The Final Chapter: Finding Yourself

Foreword:

Rope and stick are two of the oldest tools used by humankind. A stick can keep evil away, while a rope can draw good things closer; both are among the earliest friends conceived by humankind. Where there are ropes and sticks, there are people.

--Anbe Public House

[Part 1: Splashing Sounds]

"Hot"

"It's fucking hot."

In the rented room, Wu Xiuwen rolled over and slumped back onto the floor from the sofa.

There was no light in his eyes, like a corpse that had been dead for a very long time but hadn't yet expired.

The phone had 19% battery remaining. The alarm had just lit up when there were six unread text messages.

One is a power outage notice, another is an overdue online loan payment, and the third is a rent demand from the landlord.

Okay, any good news?

As he thought this, he pressed half his face tightly against the floor, trying to find a trace of coolness in the sweltering summer heat. His mouth and eyes were distorted, as if he were about to melt.

The next text message from the blind box seller told an outrageous and bizarre story.

"Mom cheated on me? That's really strange."

"Did Dad kill someone?"

"Hahaha!"

"How did you find out? What happened?"

Wu Xiuwen immediately sat up cross-legged. Feeling stuffy leaning against the table leg, he grabbed a beverage can and smashed it hard against the aluminum alloy window frame, opening the thin and fragile window.

"Oh"

The young man held the long letter on his phone and read it carefully.

--It turned out that when Dad came home from get off work, he happened to catch Mom having an affair with Uncle Wang next door.

Uncle Wang hid behind the air conditioner unit on the balcony, while Mom blocked Dad from seeing what was going on in the living room.

My dad left work early because it was my wife's wedding anniversary, and they wanted to take the opportunity to go on a trip.

After locking the doors and windows and taking his luggage, Uncle Wang was locked outside on the balcony. He hid there for two hours but didn't dare to call the police. In the end, he fell from the eighth floor and died.

"Good riddance! Hehehe! Hehehe!~"

Wu Xiuwen slapped his thigh and laughed--

"--That old bastard committed manslaughter, he'll be locked up in jail until he dies! He'll be rolling in gold coins! How many families can he inherit? Selling his ancestral home will definitely clear his debts."

After reading the fourth message, Brother Xiuwen immediately perked up, and his life regained its color.

For him, there was no love left in his family. He left Zhuzhou City to work as a food delivery driver in Taiyin County and lost contact with his parents.

He thought, if this is the truth, and the days are finally coming to an end, then this can be considered a case of good deeds being rewarded and evil deeds being punished.

Before he could even read the fifth message, Xiuwen tidied up the messy desk and chairs, fixed up his laptop bag, and decided to go back to his hometown for a visit.

As soon as Xiuwen opened the door, he saw Zhao Jianxiong huddled in the stairwell of the apartment building. The kid woke up immediately when he heard Xiuwen leaving.

"Where are you going?" Zhao Jianxiong, still soaking wet and in his rider's clothes, grabbed Wu Xiuwen and began to interrogate him repeatedly.

"Hey!" Wu Xiuwen laughed, "I've struck it rich! Time to go back and inherit the family fortune!"

Zhao Jianxiong, enraged, pressed on, "You transferred four orders to me last night! How am I supposed to finish them all! You deducted two orders for being late, so my entire month's bonus is gone! I'll fuck your mother!"

Zhao Jianxiong and Wu Xiuwen are delivery riders at the same food delivery station. They often run up orders for each other, ask each other for more battery rentals, and pass each other cigarettes and lighters. They are like brothers in distress, wandering far from home.

Last night, Wu Xiuwen was annoyed by his landlord's calls. While working the night shift, he kept getting calls. He had a acquaintance on WeChat with a young prostitute from Zhuzhou. She was quite young and had become close to Wu Xiuwen; they were still flirting. Suddenly, this prostitute started talking about leaving the profession—she had found a client and was selling herself for the rest of her life.

This left Wu Xiuwen extremely frustrated. He had lost his free sex partner, and a whole host of messy and annoying things were waiting for him. So he dumped all the work he had on hand onto Zhao Jianxiong.

This kid got soaked in the rain all night, and for some reason, he ran to the apartment building and squatted in front of Wu Xiuwen's rented room—and just squatted there until Xiuwen woke up.

"Just for this? Seven hundred yuan including the bonus?" Wu Xiuwen shrugged and patted Jianxiong's wet face. "Why don't you come back to Zhuzhou with me? I'll pay you double!"

