Chapter 1 A Week Passes

A week had passed, and the movie theater was closed. Reopening it in the short term was impossible, and it was even likely that the theater would be abandoned altogether. It had been operating at a loss in the first place, so naturally, they wouldn't make a big show of reopening.

This effectively announced the complete demise of the commercial center.

During this time, Zhou Ze hadn't contacted Doctor Lin, and both maintained a tacit understanding of non-interference, living their own lives. However, his parents-in-law had called several times, questioning why Zhou Ze hadn't returned home and accusing him of getting too bold.

Zhou Ze eventually blacklisted their numbers.

The current headache was that his parents-in-law had provided the money to open the bookstore. He was beholden to them, but Zhou Ze still couldn't figure out a way to earn some money so he could open a new store and achieve true independence.

It could only be said that Xu Le had left him with a terrible foundation.

Several media outlets had contacted him, hoping to interview Zhou Ze about his heroic act of bravery to promote positive energy in the new era, but Zhou Ze had declined them all.

He had no interest in gaining fame. As the saying goes, a tall tree attracts the wind. With his identity and role, becoming a celebrity would only create more uncontrollable dangers.

Business had been mediocre this week, with daily sales of less than a hundred yuan, not even enough to cover rent and utilities. Zhou Ze didn't care much about that.

What he did care about was that Xu Qinglang next door hadn't opened his shop in a week.

Zhou Ze hired an unscrupulous locksmith to help him open the lock and searched the place, but he couldn't find any plum juice or anything like it. The kitchen in the back was spotless and very tidy.

It was frustrating.

A man with twenty-some apartments who was also very handsome,

if he suddenly had an epiphany and decided to pursue a carefree life,

you'd have a hard time finding him.

As a result, Zhou Ze's week had been quite miserable.

Chili oil,

aged vinegar,

dark soy sauce,

high-concentration orange juice, and other methods had all been tried. Although he could eat some food, they all left him feeling bitter and unhappy, far inferior to the plum juice recipe passed down in Xu Qinglang's family.

At night, Zhou Ze squatted alone in front of the bookstore, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his gaze occasionally drifting to the shop next door, giving off a sense of loneliness.

Along the roadside in front of the shop, four or five pagoda incense sticks were burning, set up by people from the shopping mall. According to custom, today was the day to welcome the God of Wealth, even though they knew it would be difficult for the God of Wealth to save the mall. But they still had to go through the motions.

Just in case a miracle happened?

Occasionally, Zhou Ze would glance behind him or at the glass in front of him.

The malevolent spirit of the man in the black suit was constantly solidifying. Tonight was his seventh day, and he should be nearly complete.

The manifestation of a malevolent spirit was an incredibly rare occurrence. Furthermore, ordinary malevolent spirits could at most make you trip while walking or bite your tongue while eating. Causing a minor illness requiring a couple of days of IV drips would be considered a remarkable feat for a malevolent spirit.

The kind of malevolent spirits seen in movies, running rampant and killing people everywhere, was impossible in reality. Otherwise, the mortal realm would have descended into chaos long ago.

Even Zhou Ze, who had already possessed a corpse and returned to life, was being so low-key.

How dare those scraps without even a physical body come out and act tough?

This week, Zhou Ze spent his time reading, spacing out, trimming his nails, and checking to see if the malevolent spirit behind him had become any clearer.

It felt like... raising a child, experiencing fatherly love.

Daddy loves you.

Daddy will wait for you to grow up.

Zhou Ze could clearly sense the emotions of the one behind him. His greatest hatred wasn't directed at the cause of the fire but at Zhou Ze himself. He was resentful, he was angry, he was expectant, and he was waiting.

Perhaps,

in his view, his seventh day was the moment of his revenge.

How interesting.

Zhou Ze flicked his cigarette ash, waiting for him to take shape so he could tell him why the flowers were so red.

Zhou Ze didn't think he was wrong to have saved people, and he didn't think the man in the suit was wrong to hate him.

Zhou Ze had encountered a similar incident before. Someone was drowning, and someone went to save them, but the drowning person grabbed the rescuer so tightly that they both drowned.

Generally speaking, when rescuing someone in the water, you have to approach them from behind to perform the rescue. If you approach them from the front, you can easily be grabbed by the drowning person as their last hope.

Of course, understanding was understandable,

but understanding wouldn't give the man in the suit a reason to run wild in his bookstore at midnight tonight.

During the day, Zhou Ze ordered takeout and chatted with the new delivery guy for a few words. He learned that the delivery guy who saved people last time had become famous recently. He not only attended various award ceremonies but was also praised and rewarded within the company. He now had a nickname: "The Most Handsome Delivery Guy." He was still delivering takeout, streaming live while doing so, and was very popular.

Zhou Ze, while eating his meal and washing it down with aged vinegar, casually browsed Weibo and saw that the delivery guy was actually trending.

