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Chapter 2: Old Wang Went Crazy

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After a good night’s rest, Wang Bo woke up to the sound of his alarm going off. Washing up, he left for work, then started his everyday struggle anew once more.

At the entrance to the neighborhood, he once again ran into Liu Ge and his son. During the mornings, Liu Ge didn’t sell roasted sweet potatoes. Instead, he turned to selling vegetables. Catching sight of Wang Bo, he once again greeted him passionately: “You’re going to work Xiao Wang? Why not buy something? Come and take a look, Liu Ge has everything here.”

Wang Bo gave a wry smile: “Brother^[1], I’m a programmer, not a cook. Why would I buy vegetables when I’m going to work?”

Liu Ge held up a dark green cucûmber: “I have more than just vegetables here, I also have fruits. Look at this cucûmber, such a lush green, very pleasing to people. Why not buy two? You stare at a computer all day long, you need some cucûmbers, something to replenish all  your vitamins.”

Wang thought a little, figuring he was right. Winter fruits were expensive and he couldn’t bear to buy any. Why not buy some cucûmbers to eat then? With this in mind, he picked out four small cucûmbers and, after he paid, Liu Ge’s son stared at him. “Uncle Wang, I learned a few more verses, do you want to hear them?”

Wang Bo lightly grasped his small face and moved closer to him, whispering softly: “First of all, Gege will correct something. The verse you recited last night was wrong, it’s a famous saying from the 《Collection of Yuefu Lyric Poems·Long Song Type》 and it should be: If you don’t work hard when you’re young, then you have to do bitter work when you grow older. Now then, Gege needs to go to work and doesn’t have time to listen to you recite old verses. But you can recite them for your dad to hear. He will definitely praise you for learning another poem, even if you can’t say it exactly, he will still reward you.”

Finishing his words, he took his cucûmbers and speedily left as if the soles of his feet had grown wings.

Not long after, Liu Ge’s voice behind him cried out: “Oh, you little devil! Who are you learning these crooked poems from?! You even dare to mock your old man, watch and see if I don’t make your bottom bloom!”

“Ao ao ao!”^[2] The little devil in question cried out in an even louder voice to answer him.

Carrying the cucûmbers as he crammed into the subway and arrived at work, Wang Bo was about to leave as he finished mixing a pile of cards until a woman’s voice drifted over from behind him: “Xiao Wang, are these cucûmbers your breakfast? The Company states that you cannot eat during office hours, remember?”

Hearing the voice, Wang Bo subconsciously shivered a little. He was too familiar with that voice. It was his subordinate leader talking.

Looking back, it was indeed the yellow-faced old-woman leader. His leader’s name was Huang Lian Xiang^[4], a very graceful and charming name. But because of her menopausal temperament of being irritable and her love of cursing people, coupled with her poor skin color, her subordinates all called her the “Yellow-Faced Old Woman”.

Seeing that his leader had discovered his cucûmbers, Wang Bo picked the best one to hand over and politely said: “Leader, would you like one? A snack, I mean.”

The yellow-faced old woman coldly shook her head: “Forget it, how could you eat during work time? Besides, I don’t even like cucûmbers.”

Wang Bo subconsciously said” “I understand leader, I will definitely eat it after work hours. But do you really not want one? Cucûmbers are good for you. Even if you don’t eat it, you can use it……”

The surrounding people that were waiting to get the clock started, immediately roared with laughter as they heard his words. The yellow-faced old woman’s face turned even more yellow. Her gaze was fixed on Wang Bo’s face very fiercely: “What do you mean, Xiao Wang?”

Wang Bo’s cold sweat flowed, grievously said: “Leader, you misunderstood me. I’m saying that slicing the cucûmber up and spreading it on your face can help protect your face. I didn’t mean that…”

“Then what do you mean?” The yellow-faced old woman furious voice asked, her expression extremely malevolent.

Wang Bo didn’t dare to explain anymore, he dipped his head in ridicule and prepared to use his silence to greet the yellow-faced old woman’s volcanic explosion of moodiness. But suddenly, a cold feeling passed into his chest as he recalled the experimental smartphone that he took home last night. Because he was in a hurry to get to work today, he had forgotten to bring it!

He was done for this time, Wang Bo thought anxiously.’The yellow-faced old woman’s already angry,’  he thought inwardly if she found out that he had forgotten to bring the experimental smartphone back, then she would definitely get even angrier! And also, that Lord’s Heart, he doesn’t know if that game is still on—— Just as he thought this, a nearly unbelievable event occurred.

