535 Fu Sheng and His Father
17-21 minutes
‘Why isn’t it time to get off work yet?’ Han Fei had finished so many rounds of Plants versus Zombies, read some news, and played more solitaire, and it was still working hours. Han Fei coughed and then looked around. Everyone was working hard thanks to his inspiration. ‘Not bad, everyone is in the mood.’ Han Fei nodded with a smile. He walked to the office window and did a simple exercise.
The setting sun warmed his face. After dark, he had to be careful of both living and dead people. Han Fei looked down a horizon and noticed two strange buildings on the east and west sides of the world. This altar world was much bigger than River Head. Han Fei was at the city center, so right in the middle of the two strange buildings.
‘There’s a theme park on the east, the giant Ferris wheel is like an eyeball.’ Han Fei turned to the other side. ‘The cluster of buildings on the west is shaped like a broken face, similar to the plastic surgery hospital in the cryptic world. Is it possible that the memory world of the plastic surgery hospital is connected to the memory world of Lost Theme Park?’ Han Fei stood at the window for a long time before his alarm rang.
“It’s 5 pm. Time to wrap up and leave!” Han Fei shut down the alarm and turned around to see his four employees looking at him. Even Luo Guo Er, who wanted to kill him, was shocked.
“Leader, you’ve set an alarm for the end of work?” A male employee reminded Han Fei, “If Sister Zhao finds out, this won’t be good.”
“It’s the company arrangement to finish work at 5 pm. Is it wrong for me to follow company rules?” Han Fei switched off his computer. “Why are you all sitting there? Save your work, it’s time to go home.” To prove his point, Han Fei put on his jacket and was the first to walk out. He just left his office when he saw Zhao Qian walk out of her office. He greeted her. “Sister Qian, you’re getting off work too?”
“Get off work?” Zhao Qian stopped before Han Fei and slapped the document into Han Fei’s hands. “You haven’t even finished the animation sequence and you want to get off work?”
“I think the game is too trashy so my team and I plan to rewrite the main plot and come up with a horror dating sim.”
“Fu Yi, are you kidding me? I know you are dissatisfied you’ve been removed from the main designer post but,” Zhao Qian had an imposing presence, “Don’t act like a kid. If you can’t even complete a small dating sim, then it proves that the higher-ups and my decision were right!”
“You have a point, but we have made our decision. The new game design will be handed to you tomorrow. It will be better than before. We’re only thinking of the company.” Han Fei handed the document back to Zhao Qian. “If it’s not better than before, I’ll leave.”
Han Fei grabbed his suitcase and left.
“Our leader is quite handsome to talk to CEO Zhao like that.”
“I have a feeling that there is some unique relationship between our leader and CEO Zhao. My instinct has always been accurate… Ouch! Xiao Guo, why did you step on me?!”
“Sorry, I wasn’t looking.” Lee Guo Er switched off her computer and was the second to leave the office.
“They’ve both left, so are we going to follow? Normally we will work until 8 pm. Should we go water some fake plants and pretend to be busy?”
Han Fei was the first to exit the company. This was his first time experiencing a 9 to 5 life, it felt good. “I need to return home before it’s dark.” Han Fei walked ahead and Lee Guo Er followed behind him. She had a backpack and Han Fei had a feeling she might pull out a knife without warning so Han Fei kept a safe distance from her. After he was tailed for a while, Han Fei stopped. “Lee Guo Er, I remember you drive to work. Your car should be at the company parking lot, right?”
“So you did see me inside the car.” Lee Guo Er’s voice turned scary. “Since you saw me, why did you pretend as nothing happened? Is this a show for me?”
“Well, let me explain it to you. I, Fu Yi, am a complete bastard. I deserve to die but you’re different. You’re a good girl. If you killed me, you would have sacrificed your life too.” Han Fei stayed away from Lee Guo Er. “After I’m done with everything, I will find a way to make penance. You don’t need to hurry to kill me.”
Lee Guo Er studied Han Fei for a long time before saying, “Do you think I will trust you again?”
