Rotten God Kingdom

"Um, sister-in-law..."

Tong Yao was looking down at the forms when she heard this and froze.

"Who are you calling 'sister-in-law'?"

"It's all Jiang Xin's fault. She nags me all the time and has led me astray." Jiang Wang didn't hesitate to put the blame on Jiang Xin.

Tong Yao couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile, and slammed the form on the table: "Please sit down."

Jiang Wang sat obediently in the nearly broken chair, his hands on his knees, looking just like a primary school student who had made a mistake.

"Can you sing?"

"Don't even mention singing, I've barely heard of many of their songs," Jiang Wang said confidently.

What musical instruments can you play?

"That thing is so high-end, how could a wilderness dweller like me possibly touch it? Let alone know how to use it, I've never even seen one."

Tong Yao laughed in exasperation: "You can't do anything right, what are you doing here? Do you know you'll die?"

"My yearning and love for music is like a rushing river, never-ending." Jiang Wang closed his eyes, placed his right hand on his chest, as if making a vow.

"Two years have passed, and I haven't seen any other skills from you, but your verbal skills have certainly improved." Tong Yao rested her chin on her hand, leaned against the table, and stared intently at the man in front of her. "Now that we've met, you don't even know how to say anything nice; all you do is annoy me."

"Ahem, how have you been?" Jiang Wang really didn't know what to say, so he could only awkwardly try to find a topic to talk about.

He never imagined he would see her this way. In the travel agency room, while queuing at the job market, and while being jostled in the back of a truck, he had imagined many possible reunions.

You might bump into her on the street, catch a glimpse of her from afar beneath a wall, or suddenly hear her voice in a bustling pub.

I never considered this possibility.

In a small room.

Just the two of them.

"Fortunately, getting to this city wasn't too difficult." Tong Yao carefully examined Jiang Wang, trying to see if he had any new injuries. "When you came in, I thought you were a young woman, but now look, even I'm not as fair-skinned as you."

"Where is Jiangxin?"

"Outside, you came with me."

"Is the illness cured?"

"Um."

Then came another long silence.

Jiang Wang was restless; he wished that the person sitting in front of him was a proper examiner, not Tong Yao.

Humans are such a strange species. Before meeting the person they've been longing for, they imagine countless possibilities and think of many cheesy love words. But the moment they meet, it's as if their brains have been stolen by a zombie, and they can't utter a single word.

"It must have been very tiring, right?" Tong Yao asked softly.

Jiang Wang paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It's alright. There were a few really close calls, but thankfully I didn't suffer any major losses."

Tong Yao nodded. When Jiang Wang came in, she knew that he must have paid a price for staying in the sick city for so long.

Skin is often an external manifestation of some kind of disease.

Other more serious diseases are unlikely to be visible to the naked eye.

"Alright, let's proceed with the assessment." Tong Yao finished her reminiscing and wrote Jiang Wang's name on the form in front of her.

"Huh? Is there really going to be a test?"

Tong Yao tried hard to suppress her laughter, stood up, walked to the piano in the corner, opened the lid, hovered her fingers above the keys for two seconds, and then lowered them.

Jiang Wang had never heard this song before. It was light and delicate, like water droplets sliding off a leaf, like a line of poetry floating on the water.

She played for about thirty seconds, then stopped, turned around, and asked, "Do you know this piece?"

"have no idea."

"This is Debussy's 'Clair de Lune.' You know nothing about it, yet you dare to come in?"

"Because you're inside."

Tong Yao tapped the edge of the piano lid lightly with her fingers, as if she was composing her emotions: "I left back then not to escape, not because the name 'Sick City' sounded bad, and certainly not because I disliked you."

"Why is that?"

"It's because I hate the part of myself that can only wait." Tong Yao's expression was complicated, as if she was reminiscing, and also felt a bit guilty. "You took Jiang Xin everywhere to find a cure, and I couldn't do anything. I could only wait for you to come back in the ruins of the wilderness, and then help Jiang Xin change her dressings, cook, and mend her clothes."

I also want to help in my own way.

A sly look appeared on Tong Yao's face: "Have you ever heard that music can heal illnesses?"

"I've never felt there was anything wrong with you leaving. Even if you just wanted to leave, I completely understand. You don't need to explain."

Jiang Wang felt a warm feeling in his heart.

No matter how long they've been apart, Tong Yao is still Tong Yao, and Jiang Wang is still Jiang Wang.