"Who the hell cares about money?!" Zhao Jianxiong grew increasingly angry. He pouted, took off his helmet to reveal thick eyebrows and large eyes, and was so angry he was almost crying, "Why did you lie to me?"

Wu Xiuwen said innocently, "How did I lie to you?"

Zhao Jianxiong: "You told me you wouldn't go over time! You asked me for a favor! You're upset! You're in trouble! Well, I thought, I can help you with this, after all, you're my good buddy! I can definitely help you!"

"Yes," Wu Xiuwen said, not understanding.

Zhao Jianxiong: "Then you have to tell me what it is! Last night you didn't say anything, you just transferred the order and left without a word."

Wu Xiuwen: "Yes, yes."

Zhao Jianxiong: "And then? I was anxious, so after delivering these orders to you, I came to find you, but you didn't answer the door when I knocked."

Wu Xiuwen: "Awesome, you waited for me all night?"

Zhao Jianxiong: "Otherwise what?"

Wu Xiuwen: "Hahahahahaha."

To be honest, he didn't expect his coworker to care about him so much.

They're even willing to wait all night in the damp, sweltering stairwell, wearing a soaking wet raincoat.

"I almost called the police." Zhao Jianxiong clenched his fist, his expression agitated. "But when we met, you were all smiles, saying you wanted to go back to your hometown to inherit the family fortune? What's the point of playing me like this, young master?"

Wu Xiuwen fell silent. He suddenly felt that the truth of life and the theme of life needed to be changed.

"Hehehehehehehe! Shall we go? I promise I'll never lie to you again!"

Zhao Jianxiong immediately cursed, "Fuck your mother! Where are you going?"

"Aren't you coming with me?" Wu Xiuwen only cared about his family fortune. He desperately needed money to pay his rent and car loan (for his electric scooter used for food delivery), to solve his life's problems, and to Jianxiong's favor.

Zhao Jianxiong turned on his phone and pressed the elevator button.

"Let's go have some fun! You said you weren't happy, so I'll call my brother to drive out, and we'll find somewhere to have some fun!"

Before Wu Xiuwen could resist, Jianxiong dragged him into the elevator.

"Hey! Don't!"

Zhao Jianxiong: "I made plans with my older brother last night!"

Wu Xiuwen: "Where are we going to play? I want to go home!"

Zhao Jianxiong kept his head down, focused on sending messages, while tightly gripping Xiuwen's hand.

"No rush! I've already made plans! I've been waiting for you all night! I was just afraid you wouldn't come!"

Wu Xiuwen: "Your older brother?"

Zhao Jianxiong: "Yes, Zhao Jianying, you've met him. He's rich, I'm not. If we arrest him, he'll definitely know where the fun is."

Unable to Wu Xiuwen the stubborn Zhao Jianxiong, Wu Xiuwen and Zhao Jianxiong left the alley and waited by the roadside.

Jianxiong took a moment to hand Xiuwen a cigarette. Xiuwen took it, lit it, opened his phone, and started scrolling through WeChat. He saw that Lou Feng's profile picture was still pinned to the top, so he casually blocked this casual sex partner.

When he had some free time, he opened the fifth message.

It was Jianxiong who sent the message, inviting him to dinner and a trip to relax.

"There's no hurdle you can't overcome, Brother Xiuwen. Hehe."

Wu Xiuwen silently kept this message in mind. Looking at the bustling factory apartment area, the crowds sweating profusely, and the breakfast shops and fruit stalls under the scorching sun, he glanced at the rice noodle roll shop owner at the alley entrance who wasn't wearing a bra but a peach-colored sundress.

Zhao Jianxiong followed Wu Xiuwen's gaze and immediately blushed.

"Brother Xiuwen, what are you looking at?"

Wu Xiuwen: "Hahahaha! Aren't you watching it too?! Why are you asking me? You're such a hypocrite!"

Zhao Jianxiong blushed, took off his raincoat and hung it to dry on the cement ground in front of the apartment building, refusing to continue speaking.

About ten minutes later, an old Buick sedan drove in from the street corner and stopped in front of Jianxiong.

Zhao Jianying rolled down the car window, offered cigarettes to those outside, and called out to Wu Xiuwen, "Get in!"

Wu Xiuwen stood frozen in place, a familiar yet unfamiliar girl sitting in the passenger seat.

--That was his former lover who had just broken up with him and successfully redeemed herself from prostitution.

"Xiangxiang?"

"Cough cough! Cough um! Cough cough." Xiangxiang's face immediately turned ugly when she saw Wu Xiuwen, and she quickly started coughing.

