One year later
Early September, when students start school.
In Langxi Town, Changyue District, Beicheng, a motorcycle flew past on the bumpy dirt road, stirring up a cloud of choking dust, looking extremely arrogant.
The motorcycle returned, and the man in the flowered shirt struck a pose and shouted to the young man carrying a suitcase on the side of the road: "Wangwang, are you going to the station?"
Chen Wang, also known as Jiao Bai, just woke up more than an hour ago. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was at the residence of the owner of the barrier card, using the other party's identity. Over the past year, his tailbone, legs, back ribs, forehead scars... all the big and small problems have been repaired, even the dermatitis has been cured.
The wild rice stalks were eating ashes, standing under the scorching sun for the first time in a long time. He grinned, "Yes."
"It's quite hot today. How long will it take you to walk there?" The man in the flowered shirt patted the seat behind the motorcycle. "Get on. I'll take you there!"
"Thanks." Jiaobai got on the motorcycle without hesitation. His butt was burning. He lifted the suitcase, placed it on his legs, and held the handle of the suitcase with one hand.
The motorcycle left in a cloud of dust.
The road was bumpy and the motorcycle was driving very fast. It was an indescribable feeling. The muscles on Jiaobai's face were trembling and his skin was numb. He couldn't open his eyes and his buttocks felt as painful as if they were cracked into garlic cloves.
The man in the flowered shirt sang loudly while the wild rice stem suffered from pain all the way. This is not a metaphor, it means literally.
Arriving at the bus station, Jiaobai's legs felt sore, his stomach was churning, and his eyes were naturally wet. He saw his neighbors off and queued up to buy tickets while several girls were secretly staring at him.
The owner of the barrier card, Chen Wang, has a big head and narrow shoulders. He is less than 165 cm tall, has a pointed face, sparse and messy eyebrows, and when he smiles, his teeth are exposed. There is also a purple birthmark on his left eyelid. He has a bad complexion and a poor family background. His personality is very similar to Jiaobai. They both never admit defeat and refuse to accept their fate. They live passionately and stubbornly. They try their best to get ahead through studying, but unfortunately they didn't get to succeed, but instead ended up with the end of their lives.
When Jiaobai escaped, Chen Wang was a sophomore.
Jiao Bai thought that he would also be a sophomore in a year, so there would be no time jump. However, his mind was confused at the time and he did not consider a simple problem: he was a freshman and Chen Wang was a sophomore. He was a sophomore, so could Chen Wang still fail to keep a grade for some reason? No.
So, now he is a junior.
The moment Jiaobai woke up, the barrier card was activated, and he passively received two years of medical knowledge and a notification.
Since Chen Wang died suddenly last year, someone was needed to use his body to carry out normal activities, so a tasker was sent over to keep him alive for another year until Jiaobai woke up.
Jiaobai had never seen Chen Wang's body, nor did he know how it was disposed of. He only knew that Chen Wang from Xicheng Medical University was no longer alive.
From today on, he will continue the other person's life trajectory.
He will not continue Chen Wang's trajectory for too long. He will definitely find a way to return to his original circle and move forward with his own identity.
This month, the waiting hall of the station was mostly populated by migrant workers and students. Jiao Bai didn't wait long before he got on the bus and headed for the railway station in the north city. He couldn't remember Qi Yilao and Zhang Zhen's cell phone numbers. Damn it, the more he tried to remember the numbers, the more vague they became.
I don’t know how many other things have been disrupted.
The car started, Jiaobai yawned, and the sunlight shone on the glass window on his right, turning the corners of his drooping eyes light gold. He leaned back in his chair and browsed his phone. In the Internet age, every year that passes will leave traces on the Internet.
A month ago, the Cen family officially declared bankruptcy, and the prince disappeared. Some said he had died a long time ago, and that "life and death unknown" was just a statement made by the Shen family's executioner to deceive the public. There was also a netizen who settled in Italy who said that he met someone who looked a lot like him while watching an opera in a large theater last week... There are all kinds of statements, and there is no way to verify them.
The Cen family and the Shen family had been fighting for more than half a year, and the Qi family did not participate in the whole process.
The Shen family did not take advantage of the situation to deal with the Qi family, but chose to reorganize their forces and become the king in the city of Nancheng.
Rumor has it that Mr. Shen forced his fallen father to hide from place to place for the sake of a family heirloom or something. Now that he has no home to return to in his middle age, it is better to have no son than to have him. The family affection in such a large family is really sad.
There are also rumors that his father was seen at a vegetable market in an old street with a pregnant woman by his side.
As for Qi, there have also been great changes.
