Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Faced with Zhu Hui's sharp tongue and her own hopelessly clumsy speech, the security guard found himself at a loss. In the end, he resorted to brute force to resolve the issue. He reached out and executed a sweeping motion, swiftly snatching the violin from her hands. He threatened her with harsh words, warning that if she didn’t leave, he would confiscate her broken instrument.
Zhu Hui, seeing him daring to act so boldly, became agitated. She launched herself forward in a flurry, reclaiming her violin and shouted at him indignantly, “Who cares about staying in this miserable place? Let me tell you, even if your boss came personally in a BMW to invite me to spend money here, I wouldn’t come!” After finishing her tirade, she curled her lip at him playfully and strutted away with her head held high.
For the next few miles, Zhu Hui practically ran through all of Wuhan's Three Towns, searching for a suitable spot where she could calm down and play her violin. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. After comparing various places, she realized that the most popular spot was still Wuhan Square, located in the bustling commercial district. After some contemplation, she recalled the ancient saying: “Endure for a moment and the storm will pass; take a step back and the sea will open up.” Why should she clash with money? The thought of money suddenly enlightened her; thus, she mustered up her courage and returned to Wuhan Square to play her violin again, accepting both benefits and challenges.
“You scammer! Why are you back?” The security guard approached her again as expected.
In response to his provocation, Zhu Hui was well-prepared. Mimicking his tone, she retorted mockingly, “Why are you here again, you blind security guard?”
“Didn’t you say that even if our boss came in a BMW to pick you up personally, you wouldn’t come here to spend money?”
“Exactly! I’m not here to spend money today; of course your boss wouldn’t come in a BMW to pick me up,” Zhu Hui replied calmly and with conviction.
“I know you’re not here to spend money; you’re here to scam,” the security guard crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot rhythmically. He tilted his head disdainfully at her, exuding an air of arrogance. He pointed towards two children kneeling nearby begging for alms and sneered, “Did you see those two kids dressed in mourning? Don’t be fooled by their age; their begging skills are far more professional than yours. At first, they were like you—sticking a plain help request on the wall to garner sympathy from passersby. But by the second time around, they realized that one must keep up with the times in everything they do—even scamming. So they innovated their tactics by dressing in mourning clothes to appear more genuine. By the third time, they had mastered their craft: they brought out their parents’ photos and passionately recounted their tragic stories to passersby. Not only did they evoke tears but also cash—talk about killing two birds with one stone! By the fourth time, their scamming skills had reached perfection; they even brought out their parents' ashes for dramatic effect—truly a case of ‘brothers fighting tigers together’.” The security guard paused dramatically as if savoring his own wisdom before patting Zhu Hui on the shoulder and lamenting hypocritically, “These kids are so clever; they understand how to adapt in everything they do. I reckon it won’t be long before they resort to selling themselves for their parents’ funeral. Compared to them, your scamming skills are utterly trivial—don’t you feel ashamed at all?”
“I’m not a scammer! Why should I feel ashamed?” Zhu Hui shot back defiantly. “It’s you—the blind fool who thinks he’s clever but can’t distinguish right from wrong—don’t you ever feel embarrassed about your own ignorance?”
“You—” The security guard pointed at her, too furious to continue arguing. He ripped down the help request she had just posted on the wall.
Zhu Hui looked at him with utmost calmness as if she had anticipated his action all along. Unfazed, she said, “You can tear it down all you want; this help request will still be put back on this wall tomorrow.”
“Oh really?” The security guard was taken aback by her unflappable demeanor and showed signs of disappointment as he curiously asked her, “I really think you’re quite shameless; why do you insist on staying here despite my efforts to chase you away?”
“Because my classmate’s life is far more important than your cold indifference,” she replied as tears finally broke free from her eyes.
“Do you really have a classmate suffering from leukemia?” The security guard asked skeptically while stroking his chin.
“I’m not so cruel as to curse my own classmate with leukemia.”
“Are you very close with that classmate?”
"Not good at all, in fact, it's terrible—so terrible that you can't even imagine," Zhu Hui said bluntly, without any hint of disguise.
