Chapter One: Strange Changes

  That day I got off work and went home, my cousin pointed to a small package on the tea table and said to me, "This is the golden jewelry of the old lady upstairs, it will be stored in our house for a while."

  At that time, I was stunned. When I opened the package and took a look, there were more than ten rings, necklaces and other jewelry, weighing several kilograms. At the current gold price, it's worth at least 700,000 to 800,000 yuan. I quickly asked my cousin, what does this mean?

  My aunt said that in the afternoon, the old lady upstairs came to visit with a small bundle, crying and saying that her children were unfilial, often stealing her jewelry to sell for money, so she wanted us to help take care of it for a while.

  My cousin finished speaking and I was furious, asking her if she had water in her brain, couldn't she see through such a simple scam?

  I'm an outsider here, just working in the provincial city so I rented a house. My relationship with the old lady upstairs is just saying hello when we meet, even if I were to bury my jewelry in the flower pool in the compound, it would make her feel more at ease than hiding it in my home.

  I picked up the small package and was about to return it, but my cousin looked very wronged and explained that the old lady had cried so pitifully, her husband had died early, and she had no one to rely on, so my cousin had softened for a moment and agreed to help take care of it, and the old lady had also written a letter of guarantee, so it shouldn't be possible for her to go back on her word.

  My cousin handed me the deed, all the boxes and frames were clearly marked, but I was still a bit uneasy, so I let my cousin go upstairs to accompany the old lady for a good chat, taking the opportunity to return the jewelry.

  My cousin said with difficulty, in the afternoon, the old lady almost knelt down to her, now she's going back and will definitely make another scene, it's better to wait a few more days and find an excuse to send her back home.

  I weighed it up and finally agreed, after all, who can withstand an old lady kneeling down for you?

  As the saying goes, what you fear will come!

  The next day when I went to work, I was still nervous and worried that the gold jewelry would have problems. In the afternoon at more than 5 o'clock, my cousin rushed to the company to tell me that the old lady upstairs had passed away.

  At that time, I was shocked in my heart, thinking that the old lady had performed a scam with her life, but I had written evidence in my hand and really couldn't figure out how she could cheat me!

  I asked my cousin, how did the old lady die?

  My cousin said she didn't know anything, but just heard crying sounds coming from upstairs and went to take a look, then rushed to inform me after learning of the death.

  I discussed this with several colleagues, they said it shouldn't be a scam, maybe it's just a coincidence. The best approach is to do nothing, if the old lady's children don't know about this matter, then those accessories will belong to me.

  For the time being, I couldn't figure out what was going on, so I let my cousin go home first, and then I went to ask my friends one by one.

  That's money from a dead person, I wouldn't dare to take it for myself even if I had the guts. Returning it directly is also out of the question, as I'm afraid of being slandered by that old lady's children. Although there's written evidence, nobody wants to get into trouble.

  I asked a few friends in a row, then I called my cousin and asked her to take out the jewelry and documents from the cabinet, compare them, and return them to the upstairs when I get off work. The more you drag on this kind of thing, the more troublesome it becomes.

  With something on her mind, she ran away before the end of work. But after going home, my cousin said that she had already returned it and smiled to tell me that she would solve the trouble she caused by herself.

  I asked if that family had given her a hard time, and my cousin said not only did they not give her a hard time, but they were even happy to send her several things, though she didn't want them.

  I let out a sigh of relief, patted her head in praise, and jokingly said that if I had known it would be like this, she should have stayed, and I'd get her a dog chain to tie up her boyfriend in the future.

  As soon as I finished speaking, I found her face turned pale and she was stunned without responding. My heart skipped a beat, and I asked her sternly if she would go back or not?

  My cousin's wife urged me, saying if I didn't believe her, I could go upstairs and ask.

  I immediately made a gesture of going out, she didn't stop me, but her eyes turned red and were about to cry.

