Chapter 1 The Bathroom

Xu Le hadn't really renovated the bathroom much. There was only a simple sink and a squat toilet. There wasn't even a shower head. The second floor didn't even have a bed, originally. It was just used as a small warehouse because Xu Le used to go home every day.

Even if he had a pair of parents-in-law who looked down on him,

Even if he had a bossy sister-in-law,

Even if he had a wife who didn't sleep with him,

Xu Le would still close the bookstore, after finishing the few things there were to do each day, and leisurely go home.

That was life.

It wasn't about dignity,

Nor was it about freedom.

But he enjoyed it.

He was weak, he was cowardly, he had no ambition.

Because he was Xu Le. He wasn't some great figure who had left his name in history, so everyone thought it didn't matter;

If you put him in the shoes of some ancient figure, Xu Le's life would seem like great wisdom, adding so many flavors.

Zhou Ze couldn't understand Xu Le's flavors. He grew up in an orphanage. Although the inferiority complex in his heart wasn't obvious, it was always there. So he was sensitive, and he worked hard, whether in his studies, at work, or in his own life. He always insisted on being the best and most outstanding.

But right now, looking at the wet face in the mirror, a touch of pity arose in Zhou Ze's heart.

Pity for Xu Le, and also pity for himself.

Everyone has their own cage. It's just that the style and size of the cages are different, but there's always a cage.

Zhou Ze didn't want to be any kind of ghost king, nor did he hope to rely on his special powers to control the world of the living. On the one hand, he knew that if he was too high-profile, something bad would happen immediately. On the other hand, he was already very tired in his previous life, and he wanted to change the way he lived in this life.

In any case, he wanted to live, to continue living in this body.

He opened his palm and placed it in front of him. The fingernails had long since receded, and there was no sign of anything unusual.

Zhou Ze smiled.

Never mind.

Maybe he just deserved it.

He took a towel, wiped his face, and then wiped his hands. Zhou Ze walked out of the bathroom, but when he came out, the entanglement on his face had disappeared, and he became a little more free and easy.

The little loli was still sitting on the plastic stool, intently reading her picture book.

"Uncle, Ruirui is thirsty."

The little loli called out to Zhou Ze.

Like a pet acting cute to its owner.

Zhou Ze nodded, poured a cup of water in a paper cup, mixed cold and hot, and brought it to the little loli.

The little loli took the water cup, took a sip, and smiled with crescent-shaped eyes.

Zhou Ze simply sat down on the tile floor, reached out, and rubbed the little loli's head, openly and without any defense.

Time slowly passed.

The little loli continued to read her book.

Zhou Ze continued to lie beside her.

One big and one small.

They got along peacefully.

The little loli would take the interesting stories she saw to Zhou Ze and share them with him. Zhou Ze also responded, telling her some of the deeper meanings of fables or other small stories.

He didn't know how long it had been when the red car drove over again.

The girl's mother opened the door and thanked Zhou Ze. Her hair was the same as when she came. Zhou Ze curled the corner of his mouth. He really wanted to suggest that the woman go to that barber shop and ask for an explanation. You can't fool people like that.

Of course, if he really said that, the woman might blame you for meddling.

The little loli bowed to Zhou Ze and said thank you, then left with her mother.

From beginning to end, the little loli didn't look back at him.

Gone was gone.

Zhou Ze walked to the counter, picked up the gift box that the woman had given him at the beginning, and then realized that there was actually a stack of banknotes inside: three thousand yuan.

Not bad.

Zhou Ze didn't think about returning it.

He was short of money, so he'd use it first.

Zhou Ze felt that he had figured it out, like a cultivator suddenly having a clear mind;

But he also felt like he was throwing caution to the wind, not caring about the storms and just being carefree.

But in any case, at least he felt a lot more relaxed now.

Zhou Ze casually picked up a book with a large cover from the bookshelf. It was an appreciation of famous calligrapher's copybooks, a pure item that couldn't be sold. He didn't know if Xu Le's head had been run over countless times by the big iron gate when he decided to stock even this kind of book.

He randomly flipped through it.

This page happened to have the four characters "nande hutu (rarely muddle-headed)".

"Tsk, tsk."

Zhou Ze smacked his lips.

Interesting.

He looked at the time and found that it was almost evening. Thinking that he had an appointment with Doctor Lin to go to the movies tonight, Zhou Ze decided to go eat first.

Walking next door, Zhou Ze was stunned to see Xu Qinglang kneeling on the ground.

Xu Qinglang's eyes were red, and there were many wine bottles beside him. At this time, he was holding a bottle of wine and continued drinking.

"It's not fair… it's not fair…"

Xu Qinglang murmured to himself, even when Zhou Ze walked into the store, he didn't seem to notice at all.

"Hey?" Zhou Ze reached out and patted Xu Qinglang's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He really wanted to remind Xu Qinglang that for other men, getting drunk might just mean getting their money stolen, but if Xu Qinglang got drunk and ran out, it wouldn't be as simple as just losing money.

