Xu Tingsheng delayed his return to Yanzhou by five days.

  Of course, he had to apply for leave from the ‘Big Boss’ Lu Zhixin for this, being scolded by her as a result. This was Hucheng’s current internal structure. It was Lu Zhixin who stood at the top of the food chain, everyone having to answer to her.

  Xu Tingsheng was worried about Apple’s situation. The greatest difficulty in this was that he was unable to voice out his worries to her. It was even more impossible for him to try to persuade her that she was sick, getting her to go to the hospital for treatment.

  As soon as that happened, Apple would immediately arrive at that conclusion that she had always been suspecting to be true: I’m sick. Xu Tingsheng is only pitying me.

  This would only make the situation worse.

  Therefore, Xu Tingsheng searched the internet for a lot of information, selecting some suitable daily treatment methods. At the same time, he also went to the hospital alone for psychological inquiry a few times, describing Apple’s situation to the doctor and asking for his opinion.

  The doctor’s analysis gave Xu Tingsheng great consolation. As they saw it, Apple had originally been very optimistic, active and strong by nature, being filled with enthusiasm towards people and things. This was a very good foundation, and she also shouldn’t have any genetic problem.

  Therefore, Apple’s situation was an intense reaction caused by immense repressed pressure over a short period of time. It had come fast, and it had come bad, but there was also a great chance of her getting over it.

  “Therefore, you are very important. You are currently her support. For those who suffer from depression, having someone they are reluctant to hurt and disappoint can prevent their subconscious mind from willingly walking into the abyss, giving them more positive vibes.”


  “I understand,” Xu Tingsheng said.

  “Then, if she’s willing to do something for you, let her do it as much as possible. This will be better for her sense of self-worth. Correspondingly, she will gradually come to recognise her value, getting out of that state of self-denial.”


  “Right.”


  “Actually, the most important is still she herself. If her symptoms can alleviate a little, you should still let her do what she wants to do, fulfilling her self-worth. Of course, in the initial stages, you’d best create a comparatively comfortable environment for her. You definitely can’t let her face the situation that made her like this again, that’s for sure.”


  “Thank you, I’ll remember that. Is there anything else I should pay attention to?”


  “Not especially. Actually, at the current stage, it’s about her letting go as much as possible, rediscovering her original self and how she used to interact with others. This includes you, and includes others as well. Right, also, this time’s fees are five thousand. You can foot the bill now.”


  “.……”


  Xu Tingsheng wanted to say, your mother……it’s virtually exactly the same as what’s written on the internet.

  Over the next few days, Xu Tingsheng first accompanied Apple back to Libei to see her mother and grandmother. If Apple required support, he felt that the two of them would definitely be able to provide a lot of it to her.

  Of course, this time, Xu Tingsheng just waited at the entrance of the village, not daring to enter.

  “Do you remember what you said to me here the last time?” Apple asked Xu Tingsheng there.

  “I remember,” Xu Tingsheng said.

  Back then, he had said that he would prepare a super big dowry for Apple.

  “Do you remember what I said following that?” Apple asked.

  “I remember……you win,” Xu Tingsheng smiled wryly.

  Apple had said that when he had fallen in love with her, she’d abuse him to death.

  “Hmph, I’m still feeling a bit reluctant now, but you’re definitely in for it in the future. Who asked you to bully me for so long?” Apple asked, “Actually, Grandma really likes you. You really aren’t going to see Grandma with me?”


  “Then, if you bully me in the future, I’ll complain to Grandma,” Xu Tingsheng said, “Still, I really don’t dare to go with you this time. Your Mum’s there as well. We haven’t reached the stage of meeting each other’s parents yet, right? I’m already nervous even standing here.”


  After having said this, Xu Tingsheng pulled out a card and handed it to Apple, “Give this to your Mum. There’s a hundred thousand yuan inside. Say that you earned it yourself so that they’ll be able to rest assured, and your Mum can also continue staying here to look after your Grandma.”


  Apple actually hadn’t earned much this past half year, instead having spent quite a lot. Tianle had only given her a salary of two thousand plus yuan per month, and had even made her bear the cost of her own performance outfits most of the time.

  Most of the partial proceeds that Apple had earnt from the commercial performances had been spent in this area. As for the remaining portion, she had already handed it over to her mother when she had convinced her to return to Libei to take care of her grandmother previously.

  She had originally dreamed of being able to buy a house, bringing her mother and grandmother over to live together. The mother and daughter had once sat together and painted the picture of such a life before. Therefore, Apple’s current situation could not be told to her mother yet.

  Xu Tingsheng had already planned things out for her in this regard.

  Apple hesitated for a moment, wanting to refuse, but Xu Tingsheng said, “The password is your birthday. Don’t you remember what else you said the last time? You wanted me to properly earn money, and then all of it should be yours. I’m really good at earning money now, but could it be that you don’t want it anymore?”


  “I want it,” Apple smiled……

  After leaving Libei, the two holidayed along the railroad lines till finally they reached their final stop, Shenghai City. Apple had insisted on bringing Xu Tingsheng to a bar to meet two special, ‘divine’ people.

