New Times, New Hell

Chapter 83 - Living Dead Person

Yu Zhengdu suddenly didn’t want to clear things up with Shang Que anymore.

He smiled, “Okay, then I won’t say anything else.”

Shang Que: “……”

A while later, he slowly lowered the hands that were covering his ears. Reluctantly, he said, “If you’re adamant about speaking……”

“I won’t say anything else.” Yu Zhengdu stared at him, eyes sincere. His gaze became gentler. “Really.”

Shang Que: “……”

Though he had been the one to first say that he wasn’t listening, for some reason, he suddenly felt like he had been refuted.

Ah, even angrier!

At this time, the voice of a confused old man sounded out from behind Yu Zhengdu. “Xiao Yu, is this your friend?”

“Yes, he’s come to pick me up,” Yu Zhengdu replied to Old Mr. Chen. Upon seeing that Shang Que still had a strict expression on to maintain his ghostly image of being a domineering CEO, he burst into laughter in his heart. However, his expression was completely blank. He changed the topic and asked, “Boss, can you tell what’s wrong with the old mister?”

Given these circumstances, Shang Que could no longer set down his own pride and ask Yu Zhengdu what he had been about to say. He only softly hummed, then looked around Yu Zhengdu to glance at the old man. He calmly stated, “He’s a living dead person.”

Yu Zhengdu was lost. “What’s a living dead person?”

Shang Que gestured with his chin. “Take another look at him.”

Yu Zhengdu turned around. The old mister was sitting on a bench on the side of the street. The street lamp lit his form up, rendering the livor mortis on his skin even more visible. However, he himself was completely oblivious to this and was even quietly humming a song. After noticing their gazes, he cheerfully smiled and gestured, “Come sit.”

Shang Que: “He hasn’t realized that he’s already died yet.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhengdu instantly reached an epiphany. This was the most critical point of understanding this entire situation. In the beginning, the reason that he hadn’t discovered that the old mister was already dead was actually because the old mister had acted too much like a normal person the entire time.

Not the forced feeling that dead people pretending to be alive gave off. Instead, it was an attitude that seemed like he truly believed, from the bottom of his heart, that he was alive.

Yu Zhengdu had originally thought that this was because the old mister had a good mentality, but now, it was obvious to tell that this was clearly because the old mister didn’t even know that he had already passed away.

He asked, bewildered, “How could that happen?”

Shang Que answered, “When he died, that last breath of air didn’t completely dissipate……”

The definition of a supposed living dead person was literal: a dead person that still looked alive. In actuality, this was because the last breath of air for some people didn’t completely dissipate after their death. This occurred due to certain unknown reasons. Thus, the spirit would continue staying in the corpse. At this time, if the living dead person didn’t realize that they had already died, it was possible that they would come back to “life.”

According to Elder Chen’s son’s recounting, the old mister had passed away in his sleep. It truly was very possible that he hadn’t known that he had already died and merely thought that he had woken up from sleep.

After a living dead person woke up, they would act like they normally did and continue on with their ordinary daily activities. Just like Old Mr. Chen – buying groceries like usual, taking a walk, then taking the bus home.

Without outside disruptions, this condition could last for two to three days, until the last breath of air in his heart completely dissipated. Or, until the corpse completely decomposed and became unable to continue living.

Yu Zhengdu furrowed his brows. “Then……do we have to wait until the old mister’s body decomposes?”

He wasn’t scared to, but leaving a corpse to live like a normal person would definitely frighten a lot of other people. There might be several negative consequences.

“No need.” Shang Que shook his head. “There’s a simple solution.”

Yu Zhengdu: “What solution?”

Shang Que: “Directly telling him that he’s already dead.”

Living dead people came back to “life” because of a very important reason: they didn’t know that they had already died. At this time, if you told them that they had already passed away, their spirit would naturally leave the body.

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

Never in his wildest dreams had he thought that the answer would be so simple.

Shang Que glanced at him, then lowered his gaze. “Are you going to tell him? Or do you need me to go?”

“I’ll go,” Yu Zhengdu replied. He turned to look at the old man.

The old mister was bent over, in the middle of examining the produce he had bought today. He muttered, “Aiya, I’ve spent so much time outside that the leaves are already wilting……”

“How about waiting a bit longer?” Yu Zhengdu felt a bit sad. “I’ll tell him after his son arrives.”

Shang Que didn’t care either way.

