Back in the county town, the Gray Humanoid Entity kept pondering what John Chou had said—what, exactly, is the heart?
The small restaurant had completely shut down, so his older brother returned to doing manual labor. There was a look of loneliness in his eyes. The Gray Humanoid Entity could never figure out why he seemed so desolate—after all, that younger brother was already gone.
In autumn, the elder in his brother's family passed away. There were no extra jobs left for his brother in the county town, so he decided to go to the provincial capital to make a living.
There were more jobs in the provincial capital than in the small county town. After arriving, his brother quickly found work at a rope factory.
Following the trail, the Gray Humanoid Entity found the younger brother. At this time, the younger brother had returned to his former wretched life. He had finally landed a job as a chef, but due to issues with earnings, he became the target of jealousy, was quickly framed, and spent some time locked up.
After he got out, he returned to the life of a beggar. He began to miss those days back in the county town, and regret crept in—maybe if he hadn’t agreed to those terms out of greed, things wouldn’t have turned out this way. One wrong step led to another, and another.
He wanted to do manual labor but no one would hire him, due to his thin frame. In his current state, even trying to apply at restaurants was pointless—he’d be chased away at the door before he could even speak.
The indifference of the big city was even more chilling than that of the small county town.
“So this is what they mean by good is rewarded with good, and evil with evil, huh?”
Meanwhile, his brother, through diligence and care, was quickly promoted to a permanent worker in a short period, with much better pay.
Another winter arrived. In the span of just one year, the Gray Humanoid Entity had witnessed it all—the turning of fate, the exhaustion of humanity. Now, he seemed to understand people even more.
In this big city, people from all walks of life shared only one thing: exhaustion.
“Is living really so tiring? Why would I even want to become human?”
On the winter streets, the younger brother wore a tattered burlap sack, shivering from the cold. He hadn’t had a proper meal in days, starving and freezing. He fell ill, and death was not far off.
Snow drifted as crowds passed by, but not a single person cared about the beggar at the roadside.
“Hey, what are you doing here? Why’d you come all the way out here?”
Suddenly, a delicate voice came from behind the Gray Humanoid Entity. He turned around.
Rufina Howard.
Rufina Howard clapped her hands, astonished. The Gray Humanoid Entity spoke much more normally now, and he even recognized her.
“How did John Chou teach you guys, anyway?”
At this moment, Rufina Howard spotted the beggar, hurried over, knelt down, and gently placed her hand on his forehead.
"Oh dear, he's burning up."
Passersby on the street looked on with surprise.
"What are you staring at? Instead of gawking, why don't you help? You people—are you even human?"
The Gray Humanoid Entity widened his eyes, beginning to understand why he was so drawn to humans—it was this act of kindness that captivated him.
Rufina Howard saved the younger brother, took him to the hospital, paid for his treatment, and cared for him for several days. The brother recovered and was deeply grateful, repeatedly expressing his thanks. Meanwhile, the Gray Humanoid Entity, standing nearby, felt no sympathy for the brother at all.
"This guy isn't a good person. Just leave him be."
"What do you know? Helping others doesn't need a reason, whether they're good or bad."
The Gray Humanoid Entity responded with an "Oh," still puzzled, staring at Rufina Howard.
Rufina Howard had returned this time to see how the three humanoid entities were doing. Seeing the Gray Humanoid Entity, she was delighted.
"By the way, where are those other two?"
"They've lost interest in people, so now I'm the only one here, observing humans."
After a while, the Gray Humanoid Entity told her about the beggar. Rufina Howard smiled thoughtfully.
"Don't listen to John Chou, that old demon. If I were in that guy's shoes, I'd do the same. With such good conditions, after being a beggar for so long, finally getting a chance—anyone with desire would do it. It's perfectly normal."
"But his brother saved him, and he still acted that way. I just don't think he's a good person."
Rufina Howard laughed and playfully slapped the Gray Humanoid Entity on the forehead, grinning.
"You barely have any judgment, and you don't even know what a heart is, yet you sure talk a lot. All right, let him meet his brother."
