I looked down at my hands, so plump.
Were these my hands?
A cold wind blew past, and I seemed to come to my senses a little!
Was I going to jump?
Probably!
Below, the ground was covered in blooming flowers. My feet had already left the rooftop, and I was falling from the sky.
...
With a thump, I sat up, waking from my bed.
Creak, the door opened. Lin Han pushed it open and placed a food box in front of me, "Eat, steamed buns, millet porridge."
My one hand was wrapped in bandages. I clumsily picked up the food box with my other hand. Lin Han placed my bag and scarf to the side, her face blooming into a smile, "I'll feed you."
"No, you don't have to~"
"But I want to~"
Lin Han opened the food box and lifted the porridge. She frowned at the thick millet porridge. After over a month of life-and-death struggles with millet porridge, anyone would develop a fear of it.
"Since you don't like it, don't make millet porridge for me anymore."
"This is from Fat Brother San. His wife made it. Sister-in-law Huang Er isn't convenient, so Brother San is taking care of Brother Er."
"Who is Sister-in-law San?"
"I'm a bad sister, I haven't asked Brother San about his romantic life. He's thirty, so he should be married. Because I got a call that day, I interrogated him. Although the woman is originally from Tianjin, her parents moved to Beijing, and she's the same age as Brother San, and went to the same high school. However, she's been married before. She didn't say much about the details."
I remained silent. I didn't have much say in this. Since I'd known them, I rarely spent time with them. Most of the time, I communicated with Brother Chang. My impression of Fatty was still rooted in his past as a paparazzo. In reality, Fatty's full name was Ding Tai. He was a top student in high school and majored in photography in college.
"Do you think it's a loss for Brother San that the woman has been married before?"
"Right!"
Slap, Lin Han poked me in the face with the spoon. Her expression changed, "You men are always messing around, yet you still talk about chastity and morality. Tang Nan, I'm asking you, do you suspect I've had other men in the past two years?"
"Did you?"
"I'll poke you to death!"
I deflected Lin Han's attack with one hand and pulled her into my arms. Before things could progress further, the nurse pushed the door open and sniffed, "Getting all lovey-dovey here."
Lin Han blushed slightly and stood up. The nurse then immobilized my only free hand. Lin Han looked at me, chest puffed out, holding a sharp spoon, "Still feeling frisky?"
"I was wrong!" I said pitifully, then looked at Lin Han and opened my mouth~ Ah~ I meant to continue drinking porridge. Slap, Lin Han shoved the entire steamed bun into my mouth, almost sending me to the afterlife.
"Murdering your husband!" I managed to swallow the bun with great difficulty, glaring at Lin Han, "Lin Han!" Lin Han smiled gently, "Good boy, I'll continue feeding you porridge, open up~" I didn't believe her. I guessed that the moment I opened my mouth, another bun would be shoved in. Just then, an unwelcome guest arrived. Lin Han stopped what she was doing, and I smiled, "Uncle Wang Ren, you're here."
"Hmm, came to see you!" Wang Ren said, then glanced at Lin Han.
I smiled and said, "Wife, could you go buy me a coffee?"
"Who's your wife! What kind of coffee do you want?"
"Cappuccino."
"A grown man drinking cappuccino?"
"Everything else is too bitter. My uncle is here, spare some face for your man. Go on, go."
...
After Lin Han left, I looked at the solemn Wang Ren and smiled, "Uncle, you're here about Zhu Guang, aren't you?"
"He's really alive?"
"Hook nose, peach blossom eyes, over sixty, his hair slicked back with pomade. Thinking about it, Zhang Si had a similar hairstyle, but Zhu Guang seemed more authentic, not wearing a suit and leather shoes. And there was another strange thing, he was in a wheelchair."
Hearing this, Wang Ren sighed repeatedly, "Brother Zhu Guang is six years older than me. He's sixty-seven this year. What's he still fussing about?"
The year I first met Teacher Wang Ren, she was fifty-eight. I never imagined time would fly so fast, three years have passed. Wang Ren recalled that Brother Zhu Guang came to Beijing to learn martial arts in '70. Beijing wasn't as prosperous then as it is now, and many old customs were passed down from ancestors. However, after Zhu Guang arrived, he treated the customs like dirt, completely disregarding all of them, especially in matters of romance, where he acted outrageously. Zhu Guang's only hobby was seducing other people's wives. Six years before Wang Ren went to learn martial arts, several married women had abortions for Zhu Guang, and seven or eight families were ruined because of him.
"How could Ancestor Wen De take such a disciple?"
"Teacher Wen De had his own theory of talent. As long as one was exceptionally talented, he didn't care about their morals or character. For six years, Teacher Wen De cleaned up quite a few messes for Zhu Guang and kept him in check. During the years I studied with Teacher Wen De, although Zhu Guang still frequented pleasure districts, he stopped breaking up families."
I understood. Teacher Wen De had restricted Zhu Guang's freedom. Zhu Guang started learning martial arts in '70. By '76, the thirty-year-old Wang Ren appeared at Wen De Yuan. When Old Ghost and Long-Tongued Ghost went, it was already '88. Everyone parted ways in '90. This means Zhu Guang was suppressed by Teacher Wen De for fourteen years. Teacher Wen De retired from the game in '90, and something happened that year. Zhu Guang set up a scheme that led the exceptionally talented Li Jiu astray. He never would have imagined that among the twin stars Li Jiu and Cao Shi, Cao Shi was the brightest. Cao Shi reached the realm Zhu Guang had pursued his entire life in two years, and then, relying on Gao Ji, forced Zhu Guang to fake his death and go into hiding.
