At 5:30, they checked in and boarded the plane. Lin Shuyue and Hang Jiabai's seats were next to each other. Hang Jiabai was in charge of putting away the suitcases, and when they sat down, Lin Shuyue handed him a bottle of water.
"Didn't you sleep all night last night?" Lin Shuyue asked, looking at the dark circles under Hang Jiabai's fair skin.
"I just took a nap on the way home." Hang Jiabai took a sip of water. The water was icy cold and it made Hang Jiabai feel more awake.
Lin Shuyue seemed to feel a little sorry for him, and held his big hand with distinct knuckles, and Hang Jiabai held her hand back.
"I'm sorry, Ah Yue. I said I would take you to meet my cousin and others before going to the capital." Hang Jiabai looked apologetic.
"It's not your intention. If we can't meet this time, we can still meet in the future. There's a long time to come." There were so many things going on in the past few days, and she had been running around with Hang Jiabai and the others, and she almost forgot about this matter.
To be honest, Lin Shuyue was a little nervous about meeting Hang Jiabai's family. Now that she didn't have to go, she felt a little relieved.
Hang Jiabai had beautiful eyes. He turned his head to look at Lin Shuyue and said with a smile, "You're right. There's a long way to go."
Lin Shuyue also looked up and smiled at him.
"Have he admitted?" Lin Shuyue asked.
"The video is in front of him, the things brought out from Bailing Club, and the computer left at the foot of the sofa are all evidence to accuse him." Hang Jiabai's face was cold.
After returning home last night, they interrogated Zhong Jiasheng overnight. Faced with overwhelming evidence, even Zhong Jiasheng's brilliant defenses were useless. When the massive insurance policies came out, Zhong Jiasheng's face was ashen.
"Hu Jiangrong's psychological endurance is much higher than Zhong Jiasheng's. He still doesn't believe he's guilty. His ability to make excuses is extremely unreasonable."
"What nonsense! He said, everyone is going to die anyway. He just brought their death forward a little. It also saved them from so much suffering in this world. He said, they actually need to be thankful to him."
Hang Jiabai's head was spinning as he heard these words. "This man is a born antisocial and antihuman. He has no fear or guilt towards the people he killed. He gets really excited talking about dismembering people."
Hang Jiabai and the others all felt angry and uncomfortable about this.
People came up one after another, sitting in front, behind, left and right, and Hang Jiabai didn't talk about this matter anymore.
At 5:50, the flight attendants walked around the cabin twice, reminding passengers to turn off their phones and fasten their seat belts. At 6:00, the plane officially took off. It stay on the ground for a few minutes and then soared into the sky.
Not long after takeoff, Hang Jiabai fell asleep from exhaustion. Lin Shuyue was no longer sleepy. She turned on the system, which had changed. The panel that usually only displayed tasks and points balance now had something called a documentary.
Lin Shuyue didn't rush to open it, but first took out the Realm of Reincarnation. She had already written Zhong Jiasheng and Hu Jiangrong's personal information into it last night. The Realm of Reincarnation detected their good and evil values and locked them on the screen.
Lin Shuyue opened the Realm of Reincarnation at a very coincidental time, just when Zhong Jiasheng was asleep.
It was also the first time that Lin Shuyue saw the realm of reincarnation pulling people's souls in.
The moment Zhong Jiasheng was pulled into the system space, reincarnation had already begun.
•••••
Zhong Jiasheng woke up in the small room at the Bailing Club that housed the freezer and dog cages. His mind was suddenly in a fuzzy state. Ever since he'd entered the SM circle, he'd been the one to bully others. Who had the audacity to lock him up? Does he still love his life?
While he was furious, two men with whips came up. Zhong Jiasheng was furious when he heard the sound. He wanted to curse, but when he opened his mouth, only bursts of whining came out.
Zhong Jiasheng's anger faltered, perhaps because he was so enraged by the thought of being locked in a dog cage after waking up that he forgot about the situation. He only realized now that he was still wearing a gag.
For a man who used to be 'S' to cover up his violent temper, being put in a dog cage was definitely a humiliation he could not bear!
The people who were talking outside finally came in. A man opened the bolt on the dog cage, revealing a small hole.
"Come out quickly, you are going to eat." Zhong Jiasheng looked up and saw that the person who was speaking was Hu Jiangrong. And who else could the person next to him be but himself? Zhong Jiasheng was even more confused.
It wasn't until this moment that Zhong Jiasheng remembered that he had been arrested by the police. All his past crimes had been uncovered by the police. It wasn't that he truly didn't understand the law; he was likely facing the death penalty.
So where is he now? Is he dreaming?
