Chapter 64: Retirement Day 64: So what’s the difference between him and a male Bodhisattva…
At the door, Jingyu, who followed Bai Yingxin into the store, looked at the young man who was slowly pulling the hem of his clothes off the top of the cardboard box with a curious look, and the suspicion in his eyes became deeper and deeper.
This guy... did it on purpose, right?
How did the action of standing up just now allow the cardboard box to hook the clothes so accurately, and just reveal the eight-pack abs that Sang Qiqi and the others were talking about, allowing Sang Qiqi to see them clearly from such a tricky angle?
Coincidence? No one would believe it!
Even as he pondered, Jingyu's gaze remained fixed on Duan Sui's face. It felt like a physical presence, a hint of male disapproval upon male. Its presence was so overwhelming that Duan Sui couldn't help but notice. He paused at the cashier, reached for a fresh bag of tape, and turned back. His narrow eyes glanced at Jingyu. Their gaze met, caught off guard. Jingyu's lips curled upwards, his eyes half-smiled.
Jingyu was slightly stunned.
When she came back to her senses, Duan Sui had returned to Sang Qiqi's side. His voice was like a spring breeze in March, gentle as a wisp of spring air. "Leave the packing to me and Zhang Lin. Go play with your friends."
Sang Qiqi blinked her almond-shaped eyes and looked at Duan Sui.
To be honest, now she wanted to see Duan Sui's abdominal muscles more than playing with Bai Yingxin. She felt a little disappointed that she had only seen the number of abdominal muscles and had not taken a closer look at their size and undulation.
But she knew very well that the opportunity to see abdominal muscles was rare, and she was lucky to see it once.
"Then I'll leave it to you guys. I'll be back soon and bring you some food." Sang Qiqi got up from the ground, took Bai Yingxin's hand and walked out. Passing by Jing Yu, who was standing there like a wooden statue, she raised her eyebrows and said in surprise, "Boss Jing is here too?"
Jingyu: "..."
It turns out that even though he was such a grown man and stood there for a long time, Sang Qiqi only saw the abdominal muscles of that scheming man, right?
An indescribable expression gradually emerged on Jingyu's tense face, and then he said sarcastically, "It's normal that you can't see me."
Sang Qiqi thought to herself, of course that’s normal.
Her eyes were glued to Duan Sui's abdominal muscles, so she had no time to look at Jing Yu.
Besides, what’s so good about Jingyu?
Ignoring Jingyu, Sang Qiqi and Bai Yingxin walked hand in hand back to the haunted house next door. Although Jingyu, the third wheel among the sisters, also came back with them, neither Sang Qiqi nor Bai Yingxin took him seriously. Bai Yingxin held her face in her hands and asked Sang Qiqi impatiently, "Do your abs look good?"
Sang Qiqi answered truthfully: "It looks good."
It looks much better than the macho paper-cut abdominal muscles she made herself.
The topic of abdominal muscles came up again, and Jingyu finally stopped being invisible. He walked over to the two of them, picked up the water cup on the table and took a sip. He glared at Sang Qiqi and asked, "Don't you think he did it on purpose?"
Sang Qiqi didn't react: "What?"
Jingyu: "When he stood up, the hem of his shirt got caught on the cardboard box. He did it on purpose."
After a pause, he added, "I showed you my abdominal muscles on purpose."
Although Bai Yingxin and Sang Qiqi lowered their voices, everyone else present was a ghost. Zhang Lin might not have much ability due to his recent transformation from human, but Duan Sui was definitely no ordinary ghost. Jingyu could hear their discussion of abs from a distance, so how could Duan Sui, sitting next to Sang Qiqi, not hear it?
You’re kidding me!
Jing Yu originally thought that his reasonable inference would change Sang Qiqi and Bai Yingxin's impression of Duan Sui as a 'scheming man', but who would have thought that the two girls' eyes would light up even more after hearing it.
Sang Qiqi exclaimed: "Then what's the difference between him and a male Bodhisattva!"
It's rare to see a male ghost who is so handsome and generous!
