APR 26

After leaving Huanya Film and Television Park, Xiao Lao Dao drove as if he were trying to make the car fly, the vehicle bouncing several times over the potholed road, shaking his entire body of fat into a chaotic tremor.

Xiao Lao Dao gripped the steering wheel tightly, his eyes fixed straight ahead, muttering incoherently: “It’s over, it’s completely over. I’ve offended my uncle to death.”

His voice trembled uncontrollably, almost breaking into a sob: “If you refuse to shoot adult films, how can you possibly repay Kou Jun’s money? Don’t tell me I’ll really have to collect your body? No way, I can’t even kill a chicken, let alone carry a dead person… Zhong Su, I’m not ready for this.”

Xiao Lao Dao’s exaggerated and comical performance made it seem as if he were witnessing the apocalypse unfolding before his eyes.

Zhong Su felt like laughing but thought it inappropriate, so he pursed his lips and gave Xiao Lao Dao a light tap on the back of his head, saying:

“What are you babbling about? Watch the road and drive properly. There’s always a way to solve the money problem.”

Before he finished speaking, the phone resting on the center console rang, its piercing ringtone startling Xiao Lao Dao into a shudder. He glanced at his phone and saw a nightmarish name flashing on the screen.

“Oh no, it’s my uncle calling to hunt me down!” Xiao Lao Dao’s chubby face instantly lost all color, his voice cracking: “Zhong Su, quickly turn off my phone for me, I don’t dare answer… My uncle is definitely going to curse me to death.”

“Tsk, you’re so useless.” Zhong Su swiftly powered off the phone.

The car had only been quiet for a few seconds when the urgent ringtone returned like a persistent ghost.

Xiao Lao Dao almost jumped out of his seat: “No way, it can still ring even after being turned off?!”

Zhong Su calmly pulled out his own vibrating phone from his pocket and said, “Calm down. It’s not your phone, it’s mine.”

He looked at the caller’s name—the unfamiliar yet familiar three characters “Bai Ruolin” came into view. Familiar, because in the original body’s memories, this ex-girlfriend appeared frequently; unfamiliar, because this was the first time he had received a call from her since his rebirth.

Zhong Su paused slightly. This ex-girlfriend had broken up with the original body so long ago, and their parting had been so ugly. Why would she suddenly reach out now? Could it be for anything good?

He pressed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear: “Hello?”

A soft, gentle female voice came through the receiver, calling out to him with concern: “Baby, are you okay? It’s been so long, have you been taking good care of yourself?”

The girl’s tone carried a coquettish, dependent quality, as if she were accustomed to relying on others, and it felt completely natural, as though she had never had those ugly arguments with the original body.

If it were the original body from before, hearing Bai Ruolin’s tender concern would have made his soul float away, and he would have agreed to whatever she asked.

But now, with Zhong Su’s soul inside the shell, he wasn’t so easily swayed.

“Bai Ruolin,” Zhong Su’s tone was flat, “if I remember correctly, two months ago you said to me yourself—’Don’t bother me anymore, seeing you makes me sick.’ What do you want now?”

But his cold attitude didn’t deter Bai Ruolin.

Bai Ruolin said worriedly, “Don’t reject me like this. I genuinely care about you. I heard you had a conflict with Da K a few days ago, and I was so frightened I couldn’t eat for days, afraid something might happen to you…”

Zhong Su directly interrupted her, “So what? What does it matter to you whether something happens to me or not?”

The other end of the phone fell silent for a few seconds, then a soft laugh came through. Bai Ruolin’s voice carried a mix of nostalgia and coaxing, “I know you’re angry with me, but it’s been so long already. You should have cooled down by now.”

She paused, her tone softening even more, and said, “I’ve tried these past two months, but I found I still can’t let you go. Why don’t you come find me at ‘THE ONE’ now?”

“Maybe… we can start over this time?”

Xiao Lao Dao listened on the side, growing increasingly anxious. He desperately made eye signals at Zhong Su, his gaze filled with urgency that clearly screamed, “Don’t fall for her tricks again!”

Zhong Su lowered his gaze, rubbing the edge of his phone as if weighing the extent of her lies. After a long moment, he let out a low “Mmm” and said, “Alright, I’ll come.”

Bai Ruolin was immediately overjoyed and blew a kiss through the receiver, “Mua! I knew my baby loves me the most. Come quickly, I’ll be waiting for you.”

The moment the call ended, Xiao Lao Dao started scolding Zhong Su with a look of exasperation, “Seriously, man? You’re softening up again?! How many times is this now? Bai Ruolin must have run out of money again this time, that’s why she wants to see you.”

“Even if you think I’m nagging, I have to say it. For her sake, you almost lost your life dealing with Da K. She’s not worth you treating her this well.”

If he weren’t driving, he would have grabbed Zhong Su by the collar and shaken him hard to knock some sense into him. “Besides, with a face like yours, you’d have a brighter future being a kept man than being this woman’s ATM. Listen to your bro, just let it go. Stop paying her any more attention!”

Sometimes, Xiao Lao Dao wondered if Bai Ruolin had slipped Zhong Su some kind of love potion, why was he so fixated on her?

Unexpectedly, Zhong Su snapped his phone shut with a “click,” glanced at him leisurely, and said, “Who said I’m getting back together? I’m going to collect the money she owes me.”

“Over seventy thousand in principal and interest, I’d have to be out of my mind to take on that debt for her.”

The original owner was a love-starved, stubborn orphan, but he wasn’t. No one should expect him to hold his nose and do something as foolish as paying off someone else’s debts.

“Really?” Xiao Lao Dao thought Zhong Su had finally come to his senses and broke into a happy smile. He stepped on the gas enthusiastically and said, “You should’ve said so earlier. Let’s go collect the debt right now!”

Zhong Su glanced at the deepening twilight purple sky outside the car window and stopped him, “What’s the rush? Let’s have dinner first before going.”