I Wanted To Be A Good Person Once - Chapter 23

Chapter 23 Bullying The Girl

The day passed quickly.

That day, Fang Ze strolled around Qingshan City with Bai Ling.

Needless to say, freeloading was great.

It was no wonder everyone liked to lie flat(1). It was really comfortable to not have to work hard.

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Furthermore, this rich lolita was really awesome.

That night, Fang Ze and Bailing got into the old Jeep and drove back to the task force.

When they arrived at the task force, Fang Ze got out of the car with his bags and said politely to Bai Ling, “Thank you for taking care of me all day, Officer Bai Ling.”

Ever since Fang Ze hadn’t reacted to the girl, Bai Ling hadn’t been in a good mood. Although she had been paying for Fang Ze after that, she was still very mechanical.

Therefore, seeing that Fang Ze was so polite, Bai Ling came back to her senses and immediately felt a little embarrassed. “No… It’s nothing. I didn’t take much care of you.”

At Bai Ling’s words, Fang Ze smiled and said, “Officer Bai Ling took good care of me by helping me to buy so many things.”

“So…” He held out his hand again and said, “Could you lend me another 2,000 Rini?”

Bai Ling was confused.

Her face was blank.

To be honest, if not for the notebook she was holding, she would have forgotten how much money Fang Ze had borrowed from her.

She felt that she was already very good at spending money, but Fang Ze was even better at it.

She had simply spent half a month’s salary in a day. It didn’t feel like she was a loan shark, but a philanthropist…

Thus, thinking of that, she asked blankly, “What do you need all that money for?”

Fang Ze rubbed his head helplessly and said, “The thing is, Officer Bai Ling, I don’t have any savings or money on me. I’m never at ease.”

“That’s why I want to borrow some money to save. It makes me feel safe.”

Bai Ling was confused.

She had seen people borrow money because they had no money, but she had never seen anyone who borrowed money to save.

This…

She wasn’t actually doing charity work, right?

Meanwhile, as Bai Ling thought about this, Fang Ze held out a palm and said, “The interest will be 50%.”

“If you lend me 2,000 Rini, I can return you 3,000 Rini including interest.”

In that instant, Bai Ling’s eyes were once again filled with golden light…

Five minutes later, Fang Ze returned to the dorm with 2,000 Rini in his pocket and bags of groceries.

In the dormitory, Wang Hao was stunned when he saw that Fang Ze had bought so many things.

He felt compelled to ask, “How many things did you buy?”

Fang Ze smiled and replied.

“I didn’t buy them.”

“A kind person gave them to me.”

Wang Hao was dumbfounded.

Wang Hao’s expression was a little blank. Were all of these a gift?

He was a reserve member of the Security Bureau, so he knew that Fang Ze must have been “protected” by the Security Bureau the entire time today.

Which “kind person” could break through the heavy blockade of the Security Bureau and deliver something to Fang Ze?

Wasn’t this too magical?

Fang Ze ignored his roommate’s wild thoughts.

He lifted the items to his desk and began sorting them by category. Although Fang Ze had bought a lot of things that day, and there were many things that seemed “useless,” he had not chosen them casually.

Other than daily necessities and Awakening materials, the other things Fang Ze bought were all items that he had observed in the market and were convenient to sell for money.

At that time, once he sold these things, he would be able to directly buy the Awakening materials.

After sorting everything, Fang Ze pulled a book out of the pile and tossed it to Wang Hao.

Wang Hao took the book in surprise. Then, he heard Fang Ze’s voice in his ear. “I saw it on the road. I thought you’d like it. You’re welcome.”

“Is… is this a gift?” Wang Hao was in disbelief for a moment.

Ever since he was young, perhaps because of his dull personality, he had almost no friends, so he had never received any gifts.

The only gift he had was from his beloved “woman”.

Unexpectedly, he now received a second gift.

Moreover, it was from a “criminal” who he was in charge of watching over.

Furthermore, when he thought about how well this “criminal” usually treated him and how sincere he was, for a moment, he was touched.

He looked down involuntarily at the book he had given him.

The title was “The Nine-Tailed Turtle[2]”.

This was like a classical literary title…

What kind of book was this?

With that thought in mind, Wang Hao curiously opened the book.

A moment later, he roared at Fang Ze with a flushed face, “I’m really not that kind of person! Fang Ze!”

…

Pleasant holidays were always short.

Amidst the laughter, darkness slowly descended, and the temporary residence gradually fell into darkness.

Fang Ze lay in bed and slowly drifted off to sleep. This time, the dream was exceptionally long and clear.

In his dream, he seemed to have become a young man who lived with his mother in the slums of the low-leveled Qingshan City.

