I'll Take Good Care of Your Girl

Zhang Youzhi checked his phone. There were only two messages, one from his mom and one from his girlfriend.

"Youzhi, buy a high-speed train ticket. Don't pinch pennies over that little bit of money."

"Youzhi, those little brats are tormenting me into early menopause. Hurry back and cover my classes for a couple of days."

Zhang Youzhi replied in the order the messages had arrived.

"Bought the high-speed ticket. First class, too. Hehe." Attached: seat ticket photo.jpg.

"Hang in there! I'm galloping back as fast as I can. Summer break's almost here, and we'll finally be free." Attached: Lü Bu riding over on horseback.gif.

Before returning to the little county town where he had been born and raised, Zhang Youzhi had two more things to do.

When he signed the contract with Number Two, its terms required Zhang Youzhi to appoint an informed party, someone who would be told about all the Funeral Company's actions and plans.

Normally, this person merely served a limited "supervisory" role in a roundabout way. But if the Funeral Company's services began spiraling out of control, this person would forcibly terminate them and inform the client's family of the truth.

The uncontrollable situations the Funeral Company anticipated included "family members discovering the truth, calling the police, and filing lawsuits," "the romance route spiraling out of control, with the woman threatening suicide over the romance expert," and "assaulting staff on the friendship route," among others.

They were unlikely, but they had happened before.

That meant this informed party needed sufficiently close, solid ties to the family, along with the standing and ability to slam on the brakes at a critical moment.

So Zhang Youzhi chose his childhood friend.

They had grown up together. Calling him his parents' second son might have been a slight exaggeration, but not much of one. His girlfriend knew this buddy of his too, and understood how much he mattered.

While waiting in the station lounge, Zhang Youzhi called his childhood friend, Zhou Mo.

"Mo, it's a long story. Whatever I'm about to tell you, don't freak out."

"Spit it out." An impatient voice came from the other end.

"I'm going to die soon."

"I'll take good care of your girl. Don't worry."

"If you really can take good care of her, that's fine too. Anyway, after I'm gone, some people will probably contact you. Just follow their arrangements. They'll tell you anything you need to know."

On the expressway, a semitrailer suddenly let out a series of urgent honks, its right turn signal flashing wildly, before screeching to a stop on the emergency shoulder.

"What the hell are you talking about? What's wrong with you?" Zhou Mo engaged the air parking brake, pulled his phone off its dashboard mount, and demanded loudly.

"Late-stage liver cancer. The kind even a resurrection item can't save."

"..."

Zhang Youzhi could tell Zhou Mo was gritting his teeth on the other end.

"Didn't you say two weeks ago that it was liver cirrhosis at worst?"

"At first, it really could've been cirrhosis. They just caught it too late." Facing the sunlight sweeping in along the tracks, Zhang Youzhi gave a bright smile.

"Fuck. Liver cancer. You really outdid yourself."

"Take good care of your girl for me, okay?" Zhang Youzhi watched the white high-speed train kick up a swirling trail of dust. Through the sunlight, he felt the soul of the earth dancing wildly.

"If you die, won't she try to kill herself over you?" After taking a moment to calm down, Zhou Mo opened the window and lit a cigarette.

Queuing to board the train, Zhang Youzhi suddenly grew serious. "That's exactly why I called you. It's not complicated. After I die, a man will approach her."

"What do you mean?" Zhou Mo asked.

Five minutes later.

Zhang Youzhi briefly explained the whole story. Zhou Mo remained silent on the other end.

"So you want me to help put on an act, huh? You're something else. Even dead, you'll still be setting everyone up." Zhou Mo casually tossed his cigarette butt out the window. It traced a graceful arc and landed squarely on a traffic officer's head.

Cold sweat instantly broke out all over Zhou Mo.

"Heh, heh. What else can I do?" Sitting in his train seat, Zhang Youzhi looked out the window and forced a smile.

"Wait for me. I'll come straight back after I deliver this load. We can talk everything through when I get there. Don't you fucking fail to hang on for even these next few days." Zhou Mo rushed out the words, then hung up.

