78: Chapter 78 The View from the Rooftop is Bitter

Creak~

The Fire door was pushed open gently and then closed softly.

Click~

Chen Sheng pulled out a cigarette pack and lit one. Leaning against the Feature wall, he gazed at the blue sky and white clouds, momentarily lost in thought.

After an unknown amount of time, the Fire door was gently pushed open again, followed by a suppressed sound of crying... no, the sound of sobbing reached his ears.

It was a woman's voice.

Chen Sheng moved his feet quietly to the other side of the Feature wall and carefully peeked out to glance in the direction of the crying.

He saw a young woman dressed in a professional business suit, squatting by the wall next to the Fire door and crying. Perhaps because she didn't want to show her weakness even in a deserted place like the rooftop, she pressed her hand firmly over her mouth. Even as tears streamed down her cheeks, only faint whimpers escaped through her fingers.

Chen Sheng pulled his head back and leaned against the Feature wall again, looking out at the blue sky and white clouds with a bitter smile unconsciously playing on his lips.

About five minutes later, a sudden, sharp phone ring broke the silence of the rooftop. The woman's slightly raspy voice sounded, "Okay," "I'm in the bathroom," "I'll be right there," "Right away"...

Creak~

The Fire door was opened and closed once more.

Click~

Chen Sheng lit another cigarette for himself, his gaze returning to the blue sky and white clouds.

After some time, urgent speaking voices woke him from his reverie again.

"I'm telling you, are you guys ever going to stop? You called my home, and now you're calling my company. Are you determined to make me lose my job before you're satisfied?"

"Pay back the money, pay back the money... I never said I wouldn't pay it back, but I have to actually have it! You're messing with me like this, I'm about to lose my job, how am I supposed to pay you back then?"

"Sue me, go ahead and sue, sue all you want."

"What's my attitude? This is my damn attitude."

"It's not like I'm acting like I'm in the right for owing money. I didn't say I wouldn't pay, I just need time..."

"Borrow? How do you expect me to borrow? Now that you've done this, all my friends and relatives know. You tell me how the hell I'm supposed to borrow money now!"

"You're threatening me, right? What's your employee ID? What's your surname? You're from that third party, right? I've recorded this entire call. I'm going to the police right now. Just you wait, don't think I can't find you just because you're using a virtual number..."

The man left in a hurry. Chen Sheng guessed he was most likely going to report it to the police.

Chen Sheng silently pulled out his cigarette pack again, but this time he just held one in his mouth without lighting it.

The smoke tasted a bit bitter today.

Just then, the Fire door made another sound, but no voice followed, only the sound of light footsteps.

Chen Sheng's nerves immediately tightened. He held his breath and pricked up his ears to carefully discern the direction of the sound.

Seeing the footsteps heading to the right, he instinctively moved to the left. When the footsteps gradually faded into the distance, Chen Sheng carefully picked up the brick he had placed on the ground earlier. At the same time, he took the Pepper spray out of his pocket and opened the cap.

After waiting for several minutes, the sound of footsteps returned, this time appearing on his left. Chen Sheng quickly moved to the right side of the Feature wall.

Over the next few minutes, the other person stopped and started repeatedly, doing who knows what. His heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat's claws, he was so curious. Suddenly, a creative idea popped into his head.

Chen Sheng squatted down, pulled out his phone, set it to the camera function, and then slowly slid the phone out along the ground.

At this moment, he had to thank An Xiaonuan for her bossiness.

When they bought phone cases earlier, the shop had a buy-one-get-one-free deal. She had forced him to switch to a dull, earthy gray case. Surprisingly, this case blended in perfectly with the rooftop ground, which had been weathered by the elements for years.

Once the phone camera was fully extended and the angle adjusted, he finally captured the figure of the person with the light footsteps.

The figure looked a bit thin, but judging by the frame, it was definitely a man. He was wrapped up tight in a hooded sweatshirt in the middle of summer, clearly looking like he was up to no good.

Right now, the man was circling the railing, constantly looking down and occasionally making gestures with his hands.

Chen Sheng guessed that he was most likely looking for the perfect spot to throw something off the building.

After the man paced around several times, he finally stopped. Then, he pulled out his phone, turned on the video recording, and started muttering to the camera.

"I'm sorry, I've caused trouble for everyone this time. I didn't want to, but this is the only way... Sigh! This world is too bitter. In the next life... forget it! I'd rather not have a next life."

"Holy crap!" Chen Sheng's eyes widened. What kind of high-altitude thrower was this? This guy was here to jump off the rooftop!

Through the man's muttering to his phone, Chen Sheng got a general idea of the situation.

The man was an employee of a company in this office building. Some time ago, an elder in his family fell ill and needed nearly two hundred thousand in surgery fees. The man had tried everything and was finally only ten thousand short. However, just today, for some reason, his company deducted two thousand from his bonus.

Those two thousand in bonus were like the final straw that broke the camel's back. In a moment of despair, the man had come straight to the rooftop.

The reason he had been pacing back and forth by the railing earlier was to choose a jumping point, perhaps fearing he might hit a pedestrian on the way down. Now, he was recording his last words.

"Damn it!" Chen Sheng couldn't help but curse under his breath. "This rooftop is freaking cursed."

Seeing the man set his phone aside and slowly walk toward the railing, Chen Sheng tightened his fist. He decided not to wait for the person throwing things anymore; he couldn't just stand by and watch someone in the prime of their life jump off a building right in front of him.

He immediately stood up and took a step... sorry! Before he could even complete the step, the phone the man had placed on the ground rang.

Ring ring ring~

Hearing the ringtone, the man stopped. After a moment of hesitation, he turned and walked back to the phone. Seeing the caller ID, he quickly answered, "Mom!"

"What? The doctor said there's new progress with Dad's condition? Good, good, good, I'm coming to the hospital right now. Don't worry..."

The man spoke as he rushed through the Fire door.

Thud~

After the man's voice had completely disappeared, Chen Sheng collapsed onto the ground. His back leaned against the Feature wall as his shaking hand reached into his pocket for the cigarette pack. Trembling, he put one in his mouth and picked up the lighter.

Click, click, click...

After several attempts, Chen Sheng finally got a flame and lit the cigarette.

Phew~~

Exhaling a thick cloud of white smoke, Chen Sheng unconsciously squinted his eyes. After a long while, he grit his teeth and remarked, "Intense... so damn intense! It's never been this intense. I'm freaking speechless."

He had heard stories about rooftops before, like so-and-so failing at stocks and going to the rooftop, or so-and-so going bankrupt and going to the rooftop. To the point where the older generation would say not to go to rooftops for no reason, as there were often resentful souls lingering there, looking for someone to take their place.

Jumping from a building was like drowning; both were considered unnatural deaths. To be reincarnated after death, one had to find a substitute to take their place before they could successfully move on.

Chen Sheng hadn't believed it before.

Now he believed it. With a reality even more surreal than the rumors, it wouldn't be this magical without some of that stuff.

...