Chapter 911 Qingming Festival

People were getting dressed, getting out of bed;
The scene seemed a bit chaotic and at a loss.
Like who took whose bra by mistake,
And who took whose skirt.
Boss Zhou acted as if nothing had happened,
Walked to the chair behind the desk in the bedroom, and sat down.

His gaze didn't deliberately dodge, just calmly looking straight ahead.
The eyes are the windows to the soul, so they must be open and honest!

People's pursuit of desire is endless, and their exploration of taboos and breaking of traditional conventions is also tireless.
In this regard, the island country next door does a great job, with various ideas, thoughts, and scenarios, even teaching you hand-in-hand how to explore this mysterious and wonderful world.
Two young bodies, full of vibrant rhythms, exuding the aura of youth.

Watching the two girls, like ants on a hot pot, become dizzy after his appearance was quite interesting.

One was his sister-in-law, Lin Yi, in the legal sense, and the other was Chen Ya, Lin Yi's roommate, whom Zhou Ze also knew, the one with the very white legs.

Looking at her now,
Her legs were still very white.

"Brother-in-law, why are you back?"

It would be a lie to say it wasn't awkward, and this kind of awkwardness was probably several times deeper than a boy hiding in the study secretly masturbating and being interrupted by an elder who pushed the door open and came in.

Zhou Ze kept a straight face, didn't say anything, fully displaying the dignity of an elder!

In fact,
Boss Zhou hadn't figured out what to say either.

But since he had already pushed the door open and come in, running out rashly again wasn't Boss Zhou's style.

Perhaps because this feeling was too oppressive, Lin Yi could only stand up, take a few steps forward, and say:

"Brother-in-law?"

"Your sister told me to come back and check on things."

Boss Zhou started making things up.

Lin Yi was stunned for a moment and said, "But my sister moved out and lives alone a long time ago, she doesn't live with us anymore."

Huh?

"She told me to come back and check on you."

Boss Zhou continued to make things up.

"Ah, Brother-in-law, are you saying that my sister already knows?"

"She was afraid you'd be embarrassed, so she told me to come and talk to you."

Chen Ya, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, twitched her lips.
The sister was afraid of embarrassment,
So she sent her brother-in-law to make it less awkward?

It seemed so,
It was often said that the brother-in-law had half the…

Chen Ya was also a carefree person; after the initial chaos, she sat on the edge of the bed putting on stockings and a skirt with peace of mind, not avoiding Zhou Ze, even generously letting Zhou Ze watch.

She never hid her affection for Zhou Ze,
Of course,
This affection had nothing to do with Boss Zhou's looks.

Boss Zhou felt that if he continued to chat like this, it would never end, so he had to get up and say:

"Are you hungry? I'll treat you to breakfast."

The two girls nodded in agreement:

"We're hungry."

At this moment, being able to leave this bed and this bedroom was the best way to end this awkwardness.

And so,
Zhou Ze led the two girls out of the house. There was a breakfast shop at the entrance of the residential area. It was 4:30 in the morning, but the breakfast shop was already open and busy.

After going in,
Zhou Ze ordered a bowl of noodles, Lin Yi ordered a bowl of tofu pudding, and Chen Ya ordered a bowl of wontons.

While eating, Boss Zhou thought about what to say, but it seemed like there was nothing to say.

Pay attention to moderation?

Did this also need moderation?

Pay attention to safety measures?

Did this need safety measures?

Pay attention to hydration?

Um…

"How's it going with your studies?"

Boss Zhou asked.

"Well, it's pretty good, I'm planning to take the postgraduate entrance exam." Lin Yi replied.

Because of that incident, Lin Yi rested at home for half a year in her third year of high school to recover mentally, and she didn't do well on the college entrance exam as a result. Although the medical major at Tongcheng University was also a first-tier program, it wasn't ideal for her to attend this university with her original grades.

Of course,
With her family's conditions, even if her scores weren't enough, there wouldn't have been any problem with some maneuvering. Perhaps it was also because they were worried about her physical and mental state that the Lin family simply let her go to university in Tongcheng.

"What about you?"

Zhou Ze looked at Chen Ya.

Chen Ya took out a tissue and wiped her mouth, answering:

"I'll just muddle through graduation, my family will arrange a job for me after graduation."

Okay,
Both were from wealthy families.

Boss Zhou had gone through student life. Since entering school, he had been a top student, after all, his starting point back then was too low, so low that he couldn't think of any other way out except through studying.

Back then, who knew that you could be re-employed as a ghost messenger after death?

Therefore, Zhou Ze knew how confused and anxious most junior and senior students were at that time;

After all, not every student's parents could say, "We'll arrange it."

"Having fun is okay, don't take it seriously. I know this feeling is pleasant, but don't let it affect your orientation, understand?"

Lin Yi nodded.

Chen Ya remained silent.

The conversation was a bit dry, but not awkward. The two girls didn't have that kind of "love" that made them argue and resist to the end. Maybe they were just having fun because they were good friends.

Breakfast was over,
Zhou Ze looked at the time and said:

"Are you going back to school or going back to rest?"

"I'm going to my sister's place." Lin Yi stuck out her tongue, she was still thinking about explaining to her sister.

"Your sister isn't feeling well right now, she just rested. Go see her in a few days."

"What's wrong with my sister? Did I make her sick?"

"No, don't overthink it. By the way, what about you?"

"I'm going back to school." Chen Ya replied.

"Okay, then take a taxi."

Boss Zhou also came by taxi, so he was too lazy to say he'd give her a ride.

"It's still early, the dormitory hasn't opened yet." Chen Ya shook her head.

"Are your dorm aunties that lazy?"

"No, the people in our dormitory can't possibly get up that early."

