Prologue Butterfly

  At 2 pm, a knocking sound came from the computer speaker. It was an online QQ friend with the ID "mix eat die". Seeing the familiar avatar flashing, Zhou Xiaosheng, whose ID is Bai Xiaosheng, couldn't wait to send over a sentence, "You dead ghost, finally online!"

  "What's wrong? Are you waiting for me to warm your bed?" Looking at the lewd and half-bald middle-aged man with glasses in his QQ avatar, Zhou Xiao had an urge to rush over to the opposite building and beat him up.

  "You must have stayed up all night listening to the live broadcast of the neighbor's adult content and couldn't sleep, right? Another sleepless night! And now you're still in a daze! You're making fun of me!" Zhou Xiao retorted.

  "If there's something on your mind, speak up! Otherwise, I've still got a cigarette to smoke in the toilet!"

  Zhou Xiao knew that his last words had struck a nerve again. It was hard to imagine someone admitting to cohabiting with a "chicken", and Zhou Xiao only found out roughly after the guy got drunk once.

  "Chrysanthemum Pig just told me that a fat sheep lost to him in cards and is not convinced, they agreed to open the room at 3:30. He asked me to invite you to join forces and take down this fat sheep together." Zhou Xiao didn't bother chatting with him, knowing that after this guy wakes up from his lazy sleep, he has a fixed routine to complete, so he directly got to the point, saving himself from having to call out to him for half a day without a response.

  "Alas, how can I put it, you two little rascals, even cheating at playing cards, what a waste of your youth!"

  "You're so rich! Every time you pretend to be a saint, but every time it comes to dividing the money, you still quibble over 1.8 yuan."

  "Dad's poor! Alright, I'll accompany you two little rabbits to waste money on cigarettes today, but it's settled in cash! That little ghost Chrysanthemum Pig is unreliable, I just remember to ask you for it! Dad remembers the account!"

  Then Zhou Xiao teased him a few more times, but there was no response. He should have gone to do his basic morning exercises.

  "Tang Bohu's True Trace Appears in Yang City", Xiao Yao was accompanying Bai Xiaosheng and Chrysanthemum Pig to slaughter a fat sheep, while browsing the posts on the "Treasure Collection Forum". One of the new posts caught his attention.

  "Ah, a genuine Tang Yin!" Looking at the somewhat tattered ancient painting in the picture, although excited, I felt more regret. This painting was folded into small pieces by its owner's father during turbulent times to preserve it and other treasures, wrapping them in raincoats and burying them in flower pots. Now, every time this painting is unfolded, some fragments fall off.

  "What a pity!" Is there really no other way to hide the painting? Fold it up and bury it in the ground? This old man has really read too many books, actually thinking of such an unoriginal hiding method. If it were me... Xiao Yao's eyes lit up as he looked at this priceless treasure.

  "Bang! Bang!" The knocking at the door broke into Xiao Yao's thoughts. When he opened the door, standing in front of him was that woman whom Xiao Yao couldn't even bring himself to hate.

  "It's almost the end of the month, and business has been bad this month, so I'll give you 800. Zhou Mei had just sent off a customer, still wearing only a tight-fitting thin shirt on top, with two points bulging inside, swaying to reveal an enchanting figure that could still be considered seductive, said to Xiao Yao, "Later when there's no one around, I'll accompany you for a night tonight, in exchange for 200."

  Xiao Yao was just excited and relieved because of Tang Yin's true intention, but suddenly a wave of depression and annoyance rose up, he blurted out in anger: "You're worth two hundred for one night? You think you're eighteen?"

  "My old lady just had a double eyelid surgery, and this month they're raising the price!" Zhou Mei said angrily.

  "No wonder business is bad! You're not even afraid that those customers will go to the consumer association to complain about you selling fakes!" Xiao Yao retorted.

  "Suit yourself! Take it or leave it, I don't care!" Zhou Mei flung her hips and went back to her room.

  "Don't even think about defaulting on the rent! Housing prices are rising every day, and I haven't even mentioned raising the rent. You're actually talking nonsense about lowering it!" Xiao Yao kicked open Zhou Mei's door in anger, "If you're short one cent, you'll be out of here tomorrow."

  "You dare to drive me away? I'll go to the police station tomorrow and report you..." Zhou Mei rushed over, throwing a tantrum.

  Xiao Yao was completely caught off guard. A woman like Zhou Mei could say and do whatever she wanted, and if she went to the police station and fabricated some crime about Xiao Yao being a prostitute, Xiao Yao would be absolutely speechless.

  Xiao Yao, who had finally worked up the courage to rebel, retreated again and fled in disarray. He could only let Zhou Mei vent her anger and scold him in the house until she was exhausted and stopped.

  "Old cow, bring another bottle of Hunjiang Spring!" After casually throwing the empty wine bottle to the ground, Xiao Yao shouted at the stall owner.

