Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 126: Hard to Say

Yang Chen had just finished a phone call and hadn't noticed where Wang Mama had gone. He shook his head and asked, "What do you need Wang Mama for?"

Lin Ruoxi furrowed her brows, biting her lip and staying silent, as if contemplating something.

Just then, Wang Mama's voice came from upstairs, "Miss, what's the matter?"

Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi both looked up, somewhat dumbfounded.

They saw Wang Mama, now wearing a white robe, standing by the railing on the second floor, her hair loose, and her face covered in a layer of white facial mask, indulging in her own self-care routine.

Lin Ruoxi blushed slightly, a hint of reproach in her tone, "Wang Mama, when did you start doing facials? And don't you remember what day it is today?"

While massaging her face, Wang Mama thought for a moment, "Oh, Miss, you know I'm getting older, my memory is getting worse. I forgot what you said."

Seeing Wang Mama's face covered in white, Yang Chen found it quite fresh. No wonder Wang Mama, in her fifties, looked like a woman in her forties; it turned out she also did these skincare routines regularly. But it made sense; taking care of such a big household, when she wasn't busy during the day, besides taking care of herself, there wasn't much else to do.

"Then hurry up, Wang Mama, I'm waiting for you," Lin Ruoxi said helplessly, sulking like a little girl who had been deceived by her elders.

Yang Chen found it strange; why did they have to wait for Wang Mama?

Before Yang Chen could ask, Wang Mama said, "Miss, don't wait for me. It used to be just us two women at home. Now that Miss is married to Young Master, it's only natural for Young Master to accompany Miss to the bookstore to buy books. I still have a lot of skincare to do today. Miss, you should go with Young Master."

"No!" Lin Ruoxi immediately said alertly, "I want to go with Wang Mama."

Wang Mama came downstairs with a smile, still rubbing her face, "Miss, I'm getting old, I can't always be with you. In the future, you and Young Master will have to spend time together as a couple. My company won't be of much help when you go to the bookstore; at most, I can help carry a couple of bags of books. Young Master is different; you're both young people, you can always have a conversation and exchange ideas. Besides, going out at night, it's always good to have a man with you. With Young Master protecting you, I can rest assured."

Yang Chen suddenly realized. So this woman wanted to go to the bookstore. Although they hadn't spent much time together, he understood that Lin Ruoxi seemed to be very fond of books. Last time in her study, he saw a wide range of books, like a small library, and even in the hospital, she had to have a lot of books delivered every week for reading.

Unexpectedly, the aloof and unfriendly female CEO was going to the bookstore to buy books, and she insisted on having Wang Mama accompany her, just like a little girl wanting her mother to go with her to buy books.

Lin Ruoxi suddenly felt at a loss for words. Wang Mama was speaking sense; although she felt uncomfortable inside, she inexplicably harbored some hope for Wang Mama's suggestion.

With a slight smile, Wang Mama turned to Yang Chen and said, "Young Master, Miss has had few friends since childhood. She likes to read alone and usually goes to the Zhonghai bookstore every month to buy a lot of books. When the old lady and Madam were alive, they would accompany Miss, but now they're gone, leaving only this old lady to accompany Miss. Miss would feel very uncomfortable being alone. Now that Young Master is here, I can finally retire."

After saying this, Wang Mama gave Yang Chen an encouraging look and leisurely went back upstairs.

Lin Ruoxi's little secret had been revealed by Wang Mama, making her feel uneasy in front of Yang Chen. Fortunately, her expression remained cold, so her embarrassment wasn't too obvious.

Knowing that she was sensitive, Yang Chen didn't continue to probe. He simply said, "Let's go. It's not safe to be alone at night. I'll accompany you."

"Do you know where Zhonghai Bookstore is?" Lin Ruoxi asked.

"I don't. You can tell me the way," Yang Chen replied.

Lin Ruoxi shook her head slightly. "I'll drive."

"Why is that so important?" Yang Chen wondered.

Lin Ruoxi nodded solemnly, her expression serious. "It's very important. I don't want to die in a car accident on the way to buy books."

...

More than half an hour later, in a black Mercedes SLK driven by Lin Ruoxi from the garage, the two arrived at Zhonghai Bookstore.

The entire bookstore occupied a building of over twenty floors, where books from various industries could be found. Neon lights were scarce in this area, and the traffic was relatively sparse, but there was a large crowd of people outside the bookstore.

Although material life in this era was incredibly rich, the magical invention of books had never been replaced. Many scientists claimed that traditional books would be replaced by electronic books and that paper would be drowned in the river of history. However, the fact was that books held an irreplaceable position. Among the few inventions that had not been replaced since ancient times, books were one of them.

