Chapter 14: Xu, Your Wife Is Gone!
Page 1/3
Kotoba suddenly became incredibly strong.
Tang Xu was thrown into a corner, instantly sobered up. Realizing what had just happened, he was both shocked and scared, timidly hiding beside Kotoba.
He carefully grabbed Kotoba’s arm with both hands.
That man holding the gun was terrifying; he wanted to wipe him out completely.
“Boss Yan, that person is so fierce, I’m really scared.”
Xu Zhiting: ??
Green tea guy, say one more word and I’ll make you eat bullets. Xu Zhiting put away the gun and quickly stepped forward to Kotoba. Just as he was about to ask if she was okay, she stopped him.
Her refusal was very clear.
His eyes fell in disappointment as he lowered his hands.
“Sorry, I didn’t know he was so important to you.” He deliberately emphasized “important.” “It’s too dangerous; you shouldn’t have taken the hit for him.”
Hey, hey, hey, Tang Xu didn’t like hearing that. What does “shouldn’t have taken the hit” mean? If Kotoba hadn’t blocked it, his soul would have been smoking by now.
“Big brother, I paid for this. She has to be responsible to me.” Tang Xu poked his head out, retorting, but a sharp look from the man quickly snuffed out his newfound arrogance.
Kotoba tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and touched it, her gaze somewhat cold. Xu Zhiting’s heart ached as if stabbed. After she left, he bent down to pick up the fallen hair, carefully wrapping it in a tissue he always carried.
Outside, chaos had erupted.
A sea of flashing cameras.
Zhenzhen Dong was pushed outside amid the commotion, completely unaware that she was the spark that ignited the whole incident. Her assistant squeezed through the crowd to her side.
“Sis Zhenzhen, are you okay?”
“Such a peaceful funeral, and now it’s like a ghost show in broad daylight.” Her clothes were disheveled, hair loose, and much of her makeup smudged. With the media everywhere, she could only swallow her anger and wait for the fuss to die down.
Zhenzhen Dong stomped angrily on the spot.
The next moment, a camera suddenly focused on her, and she instantly put on a bright smile.
Staff rushed out to dispel rumors, reorganizing the funeral hall to continue the unfinished ceremony.
But this time, everyone harbored some secret thoughts.
Some young actors whispered gossip among themselves.
“I heard Tang Xu’s death was suspiciously strange, related to that person. The place he fell was Zhenzhen Dong’s lounge. They even had a big fight the day before.”
“Shut up! Just listen, don’t spread rumors. Lately, Zhenzhen Dong has been acting smug, backed by Han Lu.”
“She’s not afraid Han Lu will get tired of her someday?”
“At least she’s got what she wants now. If it were you with such an opportunity, you’d probably run faster than she would.”
...
Tang Xu stood nearby, listening to everything without a flicker of emotion.
The person they were talking about was him?
Was his death related to Zhenzhen Dong?
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He saw genuine, uncontrollable anger in Zhenzhen Dong’s eyes.
“Boss Yan, can I...?”
“No, you can’t. I’m just a seller; don’t come to me.”
Before he could say anything else, Kotoba guessed what he was about to do and refused outright. That sudden teleportation and immense strength earlier didn’t seem like something a mere seller could do.
His soul still ached.
“Money’s not a problem.”
“It’s not about the money.”
“100,000?”
“I told you it’s not about money.”
Tang Xu bit his lip. “200,000.”
“Hah, I never show weakness to money. I have my principles.”
“500,000. That’s really all I have.” This was his long-saved personal stash; just the microphone alone cost him 300,000. This 500,000 was his retirement fund.
If one day he grew tired of the entertainment world,
he wouldn’t have no way out when leaving.
“Sometimes saving the world and ridding it of evil means breaking principles. Which card should I swipe this time?”
Tang Xu was at a loss for words, fooled by Kotoba’s teasing.
“Miss Yan, with your business skills, it’s a miracle your store hasn’t closed.”
“Thank you for the compliment. I’ll keep working hard.”
...
The two talked occasionally, while Xu Zhiting silently stood nearby.
“By the way, the messages have all been sent out. Do you think they’ll really come?” Two days ago, Kotoba, at Tang Xu’s request, had messaged everyone else from the Autumn group, inviting them to Tang Xu’s memorial.
Not wanting to crush Tang Xu’s hopes, Kotoba didn’t say anything too harsh.
“Probably.”
“Are there enough chairs at the venue? Should we add more?”
Kotoba finally lost patience. “Get a grip. That costs extra. Are you out of money already?”
Tang Xu’s eyes reddened in grievance; he pressed his lips tightly, silent.
Kotoba couldn’t bear to see him like that and spent money to add some extra chairs.
Night fell, and most people had dispersed. The once bustling scene from the day now felt desolate and lonely.
Tang Xu put on his performance costume and did his makeup.
Looking at himself in the mirror, his youthful face had faded. Years of filming had darkened and roughened his skin. Time cruelly told him this body was no longer young.
He scrutinized himself but couldn’t find a trace of his former self.
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He felt deeply sad.
Bitter and heartbroken, he bowed his head.
That night, the entire cemetery had been rented out by Kotoba at a great cost, clearing out everyone.
The spacious square was filled with chairs, and a stage had been set up at the front.
Above, countless stars twinkled.
Close to midnight, Tang Xu grasped the microphone and slowly stepped onto the stage. Tears glistened in his eyes. “Honestly, I understand. No one will come. How could anyone come?”
He had overestimated himself.
“Boss Yan, may I invite you to be an audience member at my concert?”
Kotoba silently watched him. Tang Xu mustered all his courage to invite her. “This time, I really have no money left.” Just as he finished speaking, she moved through the seats and sat down right in the middle.
“This time, I won’t charge you.”
Tang Xu smiled, tears streaming down, falling onto the microphone.
“And me too.” A familiar voice sounded beside him. Kotoba glanced sideways.
Xu Zhiting approached from nearby, accompanied by a young man.
The young man waved and greeted her.
“Hello, nice to see you again, miss. You left too quickly last time, I didn’t get a chance to say hi. I’m Tang Shuo.”
She didn’t care about his name; she only wanted to know why these two appeared here so late at night.
Xu Zhiting sat beside her, about to speak, but Tang Shuo beat him to it.
“Well, it’s not that we wanted to come. The commotion you caused here was just too much. If we didn’t come now, more people would show up later.”
Oh!
Kotoba withdrew her gaze.
Tang Shuo tried to sit next to her in the empty seat but was kicked to the next seat by his boss and given a warning.
“You’re too noisy, sit alone.”
Tang Shuo was curious. “It’s my first time seeing a dead person’s concert. Are there any special rules? If I had known, I would have brought Su Ran along. She loves all these weird things.”
He leaned closer to Kotoba again.
“Miss, are you really the owner of Time’s General Store?”
At last, Kotoba gave this chatty young man some attention. “How do you know?”
“Our boss said so!”
...
“He also said you’re really fierce and we must never provoke you, or we’d die miserably.”