Chapter 66 No one welcomes me, so I still need to…
Yuan Yuling sat blankly on the sofa, her lips bitten until they turned white, her hands tightly gripping her dress.
Seeing her conflicted expression, Grandma advised, "Miss Yuan, it's not a difficult thing. The child is your husband's, and he shouldn't be absent."
Yuan Yuling forced a smile, her face looking grim.
"I……"
Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the skirt.
"My husband... he doesn't really believe in this kind of thing."
She tried to force a smile, but ultimately failed.
“If my husband finds out I brought Kang Kang here, he… he’ll argue with me.”
Grandma stared at her timid profile for a moment, completely unable to reconcile the image of the female celebrity in her memory.
Although she understands that some people don't believe in ghosts and gods, since the child has already been in trouble, she should at least give it a try.
She carefully chose her words, "Kang Kang has been sick for so long, your husband must be very distressed."
"And I heard that Kang Kang has been hospitalized for over a month. Now there's a way to try, your husband..."
Before Grandma could finish speaking, Yuan Yuling shook her head and interrupted.
“It doesn’t work. My husband is very resistant to these things about ghosts and spirits.”
She pursed her lips, her face bitter. "Normally, during holidays, my husband doesn't allow us to participate in any outside activities."
Grandma asked in surprise, "What do you worship at home?"
“We don’t offer anything.” Yuan Yuling’s tone became increasingly bitter. “My mother-in-law has been dead for several years, and my husband doesn’t even celebrate her death anniversary.”
This time, not only was Grandma shocked, but Chu Ci couldn't help but be stunned as well.
Grandma wanted to say, "It's so pitiful to die in your house. You never let us eat anything good during holidays."
He moved his lips, but ultimately didn't say anything.
She wondered, "We usually get holidays during festivals, and observing a memorial day isn't difficult, so why..."
“My husband doesn’t believe in ghosts or gods, and he doesn’t want to waste time on this.”
Yuan Yuling smiled but didn't reveal the truth.
Actually, her husband's original words were even harsher: "When a person dies, everything is gone. What kind of idiot would believe such a thing!"
Yuan Yuling also felt that once a person dies, everything is gone, but calling someone an idiot like that was too harsh.
Seeing that she wasn't telling the truth, Grandma looked at her pretty face and her obviously bitter expression, and gave a dry laugh.
"I can understand. Even though we work in this industry, there are many people who don't believe in ghosts and gods. That's perfectly normal."
She pursed her lips, watching Kang Kang running around the room, "But your husband isn't coming..."
Grandma looked at Chu Ci, and Yuan Yuling also looked at Chu Ci.
Chu Ci glanced at them. "Her husband has to come, otherwise she can't be saved."
After saying that, she looked at Kang Kang, who was jumping around, and said, "You should at least think about your daughter."
Yuan Yuling bit her lip tightly, looked at her daughter who had finally perked up, and shook her head, "Is there really no other way?"
Chu Ci looked at her expressionlessly.
Yuan Yuling was stung by her cold gaze and subconsciously looked away.
Chu Ci couldn't help but frown. "Is it really that hard to get him to come over? Is his willingness more important than our daughter?"
Grandma glared at Chu Ci and warned her in a low voice, "Can't you speak a little softer? Why are you being so aggressive!"
Yuan Yuling's expression grew increasingly grim. "I know, thank you, Master. I'm sorry to have bothered you today."
She put a hundred yuan on the table, picked up her daughter, and was about to leave.
But Kang Kang clung to the coffee table in the living room and refused to leave no matter what.
Yuan Yuling's expression was unpleasant. "Kang Kang, you have to go home with Mom now!"
"No! I don't want to go home!" Kang Kang, who is usually sensible, rarely showed a bit of willfulness.
She sat on the floor, hugging the coffee table tightly, her little face scrunched up as she looked up at her mother.
"I don't want to go home! There are terrifying things everywhere in the house!"
Her mother tried to pry her hands off, but she remained unmoved.
The little voice was firm: "I want to stay here. There's nothing here, and it's warm! I'm not going anywhere else!"
"Kang Kang!"
Yuan Yuling could no longer contain herself and her voice suddenly rose.
Kang Kang looked at his mother, his big, watery eyes reddening. "Mom, can't Kang Kang really stay here...?"
"Can't."
Kang Kang pouted and finally let go of the coffee table.
