Chapter 103: Yangyang's Nemesis

They drove all the way back to the apartment building, and Chang Yu had imagined a splendid farewell with Catherine, only to find...

Catherine parked with brisk efficiency, locked the car, and actually walked into the apartment building together with Chang Yu and Yang Yang.

In truth, this trip was not made simply to escort the two of them home.

It was because Catherine herself had moved into this very building.

She had not lied to Chang Yu. This mixed-blood beauty was a woman of her word; if she said she would move in beneath their place, then she truly moved in beneath their place.

"Why don’t I help you get your place in order?" Chang Yu said, like a shark catching the scent of blood, instantly entering full-on devoted-boyfriend mode.

A new home meant endless odds and ends for Catherine.

Moving furniture, carrying luggage, cleaning up—tasks like these could easily keep a person busy for three to five days.

As her colleague, her neighbor, and her future lover, Chang Yu was more than willing to extend her humanitarian aid and help her solve some small troubles in life.

And of course, if the process of helping one another could bring them a little closer, deepening that pure revolutionary friendship between them, all the better.

But...

"The place is already in order," Catherine replied, and Chang Yu was instantly disappointed. He suddenly felt adrift and bereft, as if he had missed out on something enormous.

"Whether it was the move or the cleaning, the logistics team took care of everything. I didn’t need to worry about it."

"That’s really convenient," Chang Yu said with sincere admiration. "With the logistics team helping, we can avoid a lot of trouble and hassle in daily life."

"Oh, right. Can Yang Yang and I come see your new place? We can help warm it up and bring some life into it."

When he said that, Chang Yu did not really expect Catherine to actually invite them inside to sit.

After all, it was already late, and entering a young woman's home uninvited would be a little rude.

"Of course. Come in and sit for a while," Catherine said, to his surprise, agreeing without the slightest hesitation. The unexpected delight made Chang Yu grin so broadly his mouth seemed about to split open.

With a soft beep, Catherine opened the fingerprint lock on her front door and invited them in as well. "The slippers are on the rack. Just take any pair you like."

Chang Yu, never one to stand on ceremony, entered Catherine's place as if it were his own, looking here and there until he had quickly learned the layout and arrangement.

Because the two apartments were one above the other, the floor plan and size were nearly the same as Chang Yu's own place: one bedroom, one bathroom, one kitchen, and one living room.

The décor followed the presently popular Nordic style, looking understated yet luxurious, simple yet fashionable, a look much favored by young people.

Thanks to the logistics team, the apartment was fully furnished and equipped with appliances. The rooms were neat and clean, everything arranged in orderly fashion, with no trace of the chaos that usually followed a move.

This made Chang Yu quietly reflect that if he had joined the Disaster Investigation Bureau earlier, would he have been spared all the trouble of relying on Wang Fatty when he moved?

"You two can sit anywhere. I'll get you some water," Catherine said, first signaling for the pair to rest on the sofa before heading into the kitchen.

As he watched her wash the cups and scrub the health kettle, a warm hospitality seemed to pour out from her back like a wave.

Wait... scrub the health kettle?

Chang Yu rubbed his eyes. No, he had not been mistaken. Catherine really was washing the health kettle.

Mm... the main event was coming. This must be Catherine's indispensable daily wellness ritual.

Had they been specially arranged for?

Chang Yu stroked his chin and thought to himself.

He knew all too well about Catherine's peculiar habits. This mixed-blood beauty not only liked drinking herbal concoctions herself,

but also liked forcing others to drink them.

Sure enough, before long Catherine came out carrying a pot of golden, amber-colored health tonic.

After pouring a cup for each of them, she also sat down opposite them with a cup of her own.

"This tonic was just prepared. Try it?" Catherine held the drink with graceful composure, like a lady sipping fine wine from a tall glass, carrying an unmistakable air of refinement.

"Drink, drink it now!" Chang Yu hurriedly picked up his cup, blew on the steam, and took a sip.

Ah. Bitter traditional medicine filled his mouth, the very taste of love.

And when he looked up at Catherine across from him again—yes, she was truly a feast for the eyes!

It felt as though his whole soul had been purified, his character refined, and both body and spirit pleased.

Catherine was the sort of woman who was exquisite beyond measure; every word and gesture, every frown and smile, was a pleasure to behold.

"Bah, bah, bah!"

Just as Chang Yu was growing absorbed in the sight of her, an ill-timed voice suddenly intruded, and that made him instantly flare with irritation.

He looked toward the source of the sound and saw Yang Yang with a bitter little face, desperately spitting the tonic he had swallowed back into the cup.

"Comrade Xiao Yang," Chang Yu snapped without warning, "do you know how rude that is?"

"I don't want to," Yang Yang said, his expression both wronged and heartbroken, as if he wanted to cry but could not. "But this tonic actually has poria in it!"

"Yes, it does contain poria. What's the problem?" Catherine's gaze was bright and clear; she seemed ready at any moment to conduct an academic discussion with Yang Yang.

She had already prepared herself to quote texts, draw on a wide range of references, and speak at length.

She meant to tell this little sprout, in practical and concrete terms, that adding poria to this tonic was not only perfectly fine, but the finishing touch that brought the whole thing to life.