Bai Yingxin's CP radar went off. She hadn't missed watching the livestream last night when Duan Sui, when asked by a viewer to lift his shirt and take a picture of his abs to send to Sang Qiqi, replied, "If she wants to see it, I can show it to her directly."
At that time, she only thought that Duan Sui was a congenital saint of live broadcasting. He knew what the audience in the live broadcast room liked to watch, so he said whatever he wanted.
But now after listening to Jing Yu's brief analysis, she also wondered why Duan Sui's clothes were just caught by the top cover of the cardboard box as soon as they finished talking?
It was obviously intentional!
The employees in her sister's store definitely have bad intentions!
Bai Yingxin leaned close to Sang Qiqi, her eyes shining: "Next time I'll deliberately lift his chest muscles in front of you, and see if he'll show you his chest muscles when he turns around."
Then he added: "How about we just talk about nudity?"
Sang Qiqi: "...That's a bit too much. Besides, half-covering is more attractive than naked."
Besides, it was possible to see his chest muscles, but if Duan Sui really dared to show her his naked body, her first reaction would be to punch him so hard that he couldn't even stand up.
Then throw him into the River Styx to cleanse his brain.
Bai Yingxin nodded thoughtfully: "That's true."
Jingyu: "..."
There's no hope.
-
Sang Qiqi was called back by Zhang Lin.
When I walked to the door, I saw a man in his thirties sitting on the sofa. There were fruits, milk and other items at his feet. His hands were clasped on his knees, and he was talking to Duan Sui.
Seeing Sang Qiqi approaching, the man quickly stood up, stepped forward, and leaned forward: "Hello, Miss Sang, my name is Zhang Binhong."
Zhang Binhong?
This name went around in Sang Qiqi's head and felt quite familiar.
Zhang Binhong saw that she was lost in thought and forced a smile on his face, but his eyes were slightly red. "This store was originally my parents' hot pot restaurant."
"It's you." Sang Qiqi understood and motioned Zhang Binhong to sit down and chat.
Zhang Binhong sat back on the sofa, while Sang Qiqi chose to sit opposite him, next to Duan Sui.
The sofa wasn't large, but there was still some distance between Sang Qiqi's shoulders and Duan Sui's. The man blinked slowly and quietly leaned towards her, closing the distance between them. Sang Qiqi didn't notice, but glanced down at the small coffee table and saw that Duan Sui had already prepared tea and snacks. He was very thoughtful, so she didn't need to worry about it anymore. She took the initiative to say, "I heard from Captain Kong that you are abroad."
"Yes." Zhang Binhong nodded, a slightly bitter smile on his face. "To be honest, after my initial negotiations with Captain Kong's colleagues failed, I felt very powerless and even a little resentful that they didn't believe what I said. Furthermore, the death of my parents was very painful for me, so when our company proposed expanding its business overseas, I applied to go together."
"Actually, Captain Kong called me a few days ago, but I was busy and couldn't come back immediately. I finally got some free time last night, so I bought a plane ticket and rushed over." He stood up again and bowed deeply to Sang Qiqi. "Captain Kong told me everything about my parents' case. Miss Sang, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, the real murderer who killed my parents would have definitely escaped."
Because he had had a dream, when Kong Xingyan mentioned Meng Zhengxiang to him, he almost immediately accepted the explanation.
Not to mention that he had actually seen Meng Zhengxiang in person via video. Although Meng Zhengxiang hadn't revealed his facial features in his dream, it was amazing that the moment Meng Zhengxiang appeared, the fear that emanated from his dream was like a professional matching signal, making him incredibly certain that the two were the same person.
"I came here today to thank you, and I also wanted to buy some paper-made items for my parents."
Sang Qiqi frowned upon hearing this: "But——"
Before she could finish her words, Zhang Binhong interrupted her: "I know that my parents are not in the next life, so even if I really burn paper offerings, they won't be able to receive them. But this is what I should do as their son, regardless of whether they can receive them or not. And in my heart, they are always there."
What's more, his parents' tombstones are right in the cemetery. Other parents often have their children visit them, but his parents have nothing.
He doesn't want this.
Just as a psychological comfort, he also wanted to burn something for his parents and pretend that they were living well.
