Chapter 69 - 67: Yang Xiao’s Game (1)

Chapter 69: Chapter 67: Yang Xiao’s Game (1)

Evening. South Sea Geriatric Hospital.

An emaciated old man lay on the hospital bed.

"Son, I’d like a drink of water."

His voice was hoarse and dry, like the muffled whimper of a toothless old man.

Beside the bed, a man in his thirties with dyed-yellow hair and tattooed arms stared intently at his phone, his thumbs flying across the screen.

"Go! Lu Ban, you need to tank!"

The old man, thinking his son hadn’t heard, swallowed hard and tried to speak louder.

"Son! Could you please get me a drink of water?"

In truth, he knew his son had heard him, so his tone had become more pleading.

His health was terrible, so bad that he might die tomorrow.

At that moment, all he wanted was a little water.

A drop of sweat trickled down the yellow-haired man’s temple. He continued to play as he spoke into his phone.

"Don’t be scared, baby. Hubby’s coming to save you right now!"

A sweet female voice came from the other end of the line.

"Hubby, was that your dad calling you?"

The yellow-haired man froze for a second, then quickly explained.

"You misheard. That’s just the old security guard at my house talking to his son. He wasn’t calling me.

"I’ve told you before, I’m a rich heir in real life. My parents are always away on business in Meiqi Country.

"I’m the only one living in our villa, which is over seven hundred square meters."

The Lu Ban player he’d been flaming finally snapped.

"Go fuck yourself. You’ve been playing like a total noob for the last few rounds, and you still have the nerve to brag?"

Huang Mao said angrily,

"I’m not bragging! If you don’t believe me, add me on WeChat and check my Moments!

"Has a poor bastard like you ever even seen a seven-hundred-square-meter villa? Ever driven a Ferrari with one hand?!"

The other teammates couldn’t stand Huang Mao’s attitude any longer and turned on their mics to curse him out.

Huang Mao shut his mouth.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to argue back; he was scared.

He could handle one person, but he was afraid when all three of them were yelling at him.

And so, the game ended amidst this "joyful laughter."

Huang Mao stared blankly at the screen, his body beginning to tremble.

This was just how he was. Only after it was all over did his fear turn to anger.

Huang Mao turned his fury on the old man.

"You old bastard, this is all your fault! What the fuck were you yelling for?!"

The old man’s mouth fell open in shock, his eyes filled with terror.

Ever since he’d gotten sick, his son had always cursed at him, sometimes even hitting him.

The old man closed his mouth, his lips trembling for a long moment before he lowered his head.

"Son, your father is dying. I don’t want to be a bother. I just wanted a drink of water. I’m so thirsty."

"Drink, drink, drink! I’ll give you something to drink!"

Huang Mao grabbed a cup of water and threw it all over the old man.

"Drink yourself to fucking death! Just hurry up and die! At least then I can make some money from your funeral gifts. That’ll be the one good deed you do for me."

The old man lay under the soaking wet blanket, his eyes filled with despair.

Huang Mao threw the blanket over the old man’s head.

"If it weren’t for the security cameras here, I’d beat you to death, you old piece of shit!"

Having vented his anger, Huang Mao felt better. He turned and left the room to have a smoke in the bathroom.

The old man lay in silence, gazing at the sunset and thinking of his late wife.

Suddenly, a shadow darted past the window.

The old man stiffened, his old eyes following the shadow’s movement.

The shadow stopped on the wall, gradually forming into a smiling, clown-like face.

Next to the smiling face, the shadow began to split, shift, and reform, creating several characters.

"Game Start!"

The exclamation mark was absurdly large, looking like the childish script a kindergarten teacher might use on a blackboard during a school party.

This clearly wasn’t the first time the old man had seen this bizarre spectacle.

"I really didn’t want to cause you any trouble."

The old man muttered to himself, his gaze slowly turning vicious.

He grabbed the wet blanket and greedily sucked a little water from the cotton stuffing.

As if he were downing a large bowl of strong liquor.

The old man pulled the IV needle from his hand and, steadying himself against the wall, limped away.

His destination was Black Rose Manor in the South Sea Suburb.

...

South Sea, Old District, in a certain one-story house.

"Happy birthday, Xiaole!"

The room was simple and crude. The walls were yellowish, and the linoleum on the concrete floor was covered in cigarette burns, likely left by the previous tenant.

But it was clean overall, with the fresh scent of laundry detergent in the air.

The table was laden with delicious food.

Chicken drumsticks, stir-fried cabbage, spicy tofu, and egg drop soup.

The ingredients for all these dishes added up to only about thirty yuan.

For most girls, thirty yuan was just the price of a cup of bubble tea.

