Chapter 70 - 68: Yang Xiao’s Game

Chapter 70: Chapter 68: Yang Xiao’s Game

PS: If any of my younger readers accidentally subscribed to this Chapter, remember to ask for a refund!~

...

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 tattoos on his arms stared intently at his phone, his thumbs moving rapidly.

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

The old man, thinking his son hadn’t heard, swallowed and said as loudly as he could:

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

In truth, he knew his son had heard him, so his tone carried a note of pleading.

His health was failing. So much so 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 kept playing as he spoke:

"Don’t worry, babe, your hubby is coming to save you!"

A sweet female voice came from the phone:

"Hubby, isn’t that your dad calling you?"

Huang Mao froze for a second, then quickly explained:

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

I told you, 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 trash this whole time 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!

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

His other teammates couldn’t stand Huang Mao’s attitude any longer and started yelling at him over voice chat.

Huang Mao shut his mouth.

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

He could handle one person, he could talk back. But with three of them cursing him out, he got scared.

The game ended amidst this "joy and laughter."

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

That’s how he was. Only after it was all over did his fear turn to anger.

Huang Mao turned to the old man in a rage.

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

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

Ever since he’d gotten sick, his son would always curse him, and sometimes even hit him.

The old man closed his mouth. His lips moved for a long time before he lowered his head and said:

"Son, your father is dying. I don’t want to be a burden. I just wanted a sip 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 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 slammed the blanket down on the old man’s head.

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

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

The old man was silent, gazing at the sunset and thinking of his late wife.

Suddenly, a shadow streaked past the window.

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

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

Next to the smiley face, the shadow began to split, move, and reshape itself, forming two words.

"Game Start!"

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

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

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

The old man muttered to himself, his gaze gradually turning fierce.

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

It was as if he were downing a large bowl of strong liquor.

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

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

...

「South Sea, Old District, a one-story house.」

"Happy birthday, Xiaole!"

The room was spartan. The walls were yellowed, and the linoleum covering the concrete floor was dotted with cigarette burns, likely left by the previous tenant.

But overall, it was very clean and smelled faintly of fresh laundry detergent.

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 an ordinary girl, 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 weakly against the backrest, a wide smile on her face.

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

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

"There’s a birthday present, too~"

Li Xiaole looked at her sister, puzzled.

’Are we being this extravagant?’

Li Xiao’an grinned.

"A big brother gave it to you. I got one too."

The suspicion in Li Xiaole’s eyes deepened.

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

’Other than that lecherous landlord.’

’Just thinking about that guy is annoying.’

’Besides calling me a cripple, he likes to peep at my sister changing clothes or press his ear to the wall to listen to us talking at night.’

Suddenly, Li Xiaole remembered someone.

Her sister had mentioned that a "big brother" 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 him? That big brother?’

Li Xiaole watched her sister open the gift box, her eyes filled with immense surprise.

It was... it was a tube of lipstick!

She had never worn lipstick before!

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

"Eating while looking pretty, now that’s what I call a pretty meal!"

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

First, because it gets on the chopsticks, and second, 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. You look so beautiful!"

Li Xiaole shyly lowered her eyes, chuckling.

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

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

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

Li Xiaole shook her head with great effort and slurred:

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

Li Xiao’an was taken aback for a moment, 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 fused together. She struggled to grasp the chopsticks, her hand trembling as she reached for the plate of chicken drumsticks.

She couldn’t pick one up.

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

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

Suddenly, the door was violently kicked open!

Li Xiaole jumped in fright, tumbling out of her chair. The chicken drumstick fell to the floor.

Li Xiao’an cried out and rushed to help her sister, her furious gaze fixed on the doorway.

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

He was wearing cotton pajamas with a down jacket thrown over them. He stomped his feet as he entered.

"Hiss... Why is it so cold in here with you two living in it?

I rent this place to you two for so cheap because I pity you.

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

He was the landlord.

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

’Don’t you have any self-awareness about why you rent your place out for so cheap?’

’Leaving aside the drafty walls, what did this place even look like when we first moved in?’

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

’It’s already amazing that my sister managed to clean it up enough to be habitable.’

Li Xiao’an said coldly:

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

The landlord glanced at Li Xiaole and said with contempt:

"She’s already a cripple, how much more scared can she get?

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 their usual lust, but 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 in a rage:

"You... what... nonsense are you talking."

The landlord sneered.

"Why don’t you ask your sister if it’s true she has terminal cervical cancer."

Li Xiaole stared at her sister, her eyes wide with shock.

’My sister... is dying?’

Li Xiao’an remembered.

Last night, she had called a doctor for a consultation.

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 call.