The reason for this is actually quite simple. When a person sees an e-book, they often only have two choices: to read or not to read. However, when faced with a physical book, people can choose the "open and see" approach. By simply flipping through the pages, they can get a rough idea of what the book is about, something that e-books cannot provide.

Yang Chen followed beside Lin Ruoxi as they walked into the bookstore.

With a plain face and dressed in an ordinary white dress that had been washed countless times, Lin Ruoxi's appearance was nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, many eyes would linger on her, and in the eyes of many men, there was a naked greed. This made Yang Chen understand even more why Lin Ruoxi insisted on having someone accompany her. In such a crowded place, a girl like her being alone was indeed somewhat dangerous.

After taking the elevator to the area dedicated to humanities and history on the tenth floor or so, Lin Ruoxi stepped out of the elevator and saw Yang Chen following her all the time. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, she said, "You can manage on your own. Just wait for me at the entrance."

"I'm not here to read. I'm here to watch over you," Yang Chen said.

"I'm not a child. Why watch over me?" Lin Ruoxi said displeased.

Yang Chen shrugged, "You do your thing, and I'll watch over you. Since Wang Mama asked me to look after you, I'll do just that. Don't worry, I won't disturb you. You can stay here as long as you want."

Knowing it was pointless to argue with this rascal, Lin Ruoxi glared at him and began browsing through the shelves.

Because of the spaciousness of the entire floor, although there were many people in the bookstore, most of the time, it was quiet with no one around.

Lin Ruoxi's reading preferences were very diverse. Starting from the tenth floor, she would check out the books on every floor, pick a few, and put them into the basket. By the time they reached the fashion design section on the eighteenth floor, Yang Chen's hands were already filled with two large plastic baskets of books, weighing at least over a hundred kilograms.

When Lin Ruoxi had come to the bookstore with Wang Mama before, as both were women, they often couldn't carry more than one basket of books and had to go down to the first floor to deposit them before continuing. It was very troublesome. This time with Yang Chen, Lin Ruoxi felt much more relaxed. No matter what books she chose, she could simply put them into the basket Yang Chen was carrying. She only needed to focus on selecting, without worrying about whether she could carry them or not.

At this moment, Lin Ruoxi appeared very engrossed, completely forgetting how many books she had already selected, moving back and forth between the bookshelves as if tirelessly browsing through various books.

Many customers passing by the two noticed Yang Chen carrying a large basket full of books in both hands, and they all looked at him with admiration and sympathy. In their eyes, this man's arms must be on the verge of breaking. However, upon seeing Lin Ruoxi's face, those customers understood. They probably assumed he was desperately pursuing the girl's favor. Some young male customers, upon seeing Yang Chen's condition, abandoned the idea of striking up a conversation with Lin Ruoxi; a woman like her was "too much to handle."

Yang Chen didn't mind. He didn't even consider whether the weight in his hands exceeded what normal people could understand. As long as the basket could hold, he wouldn't complain.

After passing through the fashion and design section, the two finally arrived at the last floor, dedicated to premium foreign language books. This floor had noticeably fewer people; after all, most of the books were in languages like French and Spanish, which fewer people could understand, and even fewer were interested in reading.

When they reached this floor, Lin Ruoxi suddenly remembered Yang Chen's extraordinary language abilities that had impressed her. She casually asked, "Can you understand all the books here?"

Yang Chen glanced around. All he saw were languages from Western countries and a few from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. There weren't any of the lesser-known African or Latin American languages that he didn't understand. So, he nodded and said, "I can understand them all."

Lin Ruoxi's question was initially just a casual remark, but she didn't expect Yang Chen to actually claim he could understand everything. This made her feel like he was boasting. After all, there were at least twenty different foreign languages on this floor. As a playful gesture and to teach Yang Chen a lesson for his bragging, Lin Ruoxi casually walked to the Albanian language section.

Albanian is the official language of countries and regions such as Yugoslavia and Serbia. It's considered one of the most obscure and difficult-to-learn European languages because it combines vocabulary from Greek, Italian, Slavic, and other languages.

Lin Ruoxi randomly picked up a thick book with a black cover and flipped to a page. The dense Albanian text made her head ache.

"You said you could understand all the languages here. Can you translate the text on this page for me?" Lin Ruoxi looked at Yang Chen, her eyes bright and full of joy, not at all like someone who had been browsing the bookstore for three hours.

Yang Chen glanced briefly, feeling a bit awkward. He hesitated and then said, "Can I not do it? I find it difficult to articulate."

"Don't make excuses. It's just a translation, right? You said you could do it all, so what's the difficulty? I'll hold the book for you, and you just need to speak," Lin Ruoxi pressed on, her beautiful eyes filled with triumphant delight, feeling like she had finally gained the upper hand and defeated Yang Chen.