In Julie's yard, a large square table was set up with many dishes on it. The best chef in Ruyifang City was called up at night to prepare a midnight snack for Mr. Zhu.
The cook had no complaints. After all, he had a new chip of a striver in his brain, so he couldn't complain.
Julie was very generous. The cook worked hard for a while and was rewarded with quite a bit of money, so it wasn't in vain. As for the wine that went with the dishes, needless to say, there was also a lot of money.
It was taken directly from Liu’s wine cellar.
First-rate wine.
It tastes sweet and mellow, with a long aftertaste. Even a person with a good alcohol tolerance cannot withstand seven cups, but now Mr. Julie drinks one cup after another, pouring it into his mouth like drinking water.
Drinking should not be done with just side dishes.
There has to be a good story.
So she retold Ru Yue's story again. This story was not good, but for Julie, who was full of thoughts, it was pretty good.
"Oh, so that's how it is.
You are your mother's illegitimate daughter, no wonder you ended up in prostitution. I told you, a beauty like you, which father wouldn't treat her as the apple of his eye?"
Julie leaned back in her chair, and like a man, she drank a bowl of wine in big gulps, touched her mouth, and briefly summarized Ruyue's life experience.
The words were quite impolite, but Ruyue did not refute.
She held the delicate wine glass, sipping the wine in small sips, not in the mood to say much.
"Hey, what are you doing with that stern face?"
Julie noticed Ruyue's expression, she laughed and said:
"Do you think I'm too cold-blooded? Do you expect me to shed a few hypocritical tears after listening to your story? You think you are miserable, and your mother is miserable too, right?"
Ruyue shook her head.
That wasn't what she thought.
But the next moment, Julie sneered, picked up a greasy chicken leg, took a bite, and said vaguely:
"Forget it, Xiao Ruyue, if your story were told in my time... in my hometown, it wouldn't even be worthy of being heard.
How miserable is this?
At least you and your daughter are still alive, and your mother died of old age. According to the standards of this era, you are still living well.
She had no missing limbs, and was not sold as a prostitute.
Tsk tsk.
You don't know that flesh and blood like yours is first-rate in my hometown. Slave traders will turn a little girl like you into a real 'little princess'."
Julie smirked and winked, threw the chicken bone in her hand aside, touched her hand, and said:
"Of course, I'm not saying this to ridicule you, much less to attack you. I just...how should I put it? I think you're a little hypocritical."
She reached out and patted Ruyue's shoulder, not caring at all that her hand left a greasy palm mark on the beautiful dress.
He reached out and picked up a box of ladies' cigarettes, and put one between his lips.
Using the flame of her left prosthetic body to light up, Julie blew out a comfortable puff of smoke, propped up her chin with her right hand, and said to the silent Kisaragi:
"Look around you, kid. You've got it all. Compared to the tragedies I've seen, this is like a chick flick with a happy ending.
Do you want to hear my story? "
"No, I don't want to."
Ruyue thought so in her heart.
Her mind was in a mess, and all she could think about was the choice her boss gave her. She was in no mood to listen to Mr. Zhu's story.
But Julie...
All right.
She just needed an emotional trash can, she didn't need Ru Yue's answer at all.
“I was diagnosed with a chronic disease in the third month after I was born, so when I was one year old, 30 percent of my organs were replaced.
I didn't even know it until my first checkup at age three .
I grew up in an orphanage in my hometown. I didn’t know who my parents were and I didn’t care. There were so many children like me and everyone thought it was no big deal.
Just parents.
It is not a necessity in life.”
Julie blew out a smoke ring. She told the story in a dry, fast-paced and jumpy manner.
She is drunk.
Even though she wouldn't admit it, her speech was somewhat incoherent.
“I’m actually pretty lucky.
When he was five years old, he was taken away by Mr. Lewis to be an apprentice of the Black Hand, thus avoiding the troubles in the orphanage.
There I was, meeting my Pete.
He is one year younger than me.
A very shy boy, but with a very good brain. "
Julie's cheeks blushed and she said proudly:
"Well, you don't have to worry about it. Anyway, everything has gone smoothly over the years.