  "Old Xiao! You've already had five bottles! Stop drinking and head home early!" Old Niu, the owner of Niujie Cuanchuanxiang, a kind-hearted and honest man, couldn't help but remind him.

  "Dad! Let him drink, what's it to you?" Chunxiang, the only daughter of Old Niu, put down the wine bottle on the table and looked at Xiao Yao with disdain, who was staring wide-eyed at the wine cup in front of her.

  "He's also a poor guy..." Old Cow sighed and shook his head.

  "There are many pitiful people under the sky, did you come here in a pitiful state?" Chun Xiang glanced at the overturned wine cup and then grabbed the bottle to pour for Xiao Yao. Suddenly, she remembered something. "Dad, did he give money first today?"

  "Here! Two red tickets!" Old Niu somewhat disapproved of his daughter's stingy attitude towards others, after all they were neighbors and such behavior wasn't good for their reputation.

  "That's good! Today I have money to pay first, it seems that his wife's lover has come again." Chunxiang felt relieved and started gossiping again.

  "Chunxiang! You're a big girl, what's wrong with you saying such things!" Old Niu was furious! Although the neighbors were all gossiping, this wasn't something that should be said by an unmarried girl, let alone his own daughter.

  Chunxiang was stopped by her father's anger, but in her heart, she became more and more disgusted with Xiao Yao. A big man who took money from his wife's infidelity to eat and drink, wasn't he afraid of getting a bad stomach?!

  Xiao Yao naturally didn't hear Niu's father and daughter conversation, he was trying to anesthetize himself with alcohol at this moment.

  Today is his forty-eighth birthday. Both parents are deceased, six relatives do not recognize him, nearly fifty years old, in good health, if he has a lot of family wealth, he would absolutely be the ideal partner for those young women.

  Unfortunately, he is muddle-headed and has achieved nothing. He doesn't even have a proper job, and every day he stays at home relying on part-time work to make some money to support himself.

  If there's a fixed income, it would be the rent of 1,000 yuan that Zhou Mei pays him. This woman who is regarded as his "wife" by the neighbors... for Xiao Yao, she is a lesson in life.

  Three years ago, Xiao Yao met Zhou Mei, who used the ID "Tina", on QQ. At first, Xiao Yao didn't believe the self-introduction that Zhou Mei told him, and he has already forgotten the specific story, but it was a pretty tragic one.

  After chatting a few times, after meeting in person, Xiao Yao started to feel some emotions. Taking advantage of Xiao Yao's emotional state, Zhou Mei immediately took action and moved in with her luggage the next day. That night, Xiao Yao became Zhou Mei's live-in boyfriend.

  In theory, after going through a simple procedure, Xiao Yao and he would be considered married.

  But facts often run counter to imagination. On the third day after Zhou Mei moved in, Xiao Yao went downstairs to buy a pack of cigarettes and when he returned home, he found an additional pair of half-old men's leather shoes at the entrance. Zhou Mei's door was tightly locked...

  Of course, nothing like catching an affair in bed and having a big fight happened. Xiao Yao has lived here for nearly twenty years after all, so he still wants to save face.

  "This is a month's rent." Looking at her calm and nonchalant expression, Xiao Yao was so angry that he wanted to throw the money back at her. The ten red bills in his hand were crumpled into a ball, and Xiao Yao's heart was squeezed out of blood.

  She has been doing this for almost ten years, and she relies on Xiao Yao in order to have a safe place and a cover.

  So Xiao Yao became another "wife" who was seen by the neighbors as stealing a man to raise, and Xiao Yao, wearing this huge green hat that didn't belong to him, became Zhou Mei's landlord.

  The neighbors' whispers behind her back didn't bother her, given her not-so-good reputation in the past. She couldn't possibly explain all this herself, so Zhou Mei's occupation wasn't suspected by the neighbors. This was exactly what she had hoped for.

  The night color at the edge of the sky is about to fade away, and a faint light begins to seep out. Walking on the way home, holding an unfinished small half bottle of wine in hand. At this time, Xiao Yao's depression in his heart gradually dispersed in the slight chill of the early morning. His head was slightly clearer.

  In the morning mist, when he opened his eyes drowsily, a golden butterfly hovered silently in front of him.

  Between the flapping of a butterfly's wings, he saw a heart-stopping blue, pure and transparent with some crystal-like quality. This was the other side of the butterfly's wings. The butterfly had one side golden yellow and the other bright blue... Xiao Yao had seen it for the second time.

  He stretched out his hand to catch it, but the butterfly flew away again. Xiao Yao followed behind this strange butterfly with stumbling footsteps.

  One person and one butterfly chased each other in the morning fog. This road seemed to have no end. The surroundings gradually darkened until the light completely disappeared.

  Xiao Yao didn't notice the change in his surroundings, but the strange butterfly in front of him was getting brighter and brighter. The yellow and blue light flickered like a firefly, dancing up and down, left and right in front of his eyes.

  It was unclear how much time had passed when a burst of light suddenly exploded in the darkness, shining so brightly that he couldn't even open his eyes.