"Okay, then take a look at what you need and pick some out and I'll pack it for you."
"good."
Zhang Binhong had picked out quite a few paper figurines, and after hearing what he said, Sang Qiqi didn't stop him, but she gave him a big discount when it came time to pay. Seeing his cart filled with large and small packages, Sang Qiqi waved at him.
When I returned to the store, Duan Sui had already bent down to clear the water cup on the table.
He noticed Sang Qiqi's gaze and stood up to look at her: "Did they send the person away?"
"Yeah." Sang Qiqi walked over and asked him, "Did Lin Yanluo tell you about Meng Zhengxiang?"
"I've heard a few things, and I know that the Taoist priest Qingcheng behind Meng Zhengxiang seems to belong to a mysterious organization." Duan Sui answered truthfully, "To be honest, Luo Fengshan is also very concerned about this matter."
Sang Qiqi let out a long "oh" and looked at Duan Sui with a look of sudden enlightenment in her eyes: "So this is why you became my employee."
Duan Sui laughed: "I was planning to come anyway, but this happened to happen, so there's no reason not to come."
He raised his eyebrows at Sang Qiqi: "Boss Sang's funeral parlor is very famous in our underworld. There are many ghosts who want to change careers and become employees."
What I said...
Sang Qiqi was suspicious: "Is it true? Why have I never heard Lin Yanluo say that?"
Duan Sui really didn't deceive Sang Qiqi.
After all, Sang Qiqi's performance points added up to hundreds, which made many people jealous. There were many people who wanted to take the opportunity to get points from her, but unfortunately none of them could pass Lin Bo's test.
Zhang Lin was the one Sang Qiqi specifically wanted.
And if he wanted to come, Lin Bo would not dare to refuse.
"So," he concluded, "it's my honor to be an employee at Funeral One-Stop."
Sang Qiqi: “…”
She stared at Duan Sui for two full minutes, then sighed and walked towards Zhang Lin who was packing.
Although Zhang Lin treated himself as invisible the entire time, wishing he could bury himself in the ground when the three of them were alone, he had ears and could always hear the two people's unguarded conversation clearly. His hands continued to work, and Zhang Lin noticed the shadows falling on the packing box. He worked silently for five minutes, but Sang Qiqi still didn't leave, so he finally couldn't stand it anymore and asked, "He's praising you, why are you sighing and coming to me?"
Sang Qiqi held up her face and glanced at him: "It's because you praised me that I felt embarrassed and came to hide here, do you understand?"
Zhang Lin almost said "You're still embarrassed" but luckily he reacted quickly and stopped talking in time.
Sang Qiqi didn't notice his hesitant expression, she only sighed in her heart -
Duan Sui is a good-looking man with a good figure, but how come he is so good at talking?
He really has some skills.
-
Nearly half a month had passed since the leisurely opening of the store. During this period, Sang Qiqi and Duan Sui also did several live broadcasts. The transaction volume was very impressive, and the number of their CP fans also increased rapidly.
According to Bai Yingxin, Sang Qiqi and Duan Sui now have a CP super topic.
Sang Qiqi asked curiously, "Duan Sui and I didn't seem to act particularly close in front of the camera, did we? How did the netizens get hooked?"
Bai Yingxin is clearly very experienced in couples: "When two equally good-looking people stand together, even if their faces both look impatient, netizens will still think that you two are in tune with each other and have a great understanding."
Not to mention that Duan Sui treats Sang Qiqi completely differently from how he treats other people.
Netizens didn't know, but as a close friend of Sang Qiqi's and a frequent visitor to the funeral home to chat, how could she not know? Wherever Sang Qiqi was, Duan Sui was bound to be nearby. But if Sang Qiqi left for something, Duan Sui would disappear too. Bai Yingxin could tell that Duan Sui would rather sit there like a fool at the cashier than waste time chatting with her and Zhang Lin.
In other words, in Duan Sui's eyes, only Sang Qiqi is worthy of his care, and the others are insignificant strangers.
But it would be different if she deliberately praised Duan Sui in front of Sang Qiqi.
