Chapter 145 – 1992-2020

Xu RenDong’s mouth really was ‘blessed’, everything he said came true. A few days after that incident, the teammates who were killed by the hungry ghosts turned into ghosts one after another and came back to scare people again.

Although Lian Qiao’s combat prowess was superb and could take on one ghost easily, a group of ghosts is hard to fight. What’s more, he has to spare one arm to hold Little RenDong, which was? equivalent to abolishing half of his martial arts.

Therefore, within four days, all teammates except for Little Apple had died.

It’s not that Lian Qiao preferred Little Apple, it’s really that Little Apple was quite powerful, dancing with a watermelon knife like a tiger – in the past few days, they have seen some other new ghosts besides hungry ghosts. For example, the long-haired female ghost walking around holding her head, or the vicious little girl hiding in the toilet and stealing your toilet paper. These ghosts are not as hard to fight as hungry ghosts and the watermelon knife can do actual damage to them, so Little Apple has been a big help.

Lian Qiao discovered a rule: whatever ghost type kills someone, that person will turn into that type of ghost the next day. Unfortunately, this experience is of little use. Regardless of whether they were a native ghost or a ghost transformed from one of his teammates, anyway, just come and I will kill you one by one, and send you with boundless Dharma into the West.

Fortunately, the ghosts only appeared at night. The daytime is basically very peaceful, as long as you avoid killing yourself.

During these turbulent days, Little RenDong grew up day by day.

Little Apple finally got used to the cracking and molting growth process of RenDong, but she still felt that Lian Qiao, who was full of anticipation to enjoy this process, was very perverted. To be honest, Little RenDong does look better the longer he grows up but it really is too weird for him to split once a day. Forgive her for not having a ‘love filter’, it’s really hard to accept.

On the sixth day, the principal touched Little RenDong’s head and said that he could go to school soon. The three were still puzzled but the next morning, when the subtitle of “1999” rose out of nowhere as usual, the three opened their eyes and were all stunned.

Where the fuck was this?!

Two big people and one small person stood in the middle of the road with three blank faces, looking at the heavy traffic and congestion around them.

The sound of the horn that was close at hand was loud and rhythmic, as if scolding them: “stupid”. The three of them looked at the busy city in a daze, feeling unreal as though they hadn’t woken up yet.

The driver closest to the three of them finally couldn’t bear it any longer. He jumped out of the car, pointed at the three of them and cursed: “What are you doing in the middle of the road? Does your family own the road? Why don’t you let people send their children to school”

“Ah!” Hearing the word “children”, Lian Qiao suddenly got excited, pulled Little RenDong and Little Apple and walked quickly to the sidewalk.

At this time, Little RenDong was already seven years old and he was growing very fast, reaching Lian Qiao’s waist. He is still childish with baby fat on his face, but his heart is still that of a 28-year-old youth, so his eyes often reveal a calmness that does not match his appearance.

Little Apple hasn’t changed much—except for the watermelon knife on her waist, like a little girl who is ready to fight at any time.

The two were still in a daze, in a trance.

Lian Qiao looked around, suddenly pointed to the front and said, “RenDong, is that your elementary school?”

Little RenDong was taken aback and looked towards where his finger was pointing. The familiar school gate appeared in front of his eyes, awakening many memories. He nodded involuntarily, a strange emotion welling up in his heart.

He can’t say it’s exactly nostalgia, and he can’t say it’s exactly alienation.

If he had to describe it, it would be.. empty.

He grew up in an orphanage with a healthy body and limbs but no one was willing to adopt him, so he doubted himself and developed a withdrawn character. Now he knows that it was because the principal did not let anyone adopt him for a long time, she was waiting for Zhong Xiu to pick him up one day.

—But at that time, he really thought it was his own problem.

He has always felt that there is some kind of defect in himself, which is different from other children who are missing arms and legs. Even the physically handicapped were adopted. There must be something bigger wrong with him, that’s why no one wanted him.

He also confided his inner confusion to the principal. Of course, it was impossible for the principal to tell him about his mother’s misery when he was seven or eight years old, so she had to be vague. He sensed something sensitively from the principal’s gentleness, which he felt like confirmed his conjectures even more.

—He, wasn’t, worthy.

But in the end, how does one become worthy?

He doesn’t know, and no one can tell him.

Thus, the young Xu RenDong spent his precocious childhood in confusion and bewilderment.

For six years in elementary school, he had no friends. For some reason, other children were secretly afraid of him. Over time, no one played with him anymore. The good teachers took special care of him seeing that he was always alone. However, this kindness in turn caused him to misunderstand. He thought that the principal must have told them something about him, so they treated him specially.

Looking back now, Xu RenDong has no memory of what happened in elementary school. Probably the brain screened the memory without authorization and deleted those repressed and helpless times from the memory.

The only thing he remembered was this school gate.

..back to the present.

Seeing RenDong’s expression in a trance, Lian Qiao rubbed his hair and laughed as if he hadn’t reacted from the scene change, “The map has changed, it’s normal. It just so happens that the orphanage was getting boring so it’s time to change the place. Let’s see if there are any clues.”

Little RenDong came back to his senses and let out a “en”.

So Lian Qiao and Little Apple walked on both sides of RenDong, protecting him across the road. In 1999, there were not so many cars on the road, but more bicycles and pedestrians. Even so, this is the world inside the elevator after all so who knows what ghosts will appear on the road.

The duo’s fears didn’t materialize. At this time, it was about the rush hour for school, adults and children were in a hurry on the road and they didn’t care what these three people were doing. Lian Qiao led Little RenDong to the school gate and was about to go in, but was stopped by elementary school students at the gate.

