Blind Spot-Chapter 62 - 060 Illusion and Reality 4
Chapter 62: 060 Illusion and Reality 4
Chapter 62: 060 Illusion and Reality 4
“Wu’s Grocery Store? Never heard of it,” the old man shook his head. “The bookstore used to be on Xuezhong Road; it moved several times. Back then, it was my great-grandfather, my grandfather’s dad, who opened the shop there for my grandfather’s education.”
He pondered for a moment.
“Dongliu, right, Dongliu Experimental Primary School, and the junior high school – my grandfather attended both. Back then, Dongliu was a famous key school in the area.”
Upon hearing the name Dongliu, several people were immediately certain in their hearts.
It’s this one!
“What are you asking about this for?” the old man asked, puzzled.
“You know about Dongliu Experimental Primary School, so how could you not know about Wu’s Grocery Store on Xuezhong Road?” Zhong Ying was getting impatient. They were looking for Bai Feipeng, the chubby boy, specifically to find Wu’s Grocery Store.
Because that slot machine was placed right in front of Wu’s Grocery Store.
So, if they could locate this grocery store, they could confirm the whereabouts of that mysterious slot machine!
But now, according to this old man, he claims not to know anything about Wu’s Grocery Store??
“Right! Is the place you’re talking about Wu Laokan’s Grocery Store?” The old man suddenly slapped his forehead, remembering.
“Wu Laokan’s Grocery Store?” The group paused, taken aback.
“Yeah, there’s a Wu Laokan’s Grocery. I remember it. They sold everything, snacks and all; I used to go there often to buy treats when I was a kid,” he seemed to recall.
“You’re looking for Wu Laokan’s family?”
“Yes, yes! Do you remember where Wu Laokan’s place is now?” Zhong Ying’s pretty face clearly showed a hint of joy. Since both are Wu’s, they must be related.
“I’m not sure,” the old man shook his head.
“Then, do you remember your grandfather, Bai Feipeng, ever mentioning playing slot machines at Wu Laokan’s Grocery Store when he was young?” Zhong Ying hastily asked.
“When he was young? What are you talking about?” The old man glanced at her perplexedly. “There was no Wu Laokan’s Grocery when my grandfather was a kid on that street. Back then, we relied on the Xiao Putao Supermarket for daily necessities; there wasn’t a grocery store at all.”
“???” Upon hearing this, everyone was startled.
No grocery store when the little chubby boy was young?
Then, how could Bai Feipeng claim to know Wu’s Grocery Store in Li Chengyi’s memory Flash Appearance??!
“And what about Zhou Family Pastry Shop?” Li Chengyi couldn’t hold back any longer and blurted out. “When your grandfather was a kid, did he ever sneak things from Zhou’s Pastries?”
What an awful thing to say… it was truly asking for a beating. The rest of them couldn’t help but avert their eyes.
“What kind of talk is that??” The old man glared at him. “Where did Zhou’s Pastries come from?? Back then, there wasn’t a single pastry shop on Xuezhong Road! We got our sweets through delivery, or we had to travel five kilometers to other districts. Still stealing? You must be dreaming of stealing!”
The old man was obviously getting angry.
But his answer left everyone present somewhat bewildered.
If what the old man said was true, then the neighborhood where Bai Feipeng lived as a child had neither a grocery store nor a pastry shop.
So how did he appear in front of Li Chengyi?
More importantly, how could the little chubby boy see Li Chengyi, watch him running around the streets, and hear what he was saying?
“However… Wu’s Grocery Store… Zhou’s Pastries?” At this moment, the old man suddenly rubbed his forehead and lowered his head to ponder.
“I feel like I’ve heard about it somewhere,” he murmured to himself.
This change immediately gave everyone present a new hope.
They didn’t dare to disturb him, for fear of affecting the old man’s recollection.
“Boss, I’m here to buy books! Today’s edition of ‘Sound Action’, three copies!”
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At that moment, a bespectacled teenager with a backpack burst into the bookstore.
“Sound Action, yes, we’ve just got them in stock today, you’re just in time,” the old man said, halting his thoughts and smiling as he pulled out a flashy magazine from under the counter.
“But if you want three, I’ll need to check in the back; just wait here a moment.”
But just then, his recollection was interrupted as he stood up, ready to head deeper into the store.
Smack!
Suddenly, Xindela swung his hand with a forceful slap on the glass counter at the bookstore entrance.
“Boss, please help us out with something first! He doesn’t need that many copies!”
“But I…” The bespectacled boy was about to speak when suddenly a red banknote appeared before his eyes.
He froze for a second, then looked up to see Xindela giving him a knowing glance.
Understanding the cue, the boy took the banknote and ran off.
“Boss, never mind, one is enough for me!”
It wasn’t long before he reached the street corner and vanished from sight.
“Come on! Boss, think hard, where have you seen Wu’s Grocery Store and Zhou’s Pastries before?” Zhong Ying stepped forward and asked sweetly.
“I…” The old man was somewhat stunned, not understanding what these people were up to.
“Think hard,” Xindela pulled out another stack of banknotes and gently placed it on the counter, his voice magnetic. “Believe in yourself.”
