Chapter 3: The anxious male fans celebrate with a two-day advance release of new book, breaking into top three

  That one time I inhaled helium before work, I tried my best to control it and didn't pass out. But the whole day was a daze. Was mentioned by Wang Zong three or four times.

  But what's most painful is not the fatigue, but the fear.

  There's a corpse hidden in the room... What if the police find out and come after me? What if a thief breaks into my house? What if Wang Yongshun sneaks in while I'm at work? Even more likely, what if Mao Bin takes advantage of my carelessness, lifts up the bed sheet covering Xiao Luqi, and then laughs loudly as he accuses me, demanding that I pay him hush money or have me sent to the police station... The consequences of each possibility are unbearable.

  Why? Why do I have to bring her back home? Why do I have to keep her corpse in the freezer, looking for trouble for myself? I'm just an ordinary office worker, without much money or powerful connections. If I get involved, probably no one will bail me out.

  I even thought of borrowing a car from a friend, going to the wilderness and digging a hole to bury the body, or setting it on fire to destroy all evidence... That way, everything would be over and done with, no more trouble!

  I can't take it anymore!

  If I go to prison, my parents will cry, my friends will sigh, and passersby will laugh. After getting out, it's hard to find a job, hard to find a girlfriend, and who knows, maybe I'll be forced to take another path - corpse theft! Can you imagine how disgusting this crime is? With such a record on me, when I go for a job interview, the HR director will look at me with a terrified gaze, as if looking at a monster. If they shook hands with me before the interview and saw my record, they would definitely rush to the bathroom to wash their hands more than ten times.

  For a beauty, I'm so hungry and thirsty, I'm really asking for trouble!

  I even thought of borrowing a car from a friend, going to the wilderness and digging a hole to bury the body, or setting it on fire to destroy all evidence... That way, everything would be over and done with, no more trouble!

  I can't take it anymore!

  But... Xiaoluqi's moment suddenly flashed in my mind.

  It was a sunny afternoon, she with loose braids, looked somewhat melancholy, her two eyes cast down, the sunlight on her face and hair, sprinkled a patch of golden yellow.

  Suddenly, my heart which had hardened in an instant, softened again.

  Maybe she was just a dream of mine, but everything I'm doing now is not for the cold corpse lying in the freezer, but for that moment of beauty she left in my mind.

  Why am I a poor loser! Why don't I dare to pursue her! Why do I think that the handsome guy who looks like Jerry Yan is normal when he's by her side, but she just glancing at me makes me feel shy and nervous? Why don't I have the qualifications to hold her hand during her best times, drink coffee together, or read books back-to-back? I didn't even think about sleeping with her, I couldn't imagine that scene. What I want is just a tiny bit of happiness in a dull and ordinary little world! Why can only I see her again after she's become an ice-cold corpse, risking being caught and sentenced to prison, just to take one more look at her, just to spend one more minute with her?

  I held my head in both hands, with a hint of tears in my eyes.

  For that moment that completely ruined me, because of Wang Yongshun and Mao Bin's words gave me hope, I vowed to save her.

  I swear, even if it means risking being discovered by Cao Bin, I will save her. Even if it costs me the 30,000 yuan that I have painstakingly saved up and can't bear to spend on food or clothes, I will save her.

  As long as I save her, even if I get caught, at least she will have lived...

  I patted the bag, inside which was 15,000 yuan I had withdrawn from the Industrial and Commercial Bank across from Yunling East Road during lunch. A thick wad of cash. This was my year-end bonus from last year. Originally, I had planned to buy an automatic massage chair and surprise my parents on Father's Day, but... perhaps tonight it would belong to someone else. This year's Father's Day could only be another phone call of greetings.

  Sorry, Dad and Mom. I'm unfilial...

  I managed to hold on until 5:30 and got off work. I bought two big meat buns at the convenience store downstairs, and ate them while waiting for the bus at the station.

  As the bus swayed, I felt tense. A call came in, and I didn't have the mood to chat much, so I said a few words and hung up hastily.

  It was six o'clock when I arrived home, and I immediately got busy. First, I covered the refrigerator with a large tablecloth that I had bought outside last night, and then moved the TV from the bedroom to the living room, placing it on top of the refrigerator.

  In this way, the refrigerator became a relatively large TV cabinet.

  Then, hastily prepare the things needed for the soul-calling ceremony.

  Also, take out the remaining two packets of cat food and feed them to the little black cat.

  "Go ahead and eat. Maybe, if Cao Bin discovers my secret stash of corpses soon, I'll be caught and taken away. You won't have anyone to take care of you then. If that happens, you must be strong." I muttered to myself.

  The little black cat is indulging in delicious food and ignoring me.

