Nightmare in the Remnant Night

(Yesterday's update request was met, so I'm keeping my promise and adding an extra chapter today. I'm not some kind Believer Deception!)

The days that followed were mostly like this. In Jiang Wu Mei's eyes, Old Jia was not a Mortals, but rather Singer and Prophet of "Destiny".

He could anticipate almost every thought and action of Xiao Cheng Shi, and then handle them with ease.

Within this elaborate deception woven by Old Jia, Xiao Cheng Shi grew up honestly.

He genuinely believed that the world could be lived well without lies, because Old Jia had kept all the bad things out of his home through lies.

On the eve of the college entrance examination, Old Jia was picking up empty beer bottles at a barbecue stall when he overheard a group of customers talking about how their child was the top scorer in the previous year's Top Scholar. He stared at the person with envy in his eyes for a long time.

Only after the man, frightened, finished his drink and handed him the bottle did he sigh, take the bottle, and leave.

When he got home, he saw Cheng Shi studying at the table. He didn't say anything, just sat down next to him and kept him company.

Cheng Shi sensed that Old Jia was acting strangely, so he asked, "Old man, what's wrong? Haven't you picked up anyone else before?"

Old Jia scoffed and stubbornly said, "How could that be? I picked up the most, 44 of them. Old Liu, that slow one, only picked up 10 at most, and those were all left over by me."

Jiang Wu Mei listened from the rooftop and nodded with a smile. Indeed, Old Liu had picked up 44, and Old Jia had picked up 10, all of which were leftovers from others.

Oh right, we also have to add the one that the Top Scholar's father handed over by hand.

"What, are you worried I won't do well on the test?"

"Don't think about these things. Just take the test as usual. No matter how you do, you'll be better than your dad."

I think so too.

"You little brat..."

Old Jia slapped the table, and the father and son burst into laughter.

Later, Cheng Shi needed to go to school, but his family didn't have the money.

Old Jia was so worried that he stopped going to the park. He wandered around his neighborhood for three days before finally knocking on the door of the woman surnamed Sun while Cheng Shi was at school.

When the woman saw Old Jia arrive, she was taken aback and welcomed him inside.

Old Jia sat on the sofa in silence for a long time before finally uttering just two words: "Borrow money."

The woman was taken aback. She went into the bedroom, lifted the bed sheet, took out several stacks of cash from the makeshift bed, put them in her bag, and placed them in front of Old Jia.

"I don't need that much... and I can't afford to pay it back."

The woman pursed her lips and gave a wry smile, "These are all yours, you don't need to return them."

"What's given away doesn't really belong to me anymore."

The woman got angry and pointed at Old Jia, scolding, "If you had shown even a little bit of your skills, Xiao Shi could have lived off you for ten lifetimes. Why don't you dare to?"

Old Jia touched his forehead and sighed.

"Liars never die a good death, gamblers never have a good end. Look at me, this is what happens to me. You should be honest and not let him touch these dirty things."

"You've enjoyed half your life, and now you're making a child suffer with you in the end?"

Old Jia paused for a moment, then smiled with relief and said, "He's not suffering."

The woman was clearly annoyed by his proud expression. She pointed at Old Jia with a huff, but ultimately didn't utter a curse.

"Alright, alright, he's not suffering, but I'll suffer. How much do you want to lend?"

"20,000 yuan is enough for four years of tuition. Xiaoshi can earn her own living expenses. I'll give you an IOU."

"You can write?" The woman scoffed, her eyes showing disdain.

"..." Old Jia opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

She stared at him for a long time, then finally sighed, picked up a piece of paper and started writing. After finishing, she skillfully took out a brand new, unopened box of inkpads and handed it to Old Jia so he could put his fingerprint on it.

Old Jia was truly illiterate. Looking at the incomprehensible document, he only recognized the number written on it. After counting it ten times to make sure there weren't any extra zeros, he nodded and asked with a smile:

"This isn't some kind of loan sharking scheme, is it?"

The woman said irritably, "Are you going to sign or not? If you don't, you won't get a single penny."

Old Jia hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and pressed his fingerprint.

When the woman saw him sign, her eyes lit up. She snatched the document away, clutched it to her chest with delight, and went inside, ignoring the "guest" in the house.

"Take it yourself, leave now, and get out of here. I hate seeing you."

Old Jia sighed and took out 20,000 yuan, not a penny more.

Jiang Wu Mei, lying on the roof eavesdropping, was very curious about what was written on the paper. So one day, when the woman surnamed Sun was wandering outside the door, he pried open her safe, took out the document, and glanced at it.

The content is actually very concise; it simply states:

Old Jia owes Sun Yuying a whole yuan, which he can't repay in this lifetime, but he'll have to repay in the next.

Jiang Wu Mei chuckled upon seeing this. Who would use Arabic numerals when writing an IOU? If someone tampered with it, like Aunt Sun did, adding countless zeros at the end, it would be impossible to explain when it came time to settle the accounts.

But he couldn't laugh for long, because he realized that from the moment he laughed out loud, the Clown was no longer Old Jia, but himself.

He resisted the urge to tear up the sour-smelling receipt and stuffed it back in perfectly intact.