Zhong Jiasheng's dreamy words were soon shattered. Hu Jiangrong whipped him on the buttocks, and before he could react to the pain, he was kicked to the ground. "You're a dog, you know that? Who are you trying to learn how to walk? You're crawling on the ground! I've taught you so many times, why can't you learn?"
As Hu Jiangrong finished speaking, he was hit by several more whips. Hu Jiangrong's method of training and teaching people was indeed very powerful. These whips were painful.
This was the first time in Zhong Jiasheng's life that he was beaten like this. Even the person who brought him into the industry had never beaten him!
Feeling humiliated, Zhong Jiasheng raised his head. He looked at another Zhong Jiasheng, who was radiating a strong scent of grass and trees.
Zhong Jiasheng looked at him and said softly, "I don't like his eyes."
Hu Jiangrong laughed and said, "It just so happens that I bought some sulfuric acid. I heard that even a tiny bit of it can burn a person's skin. What do you think would happen if it got into someone's eyes?"
Hu Jiangrong was in high spirits, and Zhong Jiasheng, who was standing, also looked interested. Only Zhong Jiasheng, who was kicked to the ground, looked pale.
He and Hu Jiangrong had actually poured sulfuric acid into a living person's eyes. As a sadist, when he saw others suffering from the pain of their eyes being corroded by sulfuric acid, his heart was filled with joy from venting his desire for violence.
But now, he was the one about to have sulfuric acid poured into his eyes. Zhong Jiasheng couldn't bear it anymore; he was terrified. He wanted to beg for mercy, but no matter what, Hu Jiangrong and another Zhong Jiasheng poured sulfuric acid into his eyes. They even went a little further, pouring a lot of sulfuric acid into his eyes, nose, and mouth.
Zhong Jiasheng was burned alive by sulfuric acid. The pain from the sulfuric acid corroding his body was so severe that he became numb.
When he closed his eyes and died, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally free.
But before he could be thankful for two seconds, he felt the touch again, and a very bad feeling rose from his heart. Before he could say anything, he heard the humming sound of a chainsaw in his ears.
He opened his eyes and saw "Zhong Jiasheng" standing by, directing Hu Jiangrong to saw him. He shook his head in fear, but his fear was useless. The chainsaw cut through his skin and bones, and he screamed in agony, his gag falling. He begged for mercy, but "that Zhong Jiasheng" and Hu Jiangrong seemed to ignore his pleas.
They even gave him a very bright smile.
This time, Zhong Jiasheng was cut to death.
Zhong Jiasheng had a premonition that if he died this time, he would be resurrected. Sure enough, this time, he was placed in a large refrigerator. He experienced the method of cold death.
•••••
After watching Zhong Jiasheng's fourth way of death with an expressionless face, Lin Shuyue closed her interface and went to watch Hu Jiangrong's reincarnation.
Hu Jiangrong's death was much more varied. In his first reincarnation, he became his fourth sister. He was severely beaten by his beloved grandparents because he was the first to pick up his chopsticks during a meal.
He wanted to resist, but he had no strength left. He was even picked up by another "him" and thrown against the wall.
Then came the endless housework and the random beatings by "another Hu Jiangrong".
But after just one day, Hu Jiangrong's forehead was hit by a stone and a big bump appeared, which made Hu Jiangrong extremely angry! From childhood to adulthood, he was the emperor of the family. The love of his parents and grandparents was only for him and him alone!
What was this "other Hu Jiangrong"? Was he worthy enough to compete with him? Hu Jiangrong was already dominated by anger. He didn't even want to explore where this place was or why he had become a girl in this fantasy!
He only knew that now, he had to kill Hu Jiangrong and then set everything right.
At night, Hu Jiangrong waited until "the other Hu Jiangrong" fell asleep, then went outside to pick up a stone. On the way back, a cruel smile appeared on his face. He had already imagined the death of "the other Hu Jiangrong" in the near future.
He returned to the room, raised the stone high, and smashed it at the person on the kang. But after a while, he felt dizzy and fell to the ground. The person whose head was crushed by the stone became himself. He died in pain.
His first life ended briefly. His second was equally brief. He didn't know how, but he ended up having sex with Hu Jiangrong in the realm of reincarnation. The moment he saw Hu Jiangrong, he didn't think about anything else and just picked up his things and did it.
Then no matter whether his revenge is successful or not, he is the one who suffers the most.
The only difference is that if his revenge succeeds, he will die more easily. If his revenge fails, he will have to suffer all the pain that Zhong Jiasheng suffered in the cycle of reincarnation.
Lin Shuyue watched him die more than ten times, and each time he died in a miserable manner, even worse than Zhong Jiali and the others.