“Ah… oh… I remember now!” As soon as the old man saw the money, his eyes lit up.
He slapped his forehead and quickly stashed the money away.
“Follow me!”
Turning around, he moved briskly toward the back of the store.
The others followed him in, and quickly reached the very back of the bookstore.
There weren’t many books at the back, but rather a series of paintings with rich colors and somewhat twisted lines hanging on the walls.
“Here!” The old man quickly walked up to a dark-toned painting frame in the corner, stretched out his hand, and pointed at one corner.
“Look, this should be the Wu’s Grocery Store and Zhou’s Pastries you’re looking for.”
Everyone looked where he was pointing and immediately discovered, painted clearly in one corner of the painting, the two shops.
On the left was Wu’s Grocery Store, and a few doors down to the right was Zhou’s Pastries!
This? What’s the meaning of this??
“Wait, what’s that!?” Suddenly, Zhong Ying pointed to a spot within the painting.
Everyone’s gaze converged on that spot.
Before they could be astonished by the inclusion of the two shops in the painting, they immediately spotted in front of Wu’s Grocery Store, a colorful fruit slot machine.
This mysterious slot machine had actually been found under such circumstances!!?
“….Where is this painted?” Xindela was the first to snap back to reality and asked in a deep voice.
“Which location?” The old man laughed strangely, “This is a scene from a comic book my grandfather used to love. After he taught himself to paint, he recreated this scene. I told you, I found what you mentioned about Wu’s Grocery Store and Zhou’s Pastries very familiar. Take a look.”
He pointed to a corner of the painting.
That was exactly the storefront of Zhou’s Pastries.
Li Chengyi glanced over and saw that inside the shop, a gentle yellow light was on, two clerks were busy and heads down, arranging something. In front of the shop, there were wooden drawers, in which freshly made various pastries were displayed.
This scene was exactly the same as what he had seen before!
He also saw a chubby little boy with eyes and mouth that were mere slits due to his plumpness, standing in front of the shop, turning his head as if to look outside the painting.
The little chubby boy was very pale; compared to the surrounding streets shrouded in fog, his flesh shone with a bright whiteness, and his complexion was exceptionally pale.
His eyes were small, but Li Chengyi, looking closely, felt as if the little boy was truly looking at him, standing outside the painting.
The little chubby boy wore a smile, mischievously, but the light in his eyes was devoid of any emotion.
Cold, vivid….
Smack.
“Don’t stare into his eyes.” The old man suddenly stretched his hand to block the little chubby boy’s image, looking seriously at Li Chengyi, and said.
“Many people have come to see this painting and they all felt that my grandfather made this little chubby boy a bit off. Staring into his eyes for too long will give you nightmares.”
“Is this little chubby boy not your grandfather himself?” Li Chengyi, who was also feeling a bit uncomfortable, relaxed a bit when the image was blocked.
“Yes, but also no,” the old man shook his head, “When my grandfather painted this, he was already in his fifties. Right after he finished painting, we hadn’t seen this little chubby boy. Later on, one day, the little chubby boy suddenly appeared on the painting. Then we asked him if he had added it afterwards. Because this chubby boy’s style was completely different from the rest.”
The old man paused, seeing that he had captured the attention of everyone around him, and then he continued with a smile.
“My grandfather replied, ‘Yes, but also no.’
“What does that mean?” unable to hold back, Zhong Ying asked. “If he painted it, then he did, how could there be such an answer?”
“Hey, that’s exactly what I asked him back then. I was young and straightforward,” the old man chuckled, “but my grandfather’s answer took everyone by surprise.”
He paused there, took a breath, as if lost in the memories of those days.
Everyone on the side was waiting for his answer, but the old man seemed to have forgotten to continue, falling silent…
“And then?” Sima Gui said impatiently.
“And then….cough cough cough…” the old man coughed a few times, “I can’t quite remember….”
Whoosh!
Xindela laid down another stack of bills, placing it on the wooden shelf beside him.
“Ah, now I remember,” the old man immediately showed a look of realization, and slapped his head.
“My grandfather said that there was originally nothing in that spot. However, one day, while he was moving the painting frame, he accidentally dropped a drop of white ink on it.
So, to cover up that spot of white ink, he simply expanded it into a little chubby boy.
He painted it to look like himself as a child. But after it was painted, he always felt it didn’t quite resemble him. And no one knew why…”
Comic books… scenes within a painting… an unexpected addition of a little chubby boy… This series of events seems a bit too much.
“So what comic book is this painting from? And where is this street in the painting?” Concerned about the original location of the street, Li Chengyi once again asked.
“I can’t remember, but the street in the painting?” The old man started to laugh, “That’s just an imaginary scene created by the author, where would you go to find the original location? Isn’t that a joke?”
“I remember that I’ve read that comic book. It tells about a street with a strange fruit machine that can fulfill people’s wishes. However, every time you use it, you have to pay a certain price as a wager. Afterwards… that street suffered a fire, and along with the grocery store and the fruit machine, everything was burned down. And then the story ended,” the old man told the story from his memory at ease.
A fire!?
Everyone present shivered, instantly associating it with the fire that had happened on Xuezhong Road.
