Chapter 0382: Doing the Right Thing

“Didn’t you say you’d stay here with me?”

Yu Feihong’s voice rang out, making Zhao Fusheng stop in his tracks.

Sometimes, once you get used to wearing a mask, you can’t tell which self is real. That’s why many who’ve been through war suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and why spies who went underground during wartime often had ways to release pressure.

But Zhao Fusheng felt that no one else faced a problem as serious as his own.

Originally, he had only said that to comfort Yu Feihong, but now she had taken it seriously.

Living under the same roof with a woman who had depression and might commit suicide—Zhao Fusheng suddenly felt a bit scared. What if Sister Yu, in a moment of despair, decided to leave this world and took him along with her?

With that thought, Zhao Fusheng turned around, looking slightly embarrassed at Yu Feihong. “Um, I’d better not disturb you, Sister Fei. After all, you’re a celebrity. If someone notices, rumors and gossip wouldn’t be appropriate.”

Yu Feihong let out a chuckle. “You little rascal, when you were lecturing me just now, why weren’t you so well-behaved?”

Depression patients are actually quite interesting. Sometimes a small thing or even a single word can make them break down and cry, but sometimes something can snap them back to clarity in an instant.

Now, Yu Feihong had already emerged from her earlier low mood. In fact, she suddenly felt a sense of mission.

Zhao Fusheng noticed this too. He had been startled by her words earlier and lost his composure, but now, looking closely, he saw that Yu Feihong’s state was completely different from when he first saw her.

Simply put, if at the start Sister Fei had exuded an air of despondency all over, now, though she still seemed a bit down, there was an unusual sparkle in her eyes—a glimmer of hope.

“Sit down. I’m fine now,” Yu Feihong said calmly to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng hesitated for a moment, then obediently returned to the sofa and sat down.

“Actually, sometimes I get caught up in the emotions of those grannies,” Yu Feihong said with a bitter smile. “You know, I interviewed one granny, and she told me a story…”

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback. “What story?”

Yu Feihong said softly, “That year, the granny was still young, only nine years old. One day, her mother said to her: ‘Niuniu, let’s play a game, okay? In a little while, you hide in the cabinet, and someone will pretend to take Mommy away. If you don’t cry or make a fuss before dark, Mommy will come back and give you a reward, okay?’”

“Later, some men in yellow uniforms took her mother away, and she never came back.” Yu Feihong mimicked the granny’s tone. “For over sixty years, the granny has been waiting for her mother to suddenly appear and give her a reward. Even though she knows it’s impossible.”

“Because that year was 1937. And that city was Nanjing…”

Zhao Fusheng was silent for a long time. He was a hothead himself, and couldn’t remain indifferent to such things. Naturally, he understood why Yu Feihong had been affected by those emotions.

“Sister Fei, I…”

“Silly boy, I know what you mean. Don’t worry, I’m really not that bad. I’m a performance major; no matter how much I get into a role, I won’t actually become depressed.” Yu Feihong looked at Zhao Fusheng seriously. “I just feel sorry for those grannies. Do you know? Their monthly living allowance is only a hundred yuan, and that’s from donations raised by Professor Su…”

“Heh, maybe after ten years, when the grannies have all passed away, the ones left will get a bit more living expenses,” Yu Feihong murmured to herself.

Zhao Fusheng was startled. He remembered something: in a documentary he had seen in his previous life, there was a conversation like this—because the elderly who originally needed help had died of old age, the remaining twenty-two grannies, who used to receive a hundred yuan a month in aid, now got five thousand yuan a year.

At the time, Zhao Fusheng hadn’t felt much, but hearing it now, it was heartbreaking.

Among those so-called charity celebrities and entrepreneurs, who had ever paid attention to these twenty-two grannies?

They talked about charity and patriotism all day, held forth on the economic future, donated money abroad—but who ever spared a thought for these old women?

With that in mind, Zhao Fusheng took a deep breath and said to Yu Feihong, “Sister, from what you’ve found out so far, how many of these grannies are still alive?”

Yu Feihong was taken aback. “A total of 139. Why?”

Zhao Fusheng nodded. “Sister, starting this year, I’ll give each of these grannies ten thousand yuan a year for living expenses. Can you help me deliver it to each of them?”

“Huh?”

Yu Feihong was dumbfounded, staring at Zhao Fusheng. “You… what did you say?”

Zhao Fusheng smiled calmly. “I said, I’ll cover the living expenses for these grannies from now on.”

He knew this might seem foolish—after all, with the KFC store opening, he only had a few tens of thousands of yuan left, and saying this was like a dream. But Zhao Fusheng felt that a person had to do something in life. Besides, since heaven had given him this chance to start over, if he didn’t leave a mark or do something to ease his conscience, he was truly afraid that when his life ended again, he would regret it forever.

He remembered that the Sichuan girl who, out of sentiment, donated a million to Twenty-Two and used her connections to beg big names in the entertainment circle to help promote it—she wouldn’t be admitted to the Central Academy of Drama until next year. Though her acting career was lukewarm, she was a bit scatterbrained, and had many flaws, for this one thing, Zhao Fusheng had always felt she was far better than those stars who preached compassion but did nothing decent.

And now, Zhao Fusheng planned to take this matter upon himself.

Yu Feihong just looked at Zhao Fusheng, this young man in his early twenties sitting across from her, calmly uttering words even she dared not say.

As if it were just a trivial matter.

“You little rascal, think you’re the only one with money?” Yu Feihong glared at Zhao Fusheng, then smiled. “Count me in on this. We’ll split the cost.”

Zhao Fusheng was stunned for a moment, then nodded and gave Yu Feihong a smile.

“Thank you, Sister Fei,” he said.

Yu Feihong smiled, said nothing more, and downed the water in front of her in one gulp. She suddenly felt that the world still had its beautiful side.