“Wait! Where’s your red scarf!” The kid came up to him, with two stripes pinned to his arm, and he seemed to be a young cadre of the Communist Youth League.

Lian Qiao was stunned for a moment and then remembered that elementary school students had to wear red scarves to school. The two adults looked at each other, slightly embarrassed.

RenDong is still more interesting. He said sincerely to the little cadre, “I’m sorry, I forgot to bring it.”

The little cadre asked, “What’s your name and which class are you in?”

He wrote it down in his notebook and then said: “Don’t forget it in the future! If you don’t wear a red scarf, your class marks will be deducted!”

These children’s words made the three of them laugh. Lian Qiao and Little Apple recalled things from their primary school days but RenDong on the other hand only smiled and didn’t really recall any memories.

The three of them were about to continue walking in when the young cadre stared round and stopped him again: “Hey! What are you doing?”

The three of them were all taken aback. Lian Qiao said: “Sending him to school.”

The young cadre said: “Parents are not allowed in.”

Lian Qiao was taken aback. At this time, a young female teacher came from the other side of the school gate, she looked very gentle and asked the small cadre, “What’s wrong?”

The small cadre told the truth. The female teacher said to Lian Qiao and co: “The child has been delivered, the two parents please go back! Our school does not allow parents to come in, this is also for the safety of all students.”

Lian Qiao frowned. On the other hand, Little Apple hid the watermelon knife on her waist rather unnaturally and said with a smile on his face, “Uh, can you accommodate us a bit? Our family’s kid is coming to school for the first time today and we are afraid that he won’t get used to it..”

Our, family’s, kid?

Who and whose family?

The seven-year-old Little RenDong narrowed her eyes and gave Little Apple a displeased look. Little Apple knew that she had touched RenDong reverse scale again and quietly stuck out her tongue.

The female teacher said: “That’s not allowed. Rules are rules. Except for the open day of the Parents’ Association, parents are not allowed to enter the campus at other times.”

She was resolute and refused to let it go. The three of them stood in a stalemate at the school gate.

Soon, two security guards in the guard booth also came over and asked the female teacher what happened.

Before the female teacher finished speaking, Lian Qiao said coldly: “I must go in.”

The female teacher said helplessly, “This parent, why are you being so unreasonable..”

The two burly security guards saw that Lian Qiao would not listen so one returned to the sentry box and picked up the phone to call the police, while the other took out a rubber roller and stared at him intently.

And Lian Qiao had already reached into his backpack, ready to strike at any time.

RenDong felt that there was no room for change in the matter and was afraid that Lian Qiao’s reckless behavior would trigger the death condition, so he gently tugged Lian Qiao’s sleeve, signaling him not to act rashly.

Little Apple looked anxiously at the security guard, then at Lian Qiao and softly persuaded: “Forget it, let’s wait and see what happens.”

Lian Qiao looked gloomy and glanced at her, displeased. Those eyes were so sharp that it made Little Apple tremble.

—He really could kill.

That’s what it felt like to her.

Seeing that Lian Qiao refused to back down, RenDong had no choice but to use his trump card. He hugged Lian Qiao’s arm, stood on tiptoe, blushed and called in a low voice:

“Daddy.”

Lian Qiao was shocked. The frosty air from head to toe dissipated instantly.

“You, you..” Lian Qiao stared at him in disbelief, his whole body suddenly looked like a shrimp fished out of a hot pot, red from the tip of the tail to the tips of the hair.

Little RenDong blushed too. He lightly tugged on Lian Qiao’s arm and when he bent down, he whispered in his ear: “Don’t make trouble, be good.”

Lian Qiao: “Uh..uh..”

What else can he say!

That “Daddy” screamed so loudly that Lian Qiao’s bones were crisp. He never thought that RenDong could.. still play this kind of play?

Lian Qiao’s whole heart was soaked in spring water and he was in a trance. He didn’t react until the female teacher walked into the campus holding RenDong’s hand and shouted at the little back: “RenDong—”

Little RenDong turned around: “Huh?”

Lian Qiao wanted to tell him to be careful but soon thought, how can he be careful when he is a seven-year-old child?

So Lian Qiao untied the mountaineering bag behind his back and threw it towards the campus: “You forgot to take your schoolbag!”

Xiao RenDong watched the giant mountaineering bag that was about the same height as him fly towards him, his face turned pale with fright and he quickly backed away . Fortunately, the female teacher was in charge and caught the backpack first, avoiding the tragedy of RenDong being crushed to death by Lian Qiao’s love on the spot.

Little RenDong regained his strength from being frightened and yelled at Lian Qiao angrily: “Can you be more careful!”

How silly was that move.

There’s no way. Right now Lian Qiao was in a confusion of spring water. Wasn’t RenDong to blame himself? Why say ‘Daddy’ for no good reason!?

So, the two watched Little RenDong enter the campus and disappeared around the corner of the teaching building.

Little Apple asked anxiously: “Can he do it alone..”

Lian Qiao sighed: “Even if he can’t, he has to. I mean, I can’t really kill the whole school, can I?”

Little Apple: “???” Was he really planning to use the crowbar to slaughter the entire school?!

“Let’s go.” Since Lian Qiao let go, he turned around and walked towards the road without nostalgia.

Little Apple chased after him with question marks all over her head: “Where are you going? Aren’t you staying here until he finishes school?”

“It’s still a long time before school ends and we can’t get in anyway.” Lian Qiao stood at the crossroads, looking around, his eyes sweeping around like a sniper rifle scope, “We might as well take this time to explore here. Maybe we can find new clues.”