48 Hours a Day

Chapter 344 It’s Me, Mom

“I still remember when I was a kid, the village used to be here.”

You Always Look Unhappy (#0′) pointed to Yang Ji Village, which wasn’t too far away, and the two walked along Guangli Road after coming out of Starbucks. Soon, they came up to Guangzhou Avenue.

This was one of the busiest roads in Huacheng, a spot in the city where the traffic jams were the worst in the morning and evening. Lego drivers on the road impatiently honked at the cars in front of them while inching forward at the speed of a wheelchair.

When the pedestrian light turned green, the traffic stopped, and the two mounted the overpass to get to the other side of the road.

“At that time, I was probably still in elementary school, and I felt that the place was a mess. There were shanty houses everywhere, haphazardly stacked with maze-like alleys, and the wires that hung above me were like spiderwebs. There were also clothes hanging on the wires, and I had to always look out for bicycles! The cyclists would always run through a puddle and splash mud on my pants!”

“Do you still live in this area?”

“Our family rented a house for some time but they demolished the place seven or eight years ago, and we had to move out. I am not a Guangzhou native. My parents came here to work when they were young.”

Now that the resettled houses and office buildings had been newly built here, Zhang Heng gave them a simple inspection. Each building was over thirty stories tall, and a group of aunties sat by the roadside outside the building with rental leaflets placed by their feet. They chated and sunbathed while waiting for potential tenants to inquire about their properties.

You Always Look Unhappy (#”O’) squatted down to scratch the chin of a stray cat. The feline seemed to enjoy it a lot, purring and wagging its tail. “My father works in a restaurant on the second floor of this office building. He usually gets off at 11:30 at night. He’s a great guy! Once you see him, you’ll know that he never stops smiling for a second. When my final exam results came out, he made me his specialty noodles and celebrated it with me.”

“Are you going to wait for him?”.

“No need for that,” You Always Look Unhappy (#0′) took a deep breath and stood up. “It’s getting late, and I’m hungry. My mother should be preparing dinner now, just in time for you to have a delicious meal. But before that, there’s still something I need to do.”

“What’s the matter?”

You Always Look Unhappy (#’O’) looked at Zhang Heng.

“Kill me,” she said with a wink.

A high school girl carrying a backpack holding onto an English book as she walked past a male infertility treatment bunting, seizing every minute to memorize as many English words as possible. She did not notice the two people following her from behind.

Earlier, Zhang Heng walked in front of her on purpose and took a quick look at the girl. He found out that she looked almost exactly the same as the person next to him, except she looked more innocent. She lacked the cynical temperament that You Always Look Unhappy (#’O’) had.

“Are you sure you want to kill yourself?” Zhang Heng turned to look at her.

The latter shrugged, “If I don’t kill her, I can’t go home. After all, my mother is just an ordinary woman. Even if she is now a Lego brick, she won’t be able to accept that she has two daughters that look exactly the same. I alone am enough to make her worry. It will be a disaster if the two of us come into her life at the same time. There are too many people right now. We can’t kill her here. Let’s wait until she passes through a more deserted place. There are lots of abandoned cars over there. After killing her, stuff her body into one of the trunks. Don’t worry about the police… this world will be destroyed in three days anyway.” The two followed the innocent girl for a while, and as expected, they came to a place where the traffic was as slow as a trickle. Besides, it was night, and the lights were dim. It was indeed a perfect place to commit a crime, much like the one in the anime Detective Conan.

Zhang Heng took a 1*1 blue Lego brick from the roadside, held it in his hand, and waved it twice. There was also a string of numbers, 300523 printed on it, where every LEGO brick had its own serial number.

“Are you going to do it, or do you want me to do it?”

“You do it… Aren’t you really pissed by my pranks? Here’s your chance for revenge. Just kill me. I hope you can gain some joy out of it.”

Zhang Heng did not say a word. He carried the blue LEGO brick and walked towards the girl. However, he was still not used to acting in LEGO mode. The strange sound of his footsteps quickly caught the attention of the girl in front of him. She was still trying to memorize the English words in the book under the dim light. Immediately, she raised her head and turned to look behind her.

Before she could even open her mouth, a 1*1 blue LEGO brick greeted her face!

“Owww!!!” gasped You Always Look Unhappy (#oo’). “It hurts!!!” “Do you also share her pain?” Zhang Heng frowned. “No, I’m just adding the sound effects. I hope you’ll get a more… immersive experience.”

Zhang Heng was speechless, “Go and open the trunk.”

“Yes, Mr. Killer.”

Zhang Heng had no experience killing LEGO high school girls. He looked at the motionless girl in the trunk with a (° 2°) expression. He then asked You Always Look Unhappy (#”O’), “Is… is she dead?”

“Who knows. How about stabbing her two more times?”

“Forget it… that’s it.” Zhang Heng closed the trunk, “What now?”

“We are not far from my home. You can just say that you are my classmate… but you seem a little too mature for that.”

You Always Look Unhappy (#’O’) picked up the schoolbag that her dead another-me dropped on the ground and handed it to Zhang Heng, “Carry it on your back. Fix your hair a little. It should be messier. Studying at school is a difficult task. No one has the time to live so delicately.”

Ten minutes later, the two came up to a dilapidated apartment. Since there no elevators were installed, they had to climb all the way up to the sixth floor, passing through white sheets and a few shirts on the way. Finally, they arrived in front of a humble-looking entrance.

You Always Look Unhappy (# O’) was talking nonstop earlier. Now, she had suddenly become quiet. She stared blankly at the brick wall in front of her, lost in thought. It was obvious she wanted to return here for a very long time but for some reason, she seemed too afraid. It was why she had coffee first after she left the train station. After that, she went to the place she lived as a child. The last place she went to was her father’s workplace, though she didn’t go in to look for him. All the cold jokes she’d been telling Zhang Heng was actually her way to suppress the nervousness in her heart.

After a while, she hesitantly stretched out her hand and knocked on the door twice.

“Who?” a voice that sounded like a middle-aged woman came from inside.

“It’s me, mom!”