The doors to the dormitory at night are basically locked from the inside.

"Don't you have a bookstore? I'll just sit there for a while."

"I'll go too." Lin Yi immediately said.

Zhou Ze lowered his head,
Pointed at Lin Yi with his finger,
"You, go back and rest."

"Okay."

Immediately,
Boss Zhou took out his phone and called for a taxi.
After the car stopped,
Zhou Ze got in the car, didn't call Chen Ya, but Chen Ya still opened the other door, waved to Lin Yi, and sat down.

Lin Yi shrugged,
Muttering something,
Slowly walking towards the residential area.

…………

From the time they got in the car to the time they reached their destination, Zhou Ze didn't say anything, and neither did Chen Ya.

When they got out of the car,
Zhou Ze stood in front of the bookstore,
Habitually took out a cigarette, but couldn't find a lighter when he reached for it. It seemed like he had left it at Lin Yi's house.

Chen Ya took out a silver lighter from her pocket and skillfully lit Zhou Ze's cigarette.

Zhou Ze exhaled a smoke ring, looked at Chen Ya, and said:

"Smoke less, it's not good for your health."

"It doesn't seem appropriate for you to say that to me while you're smoking."

I'm dead, what about you?

Zhou Ze pushed open the door of the bookstore. Lao Dao and Lao Xu hadn't returned yet, and Baihu wasn't there either. Only Ying'er was left in the bookstore, sitting behind the bar, holding a book and reading.

Two plates were placed in front of her, one with sliced fruit and the other with qingtuan (sweet green glutinous rice ball).

"Boss, you're back."

Ying'er got up very enthusiastically to greet him.

When Chen Ya looked at Ying'er, a different kind of brilliance suddenly flashed in her eyes.

Zhou Ze noticed this scene;
He immediately had the feeling that the meat slowly cooking in his pot was being targeted by someone else.

Ying'er hasn't completely thawed out yet, how could he let you covet her?

"The store is a bit dirty, just find something to do, mop the floor, wipe the tables, something like that."

Zhou Ze said to Chen Ya.

"Okay."

Chen Ya didn't refuse, found a rag and started wiping the tables. Judging by her movements, she was quite efficient.

Boss Zhou was about to take a shower. Just as he was about to ask Ying'er to prepare clothes for him, he saw Ying'er carrying out a brazier.

"What's wrong?"

"Lao Dao said, it's a festival today."

"A festival?"

"Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day)."

"Oh."

No wonder there were qingtuan on the bar.

Ying'er put the brazier in front of the bar, took out her phone, and called Hei Xiaoniu (Black Girl).

Before long,
Clusters of green plants emerged from the cracks in the bookstore's floor, blooming around the brazier.

This was to be used as a range hood to absorb dust particles.

Chen Ya, who had just finished wiping the tables over there and was walking here, frowned as she looked at the plants over there. She seemed to vaguely remember that there weren't any flowers planted here when she first came in?

"Boss, want to burn some?"

Zhou Ze nodded, didn't rush to take a shower, but walked over, took the ghost money from Ying'er, and threw them into the brazier one by one.

Chen Ya stood beside him, watching calmly. She was just a little strange. Other people burned paper money in stacks, but this family seemed particularly frugal.

"Do you want to burn some too?"

Ying'er looked up at Chen Ya, who was standing beside her. She didn't ask why the boss brought her back, nor did she ask who she was.

"Okay."

Chen Ya also squatted down and took it from Zhou Ze… uh,

She saw that Zhou Ze was actually counting the ghost money one by one, and then handed her thirteen sheets.

Chen Ya looked at Zhou Ze with a bit of amusement,
Boss Zhou didn't care,
And continued to burn them one by one.

Because not much paper money was put in at a time, the fire only barely stayed alight.

In the process of handing over each sheet,
Boss Zhou's heart slowly calmed down.
The old monkey's matter, the gambling den婆婆's (pópo, old woman) matter, the Northeast Dragon Vein's matter,
Seemed to be less important now,
Only his current inner peace felt like the most precious treasure.

If he could cast aside his identity as a ghost messenger, cast aside the Ying Gou's ties, cast aside the琐琐碎碎(suǒ suǒ suì suì, trifles) of yin and yang,
He would really just be an ordinary person,
Running this quiet bookstore,
What would life be like?

Um,
He would go bankrupt and starve to death…

Zhou Ze stood up,
Stretched,
He deserved to be the destroyer of the small, fresh atmosphere; he was ruthless even when it came to puncturing his own little emotions.

Life had to continue to be lived well, but things couldn't be left undone. Some tides were already irreversibly sweeping in. He couldn't avoid them by deceiving himself and locking himself in the bookstore.

Perhaps,
This was a kind of destiny?

He was the busiest one on this stage, but also the most insignificant one;
Because,
The protagonist of the stage wasn't himself.

Chen Ya was still squatting in front of the brazier with Ying'er, her eyes constantly staring at Ying'er.

Ying'er, on the other hand, continued to burn the ghost money very seriously.

After the last sheet of ghost money was burned,
Ying'er put her hands together,
As if she was making a wish,
Then she opened her eyes, stood up,
And said to Zhou Ze with a smile on her face:

"Happy Qingming Festival, Boss!"

Chen Ya was a little surprised. She had heard of Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, but could Qingming Festival also be happy?

Of course it could be happy. Qingming Festival, for ghost messengers, was like celebrating the New Year, because on this day, a huge amount of "filial piety" would be sent over from the yang (living) world. The officials of the Yin Si (underworld) could also make a fortune on this day, almost like receiving lucky money.

Zhou Ze reached out and put his arm around Ying'er's shoulders,
And said:
"Happy Qingming."