Chapter 1 Bitter Ding Tea

"Here, bitter ding tea."

Wang Ke placed the tea in front of Zhou Ze.

Bitter ding tea, also known as bitter tea, is true to its name.

But Wang Ke had become obsessed with this taste ever since he started drinking tea, and he always drank this kind of tea at home or in the office.

It could be said that he was savoring the bitterness of the past, and he certainly deserved the description "savoring the bitterness of the past."

From being a penniless orphan to reaching this point today, he had already achieved as much success as one could possibly hope for. The hardships he had endured along the way swirled within this cup of bitter tea.

Zhou Ze picked up the teacup, took a sip, slowly chewed the tea leaves, put down the teacup, and lit another cigarette.

"Feeling lonely?"

Wang Ke asked.

Zhou Ze nodded.

As a psychologist, his greatest strength was actually his ability to observe people's expressions and demeanor. This was a skill that seemed easy to learn but was actually very difficult to master.

"Where's your daughter?"

"Oh, school will be out soon."

"And your wife?"

"She went to get her hair done;

Then she should be picking up the child from school. She should be back soon."

"You're really carefree, daring to let her go out alone."

"She's mostly normal."

Wang Ke breathed on his teacup and then picked it up and took a sip.

The bitterness entered his throat, no less potent than liquor burning through his intestines.

"I wanted to talk to someone, but I didn't know who to turn to, and then I thought of you."

Zhou Ze smiled after saying that.

It was clear that his mood was a bit low.

Killing that old woman's soul hadn't released any of the anger that Zhou Ze felt inside. Instead, it was like eating "fast food" on the side of the road, seemingly after intense exercise,

But when he came out, he couldn't hide the deep sense of loss and emptiness in his heart.

Zhou Ze didn't think his action was decisive or ruthless,

It was just a desperate act,

The madness that a person exhibits when pushed to an emotional breaking point,

A reckless act,

Nothing to brag about.

In the end,

Whether the Naihe Bridge (Bridge of Helplessness in the Underworld) would know about this,

Whether he would face punishment,

He didn't know, and he wasn't sure.

"I can understand how you feel. We were the same when we were kids." Wang Ke pushed the ashtray toward Zhou Ze and continued, "We started off way behind our peers, and we were more aware of the dangers than our peers, because we experienced the fear of having nothing, so we understand the value of cherishing things more."

Zhou Ze looked at Wang Ke without saying anything.

"Right now, you give me the feeling that we're still in the orphanage."

"Heh."

"It's true, that feeling of being helpless, of being confused and lost about the future. I see it in you, I see it clearly."

"I already had nothing. In my previous life, I struggled until I was thirty, and a car accident wiped it all away;

In this life, I discovered a truth that was even harder for me to accept, that my entire existence was just a misunderstanding, a probability, or even... a joke."

"And then, what do you plan to do?"

Wang Ke reached out and stroked his chin.

Honestly, Wang Ke felt confident in dealing with all kinds of customers. His talent, his psychological knowledge, and his experience could help him solve most problems.

But when facing Zhou Ze,

All of Wang Ke's previous confidence vanished.

After all,

There wasn't a course in school specifically about the psychology of "ghosts."

"Your question is too vague," Zhou Ze said.

"Then how about this? What do you plan to do tomorrow, what are you going to do?

For example, when you wake up in the morning, what do you plan to do, what do you plan to do at noon, and what do you plan to do in the evening? That would be more specific and clear."

"In the morning…"

Zhou Ze pondered for a while and replied:

"In the morning, I'll sit by the window in the bookstore, soak up the sun, and drink coffee."

"…" Wang Ke.

Suppressing the urge to cough, Wang Ke braced himself and continued to ask:

"Then what about noon? After eating, will you continue to read the newspaper?"

Zhou Ze smiled, shook his head, and said, "Of course I won't be reading the newspaper, and I won't be drinking coffee either."

"Well, that's good."

Wang Ke breathed a sigh of relief,

Feeling that his childhood friend,

Was still salvageable.

"The newspaper only has so much space. From noon to afternoon, I'll change to a book. There are many books in the bookstore, and I won't sit in the same spot. The sun is still comfortable in the morning, but the afternoon sun is too strong. I'll choose a corner spot, lie on my side, and flip through the book.

If I'm interested, I'll read some serious literature or some ancient works.

If I feel bored, I'll find some contemporary novels to change the taste. Sometimes I find these novels quite interesting.

I won't drink coffee anymore, after all, drinking too much coffee isn't good for the heart. I used to be a doctor, so I understand this.

I'll switch to tea, but I won't drink your bitter tea. I have a lot of good tea that I bought at a high price."

"…" Wang Ke.

"As for the evening, I'll see if any business comes in. If business comes in, I'll do it. If there's no business, I'll close the door at the right time, take a shower, and go to sleep."