“Let’s sit first.” As Yu Zhengdu spoke, he instinctively reached out to grab Shang Que’s wrist.

And then his hand got flung away by Shang Que.

Yu Zhengdu froze for a moment, then turned around to look at him. Only to see Shang Que raise his chin and display an expression that read: “I’m still in a cold war with you.”

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

Seems like Boss was truly very angry this time.

He didn’t know when Shang Que would completely forgive him either. The next few days at work would probably be pretty painful.

At the end of the day, he was the one who had caused this mess. Yu Zhengdu wasn’t shameless enough to refute him. He could only sulkily place his hand back into his pocket and tilt his head. “Let’s go.”

“Wait,” Shang Que stopped him.

Yu Zhengdu looked back, slightly bewildered. He was just about to ask Shang Que what else he wanted, only to see Shang Que silently hold out a finger. With a reluctant expression, he said, “You’re only allowed to hold this much.”

Yu Zhengdu: “……”

Emmm, as expected, very mad.

Yu Zhengdu burst into laughter. Exasperated, he held onto Shang Que’s defined finger. Very seriously, he said, “Thank you, Boss, for being so forgiving.”

The roads were empty at night. Elder Chen’s son, Chen Xin, arrived very quickly. Prior to his arrival, Yu Zhengdu had already explained the situation regarding living dead people to him over text. Because of this, when he personally laid eyes on Elder Chen, though he was still extremely stunned, he didn’t freeze in place. He could still stutter out, “Dad.”

“You’re here.” Elder Chen didn’t notice his son’s shock. He picked up the bag of greens and stood up, then massaged his waist. After, he released a sound of confusion and cheerily said, “Yo, I seem to be in great health today. My waist doesn’t even hurt after sitting for so long.”

Everyone else: “……”

Chen Xin gazed at his father. The old man’s skin had already turned a purplish gray. There were also faint spots on it. He stood still in place, too scared to take a step forward.

However, Yu Zhengdu could understand his hesitation. He said, “Mr. Chen, Elder Chen is fine. There’s no need to be scared.”

“What are you blankly standing there for? Come over and carry this stuff.” Elder Chen took two steps forward and threw the groceries at his son. “I bought these this afternoon in the market by Fuxi. The vegetables you like best.”

He smacked his lips together, slightly regretful. “What a pity that I got delayed on the way back. They’re not fresh anymore.”

Chen Xin took the bag of greens from him, heart suddenly twinging in pain. The fear he felt regarding corpses instantly disappeared. He hurriedly walked forward and held onto Elder Chen. “Dad, let’s go back.”

“Yes, yes.” Elder Chen turned around and said goodbye to Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que, “Young men, I’ve troubled you guys tonight.”

“Just doing what we should’ve done,” Yu Zhengdu responded.

“Then I’m leaving now,” Elder Chen said with a smile. “See you again next time, if the chance comes up.”

Yu Zhengdu smiled faintly too. “It definitely will.”

After saying this, he looked back at Chen Xin. “Mr. Chen, the following matters……”

“I’ll tell him,” Chen Xin said. Slight sorrow filled his gaze. “I want to speak with him some more.”

Yu Zhengdu nodded.

Chen Xin helped his father into the passenger seat, then bade farewell to Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que.

He didn’t directly drive to the ancestral temple where Elder Chen’s corpse was supposed to be. Instead, he slowly drove around in circles; while doing so, he conversed with his father. He chatted about when he had been a child, about Elder Chen’s youth, and about his son – Elder Chen’s grandson.

Chen Xin was normally busy with work. During his rare days off, he usually stayed with his wife and kid. It had already been a long time since he had talked with his father like this. Previously, he had always felt like he didn’t have anything to say to his father. He also felt like there would be time in the future to share a conversation. Elder Chen had passed away very suddenly. While mourning, Chen Xin had also been in a rush to organize the funeral. He didn’t have too much time to reminisce or feel regretful.

But unexpectedly, this father and son pair would ultimately get another chance at a heartfelt conversation.

It was only now that Chen Xin discovered that his father actually had so much to say. He incessantly recalled the events of his youth, excitedly relaying his past heroic deeds to his child; he spoke of stories about his son and grandson too. Minute details and trivial matters. Things the youth thought that the elder had already forgotten, but he actually remembered very clearly.

“Ey, how come I’ve suddenly become so talkative tonight?” Elder Chen finally realized that something seemed off after rattling on for a long time.