Grandma watched as Yuan Yuling strode into the elevator with the child in her arms, then turned and complained to Chu Ci.
"Aci, what's wrong with you today? We're in business, how can you talk to people like that?"
She sat down next to Chu Ci, her voice softening, and spoke earnestly.
"Doing what we do is no different from setting up a food stall. People ask us to help them watch over things, and we help them."
"If they don't want to go, we can just politely see them off."
"As the saying goes, even if a deal falls through, goodwill should remain. How can you give someone a hard time?"
Chu Ci lay on the spirit communication table, listening to her grandmother's words, her eyes fixed on the doorway.
After finally waiting for Grandma to finish speaking, she turned her head towards Grandma and sighed.
"I just can't stand seeing her like that, unable to stand up straight..."
"It's not like we're asking her husband to commit murder or arson. We're just asking him to come over for a moment, but it's like we're climbing Mount Everest."
Grandma shook her head helplessly, seemingly lost in thought. "Every family has its own troubles. We don't know what's going on in other people's lives, so we shouldn't gossip."
Chu Ci snorted coldly, "I really don't know anything about her family, but she seems so indecisive..."
Thinking of the lively and well-behaved Kang Kang, she couldn't help but sigh.
Having such a mother is really tough for Kang Kang.
After lunch, she went to take a nap, while her grandmother watched DVDs in the living room.
When Chu Ci woke up, she watched a movie with her grandmother for a while before realizing that the movie was starring Yuan Yuling.
Looking at Yuan Yuling's bright and sunny smile in the movie, for some reason, she suddenly thought of Rong Qin, the female reporter who had given her her business card.
Yuan Yuling looked a lot like Rong Qin back then.
As she froze, the old woman beside her couldn't help but sigh.
"Oh, look how pretty Yuan Yuling was back then! She loved to smile, and her smile was beautiful too."
She thought of Yuan Yuling, whom she had met that morning, and shook her head helplessly.
Yuan Yuling now looks miserable, as if her life is very difficult.
Chu Ci paused for a moment, then lowered his head and began folding ingots again.
Grandma saw that she had been folding paper ingots for the past two days, so she helped her fold them.
But as soon as she folded one and threw it into the small basket, she realized something was wrong.
"Eh..."
She picked up the ingots she had folded and the ingots Chu Ci had folded, and compared them side by side.
"Aci, how did you fold this ingot? Why is it different from mine?"
The ingots she folded had sharp edges, but the ingots her granddaughter folded were smaller and rounder.
It's chubby and looks just like the real thing.
Chu Ci: "This is not difficult, Grandma, I will teach you."
She folded a few with her grandmother, who learned very quickly and folded them quite well.
Grandma was very curious about this way of folding the paper, as it was the first time she had ever seen it.
"Okay, I got it. Let's fold it together."
"good."
Chu Ci used both hands and broke one in no time.
When she looked up, Grandma's brows were furrowed, and she was still stuck on her first step.
"What's wrong?"
"I……"
Grandma held the paper in her hand, turning it over and over, her face scrunched up.
"Hey, I thought I had memorized it just now. How come I can't remember a single step when I actually try it?"
Chu Ci simply assumed it was due to her age and declining memory.
"It's alright, Grandma, I'll teach you again."
This time, Grandma said decisively, "Okay, no problem, I'll definitely remember this time."
But once he broke free from Chu Ci and started doing it himself, he stopped at the very first step.
"Huh?"
Grandma clutched her head, filled with distress.
"Wait a minute, I was sure I had memorized it all. How come I forgot it as soon as I started doing it?"
She held the paper in her hand and began scratching her head, trying to think.
Chu Ci sensed something was wrong.
Looking at the paper in his hand, and then at the "Quick Guide to Comprehensive Medium Literacy" that she had casually placed on the table, a flash of inspiration struck him.
Is it because it's a method taught in a book that Grandma can't learn it?
“Grandma,” she said, taking the “Speedy Guide” book from her, “take a look at this book.”
Grandma took it, flipped through it casually, and then her face scrunched up again.
"What is this? English? But it doesn't look like English. Is it French?"
She looked up at Chu Ci with a puzzled expression.
"Aci, your grades are so bad, how can you understand French books?"
Chu Ci: "..."
She probably understood.
"Grandma, it's not a French book."
She took the book from her grandmother's hands and changed the subject back to Yuanbao.
"Grandma, the origami method you used just now was so fast! Can you teach me?"
