Chapter 19: The End Where Twilight and Day and Night Intertwine
From the moment Dong Zhenzhen chose to take Tang Xu’s destiny, she had no way back.
She knelt on the ground, writhing in pain, worse than death.
In Tang Xu’s eyes, there was nothing left but fear; not a trace of the love that once remained.
“Don’t you feel sorry for her?”
He wasn’t mad yet. Should he feel sorry for her? After knowing how long he had endured at the other’s hands, after realizing that the so-called guilt was actually something he had to bear himself.
“If I trade my life for her smooth path to stardom, barely clinging to life, and still feel sorry for her, then maybe I deserve to descend to the eighteenth level of hell.”
He wasn’t without pity once.
At least during those years of sincere love, no one was at fault.
Tang Xu didn’t want to stay here; Dong Zhenzhen had received her due punishment. Although it wasn’t the satisfaction of exacting revenge with his own hands, if it came down to it, he probably couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Stepping outside, he felt completely relieved.
He even jumped a few times on the spot, feeling unexpectedly joyful.
Dong Zhenzhen was engulfed in blazing flames—hell’s crimson lotus fire burning away all filth and sin in the world. Those burdened with guilt endured unimaginable torment in the purifying fire.
Only a few could withstand it.
Si Yu’s gaze fixed firmly on Yan Ye’s fingertips, where the lingering trace of the crimson lotus fire still seemed to flicker.
Yan Ye started to leave, and Si Yu immediately followed her.
“Why are you following me?”
“You... don’t blame me?”
What? She was baffled—she had just gone on a routine mission and somehow ended up with a shadow trailing her? She looked at him amusingly, seeing those expectant eyes mixed with subtle, unfathomable longing. “Why would I blame you?”
“I helped her, did something bad. Shouldn’t you scold me?”
Since when did this grocery store start offering disciplinary services? She had no idea.
“Kid, you’ve got the wrong person! If you want to get arrested, go to the Supernatural Bureau. I’m just a shopkeeper; arresting people isn’t my business.”
She hadn’t streamed for days; she wondered how many of her already few followers had dropped off.
After closing the door, by the time Si Yu chased after her, Yan Ye’s figure was nowhere to be found outside.
Late at night, the Supernatural Bureau received a mission alert.
Tang Shuo and Su Ran rushed to the scene; only a skeleton remained in the room. Strangely, the fire was concentrated in a single spot.
This fire was peculiar!
What was even stranger was that the deceased was Dong Zhenzhen.
---
“Who are you talking about? Dong Zhenzhen? The popular actress Dong Zhenzhen?” Tang Shuo rubbed his forehead. Why was this woman wandering here in the middle of the night? Besides, this was the place where Tang Xu fell to his death. It was hard not to connect the two.
The previous case was still under investigation with no results, and now Dong Zhenzhen was dead.
Tang Shuo reported the matter to Xu Zhi Ting.
“Got the surveillance footage?”
“The tech team’s still erasing traces; it’s complicated.” Normally, surveillance wouldn’t capture much, but the Supernatural Bureau had the most advanced restoration technology. Even if footage was deliberately deleted, as long as someone passed by the machine, it could be restored one-to-one.
“Boss, I think something’s fishy about this case.”
If nothing was suspicious, it could be classified as an ordinary case. You wouldn’t even need to go out.
Xu Zhi Ting continued to look at the computer screen, which read: “The streamer you follow has not started broadcasting yet; please wait patiently!”
Irritated, he pressed the exit key.
Tang Shuo noticed his boss frowning but growing more enthusiastic.
“Dong Zhenzhen died in Tang Xu’s apartment. They reportedly had an argument a few days ago. Chen Xing tried to protect Dong Zhenzhen because there were no cameras, but she’s clearly a suspect. Now that she’s dead, there’s no witness.”
“So?”
“So, I plan to ask Boss Yan to talk to Tang Xu. Maybe she can get some insider information.”
“Go on.”
“Can I WeChat Yan Boss to meet up?”
...
Xu Zhi Ting glanced at Tang Shuo, a look of praise in his eyes.
“Leave it to you.”
“Got it. Watch me!”
He vowed to work hard, accumulate points, become deputy director of the Supernatural Bureau, marry a rich and beautiful woman, and reach the pinnacle of life.
Tang Shuo dreamed daily of becoming deputy director of the Supernatural Bureau.
Yan Ye saw Tang Shuo’s message, flipped her phone face down on the table, and got up to head to the kitchen.
After a while, a loud bang erupted from the kitchen as smoke billowed out. A pot flew out and landed near a large tree.
Pearl, the little short-legged dog, darted over quickly, poking her head into the smoke to check if Yan Ye was okay.
Golden Yuanbao clumsily followed.
“Yan Ye blew up the kitchen again, Yan Ye blew up the kitchen again!”
Tang Xu stared in shock at the scene. The other two seemed quite used to it.
---
“Does your boss do this often?”
Pearl barked twice.
Golden Yuanbao, the chief anti-Yan Ye fan, dared to say anything. “You’ll get used to it! She’s nowhere near as virtuous as I am.”
Yan Ye walked out of the now-clear kitchen, dusting off her hands. “Sorry, I was going to cook a meal to send you off, but maybe I’ll just order takeout instead!”
Tang Xu: It doesn’t have to be so creepy.
Looks like a meal for the decapitated.
Golden Yuanbao sat close to Tang Xu. In just a few days, it seemed to really like this human. Aside from He Ruiwen, Yan Ye had never seen it so close to anyone else.
“It’s raining outside; remember to grab an umbrella at the door when you leave.”
Tang Xu wasn’t originally sad, but the way it was said made his chest tighten a little.
“Okay.”
The alley lights came on. As Tang Xu reached the door, his pant leg was tugged. Turning around, he met Golden Yuanbao’s teary eyes.
“Can you sing me a song too?”
He crouched down, gently stroked Golden Yuanbao’s bald head, and carefully adjusted its crooked antenna.
He hummed a cheerful tune softly.
Golden Yuanbao searched its entire human music library but found no match.
“Why can’t I find this song?”
Tang Xu paused, then smiled. “Because you’re the first listener of this song.” He stood, waved goodbye, and his figure slowly blended into the fading light of dusk.
Countless days and nights, that man would hold its little hand and walk through the evening alley. Across the street were the myriad lights of the human world. He would tirelessly tell it again and again that was his hometown, where he came from, a beautiful place.
He would gently stroke its head and say it was the smartest robot in the world.
He would hum little tunes, and his smile was so gentle.
Golden Yuanbao hadn’t thought of He Ruiwen for a long time, but Tang Xu’s presence made it think over and over again.
Two completely different people, yet somehow, in a fleeting moment, some qualities overlapped.
At the edge where dusk and night intertwined, Tang Xu stood at the street corner, glanced back once at the courtyard lit by the Time Grocery Shop’s sign.
Then his figure slowly vanished.