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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 16: Ghost Month Taboos
The widow has a beautiful name, Zhou Mengyao.
I call her sister-in-law, and she prefers to be addressed by her name. I don’t dare to call her out loud; usually, I only whisper it when no one is around, at her prompting.
At that time, everyone kept their distance from me, the Mortician, but she was unafraid and didn’t mind getting close to me despite the so-called bad luck it might bring. She acted as if nothing was amiss. It was as if she were trying to lure my soul away. Later, my grandfather heard some gossip and warned me to stay away from her, or I would bring misfortune upon myself.
There were many rumors surrounding the widow. If it weren’t for the hospital seeing her, I would have almost forgotten about her.
If there were traffic police at the Hongqiao Supermarket Entrance, the only solution would be to leave my broken motorcycle at Zhou Mengyao’s place. Otherwise, I would have to take a long detour to get back to Hongqiao Supermarket, which would be a hassle and waste of time. I backed up my vehicle and glanced at Zhou Mengyao’s shop door.
The door was open, and there was no one at the counter.
Zhou Mengyao had no children; her husband died young. His relatives blamed her for his death but couldn’t drive her out of the house they had worked hard to buy together over the years.
I thought that after her husband died, she wouldn’t be able to pay the mortgage and would leave this city. But unexpectedly, more than a year after his death, she not only stayed in this city but seemed to be living better than before. She hadn’t grown haggard or aged; instead, she looked even younger and more beautiful.
Perhaps the roar of my motorcycle startled Zhou Mengyao inside. Although she wore an angry expression on her face, she smiled when she saw me. It was a strange mix of emotions—both anger and joy—and I found it amusing.
As autumn approached, it became slightly chilly; I had to add layers in the morning and evening.
Now, her cheeks were flushed, dressed in a pale yellow bat shirt and white leggings that showcased her curvy figure. Looking down, she wore white flat casual shoes that balanced warmth with a touch of serenity amidst fiery passion. Her shoulder-length hair cascaded down in large waves, exuding the charm of a mature woman who hadn’t lost her allure.
One thing I particularly noticed was that when she stepped out, her chest rose and fell irregularly as if she had just engaged in strenuous exercise! She remained as enthusiastic as ever, smiling with a hint of helplessness and surprise as she said, “Qii? Is that you?”
“I didn’t expect it to be me either. You just came out; I guessed you were about to scold someone,” I said as I parked my motorcycle. Initially, I hadn’t planned on buying cigarettes, but since I needed to leave my bike here, I reluctantly pulled out a crumpled wad of cash and counted it carefully—just over fifty yuan.
“Look at this money; what do you want to buy?” Her delicate white hand took my dirty crumpled bills from the counter and began sorting them out neatly.
“Cigarettes…”
She frowned slightly. “Aren’t you supposed to be a non-smoker?”
“It’s for business needs.” I took a few bills from the neatly arranged money she had organized and pushed the remaining amount toward her on the counter as payment for the cigarettes.
"Put the money away for the cigarettes." She turned to grab a cigarette, and I couldn't help but stare at the faint outline of her strap on her back. When she turned back again, I quickly looked elsewhere, my heart racing wildly.
"Take the money." I pushed the cash toward her once more. She pushed back, and our hands brushed against each other, sending an electric jolt through me. I felt as if I had been shocked, pulling my hand back nervously and avoiding her gaze, muttering under my breath, "I'm leaving."
A voice called out, "Why are you leaving so soon? Stay and have some fun." A man appeared at the doorway leading to the inner room behind her, his arm wrapping around her waist.
He was tall, over six feet, with a sturdy build and handsome features. Around his neck hung a platinum chain as thick as chopsticks, not too long, with a jade Guanyin pendant on it. Though his words were somewhat coarse, he didn’t have the brutish look of someone who was always ready for a fight; instead, he exuded a sense of dominance that was quite trustworthy.
This must be Zhou Mengyao's new boyfriend. The image of her earlier appearance flashed in my mind like a scene from an adult film.
Beautiful women naturally attract men. I considered myself a man too, but I couldn't compare to this guy standing in front of me. Besides, I had no romantic feelings for Zhou Mengyao; any thoughts I had were merely daydreams.
"Zhou Jie, I have something to take care of, so I'll head out first." I really didn't want to know who this man was and had no right to pry into anyone's personal life. After all, Zhou Mengyao was young and beautiful; it was normal for her to seek companionship after losing her husband.
As I turned to leave, Zhou Mengyao seemed to push away the man's embrace and walked toward me. My old motorcycle wouldn't start here; I struggled to kick it into action. For the first time, it felt like a burden—damn it, it wouldn’t fire up.
"Qi, do you want to leave your bike here?"
I glanced at Zhou Mengyao and then at the hostile-looking man before shaking my head. "No need."
"Qi, are you investigating that incident at Hongqiao Supermarket Entrance?" Initially planning to leave, I stopped in surprise at her question, wondering how she knew about my investigation.
"Don't ask me how I know. A very pretty girl came asking about it and mentioned that you were looking into it; she intended to help."
That girl must be Chi Xinrong; Han Mi wouldn’t be here since she was under house arrest. I asked, "Zhou Jie, do you believe in ghosts?"
"Why? As long as a person acts with integrity and righteousness, there won't be any ghosts. What’s frightening is having a guilty conscience. My husband was also caught up in that car accident." I was taken aback as it suddenly struck me that her shop was diagonally across from where Yuyaya had the incident.
When Yuyaya's accident happened, it was during rush hour; her husband should have been home. If he witnessed everything but chose to remain a detached observer, that would be a grave mistake.
I wanted to ask why she hadn’t told me sooner but noticed that the man seemed impatient. So I swallowed my words and quietly reminded her, "He's waiting for you."
However, Zhou Mengyao seemed not to hear me or chose to ignore him entirely. "Before this, I didn’t think his death was related to that incident. But upon reflection, the more I think about it, the more connections I see."
"He saw everything that happened?"
Zhou Mengyao bit her lip and remained silent, simply nodding with certainty.
"Alright, I need to get to work. Is it okay to leave these two broken cars here with you?"
Zhou Mengyao nodded again. "He left, and I feel terrible. I feel sorry for him."
"Why?"
"Well, he was on leave, and I went to Lin's Pharmacy to buy some medicine. When I came back, we had a fight. I cursed him to die a horrible death..."
"What happened?"
"I'm pregnant. That child is just a mistake; it happened when he was drunk and we ended up together. I don't want my child to be born with cerebral palsy, so I secretly went to Lin's Pharmacy to buy abortion pills..."
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