"Okay."

Zhang Youzhi's voice was soft, so soft that no one heard his reply.

At the other end of the call.

"So, you parked a truck on the emergency shoulder to have a smoke?" the traffic officer asked with a smile.

"Officer, look, I... let me explain... Forget it. Just fine me."

After speaking to Zhou Mo, his informed party, Zhang Youzhi began imagining what would happen after his death.

Once he got home, he would see his parents and cook a couple of dishes. Then he would use summer break as an excuse to go back to Longnan with his girlfriend to discuss marriage, and leave home.

Before leaving, he would first find the Funeral Company's local staff. He needed to record a large number of "videos from his lifetime" with them.

The Funeral Company's technicians would process those videos, then use them to fool his parents through video calls.

Finally, he would claim his new job was highly classified and gradually reduce contact, going from video calls to phone calls, then to recordings, and eventually cutting off even photos and text messages until he vanished completely.

Three or four years after contact ceased, they could tell his parents he had died. That would minimize the shock.

As for the rest of his more distant social connections, the company would handle those for him.

Perfect. He would die without a sound.

"This'll be my last trip home, won't it?"

Zhang Youzhi rested his head lightly against the glass and watched the world race past outside.

His girlfriend's school would start summer break in about a week. He would use discussing their marriage as a pretext to coax her into returning to Longnan, a thousand miles away.

By then, he would have a month and a half left to live. He should be able to tough it out with his remaining painkillers. He would spend a final two weeks with his girlfriend, tell her father the truth, then quietly slip away.

That last month would belong to him alone.

Freedom. Oh, freedom!

At the thought, Zhang Youzhi could not help spreading his arms to embrace the cool air-conditioning breeze.

"Sir, please fasten your seat belt."

"Oh, right. Of course."

He had been home for a week.

Zhang Youzhi had already packed his suitcase. Morphine injections were hidden in the compartment at the bottom, and the rest was stuffed with clothes. Since he probably would not live to see summer, he had not packed any heavy clothing.

Li Douyu's clothes had been packed into the suitcase too.

His condition had worsened again, almost to the point where he could no longer hide it. With no other choice, he took another painkiller. Six remained.

Morphine caused tolerance and addiction far too easily. Zhang Youzhi no longer dared use it carelessly.

At the rate his pain was worsening, he would have to move up his plan to see Li Douyu off.

"Mom, Yuyu starts summer break at noon today. We're planning to visit her hometown during the vacation."

"Go, go. You've been going on about it for three or four days. It's not like your wife's going to run off with someone else."

A grumbling voice drifted out of the kitchen.

Carrying the overstuffed suitcase, Zhang Youzhi carefully made his way toward the door.

"Bring Yuyu back here. Eat before you leave." Wearing an apron and holding a ladle, his mother stood in the kitchen doorway, watching Zhang Youzhi like a hawk.

"The train leaves at two thirty. We won't make it if we stop for lunch," Zhang Youzhi said helplessly.

"Then wait. I'll roll up a few pancakes for you to take."

"Mom, you don't need to. We can buy something on the way."

"Even if you don't like them, Yuyu does. Now shut your mouth." Leaving no room for argument, his mother turned, took a few pancakes from the fridge, and returned to the kitchen.

Zhang Youzhi had no choice but to wait by the door.

His complexion had been poor these past few days, and he had grown much thinner. He told everyone he was dieting, but he knew his body had actually deteriorated to an extreme degree.

He threw up almost everything he ate. Fortunately, those few painkillers and some glucose water were keeping him alive.

After stuffing his mother's pancake wraps into his backpack and stowing the suitcase, Zhang Youzhi arrived outside Lanquan Elementary School. He picked a roadside bollard at random and squatted beside it, watching the children dash happily out through the school gates.

A young man in a leather jacket was squatting nearby too.

The young man was lighting a cigarette and looking toward the students, though clearly it was not the children he was watching.

"Nice view, huh, buddy?" Zhang Youzhi struck up a conversation.