A basket-sized green 3D heart-style sculpture bounced out from his body. Then this heart sculpture started to rapidly change. The color turned from green to white, and the entire surface started to shift. Finally, it formed into a one by one square meter half translucent crystal sandtable.

The sandtable was rectangular with hills and rivers; flowers, plants and trees; birds, beasts, insects and fish and also a sesame-sized miniature castle. They were all sparkling and translucent and in a semi-transparent state, looking very vivid and lifelike as if it was real…

Seeing this amazing scene, Wang Bo’s eyes suddenly widened. He ignored the yellow-faced old woman who was still sternly reprimanding him and raised a finger to touch the translucent crystal, and he yelled in surprised: “Wa cao, wa cao, wa cao! Everyone look, what is this toy thing?!”^[5]

The surrounding employees that were waiting to watch the entertaining scene followed the area where Wang Bo’s finger was pointing at, and their expression turned horrified. Because they’ve just discovered that, Old Wang that guy was pointing at the bucket-like waist of the yellow-faced old woman…

“Wa cao, did Old Wang go crazy?”

“Numbing my grandson, he’s doomed! Is he mocking the yellow-faced old woman’s waist?”

“He really is a man from another generation^[3], but his death will really be wretched!”

The employees discussed in hushed voices. Although they deliberately talked in hushed voices, there were many people talking and the sound would still transmit to Wang Bo and the yellow-faced old woman’s ears.

The yellow-faced old woman was nearly insane with fury, her severely warped face started yelling at Wang Bo: “Xiao Wang, you don’t want to work here anymore, is that it?”

Wang Bo did not heed the yellow-faced old woman’s words, he was still in shock. Pointing at the crystal sandtable, he shouted at his colleagues: “No, I mean, look at this thing! What is this toy thing? Can you guys not see it? This, this, this, this thing in front of me, you guys can’t see it?!”

Someone gathered their courage and quipped: “We see it, isn’t the thing in front of you the Director Huang? Director Huang is your leader, how can you point and draw at her? How can you call her a “Toy” thing?”

Wang Bo looked at the surrounding people in alarm. From the looks on their faces, he could only see pitying and mocking expressions. No surprise or shock. Therefore he quickly rubbed his eyes; but even afterward, the crystal sandtable was still there in front of him.Of course, so was his leader…

At this point, he really didn’t have it in him to care anymore about the yellow-faced old woman. Wang Bo’s  face and body were suddenly dripping with a cold sweat as he asked his colleagues in an incredibly panicked voice: “You guys can’t see it? Impossible, it’s just floating here, you guys can’t see it?!”

The surrounding employees were no longer laughing at him, from Wang Bo’s expression, they knew he was not joking with them; nor was he pretending to be a fool and he was definitely not poking fun at the yellow-faced old woman. He was really seeing something horrifying, his facial expression and eyes were very, very serious.

But there was obviously nothing there, so someone panicked and said: “Wa cao, Old Wang didn’t really go crazy did he?”

Another person worriedly added: “It may really be possible, didn’t somebody die recently from overworking? Could Old Wang have gone crazy like that guy? His mind couldn’t take it anymore and he’s been working a lot of overtime lately it looks like he was the last one to leave the office last night…”

The employees quickly became rowdy and loud. Listening to what had been said, the yellow-faced old woman was also a little panicked. Forgetting to check in at work, she grabbed her purse and quickly went into her office. Her door closed with a ‘bang’.

Wang Bo knew that his mind was fine. But then, what was going on with the distinguishing, crystal clear sandtable in front of his eyes? Perhaps he was hallucinating? How did this thing appear? And how could he make it go away?

The sandtable started to fade just as the thought appeared in his head, the white crystal sandtable once again starting to change. Then, the same changes from earlier took place, only this time in reverse, shrinking, the colors changing and finally, the sandtable changed back into a green heart-shaped crystal before quickly sinking back into his chest!

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Footnotes:

[1]I decided to use Brother here instead of Ge since it seems fine… but would people prefer if I stick to one type?

[2]He’s crying

[3]“Man from another generation” Like, a man within men.

[4]黄莲香 – Yellow (Family name) Fragrant Lotus

[5]Wa Cao, something similar to using Holy sh*t.

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