Midnight Bookstore

“I’m sorry to interrupt your family’s gathering. I’m just here to settle my matters. Please continue.”

With that, Zhou Ze got off the stretcher and walked to Chen Zesheng’s body. He reached out and patted Chen Zesheng’s shoulder lightly. A black halo appeared and formed Chen Zesheng’s shadow.

Only Zhou Ze could see this shadow. Normal people could not.

“We’re not even married yet,” Chen Zesheng said to Zhou Ze. He himself looked calm and collected, as if he was not surprised that Zhou Ze was going to kidnap him.

“Your wife is waiting for you downstairs.”

With that, Zhou Ze grabbed him forcefully and walked out.

“Stop right there!”

The elder brother did not retort, but the younger brother mustered his courage and pointed at Zhou Ze.

“What are you trying to do!”

“I’ve done what I needed to do. You can continue.”

After saying that, Zhou Ze specially glanced at the priest standing beside the three women and smiled at him.

The priest smiled at Zhou Ze and lowered his head even more.

Zhou Ze remembered that the little loli had once evaluated him like this. She was very good with numbers.

From the looks of it, this priest seemed to know more than he did.

Without another word, Zhou Ze turned to leave. The younger brother continued to point at Zhou Ze, but he did not dare chase after him because he knew one thing. He had personally pushed the stretcher out from the freezer, and this meant that the person before him had been lying inside the freezer for a long time.

He felt like the world had gone mad, really mad.

He grabbed Chen Zesheng and walked to the road. There were lush greenery on both sides.

Chen Zesheng said, “Sir, I’m here to ask for your help.”

“Then why didn’t you say so earlier?” Zhou Ze asked.

“Because I realized that you don’t seem to be willing to help, sir,” Chen Zesheng said with a smile. “My younger brother has some mental problems, and I’m a little worried about him. Our family’s business isn’t good to begin with, so we can only say that it’s been maintained miserably. Once I leave, he might not be able to handle it alone.”

“I’ve seen your brother’s mental problems.”

That’s right, to be able to create a family of people who would stick together even if they were dead, it would be weird if they were normal.

“But you said you were worried that your brother would not be able to handle it alone. Weren’t you the one who jumped off the building?” Zhou Ze asked.

“Haha, actually, I was scared. We agreed to jump together, but after she jumped, I got scared,” Chen Zesheng said honestly.

“And then?”

“Then I felt like I had let her down. The next day, when I came out from the police station to record my statement, I jumped with her.

I thought I would find him on the road to hell, but for some reason, I found myself walking back home.

“Perhaps it’s because my brother repaired my body too well. Although the two undertakers have some problems with quality, they still restored my body perfectly.”

Chen Zesheng squatted down and lit a cigarette.

This was a cigarette that had been burnt, and normal people could not smell it.

Zhou Ze also took out a cigarette. Actually, from the bottom of his heart, Zhou Ze had a good impression of this guy in front of him. He was very straightforward in his actions and his words were also straightforward.

It was a pity that such a person was already dead. Otherwise, it would be quite comfortable to be friends with him.

“Are you attracted by my personal charm?” Chen Zesheng batted his eyelashes at Zhou Ze. “People who know how to appreciate life and appreciate beauty are usually not too bad.”

“It’s disgusting for you to say that.”

“Hehe, I’ve been by my father’s side since I was ten. My brother was unwilling, and he was afraid when he saw the body, so I had to inherit the craft.

“At first, I was afraid of dead bodies, but later, I discovered their beauty. It was a kind of quiet beauty that could make you immerse yourself in some kind of emotion, like listening to a beautiful piano piece.

I took care of their remains. They were also taking care of my emotions. I gave them my final dignity and they gave me a moment of peace.

“Actually, I still don’t want to die. If she didn’t want to die and I did like her, I really don’t want to die.”

“I feel sorry too. When I died, you weren’t the undertaker.”

This was Zhou Ze’s heartfelt words. The woman who had helped him put on makeup last time had hurt him.

“Hehe, sir, let me ask you one more question. If I go down now, will I be able to find her on the road to hell? I’m a day late, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to find her after I go down.”

“Probably not. The Yellow Springs Road is very crowded.”

There was one thing that did not add up, and that was that other than special cases, most people on the Yellow Springs Road would walk forward on their tiptoes numbly like lifeless bodies.

“That’s a shame.” Chen Zesheng shook his head. “I’ll try my best.”

Zhou Ze’s nails pierced his palm, and he pulled out a square. A black circle of light circulated in the square, and the aura of hell slowly seeped out.

“Go in, go where you should go.”

“Thank you.”

Chen Zesheng walked to the square and was pulled in.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, Yin order, and the Yellow Springs can be crossed. This should be the most stable way Zhou Ze sent people to hell.

Silently finishing the cigarette, Zhou Ze turned back to look at the villa hidden in the oil and vegetables. He thought about the three women’s expressions and the strange scene of the living and the dead sitting together on the dining table.

Even as a dead person and a ghost,

Zhou Ze also felt his scalp tingle at the way the two families acted.

Dead people like Chen Zesheng could walk freely and naturally.

Those living people, on the other hand, were like clowns with heavy makeup on stage. They kept trying to seduce Chen Ge.

