Mr. Zombie lingers in the city

Chapter 17: Doesn't understand a single bit of humor!

With a thud, she landed in Hu Xiaoyu's arms, and Gu Xixia instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Get out of here."

"Can't you carry me? It's not like I wasn't carried when I was little."

Hu Xiaoyu ignored her.

With a thud, her long legs landed on the ground, and Gu Xixia stood up from the ground with annoyance.

In the white beam of the flashlight, the vibrations from the two people's movements stirred up some dust.

Why didn't you install lights?

"I'm a zombie, I'm not blind, why would I install lights?"

"And what about me?"

"Don't you have a flashlight now?"

"I can't see clearly with the flashlight."

"Go ahead and cause trouble, or I'll make you get out of here."

A hint of annoyance appeared in Gu Xixia's narrow eyes behind her glasses.

"This house is older than your grandfather. How was I supposed to know you'd be coming when I was renovating it?"

"I've always loved being unreasonable and argumentative since I was a child..."

With a slight upturn of her lips, Gu Xixia remained silent.

After walking for a few minutes and turning several corners, Gu Xixia asked in confusion.

"This distance is already beyond where your house is located, isn't it?"

"I've dug through the entire surrounding area; what use is a basement of several hundred square meters?"

"Let me think... the room for antique jewelry seems to be on... the right-hand side, come over here."

Leading Gu Xixia, they turned right and arrived at a dark room of about twenty square meters.

"It's basically sealed, so why don't I feel stuffy?"

"I come to check the vents every two or three years, and leave something behind to keep rats and other pests away."

click!

The cabinet in front of me was opened, and in the dim light, a dazzling array of antique ornaments filled the view.

Gu Xixia's narrow eyes widened slightly as she reached out and took one of the emerald green hairpins.

"They're all antiques."

"Um."

Hu Xiaoyu gave a casual reply, ignoring the curious Gu Xixia, and squatted down in front of a large box.

As the box was opened, the clinking of jewelry filled the air, and Hu Xiaoyu spoke again.

"I don't know the exact year, but I bought all the ones I thought looked good back then and kept them. You can take whichever one you like."

Gu Xixia picked up a silver hairpin that had turned slightly black and examined it in her hand. Her gaze finally fell on the phoenix hairpin that was specially placed with clips at the very top.

"I want this!"

Jewelry is as alluring to women as luxury cars are to women. Hearing Gu Xixia's somewhat excited voice, Hu Xiaoyu curled his lips.

"You're so ignorant. Those were for you to pick out as gifts. This box is the one I specially kept to give away."

As soon as she finished speaking, amidst the thumping sounds, Gu Xixia took a few steps to Hu Xiaoyu's side.

The flashlight beam shone down, its dazzling light reflecting into my eyes.

"My eyes!!"

Amid Hu Xiaoyu's screams, Gu Xixia quickly turned off her flashlight and crouched down beside him.

"I'm sorry, I forgot that your eyes are particularly sensitive to light."

In the darkness, Gu Xixia anxiously groped on Hu Xiaoyu's face, intending to check the condition of his eyes.

But Hu Xiaoyu impatiently lifted her hand, and seeing his empty, red eyes, Gu Xixia shrank back in fear.

It's not that I'm afraid he'll bite me, it's that I'm afraid he'll slap me.

Snapped!

I got slapped on the head.

"You unlucky child!"

Hu Xiaoyu gave her a disdainful look and continued to pick out suitable jewelry for her.

Gu Xixia pursed her lips and moved to pick up the flashlight beside her.

This time she learned her lesson and only let the faint light from her flashlight shine into the box.

Do you prefer something simpler or more complex?

"What do you have?"

"Hairpins, hair ornaments, hair ornaments with dangling ornaments, earrings, bracelets, rings, phoenix crowns, I have everything, I've collected all the pretty ones."

Looking at the dazzling array of antique ornaments in the box, Gu Xixia squatted down and looked up at Hu Xiaoyu, who stood beside her with his hands on his hips and his scarlet eyes looking down at the box.

"How did you get all these things?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaoyu fell into thought.

"Some were stolen, some were rewards, some were found, and most were taken by chance."

Gu Xixia picked up an elaborate and gorgeous kingfisher feather phoenix crown, her narrow eyes filled with longing.

"Can I take them all?"

Snapped!

"Dream on! If I ever run out of money, I'll just exchange it for cash!"

"Leaving aside the gifts you gave to your teacher, three items are the most you can give!"

Rubbing the back of her head, Gu Xixia was a little annoyed.

"Can you please stop treating me like a child!"

"Okay, big kid."

"..."

Gu Xixia ignored him and spent a long time carefully selecting a phoenix tail hairpin, a butterfly hairpin carved from red and yellow jade, and the kingfisher feather phoenix crown that she had her eye on from the beginning.

"You have a good eye for quality. This was carved by Lu Zigang's teacher, 'Master from Another Mountain'."

Gu Xixia glanced at the three ornaments in her hand.

"Shouldn't this phoenix crown be the most expensive?"

"It depends on which angle you're looking at it from. In terms of economic value, the phoenix crown is naturally the most valuable, but in terms of sentiment and history, the butterfly hairpin has a more prestigious origin."

"Is there a story behind it?"

"Um."

After she made her selection, Hu Xiaoyu closed the box and then checked the dryness and ventilation of the basement.

He went to the shelf, took out a white jade longevity hairpin, and then closed the cabinet.

"This was carved by Lu Zigang's master, Master Tashan."

"I can't remember his real name, but I think his surname was Li. Anyway, he died less than half a month after he carved this hairpin for me."

"This butterfly hairpin is a stone king that he specially went to Shoushan Creek and spent a lot of money to buy to thank me for saving his whole family."

At this point, Hu Xiaoyu sighed.

"It is very likely that this trip led to his death half a month later."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xixia glanced at the butterfly hairpin in her hand and remained silent for a moment.

"Do all these things of yours have a story behind them?"

"Not really."

Hu Xiaoyu pulled Gu Xixia up from the ground, picked her up, and gently jumped back to the surface. He then picked up the metal brick again and stuffed it into the ground to hold it in place.

Once everything is done, put the furniture back in the house.

Seeing that he had picked up the broom again, Gu Xixia, who was holding the jewelry, was a little puzzled.

"What are you doing?"

"Sweep the floor! If you don't sweep the dust evenly around the floor, after a while, even a ghost will know I'm hiding something underground, okay? Stupid!"

Gu Xixia pursed her lips and glanced at the jewelry in her arms.

Fine, I received his gift today, so I won't argue with him.

They bought a black plastic bag and had Gu Xixia pack the items inside. The two then returned to the car.

"What you just said wasn't really what you meant?"

Gu Xixia gestured with a hairpin in the rearview mirror and spoke softly. Hu Xiaoyu glanced to his left to see if any cars were coming.

Turning on his turn signal, Hu Xiaoyu spoke again.

"There aren't many people like the butterfly hairpin that have left a lasting impression on me; most of them are just snatched away or left behind and that's it."

"So how could every antique possibly have a story to tell me?"

"So...can I sell it?"

"I'll sell it to you."

Looking at Hu Xiaoyu's nonchalant expression, Gu Xixia frowned slightly.

You're kidding me! You don't understand humor at all!