Chapter 52: Withered Beauty

Chen Fengshi turned his head and waited for a moment. Juzi opened the door, handed him a phone in a box, and said, “Yours must have gotten wet too. Use this first. Tomorrow I will tell the President, and then pull you into the Association’s group.”

“No need, I…” Before Chen Fengshi could finish his words of refusal, Juzi said directly, “Consider it thanking you for saving my life? Otherwise, you can just transfer the money for the phone to me via WeChat later.”

“Okay, I will transfer the money to you later.” Chen Fengshi could accept the second suggestion, so he took it. He found it was brand new and remembered she had said that her mother was very careless, often cracking her phone screen or leaving her phone in restaurants, taxis, and so on. Therefore, when going out, she often kept two or three phones with her, and at home, she kept a few waiting to be unboxed.

Juzi stuffed the brand new phone in its packaging box to him, waved goodbye, and said one last thing when closing the door: “Oranges and apples can be connected, right? An orange was also bitten by you tonight—”

Chen Fengshi couldn’t help but blush, but the door was already closed.

He suddenly understood Juzi’s intention in insisting on giving him a phone, even going so far as to ask for money to make him take it. It was a memento.

So he wondered if he should also give Juzi a gift as a memento of their fated meeting? Was this the proper manners? Or perhaps, a return gift of affection?

When Chen Fengshi walked into the elevator, he found there was also a SIM card cutter inside the box, and he could only admire her for being so thoughtful.

The elevator doors closed, carrying Chen Fengshi further and further away from Juzi…

It wasn’t until the elevator doors closed that Juzi’s back left the inside of the door.

If tonight was a mistake, then it was a mistake she was willing to make. What made her even happier was Chen Fengshi’s performance after she called a stop, which made her not regret this mistake at all. She felt he was a very reliable person.

Juzi thought about tonight’s experiences, from the embarrassing encounter at the very beginning… to the final farewell, and instead felt that the initial embarrassment was actually beautiful.

She drank her wine and, through the window, saw Chen Fengshi walking past in the community garden, turning his head to look in her direction for a while.

She knew Chen Fengshi would see her behind the window. They gazed at each other from afar, unable to see clearly. After a long time, Chen Fengshi turned his head and walked out of her line of sight.

Juzi felt a wave of melancholy. She knew she would miss him, but she didn’t know how many days it would take for it to fade.

The best way, of course, was to distract herself. So Juzi unboxed a new phone, swapped the SIM card, logged into her account, connected it to the computer, and restored the app backup.

Juzi saw the WeChat transfer message from Chen Fengshi. It was probably the price he searched online, a bit more expensive than what she paid. She looked at the message, and a smile couldn’t help but hang on the corner of her mouth. Chen Fengshi was a simple man, very easy to believe women’s words. She wouldn’t accept the money; this was the gift she wanted to keep as a memento.

“Don’t you know the rule that the prettier the woman, the more she lies?”

“…Thanks for the lesson.” Chen Fengshi on the other end was very speechless. However, he had already planned to give Juzi a gift anyway. Since he knew her home address, he wasn’t afraid she wouldn’t accept it.

Juzi smiled and drank her wine, then felt, how was this distracting herself? So she looked at other messages. While scrolling, a new message suddenly came in. She backed out of the group chat to check, thinking it was Chen Fengshi, but saw it was another friend, a companion in another city who also possessed the Power of Life. They got along very well.

“I quit my job and just got off the plane. You said that whenever I came to Xuancheng, I shouldn’t book a hotel but go to your house. Was that just polite talk?”

“Great! Hurry over! I’m super free, I guarantee I can go shopping with you to your heart’s content and eat all over the streets and alleys!” Juzi was very happy. “Black, you are too sudden! We even chatted tonight, and you didn’t leak a word! You are really something! I’ll say a word in the group, the President really welcomes new friends.”

“Don’t. I suddenly quit because I was in a bad mood. I just want to heal at your place, and when I recover, I’ll find a job in Xuancheng and never go back.” The partner named Black said this, and of course Juzi respected her request and agreed without hesitation.

Having one more partner in the Xuancheng Mutual Aid Association, and a partner with the Black Power of Life who made people especially curious, was of course good news. For Juzi, she also gained a like-minded friend.

While messaging Black, she prepared cups and wine, then took some ingredients out of the fridge, turned the AC up high, and got ready to drink and eat hotpot.

Black loved to drink, probably able to drink as much and loving it as much as she did, and she also liked eating hotpot.

Preparing these things naturally made time pass quickly. Juzi still had some ingredients she hadn’t finished cutting when the doorbell rang. She had told the security downstairs in advance, but Black didn’t even enter through the first-floor main gate.

“Coming—just a little more and we can start the pot! Come in quickly.” Juzi had video-called Black many times before, so meeting in person didn’t feel unfamiliar. Just like in the videos, her mature, wavy long curly hair fell past her shoulders, and she wore a black dress that fully revealed her curves, mature, sexy, and charming.

But in reality, Black was two years younger than her.

Black wore a faint smile and didn’t bring much luggage, just a personal bag. After entering the room, she looked around and said with a smile: “So nice.”

“There isn’t much, let’s just eat a little, tomorrow we’ll go out and eat to our hearts’ content!” Juzi sped up cutting the remaining ingredients.

Black glanced at the already cut items on the table and said casually: “Eating alone is fine too.”

Eating alone…?

This was such a strange thing to say… Although Juzi didn’t have to eat, in this situation, for Black to say such a thing was still very weird.

