A Valiant Life

“Hey, it’s over,” said Lin Fan as he patted the young man’s shoulder. He now had a little understanding. It turned out that the Encyclopedia’s mystical boost was so valiant. But as a whole, he still didn’t have a clear idea of its use.

The young man, Jiang Tao, couldn’t bear to leave. He had cried but after crying, he asked himself what was up with this day. After taking a bath and meeting a stranger, he had blurted out so many heartfelt issues. What was going on?

But after saying all these, he suddenly realized that he had figured it out. It seemed like a beacon of light was guiding him.

Jiang Tao said, “Big Bro, do you want to scrub for another session?”

Lin Fan smiled, “Scrub what? Don’t you have to go and propose? If I scrub you again, you won’t make it in time.”

Jiang Tao was taken aback. “Right, right.” Then, he sighed, “This bath has been too strange. But I can’t quite tell what was so strange about it.”

Then, Jiang Tao left.

The surrounding back-scrubbers gathered around. “Little Boss, what did you say to make him cry like that?”

Lin Fan shrugged. “I didn’t do anything. I just scrubbed his back normally. How would I have known that he would cry? In my opinion, he probably had many things built up in his heart for a long time and wanted to let them out.”

The crowd nodded.

“That makes sense. That’s probably the case.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen something like this.”

“I never thought that this young man would have such thoughts. But it looks like he’s going to propose. This is a perfect ending.”

…

Lin Fan looked at his own two hands and couldn’t help but sigh. Could it be that his hands possessed such demonic powers? This Encyclopedia’s mystical boost was way too perverse. Could it be that it could change the hearts of people, scrub away the darkness in their hearts and expand the light?

Of course, these were just Lin Fan’s guesses. He still didn’t know the full situation.

In a certain district.

Jiang Tao held a bouquet of flowers in his hands. He had just gone to the jewelry shop and spent several months’ worth of his wages on a pair of small diamond rings. Although he had spent so much, he felt that it was worth it. He didn’t feel any loss at all.

Below the rental apartment, he took out his phone and gave his girlfriend a call.

“Xiao Hui, come down. I have something to tell you,” said Jiang Tao.

On the phone, there was no reply for a long while. Then, she opened her mouth and spoke. Her voice was a little panicky and a little frightened.

“Let’s talk another time, okay?”

Jiang Tao didn’t find it abnormal. He said, “No, I have to say it today. Otherwise, I won’t be at peace.”

“Alright, I’ll be down in a moment.”

In the house.

Xiao Hui put down her phone. She felt a little nervous and a little afraid. When she had come over to Shanghai with Jiang Tao, she had been filled with hope for the future. Although the days were tough, what made her happiest was for the two of them to struggle through the challenges together in Shanghai.

But two months earlier, she discovered that Jiang Tao had been chatting with another girl that she didn’t know through his phone.

Moreover, the content of their chats made her frightened and she didn’t dare to believe it.

“What should I do?” Xiao Hui sat by the bed and her eyes started turning red but she held back the tears.

When she had sneakily investigated, she found out that the girl was a Shanghai local and she had a good family background. If Jiang Tao were to be with her, he would have a better future and he wouldn’t have anything to worry about.

She felt unwilling for this to happen but she had no options. Now that Jiang Tao asked her to go downstairs, it seemed that he was going to dump her.

Thinking of their past days, she felt her heart shift.

Downstairs.

Xiao Hui arrived downstairs.

Jiang Tao stood in front of Xiao Hui while Xiao Hui had her head lowered as if she was awaiting the final sentence in a trial.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

Xiao Hui finally mustered up her courage and said, “I know I’m not beautiful and I’m not much of a help to you. I know, that’s why I’m willing to respect your…”

Before she finished her sentence…

Jiang Tao knelt down on one knee and held the flowers and rings in front of him.

“Xiao Hui, marry me. I will treat you well for the rest of our lives,” said Jiang Tao.

“Er!” Xiao Hui was stunned. She stood there staring blankly at him. Under the light, she could see that hopeful expression of Jiang Tao’s. “You weren’t here to tell me that you don’t want me anymore?”

Jiang Tao shook his head, “I wouldn’t say that. I’m serious. We’ve been together for eleven years. Although I haven’t earned a lot of money, I’ve earned enough for the wedding. From now on, we’ll work hard together and struggle together. Will you be with me?”

Xiao Hui suddenly started crying. Then, she hugged Jiang Tao. “I will. But I saw your chat records with that girl. Didn’t you want to break up with me?”

“It was nothing. I went to the bathhouse today and a big bro scrubbed my back. He woke me up with that scrub. I, Jiang Tao, cannot do such an inhumane thing.”

Xiao Hui had thought that Jiang Hui was going to say something else but when he heard Jiang Tao say that he was woken up by a back scrub, she was stunned. She had no idea what to say.