A week had passed since the incident, and from the initial handling and summarizing to the current positive energy development and promotion, it was at the peak of its popularity. The influence of this event was not only in Tong City but had spread throughout the country.

At eleven o'clock in the evening, Zhou Ze watched the man in the suit slowly become more solid while watching a movie. The movie was called "That Demon Within," a work from a few years ago by the famous director Dante Lam, starring Daniel Wu and Nick Cheung.

The bookstore door was pushed open, and the delivery guy in his delivery uniform walked in, holding up a selfie stick.

"This is a bookstore I come to often. After I finish delivering takeout every day, I come to this shop to read. It's not for any knowledge, just because I simply like to read."

After saying that, the delivery guy took a copy of Wen Tiejun's "Eight Crises" from the bookshelf.

This book was about the economic crises in modern China. The delivery guy opened the book and sat on a plastic stool, reading it with relish.

Zhou Ze remembered that the last time he came, he had read two volumes of *Doupo Cangqiong* (Battle Through the Heavens).

"Okay, that's all for today's livestream. I want to read quietly for a while. Everyone, get some rest too. Thank you for your company today." The delivery guy bowed to the phone screen.

A bunch of membership cards, airplanes, and rockets appeared on the phone screen. His popularity was indeed terrifyingly high.

After turning off his phone, the delivery guy closed "Eight Crises" in his hand, stretched, looked at Zhou Ze, and said,

"Boss, let's go out and get some late-night snacks. My treat."

Zhou Ze shook his head and pointed to the computer screen in front of him.

"What are you watching?" The delivery guy leaned in and laughed after seeing the screen. "I've seen this movie, 'That Demon Within,' right?"

"Yeah." Zhou Ze nodded and glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the screen. It was almost twelve o'clock.

The baby behind him was already getting impatient.

"No reporters interviewed you?" the delivery guy asked.

Zhou Ze shook his head.

"Actually, you should have accepted the interview. That way, your bookstore business would be much better."

"I like peace and quiet." Zhou Ze forced himself to say something impressive.

Money was important, but life was more important.

"Let's watch the movie later." The delivery guy seemed to have a good rapport with Zhou Ze, after all, they were companions who had rushed into the fire to save people together.

Perhaps,

it was a sense of mutual appreciation.

"Did you know that 'That Demon Within' is based on a true case? The original protagonist in reality was called something like Xu Bugao." Zhou Ze said.

"Hey, I really didn't know that." The delivery guy smiled shyly. "It's just watching a movie, who pays attention to that?"

"Yeah, that's true." Zhou Ze closed the computer and stretched. "It's so late, what do you want to eat?"

"Anything is fine."

"Then I'll order takeout."

"No, let's go out to eat. My treat. There's nothing good about takeout. Let me tell you, some restaurants' kitchens are just impossible to look at. And some businesses don't even have a physical store, they just rent a broken house to do it themselves. Tsk tsk, I wouldn't dare to eat there."

"I see." Zhou Ze nodded. "By the way, do you know what happened to Xu Bugao?"

"Wouldn't I know if you told me?"

"He killed his colleague, pocketed the money, and then lived a carefree life. He even participated in TV shows and liked to show off and become famous." Zhou Ze touched his nose. "A very complex person, he enjoyed being on camera."

The delivery guy was silent for a moment, not continuing the topic, but instead said, "Boss, are you going to get late-night snacks or not?"

"I don't want to go. Don't you see how many pagoda incense sticks are in front of my store? I've been smelling them all day, they've ruined my appetite."

Pagoda incense sticks were those tall incense candles that were taller than the average person, stacked like a pagoda, very thick, and could burn for a long time.

"Hehe, there's no smell in your store at all." The delivery guy pointed to the central air conditioner above Zhou Ze's bookstore. "Over there, is that an air purifier?"

"Yeah, installed with the air conditioner. And I'm used to spraying some freshener in the bookstore, after all, I have to create a reading atmosphere, right? I don't offer coffee or pastries, I can only offer some pleasant smells."

"So, you're still not giving me face, Boss." The delivery guy pretended to be angry. "We can be considered to have gone through life and death together."

Zhou Ze raised his hand and asked curiously, "So, I've always been curious about one thing."

"What is it?"

"That day, I didn't smell anything at all. It's also very difficult to smell other smells outside in my store, almost impossible. That day, how did you smell the fire?"

The delivery guy paused, his expression a little unnatural, but he didn't take it seriously and said, "My nose has been good since I was a child. My grandma said I had a dog nose. I was always good at finding the snacks hidden at home when I was a kid."

"Do you know what day it is today?" Zhou Ze asked again.

"What day is it?"

"The seventh day."

"The seventh day?"

"Yes, the seventh day... of the seven people who died in the fire!"