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“It’s almost dark.” Fu Sheng picked up the plastic bag and the beer cans. He tossed them into the trash can.

“Do I smell like alcohol?”

“No.”

“Okay.” Han Fei adjusted his suit and exited the garden with Fu Sheng, “Tell your mom to prepare another set of lunch tomorrow.”

“You’re still not going to work tomorrow?” Fu Sheng turned to look at his father. He hadn’t seen his father like this before.

“You’re a kid playing truancy, and you want to question me?” Han Fei shook his suit, hoping to chase the alcohol smell away.

“A school is a place of learning. I’ve already learned everything on the syllabus. I’m not interested in the rest.” Fu Sheng carried his bag and said indifferently.

Han Fei was speechless. “Fine.”

The pair of father and son walked home together. It didn’t feel awkward. Han Fei knocked on the door. Soon the wife came to open the door. She saw Han Fei and Fu Sheng standing outside the door. Han Fei and Fu Sheng said in unison without planning. “We met on the road.”

The wife looked at them and smiled, “I haven’t said anything. What’s wrong with you two?”

“I’ll go cook.” Han Fei felt guilty. He felt proud when he returned from work, but after skipping work to drink the day away, he had to do something to make up.

“It’s fine. I’ve cooked everything. You just need to wash your hands and be ready to eat.” His wife helped Han Fei remove his suit. When she saw the wrinkles, she frowned. “What happened to you? Did you fall?”

“No.” Han Fei glanced at Fu Sheng and said, “I had some beer to drink with friends in the afternoon and fell asleep.”

“Drinking is not good for you. Drink less.”

“I’m fine.” Han Fei blurted out even though he knew he was definitely not fine. If possible, he wanted to shield this family forever. The family sat around the table. Fu Tian didn’t cry to watch television because he was distracted by the delicious food. He couldn’t take his eyes off them. No one said anything but the dinner was warm. It was like they were having their last dinner.

After dinner, Fu Sheng didn’t return to his room and sat down in the living room to read. This happened for the first time.

The wife went to clean the dishes. Fu Tian, who was always energetic, begged Han Fei to play hide-and-seek. Every time, he was still caught and couldn’t find Han Fei. The boy puffed up his cheeks whenever he lost, which was every time. The wife shook her head. Han Fei was such a kid. Even when he was playing with his son, he didn’t think about faking a loss to Fu Tian.

After Fu Tian was tired, Han Fei picked up Fu Tian and carried him to bed. He noticed all of Fu Tian’s toys had been packed away. “This is…” When Han Fei left Fu Tian’s room, Fu Sheng had already returned to his room. “This is weird.” Han Fei checked the other rooms. Everything was packed. “Everything was fine this morning. Did she pack everything when I was away?”

Han Fei ran into his wife as he left the bedroom. She sat beside the dining table and took out a well-preserved file from the drawer. “When I was cleaning yesterday, I saw the news.” The wife peeled back the file, “Then I went to your company to fetch you.”

“You went to my company yesterday?” Han Fei’s heart pounded, and his eyes widened.

“You were gone when I arrived. It was Zhao Qian who received me. After I pressed, she told me how to contact that mother.”

“Whose mother?”

“Fu Yee’s mother.” The wife opened the file and shook out the house papers, contract, and tax documents. The light in the room chased away the darkness. Time seemed to stop. Han Fei couldn’t hear the clock. A special emotion crowded his mind.

“I’m a mother too. I can empathize with her. If she had other ways, she wouldn’t come to find you.” His wife pushed the things towards Han Fei. “Sell the house. Human life is more important.” His wife’s words touched the softest spot in Han Fei’s heart. He didn’t expect to run into such a kind person in the cryptic world.

“Thank you.” When Han Fei said that, his wife shook his head. “Actually, I didn’t do this just to help her. I also want to thank you for turning my illusion into reality.” She placed her hands on the table and gripped them into fists. “I don’t understand why, but I am certain that you are not Fu Yi.” When she said that, the wife’s energy drained, she collapsed on the table like she had ruined her own dream.

“I… am indeed not him.” Han Fei lowered his head. He experienced something similar in Mirror God’s memory world. When Mirror God’s mother was dying, her eyes wandered away from Han Fei and focused on the former owner of the altar. Even in the memory world, the power of love could cut through illusion. The living room was silent. After a long time, Han Fei said, “Please don’t tell Fu Sheng and Fu Tian. I want to rectify the regrets in their lives.”

His wife calmed down. Her eyes were red. She tried to calm herself. “Don’t worry. It’s not easy for Fu Sheng to walk out of the shadows. I won’t trigger him.”

Han Fei nodded. His hands moved to his pocket. He wondered if he should tell his wife everything.

“I’ve checked out the new house today.” The wife took out his phone to show Han Fei. “It’s close to Fu Sheng’s school. We can rent the place until Fu Sheng finishes high school.”

“Are you sure?” When Han Fei saw the picture, his heart squeezed. The house was the one he saw in the Manager Mission!

It was dark, old, and small. It was close to school, but it was also close to the plastic surgery hospital. Fu Tian and Fu Sheng would see a lot more ghosts if they lived there.

“Hmm? How about I look at other houses then? The main thing now is to cure Fu Yee’s illness. We need to send them the money as soon as possible.”

“Okay.” Han Fei didn’t take out the hospital result. He planned to give his wife some time to process things first.

“Then I’ll go pack. Tomorrow the real estate agent will come.”

“It’ll take too long. I actually know someone who has been meaning to live here.” Han Fei remembered Octopus’ promise. The man saw Fu Yi as his main competition. He had extra money and wanted to live in Fu Yi’s neighborhood. Han Fei called Octopus. This was his first time calling this number.

“Fu Yi? Why are you calling me?” Noisy music came out of the phone. Octopus was partying.

“Didn’t you say you want to buy my house? I’ll sell it to you for 90 percent of the market price. But you have to prepare everything before tomorrow. I need the down payment at the very least.” Han Fei gave a massive discount. His house was in the city center. Its price would only rise.

Octopus was instantly intrigued. The music faded as Octopus ran out of the nightclub. “Are you serious?”

“You know my conditions. I need money.” Han Fei flipped through the housing contract. “I’ve contacted others. If you want the place, you better be quick.”

“Okay! I’ll request for leave tomorrow and come to find you!”

Han Fei ended the call and put away all the documents. He was desperate because of two reasons. One, he needed to complete the altar mission; two, the Pure Hatred the other players mentioned would arrive tomorrow night. If Han Fei was right, the ghost’s target was someone in this family, so he needed to move as soon as possible. “After tomorrow night, this place will be haunted. The price will drop.”

Octopus thought he got gold, but actually, he was given lead.

“After he buys the house, I should tell him not to move in yet. That should save his life.”

His wife packed up the stuff while Han Fei planned for their future.

Han Fei’s phone rang around 3 am. It was a call from Wu San. Han Fei entered the bathroom, put on the earphones, and answered the call.

“What is it?”

“We made it. We caught the perfect woman called Du Zhu. We’re moving her to the theme park maze.” Wu San’s voice was shaking. “But we lost two more people. We also realized the plastic surgery hospital is a ghost lair. Qiang Wei also lost contact with us during the mission. He is trapped deep inside the hospital.”

“Qiang Wei didn’t escape?”

“The last message we got is for us to contact you.” Wu San was worried. “He also said we’d really die if we die here. So we have to be careful.”