After going downstairs, Feng Na saw the corpse. It was just like an exploded balloon—blood splattered everywhere, the black blood thick and sticky, white tissue mixed into the streams of blood. The single remaining eyeball glared wide with fury. She truly looked like someone who had died with a grievance unresolved.
In this world, some people are merely morally flawed and haven’t yet reached the point of committing countless evils. But in Feng Na’s view, there wasn’t much difference between the two, because the former would always end up becoming the latter.
After that female student named Chen Yun jumped off the building, doctors and nurses rushed over as fast as they could. Yet to Feng Na, the rescue efforts seemed somewhat hypocritical. The corpse had landed face-first, so there was no way she could have survived.
“How pitiful.”
A mocking, cold smirk crossed the corner of Feng Na’s lips.
The corpse from the fall was taken away on a stretcher.
But a spirit body brimming with resentment remained in place, its entire form radiating a faint, resentful red glow. It turned its face to look at Feng Na. There were no eyeballs in its sockets, and its face was mangled beyond recognition—matching exactly how it had looked at the moment of death.
Under most circumstances, ghosts cannot be seen with the naked human eye. But in the future, ghosts could be observed through a mobile phone app.
“Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Feng Na softly recited a passage from the Book of Deuteronomy.
Just as the ghost lunged at Feng Na, she reached out and seized its throat in one motion.
“Chen Yun, my dear classmate, you didn’t actually think that becoming a ghost meant you could do whatever you wanted, did you?” Feng Na’s fingernails sank into the ghost’s neck. “If it had been possible, I even considered executing you by lingchi. But I’m a merciful person, so I let you end it by jumping off a building instead. Now that you’ve become a ghost, are you really going to be this ungrateful?”
The ghost opened its crimson lips, as if trying to bite Feng Na.
“I’m actually a very easy person to get along with. No matter how others insult or humiliate me, I’ll endure it. Except for one thing—never mess with the people who matter most to me, my closest family. Since you don’t want to be reincarnated, then just become a speck of dust.”
Feng Na squeezed hard, and the ghost completely vanished.
In the future, many supernatural events would no longer be unsolved mysteries. Under the new wave of technological revolution, the wisdom humanity grasped drew ever closer to that of God. But no matter what, there would always remain a considerable gap between humanity and the omniscient, omnipotent God.
Whenever humans think, God laughs.
After returning to the hotel, she took a shower, and Feng Na went to bed early.
Ever since the start of their first year of high school, Gao Sijin and Feng Xiaohe had been living together. Although the family was poor, Gao Sijin worked exceptionally hard. Every day on top of holding a job, he would also write until one in the morning.
“If I had known it would be like this, I would’ve just married a rich man.”
Whenever money troubles arose, Feng Xiaohe would always say things like this. Yet Feng Xiaohe would never actually do anything to betray Gao Sijin.
In daily life, they were deeply affectionate toward one another.
Those days were also the happiest time in Feng Xiaona’s life. Although there was no blood relation between Gao Sijin and Feng Xiaona, he doted on her tremendously.
On the day the College Entrance Exam ended, Feng Xiaona bounced and skipped her way out of the exam hall. Feng Xiaohe had gone to entertain her superiors for work reasons, so only Gao Sijin was left waiting alone outside the exam hall entrance.
“Brother Sijin!”
“Xiaona!”
In that instant, the light-footed Feng Xiaona leapt straight into Gao Sijin’s arms.
A girl changes dramatically as she grows up. Feng Xiaona now possessed a beauty that was no less than her big sister’s.
“Let’s go home. Now that the exams are over, we can finally relax a little.”
“Yeah, Brother Sijin.”
“Is there anything you’d like to eat? Today’s my treat.”
“No need. As long as I have Brother Sijin with me, I’m already very happy.”
Feng Xiaohe was busy with work today and couldn’t be there, but Gao Sijin was, and Feng Xiaona felt this might be even better.
“After graduation, Xiaona will be going to university. You’ll have to find yourself a handsome boyfriend then.”
“I’m going to find a boyfriend even more handsome than Brother Sijin.”
“That might be a bit hard to find.”
“Brother Sijin really has no shame.”
The two of them were sometimes like siblings, sometimes like father and daughter. Amidst the crowd of parents picking up their children, Gao Sijin and Feng Xiaona walking together seemed a little unusual, but it didn’t really raise any eyebrows.
“Come to think of it, Brother Sijin and Sister Xiaohe have been living together for three years now. Shouldn’t you be thinking about having a child?” Feng Xiaona suddenly spoke up.
“What do we need a child for? Don’t we have you?”
Gently stroking Feng Xiaona’s hair, Gao Sijin’s gaze became especially tender.
In truth, Feng Xiaona knew the reason why they never had a child of their own. Because Feng Xiaona’s schooling required paying tuition, food costs, and all kinds of other expenses. If they had a child, they would inevitably fall into the predicament of living beyond their means.
“Once I’m in university, the family won’t need to give me money anymore. I’ll earn scholarships, and I can also work part-time jobs off campus more often, get some real-world experience.”
“What silly talk. You’re still just a kid.” Gao Sijin took Feng Xiaona’s hand and headed toward the shopping mall. “You’ve graduated now, so it’s time to get a new phone. We’ll pick up a laptop too. My book has been doing pretty well lately, and I’ve saved up over twenty thousand in royalties. Don’t you go telling Xiaohe about this. This is my secret stash.”
“Don’t worry, Brother Sijin. I absolutely won’t fail to keep it a secret.” Feng Xiaona grinned mischievously. “But Brother Sijin, the exam scores haven’t even been released yet and you’re already buying me all this stuff. Aren’t you afraid I bombed the exam?”
“I trust that you did well. And even if you bombed the exam, buying things for my favorite little sister wouldn’t cause me the least bit of heartache.”
“Brother Sijin is the best. When Xiaona grows up, I’ll take care of you and Sister in your old age.”
“Just take care of yourself, silly child.”
—Ring ring ring.
Feng Xiaona rubbed her bleary eyes and glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand.
It was seven o’clock in the morning. The other side of the bed felt cold. From the kitchen came the sound of Feng Xiaohe chopping vegetables.
She was humming a song while cooking, as if trying to use music to drive away her sorrow.
“Xiaona, are you up already?” Feng Xiaohe heard sounds coming from the bedroom and said, “Hurry up and come eat. After breakfast, we need to head to the airport.”
“Okay, Big Sister.”
Feng Xiaona put on her slippers, washed up, and sat down at the table.
She saw that her sister’s eyes were red and swollen, as if she had just been crying.
“I’ll always stay by your side, Big Sister. When I study hard and become an amazing person in the future, I’ll definitely make sure you find happiness!”
“Xiaona, just having that thought in your heart is more than enough. Hurry up and eat.”
Feng Xiaohe smiled warmly. Though she was the big sister, she also felt like a mother. Even though they were about to move to an unfamiliar city to live, Feng Xiaona wasn’t afraid at all, because she loved her big sister the most.
