The Job of Catching Mice

His mother got closer and closer, the hatred in her eyes almost tangible, and the surrounding scenery seemed to twist and distort, like a nightmare.

So, things hadn't really gone back to normal after all...

He remembered what Yang Jia had told him before. Was it just because he had killed Jiang Cheng that the world had given him less than a day of leniency, only to return to its malicious state?

Then, what should he do now?

His heart began to beat heavier and heavier, blood pumping into his brain in surges.

"Is this Xiao Xiao's house?"

But just as this fear and unease were brewing, almost causing Xiao Xiao's panic to flare up again, a voice suddenly rang out behind him.

Xiao Xiao turned around in surprise and saw Yang Jia in a white shirt and jeans, wearing a white baseball cap, carrying a box of Bird's Nest Soup, smiling as she looked into the yard.

His mood suddenly relaxed, as if he had seen a savior.

"This..."

Before Xiao Xiao could say anything, still shaken, the "mother" who had just walked out of the yard also looked visibly surprised.

The anger and resentment on her face quickly dissipated in a very short time, as if she had changed faces.

First, she looked a little confused, then she said to Xiao Xiao with some surprise, "Who is this child...?"

Before Xiao Xiao could answer, Yang Jia had already brushed past him and greeted her with a smile, "Auntie, hello, my name is Yang Jia, I'm Xiao Xiao's high school classmate."

"Oh, hello, hello..."

His mother seemed a little flustered and hurriedly invited Yang Jia in, "Come in and sit down, child. Look at this, Xiao Xiao didn't even tell me you were coming, the house is a mess..."

"Auntie, you don't have to be so polite, I'll just have some water..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao watched almost dazedly as Yang Jia and his mother walked into the house, like a real old classmate visiting.

And at this time, his mother was acting nothing like a demon. She warmly invited Yang Jia to sit down, then went back into the house to change out of her work clothes, seemingly combed her hair, and after a few words, she enthusiastically invited Yang Jia to stay for dinner. Xiao Xiao watched her push him into the house to talk to Yang Jia while happily going out to buy groceries, and felt that the contrast was so strong that it was unreal.

"Xiao's Mom, going to buy groceries now?"

"Yes, isn't Xiao Xiao's classmate here? I'm going to make something good for her."

"Oh, is she here to see Xiao Xiao? Such a pretty girl..."

"Yes, Xiao Xiao's high school classmate. That kid, he doesn't even tell me when he has a female classmate coming over, I didn't even prepare anything."

"..."

From far outside the yard, he could hear his mother greeting the neighbors. Xiao Xiao sat on the sofa, feeling a little absurd.

"What is she doing?"

"..."

"What parent doesn't care about their child's dating life?"

The smile on Yang Jia's face was a little mysterious as she sat quietly on the sofa and said softly, "Especially since you don't seem to have many friends?"

Xiao Xiao felt absurd, "But..."

"I told you, they are usually just like normal people. Before the malice strikes, they always faithfully play their roles."

Yang Jia looked at Xiao Xiao with a smile and said, "And interacting with them is the first lesson you have to learn. We must learn to find truth in each other and adapt to the falsehood of this world."

"Otherwise, you will suffer a lot."

"One of our people once chose self-destruction because they couldn't stand such falsehood. I don't want you to go down his path."

"..."

Xiao Xiao fell silent. He couldn't understand these things yet, but he wrote down this sentence in his mind first.

"Also..."

Yang Jia suddenly seemed a little curious, her eyes gently falling on Xiao Xiao, "I'm actually very curious to know, if I hadn't appeared in time just now, what would you have done?"

"What would I have done?"

Xiao Xiao thought of the scene of facing his "mother" alone at the gate of the yard, quietly watching Yang Jia's eyes.

After a long time, he whispered, "Of course, I would have turned around and ran away..."

"Oh?"

Yang Jia raised her eyebrows and said, "But she was about to turn into a monster that would devour you..."

"But after all, she has the appearance of my mother..."

Xiao Xiao didn't know what Yang Jia was asking all this for, but he rubbed his face wearily and said, "What else can I do besides run away?"

Yang Jia didn't answer, but her expression seemed much more relaxed.

Xiao Xiao originally thought that when he saw Yang Jia again, he could quickly ask all the doubts in his heart.

But unexpectedly, this time she came over, she actually stayed for a meal at home, just like visiting an old classmate. Mom also made a table of rich food, including braised pork, dry-braised fish, and mysteriously took out a bottle of red wine from her cabinet that was said to be high-end. And Yang Jia politely and gently talked to her, patiently responding to Mom's subtle inquiries about her ancestors for eighteen generations...

I, on the other hand, acted like an outsider.