"You can only fool yourself with that. I think you just care." Tong Yao pouted. "Alright, you've passed the test."

"That simple?"

"Otherwise what?" She looked up, finally revealing her first genuine smile of the day: "You think I'd actually let you play a piece?"

"The piece you just played..."

"Consider it a gift from me," Tong Yao said. "Let's go quickly, don't keep the people outside waiting too long."

Jiang Wang still had some doubts, and he couldn't help but ask, "But I don't understand anything."

"We can learn slowly; we have plenty of time."

"But I can't sing."

"It's just a little vocal technique; with your intelligence, you'll grasp it in no time."

"But I don't know how to play any musical instrument."

"I'll teach you."

Jiang Wang finally felt relieved. He whispered, "Let's make this clear first, don't get angry if I can't learn it, and definitely don't hit me. Let me tell you, I've improved. Now I can take you down with one hand."

Tong Yao raised an eyebrow: "Try fighting back!"

Jiang Wang fled in panic.

……

outside.

Jiang Xin was getting restless. Wasn't it supposed to be a simple test? At worst, it would just be singing a song. Why was it taking so long inside?

Hopefully nothing unexpected has happened.

Could it be that the person conducting the assessment saw that Jiang Wang was an outsider and thought that Jiang Wang's entry into the city was an insult to music, and in a fit of anger, wanted to arrest Jiang Wang on the spot?

Jiang Xin was still imagining things when Jiang Wang walked out.

"How is it? How is it?"

Jiang Wang glanced at her sideways: "With your brother involved, it's naturally a piece of cake."

Jiang Xin ignored Jiang Wang and went into the room second.

If her brother, an amateur, can succeed, she definitely can too.

As she entered the room, the first thing she saw was the woman sitting behind the table.

Jiang Xin paused for two seconds, then rushed over: "Sister-in-law."

Tong Yao touched her head and said with emotion, "You've grown taller."

……

The final assessment ended quickly, and all five people who passed the written test passed the assessment.

Apart from Jiang Xin, the other three are all male.

Tong Yao came out of the room, glanced at the person in charge, and said, "I've taken a liking to this pretty boy. I'm going to take him home."

The person in charge paused for a moment: "This is probably against the rules."

"What's wrong with the rules? I married him, so we're family. We live in the same house, is there a problem? Or do you have a problem with me?" When facing outsiders, Tong Yao showed none of the gentleness she had when facing Jiang Wangshi. Instead, she appeared very assertive and aggressive.

"This...please do as you please." The person in charge conceded a step.

"This girl is his sister, so she's practically family to me. I'm taking her with me; you don't have any objections, do you?"

The person in charge gritted his teeth. Taking a step back was the same as taking two steps back, so there was no need to get entangled with this woman.

The rivalry between different genres in the City of Music is intense, and a single misstep could trigger a significant upheaval within the city.

This woman has caused a lot of trouble since she came to the city two years ago, and now almost everyone in the rock music scene listens to her.

Offending her is like offending everyone in the city who plays rock music.

"Okay, do as you please."

"Sister-in-law is so nice." Jiang Xin cheered for him.

The other three wilderness dwellers who passed the exam and entered the city looked at each other in disbelief. Could the disparity in their lives really be so great?

They were all people who came to the city at the same time. They had to follow the proper procedures, while others had already achieved great success.

How unfair is God!

The person in charge's lips twitched. These two wilderness folks really knew how to take advantage of the situation. They had only just met, and they were already calling her "sister-in-law."

Tong Yao glanced at her: "Are you done yet?"

"It's all done."

"Get out of here when you're done. What are you still standing there for?"

The person in charge didn't bother arguing with the woman and quickly left with the other three.

Tong Yao breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Jiang Wang and the other person, saying, "The troublesome person is finally gone. Come on, I'll show you around the city."

Jiang Wang thought for a moment and asked, "May I ask which school of thought you belong to in the city? I heard that in the City of Music, there are several factions divided according to the type of music, and they don't get along very well with each other. Which faction are you in?"

"Rock and roll".

Jiang Wang remained silent for a while.

The girl in front of me has a bun hairstyle, a round face, and is about 1.6 meters tall.

With that appearance, she looks more like a kindergarten teacher, and has absolutely nothing to do with rock and roll.

"Isn't your name Tong Yao? I thought you could only sing nursery rhymes. When I came here, I was even wondering if nursery rhymes should be categorized into a separate category?"

Are you trying to cause trouble?