Grandma didn't suspect anything and picked up another piece of paper. "My folding method is very simple..."
She quickly folded out a beautiful ingot and placed it in Chu Ci's palm.
"Did you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
Chu Ci folded two according to her grandmother's method, and He Lihua came out of the house carrying her youngest son, Along.
"Sister Dan!"
After calling her "Grandma," she smiled and greeted Chu Ci.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, He Lihua pointed downstairs.
"The case of the five-faced female corpse has been completely solved, right? The family that lost their daughter is planning a grand send-off ceremony for her."
"Many of our neighbors are going this time, are you going?"
"Go for it! It's such an important matter, you definitely have to go!"
Grandma readily agreed, then asked:
"Have you agreed on a time?"
"It's settled, three days from now."
The two of them talked as they entered He Lihua's house.
Chu Ci looked at the newly folded, angular ingot in his hand, then unfolded it and folded it again.
She looked up at the calendar.
Today is an auspicious day for sending someone to be reincarnated, and it also happens to be the weekend.
In the evening, after dinner, Grandma went to He Lihua's house to play mahjong with others.
Chen Xinxin, whom we hadn't seen for a long time, came back with her schoolbag on her back and two bottles of sugar water in her hand.
"Sister Aci!"
She placed the two bottles of sugar water on the table and put her schoolbag down as she did so.
"Brother Yong downstairs gave it to me. He said it's a new product and asked me to bring it to you so you can try it."
After saying that, she drank the sugar water while smiling broadly.
"Sister Aci, you'll never guess what I saw!"
She leaned closer and whispered, "Brother Yong is in a relationship!"
She lowered her voice, but the excitement in her words was still palpable. "That sister is so fair-skinned and beautiful! Brother Yong's ears turned red as soon as he saw her!"
"When that sister saw Brother Yong, she blushed too. I think the two of them will definitely make it!"
Chu Ci raised an eyebrow. "Really? What does that person look like?"
Chen Xinxin recalled the person's appearance, "Hmm, an oval face, very fair-skinned, and when he smiled..."
She gave a brief summary, then turned her head and saw Chu Ci looking at her strangely.
"Is there a problem, Sister Aci?"
Chu Ci: "..."
She was drinking the sugar water when she suddenly didn't find it delicious anymore.
The person Xin Xin is talking about looks so much like Xu Juan!
She put down the sugar water in her hand and glanced at the time.
It's still early.
"I'm going downstairs to take a look. You stay here and watch the shop for me for a while."
Chen Xinxin watched her hurried departure, holding the sugar water and nodding blankly.
"oh."
As soon as Chu Ci went downstairs, he saw the Liang couple, who were standing in front of the newsstand, huddled together, but with bitter expressions on their faces.
Seeing the expressions on the couple's faces, Chu Ci knew that this matter was probably a done deal.
Upon seeing her, the newspaper-reading woman pursed her lips, "Master..."
She quickly came over, grabbed Chu Ci's sleeve, as if she had a lot to say.
Chu Ci: "Is your son with Xu Juan?"
The newspaper's wife stared wide-eyed. "Master, how did you know?"
She suddenly felt a little nervous, "Is Xu Juan... going to harm my son again?"
Chu Ci shook her head. "I don't know. I'll go check. Is his stall still in the same place?"
“Yes, yes, yes,” the newspaper reporter pointed in a direction, “it’s still the same spot.”
Chu Ci looked in the direction she was pointing and sure enough, she saw Wei Yong selling sweet soup at his stall.
He stood in front of the dessert stall selling desserts, glancing every now and then at the girl standing next to him, her face as red as a tomato.
Chu Ci stood at a distance and watched for a while, noticing that Xu Juan had changed a lot.
She put on faded white clothes, took off her necklace and earrings, and wore no makeup.
Surprisingly, her bare face was somewhat pleasing to the eye.
As she was looking at it, she suddenly felt her hand being gently pushed.
Turning my head, I saw Zhuang Jingxuan.
She still has the same baby face as before, and her eyes crinkle when she smiles.
If you ignored Jiang Caixia, who was crying like a boiling kettle at her feet, Chu Ci would almost have thought she had changed her personality.
"What are you doing...?"
She looked up at Jiang Caixia, who was crying loudly next to Zhuang Jingxuan, and asked in confusion.
Zhuang Jingxuan chuckled, "Caixia is so kind. She was so moved that she cried when she was able to help me."