Zhao Jianxiong: "You know each other?"

Wu Xiuwen covered his face. "College classmate."

"Yes! My college classmate! That's right!" Xiangxiang glared at Xiuwen fiercely. "I actually went to college!?"

"Hey! What a coincidence! Let's talk after we get on the bus!" Zhao Jianying honked the horn, signaling the electric scooter riders ahead who were cutting in line to watch their route, and paid no attention to what his college classmate was saying.

[Part ②: Beautiful Moments]

After getting on the bus, the old friends huddled together and started talking about their families.

"Hey, how did you two meet?" Wu Xiuwen asked curiously, leaning forward into the front passenger seat. "I really didn't expect it."

Xiangxiang rolled her eyes. "Would it kill you to say something nice? You'll be sitting at the kids' table at the wedding."

"Then congratulations!" As a "college classmate," Wu Xiuwen would probably have to play this role well from now on. He felt happy and inexplicably carefree, as if he had seen through everything.

Zhao Jianying drove with difficulty, weaving through narrow alleys, and finally drove out of the auxiliary road and onto the Mist River Belt. Only then could she reach the main road and plan her next destination.

The most difficult part of the road was over, and he finally had the spare time to talk to Wu Xiuwen about it.

"Xiangxiang and I met online."

Wu Xiuwen: "Netizens?"

Zhao Jianying: "At first, she was quite shy and introverted, but we got along better and better as we talked. She came all the way from Zhuzhou to visit me. At that time, I didn't even realize that you two were old classmates."

"Quite a coincidence, isn't it?" Wu Xiuwen chuckled, his eyes darting forward, a hint of guilt in his expression.

Zhao Jianying: "It is indeed quite a coincidence."

Xiangxiang whispered a reminder: "Watch where you're going! It's a red light!"

The vehicle was parked at the T-junction of the scenic area. On one side was the green belt of the Mist River, and in the distance, the Mist River No. 2 Bridge, which was built in the last two years, could be seen.

"Does your brother know where this woman comes from?" Wu Xiuwen whispered in Zhao Jianxiong's ear, almost touching his ear, about Xiangxiang.

Zhao Jianxiong: "What's your background?"

"No, no, no! It's nothing, it's nothing!" Wu Xiuwen quickly changed his tune, his face flushed red, and he refused to mention it again.

The car started again, about to cross the bridge and head towards the other side of Jiangxi.

An awkward atmosphere filled the car, but Zhao Jianxiong quickly broke the silence.

"Where are you going, bro?"

Zhao Jianying: "I know a bar where Xiangxiang and I first met in person!"

Xiangxiang took a moment to show the QR code--

"--Can I add you on WeChat?"

Wu Xiuwen shakily scanned the QR code to add him as a friend, essentially getting to know him all over again.

At this moment, Brother Xiuwen felt like he was in a giant furnace; he should be under the car, not inside. Looking at Lou Feng's secretly delighted expression, and thinking that this girl had found a reliable fiancé, it was really—so strange.

He felt a stifling sense of frustration that he couldn't express, a feeling he couldn't voice or show through his facial expressions.

He looked down at his phone and saw the last unread message.

That was sent by Xiangxiang.

[I'm not planning to continue. It's been so long since I've seen you, and I wonder how you're doing. I recently found someone I'm really good at chatting with; he's in Thailand.]

[I remember you said half a year ago that you couldn't stay in Zhuzhou anymore, and that you'd rather go to Taiye to beg for rice than stay here.]

[Maybe I should go out for a walk, right?]

[I want him to pick me up, tonight. Maybe tomorrow I'll run off to another place, a completely unfamiliar place, a place where nobody knows me.]

[Then I'll treat you to dinner, just like before, but with a little difference.]

[When you used to treat people to meals, you'd always go to the movies afterward, then buy them bubble tea, and then have a small dessert. Anyone with eyes can see what you meant!]

[You paid for the hotel room, and you still have to treat me to lunch the next day since I woke up late. You spent so much money, did you take out a loan to hire a prostitute?]

What are you pretending for, you little brat?

[I don't think you can continue like this, Wu Xiuwen.]

I'm going to find my happiness, and you need to grow up too.

[When I treat you to dinner, you don't need to sleep with me.]

Wu Xiuwen was afraid that Jianxiong would see it, so he quickly deleted the message.

His heart was filled with mixed emotions, and he could no longer utter a word—why are there so many confused and muddled people in this world, with so many inexplicable grudges and entanglements? Why?

