Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“A customer…gave me those…”
Zhang Hui slipped into deep thought as he picked up the plastic cup.
The leaves that were floating on the surface of the water had a golden radiance.
Zhang Hui was certain that there were no such species of plants in this world.
But that was not the most important thing.
The most important thing was…
He raised his head and looked all around at the bookstore.
The floorboards were trembling slightly and creaking constantly.
Rustles within the wallpaper were also clear to his ears.
The ancient deity who seemed to have awakened was a little cat. It was looking at itself in the mirror.
Zhang Hui nodded slightly at the cat as a sign of respect.
The little cat meowed in reply.
“Customer, did you like the book you got yesterday?” They heard Ling PingAn, the owner of this bookstore and potentially an awakened ancient god, ask a question.
“I do! I do!” Situ He replied in a hurry.
“I’m glad that you do.” He sat down on a sofa across from them. He was holding something that looked like a teacup also as he said to Situ He and Zhang Hui, “Don’t hold back, you two…”
Situ He picked up his cup now.
He took a small sip of tea.
Sweet!
That was the first sensation that he had.
Comfortable!
That was how his soul reacted.
He had only taken one sip, but Situ He felt that his soul had become more steady.
Zhang Hui opened his eyes wide.
In the past, he had always thought that miracle drugs were things that only existed in legends.
However, he now finally knew that they were not legends. They were real.
It was only that he hadn’t been aware of these drugs, and he hadn’t come into contact with them.
“Tasty, isn’t it?” the ancient deity sitting opposite them asked.
“Very!” Situ He answered. “Thank you, mister. Thank you for letting us try such tasty and wonderful tea.”
“You’re too polite.” He picked up his cup and drank his tea
His head looked like a ball of fog.
Other than the eye sockets, he had no other visible organs.
However, he could drink tea like any other person.
They did not know how he was drinking the tea.
Zhang Hui and Situ He only saw him pick up his teacup and place it where his chin might be.
“Mister…” Situ He swallowed. He decided to use conversation to divert this guy’s attention. He was afraid that he might want to taste his flesh if he thought too much about the situation.
“This friend of mine…” Situ He looked at Zhang Hui and continued, “…he heard that you have several exceptional books. So he came here with me to have a look at them. What do you think about this?”
“You’re welcome to look around.” He seemed very happy. He put down his teacup and looked at Zhang Hui. He asked, “I wonder what genre of books this customer prefers?”
Zhang Hui thought for a while and chose his words carefully. He then said the first thing that came into his mind, “Mister, what kind of books do you think I’d like?”
He pretended to be relaxed and laughed as he said that.
However, he’d involuntarily placed his hands on the side of the sofa.
In actuality, his stomach and legs were trembling.
That was because he could clearly feel something in that instant that he’d uttered those words.
Something was twitching on the cushions of the sofa underneath his buttocks.
He could also sense clearly that something was sliding down from the ceiling above his head.
A thick liquid was being secreted from the body of that object.
That made Zhang Hui feel as though a person was pointing a gun to his temple.
……
Ling PingAn put down his teacup and stood up.
He observed his new customer closely.
This customer looked about 40 years old.
He had the standard short hair that all the officials of the Federal Empire had. He was wearing a suit of formal attire that looked a little dated but was ironed to perfection, without any creases or stains.
This kind of formal wear was an attire that had been promoted many years ago.
It was different from the traditional office attire of the literati.
Their new-style attire had three pockets and lapels.
This customer’s clothes were very tailored and made the wearer look stern.
This had been all the rage at some time in the past.
However, as time passed, more and more young men felt that this attire was overly stern.
Thus, this attire had been quickly relegated to being the attire only for civil servants or employees of major corporations.
Not many people would wear it outside in private situations.
He then thought long and hard about this new customer who had come this evening.
Ling PingAn could guess about the identity of the new customer without thinking too deeply.
Birds of a feather flocked together.
He would also be an old Republican.
However, unlike the customer who had come in last night, this new customer must work in an organization of the Federal Empire or a national organization.
He might even be a minor official.
He could deduce that from the way the customer sat.
However, his position was probably not too high. He could also deduce that from the way the customer sat.
The customer might seem to be sitting up straight, but his body was involuntarily leaning to the front.
This was an act of listening.
It meant that his role might be one of carrying out policies or executing orders.
A person like that was an executive within the corporation or organization.
The level of an executive was historically not high in the Federal Empire.
After all, a person who worked with his mind ruled over the people, while a person who worked with his body was ruled by others.
Ling PingAn had gotten a general understanding of these types of people after he’d thought a little about it.
He smiled and said, “Sir, have you felt a huge amount of stress for a long time?”
He was an executive after all. He was the person who took all the blame.
He was not credited if things went well, but would be blamed if there were any problems.
It would be odd if he was not under a huge amount of stress.
“Do you frequently have nightmares?
“Do you frequently dream of terrifying events?”
That was obvious.
His supervisor would scold and rush him every day.
From the start of the month to the end of the month. There would always be a mountain of work.
He must have to work through the night after he returned home. He might even have to use his personal time to settle the personal problems of his supervisor.
Even if he slogged away his life like that…
The risk of being fired and replaced was always present.
He was also at a very awkward age.
He might still have parents that he had to support.
He also had to provide for the parents of his wife.
His friends and relatives might always feel that he had vast connections and could do almost anything.
For his reputation, he might have no choice but to tough it out on many occasions.
His children would be in a crucial stage like junior college or high school.
He had to supervise their studies and especially take time out to coach them in their homework. He might even have to establish connections and ask for favors so that his children could go to good schools.
He only wished to send his child to a good school under a good teacher in a good class.
Thus, he had to use every means at his disposal to keep his job and position.
He had to work hard at every moment to prove his worth.
He could not let himself be eliminated. He could not let himself become a part that could be replaced.
Under such pressure, it would be odd if he did not have nightmares and was not scared awake at night!
“Do you frequently think of obtaining something that you do not have, yet worried that you would lose the things that you have obtained? You always feel that you might make a mistake at something that you did…”
As Ling PingAn continued to make his conjectures…
The expression of the customer sitting across from him changed gradually.
Ling PingAn saw that and smiled.
He said, “Customer, I know what kind of book you need!
“Please wait here for a moment…”