Back scrub?

Woke him up by scrubbing?

…

In the bathhouse.

“Are there any back-scrubbers?” another young man yelled after taking a shower.

But this young man’s expression was a little dull as if there was something on his mind.

Lin Fan had nothing to do, so when he heard this customer, he instantly responded. He now had to properly test out what this godly back-scrubbing technique could do.

Just before, Jiang Tao had made him realize that this godly back-scrubbing technique was quite powerful. But he didn’t know how this person would react.

“Lie down properly…”

Lin Fan went forward. “Hey, Brother, is there something bothering you?”

The young man looked at Lin Fan. “Just scrub my back. What are you being so nosy for?”

Lin Fan smiled. Without replying, he started scrubbing.

Time passed, minute by minute, second by second. That young man suddenly said, “Your technique is pretty good. I can’t take it, let’s scrub my back.”

The young man was the same as Jiang Tao. He couldn’t resist a change in a ‘certain part’ of his body. In public, he had to maintain some dignity. He wasn’t shameless enough and he couldn’t face everyone’s surprised looks.

Lin Fan felt helpless. What was wrong with scrubbing the front? Could it be that scrubbing the front would only cause ‘that’ to happen and only scrubbing the back would be effective?”

“Comfortable. It’s really very comfortable.”

Everyone looked over once again as they felt that it was bizarre. Before, someone had acted like this. Now, this guy was the same.

An experienced worker couldn’t help but ask, “Kid, is it really that comfortable”

“Mmm. It’s very comfortable.” The young man nodded. Then, his body shivered as he felt an inexplicable sensation.

“Ah…” the young man sighed. He had a very troubled look as if there was sadness in his heart.

Lin Fan said, “You’re so young, what’s there to sigh about?”

This time, the young man wasn’t hostile to Lin Fan. He said, “I have a lot of stress, a lot of troubles. Do you want to listen? I can tell you.”

Lin Fan smiled, “Sure, tell me.”

The young man, Wang Yu, said, “I work in sales. Recently, one of my colleagues made me very unhappy. I even have the urge to kill him. Think about it, I work hard every day but all of my achievements are snatched away by him. How could I feel good? He loafs around every day and doesn’t do his work seriously but the manager of our unit is his cousin. Every time the performance assessment comes, the manager credits half of my work to his cousin and just gives him free credit. How could I stand such a thing?”

Lin Fan smiled and said, “So this is why you’ve been troubled?”

Wang Yu nodded, “Mmm. Nowadays, I’m unhappy every day. After going back, I even quarrel with my wife. What does a woman like her know about my troubles? She even wants me to go watch movies with her. She doesn’t know that I’m tiring myself to death every day.”

As Lin Fan scrubbed his back, he felt the Encyclopedia’s mystical powers slowly spreading.

It was as if it had penetrated Wang Yu’s heart and dispelled that dark cloud inside, illuminating the depths of his heart.

Lin Fan said, “Actually, that’s just how the world is. There are all kinds of people in society. Sometimes, when you think about it, having something to lose is a fortunate thing, not a bad thing. In sales, if you are able to achieve such results, it shows that you are capable. And during work, one can expand one’s horizons and get to know more people. That itself is a kind of fortune that he cannot take from you.”

“What’s there to quarrel about with your wife? Go watch a movie with her, relax your soul. If you have troubles, then share them with your family. Although they can’t share the load for you, at least they will understand your troubles. It’s not good to bottle up all these emotions in your heart, don’t you think so?”

Wang Yu was startled, “Hey, you make a lot of sense. I’ve done sales all along because I’ve always wanted to meet more people and accumulate more social connections so that one day, I can go out into the world and seek success. My goal is not to just stay in this little company. Although my achievements have been stolen, my broad connections cannot be taken away.”

“Now that I think about it, that is true. I’ve been married to my wife for several years already. Ever since I started working this job, it seems that I haven’t gone out alone with her,” Wang Yu sighed.

Lin Fan smiled, “That’s why you should open up yourself and spend some time with your family at the movies. Even just having a meal together can lessen a day’s fatigue. Don’t you think so?”

“Right, you are very right,” said Wang Yu with a nod, “Big Bro, this is the first time I’ve seen you. I never thought that you would say so much but you even guided me. I feel that I’ve been too ridiculous to my wife lately.”

“After the bath, I’ll go back and go shopping with my wife. The last time, she said she liked a piece of clothing. When I go back, I’ll buy it for her.”

Lin Fan nodded, “Mmm.”

At that moment, Lin Fan understood.

It turned out that this godly back-scrubbing skill scrubs away the darkness in people’s hearts and causes them to be more joyful. At the same time, it causes them to remember what is truly important.

AKA: Brainwashing.

This skill was pretty awesome.