The flight attendant came to deliver the meal. Lin Shuyue turned off the Realm of Reincarnation and after getting the meal, she clicked on the documentary.
Lin Shuyue glanced at the time the documentary was released, which was in 2018.
Hang Jiabai was still sleeping. Lin Shuyue took a deep breath and turned on the documentary.
The documentary's overall tone leans towards darkness. It begins with Typhoon Pengcheng making landfall in Pengcheng, disrupting transportation, water, and electricity throughout the city. The power supply, in particular, went out as early as the second hour after the typhoon arrived.
The underground drainage system in Wangfu Community is not very good. There is a lot of water accumulated in the basement and there is also a certain degree of infiltration.
The basement of the Bailing Club was flooded.
On the morning of the third day of the power outage, a smell came from the basement of the Bailing Club and spread throughout the community with the water.
Wangfu Community Property Management receives countless complaints from owners every day.
The Wangfu Residential Complex's property management department conducted a thorough investigation and eventually located the Bailing Club. Upon opening the basement, a foul odor filled the air.
They originally thought that an animal had died in the basement, but when they followed the stench, they found that there were unknown pieces of meat and human heads in the large freezer inside.
The Wangfu community immediately called the police, and the police identified the suspect the same day they received the report. However, Hu Jiangrong had already fled by then.
Zhong Jiasheng, the original tenant of the Bailing Club, had been missing for many years. Forensic examination revealed that his human tissue was found in the Bailing Club's refrigerator.
After identifying the suspect, the Shenzhen police issued a wanted notice online. Later, based on public reports, they tracked him down under a bridge in the Hong Kong River. While on the run, he committed three more crimes.
At the end of the documentary, Hu Jiangrong, known as "the top ten murderers in China", was killed by a gun.
Lin Shuyue breathed a sigh of relief. Hang Jiabai had already woken up. He glanced at the time and saw that the plane had been in the sky for three hours and they would disembark in half an hour.
He went to the bathroom, and when he came back, he opened the breakfast brought by the flight attendant, which consisted of a piece of bread, a glass of milk, and two biscuits, and started eating.
Lin Shuyue followed him to eat. After they finished eating, Hang Jiabai said to Lin Shuyue: "When we get out of the airport, I'll take you to have breakfast in the capital. The braised pork is very delicious."
"Okay, okay." Lin Shuyue agreed happily.
To be fair, the bread on the plane is delicious, the biscuits have a flavor of egg yolk and onion, and the milk is sweet.
But for a Chinese stomach, Lin Shuyue felt that she still needed to eat something salty in the morning.
At half past nine, the plane landed at the Capital Airport on time. As soon as Lin Shuyue got off the plane, she felt the cold air blowing in her face.
She couldn't help but wrap the scarf around her again to cover her face.
Hang Jiabai had been to the north. He took out a white woolen hat with fleece lining from the bag on his suitcase and gave it to Lin Shuyue.
The hat was embellished with two small pink flowers and two tender green petals. The white hat accentuated Lin Shuyue's rosy lips and white teeth. Hang Jiabai's gaze fell on Lin Shuyue's lips. He felt that Lin Shuyue's lips were as pink and tender as the candy his little niece had stuffed into his mouth a few days ago.
He just don't know if it tastes as chewy and soft.
"It's so cold." Lin Shuyue sighed.
Hang Jiabai came back to his senses: "Let's go and have dinner."
Hang Jiabai went to university in the capital and stayed there for four years. He can be said to be very familiar with the capital.
The Top Ten Youth Selection Conference was held in a hotel in Qinghe District, where Hang Jiabai was going to study. The two of them took a taxi and headed straight to an old residential area in Qinghe District.
After walking through a narrow alley, Lin Shuyue and the others came across a small shop. Inside, an old man in his sixties was chopping green onions.
Hang Jiabai led Lin Shuyue in. The heavy cotton door curtain was opened, and a wave of hot air rushed up.
"Uncle Guan. I want braised dishes for two people, one big and one small. Please add plenty of chopped green onions and cilantro." As soon as he entered the house, Hang Jia ordered dishes loudly.
The old man who was chopping green onions and cilantro turned around, squinted his eyes and looked at Hang Jiabai for a while, then smiled and said, "It's Ah Bai. I haven't seen you in many years."
"Yes, I went home after graduating from university. It just so happens that I came to the capital on a business trip. I came to your place as soon as I got off the plane." Hang Jiabai pulled out a stool from under the table and asked Lin Shuyue to sit down.
Lin Shuyue sat down and looked around the small shop. It was divided into two sides. One side had four tables about 1.2 meters in size, and the other side was the kitchen. The aroma of braised meat wafted through the small shop.