In matters of health and wellness, Catherine had always been very, very, and extremely confident.

"The problem is huge!" Yang Yang exclaimed. "Making a poria like me drink poria? Are you a demon, woman?"

"Since ancient times, when has there ever been a rule that one's own kind must eat its own kind? Why don't I make you two eat a person and see if you don't feel sick to your stomach? See if you don't suffer!"

As he spoke, tears of grievance welled up in Yang Yang's eyes.

"I only took one sip, and I could already taste the poria."

"Waaah... my poor little poria. Little poria, why must your life be so bitter?

"You could have bathed in sunlight, drawn nourishment from the soil, and grown freely and happily.

"But now you've been dug up, cut into pieces, and turned into some human's health drink...

"From now on, you'll never again have the chance to bathe in sunlight, draw nourishment from the soil, or grow freely.

"You're still so young; you haven't even tasted the feeling of love, held a girl's hand, or been held in a girl's arms...

"You've never even watched Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, never seen Boonie Bears or Armor Hero, let alone Tsuburaya's Robot Boy and Ultraman.

"You were so pitiable, with so much youth still left to enjoy, and your brief but glorious life has ended just like that.

"We came from the same root, why torment one another so cruelly? Even tigers do not eat their cubs. Yet I, a poria with flesh and blood, have committed such a filthy act of cannibalizing my own kind. What a sin!"

With a thud, Yang Yang dropped to his knees, desolate and in despair.

"I have failed my ancestors, failed their painstaking cultivation. I have failed the many predecessors of the poria clan, and failed their careful teachings."

"You murderer!" Yang Yang pointed a trembling finger at Catherine, his lips quivering.

His voice was full of accusation, and he looked utterly agitated. "You killed my kinsman and made me drink his blood and eat his flesh! Tell me, is that something a human being does? You vicious woman!"

Chang Yu: ???

Catherine: ...

Chang Yu was completely stunned. He looked at Yang Yang, kneeling on the floor and crying his heart out, then at Catherine, who seemed at a loss, and suddenly felt as if he were beginning to doubt life itself.

Poria was a famous medicinal herb, common enough to be known in every household. Many families even kept some at home.

Some used it to make nourishing soups, others to brew medicinal drinks.

This was common and ordinary; many people did the same. How had it suddenly become murder?

"It's only a medicinal herb, it doesn't count as... murder, does it?" Even as she said this, Catherine did not sound especially confident, and that made her seem somewhat unsure of herself.

Clearly, the one doubting life was not only Chang Yu, but Catherine too.

It had been only a pot of herbal tea, so how had she somehow become a murderer?

Catherine was now also thoroughly baffled.

"Do I look like a medicinal herb to you?" Yang Yang sprang up from the floor, full of righteous fury. "Are you trying to turn me into a tonic too?"

Catherine studied Yang Yang carefully, sweeping her gaze from head to toe and back again, not missing a single inch of him.

Now and then she would fix her eyes on some part of him and sink into thought, then nod with satisfaction, or let a knowing smile appear.

Yang Yang felt deeply uneasy under her strange, X-ray-like stare, as if every inch of him had gone cold.

As the person involved, he could not shake the feeling that Catherine's gaze upon him was icy, and perhaps even carried murderous intent.

He shivered reflexively, feeling as though she were looking at him like meat laid out on a chopping block.

"That is exactly what I want to say," Catherine said after scrutinizing him for a long time. "Could you let me cut off a tiny piece? Just a tiny piece!"

Yang Yang: !!!

"I've always thought the medicinal herbs sold in pharmacies were cheap stuff. If only I could make tea from thousand-year poria," Catherine said pleadingly.

"To be honest, I've never even tasted what thousand-year poria would be like, and I don't know whether drinking tea brewed with it would have some miraculous effect."

Yang Yang drew a sharp breath on the spot, feeling cold from his organs to his bones, as though he had fallen into an icy cellar.

Without another word, he wiped away his tears and clasped his hands toward Catherine. "I can't afford to provoke you, I can't afford to provoke you!"

"I've lost, I, the humble one, have lost. It was foolish of me to think I could shake a tree with an ant's strength."

"Please, be magnanimous. A prime minister's belly can sail a boat—just spare me this once."

He staggered back several steps, never daring to turn his back to Catherine, afraid that if he let his guard down for even a moment she would knock him down with a single blow.

"Let's go, let's go!" Yang Yang tugged at Chang Yu's sleeve, signaling for a strategic withdrawal at once.

"Uh... Catherine, it's getting late. Why don't we head back first?" Chang Yu said awkwardly, reluctantly setting down his cup.

There was no helping it; even his own child was frantically signaling him with his eyes, urging him to go home sooner. Even if he himself was unwilling to leave at all, there was nothing Chang someone could do.

"All right, then. You two can go back first," Catherine said, showing no intention of keeping them any longer, calm and generous in manner.

As the saying goes, time is long ahead of us...

The road to success is always full of twists and hardships. So long as one perseveres, there will always be a chance later on.

If he did not want it now, that did not mean he would not want it later.

One day...

One day, Yang Yang would agree. Catherine was quite open-minded about that.

The end.