Chapter 1 The Setting Sun

The setting sun was like a red apple, or a little sister's face flushed from the heat.

Zhou Ze sat in the bookstore, sorting through the latest batch of bills. The bookstore's operations had entered a period of financial straits, the key problem being that the inheritance he received from Xu Le was simply too small.

If it hadn't been for reclaiming the share from the pirate bookseller that time, the shop would likely have been unable to continue operating.

That night, after returning from the hospital, Zhou Ze burned all the remaining ghost money. He even squatted at the door and smoked half a pack of cigarettes, waiting for a while. Sure enough, no one came to throw money.

According to the female corpse, this was called using yin virtue to ward off disaster.

Ghost money given by ghosts was equivalent to yin virtue. When you needed money, you could use it to "exchange" for money; when you needed to avoid trouble, you could use it to offset problems.

The last incident had been reported in the news: a rich man hired someone to murder his wife.

There was a rumor that the suspect said a high school girl had appeared and beaten them up, but of course, no one believed it.

It wasn't like they were Sailor Moon.

In short, the incident came to an end, and Zhou Ze's ghost money wasn't burned in vain.

Xu Qinglang came over from next door, holding two cups of tea in his hands. His lifestyle was becoming increasingly refined.

Originally, a diligent and upward-striving young man,

after owning twenty-some properties,

finally began to indulge in enjoyment and entered a rhythm of depravity.

The two of them sat by the counter, drinking tea together.

"What happened to your wife in the end?" Xu Qinglang asked.

"She said she wanted some quiet time, and some time to think," Zhou Ze replied.

The process of being honest was very smooth,

even excessively so.

Doctor Lin's affection for him even had a tendency to develop into something "morbid," but fortunately, she was still a rational person.

Xu Le was dead, and Zhou Ze had taken over his body. So many unbelievable things had happened in front of her; asking her to accept everything all at once and continue to live a happy life without shame as both his "dream lover" and "current husband"

was a bit difficult.

"That's already pretty good. She's stronger than I imagined." Xu Qinglang smiled. "An ordinary person would probably be scared to death."

Zhou Ze remained noncommittal.

Xu Qinglang shouldn't have known about this. It was clear that someone had leaked the secret.

There was no need to look for the leaker; it was that Bai Yingying lady.

"By the way, I want to ask you something." Zhou Ze asked seriously, "Was Xu Le this strapped for cash when he opened the store?"

"No, I thought he was living quite a carefree life. But I didn't interact with him much before he died. He was a very dull guy, incredibly boring.

But he should have had a lot of money. I remember that he often helped his relatives at the bookstore back then, and he was very generous."

After Xu Qinglang finished speaking, he glanced at Zhou Ze, even sticking out his tongue and licking his lips.

"But you're interesting."

Instantly, his waist swayed, his eyes were charming, truly making one's heart flutter.

"It's a shame you're not a gigolo. You could have become a generation of gigolo kings."

"Can't we have a normal conversation?" Xu Qinglang said angrily.

"That's a compliment."

"Heh..." Xu Qinglang pointed his finger at Zhou Ze. "You should worry about yourself."

"Worry about what?" Zhou Ze pointed to the bookstore. "Business has been bad lately. It's not just that I barely see any living people, but I haven't even seen any ghosts."

"What are you and your doctor wife planning to do? I think she just needs some time to adjust, and then she'll accept it.

After all, a woman like her... to be honest, you lucked out. I can't believe there are still women like old-fashioned noble ladies in this day and age. Her parents must be oddballs too."

"Mm." Zhou Ze nodded. His father-in-law and mother-in-law were indeed very strange.

His father-in-law had been a hospital director and had also run a medical company. Logically, he should have been a successful person, but in some ways, he seemed very feudal and stubborn.

"A woman like that, as long as you tame her, she'll willingly take care of your family and raise your children." Xu Qinglang showed a look of yearning. "I want a woman like that too."

"You already are one." Zhou Ze stabbed him in the back.

"Let's talk about your problem. You're going to live with her in the future, right?"

"Probably." Zhou Ze said.

"Then you'll definitely sleep together too, right?" Xu Qinglang stretched out his hand, shook it, and continued, "When I say 'sleep,' I mean a verb that includes many complex actions and special positions, you understand?"

Zhou Ze nodded. He still didn't know what Xu Qinglang meant.

"Well, then, here's your problem. You're using Xu Le's body now. If you really sleep together, doesn't that also mean that Xu Le is cuckolding you?"

Xu Qinglang narrowed his eyes. At that moment, he smiled very mischievously.

Then,

Zhou Ze fell into deep thought.

"Even your DNA isn't originally yours, but Xu Le's. In other words, after you go through the extremely complex and rich verb process of 'sleep,' the child that's born

isn't actually your child, but Xu Le and Lin Wanqiu's child.

Right?"

Then,

Zhou Ze fell into deep thought again.

The more Xu Qinglang spoke, the more excited he became. Watching Zhou Ze continue to remain silent, he felt an indescribable joy in his heart!

Back when Madam Bai had people carry an eight-carried palanquin to pick him up,

Zhou Ze had secretly pointed his finger at him.

He had noted that revenge in his little notebook!

Zhou Ze took a sip of water, remaining unperturbed.

"Don't you feel worried and lost?" Xu Qinglang asked.