The situation was very bad at that time, and everyone was trying to survive together. Mr. Lewis Fittals was very wise, and his student and lover Emma had not gone crazy yet.
Roger was still a playboy at that time.
His lover could go all the way around that damn city.
We were given three bottles of filtered water a day, could eat roasted rat once a week, could go out for some fresh air once every two weeks, and go to a bar once a month.
Join Pete in teasing those flashy little boys.
Everything is so beautiful.”
Julie's eyes became deep, and she let the cigarette burn at her fingertips. Ruyue, who had originally not cared, was now attracted by this dry story.
With a woman's unique gossip intuition, she keenly sensed that Julie's story was about to take a turn.
"That day...there were no signs of anything."
“I’m preparing for Mr. Lewis’s long journey to Elysium for a meeting, Pete and Roger are doing experiments, and Sue and Malte are debugging the aircraft on the top floor.
Emma comes in.
She looked a little old at that time. After all, people age very quickly in that damn place. She was wearing a white suit that day, I remember it very clearly.
That kind of pretentious style was a boring dress before the war, but it was really beautiful and matched her stereotyped personality very well. She looked like a standard vicious woman.
She greeted Mr. Lewis and smiled.
Nothing has changed.
Until a group of black-clad thugs suddenly rushed in, carrying ray guns, high-powered shockwave devices, and hunter-killer robots for city defense.
They attacked us.
For no reason.
My two assistants had their heads blown off in front of me. I screamed in fear and the data device in my hand fell into the blood. I saw Emma take out a pistol.
A shot to her beloved Mr. Lewis.
They had an argument, and Rogge was like a madman, trying to pounce on him, but was held back by Su.
Pete was yelling my name.
He shouldn't have shouted.
He could have gotten away.”
Julie's pupils had lost focus and she was completely immersed in dark memories.
She said:
“The whole lab was in chaos. Those lunatics turned on the seismograph and messed up our brains. I was just like you, Kisaragi.
I am as weak as a mouse.
I watched my Pete knock down two thugs, he was covered in blood and rushed towards where I was hiding, he wanted to take me away, and I saw his face.
His eyes, his cry, and then..."
"Bang"
Julie slammed her fist on the table in pain.
She grabbed the wine bowl beside her, tilted her head back, and poured the sweet wine into her mouth. The wine spilled everywhere, splashing all over her face and covering her tears.
She wiped her face randomly, wiping the wine and tears everywhere.
But those red eyes can't be blocked at all.
"Mr. Pi, what happened in the end?"
Ruyue asked again.
Julie turned her head and looked at her, her eyes as dead as if she was looking at a dead person, and the coldness in them was so frightening that Ru Yue's hair stood on end.
"He's dead."
Mr. Zhu said without any emotion:
"There is no miracle, no change. A researcher without any combat prosthesis installed would not have been able to survive under such circumstances.
He died a miserable death.
His entire head exploded in front of my eyes, and was riddled with holes from the ray gun's random shots. I even saw his ruptured heart.
My husband...
Dead.
I could only watch and could do nothing.”
The wind in the yard seemed to stop at that moment, and there was dead silence between the two women.
Ruyue didn't know what to say.
She wanted to comfort.
But at this moment, looking into Julie's eyes, she felt that any words she said would be so pale.
"I thought you were a smart woman, Kisaragi."
Julie, on the other hand, was very calm, more calm than she should be after telling a story. She picked up the jar of wine and poured herself a bowl of wine.
While drinking, he said:
"But now, I find that you are not very smart, even stupid, and your brain capacity is probably not bigger than the two pieces of meat on your chest.
Because you are struggling with a very stupid question, I don't even know why you are hesitating.
The opportunity your boss gave you is something I could never ask for.
If I had the power of a monk at that time... Unfortunately, I don't have it, but I am willing to give everything to go back to that time, to let me..."
"Snap"
As soon as he finished drinking the wine, the bowl fell to the ground and broke into pieces.
At the same time, a slap hit Ruyue's pretty face hard, causing her cheek to flip. She was slapped off the chair and fell to the ground.