Qi Yilao used to be in the business world, but he lived the life of a retiree. In the second year after he met Jiaobai, he monopolized the real estate industry in the north city, but he still lived a leisurely life.
Starting from October last year, Qi Yilao, who had been mostly active in his own world and didn't like to go out to the outside world, suddenly changed his behavior. He began to accept media interviews and appear on talk shows.
There was a photo on Jiaobai's phone screen. The man in the photo had white hair and a thin face. When he smiled, there were more fine lines at the corners of his eyes than last year, and the lines between his eyebrows looked like they were carved in stone. His eyes were hot when he saw it.
Qi Yiliao appeared in all the shots for him to see.
For Qi Yilao, who has his own consciousness, Jiaobai, as an alien wandering outside the plot line, should remember the way home even if he really died and became a lonely soul.
If he forgot for some reason, Qi Yiliao would remind him in this way. If it didn't work once, he would do it twice, three times, and after many times, one day he would remember where home was.
Just as Jiaobai had hoped, Qi Yilao managed to hold on with an empty belief and even held on to Zhang Zhen.
Jiaobai clicked on an interview with the highest number of views. In the video, Qi Yiliao was sitting on the sofa, wearing a white shirt and black trousers. He looked clean and elegant, but there was always a lingering loneliness and depression between his eyebrows.
The host looked at the cue card again and again, and asked nervously and carefully, "Do you know that you have been on many hot searches and started a trend of black and white hairstyles?"
"I don't know." Qi Yiliao smiled casually, speaking elegantly and lazily, "When you are under a lot of pressure or you get older, your hair will turn white. This is a common phenomenon. It is a headache and a helpless thing. It is not a trend."
"Yes." Seeing him smile, the host breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You are very popular on the Internet now. Everyone is guessing when you will get married."
Qi Yiliao folded his long legs, interlaced his fingers and placed them on his abdomen. He lowered his eyes and gently stroked his sleeves, then nodded after a while: "No hurry, wait a little longer."
Wait for me to dye his hair, wait for me to take care of him in his old age. Jiaobai thought so one second ago, and the next second he heard a cry of surprise from the side.
"Young man, are you okay?" The uncle kindly took out a piece of toilet paper from his pocket and handed it to him. "Why are you still crying?"
Jiaobai was stunned. Did he cry? He touched his face and looked down at the liquid on his fingertips. OK, proper tears are good for physical and mental health.
After finding a reasonable excuse, Jiaobai started crying. He did not cry loudly to disturb the passengers in the car, but just shed tears quietly. The tears soon flooded his chin and wet his collar.
Seeing this, the uncle quickly pulled out another piece of paper, and later stuffed the whole ball into his arms: "Why are you crying harder and harder, boy? Are you reluctant to leave home? Can't you go back during the winter vacation? If you really miss home, can't you call or video chat? It's so convenient nowadays."
Jiaobai thanked him, he picked up the toilet paper, shook out a few pieces, grabbed one of them and wiped his tears: "It's okay, I'm happy."
The uncle thought he was too shy to admit it, so he comforted him with a few words.
Jiaobai was not lying for the sake of self-esteem, he was really happy - if he was in his first life before the mission and in his second life during the mission, then now was his third life.
His most difficult and most fucked-up times were over, and the people he cared about were waiting for him. This was a brand new beginning.
At around nine o'clock in the evening, the train that Jiaobai was on arrived at Xicheng, the final stop.
Jiaobai dragged his old suitcase into the crowd, the wheels making a clunking sound. He was smiling and walking faster and faster, looking full of energy and excitement, totally out of place with the tired passengers around him.
Xicheng, I'm back!
Jiaobai strode towards the escalator. The cell phone in his jacket pocket was ringing. He took out the phone and saw that the caller ID was "Tian Shang Xing".
Stars in the sky, girlfriend
Jiaobai didn't answer and hung up directly. He didn't have Chen Wang's memory and had to rely on the barrier card to identify the other party's social circle.
At this moment, the "Star in the Sky" was not in front of him, and the barrier card did not respond.
Jiaobai went to the exit with the mentality of "it's better not to be my girlfriend" and "I don't want to deal with other people's emotional problems". He took out Chen Wang's ID card and passed the inspection. Suddenly, a shout came from the waiting line outside.
"Chen Wang."
The soft and cool voice was like a bucket of mountain spring water, dispersing the heat at the exit and reducing the noise a lot.
Jiaobai walked while looking at the person who called him. He was wearing a simple T-shirt, casual pants, a baseball cap, and a mask. His face could not be seen and his eyes were drooping. He had a slender figure and a unique temperament.
Just when Jiaobai was only a few steps away from the opponent, the barrier card suddenly lit up.