Then it was time for Cheng Shi to go to university. The father and son said goodbye at the school gate. Cheng Shi embraced his new life, but Old Jia did not leave.

Perhaps worried that Cheng Shi wouldn't be able to support himself with odd jobs, he found another place to live in a nearby urban village and secretly took on odd jobs to save some money for Cheng Shi. Although it wasn't much each month, it was enough, just right, according to Jiang Wu Mei's estimate of Cheng Shi's living expenses.

Until one day before Cheng Shi graduated, Old Jia had an accident.

He collapsed on the deserted road on his way home at night. Jiang Wu Mei watched this scene and squatted on a tree, not daring to move.

Sure enough, after lying on the ground for a while, Old Jia stood up on his own, dusted himself off, and spat angrily at the ground.

"Damn it, are they inhuman or just plain inhuman?"

After saying that, he strolled back with his hands behind his back.

But Jiang Wu Mei tell that Old Jia's move was genuine; his body was truly failing.

Old Jia seemed to have some understanding of his own body, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered for a while near Cheng Shi School.

Finally, one day he couldn't hold on any longer. He glanced at Cheng Shi's dormitory from the school gate and then took a bus home.

He first borrowed the bathroom of his neighbor Sun Yuying's house and took the cleanest shower possible. After he finished, he handed her a tape recorder. Then he went home, lay down on the bed that belonged to him and Cheng Shi, and closed his eyes with a smile.

No one expected that a man who looked fairly robust would suddenly be gone.

That afternoon, Cheng Shi called back.

Seeing Old Jia's phone vibrate on the bed, Sun Yuying, who was crying so hard she had no strength left, gritted her teeth and held back her sobs. She answered the phone and turned on the recorder at the same time.

Cheng Shi's voice immediately came from the other end of the phone.

"Hey? Old man, I'm about to find a job. Let me tell you, this company has great benefits, and the colleagues are... alright. The boss probably likes me and has asked me to come for a second interview."

There was a two-second pause on the tape recorder before Old Jia's voice came through.

"Oh, oh, very good, very good, I understand. You mustn't be arrogant. When you join the company, you must be kind to others, work diligently, and, most importantly, be honest!"

"Alright, you've been saying this for years, I'm Ear of it."

Hmm? Wait, old man, your voice sounds weird.

"You're not going to cry, are you? Hahaha, don't cry. Once I start making money, our family will have a good life."

"Bullshit, I didn't cry."

"I don't have a mother, and I can't fart either."

"... Xiao Shi, you're all grown up now. Don't say such irrelevant things anymore. It's not good for your colleagues to hear."

"... Oh, okay, I'll change it."

"I know you too well. The only thing you're good at is talking. What else do you need? If not, I'm hanging up. Your Aunt Sun is knocking on the door again."

"Hey old man, what did Aunt Sun see in you that's so rich? Don't lie to me, I've seen it all along. She's waited for you her whole life. Why don't you two just make do? Well, no, it's not about making do with Aunt Sun. If she could be my mother, I'd be a rich kid!"

Sun Yuying had been listening the whole time, pinching her leg tightly to keep quiet, but when she heard this, she couldn't hold back and sobbed. Luckily, she was quick and immediately covered her mouth.

Upon hearing the sound, Cheng Shi paused abruptly, remained silent for a moment, and then, as if remembering something, asked somewhat nervously:

"Old man, did I make this call at the wrong time?"

The recorder was silent for a few seconds, then burst into a roar of curses:

"Bullshit! You little brat need to be taught a lesson again. She's innocent, we don't deserve her. Don't go around gossiping and let your Aunt Sun hear you."

"... Oh, then I won't say anything more."

"Sigh, you need to learn from your words. Okay, I'm hanging up now, I'm busy."

"Come on, what are you so busy with? Almost all the old men playing chess in the park have died out by now..."

Uh, I'm used to it. I'll change. I won't be so sarcastic anymore.

That's settled then. Give my regards to Aunt Sun. I'll treat Aunt Sun to a meal when I go back after signing the contract. I've been freeloading off her for so many years; it's finally time to pay her back.

"Laugh."

"Beep beep beep—"

The moment the call ended, Sun Yuying threw herself on Old Jia and burst into tears.

Jiang Wu Mei a chill run down his spine upon hearing this, and his mind went completely blank.

He couldn't believe that someone could be so prescient. Old Jia had anticipated almost every word and reaction of Cheng Shi, and even left time for his own silence in the recorded reply.

Is this really something a human being could accomplish without any of their blessings?

The last sentence recorded on the tape recorder was a sneer. Jiang Wu Mei didn't know if Old Jia was sneering at Cheng Shi's haphazard matchmaking, at his own life, or at this inescapable Destiny.

Or perhaps, he laughs at himself?

Did he see me or not?

Jiang Wu Mei shuddered, feeling a lingering fear, but also even more excited, because he discovered that he had found the most wonderful dream he had ever experienced since becoming Dream-Peeking Ranger. If he offered this Memory to Him, he wondered what kind of reward He would bestow upon him.

Thinking of this, he couldn't wait any longer.

But a perfect story needs an ending, so he suppressed his excitement and continued to observe from the sidelines.