However, for the sisters Li Xiao’an and Li Xiaole, this was a rare feast with meat.

The younger sister, Li Xiaole, sat in her chair, her body leaning limply against the backrest as she broke into a wide smile.

Although her facial muscles were uncoordinated, making her smile look strange, it was radiant.

Li Xiao’an mysteriously produced a small gift box from her pocket.

"There’s a birthday present, you know~"

Li Xiaole looked at her sister, confused.

’This is so extravagant!’

Li Xiao’an grinned.

"A certain big brother got it for you. I have one too."

The suspicion in Li Xiaole’s eyes deepened.

’Who else in this world would even think of us two sisters?’

’Other than that lecherous landlord.’

’Just thinking about that guy is annoying.’

’Besides calling me a cripple, he loves to peep on my sister changing or press his ear to the wall to eavesdrop on our nightly talks.’

Li Xiaole suddenly remembered someone.

Her sister had mentioned a "big brother" who was willing to help cure her illness.

It was just... the price was a bit high, and it had nothing to do with money.

’Could it be that big brother?’

Li Xiaole watched as her sister opened the gift box, her eyes widening in sheer surprise.

It was... it was a lipstick!

She had never worn lipstick before!

Li Xiao’an picked up the lipstick and carefully applied it to Li Xiaole’s lips.

"Eating beautifully, that’s what makes it a beautiful meal!"

No one had ever told them that most girls wipe off their lipstick before eating.

Firstly, because it would get on the chopsticks, and secondly, because ingesting lipstick isn’t good for your health.

Li Xiao’an looked at Li Xiaole’s red lips and giggled.

"My little girl is all grown up. So pretty!"

Li Xiaole shyly lowered her gaze, chuckling, "Hehe."

Because of her ALS, the muscles around her mouth were already becoming difficult to control, making her laughter sound a bit silly.

Li Xiao’an picked up her chopsticks to feed her sister.

"Come on, let’s eat. After we’re done, big sister will carry you on my back and we’ll go for a walk!"

Li Xiaole struggled to shake her head, her words slurred.

"I’ll... do it! Let’s... eat... together!"

Li Xiao’an was taken aback for a moment, but then a gentle smile spread across her face.

"Okay, okay. We’ll eat together. Whatever you say."

Li Xiao’an handed the chopsticks to Li Xiaole.

Li Xiaole’s fingers seemed stuck together as she struggled to grasp the chopsticks, tremblingly reaching them toward the plate of chicken drumsticks.

She couldn’t pick one up.

Li Xiaole’s face flushed with effort. She gripped the chopsticks and fiercely stabbed them into a drumstick, spearing it. Then, she carefully brought it back, ready to take a bite.

Li Xiao’an’s eyes filled with a mix of touched emotion and relief.

Suddenly, the door was violently kicked open!

Startled, Li Xiaole fell from her chair, and the chicken drumstick dropped to the floor.

Li Xiao’an cried out and rushed to help her sister, her angry gaze snapping toward the doorway.

The intruder was a middle-aged man in his forties.

He wore cotton pajamas with a down jacket thrown over them. As he entered, he stomped his feet.

"HISS... How did you two make this room so cold?

"I rented this place to you so cheaply because I took pity on you.

"You can’t go and ruin it on me like this!"

It was their landlord.

’If Li Xiaole could speak properly, she would’ve already cursed out eighteen generations of his ancestors.’

’Don’t you have any self-awareness about why your house is so cheap to rent?’

’Let’s not even mention the drafty walls. What was this place like when we first moved in?’

’The floors were covered in filth, and the kitchen was caked in black grease.’

’My sister already did an amazing job just making this place livable.’

Li Xiao’an said coldly,

"What are you doing? You scared my sister!"

The landlord glanced at Li Xiaole with contempt.

"She’s already a cripple. What’s there to be scared of?

"Don’t even think about trying to extort money from me. I’m not falling for that."

Li Xiao’an was so angry her chest heaved.

The landlord looked at Li Xiao’an, his eyes no longer filled with the lust he once had, only disgust.

"You’re about to die anyway. Hurry up and move out. Don’t ruin my house’s feng shui."

Li Xiaole froze, then spoke angrily.

"What... nonsense... are you... talking about."

The landlord sneered.

"Ask your sister if it’s true she has terminal cervical cancer."

Li Xiaole looked at her sister, her eyes wide with utter shock.

’My sister... is dying?’

Li Xiao’an remembered.

She had been on a consultation call with a doctor last night.

She had asked if there was any medicine that could prolong her life, and how much it would cost.

’It seemed the landlord had been pressing his ear to the wall again, eavesdropping on her phone call.’

.....