Neither of them said anything. Several minutes later, Luo Guo Er grabbed her backpack, turned, and left. Han Fei sighed in relief. “Maybe I should resign from work.” Han Fei called a cab to get home. ‘My mood point might drop further after dark. It’s safer to stay home.’
When he walked out of the elevator and reached the front door, his phone rang. Someone named CEO Lee was calling him.
“Xiao Fu, have you gotten off work? Come join us. We’re going to Qing Bar. Then we’re going somewhere more exciting.”
“CEO Lee, I’m afraid I can’t join you. I have something important to do.”
“You’re not giving me face? I’m telling you, something good is going to happen tonight! Get over here now!” Clearly, this was not the first time Fu Yi went drinking with CEO Lee.
“My phone is dying. Talk to you later.” Han Fei hung up. He searched for the key in his pocket but before he could find it, the door opened. An adorable boy stood at the door. He didn’t say anything. He was still afraid of Han Fei. Han Fei, who lived alone, was not used to others opening the door for him.
“Thank you, kid.” Han Fei revealed a kind smile. The boy was happy seeing Han Fei smile. He danced back into the living room. The woman walked out of the kitchen. When she saw Han Fei, she was flabbergasted. “Why are you home so early?”
“I wanted to spend more time with you and the children.” After Han Fei changed, he washed his hands in the bathroom and opened the fridge.
“The dinner is not ready yet.”
“It’s okay. You should rest. I shall make dinner today. You haven’t tasted my cooking, right?” Han Fei had too many skill points so he raised his cooking skill to the maximum too. Han Fei walked to the woman and put his hands around her waist. He didn’t touch her, merely removed her apron to put it on himself. “I’ll show you some tricks tonight.”
The woman had not seen Fu Yi like this before. As she watched Han Fei walk into the kitchen with the apron, she wondered if her husband had drunk himself crazy yesterday night.
Han Fei prepared the ingredients and heated the oil. He was familiar with the kitchen. Soon, the smell of meat wafted out of the kitchen.
“It smells so good!” Fu Tian ran to the kitchen door and sucked in the air with exaggeration.
“There’s smoke in here. You should wait in the living room. I’m almost done.” Han Fei was quick. He soon came out with three dishes and one soup. When he served the dishes, the aroma filled the house.
“When are you such a good cook?” The surprise in the woman’s eyes was pouring out.
Fu Tian couldn’t stop himself. He sneaked a bite. “Wow, it’s so delicious! It’s better than mommy’s cooking!”
“Mommy is a good cook. Daddy loves her cooking the most.” Han Fei picked up the boy and placed him in the chair. Then he turned to look upstairs. “I’ll go get him.” The woman wanted to stop him but it was too late. Han Fei knocked on the door and said, “Fu Sheng, it’s time for dinner.”
A heavy object slammed on the door. The boy appeared to be angry whenever he heard Han Fei’s voice. Han Fei didn’t force Fu Sheng, he didn’t want to have an argument with him so he returned to the living room.
“I’ll prepare his meal for him.” Han Fei found the tray in the kitchen, plated the dishes for Fu Sheng, and then placed the tray at the door.
“Let’s dig in.” Han Fei munched on the warm food and looked at his wife and son around the table. This was completely different from the last altar inheritance mission. ‘The inheritance missions are very difficult. Looks like the survival problem this time does not come from basic necessities but something else.’
Han Fei had been inside the memory world for a day already but he hadn’t triggered any mission, and this worried him. After dinner, he cleaned the table. He wanted to go wash the dishes when the woman stopped him. “You should go and rest. You must be tired from the day of work.”
The woman entered the kitchen to do the dishes. Han Fei and the boy sat on the couch. Han Fei could feel that Fu Yi didn’t spend much time with his children. Fu Tian was very uncomfortable. He placed his hands on his knees and he only dared to sneak peeks at Han Fei.
“What did you learn at kindergarten today?” Han Fei switched on the masterful acting switch in his mind. He was trying to be a good father but the strange thing was, whenever he did that, the boy would be even more scared.
Han Fei shook his head and turned off the masterful acting. He knelt beside the boy like a kid. “How about a game since we just finished dinner? Do you know how to play Mr. Wolf, what’s the time?”