This world…

It seemed to always be so.

It had never changed.

…

“Ahahahahaha!!!!!”

At noon, Xu Qinglang’s laughter could be heard. His laughter was exaggerated, as if he had picked up more than a hundred thousand yuan. The truth was pretty much the same.

Zhou Ze came back late last night and rested late. In the morning, he lay on Bai Yingying’s lap and took a nap.

Before long, he was woken up by Xu Qinglang’s laughter.

“Ol ‘Zhou, you’re really something. When the Liu family called me just now, they rented the shop for 50,000 RMB a year. 50,000 RMB a year. It’s on Nanjing Street, so it’s basically free!”

“Oh.” Zhou Ze was not too surprised. He had gone to catch a ghost last night and had a nap on the way. He had bumped into the scene of the two families having a ghost marriage. This should be considered as his hush money.

“Let’s go take a look at the shop.”

Just like that, Zhou Ze was dragged by Xu Qinglang to take a taxi to South Street. The shop was on the opposite side of South Street, opposite Wen Feng World and the department store.

The store was over a hundred square meters in area. It used to be a clothing store.

“Are you still planning to open a noodle restaurant?” Zhou Ze asked.

“Open it, it’s delicious down there.”

Xu Qinglang answered.

“Then take a look and see if they taste good.”

As he said that, Zhou Ze pointed at the neighboring shops.

Xu Qinglang looked over, and his face twitched. On the left side of the store, there was a “Chongqing Mini” and a “Qi Shan minced meat noodles”. On the right side of the store were “Lanzhou Ramen” and “Cloud Devouring Noodle Restaurant”.

“Didn’t you notice it when you were looking at the shop?” Zhou Ze asked.

Xu Qinglang shook his head and looked like he had nothing to live for.

“We’ll see when the time comes. Move your bookstore over first. If it really doesn’t work, I’ll make coffee and sell snacks in the bookstore,” Xu Qinglang said.

“That was your plan all along, right?” Zhou Ze was not so easily fooled.

“As a man with over twenty suites,

“Letting your hands and skin continue to be ravaged by smoke is a crime!”

“Whose brand is it then?” Zhou Ze asked.

“I’ll hang up your ‘Midnight Study Room’.”

“This will do.”

“Are you hungry?” Xu Qinglang asked Zhou Ze. At the same time, he took out a thermos from his pocket. “Let’s go eat a bowl of noodles. I want to see if the noodles here taste good. If they taste bad, I’ll consider fighting.”

The thermos flask contained sour plum juice.

Zhou Ze did not refuse. After he got up, he did not eat. He followed Xu Qinglang into the Cloud Devouring Noodle Restaurant and ordered two bowls of noodles. The two of them sat at a small table and waited for the noodles.

“Ah, I’m really excited to move to this downtown area to do business.” Xu Qinglang looked like he could not wait.

Then, he saw that Zhou Ze did not seem to be listening to him. Instead, he raised his head slightly and looked up.

There was a fan spinning above his head.

Recently, the temperature had been rising, and the sun was shining brightly. Furthermore, because the kitchen of this noodle shop was inside the shop, there was no cubicle. The charcoal fire and steam were lingering inside the shop. If he did not turn on the electric fan, it would be stuffy and hot inside.

“What’s there to see?” Xu Qinglang asked Zhou Ze.

“When I was in school, I often looked up at these fans when I sat in the classroom in the summer, afraid that they would fall and hit me,” Zhou Ze said.

“Heh, what a coincidence. I was worried when I was young.”

“Yes, but do you know how to read fortunes?” Zhou Ze asked.

“Half a bucket of water.” Xu Qinglang did not hide it at all. Then he continued, “It’s actually very simple. If you don’t feel comfortable living here, it means that the fengshui here is pretty good.”

Anyway, you are a ghost.

Zhou Ze pondered for a while and realized that Xu Qinglang’s words made sense. He could not find a reason to refute.

Their faces appeared.

Xu Qinglang picked one and ate it slowly.

Zhou Ze opened the thermos and drank a mouthful of sour plum juice before taking a big bite of noodles.

Zhou Ze shook his head as he watched himself wolf down the food and Xu Qinglang eat one by one.

“Yes.”

“What do you know? I’m savoring the taste of my competitor.”

When Zhou Ze heard that, he pushed away the noodles in front of him and could not eat anymore.

“…” Xu Qinglang.

At that moment, a young man at the next table picked up a call and said into the phone,

“I’m at Cloud Swallowing Noodle House. I arrived early. Have you arrived yet?”

The young man looked like a university student.

At that moment, a girl carrying a bag ran into the store. The girl was holding something that looked like a notice in her hand. She shouted excitedly at the boy,

“I passed! I passed!”

Then the girl ran straight to the boy.

Open your arms.

Please hug me.

“I really envy university students’ lives,” Xu Qinglang said enviously.

The girl ran toward the boy and jumped into his arms. The boy caught her out of habit and picked her up. This was probably the way these two young couples got into a passionate relationship.

This was the smell of youth.

It was the beauty of youth.

However…

The fan was very low.

After the boy carried the girl out of habit,

The girl’s head hit the ceiling fan.

Thump…

A head.

It landed on the table in front of Zhou Ze and Xu Qinglang.