Hang Jiabai took two bottles of soy milk from the rice cooker next to the big pot where the stew was cooking.
"Uncle Guan, two more bowls of noodles with spicy chicken."
"Okay," Uncle Guan replied, opening the pot and taking out the braised meat. He cut a little of each and put it in a large bowl, finally making a large bowl of meat. He poured the soup over it, sprinkled it with chopped green onions and cilantro, and the stew was done.
Hang Jiabai took the initiative to bring it over, and the aroma of braised pig offal wafted into the air.
"Come and try it. The braised pork in this restaurant was recommended by a local senior in our school. In addition to the braised pork, they also have mixed noodles, which are very, very delicious." Hang Jiabai fell in love with food when he came to the capital to study.
While playing basketball, he met a local senior, and after that, they often hung out together. With him, Hang Jiabai spent four years eating all over the capital.
Lin Shuyue felt that this sentence was very familiar. Then he thought about it again, when he was in Yuanbao Mountain, Hang Jiabai also said something similar, but the person who took him to eat all over Pengcheng was his second uncle.
Lin Shuyue took a bite of the braised pork. Neither the lungs nor the heart had a single fishy taste; they were fragrant and soft. The pig intestines were especially tender; Lin Shuyue absolutely loved their soft, glutinous texture. With one spoonful, she swallowed the soup, along with the chopped green onions and cilantro.
It's delicious. After hearing what Hang Jiabai said, she looked at the handsome boy in front of her who was adding chili oil to the bowl, and suddenly discovered his foodie nature hidden under his serious appearance.
Lin Shuyue laughed.
Hang Jiabai, completely unaware that he had exposed his foodie nature in front of his girlfriend, was completely confused and had no idea what Lin Shuyue was laughing at. But it didn't matter what she was laughing at, as long as she was laughing.
He told Lin Shuyue, "Uncle Guan's chili oil is especially fragrant."
Uncle Guan was putting noodles into the pot. While waiting for them to cook, he took out a white towel and wiped the stove again and again. The pot lid, which had obviously been used for many years, was covered with steel wool brush marks, but there was no trace of dirt.
Lin Shuyue withdrew her gaze and also added a spoonful of chili oil to the stew.
"Delicious." The stewed food with chili oil has a spicy aroma. The chili oil contains not only crushed peanuts and cooked sesame seeds, but also crushed walnuts and almonds.
Even if you don't put it in anything and eat it dry, this chili is still delicious.
"See?" Hang Jiabai said proudly, "My senior said that Uncle Guan had been running this business before the reform and opening up. But back then, they were a joint venture between the public and private sectors."
"Later, the shop was returned to an individual, and Uncle Guan's Luzhu Shop has been running ever since. A bowl of Luzhu and a serving of mixed noodles are their signature dishes."
Uncle Guan, who was carrying noodles, heard what Hang Jiabai said and said with a smile: "Yes, yes, our store has been open for sixty years."
Two bowls of noodles were placed in front of Lin Shuyue. The noodles were medium-thin, with a layer of spicy chicken in a red sauce floating on top, chopped green onions, blanched mung bean sprouts, and some shredded green onions on top.
Hang Jiabai couldn't wait to mix the noodles, and Lin Shuyue also started to mix them. When she started to mix them, she found that there was something else at the bottom of the bowl. There were finely chopped dried radish, sour cowpeas, and crispy fried peanuts at the bottom.
After tossing the noodles, the white noodles turned into a sauce-red color. Lin Shuyue took a bite and her eyes lit up: "Delicious, delicious."
Uncle Guan walked over to the table next to Lin Shuyue and the others and sat down: "If it tastes good, eat more. If you don't have enough, you can have more noodles."
Uncle Guan said to Hang Jiabai: "You have a good partner, with a good face."
Who wouldn't be happy to be praised? Lin Shuyue lowered her head shyly and ate the noodles. The noodles were really delicious, fragrant and spicy. Whether it was bean sprouts or radish beans, they were all crisp and refreshing. There were also scallions mixed in them, which were a bit sweet, spicy and pungent, and there was an indescribable fragrance.
Hang Jiabai glanced at Lin Shuyue, and the smile on his face could not be stopped. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and gave one to Uncle Guan: "Thank you, Uncle Guan."
Uncle Guan took the cigarette but didn't light it. He asked Hang Jiabai about the past few years. While talking to him, Hang Jiabai finished the mixed noodles and braised pork in his bowl.
It was not until someone else came in to buy food that Lin Shuyue went out with Hang Jiabai.