She really didn’t think Black meant she was too hungry and wanted to eat alone.

So, Juzi couldn’t help but guess and asked in reply: “Don’t you like the hotpot base?”

At this time, Black had already walked behind her. Her slender arm rested on Juzi’s shoulder, hooking around her neck. Her red lips pressed against Juzi’s ear as she softly said: “What I meant is, I eat alone.”

Juzi froze for a moment. This was really strange. Who would say such a weird thing to an enthusiastically hosting host in this kind of situation?

Normal people wouldn’t!

Unless it was an abnormal person.

Abnormal?

A chill suddenly ran down Juzi’s spine.

The arm that Black hooked around her neck suddenly tightened. The grip made Juzi involuntarily grab the arm tightly and pull hard, but the difference in strength was too huge; it didn’t budge at all!

Juzi couldn’t speak or make a sound, and her face turned completely red.

Beside her ear, she heard Black speaking softly.

“Your Power of Life originally has no meaning for existence. Fate chose you, not to let you be cowardly retreaters. But you chose to waste this heaven-sent luck. This is too absurd! And too wasteful! But fortunately, there is me—because of my existence, your power has value. Your Power of Life can become my nourishment, making my Black Power of Life even stronger! Do you feel very moved? Even if you give up on yourselves, fate still arranged for me to save your cowardice?”

Juzi couldn’t speak, but she could feel the power in her body surging out from all over her body.

Yes, black mist covered Black’s body, continuously absorbing the orange Power of Life from Juzi’s body!

Thus, at a speed visible to the naked eye, Juzi rapidly withered and thinned, like a flower quickly wilting and shriveling under a scorching sun.

“Actually, I chatted with you very well, and I originally didn’t want to make a move so quickly. But ah, when the last owner of the Power of Life in the city I came from was absorbed by me, she took advantage of my kindness, lied to me, and then called the police. My kind heart was just shattered like that. Now I can only become ruthless, and have even less interest in being friends with you lucky people. Isn’t your fake kindness just to find a sense of superiority over us people with tragic backgrounds? Giving us a little pity makes you feel like you are great, compassionate saviors?”

Juzi had almost lost her hearing. As the Power of Life rapidly drained away, she felt her body getting lighter and lighter, and weaker and weaker. She couldn’t reply, and could only passively listen to the voice beside her ear playing a solo act. She thought of tonight’s mistake, and suddenly regretted calling a stop.

But, she was just that kind of person, right? Fortunately, he thought that kind of her was very worthy of admiration…

Juzi was let go. She truly had nothing left on her body but a layer of skin, and the blood vessels inside her body were clearly visible, but she was still alive, even though she had completely lost consciousness and entered a special state of dormancy.

Black drank wine nonchalantly, eating the hotpot Juzi had prepared for her. As she drank, she suddenly shed a tear, looked at Juzi beside her, and said: “Don’t worry, Juzi, you won’t be lonely. All the cowards in the Xuancheng Mutual Aid Association will keep you company. And you won’t have sacrificed in vain. Before leaving Xuancheng, I will definitely destroy all the Fungal Demon Main Bodies! You can sleep in peace, sleep forever and ever. Maybe you’ll sleep for hundreds or thousands of years? Maybe future technology will be able to restore you from this hibernation state? By then, you’ll have become the longest-living group of people to break world records. Wouldn’t I have made another contribution?”

Black finished eating, drank her wine, picked up Juzi’s new phone that didn’t have a password or fingerprint lock yet, scrolled through the messages, and counted the number of members in the Mutual Aid Association.

“Good, so good! As expected of Xuancheng, it’s much livelier than my hometown, that kind of small provincial capital city. There are so many Powers of Life waiting to be dedicated to me!… Oh? Golden Blood? The note is ‘Love in the water’? Is this my delicious meal? Oops, Juzi, you went to sleep too early. Why are there so few chat messages with this person? Did you just meet? There isn’t this name in the Mutual Aid Association group, false hope… Juzi, you still play with online dating?”

In the 120-square-meter apartment, Black’s self-talk echoed from time to time.

Chen Fengshi didn’t ride his motorcycle. He wouldn’t drive after drinking, to avoid making human errors. Tonight’s mistake stemmed from his lax control over Alcohol, a mistake he simply couldn’t forgive himself for.

His luck was pretty good. Just as he was about to call a ride-hailing car, an empty taxi drove by, and it was a spacious, comfortable, and quiet blue-and-white electric taxi.

Sitting in the car, he was still pondering what kind of gift he should give Juzi. He couldn’t clearly explain his feelings for Juzi at this moment, but he knew himself; he admired her from the bottom of his heart.

As long as this gift could make her like it, Chen Fengshi felt he wouldn’t care about the cost. As long as he could afford it right now, he would be willing.

But when it came to things like gifts, especially for Juzi, it was obviously not true that spending more meant it would better suit her wishes.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

Chen Fengshi simply wanted to mute it right away! There had been enough things today, enough. After putting this new SIM card in, he hadn’t downloaded any apps or restored his contacts from a backup. So late at night, who could be calling?

It definitely wasn’t Juzi. They contacted each other on WeChat and hadn’t even thought of exchanging numbers.

When Chen Fengshi took out his phone, he thought that no matter who it was, it was best to turn it off, go back to the hotel, and sleep. Otherwise, his hotel room fee for the night would almost be wasted!

But the number on the phone belonged to someone he couldn’t convince himself not to answer—it was Shen Ai!