She suddenly grabbed Jiang Caixia by the collar. "You agree, right, Caixia?"
Jiang Caixia's sobs, which were as loud as boiling water, stopped abruptly, but she no longer swallowed her anger as before; however, her voice of resistance remained weak.
"I...I don't want to..."
"Huh?" Zhuang Jingxuan pretended to widen her eyes. "Why don't you want to?"
Before Jiang Caixia could explain, she launched into a rapid-fire speech:
"You're even willing to give up most of your soul to appear in your mother's dream in order to help the person who killed you recant their confession."
Why are you unwilling to give up the other half of your soul to appear in my mother's dream?
"My mother and I didn't kill anyone, nor did we cause your death, so why are you unwilling to help me?"
Jiang Caixia burst into tears, sobbing, "But...but if I help you, my soul will be scattered..."
"You're willing to forgive the person who killed you, so what if your soul is scattered?"
Zhuang Jingxuan stomped her foot, pretending to be willful.
“You’re helping that murderer, Qian Hui. I do charity work every year, why won’t you help me?”
"Is a kind person really less valuable than a murderer?"
Jiang Caixia shook her head, sobbing, but couldn't say anything.
Chu Ci then learned that the reason why Shen Zaikun had to go abroad for a medical examination and recanted his testimony was actually Jiang Caixia's doing.
Jiang Caixia's fragile soul wasn't damaged by Zhuang Jingxuan, but rather it was the price she paid to recant Qian Hui's testimony.
Chu Ci's voice carried a hint of coldness, "What have you done?"
Jiang Caixia's shoulders trembled, and she hesitated to speak.
Zhuang Jingxuan spilled the beans, "She appeared in her mother's dream and said that she committed suicide."
"Have her mother find a love letter from who-knows-how-many years ago in the drawer, and tell her that she and Qian Hui are in love!"
After saying that, she slapped Jiang Caixia on the back, "Are you out of your mind?!"
Jiang Caixia cried even louder.
Hearing her whimpering, Zhuang Jingxuan almost rolled her eyes to the sky.
"Cry, cry, all you do is cry! How can you be so useless!"
She poked Jiang Caixia's back with her hand, expressing her disappointment and frustration:
"You saved Qian Hui just for the money his family gave to your brother!"
"Why don't you use the rest of your soul to appear in my mother's dream, and I'll have her give your family 100,000 yuan!"
Jiang Caixia paused in her sobs, then turned her head with an expectant look, "Really?"
"You big idiot!"
Zhuang Jingxuan swung her fist and went up to her, "I've lived most of my life and I've never seen anyone as eager as you!"
Jiang Caixia was beaten and cried, but she eventually found a chance to run away.
Seeing that Zhuang Jingxuan wanted to chase after her, Chu Ci grabbed her arm.
He gestured with his chin in the direction of Wei Yong and Xu Juan, "What's going on here?"
Zhuang Jingxuan then remembered Xu Juan and Wei Yong, and chuckled.
"What could have happened? Wei Yong fell in love with Xu Juan at first sight and pursued her relentlessly, disregarding past grievances."
"Xu Juan has been kicked out by her family. She has no money and no job. She will need to pay her sister-in-law a sum of money every month."
"To pay off my debts, I have no choice but to work at Wei Yong's dessert stall for now."
Chu Ci frowned. "Just a part-time job?"
"Actually, it's also to get to know Wei Yong better."
Zhuang Jingxuan shrugged, "After what happened to Xu Juan, her personality has changed drastically, and now she wants to live a peaceful life."
"It just so happens that Wei Yong's family is not bad in terms of conditions, and he also likes her quite a bit, so naturally we should get to know each other."
Chu Ci glanced at Wei Yong, who was grinning foolishly, and tried to walk past him, but Zhuang Jingxuan grabbed her arm.
"What are you doing! Those two are getting to know each other, why are you interfering?"
"Zhuang Jingxuan," Chu Ci lowered her eyebrows, "are you trying to matchmake Xu Juan and Wei Yong?"
"What's wrong?" Zhuang Jingxuan raised her head. "Is it not allowed?"
Chu Ci: "Do you think that, given Xu Juan's personality, she can really settle down and live a peaceful life with Wei Yong?"
Zhuang Jingxuan's arrogance subsided, and she hesitated before answering.
Chu Ci looked at her and sighed softly.
