used tremendous force, even displaying a tragic and heroic spirit of fighting to the death.

"Hmm..."

The ghostly figure suddenly spoke.

call--

She let out a long sigh of relief, and her stopped heart began to beat again.

It's good that it's not a ghost, it's good that it's not a ghost.

"Snap!" The room suddenly became bright.

Bai Nan endured the blinding light and looked at the 'ghostly figure'.

The 'ghost' was bent over in pain, clearly badly hurt by the impact.

Even though he was kneeling on one knee, his curled-up leg still took up a large area of ​​the ground.

Bai Nan realized then that he wasn't Bai Lu, but a boy she didn't recognize.

He lowered his head and rubbed his ribs with one hand.

The wisps of hair on his forehead were a bit long and inadvertently fell onto Bai Nan's shoulder, gently brushing against him as he massaged his ribs.

My skin gradually started to itch.

"Brother Xin?"

It was Bai Lu's voice.

She immediately stood up, but unexpectedly felt a sudden pain in her knee.

Just before she knelt down completely, she remembered that she hadn't treated the injury she had just suffered.

"Sister Nan? You're here too?"

Xu Xin instinctively reached out, but it was clearly too late.

"Thump!"

As soon as Bai Lu entered the room, he saw Bai Nan kneeling with her face to Xu Xin.

————!

The two were speechless for a moment, staring at each other in bewilderment.

Finally, he suppressed a laugh and said:

"Ahem, flat body."