Midnight Bookstore

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Yo, a dressed-up animal?” Xu Qinglang had just closed the restaurant. He happened to see the ‘customer’ in Zhou Ze’s bookstore, so he decided to come over. “Brother, that’s some interesting trend you got there.”

Zhou Ze pointed at the man’s tall hat and asked Xu Qinglang, “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It’s a judgment given to him after he died,” Xu Qinglang answered. “Like how the emperors or empresses and some high-ranking officials would be given a posthumous name or title when they passed away. You could think of it as the grade a primary school student gets at the end of a semester too.”

“So the hat basically represents what the people around him thought of him after he died?”

“More or less; it depends on luck too. Many people aren’t popular when they die, so they won’t receive a title. It rarely happens to famous people, either. Anyway, it’s pretty much based on luck, like how you managed to escape from Hell when most of the dead have no choice but to be reincarnated. I remember reading from a book that Qin Hui wore a tall hat after he died. The hat displays Entrapping the loyal and honest.”

{TL Note: Qin Hui was said to have betrayed General Yue Fei, a patriot and general of the Song dynasty.}

“Which means the hat that Yue Fei wears is most likely displays A Loyal Patriot?”

“Bullshit, the tall hat is just for show. Why would someone even need a hat to display their posthumous title?” the man said.

Zhou Ze let go of the man and looked at his right palm. He was planning to open the Gate of Hell and toss the man into it. The man was like an aroused bull when he saw the young girls. He was definitely living up to his title of a dressed-up animal. He looked gentle and well-behaving on the outside, like a well-educated person, too.

“Are you going to send me down there?” The man was a lot quieter.

“If not, what do you think I should do with you?” Zhou Ze asked in return.

“Can you let me finish the final chapter first?” The man took out some joss money from his pocket.

“Are you trying to chase a beggar away with this?” the gyonshi mocked. “It’s quite obvious you weren’t doing well when you were alive. Your family didn’t even bother burning joss paper for you.”

The joss money the dead possessed was different from the joss paper that the living normally burned for the dead. The joss money that the dead had was related to the joss paper that their family had burned for them to a certain degree, but there were some restrictions, too. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be easy for a dead person to become a millionaire in Hell?

The man twisted his lips and looked at Zhou Ze sincerely. “Please.”

Xu Qinglang lit up a cigarette and stayed quiet. It was Zhou Ze’s business. He had no reason to intervene.

Zhou Ze glanced at the General Outline of Chinese Culture that the man was holding and said, “I’ve read that book, too. I believe there are a few obvious mistakes in it.”

“Every book that’s worth reading has mistakes. Mistakes are the experience of our predecessors,” the man said.

“But what’s the meaning of reading a book that has nothing but compliments?” Zhou Ze asked in return.

“The letter that Zeng Guofan wrote to Zeng Jize mentioned one shouldn’t comment on our predecessors offhandedly. Boss, you might be the owner of a bookstore, but you aren’t a scholar. This book that Mr. Qian Mu wrote was set during the war of resistance against Japan. When he wrote this book, he was mentally prepared for the possibility of our country losing the war. He was writing it so that if our country actually perished, our people might be reading it secretly at late night to recollect the civilization and heritage of their ancestors. A book full of sarcastic remarks and criticisms might be more enjoyable to read, but if someone found the book after our country perished and saw it was full of sarcastic remarks and criticisms, who’s even going to feel passionate about our country?”

The man spoke in a clear and logical manner. He was waving one hand around while holding the book in the other, like a lecturer giving a serious talk to his students. He sounded passionate and committed.

“Are you a teacher?” Xu Qinglang smiled. “I meant when you were still alive.”

“I was a middle-school Chinese teacher,” the man said.

“A dressed-up animal, indeed,” Xu Qinglang harrumphed coldly, “I’m heading to bed. Good night, Boss Zhou.” Xu Qinglang waved his hand and left the bookstore, strutting out gracefully.