At this moment, Xiangxiang picked up her phone, still playing a game, and leaned close to the gear shift and said something to the back.

"His gaming skills are way better than yours, buddy, you're terrible!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! I'm terrible at this!" Wu Xiuwen laughed heartily. "You better be talking about your gaming skills."

After crossing the bridge, I followed Jianying's navigation and drove all the way to the Sacred Heart Church, where there is a bar with the same name as the church.

They needed to find a parking space, so they drove to the open-air parking lot in the church courtyard, but unfortunately it was full and there weren't any more parking spaces available.

Two drunk men emerged from the back door of the bar, preparing to retrieve their car—one was named Wang Damin, and the other Li Kunhai.

Zhao Jianying didn't rush to get out of the car to talk to the two guests. She patiently waited for them to get their car and leave so that Jianying could park her car.

When Wang Damin saw the new customer arrive, he wasn't thinking clearly. He thought the Buick was blocking the road, so, fueled by alcohol, he started shouting loudly.

"Hey! What are you doing blocking the road?! Make way! You can go first!"

Zhao Jianying replied, "We can go! We can go!"

Li Kunhai fumbled for his keys to unlock the car, but after trying for a while, he couldn't get the key into the lock. He got angry and yelled, "What are you doing?! Why are you rushing us?! Don't you see we've been drinking?! Why are you being so unreasonable?! How are you going to drive out like this?! Are you bullying us?! You're blocking such a big road?! Fuck you!"

Jianxiong got angry when he heard the cursing and wanted to get out of the car to reason with them.

Wu Xiuwen got out of the car as well and immediately smelled a strong odor of alcohol. He felt a chill run down his spine—how dare these two drunkards drive under the influence?

When Wang Damin saw Zhao Jianxiong, a tall and strong young man, walking over, he didn't back down because of the alcohol. He quickly stepped forward and slapped Jianxiong hard across the face.

"Hit me?" Jianxiong looked on incredulously.

Wu Xiuwen was anxious and immediately attacked without saying a word, and the four of them started fighting.

In no time, all of them were bleeding from their heads. Jianxiong had a bruise on his face, and Wu Xiuwen only felt his blood getting hot when he threw a punch; the sweltering heat was nothing compared to that.

He was in great pain; it seemed like one of his fingers was broken, and his face was cut.

My tongue accidentally grazed my teeth, and a fishy smell came from my mouth and nose.

He could hear his heart pounding wildly; the pain kept him alive in that moment, as if even a zombie could come back to life.

Zhao Jianying turned off the engine and got out of the car to help.

Wu Xiuwen shouted, "Don't come! You still have to drive! You're going to take me out for fun! You're going to get married!"

Zhao Jianying's face was grave, caught between a rock and a hard place. "Brother!"

Wu Xiuwen grabbed Wang Damin's head and kept shoving it towards the tire, trying to wake the drunkard up.

Xiangxiang leaned forward from the passenger seat, her expression anxious, and said, "Old classmate! Be careful! Don't cause a fatality!"

"Fuck your mother! You've killed someone?!" Despite being restrained, Wang Damin remained defiant, cursing at Xiangxiang, "You filthy idiot! Once your Grandfather has dealt with these two beasts, he'll come after you right away!"

"Damn it!" Xiangxiang's face contorted with rage as she pointed her fingers, abandoning all pretense of composure and completely losing her composure. "Use your strength! Wu Xiuwen! Haven't you eaten?!"

In the floating dock, the haggard-looking gunsmith instructor held a simple hand drill and used a violin bow to pull the drill bit to drill holes in the ship's planks.

"Rope and stick are two of the oldest tools used by humankind. A stick can keep evil away, while a rope can draw good closer; both are among the earliest friends conceived by humankind. Where there are ropes and sticks, there are people."

"So, combining the two, you can use it to rub wood together to start a fire, or you can work without electricity, letting the nails replace the electric drill."

Despite the aid of psionic powers, the group of swift-knife craftsmen apprentices still found it somewhat unfamiliar to adapt to the complex shipbuilding process and the overly ancient and primitive tools after leaving the electricity.

Gunsmith had just finished teaching his first lesson that morning and was on break when he returned to his private workshop at the floating dock in Taiye Prefecture. There he met three "online friends" from the Dreamland – Jianxiong, Xiuwen, and Xiangxiang. All three of them were influenced by the Fragrant Dream and were traveling in another world.

I hope to rediscover myself during that beautiful time.