  Look at its small mouth, eating with relish. A wave of envy.

  Right, I haven't given it a name yet. If Mao Bin comes with ill intentions and I fall into his hands... how will I recall this little black cat in my iron window life? What should I call it?

  A name, for a life or an object, is the most meaningless thing. For example, take a mouse, if we call it "cat mark" or even "turtle mark", it makes no difference to it. It remains what it is.

  However, the name is also the first thing we want to know when we see anything new. For those who read my article, you may not remember things from your childhood, but if you are a parent, you must have been driven crazy by your kids' constant questions of "what's it called".

  A name, is a thing that holds our emotions and memories. As the years go by, as time turns to dust, we can recall the toys of childhood, the playmates of childhood, the objects of secret crushes in adolescence, and every single vivid person who once existed in your life's force, all becoming a name, a symbol, imprinted on your mind.

  So I want to give the little black cat a name.

  "What should I call you?" I looked at it, and it also looked at me.

  I just remembered, from when I found it until now, it has hardly ever cried out.

  Having raised so many cats, I have never seen a cat like this little one before.

  But I don't have time to think of a name now. I still need to prepare for the next summoning. So, another busy spell begins.

  At six fifty, the gate creaked open.

  Mao Bin arrived very punctually. He was still dressed in the same attire as yesterday, except for a rather large backpack on his back.

  After exchanging a few pleasantries at the door, he walked into the bedroom. I had already deliberately covered the bed and the person on it with a sheet. Otherwise, being seen by Mao Bin in her current state, eight out of ten would have taken one glance and seen that this was a corpse.

  Mao Bin didn't say much, first asking if the sincerity had arrived. I struggled to take out 15,000 yuan from my pocket and put it on the table, saying: "This is 15,000, Daozhang you count it?"

  He didn't count the money, just glanced at the thickness and nodded in satisfaction. Then he asked about the girl's name and her birth date.

  My name is Xiao Luqi, but I don't know my birth eight characters.

  This is not surprising. Generally speaking, if Xiao Luqi were my girlfriend, I would probably know her birthday. However, the eight characters of a birthdate also include the time of birth. In this society where human relationships are so cold, you can't even remember the birthdays of your parents and friends, let alone the exact time someone was born.

  I asked Mao Bin if this birth eight characters must be. She has fallen asleep and cannot be asked. I don't have her parents' contact information.

  He shook his head, it's nothing, as long as the ritual is done properly, he can definitely bring back the soul, no birth date and eight characters are not a problem.

  "I asked in a low voice: 'If it's as Daozhang said, how can we determine whether the soul-summoning is successful or not after it's done?'"

  He shrugged his left shoulder and said, "Does she have a pulse now?"

  "No."

  "After summoning her soul, she would have a faint pulse."

  "Alright... let's get started." I said with a hint of hope as I listened to his confident tone.

  Ma Bin put down his backpack and pulled out a bunch of miscellaneous items. A wooden sword, a stack of yellow paper talismans, and a staff with a dragon head on top, he fished out a banner-like object with a horizontal beam at the top and a string attached to it, which was hung from the dragon's teeth, I saw that the banner had a single character "Zhāo" written on it. This I had read about in ancient times, should be called "Soul Summoning Banner".

  Then he asked me to find a big bowl.

  Although I don't usually cook, instant noodles are a must, and one meal is always two packets plus three sausages, so the bowl is a very large ocean bowl. When I think of this bowl, I suddenly feel a sharp pain. The 30,000 yuan that Mao Bin wanted was saved from bowl to bowl of instant noodles by me!

  However, it's no use worrying about that now. Saving Xiao Luqi is the priority. I took out the large bowl and when I returned to the bedroom, I found that he had already arranged the fruit I bought, with candles on both sides and an incense burner in the middle. It looked like a simple altar.

  Can I vent? - Why did you put this stuff on my desk?! This desk is where I usually go online! From time to time, I'll even visit the Grass Mud Horse Forum and then sit in front of the desk and rub one out! Now that this altar is here, I feel really uncomfortable! In the future, I won't dare to randomly rub one out in front of this desk anymore!

  There are two tables in my bedroom, apart from this desk, there is also a small high table. However, at the moment it's piled up with magazines all over the place. Well, for a single man like me, the room is always messy. Mao Bin probably didn't bother to help me clean up either, so he just set up the altar on my desk...

  I presented the sea bowl to him and asked if it was suitable for use.

  He glanced at the large bowl, nodded and said it was okay, then had me pour some tap water in front of the altar. Next, he inserted the sandalwood incense I bought last night into the incense burner, pierced three talismans with a sword, told me to be quiet, and said that the ritual was about to begin, turning off the lights.