Ran Ye: 27 years old, male, likes men, a highly respected master in Mingyuan Temple, has practiced for many years and has a connection with Taoism. At the end of last year, he was entangled in a marriage disaster and was contaminated by the worldly atmosphere. He is Chen Wang's cousin.
Wild rice: “…”
Damn, he never expected that the first acquaintance he met after his rebirth would be this person!
The cousins' painting styles are too different. Jiaobai walked towards Ranye. His cousin came to pick him up personally. Are they so close
A line of words appeared on the barrier card: No contact for many years, the only two contacts were through video calls with relatives.
Jiaobai stopped walking, haha, this is weird, could it be that Ran Ye had figured out some secret and knew that his cousin was dead and his identity was used by someone else, so he came here specially to find out the truth and exorcise ghosts and eliminate evil spirits
If so,
That would be great!!!
I'm just afraid that no one will become suspicious.
Ran Ye walked over.
Jiaobai showed an expression of disbelief: "Cousin, it's really you, why are you here?"
"I came to pick someone up and happened to see you." Ran Ye's voice came from the mask.
Jiaobai said "Oh" and looked around: "Where is the person you picked up? Has he come out yet?"
Ran Ye didn't answer, but just said: "I'll take you to school."
"Thank you, cousin!" Jiaobai looked flattered. His steps slowed down and he quickly called the first person in the call log, "Tian Shang Xing". Ran Ye, who was walking in front, did not ring.
"The Star in the Sky" is not Ran Ye.
Jiaobai hung up the phone and smacked his lips. So, Ranye really came to pick someone up and unexpectedly saw his cousin
The person that Ran Ye came to pick him up at the station might be the one he is destined to marry.
The master has a car and his driving skills are pretty good.
Jiaobai sat in the passenger seat, tapping on the car window with his fingers. Ran Ye was someone he knew in his "previous life" and was also related to the owner of the barrier card. Was this a bug
After all, the system has eliminated any possibility that people in his original circle would find out anything. It would rather arrange for the tasker to temporarily take care of Chen Wang's body than let him withdraw from the social circle for a year.
Jiaobai stuck his head out of the car window, and saw the street scene of Xicheng. The bug was good, it was hope.
Ran Ye didn't speak again after getting in the car until he received a phone call. It was unknown what the person on the other end said. The smell of fireworks around him was even heavier, mixed with hail, frost and snow.
"Cousin, if you have something to do, just drop me off on the roadside. I can take the bus to school by myself." A young voice came from the passenger seat.
Ran Ye turned his face to the side, and the young man's thin and uneven cheeks were blurred by the light.
A few minutes later, Jiao Bai stood at the intersection with his suitcase and waved to Ran Ye in the car: "Bye."
Ran Ye was about to leave, but when he heard those two words, he suddenly looked at him.
Jiaobai had turned around without looking back. He deliberately said the same words as when he said goodbye last year and made the same movements, which was both a test of the system's limitations and a bait.
Ran Ye is his first hope. Master, please pay more attention to your cousin.
Jiaobai got in the taxi: "Master, let's go to Lanmo Mansion."
The driver looked at the navigation: "Where?"
"Lan Mo Mansion." Jiaobai repeated.
The driver looked towards the back seat and said, "Student, what on earth did you say? I can't hear you clearly."
Jiaobai's face changed, and he said it again: "Lan is the orchid, Mo is the ink, and Fu is the mansion."
The driver looked at him suspiciously: "What?"
Jiaobai complained in his heart, but changed his expression without changing his words: "I'll go to Langli."
The driver was already impatient. He asked, "Did you hurt your tongue?"
Wild rice: “…”
“Langlu” is not okay either
The barrier card contains Chen Wang’s character information.
Jiaobai understood what the problem was. He was Chen Wang. He could browse Weibo and read the news, and he could get along with his cousin. But would Chen Wang go to Lanmo Mansion to be with Lang Li for no apparent reason? No.
You can go, but at least you have to have motivation from Chen Wang's perspective.
Jiaobai tried to search for "Langli" on the Internet, but couldn't type any words. Why? Because Chen Wang wouldn't search this place for no reason. Damn it, he should be thankful that he was able to click on Qi Yilao's interview video in the car before, as if he had taken advantage of a loophole in the system.
"Go to Medical University." Jiaobai put the phone in his pocket.
This time the driver heard clearly: "Your tongue is fine, then why were you slurring your words just now?"
Jiaobai unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle, tilted his head back and gulped down a mouthful of water. He didn't know which ones were forbidden, so it seemed that he had to test them one by one, in case he encountered a "bug".
