Chapter 121
Chapter 121
Qin Song finished his story, and Huahua frowned as she mulled it over.
“Brother Hai, that’s it?”
Qin Song nodded.
Huahua said, “It doesn’t feel like a horror story in the usual sense.”
Qin Song asked, “How is it different?”
Huahua thought for a moment, then said, “In a typical horror story, if the main character starts off by killing someone, they usually don’t get a happy ending. But in your story, that woman actually ended up pretty well off.”
Qin Song said, “Maybe there was more to it. Maybe the ending wasn’t good. But that was all I heard at the time, so that’s all I could tell you.”
Huahua said, “Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I think the protagonist of that story really did deserve a good ending.”
Qin Song thought he’d misheard. He asked, “You said… she did or didn’t deserve it?”
Huahua said, “Did.”
Qin Song said, “But that woman killed someone.”
Huahua said, “She killed an obsessive lunatic who didn’t know what was good for him. Was she wrong?”
Qin Song drew in a breath and stared blankly at Huahua.
Huahua played with her fingers as she continued, “If she hadn’t been pushed to a certain point, how could she ever have wanted to kill him? From the way you told it, after she ran away, she was terrified and full of guilt. That means she was timid by nature. Besides, she killed someone only after losing both her parents and being provoked. I think it was just a moment of impulse.”
Qin Song said, “I’m starting to realize your way of thinking isn’t quite like a normal person’s.”
Huahua replied, “Everyone has their own traits. What kind of person counts as normal, and what kind doesn’t?”
Qin Song explained, “That’s not what I meant. I mean, most people who heard that story would probably sigh over how an evil person escaped punishment, but you seem to be empathizing with that evil person.”
Huahua raised an eyebrow. “I have a very strong sense of empathy. I genuinely think the heroine in your story was pitiful. To be honest, if I had some obsessive boyfriend pressuring me every single day, I’d want to kill him too.”
Qin Song looked at her with a complicated expression.
Huahua smiled. “What, are you scared? Don’t worry, I’ve never killed anyone, and I definitely won’t kill you!”
Qin Song asked, “Have you ever met an obsessive person?”
Huahua tilted her head back and looked at the crystal chandelier in the hallway. “I have dated clingy, obsessive boyfriends before, but I don’t know if I’d call them lunatics. Anyway, I’ve experienced that sort of thing.”
Qin Song nodded.
Huahua said, “Obsession is like being possessed by someone. At that point, it has nothing to do with love or hate anymore.”
Qin Song said, “Well, I’ve learned something. I’ve never met that type of person before.”
Huahua said, “Then you’re very lucky.”
Qin Song asked, “Do obsessive people stay obsessive their whole lives?”
Huahua said, “I’m not obsessive. How would I know?”
Qin Song said, “Fair enough.”
Qin Song seemed to think of something, then spoke again. “But the heroine in my story didn’t just kill someone. She also cheated. The man she killed was her lover. That part… you think there’s nothing wrong with that either?”
Huahua said, “Nothing wrong with it.”
Qin Song asked in disbelief, “Che… cheating isn’t wrong?”
Huahua gave Qin Song a strange look and said mockingly, “Brother Hai, you’re a man.”
Qin Song was a little lost. “What does being a man have to do with it?”
Huahua stared into his eyes. “Very few men think there’s anything wrong with cheating.”
Qin Song said, “Cheating is wrong to begin with. What does that have to do with men or women? Just because I’m a man, I have to think cheating is right?”
Huahua laughed. “I can’t tell if you’re being sincere or just putting on an act.”
Qin Song said solemnly, “At the very least, right now, in this moment, my values tell me that cheating is wrong.”
Huahua shrugged. “Okay.”
It was the first time Qin Song had met someone who openly and confidently claimed there was nothing wrong with cheating – and Huahua was a girl, too.
In Qin Song’s mind, aside from girls like Huang Yuanrui, who made a profession out of being the other woman, every other woman in the world ought to despise extramarital affairs. After all, in most affairs, women were the ones who got hurt.
And yet Huahua actually supported extramarital affairs completely. That was a textbook case of warped values.
But Qin Song couldn’t bring himself to judge her at all, because Huahua was fully empathizing with and approving of the person he used to be.
She didn’t think he had been wrong to cheat, and she certainly didn’t think he had been wrong to kill.
Hu Heng could know all that and still accept him because they had been brothers since childhood.
But Huahua hadn’t even known him well before this. Her approval and acceptance of his actions came from a genuine alignment of values.
This was the first time Qin Song had met someone who completely understood him. And that understanding wasn’t just on the surface – it reached even the darkest parts of his heart.
Qin Song asked, “Can you tell me what you think about extramarital affairs?”
Huahua thought for a while, then said, “Extramarital affairs are the adhesive that holds a marriage together. People have all kinds of psychological needs. If you and your partner already have irreconcilable conflicts in the marriage, and your needs can’t be met, then under normal circumstances, divorce is only a matter of time. But an extramarital affair is a form of adjustment. The things you can’t get from your partner, you can seek elsewhere, thereby balancing and satisfying your personal needs and ensuring the marriage continues smoothly.”
Qin Song was completely dumbfounded.
That said, Huahua’s expression was very stiff when she said all this.
Qin Song remembered that when he was in elementary school, the kid who sat next to him always wore that exact expression whenever he stood up to recite a text for the teacher.
Qin Song didn’t pay attention to that detail, because what Huahua had said had already shocked him to the core. She had rationalized everything he had once done. Thinking back on the past, Qin Song even felt a sudden surge of grievance.
Huahua began critiquing the entire story. “Overall, there are some pretty scary parts in your story. The part where the female lead fled abroad felt really eerie, and the seventh day after the death was terrifying too… Where do you think all that dirt came from?”
Qin Song spread his hands. “No idea.”
Huahua said, “Forget it. I can’t use your story as material. There are too many things in it that can’t be explained. If I write it and can’t tie everything up later, the readers will tear me apart.”
Qin Song said, “You only have 104 followers. You’re still worried about getting torn apart? To be honest, if even 10 out of those 104 people are actually reading your book, that’s already pretty good…”
Huahua shrieked, “You just had to hit me where it hurts! Stop making fun of me! I got yelled at today. One reader said my writing was all over the place, a total headache to read, and gave me one star!”
Qin Song held back a laugh. “Oh, how unfortunate. So how did you respond?”
Huahua said, “I recommended that he go watch In the Night Garden.”
Qin Song said, “You’re brutal.”
Huahua said, “I’m heading home.”
After taking a few steps, she turned back. “Is there really no follow-up to this story? I’m kind of curious how that woman lived afterward.”
Qin Song said, “I honestly don’t know what happened after that. I’ll ask the friend who told me the story some other day.”