Todesanzeige 2 Schicksal

Kapitel 14

Zheng Qi pretended to be very scared and panicked, and stammered.

Did you really see it?

Upon hearing this, Meng Ping's expression suddenly changed, his gaze turned cold, and he involuntarily straightened up and moved closer to Zheng Qi.

"Yes, I did see a transparent and terrifying monster!"

Zheng Qi deliberately trembled and spoke slowly in a trembling voice.

Meng Ping slumped back into his seat with a thud.

Seeing Meng Ping's dejected appearance, Zheng Qi couldn't help but show a smug look on his face.

"What's wrong, Brother Meng? What happened?"

While pondering Meng Ping's expression, Zheng Qi asked with feigned concern.

Meng Ping waved his hand weakly, lowered his head, and casually took out a cigarette. Just as he put it to his lips, he suddenly changed his mind, took it off, and rolled it in his palm.

"Brother Meng, I think I heard that several people in our newspaper were scared to death after seeing that transparent monster. Is that true?"

Seeing that Meng Ping was keeping his head down and not saying anything, Zheng Qi knew that he was conflicted and wanted to provoke him, so he asked in a low voice with a mysterious air.

Upon hearing this, Meng Ping abruptly raised his head, glanced at him in alarm, his face turning deathly pale, and whispered sharply:

"Who told you that?"

Zheng Qi did not answer his question, but instead pressed further:

"Is this really true?"

Meng Ping didn't answer. He slowly and gently crushed the cigarette in his palm, and the fine tobacco bits mixed with tiny white paper scraps fell silently to the floor. A faint scent of tobacco wafted around the hospital bed.

Meng Ping hesitated for a long time before finally nodding blankly and slowly saying, "This story begins last autumn."

Last autumn, a stunningly beautiful woman was assigned to the newspaper office; that woman was Luo Min.

No one knows anything about Luo Min's background or family history. All that is known is that she is not only stunningly beautiful but also possesses a master's degree that everyone envies. As for why she would work for our small, unknown newspaper, that remains a mystery.

Luo Min was not only excellent at her job, but also very beautiful, so she had no shortage of suitors—at least a platoon's worth. However, she treated every single one of them with indifference. But this aloofness wasn't directed at all the men who pursued her. Everyone working in the building, young or old, male or female, superiors or subordinates, she treated everyone with the same cold, indifferent face. Oh, and another characteristic of hers was her quietness. No matter what the situation or who she was with, if she could remain silent, she would absolutely not move her lips.

Perhaps it was because she was so beautiful, or perhaps it was because her cold and aloof personality was so unique, but in the end, the number of boys pursuing her did not decrease but increased instead.

In their eyes, Luo Min was not only a cold and noble princess, but also a red rose with thorns.

As he said this, a cold, cruel smile appeared on Meng Ping's face.

The incident occurred at the end of last year. (Meng Ping continued speaking slowly.)

At that time, Wang Hai was sitting opposite Luo Min.

(That is, the seat you are sitting in right now.) Zheng Qi nodded upon hearing this.

Wang Hai, a highly eligible bachelor, was also one of Luo Min's many admirers.

As the saying goes, "Those near the water get the moon first." Wang Hai at that time had all the advantages of timing, location, and people in his pursuit. Not only that, he also vowed that he would marry no one but Luo Min in this life. He seemed to have the heroic spirit of "The wind is howling, the Yi River is cold, the hero departs and never returns," determined not to give up until he achieved his goal.

But no matter what methods or means Wang Hai used, Luo Min remained indifferent and cold towards him. Her expressions and words towards Wang Hai showed no more enthusiasm or sincerity than those of other suitors.

But Wang Hai was not discouraged at all, believing that one day, Luo Min, this cold snow mountain, would be melted by his sincere flame.

(At this point, Meng Ping's face showed a hint of confusion and pain.)

It was an evening near the end of December.

That day, Wang Hai came to my house drunk, staggering along. And I'm not exaggerating when I say Wang Hai is a truly exemplary man. He doesn't smoke, and he doesn't drink at all. Before he pursued Luo Min, I even thought he was so celibate he was about to become a monk!

(At this point, Meng Ping smiled at Zheng Qi and said, "I'm a womanizer, a scoundrel, a thief, and a lecher! Hehe, Meng Ping chuckled a few times after saying this. Zheng Qi just looked at him quietly, smiled at him, and didn't say anything. Meng Ping made a face, paused, licked his dry lips with the tip of his tongue, and continued.)

As soon as Wang Hai entered, he drunkenly told me, "Luo Min is a monster."

As soon as he finished speaking, he collapsed onto the sofa and passed out drunk. When I heard this, I wondered what was wrong with Wang Hai today. Why had he broken his vow of abstinence? He never drinks, so why was he drinking like this all by himself? And why did he inexplicably call Luo Min a monster? At the time, I was too confused to think much of it, assuming that Wang Hai had probably been hurt by Luo Min again and was extremely heartbroken, which was why he said those things. Because there's always a bit of resentment in people's hearts. Thinking this, I ignored him, assuming he was just rambling incoherently trying to drown his sorrows, and eventually went to sleep.