"Since the relationship is so bad, why do you come here, sweating profusely, to play the violin and raise money for him?"
"Is a bad relationship a reason to stand by and do nothing?"
Zhu Hui's retort left the security guard, who had an extremely unpleasant attitude, momentarily speechless. He stood there, awkwardly chuckling. After all, it was enough to make him feel ashamed that a girl could understand something he could not.
"Hey, ghost, what's your name?" the guard suddenly asked with a relaxed expression.
"My surname is Zhu, my name is Hui, which means 'wisdom.' What about you, deadbeat security guard?" Zhu Hui shot back sarcastically.
"My surname is Zhang, my name is Shoude, which means 'to uphold morality,'" the guard replied with a grin, mimicking her tone.
"Zhang Shoude?" Zhu Hui squinted at him disdainfully. "With your character, you might as well change your name to Zhang Lack of Morality; that would suit you better."
The guard seemed unfazed by her impolite remarks. He puffed out his chest and placed his hands on his hips, laughing heartily. There was a hint of camaraderie in his laughter as he said with interest, "I don't know why, but when I see you, it's like seeing the future of the Chinese Crosstalk Community." With that, he flashed her a smile and turned to leave.
"Hey! What do you mean by that? Are you saying I'm going to be in crosstalk in the future?" Zhu Hui couldn't help but shout after him.
The guard turned back from a distance and laughed loudly, "Yes! So you better work hard! In the future crosstalk world, you'll be the top Zhu Master in singing and playing!"
In the following days when Zhu Hui returned to Wuhan Square to play her violin, the guard never chased her away again. On weekends, the heat was so intense it felt like stepping into Tai Shang Lao Jun's alchemical furnace; it was scorching enough to make one want to peel off their skin. Zhu Hui had been sunburned so badly over these days that she looked almost unrecognizable—dark as if she had transformed into another race. If she wrapped herself in a grass skirt, she could easily pass for an African native. She put down her violin and continuously blew on the blisters that had formed on her fingers from playing. The sweat only made them sting more painfully. Just then, the guard suddenly ran over and called out to her with unexpected concern: "I see you've been playing all morning; you must have raised quite a bit of money!"
"Sigh—what money can I raise? Who's going to come out shopping in this heat?" Zhu Hui looked at him with a sense of loss and exhaled helplessly.
"That's true; who would want to shop in this heat?" The guard glanced around at the deserted street and continued, "Since you're not raising any money, why not go back and rest for a while? Come back when it cools down."
Zhu Hui looked at him in surprise; she hadn't expected him to show concern for anyone. "Thank you for your concern. Unfortunately, I can wait for time to pass, but my classmate's life won't wait for me."
"I really don't know if your classmate is lucky or happy to have such a good class leader like you," the guard sighed meaningfully. He pulled out an envelope he had prepared earlier from his pocket and handed it to her. "This is for you; make sure to keep it safe and don't lose it."
Zhu Hui took the envelope, looking at him in confusion, and asked, "What’s inside?"
"Inside is my salary for this month, and I’m donating it all," Zhang Shoude replied with a slight smile, revealing two adorable dimples on his face. "A dead security guard's monthly salary isn't that high; it's only 800 yuan. It may be a bit little, but it's my heartfelt gesture. I hope your classmate recovers soon."
"Your salary?" Zhu Hui stared at him in surprise.
"What? You don't believe I would donate money?" he teased.
"No... I'm just really touched," Zhu Hui said, her eyes reddening with emotion. Her voice thickened as she added, "Thank you, Brother Security!"
Hearing her politely refer to him as "Brother," Zhang Shoude felt a bit awkward and quickly replied, "No... It's too hot for you to call me 'Brother.' I'm afraid I might faint from it." He blushed and shyly laughed, saying, "I think you should just stick to calling me dead security guard like before!"
Seeing him blush when he usually acted so cocky made Zhu Hui unable to hold back her laughter. She sincerely said, "Even if you might faint from it, I still want to call you Brother Security. You’re really a good person."
Zhang Shoude looked at her, scratching his head and grinning widely as his dimples deepened, creating an even bigger smile.
Comment 0 Comment Count