  “Back then, I stayed here to sing and earn money for a period of time.”


  “So, you want to reminisce on old times?” Xu Tingsheng asked her.

  “No, that bar really is very miraculous. You’ll know when you get there. Those two bosses are both godly figures,” An excited Apple enthusiastically introduced those two miraculous bosses to Xu Tingsheng as they walked to the bar.

  One of them was called Zhang Daxian. Apple said that this person had once had many girlfriends all at the same time before. Feeling tired of having to deal with all of them separately, he had finally considered being honest with them, getting them to accept the situation.

  He thought of how he would express it.

  Zhang Daxian would first ask, “Do you know where the Bible says women come from?”


  Then, his girlfriend would ask, “Where do they come from?”


  Then, Zhang Daxian would say, “God created a man named Adam. Then, discovering that Adam was very lonely, he took one of Adam’s ribs and created a woman, Eve. Therefore, a woman is actually a man’s rib.”


  The woman would say, “So it’s like this! I’m your rib then. Without me, you’d definitely hurt a lot.”


  Finally, Zhang Daxian would lift up his shirt, “But you see, I have many ribs.”


  “He told this to each of his girlfriends,” Apple said.

  “What then?” Xu Tingsheng asked.

  “Then, he became single,” Apple glanced at Xu Tingsheng and said.

  “Then, there’s the other one. The other boss is called Old Ban. He used to write web novels. For a period of time, Old Ban was writing a Xianxian novel. There were only three girls who were his readers.”


  “In Old Ban’s novel, the male lead went through three reincarnations. In each life, he would experience countless tribulations with a female lead. Despite the innumerable obstacles, they would still swear to love each other unto death, loving till it was engraved in their very hearts, going beyond life and death itself.”


  “Then, the plot developed into an extremely tough situation. Because Sun Wukong destroyed the Book of Life and Death, the cycle of reincarnation became chaotic. These one man and three women actually met in the same world.”


  “What to do? I can’t write on any longer. Help me to choose one. Choose one, let go of two. I’m unable to do it myself,” Old Ban smoked a cigarette, his brows knit tight as he asked the girl.

  “I, I’m also unable to choose. They, they’re all so deeply in love,” The girl was deeply absorbed in the love drama as tears began welling up in her eyes.

  “But he has to be faithful in love. He can only love one of them. You know that I’ve never liked harem novels,” Old Ban’s voice began carrying an emotional, anguished tone.

  “But he’s never been unfaithful! He didn’t do it on purpose! If not for Sun Wukong, they wouldn’t all have appeared in the same world!” The girl frantically rebutted with tears in her eyes.

  “That accursed Sun Wukong,” Old Ban exclaimed in righteous indignation.

  “Yeah! It’s all Sun Wukong’s fault,” The girl agreed.

  “Still, what now? We’ve got to choose at least the first one for him to give up on. How about the one from his first life?” Old Ban asked.

  “No, you can’t do that. Did you forget how she betrayed her sect for the male lead, breaking one of her arms in apology to her Master who raised her since young? For him, she faced the scorn and murderous pursuit of all the righteous factions!” The girl said very earnestly.

  “Then, how about the one from his second life? After all, she hurt the male lead before,” Old Ban said.

  “You can’t do that! Right, she did hurt the male lead before. But, she also gave him all her life’s love! Did you forget how she carried the heavily injured male lead, painstakingly escaping the murderous pursuit of the Demon Lord in the desert? The Demon Lord was so powerful, and the male lead also persuaded her to put him down and flee herself, but she said ‘This concubine would rather die with my lord than live solitarily alone’. Did you forget even this?” The girl was incomparably besotted with the novel.

  “Let’s give up on the third life then. After all, they can’t be considered as truly being together yet. It’d also be easier for them to separate this way,” Old Ban said.

  “But it’s even more cruel like this, you know? She loved the male lead in secret for so long, silently doing so many things for him! It was when the male lead had just come to understand her intentions that Sun Wukong destroyed the Book of Life and Death. They’ve only just begun! The male lead still hasn’t brought her along to see the Nine Heavens Seven Coloured Sea yet; he promised her that he would before. Have you forgotten?” The girl asked.

  “Then, there’s only one way out of it. Although I’m very hesitant, I’m prepared to kill off the male lead,” Old Ban pondered for a while before he said painedly.

  “No, how could you be so cruel? Do you know how much pain they’ll be in if he dies? Maybe, maybe they’d all die as well,” The girl exclaimed emotionally as her tears flowed like a geyser.

  “Sigh, it’s all Sun Wukong’s fault,” Old Ban sighed, tears also glistening slightly within his eyes.

  “Can’t you let them all be together?” The girl ventured, “Let them all be together, okay?”


  “That wouldn’t be good, right?” Old Ban asked, repressing his excitement.

  “What’s wrong with that? He didn’t do it on purpose, they’re all truly in love!” The girl cried anxiously, seeming like she might throw a fit if Old Ban didn’t agree.

  “What you’re saying does seem to make sense. It’s true love, so there’s no one at all who’s wrong. Is this what it means?” Old Ban asked.