Wang Ke looked at the ashtray in front of him,

He didn't know why,

But he suddenly had an impulse in his heart,

To pick up this ashtray and smash his childhood friend's head!

"Is this kind of life interesting?"

Wang Ke organized his words and continued:

"Or, does this kind of life help with the problems you're facing now? Can it improve your problems and solve your worries?"

Zhou Ze shook his head.

Obviously not.

There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

"Then you still plan to do this?" Wang Ke coaxed him patiently.

Honestly,

He felt so tired, so tired.

"But my worries and concerns are actually about the future, that I might not be able to live this kind of leisurely life anymore.

So why,

In order to protect my state of life, should I now take the initiative to change it?"

Wang Ke reached out and wiped his forehead,

He was dizzy from Zhou Ze's words.

Yes,

Boss Zhou quite liked this kind of life,

A bookstore, a maid, a newspaper, a ray of sunshine, a day and a night, that's how it went, a month, a year, that's how it went.

He didn't like to disturb this peace, and he couldn't bear to destroy this atmosphere.

This was the truth he realized after death, a completely different outlook on life from his previous life.

The conversation between the two men had reached a standstill.

Fortunately, the door was opened.

The little loli and her mother had returned.

As soon as she entered the door, the little loli stared at Zhou Ze intently, the anger in the depths of her eyes was extremely clear!

He was in trouble again,

He was causing trouble again,

The little loli felt very wronged,

Why did she have to live in fear every day since she started following him!

After following him,

The little loli suddenly felt that her life had become extraordinarily exciting!

Exciting to the point of being unbearable!

Wang Ke's wife took the child back and went upstairs on her own,

To this,

Zhou Ze, the guest, didn't feel neglected at all,

On the contrary,

If Wang Ke's wife enthusiastically asked him to stay for dinner, that would be the most unacceptable thing for Zhou Ze.

"Xiao Rui, go do your homework."

Wang Ke signaled his daughter to leave first.

Wang Rui nodded obediently, carrying her schoolbag and going upstairs to her room.

Zhou Ze also took the opportunity to get up and say goodbye.

Wang Ke wanted him to stay and chat for a while longer. He felt that he should inject some vitality into his childhood friend's outlook on life, but obviously, it was like casting pearls before swine.

After walking out of Wang Ke's house, Zhou Ze didn't rush to leave, but sat down on a bench in the community garden.

Soon, a petite figure walked behind Zhou Ze.

"Very angry?"

Zhou Ze didn't need to look back to know who it was.

"Angry to the point of numbness."

The little loli sat down on the bench next to Zhou Ze,

"Did your Chinese language teacher teach math?" the little loli mocked.

When she was video chatting with Zhou Ze earlier, Zhou Ze had actually torn the soul of that person apart!

And he said he understood what she meant!

"Heh, I used to be a Chinese language representative."

"Then your reading comprehension is perfect." The little loli said angrily, "You just killed someone like that, doesn't that mean that once something happens, there's no room for maneuver at all?"

"If I kept her, would there be room for maneuver?"

Zhou Ze shook his head and said casually:

"The person… oh no, the ghost is already dead, there's no point in discussing this anymore."

"Then what do you plan to do next?"

"What to do? Continue to live my life."

"You lit a powder keg and then pretended that nothing happened?"

Zhou Ze was silent.

After ten minutes,

Zhou Ze said, "Are there any methods of cultivation?"

"You want to learn?" The little loli looked at Zhou Ze in surprise, "You want to become stronger?"

"Sometimes I feel bored, so I want to find something to do."

"Do you think this is a brainless xianxia (immortal hero) or xuanhuan (mysterious fantasy) novel?

Like the books on your bookshelf in the bookstore?

For us ghost messengers, like me, all of our abilities are fixed from the time we return to the yang (mortal) world. Our talents, our supernatural powers, have already been determined.

Unless you become a temple god and accumulate incense offerings, or use other insidious methods, real cultivation might have some effect in hell, but in the yang world, it's useless."

"That's really a headache."

Zhou Ze was a little dejected,

Subconsciously reaching out to rub his temples.

But he also felt relieved in his heart, and the last bit of guilt was erased.

See,

It's not that I don't want to improve, it's not that I want to be a salted fish,

The fact is that cultivating or not cultivating makes no difference.

"However…" The little loli suddenly changed her tone.

Then,

Boss Zhou suddenly stood up,

Quickly walked to the entrance of the community and reached out to stop a taxi,

He almost covered his ears and stomped his feet, shouting, "I can't hear you, I can't hear you."

This left the little loli, who was preparing to make a twist to whet Zhou Ze's appetite, speechless for a moment,

Damn it!

This guy is just afraid that I'll say something about cultivation methods that will prevent him from being a salted fish!