Although his life was relatively difficult, he was still quite happy.

However, the turn of events occurred one winter.

That winter, a mother and daughter fled to the slums.

However, not long after buying the house, the mother died. Only one little girl survived.

“His mother” took pity on her. Occasionally, she would send over some of the extra food in the house to support her.

That little girl was quite sensible. She always opened her big, pitiful eyes and bowed to thank them. In order to repay his kindness, she even took the initiative to come to the house and help with some housework.

Looking at her frail body as she struggled to wipe the floor with a rag, “he” felt not touched but repelled.

“This is my house… Why would she come over…”

“She just wants to share the food that my family doesn’t have much to begin with…”

“I didn’t have to do anything, but now that she’s here, I have to work with her…”

Therefore, one day when “his mother” was not at home, “he” ruthlessly pushed her to the cold ground…

The girl fell to the ground and looked up at him with a little horror. Her eyes were full of confusion, surprise, loss… and fear…

After pushing her down, “he” was actually panicking. “His” hands were trembling.

“He” thought she would surely turn around and hit “him” or complain to his mother.

However, she didn’t. She simply got up, trembling, and with tears in her eyes, she finished wiping the floor. Then, with her head bowed, she silently left “his” house…

“He” was terrified for several days… Nothing happened…

His mother didn’t know about this, so she still occasionally sent the girl things.

The girl often refused, but if she couldn’t, she would quietly pick some wild vegetables or get something from somewhere else to give to his mother.

When his mother was around, “he” always greeted her with a smile.

However, when his mother wasn’t around, “he” would kick her, hit her, and slap her face.

All she’d ever dared to do was lower her head, say nothing, grip the hem of her shirt with both hands, and suffer in silence…

“I think I’ve found something fun to do…”

When he woke up, Fang Ze found himself in the Late-Night Investigation Room again.

He rubbed his temples as he felt a slight headache.

He finally understood the whole story of his original self and the girl.

It involved bullying.

Furthermore, it was a dozen years of bullying.

Furthermore, because of her mother’s kindness to the girl, the girl could only endure it silently and never say anything.

Even at the end, when the mother of his original self died, the girl was at the hospital bed and promised to take good care of his original self.

Not only did she deliver food to his original self regularly, but she also helped his original self to find a job in the slums.

However, his original self didn’t appreciate it and had always dreamed of doing something big. Therefore, not only did he always reject the girl, but he also still punched and kicked the girl who cared about him.

However, because of his mother’s kindness, the girl still silently took care of him…

“Aye. He’s simply a scum. It’s no wonder he’s involved in a criminal organization.”

“In the end, I have to bear all of this myself….”

“Sigh.”

He thought silently about the girl for another moment.

Fang Ze felt that if he had the chance, he had to take proper care of the girl.

He would think of it as accumulating some virtue for his original self who had died.

After gathering himself, Fang Ze looked up at the Late-night Investigation Room.

It was the same as the last time he’d left. The entire layout of the Late-Night Investigation. Room remained unchanged. There were the same two sets of tables and chairs, a lamp, and a steel door that wouldn’t open.

The only difference was the pile of items at Fang Ze’s feet and the 2,000 Rini.

Looking at the pile on the ground, Fang Ze rubbed his chin and began to think…

This afternoon, after Fang Ze had the idea of using the Late-Night Investigation Room to transfer things, he used three sets of items to do three small experiments at night while he slept.

The first item was an orange.

He grabbed that orange in his hand before he slept.

The second item was an apple.

That apple was on the table next to the bed. It had no physical contact with Fang Ze. However, Fang Ze had thought to take it to the Late-Night Investigation Room before he fell asleep.

As for the third set of items, since Fang Ze thought the success rate might be highest, he also put in the most items. It contained a large bag of items that could be exchanged for money and 2,000 Rini.

Before going to bed, Fang Ze held the large bag of items and the 2,000 Rini in his other hand. Also, like the apple, he wanted to take it into the Late-Night Investigation Room.

After carefully rummaging through the items in the bag, Fang Ze confirmed that out of the three sets of tests that had been conducted, only the third was successful.

Based on these three sets of controlled trials, Fang Ze made a preliminary judgment.

The conditions to bring an item into the Late-Night Investigation Room were to have physical contact with it and to have the thought of bringing it in. After verifying his thoughts, Fang Ze felt that he had finally completed the last part of his Awakening plan.

Next, he had to choose a suitable candidate to purchase the Awakening materials for him.

This way, he could bypass the Security Bureau’s surveillance and gather the materials to successfully Awaken!

[1] a movement in China to reject the pressure to overwork

[2] a novel by Zhang Chunfan where the protagonist spends time in the pleasure districts