Hang Jiabai first sent Lin Shuyue to the Haiyue Hotel in Qinghe District. After watching her take out her ID information and get the room card arranged by the organizer, he sent her to the door of the room before leaving.
The training for this batch of police officers has already begun. If he doesn't hurry up, he will fall behind.
Lin Shuyue opened the door of the room.
This is a bedroom with three beds. Things are placed on the bed by the window and the middle bed. Only the bed by the bathroom wall has not been moved.
Lin Shuyue placed her backpack on top. She didn't have many thick clothes, and this set of clothes was already her thickest. It would be enough to survive the winter in Guangdong, but it wouldn't be enough in the capital.
She had already made an appointment with Hang Jiabai to go shopping for clothes together tomorrow.
She had just put her bag down when she heard someone swiping her card at the door. Soon, two girls walked in one after the other.
Upon seeing Lin Shuyue, one of the girls in a pink down jacket's eyes lit up. "Hello, hello, are you Lin Shuyue? I'm from the Xucheng Daily in Jizhou Province. My name is Feng Qinqin, and this is my colleague and good friend He Wanqing."
The girl named He Wanqing smiled and nodded at Lin Shuyue. Her ponytail was tied on the side, and her whole temperament was very gentle.
"Hello, hello. I'm Lin Shuyue, a reporter for Pengcheng Metropolis Daily in Guangdong Province."
"We've heard of you a long time ago. You have no idea how much help that report you wrote about the internet addiction school helped us! If it weren't for you, my sister would have been sent to that school too."
Feng Qinqin said this with a look of fear on her face: "My mother knew you would also be participating in the Top Ten Youth Selection Competition, and she asked me to thank you in person."
He Wanqing added, "Qinqin's younger sister grew up with of her grandparents. She's her cousin. She's only ten years old and she's become addicted to watching TV. Her grandmother doesn't want to take care of her every day, so she wants to send her to boarding school. She was annoyed by her during the winter and summer vacations, so after seeing an advertisement for an internet addiction school, she decided to send her there."
Feng Qinqin took off her coat. "I think she's the one who needs to be sent to that kind of school. She's been playing mahjong since she was little. My mom helped to coax my sister when she was little, and she only looked after her for a few years after my mom moved out. She also wants the house left by my third uncle, but doesn't want my sister to have any contact with it. But it doesn't matter now. Lin Shuyue, can I treat you to lunch?"
Lin Shuyue had already made plans to get along well with these reporters. After hearing what Feng Qinqin said, she was more than happy to do so: "We can have dinner together. No need for you to treat me. No need for you to treat me."
"That won't do. That won't do." After just a few words, Feng Qinqin and Lin Shuyue became very close.
He Wanqing walked to the bed near the window and sat down, taking out a book to read. Lin Shuyue turned her head to look and saw her soft profile and the smile at the corner of her lips.
Feng Qinqin said, "Wanqing is reading novels again. I don't know what's so good about the books written by the author named A Net for Pollock that she's so obsessed with them."
This really touched upon Lin Shuyue's blind spots. She had been so busy for the past six months that she hadn't even read a single novel. Of course, another reason was that she had long been accustomed to reading online novels, and at that time, the major online novel websites were just starting out. There were even several novel websites that would later become popular, but now no one had even registered.
What's worse, it's still just a forum. There aren't even many active users. Most novels people read these days are physical books and magazines. Lin Shuyue went to the newsstand recently and saw two more pink and tender girl magazines. She decided to buy a couple and come back to read them. She had no other intentions, just to experience the perfect love of a paper man.
"What kind of book is this? Is it interesting?"
"A collection of poems that makes no sense. I just can't understand it. By the way, this man named A Net of Pollack is not only a writer, but also a sculptor. I heard that there is such an exhibition in the capital. I told Wanqing that I want to go and see it tomorrow. Shuyue, are you going?" The press conference starts on December 28th, and today is only the 26th, so there are still two days left.
Feng Qinqin and He Wanqing arrived early and had already visited the nearby attractions. Their plan was to visit the sculpture exhibition tomorrow. It would be great to have someone else with them, so Feng Qinqin invited Lin Shuyue.
Feng Qinqin is a person who likes making friends very much. She has a pair of round almond-shaped eyes. When she looks at people intently, it is as if she is praying.
Lin Shuyue had a good first impression of them, so she nodded and agreed: "Okay, but I have to go clothes shopping with my boyfriend in the morning. Is the afternoon okay?"
Feng Qinqin was a little surprised that Lin Shuyue came with her boyfriend, but since it was someone else's private matter, she didn't need to ask, so she nodded and said, "Okay. We'll go in the afternoon so we can sleep a little longer in the morning."