“Nothing, I just wanted to listen to you talk about the stories of the past.” Chen Xin held back the sour feeling in his nose, doing his best not to make his voice sound choked up. “This is a rare opportunity, you know?”

“Ey, these are all boring old memories, nothing that needs to be mentioned.” The old man waved his hands around. Though he said this, he couldn’t hide his excited expression. Only a moment after, he started speaking again, “Speaking of, do you still remember when you were in elementary school……”

The father and son pair spoke like this for a long time. Elder Chen reminisced his entire life again and finally couldn’t come up with another topic to talk about. Only now did he lean back against his seat, satisfied. “I’m really quite alert today. I don’t even feel tired after speaking for so long……”

At this time, the sky was already starting to lighten up. From an unknown location, the crow of a rooster could be heard. This started Elder Chen back to his senses. In a daze, he asked his son, “How long have we been driving already? How come we aren’t home yet?”

He looked outside the car window, then couldn’t help furrowing his eyebrows. “This isn’t the way back home.”

He turned back to look at his son. Only now did he discover that for some unknown reason, his son’s face was covered in tears. Elder Chen’s heart strangely twinged in pain. “Why are you crying?”

“It’s nothing.” Chen Xin lowered his head and wiped away his tears. “Dad, we’re here.”

Elder Chen looked around, confused. “How come we’ve come to the ancestral temple?”

“Let’s talk about that when we go inside.” Chen Xin forced down the sour feeling in his nose and helped the old mister slowly walk into the ancestral temple.

Elder Chen’s expression was bewildered. As he walked, he observed his surroundings and finally discovered that there were white lanterns hanging from the doors of the ancestral temple. There were also flower rings outside the doorway and yellow pieces of paper on the ground.

“Who passed away?” Elder Chen asked. At the same time, a few memories slowly came back. He sighed, “Why do I feel like I only visited this place a few days ago……”

At the same time, the two of them walked through the main doors of the ancestral temple.

Because he was worried about scaring the others, Chen Xin had already notified his other family members to temporarily leave. Because of this, the entire ancestral temple was completely empty, causing it to appear a bit desolate.

Elder Chen looked up, only to see that there was a familiar black and white photo placed atop the memorial tablet.

“Ey, isn’t that me?” Elder Chen was stunned. He then looked at the placard next to the photo and discovered that his name was written on it.

“Dad——” Chen Xin finally couldn’t help shouting. His knees trembled and he knelt on the ground with a “plop” in front of Elder Chen.

“So I was the one who passed away.” Elder Chen finally understood everything. Perhaps because of the heartfelt conversation he had shared with his son all night, he didn’t feel any extreme regret right now. He reached out and stroked his son’s hair. “No matter. At my age, I’ve already lived enough.”

He slowly walked up to the mortuary bed in the middle of the ancestral temple and laid down, then slowly closed his eyes. The last thing he said was, “Don’t be sad, my child.”

After Chen Xin picked Elder Chen up, Yu Zhengdu turned back to look at Shang Que. Very thoughtfully, he asked, “Boss, do you want to go home by yourself or do you want me to send you home?”

Shang Que: “……”

He coldly turned around. “I’ll send you home.”

Yu Zhengdu laughed to himself. As if nothing had happened, he followed behind the other. “Un, thank you, Boss.”

Though the atmosphere between the two of them had finally started lightening up a little, in order to prove that he was still angry, Shang Que maintained an emotionless expression the entire way. He very stubbornly refused to speak to Yu Zhengdu.

Yu Zhengdu also knew that he couldn’t rush this process. Thus, he very cooperatively remained silent.

After arriving at their destination, they needed to part ways. Yu Zhengdu finally said in embarrassment, “Boss, how about I go work at the subsidiary company for a few days?”

Otherwise, Shang Que would have to stay in his office all day without coming out again like he had done today.

“No,” Shang Que instantly rejected. He glanced at Yu Zhengdu out of the corner of his eye. “You must come to my office at least once a day.”

“Why?” Yu Zhengdu was surprised. “You’re not mad at me anymore?”

“Of course I am,” Shang Que said. “But Peppa’s fetal education mustn’t be delayed. We can’t let her know that her dads are fighting.”

Yu Zhengdu: “……???”

Wasn’t Boss’s child-raising plotline a bit too developed?

The author has something to say:

Shang Que: Our familial cold war can’t negatively impact the child. (sticks out index finger) You’re only allowed to hold this much.

Zhengdu: ……………………