The man's expression changed very quickly, and his eyes became much gentler when he looked at her. He even took the initiative to pour her some water, and he had mastered the skill of pleasing his sweetheart's best friend.
"However," Bai Yingxin propped up her face and picked up the phone, poked at the screen, and handed it to Sang Qiqi, "You don't need to be too stressed about the popularity of your and Duan Sui's couple."
Sang Qiqi thought to herself, what kind of pressure could she have?
Whether it was netizens or viewers in the live broadcast room, they could only talk nonsense at most, but they could not personally run in front of her and Duan Sui and forcefully press her and Duan Sui's heads to perform a kiss.
It would be strange if she didn't beat me to death.
She said very generously: "I understand, I understand. I used to be a celebrity. When it comes to this kind of fan-related CP stuff, I just pretend I didn't see it—"
As she spoke, her gaze fell on the phone screen, and her eyes suddenly widened: "What is this?"
Bai Yingxin: "You and the urn are super hot."
Sang Qiqi: “?”
Bai Yingxin leaned over, resting her hands on the table. She swiped her fingers across the screen again, and the topic page jumped again. She pointed at the name of the CP topic and said, "And the one about you and the paper-made hunk."
Sang Qiqi: “…”
Bai Yingxin: "I've seen it. Among all your countless CP super topics, the one between you and Duan Sui is the most normal one."
Sang Qiqi: “…”
Sang Qiqi didn't know how to describe her feelings at the moment. The previous second she was thinking that netizens could ship the couple if they wanted to, but the current second she just wanted to crash a certain social software.
All kinds of hellish CPs are being attributed to her, right?
Report them all.
Just as Sang Qiqi gritted her teeth and prepared to put her idea into action, a middle-aged man in a black suit, carrying a briefcase, hurried through the door. He looked breathless, his glasses slightly askew, and a thin layer of sweat covered his forehead. He looked like he was in a hurry.
Seeing that business was coming, Sang Qiqi exchanged glances with Bai Yingxin, then stood up and walked over.
When the middle-aged man saw her, he immediately said, "Boss Sang, I want to buy some paper-cut figurines from you."
"Sure, what kind do you want? We have most of the ready-made ones here, but custom ones might take two or three days." Sang Qiqi led the group to the shelves. The middle-aged man glanced at them briefly and said, "I don't really understand these things, but an elderly person in my family just passed away, and we need some paper-made things for the funeral. Could you recommend something?"
This is a small matter for Sang Qiqi.
She ordered some necessary paper-made items, and the middle-aged man nodded and accepted them all. He also bought some small items and paid for them. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you so much. I'll call a car and I'll just take them away when the time comes. No need to bother you with the delivery."
"OK."
It just so happened that Duan Sui was driving her pickup truck out to deliver goods.
After moving all the paper crafts into the car the middle-aged man had called, Sang Qiqi stood at the door and watched him leave before slowly returning to sit down in front of Bai Yingxin. But before she could even get comfortable, an unfamiliar phone call came into Sang Qiqi's phone. She answered, and the man's voice was remarkably familiar; it was the customer from earlier.
The middle-aged man apologized and asked, "Excuse me, Mr. Sang, my car had an accident. Can you still deliver the goods?"
Sang Qiqi was about to reply when the sound of brakes came from the door.
She looked over and saw the pickup truck stalled, the door opened, and Duan Sui's long, overpowering legs stepped out. Turning around, she saw a head at the door. He bent down and picked up the snacks he had brought for Sang Qiqi. As he walked over and handed them to her, he asked, "What's wrong?"
She covered her phone and explained, "I have a customer who needs a delivery," and then replied to the middle-aged man, "Of course, send me the location and I'll come over now."
"Okay, okay. Thank you very much."
After hanging up, Sang Qiqi briefly explained that a major customer had just arrived and that they were supposed to stop delivering goods, but now their truck had an accident along the way. Duan Sui nodded repeatedly, pointing to her phone: "Forward me the location and I'll come over."
"No need. You've just been driving for half a day and you must be tired. I can do it this time."