  My cousin's name is Wenjing. She lost her father shortly after birth, and her mother abandoned her at my home and disappeared. I watched Wenjing grow from a tiny infant into a slender and elegant young girl. It can be said that I am the person who understands her best in this world.

  Wen Jing is a well-behaved kid, this time taking advantage of her high school graduation to come to the provincial city to play with me. Doing laundry and tidying up the house is not even worth mentioning, every day she also sends lunch that she's made to the company. She's gentle and lovely, once she sheds tears, I believe more than half of it.

  Moreover, I couldn't go upstairs to verify it either, in case I said something wrong and raised their suspicions instead.

  Coaxed with soft words for half a day before bursting into laughter, quietly and obediently went to make dinner.

  I thought it was all over, but in fact, this is just the beginning.

  According to local customs, after a person dies, they have to be laid out at home for several days. So the old lady's body was right above our heads, which made me feel quite uncomfortable, but what happened next was even more disgusting.

  On the way home, there was no crying sound. It wasn't until after 7 pm that the old lady's daughter burst into a loud wail, occasionally shouting out phrases like "Mom, I miss you so much! Wake up soon!"

  I thought this sister was ill, really waking up, wouldn't you be scared and ask her to die again?

  The crying continued all night, and by the next morning, both I and Wenjing had dark circles under our eyes. But that woman seemed to have endless energy, and she cried again the second night. At 2 am, I couldn't sleep anymore, so I got up and exercised in the living room with a lot of frustration. Before long, Wenjing came out of her bedroom, fully dressed, saying she had a plan, and told me to go back to bed before going upstairs alone.

  A few minutes later, the crying stopped and I was wondering how she did it. Then Wenjing sent a text message saying "Brother, you still have to go to work, get some rest early, I'll accompany her to talk and she won't cry tonight."

  She's a clever little girl, it's just that she was wronged. Fortunately, she can still make up for lost sleep during the day, but I've been busy for two consecutive nights and didn't have time to take care of anything else. Before I knew it, I fell asleep.

  After getting up, I went to work. At noon, Wenjing sent lunch over and it tasted much better than before.

  I asked her about last night, and Wenjing said that on the day of the old lady's passing, she helped with some chores and everyone became familiar with each other. After last night passed, she accompanied the wailing older sister to talk heart-to-heart, sharing her own life story, but instead ended up being comforted by the older sister.

  Because there were others keeping vigil, the two of them chatted for a while in the bedroom before falling asleep.

  I asked her if there were ghosts at night with a corpse upstairs?

  Wen Jing said I really hate it, just know how to scare girls.

  I'm not scaring her, people who have dealt with funerals know that the deceased are most afraid of being stained with tears from their loved ones, it will make the deceased reluctant to leave. That sister cried on the old lady's body for two days...

  If there really were ghosts in this world, she would have cried her mother back by now.

  I wanted to advise Wenjing not to go again, but seeing her enthusiastic appearance, I hesitated and didn't speak up, and there were also other people in the mourning hall who didn't care, so it was probably just me being overly cautious.

  Next, Wenjing went upstairs to accompany her every night, and the two were quite close. Her sister gave her a few clothes and accessories, while Wenjing's lunch became more exquisite with floral patterns every day. I thought that after her mother's death, she still had the heart to guide Wenjing's cooking skills?

  After three days at noon, I advised Wenjing not to work too hard. She was also quite tired these few days, so it's okay if we just eat something casual.

  A very ordinary sentence, Wen Jing blushed and stammered twice before fleeing in disarray, leaving me stunned. I felt that Wen Jing's panic at the time was like a young girl caught by her parents while having an early romance!

  Wen Jing is quite pretty and simple-minded, the kind of daughter-in-law that would satisfy an old man at a glance. And thinking about the jewelry that her sister gave to Wen Jing, I think it's probably meant for their own family's children in the future.

  I've worked hard for 18 years to grow this cabbage, but no one even said hello, they just rushed up and wanted to take it, almost giving me a heart attack. And those gold accessories are all outdated styles from over a decade ago, clearly trying to bully Wenjing who's never seen the world, so I have to stop them.

