Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 127: Forgetting to Hide Well

Yang Chen sighed, "You insisted that I speak..."

"Don't waste time, just say it. But I warn you, technology is very advanced now. If you make things up, I can analyze it through translation tools. So, if you can't do it, just give up," Lin Ruoxi rarely showed a hint of playfulness, waiting to see Yang Chen embarrass himself and admit defeat.

Yang Chen gave her a strange look, cleared his throat, and began to translate:

"...Joseph came in, he gently pushed open my bedroom door. I could hear my heartbeat, so full of longing to be loved... I didn't know whether I should wake up to stop him. Charles is next door, he is Joseph's brother, my husband, but at this moment, we are both betraying him..."

Translating up to this point, Lin Ruoxi paused, but didn't speak, looking at Yang Chen with suspicion, unable to determine if this was true.

Yang Chen shrugged, continuing to translate:

"Joseph kissed my earrings, and I felt my body heating up. How long has it been, oh... my dear Joseph, you're like a warm fireplace in winter, lush greenery in summer. I can't get rid of you... oh, dear, kiss me, possess me... forget who Daphne is to you, forget who you are. We're just a pitiful pair of lovers... Joseph kissed my chest..."

"Stop!" Lin Ruoxi finally couldn't bear it anymore, her ears turning red with embarrassment. She closed the book and gritted her teeth, "How can you be like this? Even if you can't translate, you shouldn't make things up, especially something like this! Why would you say such vulgar words?"

Yang Chen shrugged helplessly, "I didn't make it up, that's how it's written in the book."

"Who would believe you! You must be making it up. How could a book have such content? Didn't the censors know?" Lin Ruoxi couldn't understand why such words would appear here. It seemed her wife was quite conservative in this regard. She didn't know that such descriptions were commonplace abroad.

At that moment, an elderly man with gray hair, slightly tall, wearing a gray sweater and reading glasses, approached from the other end of the bookshelf. He smiled at Lin Ruoxi and said, "Miss, this young man isn't making it up. I've read that book before, and those passages are in there."

Lin Ruoxi looked at the old man in confusion. "Are you..."

"I'm Mr. Zhao. You can call me Old Zhao. I specialize in the study of the Indo-European language family, so I can understand Albanian. What that young man just translated should be correct. I remember that the book mainly tells the story of a Serbian woman hesitating about betraying her marriage, and her name should be Daphne," Old Zhao explained.

Of course, Lin Ruoxi wouldn't think that a kindly old man would come over and collude with Yang Chen to deceive her for no reason. Although she knew she had wrongly accused Yang Chen, seeing his smug look made her feel somewhat aggrieved. How could this guy's brain be so versatile to understand such an obscure language!

"Thank you, Mr. Zhao. Are you here to read as well?" Yang Chen felt grateful to the old man; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to explain.

Old Zhao smiled and shook his head. "I'm here to read to my wife." With that, Old Zhao pointed to the other end of the bookshelf, where there sat an elderly woman in a wheelchair, also in her twilight years, looking very frail.

"My wife's cataracts couldn't be cured, so she went blind and couldn't read. She used to work at the same research institute as me, but as she grew older, her eyesight deteriorated. For those of us in our line of research, losing our eyesight is basically the end of our careers. My wife has been staying at home for the past few years and has started to suffer from senile dementia. I was worried, so I quit my job and bring her here every day to read to her and accompany her for walks. This way, at least she won't be in a daze all the time and can remember more things."

As Old Zhao spoke of his sadness, his eyes became a bit moist. "Last year, she asked me what my name was. She only remembered that my surname was Zhao and couldn't recall my given name. Thinking back to when we were young, my wife was also a renowned expert at the institute. I never thought that as we got older, she would even forget who I am. How could I not be worried..."

Lin Ruoxi, with a pure heart, listened to his words and felt sorrow for the elderly couple. She comforted, "Old Zhao, don't be sad. Your wife will get better."

"Hehe," Old Zhao laughed heartily. "Getting better is unlikely. I've come to terms with it. Regardless of whether she remembers me or not, I remember her, and I remember the decades we've spent together, through thick and thin. That's enough. In a few more years, we'll just be two piles of ashes, but it's enough that we'll always be together even in death."

Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi remained silent after hearing this. Old Zhao's words may have sounded mundane, but they contained some of life's most precious sentiments.