Zhou Ze turned around and looked at Bai Yingying. “Does he look like a pimp during your era, with the way he left?”

“My era?” Bai Yingying pondered and shook her head, “Even the most popular courtesan wasn’t as good-looking as him.”

Zhou Ze smacked his lips. He was not too surprised by Bai Yingying’s response.

——

The man sat back down to read his book. He did not bother guessing Zhou Ze’s answer. He was trying to read as much as he could. Perhaps he could still recollect what he read when he was walking the Yellow Spring Path.

Zhou Ze was getting impatient considering how he behaved when he saw the young girls.

“Boss, I think he’s pretty knowledgeable,” the gyonshi said softly.

“The poor scholar that your madam had an affair with was pretty knowledgeable too, right?” Zhou Ze asked.

Bai Yingying nodded.

“You can never say for sure,” Zhou Ze was struggling to come to a conclusion too. He said, “Mr. Ji Xianlin once wrote in his diary, ‘I don’t really want anything else in my life. I just hope that I can interact with several women from different places for days’.”

{TL Note: Ji Xianlin was a Chinese linguist and Indologist.}

“The educated are indeed lecherous,” Bai Yingying murmured.

“All men are lecherous,” Zhou Ze corrected her.

Bai Yingying looked at Zhou Ze and said, “Boss, you’re pretty good at controlling yourself then.”

“Go and clean the toilet.”

“…” Bai Yingying.

——

For some reason, Zhou Ze was no longer in a rush to open the Gate of Hell and toss the man into it. He sat opposite the man and took out his phone to surf the net.

“What’s your name?” Zhou Ze asked.

The man did not respond, as if he was lost in the book.

“If you don’t answer me, I won’t let you read it.”

“Ren Xindu.”

Zhou Ze nodded. He was about to search his name on the net when the front door was flung open.

His sister-in-law was here again!

“What now?” Zhou Ze stood up and subconsciously grabbed the man’s shoulder. He was afraid that the man would lose control of himself again.

However, to Zhou Ze’s surprise, the man remained still while reading his book. He did not budge at all.

-Huh, did he already learn how to behave himself?-

The sister-in-law used her phone to take a few pictures of the bookstore. She then recorded a voice message, “Sis, I already told you I’ve spent the whole afternoon reading at Xu Le’s bookstore. Why didn’t you believe me? Fine, I’m on my way home, I’m going back now. Seriously, stop disturbing me when I just want to read some books.”

The sister-in-law stuck her tongue out after sending the voice message. “Luckily I didn’t hail a ride yet, or I would clearly be busted.”

“Don’t go to those foul places while you’re still young, people might take advantage of you,” Zhou Ze reminded her. The girl was not really his sister-in-law, he just felt like giving the young girl a piece of advice.

“Alright, I got it. Why are you starting to sound like my sister now?” The girl was clearly not going to listen to him.

“Where’s the other girl?” Zhou Ze asked.

“She went home. I saw her taking a cab. She lives pretty far away. I was thinking of hailing a ride too, but my sister sent me a message asking me where I am.”

“Where’s the money?”

“Of course she took it,” the girl said indifferently, “Don’t you worry, it’s just five thousand yuan. I’ll pay you back once I get my allowance.”

“You’re paying it?” Zhou Ze asked.

“Yeah, did you think she’s going to pay it back? Her father is paralyzed at home, and her mother is a food vendor. Life’s pretty tough for her family, I don’t want to see her suffer. Besides, she was sexually assaulted by her class teacher when she was in middle school. It’s why she’s so quiet now. Shouldn’t I be helping her since she’s my good friend? Anyway, Xu Le, that’s all for today. I’ll be heading home now.” The girl waved her hand and headed for the door.

Zhou Ze sat back down on the chair. He looked at his phone and back at the man that was reading his book while murmuring to himself, “The man sexually assaulted his student and jumped off a building after he was exposed.”