(Meng Ping stopped, his eyes red, and sighed deeply.)

If only I had thought more carefully about his unusual behavior back then, things wouldn't have turned out this way...

When I woke up the next morning, I asked Wang Hai what had happened the night before, why he had drunk so much and gotten so drunk. At the time, I didn't ask about the meaning of his statement, "Luo Min is a monster." I just assumed it was something Wang Hai said in a drunken fit of anger.

(At this point, Meng Ping paused again, a hint of regret on his face. Zheng Qi looked at him with considerable sympathy.)

Wang Hai didn't answer my question. He shook his head slightly with a bitter smile on his face and said nothing. At that time, although I felt that he seemed preoccupied and was definitely hiding something from me, I was too embarrassed to ask any further since he didn't want to talk to me.

You don't know Wang Hai, except when it comes to pursuing Luo Min, he's quite shameless and bold. But in other matters, he's always shy, timid, and afraid of trouble.

That day, Wang Hai seemed listless, as if he had no energy for anything, and he was also giving irrelevant answers and forgetting things. He made several mistakes at work that day, something he had never done before. I tried to ask him what was wrong and if he needed help, but he wouldn't say anything. His attitude towards Luo Min also seemed much colder that day; he no longer fawned over her like he usually did when he had nothing else to do.

Finally, as the workday was drawing to a close, Luo Min stayed behind to work overtime because she had a manuscript to finish. That day was a little strange. Wang Hai hesitated for a while about whether to stay and keep Luo Min company while she worked overtime, something he had never done before. In the end, after thinking about it for a while, he decided to stay and keep her company. Although he knew that Luo Min wouldn't feel any more favorably towards him because of his gesture of goodwill.

(Meng Ping suddenly smiled and said to Zheng Qi, then seemed to be talking to himself, "They say women in love are confused, like idiots, but aren't men in love just as confused? Humph, incredibly stupid!" Zheng Qi shrugged and didn't answer. He sighed silently to himself, "Anyway, in this life, I will never step into the mortal world of love!")

Sister Zheng, Chen Qing, and I all understood and didn't make fun of Wang Hai. After work, we all quietly left.

Alas, who could have imagined that would be the last time Wang Hai and we would ever meet?

After that night, he and we were separated by life and death!

(Meng Ping's voice was a little choked up, and Zheng Qi reached out and patted him on the shoulder.)

The next day, almost an hour had passed since work started, but Wang Hai still hadn't appeared. I started to worry about him. To be honest, that day, I had a vague feeling that something had happened to him. Although I kept telling myself not to think about it, I just felt that something must have happened to him. But at that time, I only suspected that something had happened to him, but I never thought he would die. I really never thought it!

Wang Hai is usually very punctual; I've never seen him late a single day in all these years of work. But these past few days, he's been behaving so strangely that I finally felt a growing unease stirring within me.

Finally, I couldn't hold back any longer, so I called his house, but he wasn't home and no one answered.

(By the way, we each rent a studio apartment.)

Then I called his cell phone again, but the answer was that it was switched off, which had never happened before. His cell phone is never switched off. Even if it's almost out of battery, he'll immediately replace the battery. Wang Hai has always been a meticulous and rigorous person.

By then, my unease had only grown; my worry was no longer just something I kept inside, but was showing on my face. While everyone else was anxiously searching for Wang Hai, I saw Luo Min casually looking down at her manuscript, completely unconcerned. At that moment, I was furious. I went up to her and angrily questioned her, asking if she knew where Wang Hai was. But that heartless bastard didn't even look up and uttered three words: "I don't know." Then she ignored me completely. At that moment, I really wanted to slap her a few times to vent my anger for Wang Hai. But Sister Zheng and the others rushed forward and pulled me back. They told me to calm down, not to worry, and to wait and see. I had no choice but to obey them.

(At this point, Meng Ping suddenly lowered his head, stretched out his hands, and dug his fingers deep into his hair. Zheng Qi, seeing this, sighed deeply and remained silent.)

Not long after, just as I was feeling anxious, someone suddenly came to say that a person had been executed in a trash can at the entrance of Lion Lane, not far from our newspaper office. Judging from the appearance, it seemed to be Wang Hai from our newspaper office.

When I heard that, my mind went blank. I was stunned. I rushed over immediately, praying to God that the person was not Wang Hai. I kept telling myself that it couldn't be Wang Hai, that person could never be Wang Hai.

(Xiao Zheng, let me tell you, back then, I really wasn't mentally prepared to accept the fact that the dead man was Wang Hai. Do you understand?) Meng Ping suddenly stopped speaking, looking at Zheng Qi with a pained gaze as he slowly said. Zheng Qi replied to Meng Ping with a heavy expression, "I understand, I get it!" At this moment, a trace of pain also appeared on Zheng Qi's face, because he thought of Li Fan.)