"I don’t have to go down this path," I replied, "As long as I can follow you, I’m willing to walk any road."
Boss Rong’s expression shifted, a look of frustration crossing his face as he said, "A’Jin, I don’t need anyone following me anymore. My money will last me until I die! You’re just a burden—don’t you understand?!"
"I…" His words left me feeling deeply uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the alcohol—I had never felt this way before. Boss Rong no longer needed me, and neither did Nine zai. I became nothing but a fist, drifting in the air, stripped of both my body and my brain.
Where am I meant to land?
Where is my rightful place?
"I got it." I nodded, feeling a sting in both my eyes and nose. "Boss Rong, I won’t cause you any more trouble. I’ll leave when the sun rises tomorrow."
Back at Boss Rong’s house, I lay on the couch, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. What was happening?
Why has everything changed?
F*ck—you’re not the {brain} at all. You’re just an idiot.
The more I thought, the worse I felt. The night grew deeper, but I couldn’t calm myself down anymore. Every time I closed my eyes, Nine zai’s face would appear in front of me. Those ridiculous words of his, once as meaningless as hot air, now lingered vividly in my mind.
"A’Jin, what will you do without me, the {brain}?"
"A’Jin, you should smile more. Right now, you look like a piece of wood."
"A’Jin, learn from me—{damn}! Sounds tough, right? {Damn}! You don’t like it? Then how about {hahm-ga-caan}?"
"A'Jin, remember to put a shirt on, will you? Why are you out again?"
"A’Jin, protect me! Damn! If the {brain} gets damaged, then you’ll become dumb!"
"A’Jin, if one day I’m not around, just find another {brain}."
"A’Jin, if you can’t find a {brain}, smile more. At least you’ll end up a laughing ghost."
I touched my cheek, and to my surprise, something cold and wet slid down. "Damn…" I forced a bitter laugh. It's so tough just to exist in this world.
With that thought, I turned over, grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge, quietly opened the door, and stepped out onto the rooftop.
"A’Nine, is it because you already knew living is so hard, that you kept smiling all the time?" I sat on the edge of the rooftop, my feet dangling outside. Looking at the dazzling neon lights below, at this moment, it felt like my feet were planted on the whole city, with an inexplicable sense of freedom in my heart.
I took a sip of the beer, then poured the second mouthful onto the ground. The cool breeze of the early morning sent a chill through my body. I’d forgotten to put on my shirt again.
"Nine zai, let’s drink to our heart’s content tonight."
"Ah!" Suddenly, a scream came from behind me, so loud I almost jumped off the rooftop. I steadied myself and turned around, only to see a middle-aged woman sitting on the ground. In her left hand, she held a broom, and in her right, a stack of yellow paper.
She stared at me with wide eyes, as though she had seen something extremely terrifying.
Something felt off, so I quickly climbed down to check on her. "Auntie, you alright?"
"You... you..." She furrowed her brows, but her expression soon calmed down. "Youngster, you nearly scared me to death!"
"I...?" I was confused. "I don’t understand. I was just sitting here drinking. How did I scare you?"
"You!" The woman, flustered and angry, pointed at my back. "Your tattoo! Who told you to get that?!"
It dawned on me what she meant. I quickly reassured her, "Auntie, don’t worry, I have tattoos, but I'm not a bad person."
"Who said anything about that?" She stood up, brushing the dirt off her clothes. "I just don’t get why you’d choose to get words tattooed on your back! I thought I saw a ghost for a moment."
Something suddenly clicked in my mind. "Auntie... you’ve seen someone else with the word tattooed on their back in the same way?"
"Exactly right..." The woman crouched down, spreading the yellow paper on the ground. "There was a youngster whose tattoo looked a lot like yours. He jumped off the building here last week. If you two didn’t look so different, I’d have thought I saw his ghost."
"What did you just say?!"
"What? You think I’m lying to you at this time and hour?" The woman carefully spread the yellow paper, then pulled a lighter from her pocket. "Today’s the seventh day since that youngster passed. I may just be a janitor, but I still respect the customs and rules." With that, she lit the yellow paper, clasped her hands together, and silently muttered, "I’m just a janitor, not meaning to disturb, please don’t take offense, please don’t take offense..."
The flickering flames swirled in the dim hours, reflecting in my eyes, as motionless and lifeless as a stagnant lake.
"Auntie, stop burning that," I said flatly, turning my back to her and exposing the tattoo on my back. "Take a good look. Are you sure this matches the one on his back?"
The aunt gave me an impatient glance before responding, "Of course, it looks very much the same. The only difference is the words. Yours says something about {The World} while his was a little longer… something like {Wind and Flowers}."
The moment those words hit my ears, my heart ceased to beat.
"Alas, the police said that the youngster wasn’t even a resident of this building. So why would he jump from here? It's just so…" Realizing her slip, the woman quickly slapped her mouth three times. "Oh goodness me! I misspoke, I misspoke, please don’t take offense!"
Now, it all clicked. Seven days ago, Nine zai had jumped off this building.
Boss Rong had lied to me.
I turned my head, staring at the edge of the rooftop, and for a moment, I thought I saw Nine zai’s shadow standing there.
He was bare-chested, and on his back was a line of cursive script, just as flamboyantly calligraphed as mine: {Serene are the wind, flowers, snow, and moon, toiled by the agitated spirits}.
"Why did you have to jump?" I asked quietly.
The shadow of Nine zai gave a bitter smile before responding, "A’Jin, live on with my smile."
I blinked, and in the next instant, the shadow was gone. I didn’t know if it was the alcohol from tonight or if Nine zai’s spirit had truly come back for his seventh day, but in that moment, it felt like I had really seen him.
His expression was filled with sorrow. I knew Nine zai well; if he were hacked to death, there’s no way he’d look . He’d just demand I avenge him, as cocky as ever.
But why was he so sad?
Because he didn’t want to die at all.
I forced myself to smile, imitating Nine zai’s carefree grin, trying to see things from his perspective.
"This time, lend me your brain."
Before, with Boss Rong and Nine zai around, I never had to think for myself, but things were different now.
What was Boss Tong’s real goal in chasing after Boss Rong?
That meant Boss Tong couldn’t have been trying to kill him. Otherwise, he would have ended up with nothing—no man and no money. It would be the biggest loss for him. Moreover, {the pursuit} was something Chong ge had been tasked with. And on Boss Tong’s behalf, he also needed to try to recruit me.
But even though Chong ge had found Boss Rong’s location, he didn’t send anyone to kill him outright. Meaning, the whole {pursuit}... was all a ruse.
Nine zai being killed by Boss Tong’s men was complete nonsense
I lifted my gaze to the moon and asked, "Out of morality or some other reason, you wanted Boss Rong to return the money to Boss Tong, right?"
The sky was eerily silent.
"Not only did Boss Rong refuse, he also began to suspect you were plotting against him, right?" I asked the moon again, but no answer came.
"You had no idea Boss Rong was going to kill you, so you came to the rooftop unprepared, right?"
The moon seemed soft and fuzzy, hidden in the thin mist of the early morning.