Qiu Tu's philosophy had always been to ask whenever he didn't understand something, rather than stewing in his confusion alone.
So, when he encountered yet another neighbor who ran away at the sight of him, Qiu Tu swiftly stepped forward with an agile move and grabbed the fellow by the collar, "Uncle Chen, what are you running for?"
In Old Alley Street, Qiu Tu was considered a person of stature.
Before the establishment of Xinjie City, he ruled over several nearby streets, leading the likes of Ah-Tai and Eagle.
Although he wasn't particularly warm to the local neighbors, he didn't bully people like other groups did. He would even occasionally stick his neck out to help resolve troubles for the neighbors.
After Xinjie City was established, Qiu Tu, through his connection with Secretary Bai, joined the government ranks, instantly becoming a lofty figure in the eyes of those neighbors.
But Qiu Tu still didn't throw his weight around the streets. Instead, he leveraged his relationship with Yan Chen to find jobs for his brothers like Eagle who followed him, and even secured some benefits for the street, truly full of the milk of human kindness.
This way of conducting himself also earned him a good reputation and a certain degree of prestige in the street.
Thus, Qiu Tu had never before encountered a neighbor who took off running at the sight of him.
What surprised him even more was that once he stopped Uncle Chen, the man's face instantly turned dead white. He kept bowing and scraping to Qiu Tu, mumbling nonstop, "Qiu Tu, we had no quarrels in the past, and no enmity in recent days."
"When you were alive, I even watched your door for you. Yes, I stole two potatoes from you once, but I was starving. Please don't take me with you."
Qiu Tu caught a keyword with sharp ears, "when you were alive."
He thought backward and realized... did these neighbors think he had died?
Qiu Tu's brows furrowed slightly, and holding onto Uncle Chen, he "smack smack" slapped him twice, jolting him awake...
After getting slapped, Uncle Chen wasn't scared anymore. Instead, he shouted with excitement, "Qiu Tu, you're not dead? You scared me to death! I thought I had encountered a ghost!"
Looking at Uncle Chen, who was not watching his mouth, Qiu Tu suppressed the urge to slap him twice more, and instead patiently asked about the whole story.
It didn't take long... for him to know everything.
He walked home with a dark face.
Then... there she was, kneeling on the ground beneath his apartment building, draped in mourning clothes, holding a black and white photo of himself... Shen Lingshuang.
The little girl couldn't fill out the mourning attire and looked pitiful. Her big eyes were red and swollen from crying, yet she was still throwing joss paper into the brazier while clutching the black and white photo of Qiu Tu and crying nonstop.
Seeing this, a wave of exasperation washed over Qiu Tu.
He approached Shen Lingshuang and asked in a grim tone, "I've heard... you've been going around telling people I'm dead?"
When Shen Lingshuang heard Qiu Tu's voice, she was stunned for a moment, her gaze settling on his black boots.
Then, bit by bit, her eyes moved upward until she saw Qiu Tu's handsome and dashing face. Only then did her expression shift from sorrow to disbelief.
For a moment, she leaped up from the ground and threw herself onto Qiu Tu, then burst into loud sobs, "Wuu wuu wuu! Qiu Tu! Qiu Tu, you're still alive! Still alive! That's great!"
Qiu Tu had originally wanted to teach the "jinx" of a girl a lesson for cursing him to death, but seeing her genuinely distressed look made him go soft.
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, he gently supported the girl's petite derriere with his right hand and lightly patted her back with his left, soothing her, "Alright, alright, why the tears? Also, who told you that I died?"
Shen Lingshuang replied with a pitiful look, "No one told me."
"I guessed it myself."
Two question marks appeared above Qiu Tu's head: ??
Shen Lingshuang explained amidst sobs, "When I woke up, I found the house in disarray, the door damaged, the roof broken, things all over the place. I got really anxious, fearing the worst had happened."
"After that, I searched everywhere for you but couldn't find any trace."
"I asked Sister Xin, and Sister Xin said you were fine, just busy with something."
"Although I didn't believe it, I still clung to the last hope at home, waiting for you. I waited for you all night and morning."
"But when you didn't come home for an entire night plus a morning, I panicked completely."
"Then I went to find Eagle to ask about your real situation. I asked lots of people and finally reached the Old Alley Street Public Security Office."
"I had someone send a message before Eagle came out."
"Seeing me, he said you were okay. I asked him to call you, to let you know everything was alright."
"He claimed he didn't have a communicator and that you were probably busy. He told me not to disturb you and to go home and wait."
"Maybe because I experienced too much disappointment starting last night, and with you not returning for the whole night and day, I began to suspect that something had really happened to you, and that he and Sister Xin were worried I'd be upset, conspiring to deceive me."
At this point, tears came down Shen Lingshuang's face again, and she said with a choked voice, "I've seen too many...."
Perhaps remembering that the Cataclysm Awakening was a secret, she deliberately left her sentence vague, "I've seen too many who had accidents."
"I'm just too sad, too sad...."
With that, she buried her face in Qiu Tu's chest and began to cry again.
Hearing Shen Lingshuang's account, Qiu Tu genuinely didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He felt it wasn't strange for Shen Lingshuang to overthink. The Cataclysm Awakening was an exceedingly rare event, and right after awakening, he had gone out and not returned the entire night or day.
If he were Shen Lingshuang, he probably would have had irrational thoughts as well.
He couldn't help but feel a tinge of self-blame. He had slacked off all day, how had he forgotten to come back to ease her worries?