However, Xiao Xiao hadn't eaten anything all day and was indeed hungry. Seeing that Yang Jia could eat with peace of mind, he started eating without any politeness.

Speaking of which, he had been eating it for so many years, and if there were any problems, they would have already occurred. Not eating anything this day was actually a sequelae of yesterday's fright.

After dinner, Yang Jia chatted with Mom for a while before politely saying she wanted to go back, asking Xiao Xiao to see her off.

"Go."

Mom pointed outside, looking like she couldn't wait to say, "You should not only go, but it's best not to come back tonight. It's not safe at night to send little Yang home."

To this, Yang Jia could only say a little awkwardly, "Just call me Jiajia."

Under the cold streetlights, Xiao Xiao instinctively put his hood on again, stretching his and Yang Jia's shadows very long.

He said, deliberately smiling, "Look, your mother really loves you, and your family's conditions are quite good. The houses in this area are very expensive."

"Why are you still discussing housing prices with me at a time like this?"

Xiao Xiao was a little helpless. After a long while, he whispered, "I went out all day today, wanting to verify whether this world is real..."

"After all, I haven't been out for a long time..."

"..."

Yang Jia smiled upon hearing this, her beautiful eyes looking at Xiao Xiao, "Still suspecting that something is wrong with you?"

Xiao Xiao was silent.

Yes, compared to this world being crazy, it's more reasonable that he is the one who's crazy...

"Believe in yourself, young man."

Yang Jia looked at him frowning and pondering, and couldn't help but smile, patting him on the shoulder, and said, "Subconsciously suspecting yourself is also a reasonable and common reaction."

"But after I take you to see 'him', you won't think so."

"Him?"

Xiao Xiao suddenly looked up, "Who is it?"

But Yang Jia just gently raised her index finger to her lips and made a "shush" sound, indicating that he didn't need to ask more, and turned her head to look at a place.

Xiao Xiao then realized that he had been walking with Yang Jia for a long time, but he didn't see her car parked at the intersection. Instead, they were walking towards a subway station.

There were no more subway trains stopping at the subway station, but there were still many homeless people huddled in the corners.

Everywhere was filled with the pungent smell of urine and the stench of decay from who knows where.

Xiao Xiao had been here during the day and sighed that even in the afterlife, there were still so many people who needed to take the subway to work, which was indeed an exceptionally terrifying thing.

But now, following Yang Jia here again, he found that the lights here were glaringly pale and flickered from time to time due to unstable voltage. Whenever a subway train sped past, the shadows reflected in the windows always made people feel like their bodies were being twisted or stretched.

The surrounding crowd was drowsy, everyone with a zombie-like sense of muddleheadedness and sluggishness.

Xiao Xiao subconsciously followed Yang Jia closely, only to see her gaze sweeping over the various people inside, as if admiring some scenery.

They came all the way to a homeless man who was sleeping soundly with his head covered and stopped.

Looking at this man who exuded a pungent smell, she smiled and said, "Hello."

After a while, the homeless man slowly lifted the indistinguishable-colored quilt covering his head, revealing only a pair of eyes, staring blankly at Yang Jia's stunning face.

"Who are you?"

He asked in a low voice, his voice sharp, like a child.

"Someone who gets paid to do things."

Yang Jia replied with a smile, "Someone paid me to do a rat-catching job."

The person under the quilt was silent for a long time, then suddenly, he sat up abruptly, the dirty quilt on his body slipped off, and he stared blankly at Yang Jia, "Who is the rat?"

Xiao Xiao subconsciously took a step back, full of vigilance.

But only then did he see clearly that the person under the quilt was not a monster, but just a common homeless man, with a thin body, only a slightly bulging belly, slender limbs, and grayish-brown skin due to long-term malnutrition. Several wine bottles were lying haphazardly beside him, as if he was trembling nervously because of Yang Jia's sudden visit, and he subconsciously shrank into the corner.

The smile on Yang Jia's face grew stronger, as if she carefully sized up the homeless man in front of her, then nodded gently.

She opened her satchel, took out a gun with an extremely cold aura from it, and casually stuffed it into Xiao Xiao's hand, saying, "Kill him."

"Kill him?"

Feeling the cold touch of the gun in his palm, Xiao Xiao was really taken aback.

Yang Jia nodded lightly, as if it was just a trivial matter.

Xiao Xiao turned his head to look at the homeless man who seemed to have heard their conversation and was fearfully shrinking into the corner.

His face still had an expression of disbelief, but he suddenly raised the gun, aimed it at the homeless man's chest, and pulled the trigger repeatedly.

"Bang" "Bang" "Bang" "Bang" "Bang"

Yang Jia: "?"

New book seeking everything, including a girlfriend!!