"I'm the one having a good time," Zhou Ze replied.

Xu Qinglang frowned and continued, "But this body is Xu Le's. When you sleep with her, it's Xu Le's body."

"I'm the one having a good time."

"But the child's DNA..."

"I'm the one having a good time."

Xu Qinglang slammed his hands on the counter and scolded,

"Damn it, you can't be so nonchalant about it!"

"Anyway, I'm the one having a good time. That guy Xu Le went to hell a long time ago and I don't know where he is now. He's probably already drunk Meng Po soup and been reincarnated. Why should I care about that?

I'm having a good time, that's all that matters."

Xu Qinglang's chest heaved with anger. He didn't know why he was angry,

but he was just so angry!

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. If we keep talking, it'll turn into a debate about mental and physical issues, and we'll be reaching the height of philosophy." Zhou Ze signaled the end of this somewhat boring discussion.

"Whatever makes you happy." Xu Qinglang was full of resentment.

"By the way, there's something else I need to ask you." Zhou Ze thought of another matter.

"Go ahead."

"Do you know any other ghost messengers?" Zhou Ze asked.

"I was living with the souls of my parents. How would I dare to get to know ghost messengers?" Xu Qinglang retorted.

"Alright, I understand."

It seemed he still had to find time to go to the Confucian Temple. The last time he saw that dwarf old man banging the gong, he should also have been officially employed.

"What exactly do you want to ask?" Xu Qinglang asked.

"I want to ask if ghost messengers have any kind of performance charts, like promotions, raises, and benefits."

"They should... have something like that," Xu Qinglang pondered for a moment and said. "Look at Madam Bai, she was able to accumulate merit and return to hell from the mortal realm to seek an official position. You should have something like that too.

Didn't the little loli tell you?"

Zhou Ze shook his head.

"I also think your appointment as a ghost messenger came a little too easily. I guess she probably has some other serious matter to deal with, so she temporarily dumped this job on you to handle."

"Are you saying that I'm just a temp worker?"

"Heh heh, once she's done dealing with things, you'll probably have to give up your nest. When that time comes, if she's in a good mood, she'll turn a blind eye to you. If she's in a bad mood, it's possible that she'll directly arrest you and take you back to hell."

"What exactly is she going to deal with?" Zhou Ze muttered to himself.

Immediately afterward, the image of the porridge-drinking youth from the old Taoist's livestream flashed in Zhou Ze's mind.

Rongcheng,

a ghost shop?

And then there was the little loli's reaction when she heard him mention Rongcheng.

It seemed,

it was really possible.

But no matter what, he couldn't easily return his identity as a temp worker. Living as an unregistered person wouldn't be comfortable.

Xu Qinglang went back to his shop, telling Zhou Ze "Happy Lantern Festival" as he left.

Zhou Ze was also packing up, while also telling Bai Yingying to go out and buy him a few packs of cigarettes and some yuanzi (sweet rice balls). He had to change his plans and go to the Confucian Temple tonight to chat with that dwarf old man.

Just then, the door of the bookstore was pushed open, and a man in a white down jacket walked in.

"Brother Le! I'm here to pick up my dad from the hospital."

Zhou Ze was taken aback, and his mind began to think, roughly guessing the man's identity. He should be his uncle's son, a little younger than him, and should be Xu Le's cousin.

Xu Dachuan had come to the city to see him last time, and had been in a car accident and suffered a minor fracture when he left. Zhou Ze had gone to see him once afterward. Lin, the doctor, had paid for the medical expenses, so he hadn't cared too much about it.

"Hello." Zhou Ze responded somewhat coldly.

"Brother Le, I'm a little short on cash lately. You see, my dad's fall means he'll have to rest at home for at least two months, and he can't go out to work and earn money either."

The cousin smiled at Zhou Ze.

"I already gave your father nutrition money." Zhou Ze had given some, but Xu Dachuan refused to accept it. Zhou Ze had secretly stuffed it into his clothes.

"Hey, Brother Le, I've got a new girlfriend recently, and I'm a little tight on money. Bro, help your little brother out, will you?" The cousin was directly asking for money.

"Business isn't good here." Zhou Ze didn't plan to give any.

"Bro, you're not being very kind." The cousin was unhappy, and said, "I was the one who found someone to help you with that last thing."

"What thing?"

"Bro, you're being unkind now, aren't you? You're not acknowledging me after the job's done? I'm telling you, I'm not just shamelessly asking you for money. Have I come to you and asked for money in the past half-year?

About that last thing, that driver promised not to leak anything. Besides, he's already been locked up for more than half a year, and he'll be out in another half a year or so. He'd be stupid to reveal anything, right? He's definitely got a tight mouth, otherwise, it'll go from illegal driving to intentional homicide.

I'm really tight on money this time, bro. Can you lend me a thousand or two? I'll pay you back when I have money, okay?"

Zhou Ze picked up the teacup on the counter, and upon hearing this, he suddenly frowned slightly, and said:

"What exactly are you talking about? I don't understand."

"Bro, are you planning to kick me to the curb after I've served my purpose?

Half a year ago, you asked me to help you contact a truck driver and pay him to intentionally run over that doctor,

You can't forget my contribution..."

"Crack..."

The glass cup in Zhou Ze's hand,

was directly crushed.