"Maybe you could call your dad and ask?" Wen Ying suggested.
Zhao Yu gladly accepted, took out his phone in front of Wen Ying, and called his father. When the call connected, he directly asked, "Dad, do I have an aunt?"
"Xiao Yu, what nonsense are you talking about? What aunt? Aren't you at work? Why did you suddenly call to talk about these things?"
"Dad, I just want you to tell me, do I have an aunt?"
It seemed he heard his son's resolute attitude in wanting to know the truth. After a moment of silence, Father Zhao said, "You did have an aunt once, but she was already gone by the time you were born, so there was no need to mention her. What's wrong with you, boy? Why are you saying so many inexplicable things today?"
"Then... why is Auntie no longer here?"
"Life was tough back then; not many people survived those times. It's normal. It's nothing like the happiness you all have now."
"Dad, I want to hear the truth."
"Where are you now?"
"On a business trip to a small town, company work."
"What kind of person did you encounter?"
"Maybe, so I want to know the truth. Why did Grandpa and Grandma send Aunt away?"
A brief silence compelled Zhao Yu to recount what had happened here. As he spoke, his voice gradually took on a sobbing tone. After more than twenty minutes, Zhao Yu finally stopped.
Ten minutes later, Zhao Yu silently hung up the phone.
He probably never thought that the family he believed to be happy and perfect also had an unbearable past.
He had a happy life since childhood, being the only child in the family and the apple of his grandparents' eyes. In his presence, there were never any arguments or harsh words at home. The neighbors seemed to envy his family. His upbringing was filled with warmth, harmony, and happiness, the kind of family others admired.
So much so that all along the way, his imagination of family was always beautiful.
To my grandparents and parents, it was the same; I believed they were the kindest people.
But now, when this past event was laid out before him, it was as if the veil of pretense had been torn away, leaving him feeling somewhat ashamed. Could it be that everything he once believed was merely an illusion?
So what is real after all?
Even his own family faced him with a false front. Pity his aunt who was sent away, and her daughter, the white-haired burying the black-haired. Though they were clearly relatives, they were complete strangers to each other.
The phone kept ringing, but Zhao Yu didn't answer it; instead, he chose to turn it off.
He looked up at Wen Ying, his eyes somewhat unfocused, his tone full of bitterness and confusion. "Dr. Wen, why can't we even trust the people closest to us? What in this world is still worth believing in? Suddenly, I don't know how to face it..."
The noun that followed, Zhao Yu did not utter.
Grandpa and Grandma have already passed away. How much this has to do with his parents, he seems to have no reason to blame them.
He suddenly didn't know how to face himself, how to face this happy family of three.
"Zhao Yu, is it true that your parents don't love you?"
"No."
"Is it not true that your grandparents spoil you?"
"No."
"Then what are you being so pretentious about? Do you think there are perfect and selfless people in this world? Are you perfect and selfless yourself? What right do you have to demand that from others? Isn't their unconditional love for you enough?"
"I..." Zhao Yu was rendered speechless by Wen Ying's barrage of questions.
"You just think their image is no longer perfect in your eyes, and you can't accept such a gap. But have you ever considered whether they should be perfect? No one is perfect; who doesn't have a bit of selfishness? Your grandparents certainly did wrong, but they have already passed away. They didn't wrong you when they were alive. Now you blame your father—do you have the right to do that?"
"I... just feel it's unfair, unfair to Auntie, and unfair to Auntie's child as well."
"If you want fairness, go fight for it yourself instead of complaining here. Didn't this situation give you an opportunity?"
Perhaps it's a case of the onlooker seeing more clearly than the participant.
Zhao Yu stood up straight and bowed to Wen Ying at a ninety-degree angle.
"Thank you! Dr. Wen, I think I know what to do now. I have already sent the previous contract to the company via express delivery, and your contract has also come into effect. Now I plan to take a week's leave to handle this matter."
"Wait!" Wen Ying called out as Zhao Yu turned to leave. "I suggest you buy some medicine before you go."
"I am willing to buy it." Zhao Yu now had complete trust in Wen Ying. Whatever she said, he would do unconditionally. So at this moment, he asked, "Which medicine is suitable?"
Seeing Zhao Yu's super fanboy expression and thinking about the future interactions she would have with the platform, Wen Ying sighed, "Take that turtle, three thousand."