"I know you pity Xu Juan for being deceived by a scumbag, but in this matter, Xu Juan is not entirely innocent. The most innocent one is Wei Yong, who almost lost his life without doing anything."
"It's not wrong for Wei Yong to go on a blind date with Xu Juan, nor is it wrong for him to fall in love with Xu Juan at first sight. But if Xu Juan can't settle down with Wei Yong, then bringing them together is just harming him."
She wanted to talk to Xu Juan to clear things up, but Zhuang Jingxuan stopped her.
"You keep saying you're harming Wei Yong, but his current situation is the result of his own choices."
"He knew who Xu Juan was, but he still chose to be with her."
"If Xu Juan is greedy for money, then he's lustful. Aren't they a match made in heaven?"
Chu Ci paused, looking in the direction of Wei Yong and Xu Juan.
The two young people's eyes met, then quickly looked away, their faces and ears turning slightly red, the atmosphere filled with a sweet, bubbly glow.
Zhuang Jingxuan laughed triumphantly, "People can't just want the good and not the bad, can they? He chose this path himself, and if you interfere, you're meddling in his karma."
Chu Ci: "..."
She stared at the person in the distance for a while, then slowly pulled her foot back.
"You're right, he chose it himself."
Zhuang Jingxuan was surprised that she admitted defeat so readily, and she smiled so broadly that her eyes disappeared.
"I thought you were going to be stubborn for a bit longer."
She hooked her arm around Chu Ci's neck, her eyes crinkling with a smile.
"But believe me, Xu Juan is not the same Xu Juan as before. If she is willing to be with Wei Yong, she will definitely live a good life with him."
Chu Ci removed her hand from her shoulder and did not comment on what she said.
She looked at Xu Juan and Wei Yong in the distance, feeling uncertain.
I hope these two can really get along.
Zhuang Jingxuan skipped and hopped, wanting to find Jiang Caixia, but was stopped by Chu Ci.
"Zhuang Jingxuan?"
"Um?"
Zhuang Jingxuan turned around and raised an eyebrow at her.
"What's wrong?"
Chu Ci pursed her lips. "You want to visit your mother in a dream? Is there something you want to say?"
Zhuang Jingxuan looked at her, then looked away, her expression a little unnatural.
"It's nothing serious."
She waved her hand casually, but her voice didn't sound as relaxed as she appeared.
“My parents each do their own thing. My dad’s mistress gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and my mom is also pregnant with her lover’s child.”
She pinched her fingers, lowered her head, and her bangs covered her eyes.
"My parents are not as good to me as I say."
"They have new children now and will soon have new families. Neither of them wants to take care of me, who is in a vegetative state."
"So the two of them discussed paying for another six months of hospitalization, and if I still didn't wake up, they would let me die..."
She picked at her nails, "I don't want to die... but in this state, it seems no different from death."
Chu Ci paused for a moment. "If you want to live, I can help you find your mother..."
"Forget it," Zhuang Jingxuan interrupted her. "She's pregnant now. If I bother her, she'll dislike me even more."
Her wild, gesticulating smile subsided, and she clasped her hands together as she walked with her head down toward a less crowded area.
"Sometimes when I look at Xu Juan, I feel that I am quite similar to her."
"She has an older brother, so her parents naturally allocated more resources to him."
“I have nothing, but my parents, like her parents, don’t love me that much either.”
She stopped when they reached a secluded spot, turned to look at Chu Ci, and suddenly spoke:
"Living like this is meaningless. Can you send me to be reincarnated?"
Chu Ci looked at her and shook her head, "Your lifespan hasn't ended yet, how can you reincarnate?"
Even if she were willing to help, no ghost messenger would be willing to take her away.
Zhuang Jingxuan said "Oh" and lowered her head in frustration.
"Then I'm so pitiful. Would you say this is... a situation where one can neither live nor die?"
Seeing that Chu Ci remained silent, she clicked her tongue and said, "It's worse than death, too miserable."
As she spoke, she walked forward aimlessly, step by step.
Chu Ci suddenly called out to her, "The reason you are in a vegetative state is because your soul cannot enter your body."
"I plan to send two people to be reincarnated tonight. If your lifespan hasn't ended yet, I'll help you wake up, how about that?"
Zhuang Jingxuan paused in her departing steps, but did not turn back.
She had her back to Chu Ci, and her voice was very soft:
"But no one will welcome me back to sleep."
"If no one welcomes me back to sleep, is there any point in me waking up at all?"
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