Midnight Bookstore

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sun in the evening was red like an apple. It also looked like the face of a little girl baked under the sun.

Zhou Ze sat in the bookstore, organizing the bills. The bookstore was in financial straits, but the assets he had ‘inherited’ from Xu Le were too little.

If he had not taken his share of the book-pirating business back, it was quite likely that he would have to close the bookstore.

Zhou Ze burned the remaining joss papers he had after coming back from the hospital the other night. Zhou Ze crouched at the entrance and smoked for quite some time, but as he expected, no one had come to drop off their money.

According to the gyonshi, it was called using his secret virtue to prevent disasters from happening.

The joss papers he had received from ghosts were equivalent to secret virtues. He could exchange them for money when needed, and if he was expecting troubles, he could use them to counteract the troubles, too.

There was some news about a rich man hiring people to murder his wife.

Rumors said that the suspect had mentioned a girl in high school had shown up and beat the crap out of them, but it was obvious that no one would believe it. Sailor Moon did not really exist.

Either way, the curtain had dropped on that incident. Zhou Ze did not burn his joss papers for nothing.

——

Xu Qinglang came over, holding two cups of tea. He was starting to improve his lifestyle.

A diligent young man had finally started to become decadent after owning more than twenty properties.

The two sat at the counter and enjoyed the tea.

“So what happened with your wife in the end?” Xu Qinglang asked.

“She said she needed some time alone to think about it,” Zhou Ze said.

His plan of telling his wife the truth was carried out smoothly. As a matter of fact, it was too smooth to be true.

Doctor Lin’s affection toward him could be described as abnormal, but luckily, she was still a rational person.

Her husband Xu Le was dead, while Zhou Ze had reincarnated by claiming her husband’s body. All kinds of unbelievable things were happening right before her. To ask her to just accept it right away and live shamelessly with her Prince Charming who had somehow become her husband did sound kind of insane.

“It’s not too bad. She’s stronger than I imagined,” Xu Qinglang smiled. “I’m pretty sure most people would have gone insane.”

Zhou Ze ignored the comment. Xu Qinglang was not supposed to know about it. It was obvious that someone had been talking.

He did not need to guess to know who the person was. It was none other than Miss Bai Yingying.

“By the way, I have something to ask you,” Zhou Ze said seriously. “Has Xu Le always been this poor since he opened the bookstore?”

“Not really, I think he’s pretty well-off, but I didn’t really talk to him before he died. He was not the most interesting man to hang out with. He’s boring, but I do think he should have some money. I remember he was very generous to the relatives that came to visit him.”

Xu Qinglang glanced at Zhou Ze. He even stuck his tongue out and licked his lips.

“You are definitely more interesting than him.” The man shook his hips and put on a seductive look.

“It’s really a waste of talent if you don’t become a ‘duck’, you can easily become one of the best.”

{TL Note: Duck is slang for male prostitute in Chinese.} 

“Can’t we just have a chat peacefully?” Xu Qinglang said angrily.

“It’s a compliment.”

“Humph…” Xu Qinglang pointed at Zhou Ze, “You should worry more about yourself.”

“About what?” Zhou Ze pointed at the bookstore. “My business isn’t doing well lately. Not only are there barely any customers, there aren’t any ghosts, either.”

“Your doctor wife and you, what are you going to do with her? I’m pretty sure she just needs some time to adapt to it. She will accept the situation eventually. I have to say, you are a lucky bastard to have a woman like her. To think that there is still a woman with such traditional ideas as the daughter of a well-off family in the past. I bet her parents are really something.”

“Mm,” Zhou Ze nodded. His parents-in-law were indeed special.

His father-in-law was once the chairman of a hospital. He owned a pharmaceutical company, too. He could easily be considered a successful man, but he was stubborn and feudal in some aspects.

“A woman like her, as long as you win her affection, is willing to fulfill her roles as your wife,” Xu Qinglang had an anticipatory look. “I would like a woman like that, too.”

“You already are,” Zhou Ze added.

“Just focus on your problem, will you? Are you thinking of living together with her?”

“I think so,” Zhou Ze said.

“So I assume you’re going to sleep with her then?” Xu Qinglang shook his hand and said, “The sleep I’m referring to here involves complicated actions and unique positions, do you understand?”

Zhou Ze nodded, yet he still could not figure out what Xu Qinglang was trying to say.

“So, the question is, now that you are in Xu Le’s body, if you did sleep with her, doesn’t that mean Xu Le is cheating on your wife?” Xu Qinglang squinted in a mischievous way.

Zhou Ze fell into deep thought.

“On top of that, the DNA you now have is no longer yours. It’s Xu Le’s, which means the kids she has after you two sleep together and do the complicated actions are not your kids. They are Xu Le and Lin Wanqiu’s kids, right?”

Zhou Ze fell into deep thought again.

Xu Qinglang was enjoying it the more he spoke, especially when he saw Zhou Ze remaining silent!

When Madam Bai sent the palanquin carried by eight porters to receive him, Zhou Ze had betrayed him by telling them he was the one they were looking for. He had recorded the grudge in his little notebook!

Zhou Ze quietly took a sip of the tea.