Qi
Qi Yilao was still working overtime. He was uneasy for some reason. The words on the documents seemed to float in his pupils and could not be seen. His work efficiency was extremely low.
Soon, Qi Yiliao threw the documents aside, and he moved the multifunctional wall in his office to watch the surveillance. This was his daily routine for a year, and also his way to relieve stress.
Qi Yiliaoshen sat in a leather chair, watching each surveillance camera one by one. These were all recordings of the child's past life, and he watched them countless times.
Where did you go? Why haven't you come back yet
Qi Yilao pinched the root of his nose hard a few times. He looked at the monitor, rubbed the remote control with his fingertips, and adjusted the progress bar from time to time.
"Third brother, it's getting late," Zhang Zhen came in. Before he could finish his words, the person behind the desk looked at him with an unidentifiable look in his eyes. "What's wrong?"
Qi Yiliao turned off the surveillance camera, threw away the remote control and stood up: "Go back."
Zhang Zhen took the suit jacket of the third brother and followed. He didn't ask any more questions, and there would be no response even if he asked. After Baibai was gone, the third brother's temperament became very strange.
Qi Yilao returned to Lan Mo Mansion and went straight to the backyard. Zhang Zhen watched him dig up Bai Bai's grave himself.
The reason why Zhang Zhen didn't stop it was because this was not the first time.
From Baibai's death to now, the third brother has opened the coffin four times in total, at irregular intervals and very suddenly, and his expression was as if he was possessed by an evil spirit.
At first, Zhang Zhen lost control of his emotions, yelling and cursing in pain, and was even bold enough to use a gun to force his third brother to give his brother rest in peace. Later, he became numb and didn't know whether to sympathize with his third brother or with himself.
This time the third brother pried open his brother's coffin, and just like last time, he looked down at a rotting corpse with an expressionless face.
Qi Yilao bent over and placed his arms on the coffin. He just looked at it, as if he had lost his sense of smell and could not smell the stench.
Zhang Zhen felt the disappointment and gloom of his third brother. He didn't understand and couldn't figure it out. Would his third brother be happy only if he found the corpse had changed when he opened the coffin
Let’s not talk about the Third Brother’s thoughts, let’s just look at Bai Bai’s corpse, what else could be abnormal
An absurd guess suddenly came to Zhang Zhen's mind. Could it be that his third brother wanted to see the coffin become empty
The cemetery is surrounded by bodyguards, and the Lan Mo Mansion is also covered by dense surveillance.
If the corpse could disappear, it would be a ghost.
Zhang Zhen couldn't help looking at the cemetery. Could it be that Bai Bai didn't reincarnate, but stayed here? If so, why didn't he appear in his dream? He saw his third brother closing the coffin and climbing out of the pit, and he came to his senses.
"Third brother, I won't stay tonight." Zhang Zhen said, "I want to go back to my own trip."
Qi Yilao filled the soil without saying a word.
Zhang Zhen turned his head away and sniffed. Every time the coffin was opened and closed, it was always his third brother who was responsible for opening and closing it, and he would not allow anyone else to fill it with even a handful of soil.
It was past ten o'clock, the lights in West City were dimming, and the autumn atmosphere at night was stronger than during the day.
Zhang Zhen drove back to Langli. Halfway through, he changed his route and went to Medical University. The closer he got, the heavier his heart became.
Baibai is not dead, and he is about to enter his sophomore year. School starts today, and his third brother will probably personally send him to school, pick him up after school, and take him to Lan Yizhai for dinner.
As for Zhang Zhen, she would wait for Baibai to finish his dinner, then take him around and buy him whatever he liked.
But Zhang Zhen didn't have to spend much money because his third brother had already bought it.
Zhang Zhen slammed on the brakes suddenly, and the body in the driver's seat was shaken violently along with the car body.
In front of him was a bright yellow Ferrari. The owner did not get out of the car. He swore a few words in an arrogant manner, closed the window, stepped on the accelerator, and drove away.
Zhang Zhen drove by and caught a glimpse of a figure sitting on the ground. There was a schoolbag next to him. The bag was torn, revealing the books inside. It looked like a student from the Medical University. The student couldn't get up and seemed to be seriously injured.
Zhang Zhen's never-extinguished kindness broke through his rationality and ran out. At that moment, someone's voice faintly rang in his ears, telling him to keep something.
What to keep
It's good intentions.
Bai Bai told him to keep it and not lose it.
Zhang Zhen parked the car on the side of the road, unbuckled his seat belt, got out, half-knelt and asked the strange young man.
"Classmate, do you need me to take you to the hospital?"
As soon as Jiaobai stopped cursing, he suddenly raised his head.