Fu Yi and Han Fei had distinct personalities, this was evident from the way Fu Yi’s family treated him. Fu Yi betrayed his wife and to cover up that mistake, he acted very domineeringly. He felt the need to work to support his family so he brought his arrogance of the ‘king’ back home. This should be one of the reasons why the woman wanted to kill him.
Han Fei quickly got the boy’s interest and they started to play in the living room. The boy kept laughing. The woman saw everything from the kitchen and the decision in her heart was shaken. The hands that held the dishes gripped. She looked at the various knives in the kitchen. Listening to the boy’s laughter, she was thinking about the endless lies and grievances.
The plate slithered from her fingers and the woman woke up from her reverie. She accidentally stepped on the broken plate and cut herself. “What’s wrong?” Han Fei ran into the kitchen. “Where’s our first-aid kit?” The woman pointed at the dresser inside the bedroom. Han Fei rushed over. When he found the medkit, the woman had already stood up.
“I’ll clean up later.” Han Fei supported the woman to the couch. He closed the kitchen door to stop the boy from running in. Then he cleaned the woman’s wound. The woman looked at the man who was dressing her wound. He was so defenseless. Her eyes wandered over to the fruit knife on the table. It was just there. If she grabbed it and stabbed the man, every pain would disappear. She stared at the fruit knife until Han Fei was done with her bandage.
“You shouldn’t do any homework and focus on resting. For lunch, you should order takeout instead.” Han Fei had the woman lie down on the couch while he went to clean up the mess in the kitchen. The woman touched the bandage and looked at Han Fei. She felt like her husband had been swapped out for a different man. After Han Fei was done with cleaning, they sat down to watch television. Han Fei with great knife skill showed Fu Tian how to skin the apple without taking a break. Fu Tian looked at Han Fei like he was a superhero. What Han Fei did was amazing. Han Fei kept Fu Tian happy. Initially, he was doing this to lower his wife’s hatred towards him to prevent himself from being killed at night. But eventually, Han Fei played with the boy because it was a fun thing to do.
At 9 pm, Han Fei carried Fu Tian to his bedroom. He sat beside his bed to tell him bedtime stories. Fu Tian was a very obedient kid but he couldn’t sleep with Han Fei beside him. His eyes were wide open and stared behind Han Fei for some reason. In the end, it was the woman who came in to put Fu Tian to sleep.
“We should rest too.” Han Fei turned to look up the second floor. “How long has he been in there?”
“He doesn’t want to see us. Sometimes, he’ll come out at night.” The woman was a very good wife. Fu Sheng was Fu Yi’s son from his previous marriage but the woman treated Fu Sheng like her own child.
“The dishes are cold. I should warm them back up for him.” Han Fei sneaked upstairs. He knew Fu Sheng hated him so he didn’t make any noise. After he warmed up the food, he replaced them. Seeing Han Fei like this, the woman’s hands opened and closed.
“We should turn off the lights. If he came out early, at least the food would still be warm.” Han Fei ushered the woman into their bedroom. Han Fei opened the dresser and placed the mattress on the ground.
“What are you doing?” The woman sat up in bed to ask.
“I’ll sleep on the ground.” Han Fei said apologetically. “I plan to tell you some things in a few days but until then, I will sleep on the ground.” He switched his phone to silent mode and charged it on the bedside table. He closed the lights. “Good night.” Han Fei felt the warmth under the mattress but he wondered why he hadn’t triggered any mission. As time ticked by, it would be more dangerous for him. ‘The only good news is my mood point is very high. If everyone didn’t want to kill me, this life is quite comfortable.’
Han Fei slowly drifted to sleep. At late midnight, there was a strange sound from the living room like someone was moving in the dark. Han Fei opened his eyes, got up, and leaned on the door to listen. Someone came down from the second floor, opened the front door, and went out.
‘Is that Fu Sheng?’ Leaving the house at night would lower his mood points and increase the chance of him running into ghosts. After some hesitation, Han Fei opened the bedroom door. Fu Sheng was the altar owner, to trigger the mission, Han Fei had to interact with him. Han Fei put on his clothes and sneaked out of the house. After Han Fei left, the woman pulled back the quilt. She was holding a knife in bed. She sighed, got up, and followed Han Fei.