“Don’t you feel worried and depressed?” Xu Qinglang asked.

“It’s still me enjoying the process,” Zhou Ze replied.

Xu Qinglang frowned and added, “But the body is Xu Le’s. It’s Xu Le’s body sleeping with her.”

“But it’s me enjoying the process.”

“But the kids’ DNA…”

“But it’s me enjoying the process.”

Xu Qinglang slammed his hand on the counter and snapped, “Damn it, why are you so optimistic about it?”

“Either way, it’s still me enjoying the process. That Xu Le has already gone to Hell. He might have drunk the Mengpo Tang and reincarnated by now. Why would I care about that? As long as it’s me enjoying the process.”

Xu Qinglang’s chest was heaving. He had no idea what he was mad about, but he was mad!

“Alright, that’s enough, it’s going to escalate to a debate about the difference between mental and physical soon. It’s going to turn philosophical,” Zhou Ze put a stop to the boring discussion.

“As you wish!” Xu Qinglang snapped.

“By the way, I have some other things to ask you.” Another thought had crossed Zhou Ze’s mind.

“Say it.”

“Do you know any other Envoys?” Zhou Ze asked.

“I was trying to hide my parents’ souls before. Do you think I had the guts to befriend an Envoy?” Xu Qinglang asked in return.

“Alright, I got it.”

It turned out that he still had to pay a visit to the Confucian Temple sometime soon. The midget old man with a gong that he saw last time must be holding some position in the organization, too.

“What do you want to ask?” Xu Qinglang asked.

“I want to know if Envoys are evaluated based on their performance, and if there’s any promotions or bonuses.”

“I…I think that should be the case,” Xu Qinglang said after a pause, “Look at Madam Bai. She has been accumulating merits in the living world so she could obtain a position after going to Hell, despite overstaying in the living world. I believe the same thing applies to you too. Didn’t the little girl tell you anything about it?”

Zhou Ze shook his head.

“I still think it’s weird how she made you an Envoy, just like that. I think she’s busy dealing with something important, so she just appointed you as an Envoy to substitute her for the time being.”

“So you’re saying that I’m actually just a temporary worker?”

“Hehe, once she’s done with her business, you might lose your job. By then, she might ignore you completely, or there’s a chance that she’s going to send you back to Hell if she’s in a bad mood.”

“What exactly was she up to?” Zhou Ze murmured. Zhou Ze remembered the young man that was eating porridge in the background in Lao Dao’s live stream.

-Chengdu, the joss shop?-

Zhou Ze recalled the little girl’s reaction when he mentioned Chengdu.

-There’s a great chance that might be the case…-

Either way, he was not willing to give up on his role as an Envoy. He did not want to go back to the days when he was just an ‘illegal immigrant’.

——

Xu Qinglang went back to his restaurant. He wished Zhou Ze “Happy Lantern Festival” right before he left.

Zhou Ze was packing up some stuff too. He asked Bai Yingying to buy some cigarettes and rice balls. He was thinking of visiting the midget old man at the Confucian Temple tonight.

The door opened. A man in a white mink coat walked in.

“Brother Le! I have come to pick up my dad from the hospital.”

Zhou Ze was stunned for a moment, but he quickly guessed who the man was. He must be his uncle’s son. He seemed younger than Xu Le. He should be Xu Le’s cousin.

Xu Dachuan had suffered a slight fracture after he was caught in the car crash when he came to visit Xu Le last time. Xu Le visited him once after the accident. Doctor Lin had paid all the fees, so he did not bother visiting him again since then.

“Hi,” Zhou Ze responded coldly.

“Brother Le, I’m running short on money recently, and my dad will have to rest at home for a couple of months too. He wouldn’t be able to work to provide for the family.”

The man smiled at Zhou Ze.

“I have already given some to uncle,” Zhou Ze tried giving Xu Dachuan some money, but the man was not willing to accept it. Zhou Ze ended up putting the money inside the pockets of Xu Dachuan’s clothes secretly.

“Heh, Brother Le, I had a new girlfriend recently, so I’m short on cash. Brother, help your younger brother out.” The man was being more straightforward.

“My business isn’t doing well lately,’ Zhou Ze had no intention of giving away his money.

“Brother, that’s not very nice of you.” The man was not happy. He said, “Have you forgotten the favor I did for you?”

“What favor?”

“Brother, that’s not honest of you. Are you denying it after it’s done? I’m asking for your help because I have no other choice. I haven’t troubled you for the past half a year. The driver promised he won’t tell anyone about it. He is in prison for half a year now. He just needs half a year before he’s released. He will only tell the truth if he’s stupid. He wants to keep it a secret, or else he would be charged with murder instead of reckless driving. I’m really in a pinch here, so please just give me two thousand. I’ll give it back to you once I have the money, ok?”

Zhou Ze grabbed the teacup on the counter. He suddenly frowned and said, “What are you referring to? I honestly don’t understand.”

“Brother, are you seriously going to tear down the bridge after you’ve crossed it? Half a year ago, you asked me to contact a truck driver. You paid him to crash into the doctor on purpose. You can’t just deny it now…”

Crack…

The cup in Zhou Ze’s hand shattered into pieces…