  But thinking again, I feel it's too late. Wenjing has been cooking for me since she was 11 years old, and these past few days have been exceptionally delicious, clearly she put her heart into it. It's possible that she made it for the man who is keeping vigil upstairs, and brought a portion to me as an afterthought.

  This made me even more annoyed, and I recalled the time when I was a kid, the boy next door tried to snatch my toy car, so I pushed him into the ditch.

  That day after work, I stormed home with a determined look on my face, deciding to ruin their plans. Jing was only 18 years old and would be going off to college after the summer break. For both public and private reasons, I did not allow her to have a romantic relationship.

  That day was also the day of the old lady's funeral. Originally, Wenjing wanted to attend the funeral, but was stopped by her elder sister.

  After I got home, I saw her wrapped in a thin blanket, curled up on the sofa and shivering. It had been raining for several days, so I thought she might have caught a chill when she delivered lunch, and asked where she was uncomfortable.

  Hearing my voice, Wen Jing struggled to get up with difficulty and said to me in a trembling tone: "Brother, I'm suffering so much."

  It wasn't until then that I realized Wen Jing's complexion was not normal, a person with a fever should have a bright red face, but she had two red flushes on her cheeks, her eyes were dazed and confused, looking very much like someone who had taken that kind of medicine.

  My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately felt as if the sky was falling and the earth was shattering. I thought that the reason why the older sister didn't let her accompany the funeral procession was to drug her and let some man take advantage of her.

  I wanted to lift the quilt and take a look, but I was afraid to see her naked body and torn clothes, my heart was pounding, and I felt a bit dizzy, I didn't dare to imagine what would happen if it really happened, Wenjing might not be able to hold on, she had a weak personality, she was the kind of girl who would give up easily, one thoughtless mistake could lead to her downfall.

  Just as I was frightened and worried, Wenjing whispered softly, "Brother, I'm so cold."

  She stretched out her arms for a hug, the quilt slipped down, revealing some wrinkled but intact clothes. I suddenly let out a sigh of relief and only then did I realize that my back was already soaked through.

  I touched her forehead, it was very hot. I said let's go to the hospital, Wenjing pouted and hummed a sound, saying she didn't want to go, first measure her body temperature.

  When I was looking for a thermometer, I called a very good friend to drive over. If the high fever didn't subside, we would go straight to the hospital. However, my friend said he was having dinner with an old Chinese doctor and suggested inviting him over instead, which would be more convenient than going to the hospital. I thought that was the best idea.

  I carried Wenjing onto the bed and said, "Come on, let's take your temperature."

  I meant to let her do it herself, but unexpectedly she grabbed my hem and wouldn't let go, closed her eyes, nodded slightly, and then stopped moving. I held the thermometer and hesitated for a moment, whether to put it under her collar or lift up her clothes, neither seemed quite right. Although this little girl had been bathed by me in a tub before she was eight years old, now that she's eighteen, I didn't dare do what I used to do when I wore open-crotch pants on the street back then.

  I'm telling you, at your age, how can you still be so shameless? Get up and take your temperature yourself.

  She glared at me with a scowl, let out a heavy nasal "hmph", and got up slowly with a displeased expression. However, she didn't take the thermometer, instead, she narrowed her eyes, her cheeks flushing red, and tugged on my clothes, burying her head in my neck. At that moment, I thought to myself, are all sick girls this clingy? But then I got a shock.

  Just like a newborn kitten playing with its owner, Wenjing was licking my neck with the tip of her tongue, at first I didn't react and just felt itchy on my neck, so I told her to stop messing around and hurry up and lie down.

  Right after that, a naughty little hand reached into my pants, I hurriedly pressed it down, only to find Wen Jing panting heavily, her eyes closed, her moist lips sliding across my cheek, about to reach my mouth.

  Even if I was stupid, at this time I also found that something was wrong, in addition to the instinctive panic and confusion, there was also a mouthful of shock.