Either the other party let go, Zuo Xiaoduo finished dealing with the matter, or the Illusion Inspection Bureau ruled that Zuo Xiaoduo bore neither guilt nor fault.
But Zuo Xiaoduo clearly had no intention of appealing. And judging by the way he was acting, even if the other party wanted to let go, Zuo Xiaoduo himself would refuse to!
And neither of the two watching could yet see how he would ultimately resolve it.
Time passed quickly.
The second month went by.
On this day, it was once again time for Zuo Xiaoduo to collect his wages.
On the screen, Zuo Xiaoduo had seemed very out of sorts since morning. Sighs, grievance, regret, anger-all sorts of emotions intertwined on his face.
He looked utterly pitiful.
Truly, anyone who heard him would grieve, and anyone who saw him would take pity.
What a poor child...
Chapter 9: "Why Is It So Hard to Be a Good Person?!"
His boss and coworkers all knew what had happened to Zuo Xiaoduo. Every one of them showed him all the pity and sympathy they could muster, but they were powerless to help and could only sigh inwardly.
At noon, Zuo Xiaoduo took the rare step of asking for the entire afternoon off. He ordered a simple side dish and took a bottle of the cheapest liquor, drowning his sorrows alone, pouring his own drinks and heaving sigh after sigh.
The plump boss walked over, sighed softly, and consoled him. "Xiaoduo, you have to try to take things in stride. Eight or nine things out of ten in life don't go as you wish. Running into something like this, meeting such shameless people-it's a calamity, a disaster brought on by others. At least you're still young. Grit your teeth and weather it, and it'll pass... Here, I'll give you an extra five hundred this month. It won't count as wages or a bonus. This money won't go on the books, so no one can trace it. Use it to make your own life a little better, at least. Your uncle here has limited means. This is all I can do to help."
"Thank you, boss..." Zuo Xiaoduo said in a low voice.
His lips were pressed tightly together, tears rolling about in his eyes. Finally, unable to hold back, he gave a stifled roar. "What kind of world is this? Why is it so hard to be a good person?! Justice and fairness-where are justice and fairness?!"
Everyone who heard those words trembled inwardly.
Yes, why was it so hard to be a good person?
Given a choice, people naturally wanted to be good, but the affairs of the world were ever-changing, and far, far too much never went as one wished!
Zuo Xiaoduo collected his wages and staggered out.
Watching his dejected, desolate figure retreat, everyone sighed. "Such a good kid. How did he end up running into a family like that? A whole family of scum, from the oldest to the youngest..."
"To put it bluntly, I honestly feel like killing that whole family. The young man saved your life. Never mind not thanking him-you actually repay kindness with malice and dump a basin of filthy water over your lifesaver! Despicable, shameless, and utterly devoid of conscience!"
Everyone seethed with indignation.
Outside the screen.
Li Changjiang gaped, tongue-tied. "This... this fellow has been acting since first thing this morning... You can imagine what he wants to do. Say, Ruoyun, did you give them acting lessons too? Isn't this a little too natural...?"
Irritated and feeling embarrassed, Hu Ruoyun growled, "Just watch! Are you never going to stop prattling...?"
After saying that, she watched Zuo Xiaoduo's penetratingly vivid performance on the screen and could not help rubbing her brow with a headache.
She truly could not imagine where this fellow's twisted sense of fun came from. He could plainly resolve it through normal channels, yet he insisted on blazing a different trail. Even in an illusion, he had to vent this anger...
Well, it would be more accurate to say he had to vent it over and over, until he had vented every last bit...
At that thought, four words suddenly flashed through Hu Ruoyun's mind, but she immediately suppressed them, refusing to let herself think of them.
Yet those four words grew ever clearer.
The makings of a demon!
A gentleman could wait ten years for revenge; a petty man sought revenge from dawn till dusk. As for a demon's revenge... being late was no concern, but not being ruthless enough was!
For what the last of these sought was never justice, fairness, or impartiality, but only... an unobstructed mind of his own!
Within the illusion, Zuo Xiaoduo arrived at the family's door reeking of liquor. He knocked for a long time without receiving an answer. In the end, a neighbor opened their door and came out to tell him, "They've all gone to the hospital."
As the neighbor spoke, they cast a sympathetic glance at Zuo Xiaoduo's exhausted, dispirited appearance. "They said you were a thug, and that you came into their home and beat them... Young man, would you like to come in for some water? You look very tired."
Zuo Xiaoduo gave a wretched smile. "Your neighbors all say I'm a thug. Aren't you afraid I really am one, and you'd be opening your door to a robber?"
"After living next door to them for several years, how could I not know what that family's character is like? I wouldn't dare say I know every detail of what happened to you, young man, but I know the broad outlines. Calling you a thug? Ha, what thug would step in to save someone?"
The neighbor sighed. "Being extorted for saving someone. This world..."
Zuo Xiaoduo sighed. "Thank you, but I won't come in. A person cannot stand without keeping their word. Since I promised, I'll do it. Today's my payday. It doesn't matter if they're not home. I'll go to the hospital and take them the money now."
With that, he turned and walked away forlornly.
Watching Zuo Xiaoduo leave, the neighbor's face filled with resentment. "To think I'm neighbors with a family like that... What a disgrace."
The hospital.
The family was lingering in the ward at that moment. The doctors and nurses were all there, looking at them very strangely.
Especially as they listened to the family repeat over and over how overbearing and unreasonable Zuo Xiaoduo was, how he had beaten them, and so on, their gazes grew increasingly disgusted.
A whole family of scum like you, claiming he beat you? Saying he went to your home alone and beat your entire family? Who would believe that?!
We all wished that young man really had given you a thorough thrashing. Wouldn't that have been only right?
Your whole family had wolves' hearts and dogs' lungs, extorting your lifesaver. Shouldn't you have been beaten? If beating people weren't against the law, even I would want to beat you. Did you know that?
And you actually had the nerve to come to the hospital and wait around, spouting lies and nonsense. You were simply polluting the air here.