In fact, if he were lying on the street late at night with a girl, Xu Qinglang might be assaulted more times than the girl.

Xu Qinglang's body trembled, and he slowly raised his head, looking like a weeping pear blossom, pitiful to see. He made a feminine gesture with his fingers, pointed at Zhou Ze, and said in a daze:

"Today is my parents' death anniversary."

Zhou Ze was silent for a while, and said, "My condolences."

After waiting for a while,

Xu Qinglang continued to drink.

Zhou Ze could only remind him, "Aren't you cooking dinner tonight?"

"Cook! Cook dinner!"

Xu Qinglang staggered to his feet. That slender waist, graceful posture, was particularly attractive, especially that shaky posture, making people want to go up and support him directly, and smell the fragrance on his body.

"You don't have to force yourself?"

Zhou Ze said this, but he still sat down in a chair, ready to eat.

It wasn't easy for him to get a meal, so he didn't want to go to another restaurant.

Xu Qinglang waved his hand and walked into the back room.

Soon,

The sound of the stove being lit came from inside. Xu Qinglang was cooking.

Zhou Ze took out his phone and saw that Doctor Lin had just sent him a message, saying that she would come to pick him up soon.

Zhou Ze replied with an "Okay."

Thinking about it, he felt it wasn't grand enough,

So he replied with a "Haha Pao Pao Bing emoticon."

Then he felt it was too frivolous.

He withdrew the emoticon.

Thinking that withdrawing it would seem too obvious,

He replied with a "Hehe."

Then he felt that the word "Hehe" wasn't friendly enough.

But he felt that withdrawing it a second time would seem too affected.

What a tangle…

Zhou Ze was very tangled at the dining table.

The other chef who was cooking was also very tangled.

In the pot was twice-cooked pork. After stir-frying it, covering it on rice would be a plate of twice-cooked pork with rice, very simple and very appetizing.

"Why didn't she arrest you, but arrest my parents?"

Xu Qinglang muttered to himself while cooking.

There's an ancient saying: "One doesn't worry about scarcity, but worry about inequality." This sentence expresses too many truths and reveals the darkest side of people's hearts.

"This isn't fair, it really isn't fair." Xu Qinglang continued to mutter to himself.

"How can you be partial? How can you be partial?"

Xu Qinglang's eyes were dull, but the frequency of his stir-frying didn't change. He was a good cook. Cooking had almost become an instinct.

Silently, Xu Qinglang took out a yellow jar from the cabinet under the stove and poured some powder from it into the twice-cooked pork.

"My parents were taken away, why didn't you leave? Did you save her life?"

"Hehe, what a joke."

"You want to eat?"

"Okay, I'll give you food."

Xu Qinglang kept taking deep breaths.

"Is it ready yet?" Zhou Ze urged from outside.

"Almost."

Xu Qinglang was stunned for a moment, and a bit of panic and hesitation flashed in his eyes, but he still put the lid on the pot. He realized that his rice hadn't been put in the microwave to heat up, so he had to reheat it again.

After the rice was ready, Xu Qinglang put the twice-cooked pork on top of it and walked out with the plate.

Zhou Ze was looking at his phone screen in a tangled mood, looking at Xu Qinglang walking over with a somewhat lost look, putting down the food, and said with some worry:

"Are you like this, won't you forget to put salt in it?"

Xu Qinglang shook his head.

Zhou Ze picked up his chopsticks, ready to eat.

Xu Qinglang's hand shook, his lips slightly opened, just as he was about to speak, Zhou Ze put down his chopsticks.

"Sour plum juice or bitter gourd juice?" Zhou Ze asked.

"Oh, okay."

Xu Qinglang walked back, took a glass of sour plum juice, and walked back again.

Zhou Ze first picked up the sour plum juice, smelled the aroma, and then took a deep breath, just as he was about to drink it down, his phone vibrated at this moment.

"I'm here, come out."

Zhou Ze hesitated, but still put down the sour plum juice.

He knew that after he ate this meal, his entire face might be sour for a long time, like everyone around him owed him a lot of money.

Thinking about it, never mind.

Adding his previous life to this life, this was his first time dating a girl to go to the movies, he should be a little more serious.

There was no way, originally the difficulty of his Doctor Lin mission was a beginner's novice task.

Now that he had changed to Xu Le's skin, the novice task instantly became a Big Boss level task.

He didn't know whether he should be secretly happy or bitter?

What he had to strive for now was,

Defeat himself? Then he could win the beauty back.

"The money, put it on the tab, we'll settle it together at the end of the month, I'm leaving first."

Zhou Ze got up, pushed open the door, and went out.

Doctor Lin's car was parked on the side of the road, the window was down, and she was waiting for him.

And in the noodle shop, Xu Qinglang's face changed uncertainly, then he slammed the plate of twice-cooked pork with rice onto the ground,

Holding his head, he began to cry on the ground.

He cried louder and louder,

Until the end,

It turned into dry howling…