The last shipment was far away, and Duan Sui drove nearly three hours to and fro. He was almost fatigued by the time he had to make another delivery. Well… while a ghost might not feel tired, Sang Qiqi was a considerate boss who wouldn't treat her employees like cattle or horses.
She snatched the car keys from Duan Sui, explained a few words to Bai Yingxin, and hurried into the car with the snacks.
Duan Sui, tall and long-legged, stood by the door, staring down at his palm. When Sang Qiqi took the key from his palm, her fingertips scraped against the skin of his palm, and an itch that penetrated deep into his heart rose up, making him curl his fingers.
On the other side, Sang Qiqi quickly arrived at the intersection of Huaishui Street and Linjie Street according to the address shared by the middle-aged man.
Turning right, a pickup truck, the same color as hers, was parked by the guardrail, its hazard lights flashing. The left side of the pickup's cargo bed was severely dented. A middle-aged man, whom Sang Qiqi had met before, was now sweating profusely as he negotiated with someone. Hearing the honking of a horn, he turned his head sharply, his eyes meeting Sang Qiqi's. He breathed a sigh of relief and hurried over. "I'm so sorry. I didn't expect to bother you again."
"It's okay," Sang Qiqi said with a smile as she got out of the car to help him move the goods. "This is part of my job."
After all the paper crafts were moved, Sang Qiqi asked the middle-aged man to get in the passenger seat. She opened the navigation system according to the address he gave her, and then she asked, "What happened just now?"
The cool breeze from the air conditioner cleared the middle-aged man's swollen and aching head. He took off his glasses, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and exhaled. "When we were about to turn, the truck on the next straight lane suddenly turned as well and crashed into the truck bed. Luckily, the paper figurines were fine, which was a blessing in disguise."
Sang Qiqi raised her eyebrows when she heard this.
"Shouldn't the silver lining be that the truck only hit the truck bed and didn't hit the driver's seat?"
"You don't know, but I've been to the sixth shop I've visited to buy these paper-making artifacts." The middle-aged man sighed helplessly. Noticing Sang Qiqi's surprised look, he couldn't wait to complain. "It was my old lady who passed away two days ago. We placed an order with a paper-making shop on the same day she died. But within five minutes of hanging up the phone, they called us to say the shop had mysteriously caught fire!"
Sang Qiqi: “?”
The middle-aged man saw the shock in Sang Qiqi's eyes and wiped his face as he explained, "Really? The boss even called the police. A customer was smoking in the store and left his cigarette butt on the ground without stomping it out. As he was leaving, his shoulder brushed against a paper figurine of a boy and girl on the shelf, and it landed right on his cigarette butt, which then caught fire."
"Then we found a second funeral home. This one didn't catch fire, but the driver, who seemed to be half asleep, drove the car directly into the Yujiang River!"
Sang Qiqi: “…”
This is not the end.
The third funeral home was out of stock because the owner had gone back to his hometown to get married a while ago.
The fourth funeral home had the goods in stock, so they placed an order and paid. However, the owner changed his mind halfway through, returned the money, and stopped answering their calls.
"You don't want to do business?" Sang Qiqi was a little surprised.
The middle-aged man hesitated for a second after hearing this. Thinking that Sang Qiqi would personally deliver the goods to the old lady's coffin, he thought that she couldn't hide anything. He sighed and said, "I guess she accepted money from someone else and followed their instructions. She wants to embarrass my old lady before she passes away."
"After that, we looked for several funeral homes nearby, but they all refused to take our business. Until this morning, I found another one. It was a small shop, owned by a man in his sixties or seventies. He worked hard to load all the goods onto his tricycle, but before he could even start driving, it exploded."
Sang Qiqi: “…”
The corners of her eyes twitched uncontrollably. "Then you traveled across northern Beijing to my one-stop funeral service, but just as you were loading your paper figurines onto the truck and leaving, it was overturned."
The middle-aged man smiled awkwardly.
It happened to be a red light, so Sang Qiqi stepped on the brakes and looked back at the paper items in the pickup truck.
She asked, "Do you think they have a chance of reaching your old lady's coffin?"
Middle-aged man: "..."
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