Zhao Yu quickly transferred the money, placed the turtle-engraved ornament in his palm, and held it carefully.
Wen Ying, "..."
Is that really necessary?
Unable to bear it any longer, Wen Ying casually took out a piece of hemp rope, tugged and braided it, then handed it to Zhao Yu.
It wasn't a red string, just an ordinary hemp rope.
Zhao Yu gratefully strung the item together and wore it around his neck. "Dr. Wen, is my lighter still usable?"
"Of course, isn't it beautiful? It makes a lovely accessory."
Zhao Yu thought so too.
After Zhao Yu left, Wen Ying tidied up the clinic and took the drawn banknotes to Uncle Zhang.
Uncle Zhang grabbed her suddenly, his expression somewhat unusual. "Xiaoying, does that place really exist?"
"Where?"
"Xiao Ying, it's just you and your uncle now. Do we really need to keep pretending?"
"Uncle Zhang, are you talking about the old man's matter?"
"That's right! Ever since I took that paper money from you last time, my wife and I burned it for the old man that very night! That night, we both dreamed of the old man. He was very pleased and even said he was going to do business down there. Is there really business down there?"
After a brief pause, Uncle Zhang continued, "The old man also told me and your aunt to exercise more, otherwise we won't be able to help him when we go down there. Isn't that strange? The content and images of this dream were exactly the same for both me and your aunt! I thought that old antique last time was just a coincidence, but now it seems it wasn't at all. Xiaoying, do you know something?"
Wen Ying shook her head. Her current knowledge of this world was still fragmented, and it was better not to speak of things she wasn't completely sure about, to avoid bringing misfortune to others.
[If the host asks me, I am willing to answer this question~]
[Why doesn't the host ask me?]
[Isn't it just a bit of reputation points? Is the host really that stingy?]
"Uncle Zhang, I'm not sure about this matter yet, but as long as the old man likes it and you and Auntie are happy, then everyone is pleased, and that's enough."
Uncle Zhang suddenly realized, "That's right! Look at me! I've lived so many years, yet I don't see things as clearly as you, a little girl! No wonder you're Grandma Wen's granddaughter! Bringing so much paper money at once must have been quite a task, right? Take all these fruits with you; your aunt bought them and asked me to bring them to you. Since you're here, I won't go over."
Uncle Zhang pointed to a large bag of fruit, which contained grapes, bananas, apples, pineapples, Hami melons, guavas, pomelos, and ugly oranges.
Wen Ying looked at this bag, it was probably about fifty pounds, really a super large bag.
"If you can't lift it, I'll help you," Uncle Zhang hadn't finished his sentence when he saw Wen Ying effortlessly lift the bag with one hand.
Uncle Zhang remembered the scene where Wen Ying gently pulled the scissors apart. How could he almost forget? This girl is a strong one!
I really don't know how it was trained.
Wen Ying left with the fruit, and Uncle Zhang looked at the banknotes in his hand, murmuring softly, "Old man, if you really are doing business down there, remember to buy a few villas. Then your son and daughter-in-law can also enjoy them. After all, they couldn't enjoy it while alive, but if they can down there, it would be very satisfying."
One bill was worth a hundred million, fifty bills would be five billion. If it weren't for the fact that this money couldn't be used by the living, Uncle Zhang would really want to experience the feeling of buying everything in the world without a rival..
In the evening, when they got home, Uncle Zhang pulled his wife into the room to discuss the matter. "Wife, do you think we should send everything to Dad this time? Fifty billion! What if there's really inflation?"
"Then should we burn another billion?" Zhang Shu's wife tentatively asked.
"Wouldn't ten be a bit unfilial? After all, we have fifty now, and we can't use them ourselves."
"How about twenty then?"
"Twenty should be enough, but I wonder what kind of business our father is actually doing. Will these twenty be sufficient? If it's a big business, wouldn't that be a bit too few?"
"Then just burn it all, why are you nagging so much? Don't you think it's all nonsense? Are you really that reluctant to part with a bit of paper money?"
Aunt Zhang looked impatiently at her husband, Old Zhang, wishing she could just slap him on the head.