Old Zhao suddenly looked at the two with a hint of meaning in his eyes. "You two are a couple too, right?"

"Huh?" Lin Ruoxi blushed slightly, unable to speak.

Yang Chen nodded. "We got married not too long ago."

Old Zhao chuckled, "Young man, you're lucky to have such a beautiful girl as your wife. But you look quite tired, carrying those two baskets of books in your hands. It must be over a hundred pounds altogether. It tires me out just looking at them."

It was only then that Lin Ruoxi consciously looked at the two baskets of books Yang Chen had placed on the ground. They were piled up like small mountains, and without paying attention, she had already accumulated so many books of her own.

Frowning, Lin Ruoxi bent down and tried to lift one of the baskets. To her surprise, her hand felt incredibly strained with the effort, and she had to use both hands to lift it reluctantly.

After setting down the heavy basket, Lin Ruoxi looked at Yang Chen with a strange expression. The realization that this man had silently accompanied her for three hours, carrying such large and heavy baskets without complaint, filled Lin Ruoxi with a strong sense of guilt and gratitude. She looked up at Yang Chen with a complex expression. Yang Chen, seeing this scene, simply smiled. For him, the weight was nothing, but for an ordinary person, especially a girl, it was too heavy.

Lifting the two baskets again, one in each hand, Yang Chen said, "It's okay, I don't feel them being heavy."

Old Zhao nodded in approval, "These days, young girls are always looking for handsome and wealthy men. I see that you, young man, are sincere. The weight of these two baskets is more valuable than those things. Miss, you should cherish this good match. Don't waste this opportunity." With that, Old Zhao waved goodbye with a smile and slowly pushed his wife away.

Seeing Lin Ruoxi still staring at him in a daze, Yang Chen couldn't help but laugh and say, "I know you don't admit Old Zhao's words, but I still think I'm quite handsome, don't you agree?"

Lin Ruoxi smiled faintly and said softly, "You go down in the elevator first, wait for me at the cashier's desk, and I'll go get two more books before coming down."

Hearing his wife speaking so gently, Yang Chen almost thought he was hallucinating. But considering that it wouldn't take much time to get two more books, he lifted the two baskets and took the elevator downstairs alone.

Five minutes later, Lin Ruoxi also emerged from the elevator, tightly holding two books, trying to hide them from view. Yang Chen didn't bother asking her what books she had bought to hide from him. After placing the two baskets on the cashier's desk, he stood aside and watched Lin Ruoxi pay.

Luckily, there was a handcart available on the first floor, or Lin Ruoxi would have struggled with her nearly hundred books. Many people saw Lin Ruoxi buying so many books at once and whispered in awe at her lifestyle. After all, books weren't cheap, and buying so many would easily cost thousands. Lin Ruoxi paid with her card without batting an eyelid.

As Yang Chen pushed the cart with Lin Ruoxi towards the parking lot, he couldn't help but ask, "Ruoxi, with so many books, will you be able to read them all?"

Lin Ruoxi replied unusually seriously, "Actually, many of these books are for reference and don't necessarily need to be read completely. Besides, I like to collect all kinds of books."

Yang Chen was puzzled. She was speaking so calmly to him, which was unlike her usual style. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Ruoxi, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? You don't sound like yourself."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ruoxi felt a sudden wave of displeasure. Was there something wrong with talking to him normally? So she retorted irritably, "Are you deliberately seeking to be scolded? Do you only feel happy when I mock you?"

"Oh, right! That tone, that's more like it!" Yang Chen chuckled.

Lin Ruoxi rolled her eyes and remained silent.

When it came time to load the pile of books into the car, it naturally took a lot of effort, as stacking them carelessly could easily damage the books.

As they were almost finished loading the books, Yang Chen absentmindedly picked up a book from the bottom of the cart. Suddenly, he froze on the spot.

Lin Ruoxi, lost in her own thoughts, saw Yang Chen holding a book and looked over with confusion. But just one glance made her blush to the roots of her ears, her delicate face glowing like a ripe autumn moon...

Oh no! How could I forget to hide it properly?

The book Yang Chen picked up was one of the last two books Lin Ruoxi chose. Its title was—

"The Guide to Being a Virtuous Wife and Good Mother"...