"You have everything, you have been given the chance to change your destiny, you will not repeat our mistakes, but you are like a loser and a coward, you dare not reach out for it!
What are you afraid of?"
Julie pounced over, rode on Ruyue's slender waist, grabbed Ruyue's hair like two women fighting, and pulled her head up from the ground.
The madman of the wasteland shouted loudly:
“You delicate little chicken, do you want to become like me, and then cry and scream to find the strength to protect yourself and others?
You have that chance!
But you don’t deserve it!”
Ruyue was frightened.
Julie has always maintained a very gentle attitude since joining Kunlunfang. She has never shown her side as a wastelander in front of Ruyue.
But tonight, she did not choose to hide.
He revealed his truest side to Ruyue.
Just as if to vent his anger, he slapped Ruyue one slap after another, leaving her confused. It was not until the fourth slap that the courtesan finally came to her senses.
She chose to fight back.
"Snap"
She howled for the first time in her life, like a madwoman, stretched out her hands, and tried in a disorderly manner to push away Julie who was riding on her, but she failed.
She howled, raised her hand and slapped Julie in the face.
certainly.
She is no match for Julie.
But the slap that was supposed to fall on her never came.
A few seconds later, Ruyue opened her frightened eyes in surprise, only to see that Julie, who was riding on her, had a satisfied expression on her face.
"Yes, that's it."
Julie was so incredibly gentle at this moment, as if everything just now was an illusion.
"Next time someone bullies you, do it like you did just now."
The wasteland woman stood up and stretched out her hand towards Ruyue. She said seriously:
"Use all your strength to slap him! Fighting back may not have any effect, but it would be really stupid if you held your head and took a beating without fighting back.
It’s really ugly.”
Ruyue hesitantly reached out and held Julie's hand.
She looked very bad at this moment, with disheveled hair and like a crazy woman. She was pulled up by Julie, who then threw a ladies' cigarette to her.
"You've been doing a good job recently, but I heard from some gossip that someone spread a rumor that you got this good job by climbing into the bed of that loser Old Four."
Julie lit a cigarette and also lit one for Ru Yue, who was not very skilled.
She turned her head to look at the breathless Ruyue and said:
"Did you know about this?"
"Um."
Ruyue followed Julie's example, carefully holding the slender ladies' cigarette between her lips and rubbing her swollen face. Julie's three slaps were really merciless.
Sure enough, facing a beautiful woman, only women can be so cruel.
She took a light puff of her cigarette and then frowned.
She didn't like the taste and could only whisper to Julie:
"I've known about their rumors for a long time. I even know who spread them, but I don't care. I've heard a lot of this in the yard before..."
"So you just accept it."
Julie gave her a stern look and said:
"Why don't you fight back? Why don't you confront them? You let them slander you. No wonder you are so cowardly. Do you know that you have to make them obey you first?
Only then will they truly 'understand' your politeness.
People in your world always mistake politeness for humility and think it is a beautiful quality, but it is not the case in our world.
You have to defeat all those who provoke you before you have the right to be polite to them.
never mind.
I don't need to teach you these things.
The boss will definitely teach you. Jiang is a beast. He will not allow a coward to hide in his pack if you do not perform up to his expectations.
He will drive you away without hesitation and let you fend for yourself.
Let me ask you, are you still hesitating now? "
Ruyue was a little hesitant.
But she finally nodded, glanced at Julie, and said:
“I’m not actually afraid of anything.
I just need some time to think about it. After all, if you choose to practice cultivation, you have to leave the mortal world. I originally promised you, sir, that I would help you and the chief manager.
If I leave suddenly, you will be short of people."
"Well……"
Julie's expression suddenly became embarrassed. The drunk scratched her head and laughed twice, trying to cover it up, but in the end she was embarrassed under Ruyue's gaze.
She raised her hands and said helplessly:
"You kid, why didn't you explain clearly just now... You got beaten for nothing. Okay, I admit that I was drunk."
"I just want to have a fight... It doesn't matter who my opponent is. You're just unlucky, little Ruyue."