"Keeping it won't do you any good anyway. Or are you planning to abandon us and go enjoy life with our father?" Zhang Shu's wife's gaze grew increasingly..
"Don't, don't, don't! I didn't mean it that way, I just... I know I was wrong! How could I ever bear to leave you and the kids! It was all my fault for speaking out of turn! Please forgive me, honey! Whatever you say goes!"
Putting down the kitchen knife she had picked up, Uncle Zhang's wife looked at her husband with satisfaction. "Alright, just cook it tonight. Also, tell Xiaoying to take her time and not rush. This money will last the old man for a while."
Uncle Zhang sighed, "Wife, did you never suspect?"
"What are you suspicious of?"
"Don't you think what happened to our father is a bit absurd?"
"It's absurd, but he's our father. No matter how absurd, we can't neglect our filial duties, right? I know what you're thinking. You just overthink things. Just consider that our father lives in another world, and we send him something from time to time. Why worry unnecessarily?"
Uncle Zhang sighed again. He had just been scolded by the little girl, and now was he being scolded by his wife too?
Could it be that he is truly becoming more muddled with age?
"Deal! I got it. Tonight, we'll burn it together for our dad, and let's try to get him on some kind of Forbes list down there! Let him have his moment of glory!"
As night fell, the lights on Wenxiang Street were far from lively.
Please provide the source text you would like translated
Wen Ying sat on the bean bag chair she had bought, planning to watch a variety show. After all, it had been decades since she last watched one.
[Host, don't you really want to know what's going on next? It's just a bit of reputation, look at how much reputation you have, are you just going to let it gather dust?]
[Uncle Zhang and the others will burn joss paper for the old man tonight. Do you want to watch the live stream? If you don't want to watch the live stream from above, I can let you see it from below!]
"Free?"
[This is a broken world. Staying here to help you is also consuming my energy! I can't explain the situation below in a short time, but it's absolutely crucial for you to understand this world!]
"A few hundred?"
[Direct access to the underworld is no easy feat! You must understand that the underworld you know now might not be the real underworld!]
"Several tens of thousands? If it's any more, I won't even look at it."
[Deal, 100,000 reputation points have been deducted!]
"..." Sure enough, besides being verbose, it was still that dog system to the extreme.
Wen Ying saw only a screen of light before her, and the image that appeared on it was..
Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang knelt in the side room of their house, a porcelain basin in front of them, burning paper.
It seemed like he was muttering something, "Dad! If you have anything to say, just tell me in a dream! Don't worry about anything else! Buying a few more villas is the real deal."
Wen Ying was speechless. She had always thought Uncle Zhang was an honest and simple man, but who would have thought... he also dreamed of living in a villa!
Wen Ying has it too!
She wanted to live in the most luxurious villa in the world, hoping the author would take the hint!
"Aren't we supposed to look down there?"
[Error, error! The connection time below needs to be longer, please be patient, host.]
The image of Uncle Zhang disappeared from the screen, and when it reappeared, it was an endless... desert?
It didn't quite look like a desert, not like the deserts seen in the real world. It was a sunless, dark desert.
The screen zoomed in bit by bit, and just as Wen Ying was about to see a head, [Warning! Warning! System rule triggered, 100 life points deducted]
The light screen vanished instantly.
Bang!
Wen Ying, "..."
[!!! My life points! Host, you owe me life points!]
"So how much of my reputation points are you planning to deduct?"
[At most, I'll give you back fifty thousand. My health points are really important. If my health points drop to zero, both of us are done for!]
"What's your current health value?"
[This kind of thing is beyond the host's understanding. The host's reputation points have already been refunded. The next system upgrade will require 1.3 million reputation points~]
"..." She knew it; the damn system was trying to swindle her out of her reputation points in every possible way.
It might even be self-directed and self-acted. After all, if it were the most important life value, it couldn't possibly deduct only fifty thousand prestige points.
At midnight, in the boundless darkness, an elderly man with white hair and beard stood beside the thatched hut he had built, his heart filled with fervor and lofty ambitions!
I'm sorry, but it seems like the source text is missing. Could you please provide the text you would like translated?
This is a wasteland, an abandoned wasteland.
But on this boundless wasteland, there were countless souls just like his.
Some had lost their intellect, wandering in a daze, while others, like him, remained clear-headed. His clarity began from that very day.