After Rufina Howard told the younger brother what she knew, he broke down in tears, repeatedly saying he was just momentarily blinded by greed. If possible, he wanted to apologize to his brother.
With Rufina Howard's help, the two brothers met and reconciled. The older brother took the younger to the rope factory and got him a job. Both brothers were deeply grateful to Rufina Howard.
"Why doesn't the older brother say a word, even though his younger brother..."
"Let me tell you a secret about people."
The Gray Humanoid Entity followed Rufina Howard as they entered a fruit market. Rufina pointed to a stall.
"Look over there. If you had to choose between good fruit and fruit that's about to go bad, which would you pick?"
"Of course, the good ones."
Rufina Howard smiled.
"See? People buy the good ones, but someone always buys the bad ones too."
The Gray Humanoid Entity looked on in surprise, unable to understand why anyone would choose the bad fruit when the good ones were clearly better.
"People are like these fruits. Good fruit costs more; fruit that's about to spoil is cheaper. But there's no such thing as cheap, perfect fruit in this world. No one is flawless. Everyone makes mistakes. John Chou is just a dark-hearted demon—I don't know what he's teaching you all, hmph."
The Gray Humanoid Entity burst out laughing, while Rufina Howard skipped away, light on her feet.
"Right, let's find a place to stay first. Tell me what those other two saw."
After finding a place to stay, the Gray Humanoid Entity told Rufina Howard about the people the other two entities had observed, as well as what John Chou had said.
"Just as I thought! Everything that guy teaches ends up just like him! I swear, I'll prove him wrong."
The Gray Humanoid Entity watched Rufina Howard with interest. Then Rufina asked him to help find the doctor the woman liked.
"Why?"
"Since that doctor agreed to go out with her—and not just once—I think he does like her. It's just her background that makes him hesitate, stuck on something in his heart. When someone likes another person, they don't need a reason. It's not like John Chou says. People move from one pain to another. If you feel pain, then it's pain. But if you choose happiness, then you're happy. Simple as that."
The Gray Humanoid Entity blinked, staring at Rufina Howard, who looked innocent and cheerful.
"I've figured out my own story, hmph. Even if they don't tell me, I still know. I don't want to choose a life of suffering. Even if my life exists for some purpose, before I fulfill it, I want to live happily."
"Go bring those two over. I want to prove to them that the people they know aren't just what they seem. And tell John Chou—this time, I'm definitely going to win."
The Gray Humanoid Entity, excited, hurried back and soon found John Chou, relaying Rufina Howard's words.
"Heh, that girl..."
John Chou chuckled, while Uncle Zhuang laughed heartily nearby.
"Young master, looks like you're going to lose this time."
The Black and White Humanoid Entities, after hearing what the Gray Humanoid Entity said, suddenly found themselves interested again in the people they'd been observing.
Several days passed after returning to the provincial city.
"See? The two brothers are getting along well now."
Rufina Howard addressed the three humanoid entities, but the Black Humanoid Entity scoffed.
"It'll just happen again. Human greed is endless, as long as the scales aren't balanced."
"What on earth has John Chou taught you all? Just watch. You go find the doctor's place, and I'll keep these two gloomy guys here. We'll see."
The Gray Humanoid Entity did as Rufina Howard said and went to find the doctor, leaving the White and Black Humanoid Entities behind.
The work at the rope factory was tough. At first, the younger brother couldn't adapt, but gradually he did. He seemed happy, but carried a hidden burden, especially when visiting the night market and lingering near places only the wealthy could afford.
"See? Still longing for wealth."
"What's wrong with people desiring these things?"
The Black and White Humanoid Entities looked at her in confusion.
"Enough. Just keep following quietly. You two don't know what it means to be human. You just listen to whatever John Chou says and take it at face value. Hmph."
The older brother seemed to sense what the younger was thinking. He made a decision, took out most of his savings from the past six months, and gave it to his brother to start a small business. He could tell his brother's heart wasn't in hard labor, and he was much smarter than himself.
"That man really is weak. He saved the kid, and now he still helps him, even after being treated like that. I just don't get it."
"Shut up. People have potential. No matter how wicked someone is, there's always a good side. We'll see."