Old Ghost dealt with Zhang Si in '04. After two periods of fourteen years in hiding, I would have gone crazy!
"So, Zhu Guang was always controlled by our Ancestor and Old Ghost. But Old Ghost is still alive! How could Zhu Guang dare to come out!"
"In the '90 game, Zhu Guang didn't gain much. Both his legs were broken. He probably faked his death successfully to escape the fatal blow from his senior brother. Zhu Guang has always been someone who feared death. He hid and observed. Little Shi is very intelligent, his schemes are unfathomably deep. Zhu Guang didn't dare to act until he was dealing with his senior brother, when Little Shi's weakness was exposed."
"Weakness?"
I expressed my doubts. I didn't think that was Old Ghost's weakness. In my heart, Old Ghost was above us all. If he wanted to be a victim, he was the most pitiful victim. If he wanted to be a schemer, he was the most powerful schemer. He was a demon, above the rules.
"I didn't understand. I guess Zhu Guang saw it, which is why he came out."
I frowned, "Could there be another possibility?"
"What possibility?"
"Zhu Guang looked sallow and thin. Did he have cancer, like Li Jiu?"
Wang Ren couldn't help but laugh, "Tang Nan, as the leader of the schemers, do you think everyone on the opposite side of you will die suddenly of illness? Do you rely on luck to defeat everyone?"
"Haha~" I wanted to laugh heartily, but I felt my laughter was quite awkward.
Wang Ren checked her watch, "The one buying coffee should be back soon. I won't disturb you any longer."
"Uncle, aren't you going to help me deal with Zhu Guang?"
Wang Ren shook her head, "I've already retired from the game. I think Zhu Guang knows I have no great ambitions and won't make things difficult for me."
I nodded and smiled, "Alright, alright. Then, can I consult you about some psychological issues?"
"Of course, I'm a psychologist!"
"It's like this, Uncle. I've had a dream twice. I jumped off a building, but it didn't feel like me. Why do I keep having this dream? Is it a premonition, or have I developed some kind of mental issue?"
Wang Ren chuckled, "Premonitions are a metaphysical matter, which I don't understand. However, I can explain it from a psychological perspective. This likely didn't happen to you. It's something you heard while in a deep coma, and your subconscious mistook it for something that happened to you."
"Can you hear things in a deep coma?"
"It depends on the type. To wake a person from a vegetative state, besides medication, there's also music therapy and sound awakening. However, your deep coma was induced by anesthesia, equivalent to a deep sleep. When ordinary people wake up from deep sleep, they feel very good, as if their worries have been emptied. Similarly, when we hypnotize someone, they are in a state of deep sleep. Therefore, the things you heard while in deep sleep are equivalent to a skilled psychologist implanting a subconscious idea into your mind."
I was confused, "Will there be any side effects?"
"No, this is simply an imbalance of electrolytes and endocrine disorders caused by surgical procedures. It will heal with simple treatment."
I nodded, feeling relieved, "Thank you, Uncle."
"I'll be going then. When you're discharged, come to my place, and I'll make dumplings for you."
"Okay!"
As Teacher Wang Ren turned to leave, I stopped her again, "Uncle, does Zhu Guang know hypnosis?"
"No, that's my domain. Zhang Si studied metaphysics and martial arts. Li Jiu studied scientific game theory. I study psychological profiling (portraiture and hypnosis are my specialties). Zhu Guang studied the art of conversation to a deeper level, becoming a behavioral artist, an art form that uses staged scenes and event progression to bring out your most primal instincts. Any other questions?"
"One more!"
"What did Old Ghost study?"
"Little Shi? I don't know. In our impression as brothers, he didn't study anything. He just ate and ate every day~"
As expected...
Lin Han had actually returned long ago. Seeing me talking with Teacher Wang Ren, she sensibly didn't come in. After Teacher Wang Ren left, she came in and placed the coffee in front of me. Without hands, I slurped it down, lost in thought.
"What's wrong?"
"Isn't it strange? I've had this dream twice. I'm standing on a rooftop, looking at the flowers on the ground, and then I leap from it. Uncle said it's something someone said in my ear while I was under anesthesia. Do you think Zhu Guang is trying to trick me again? But Zhu Guang doesn't know hypnosis, so he shouldn't be able to do this."
"Jumping from a building into a place full of flowers?"
"Yes!"
Lin Han smiled, "That was me, saying it to you while you were unconscious."
"Ah~ You jumped off a building? When did that happen?"
"I didn't jump off a building. It was Fat Brother San's experience in high school, but his current wife saved him. He's been infatuated with her ever since, unable to let go."
I was relieved. Perhaps because of Zhu Guang, I was becoming suspicious of everything. However, thankfully, these were all trivial matters.
Just then, the sound of unspeakable curses came from outside. Lin Han jumped up, and the coffee flew onto my face.
"What's going on?"
"Someone's cursing my Brother San. I'm going to see!"