The man continued to read his book as if he did not hear Zhou Ze at all. However, the tall hat on his head was so obvious and eye-catching.

In the past, the criminals would have their offenses carved on their faces to tell the others what they had done. The tall hat was actually quite similar to that.

Bai Yingying was very quick at doing her job. She was supposed to be the daughter of a wealthy family, but she had no choice but to lower her head since she was staying at Zhou Ze’s place. In addition to it, Zhou Ze was quite obsessed with cleanliness, which meant she had to do more work.

“Boss, I’m so tired.” Bai Yingying took off her jacket. She was not afraid of the cold. She came out wearing short sleeves while holding a piece of cloth.

She looked young, but her body was already developed.

“Boss, why didn’t he show any reaction?” Bai Yingying was puzzled.

“You’re dead too.”

“But I’m very pretty!” Bai Yingying posed seductively.

“Forget it, it’s so cold down there. I’m afraid any man would stiffen from the cold as soon as they entered it. They wouldn’t even need to take Viagra.”

“Why does my boss always have to mock me?” Bai Yingying rolled her eyes at Zhou Ze. “By the way, did your sister-in-law come back again? I heard her voice in the toilet.”

“Yeah, she left pretty quickly.”

Zhou Ze suddenly realized something.

-Wait a second, if the man did not show any reaction to Bai Yingying because she was a gyonshi, why didn’t he react to his sister-in-law?-

After eliminating the possibilities, the reason was very simple.

The man was only interested in the girl next to his sister-in-law!

The news he found did not have a photo of the girl that was sexually assaulted in order to protect the victim’s privacy. However, it was quite easy to put the pieces together.

Zhou Ze eventually realized the answer. His sister-in-law might act like a shrew, but she was too naive and gullible.

“Hey, was that girl your student?” Zhou Ze asked.

The man did not respond.

Zhou Ze snatched the book away. “I’m asking you a question.”

The man lifted his gaze and nodded.

“Did you sexually assault her?” Zhou Ze asked.

The man did not respond.

“If you don’t answer me, I’ll send you to Hell right now,” Zhou Ze threatened.

“I’ve finished reading the book. I’m ready to go now.” The man rose to his feet like he had nothing to lose.

“Are you trying to be Wen Tianxiang now?” Zhou Ze mocked him.

{TL Note: Wen Tianxiang is a politician and poet of the Song dynasty. He’s a folk hero for resisting the Mongol invasion in Jiangxi.}

“Either way, she’s still my student. It’s my responsibility, since I didn’t teach her well,” the man replied.

“Which means the news I saw was fake. You didn’t sexually assault her. She was framing you so she would be compensated by the school?” Zhou Ze twisted his lips.

Everything was pretty obvious now. It was likely that the girl had stolen his sister-in-law’s purse, too. She even came up with an excuse to borrow another five thousand from her friend.

-Would a student from a poor family who spent the entire holiday working to save up five thousand bring the money to a night club?-

It was obvious that his sister-in-law had been set up too!

“Tell me, did you or did you not assault her?” Zhou Ze grabbed the man’s shoulder and asked seriously.

The man fell silent for a while, before finally replying, “It’s none of your business.”

“Screw you, that’s my five thousand yuan!”

Zhou Ze had the urge to knock the man flying with a slap to the face. However, he ended up going easy on the man instead. He lifted his hand higher to knock the hat away. However, Zhou Ze immediately felt his hand burning and hurting a little when he touched the hat.

It did not matter if the hat was stating the truth or not, it was no longer possible to take it off.

He actually felt a little stabbing pain from his nails.

He glanced at the man, who was actually sent flying by the force. However, the hat was still stuck firmly to his head.

Zhou Ze immediately remembered what Xu Qinglang had said, “Public clamor can melt metals”.

It did not matter if the hat was stating the truth or not, it was no longer possible to take it off!