Han Fei ran to the elevator and realized the elevator had reached the 4th floor. He was afraid of missing Fu Sheng so he charged into the stairwell. When Han Fei exited the stairwell, he saw a boy with a black sweater standing before the garbage pile.
‘Fu Sheng?’ Han Fei had met this kid in the Happiness Neighborhood’s manager mission. At the time, Fu Sheng was tied to the bed in a patient’s outfit. By then Fu Yi was dead already. ‘After Fu Yi’s death, Fu Sheng sank into deeper despair. Am I here to stop that?’
Han Fei silently followed Fu Sheng. He saw Fu Sheng drop a large bag onto the garbage pile and then he bowed five times before he left. ‘What is inside the garbage bag that he had to bow to it?’
The city was much cooler at night. There was no car on the road. There were not that many places to hide so Han Fei had to keep a distance as he followed Fu Sheng. Fu Sheng made his way to a 24-hour convenience store. There were a few youngsters in front of the store. They didn’t look too old. They were riding their bikes and swinging their beers around. Fu Sheng walked past them and entered the shop. He bought some everyday items and then walked out with a big bag. This time he didn’t leave but stopped beside the few youngsters. He used a hoarse voice to say, “Don’t stay here, you’re disturbing her.”
Fu Sheng took out two bottles of yogurt from the bag and walked to the streetlight behind the group of youngsters. Beside the streetlight was a black and white picture of a girl. Beside the picture frame were white flowers. Han Fei placed the yogurts before the picture, closed his hands together, and mumbled something to himself.
“Hey, do you know this girl?” A boy knocked into Fu Sheng’s shoulder. “The girl who died in the car accident was from our school. She was the most hated girl. She was ugly and poor. She was a busybody too, she was our class monitor but she thought she was the headmistress.” The other youngsters laughed.
A girl who sat on the backseat of a bike seemed to despise the dead girl. She kicked the yogurts over and stepped on the flowers. “We joked with one of our friends in class. Our friend didn’t say anything but she jumped out. If not for her, we wouldn’t be punished so badly.”
The girl wanted to kick over the picture frame but was stopped by Fu Sheng. The girl was unsteady and she fell. The previously laughing youngsters immediately surrounded Fu Sheng.
“How dare you? Do you want to die?”
“He probably likes that Ugly Betty. Why else would he come to visit her at night?”
“Drag him into the alley to teach him a lesson.”
“Bring the ugly girl’s picture. I’m going to pee on it later.”
The youngsters parked the motorcycles. They dragged Fu Sheng into the alley as they kicked on his chest.
“Do you really think you’re a hero?” The leader who was a young man with purple hair kicked Fu Sheng over. “That’s all you have? Get up? Don’t you want to defend your lover?”
Fu Sheng glared at the purple hair. He picked up a rock and charged at him. Fu Sheng was angry but the other party had the number’s advantage. Fu Sheng just got up before he was knocked down again. The youngsters kicked him mercilessly. The pain came from everywhere. Fu Sheng hugged his head and rolled among the mud. His sweater was covered in shoeprints and dust.
“Get up!” The young hair landed a heavy kick on Fu Sheng’s head. “Can’t get up? Do you need some motivation?” The youngsters laughed. They played the girl’s picture beside Fu Sheng and unzipped their pants. Fu Sheng’s head was spinning. He grabbed the mud and tried to stand up. But before he could, he was kicked down again. His face and arms were bruised. No one was there to help you.
“Someone like you wants to be a hero?” The purple hair and his friends grabbed Fu Sheng. They pressed Fu Sheng on the girl’s picture. They would pee on Fu Sheng and the picture. The girls were ready with their phones.
Before the youngsters could do anything, a giant crash came from the mouth of the alley. The ruffians turned around in confusion. They saw their motorcycles had been kicked over. The weak streetlight shone into the alley. A man in a shirt stood there.
In the shadow, he was like an angry lion with his jaws glowing.
