Chapter 54: The Man

Zhang Deshuai watched as Xiao Ting sat in the boss's chair wearing sunglasses, a knock-off gold watch suddenly appearing on his wrist.

Lowering his voice and speaking in a raspy, bubbly vocal fry, he said to the girl in front of him, "My beautiful young lady, please introduce yourself first."

"I haven't even left yet... and this bird-brained boss is already putting on airs."

Zhang Deshuai looked at the fellow in front of him with dark lines all over his face, his fists clenched tight.

The girl appeared very shy. Timidly, she said, "I... my name is Jing, and my given name has duplicated characters. I'm 19 years old this year."

"Oh? Like the 'Jing' of well-organized order?"

"No, it's the 'Jing' of scenery, because my mother said I was the most beautiful scenery she was ever given in this world."

"I see. Your mother must have loved you very much. Feel free to bring your mother-in-law—uh, I mean, auntie—over for dinner sometime."

"My mother passed away," Jing murmured in an extremely tiny voice.

"Alright, welcome to Twilight Convenience Store. Have you eaten yet? We do self-service here at night, let's have dinner together in a bit."

Seeing that the atmosphere was turning sour, Zhang Deshuai hurriedly changed the subject.

"Thank you..."

That evening, the three of them sat at a barbecue stall. Amidst the clinking of glasses, Jingjing also opened up.

According to Jingjing, her family lived in a small county town further down. Her parents had divorced when she was very young.

Though her father paid child support on time after the divorce, life for the mother and daughter wasn't wealthy, but it was happy.

However, last year her mother contracted multiple myeloma, which was later complicated by leukemia.

She accompanied her mother to the city for chemotherapy, but her mother's condition progressed too rapidly and ultimately she passed away.

After her mother left, she chose not to return to her hometown. She worked as a waitress in a city bar for a while, but unable to bear the manager's harassment and the nights spent vomiting acidic water into toilet bowls, she ultimately chose to resign.

Just as she was most lost and didn't know where to go, she saw the convenience store's hiring notice, along with two men wrestling with each other.

Zhang Deshuai didn't know how to comfort her, but Xiao Ting managed to use his brain for once. He stood up and raised his glass.

"To Twilight Convenience Store, cheers!"

"Cheers!"

From that day on, Jingjing officially began working at Twilight Convenience Store.

Her joining undoubtedly added much vitality to the convenience store, and Zhang Deshuai also let go of his worries, spending a carefree period of time.

Those cozy days didn't last long before the day to repay the final sum arrived, which was also the day Zhang Deshuai prepared to leave.

Actually, he had long been capable of paying it back directly, and following the routine step-by-step was simply because he knew there would never be such times again in the future.

Zhang Deshuai woke up early and wandered aimlessly through the city where he had lived for nearly twenty years.

Before he knew it, he had walked to the entrance of the steamed bun shop he used to scam.

"Oh no, I've drawn him in," Zhang Deshuai thought to himself, sensing disaster.

"Well, it's the last time anyway."

After a fierce internal struggle, he finally lifted his leg and stepped through the shop door.

As soon as he entered, he saw the owner making steamed buns while casting vigilant glances around the shop.

"Since when did this boss become so alert?"

Looking at the owner's expression, Zhang Deshuai felt increasingly uneasy, so he found a corner to sit by himself.

Yet, he always felt that the owner's gaze wasn't directed at him, but rather looking in another direction.

"I can't worry about that anymore! I am definitely making a fool of myself today!"

Steeling his heart, Zhang Deshuai grabbed a steamer of buns and a cup of soy milk, sitting down at his seat to feast heartily.

Stuffing the last bun into his mouth with reckless abandon, Zhang Deshuai chewed furiously, waiting.

Waiting for the right timing.

He saw the bun shop owner wash his hands, pick up two clean white cloths to protect his hands, and lift the topmost giant steamer of buns.

As the steaming fragrance of flour billowed into the air, a pale blue steam also obscured the owner's vision.

"Timing!"

Zhang Deshuai's cheeks contracted rapidly as he gulped down the soy milk in one go.

Then, leveraging strength from both legs, his entire body burst up from the small stool. Landing on his toes, he executed a sharp half-turn and whipped two tissues out of the paper box—a seamless flow of movement.

Just as Zhang Deshuai was feeling quite pleased with his increasingly practiced movements, he spotted another figure, similarly lowering his head and sneaking toward the door.

Those tissues had evidently already been used by the other person and tossed into the wastebasket.

What incredible speed!

Zhang Deshuai stared blankly at the retreating back, finding it increasingly familiar.

"You motherfucker!" the bun shop owner's angry curse suddenly rang out from behind.

"Wuwu, spare me, I'll never dare do it again!"

"Wuwu, spare me, I'll never dare do it again!"

Synchronized "thuds" echoed as two figures collapsed to their knees side by side.

"What the hell, old man?"

"Holy crap, making a fool of myself has become a muscle reflex, I forgot this brat was here too."

Armed with a sandalwood rolling pin, the bun shop owner had already reached the father and son. Griping the rolling pin with both hands and putting explosive force into his waist, he brought the rolling pin down straight toward the tops of their heads with a piercing whistle through the air.

"Hold on!"

As the white flour scattered into the air, the bun shop owner was astonished to find that his rolling pin had struck as if hitting a wall of solid copper and iron, unable to budge an inch!

Opposite him stood a disheveled middle-aged man with a stubbly beard, his eyes flashing with a sharp light, one large hand firmly gripping the rolling pin.

☁️

"My nearly thirty years of dough-kneading mastery... actually..."

"I cannot lose!"

The owner clenched his teeth shut, raised his bloodshot eyes, and stared dead at the man in front of him.

"Don't look down on people!"

Making a split-second decision, the owner actually abandoned his close-combat rolling pin!

Taking a deep breath, he clenched both fists, positioned them before his upper abdomen, and unleashed a cannonball-like straight punch directly toward the man's face.

The man opposite him didn't blink an eyelid. Pulling two red paper notes from inside his tunic, he held them right before the owner's eyes.

The owner's punch wind had already brushed the tip of the man's nose, but upon seeing the objects before him, his expression changed drastically, and in a flash of lightning, he pulled back his punch.

D... damnable... it actually is...

Renminbi.

Well, there was truly nothing to be done about that.

"Thank you for the owner's care during this time, we shall take our leave now."

With that, the man scooped up Zhang Deshuai from the ground and vanished without a trace in the span of a single breath.

As if they had never appeared at all.

"..."

Father and son looked at each other in silence for a long time, until finally, the older one opened his mouth first.

"Son... you like eating his buns too?"

"Yeah."

"Son... what are you thinking about right now?"

"Patricide."

"..."

Faced with his silent father, Zhang Deshuai couldn't help but ask,

"Why did you even come back?"

His eye sockets were red, and he bit his lip hard to keep it from trembling, speaking with a crying tone.