  “Yeah, yeah! So, let them all be together, okay? They’ll all be very happy,” The girl said.

  “Fine. You’ve convinced me,” Old Ban said.

  “Old Ban told this conversation to those three girls of his,” Apple said.

  “What then?” Xu Tingsheng asked.

  “Then, he also became single. Then, Old Ban went out on holiday and met Zhang Daxian,” Apple continued looking at Xu Tingsheng with a meaningful gaze, almost unable to hold back the triumph from her face.

  “Then……the two of them got together?” Xu Tingsheng asked.

  Apple was rendered wide-eyed and lost for words, “Xu Tingsheng, what’s in that mind of yours? The two of them just opened this small bar together. It’s Xianxia-themed, with this fortune-telling service provided as well.”


  “They’ve found their own girlfriends then?”


  “I don’t think so.”


  “That means that they’re together then.”


  “.……”


  As they walked, the two continued discussing: Could Old Ban and Zhang Daxian be considered as being together? They discussed it all the way till they finally reached the bar that was located nearing the end of a street. Raising his head, Xu Tingsheng could see the bar’s name: It’s all Sun Wukong’s fault.

  There was also a small signboard that hung by the side: If you’ve spent five hundred, fortune-telling is free. If you haven’t spent five hundred, one time is still five hundred.

  Xu Tingsheng finally knew what eccentricity was.

  Surprisingly, business in the bar wasn’t bad. Apple was an old acquaintance of the two bosses. She introduced Xu Tingsheng to them and chatted for a while before going on stage and helping to sing, leaving Xu Tingsheng behind to drink and chat with the both of them.

  “I can tell that Apple really likes you. So, you definitely can’t two-time! Bro,” Old Ban took a glass and clinked it with Xu Tingsheng’s with a cigarette between his fingers as he said meaningfully.

  “I……I’m not,” Xu Tingsheng drank a mouthful of wine, denying guiltily.

  “Hehe,” Zhang Daxian laughed strangely, saying, “Whether you are, I’ll calculate it for you? I won’t charge you. Take it as Apple’s wages for singing here today.”


  “How about no?” Xu Tingsheng asked desperately.

  “Too late, I’ve already started,” Zhang Daxian took a few bamboo lots, closed his eyes and jabbed them before he leapt up emotionally and said, “Woah, bro, your relationship path is obstructed……woah, this is difficult……there’s something that’s hindering your feelings.”


  Old Ban followed up for him with a dramatic sigh.

  “What is it? What is it that’s hindering me?” As Xu Tingsheng watched on, seeing the two of them so incomparably earnest, whilst about to burst out laughing, he played along with them.

  “Sun Wukong,” Zhang Daxian said with the utmost certainty.

  “So it is indeed him again,” Old Ban earnestly responded in a grave tone.

  “So, it’s all Sun Wukong’s fault?” Xu Tingsheng asked.

  “Yeah,” In a dimly lit corner of the bar, Zhang Daxian who had experienced the vicissitudes of life spoke in a heavy tone as he puffed on a cigarette, “Originally, one only loved one person in their life. They would meet that person, and that person would just happen to love only them. Sadly, that accursed Sun Wukong destroyed the Book of Life and Death, wrecking the cycle of reincarnation of this world. It was with this that relationship chaos descended upon this world.”


  “It’s all Sun Wukong’s fault!” Old Ban handed over an extremely crudely fashioned metal hoop as he said with a face full of enlightenment of one who had experienced the vicissitudes of time, “Therefore, buy this Vajra Tribulation Hoop. It’s been blessed, and it can suppress this chaos.”


  Xu Tingsheng very nearly fell off the table laughing.

  “Give him a dozen,” Apple had left the stage as some point in time as she now stood behind Xu Tingsheng and said on his behalf.

  Finally, a semi-drunken Xu Tingsheng used 1200 yuan to buy twelve metal hoops before leaving the small bar. Apple skipped happily beside him with irrepressible triumph evident on her face.

  Xu Tingsheng liked seeing her this way.

  Of course, he also knew why Apple had insisted on bringing him here. This crafty girl. She and the two bosses had surely been in cahoots from the start. Like this, she had said the words that she didn’t dare to voice out directly.

  “Apple,” Xu Tingsheng called.

  “Yeah?” Apple looked back.

  “This,” Xu Tingsheng waved the metal hoops in his hand, “Do I have to wear one?”


  “Yeah!” Apple nodded excitedly.

  It was dark anyway, and he was out abroad anyway. So, Xu Tingsheng fit one around his head. Looking at it from this and that angle, Apple was incomparably satisfied as well as triumphant.

  “Let’s go back to Yanzhou,” Apple said.

  “Okay,” Xu Tingsheng said.

  “Can I see Xiang Ning? I want to see her. Just seeing is fine.”


  “This, sorry, but really not right now. Actually, there’s also no need to.”


  “.……That’s also okay, but……”


  Apple snatched over the ‘Vajra Tribulation Hoops’ in Xu Tingsheng’s hand, fitting them all around his head one by one.