“He committed su!cide?” Zuo Si was taken aback, recalling Zhao Changfa’s sinister demeanor; knowing he was bound to die, su!cide seemed normal. “Captain Niu, I actually came here to ask about someone.”
“Who?”
“Ge Hong!”
“Ge Hong?” Captain Niu pondered for a moment and quickly understood who Zuo Si was referring to. He asked, “What do you want to know about her?”
“I want to see her family.”
“You knew her?”
“We had some acquaintance. When I learned she was murdered, I wanted to help in any way I could.”
“Alright, I can tell you.” Captain Niu agreed readily and had someone fetch Ge Hong’s information for Zuo Si.
“Thank you, Captain Niu!” After reviewing the information, Zuo Si left the police station and headed straight to Sun Village, Ge Hong’s home.
Ge Hong’s father was named ‘Ge You’ and was unemployed. Her twelve-year-old brother was named ‘Ge Dali.’ As for her mother, she had passed away two months ago due to uremia.
The moment Zuo Si saw Ge Hong’s mother’s medical records, he vaguely guessed why Ge Hong had chosen to work as a pr0stitute. Perhaps some w0men were shameless, willing to do anything for money. But Ge Hong was definitely driven to desperation by life.
People like her were certainly not few in number. Zuo Si had never looked down on her. Everyone is born into different circumstances; no one should look down on anyone else. At the very least, she was trying to change her life.
Standing on the bumpy dirt road, he could occasionally hear the sounds of chickens flapping and dogs barking. Some elderly men and women sitting by the roadside occasionally pointed and whispered about Zuo Si.
After some inquiries, Zuo Si found Ge Hong’s home.
The front door was not closed, so he walked into the small courtyard and discovered it was in complete disarray, with various items strewn about and garbage left uncleaned.
Zuo Si did not rush into the house but called out, “Is anyone there?”
No one responded.
“Is anyone there?”
“Who is it?” A lazy middle-aged man’s voice came from inside.
“I’m a friend of Ge Hong!”
“A friend of Ge Hong? … Come in! …” Zuo Si entered the house and saw a scruffy middle-aged man lying on the sofa, the smell of alcohol permeating the room.
“You are Ge Hong’s friend?” Ge You squinted, a teasing look on his face: “What kind of friend? … Hahaha, I understand without you saying.”
“I think you misunderstood.” Zuo Si frowned, having a very poor impression of Ge You.
“Ge Hong is dead; if you’re looking for a pr0stitute, go find one elsewhere.” Ge You waved his hand, dismissing Zuo Si, and curled up on the sofa, closing his eyes as if to sleep.
“I came here to ask if Ge Hong had any unfulfilled wishes before she died.”
“How the hell would I know what wishes she had? That worthless girl probably just wanted to be ridden by a thousand men, right!? Hahaha!”
“How can you say that about your own daughter?!” Anger surged within Zuo Si; he felt an urge to rush forward and slap him. If Ge You were a normal father, no matter how poor or miserable, Ge Hong would not have ended up like this.
“What I say about her is none of your business,” Ge You sneered at Zuo Si, but then his eyes shifted, and he said, “I just remembered, she did have a wish before she died!”
“What is it?!”
“She wanted me to have endless cigarettes, endless alcohol, and endless meat for the rest of my life! How about that? You want to help her fulfill her last wish?”
“You idiot!” Zuo Si was too lazy to argue with him and turned to leave. A person like him would never change; living was worse than dying, and he could gain no useful information from him.
“I can only try my luck with Ge Dali; I wonder when that kid will come back.” Just as Zuo Si was about to exit the front door, a dirty little boy walked in.
The two stared at each other for a moment, and Zuo Si asked, “Are you Ge Dali?”
The boy nodded and asked, “Who are you?”
“I’m your sister’s friend.” Zuo Si took out the snacks he had prepared and handed them to him.
“My sister’s friend?” Ge Dali’s face was beaming with a smile. “Where is she!? She must still be alive, right?”
“Uh… she…” Zuo Si felt a bit awkward, unsure of how to respond.
“It seems she really is dead…” Ge Dali’s smile gradually froze. Although he knew his sister was in grave danger, he had always held onto a glimmer of hope that Ge Hong was still alive.
“Don’t worry, your sister may not be here, but she is in another world, and she must be very happy there!”
“Mm!” Ge Dali nodded vigorously, clearly showing that he had a good relationship with Ge Hong.
“Was your father like this before?” Zuo Si asked. “How did he educate you and your sister in this state?”
“My dad has always been like this, doing nothing. It was all my mom who went out to earn money for the family.” Ge Dali gritted his teeth, speaking of his father with nothing but disdain.
Zuo Si nodded, looking at the poor child before him, feeling a pang of sadness. Since they had crossed paths, he couldn’t just ignore him. If Ge Dali continued to stay by Ge You’s side, his life would surely be ruined by him.
“Are you still in school?”
“No… I can’t even afford food, let alone school fees.”
“Then… do you want to go to school?”
“Mm!” Upon hearing about school, Ge Dali’s eyes instantly brightened.
“Would you be willing to come with me?” Zuo Si said. “Although I don’t have time to take care of you, I can find you a boarding school and help pay your tuition.”
“Really!?” Ge Dali was very excited. Knowledge changes destiny, a phrase his sister often told him. He wanted to go to school but lacked the means. If he truly had the opportunity to return to school, he would definitely work twice as hard.
“Yes, but this money will be a loan. When you grow up and start working, remember to pay me back!” Zuo Si wasn’t worried about the money; he said this to make Ge Dali understand that there is no free lunch in this world and to prevent him from developing a habit of expecting handouts.
“Okay! Don’t worry, I will definitely pay you back!”
Buzz! Buzz! The black phone vibrated. Zuo Si took it out to check and was immediately delighted.
“Dear Soul Keeper, congratulations on triggering the task to increase Ge Hong’s favorability. Completing it may enhance Ge Hong’s feelings towards you.”
Task objective: Help Ge Dali successfully enroll in school and bring the enrollment notice to Ge Hong.
“Why is it only a chance to increase?” Zuo Si felt a bit disappointed. “But this is still good. Ge Hong’s greatest wish must be to restore her mother’s health, which I can no longer fulfill. Just triggering other favorability tasks is already a huge stroke of luck. From now on, whether Ge Hong’s feelings towards me can improve will be left to fate.”
Ge Dali packed his things and left the dilapidated, dirty home with Zuo Si, not even saying goodbye to Ge You, not even glancing back. Perhaps in his heart, this father had long been dead, leaving him to slowly rot away here.
Before leaving, Zuo Si found Ge Shan’s house and left some money. That poor woman had already lost her spirit.
Meeting was fate, so he decided to help her family a little.
Although his ability was limited, he had done his part.