Chen Yang was not a person who liked to cry. The few times he cried were all because of Chao Jian. This time, all the bitterness in his heart seeped out and formed a tangible big net that covered him completely. He opened his eyes in the middle of the net and found Chao Jian was also in the net.
Chao Jian didn't know when the net pierced his skin, flesh and bones, and was bleeding profusely, but he still struggled to crawl towards him, wanting to hold his hand.
Chen Yang covered his face with trembling hands: "Captain Jin Xiao said that you... said that you once split off a me..."
Chao Jian's expression was stunned for a moment.
"Luckily, I am here. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be able to see you." Chen Yang hugged Chao Jian with all his strength, choking his voice and murmuring, "Thank you, I thank him, thank him..."
After so many times of despair, Chen Yang would not be able to hold on. He would either die in the illusion or become a complete lunatic after coming out and stay crazy forever.
He didn't admire Chao Jian, he felt sorry for Chao Jian.
Chao Jian rested his chin on the top of Chen Yang's head: "Brother, you have a lot of people to thank."
"I know." Chen Yang's mouth was full of bitterness. That personality accompanied Chao Jian out of the darkness. The news that he was still alive gave Chao Jian hope. Jin Xiaochang never gave up on Chao Jian from beginning to end.
And there is Chao Jian himself. During his treatment, he experienced countless times of pain and torture that others could not imagine.
Chen Yang hugged Chao Jian tightly.
Chao Jian patted Chen Yang's trembling back. When he was standing at the finish line madly and about to commit suicide, his several personalities had diverged and they tore his despair into several parts. He struggled to think that Chen Yang was so powerful, maybe he was still alive.
It was just that tiny glimmer of hope that was so slim that it was difficult to calculate that made Chao Jian turn around and walk back.
So he clutched various medicine bottles, covered his wounds and walked with blood flowing, until he came to Chen Yang.
Chao Jian lifted up Chen Yang's face and stroked his eyebrows with his lips: "Do you remember what you told me, if one person leaves first, how sad the other one will be."
Chen Yang remembered that it was what happened in the mission on the A3 floor. At that time, "Brother Yu" kidnapped the little mute and used her to plan a play. The chess piece "Sister Wang" ran into Qiao Qiao, and Li Zheng stepped on a shadow and died in order to save her.
"You said that it would be worse than death, and I said it was almost done," Chen Yang recalled, "and then you said, 'You can't die.' At first I asked you why, and then I felt that the one who stayed behind had to carry the hopes of two people, so he couldn't die."
"When I thought so, I heard you say 'no'. I asked you the reason again, but you refused to tell me." Chen Yang remembered it all.
"One left first, and the one left behind was very sad, feeling like he would rather die than live, but he couldn't die. It's not because he has to move forward carrying the hopes of two people, but because he has to go back and find the person who left first, and then move forward together." Chao Jian chuckled, "I did it." He was like a child asking for a reward.
Everything around Chen Yang is fake. The only reward he can give is to be that light and illuminate Chao Jian's world.
"There are advantages to being crazy. If I stay awake, I will commit suicide. After I die, everything will be reset. This is 100% the ending." Chao Jian's face twisted for a moment, "Then we will meet without knowing each other."
Chen Yang closed his eyes: "It's better for both to forget than for one to remember and the other to forget."
"Not good." Chao Jian bit his face, "Not good at all!"
Chen Yang felt like the flesh on his face was about to be bitten off. He held down Chao Jian, whose breathing was slightly disordered, and kicked the puppy that came closer.
"Woof!" the puppy barked at Jane.
Chao Jian picked up Chen Yang and went to the room, and the puppy went in quickly.
Chao Jian pointed at the door, his face expressionless.
The puppy didn't move.
He smiled at Jian and said, "Get out."
"Ah... Woo..." The puppy trembled and struggled with him.
Chen Yang, sitting on the bed, touched his face. The teeth marks were deep, but there was no bleeding. Chao Jian was very experienced and skilled in biting people.
The door slammed shut.
Chen Yang put down his hand that was touching his face and asked, "Where's the dog?"
"Outside." Chao Jian glanced at the potted plant on the windowsill. The flower buds were still buds, not blooming, and very stable. He turned his gaze to Chen Yang.
After watching for a while, Chao Jian bent down and held the corner of Chen Yang's clothes, "Brother, I want to do it, can I?"
Chen Yang couldn't help but say, "Sure, come on."
Chao Jian paused, and buried his head in Chen Yang's arms for a while: "Although you don't remember it, some aspects are still the same."
Chen Yang suspected that Chao Jian was laughing, and his eyebrows twitched slightly: "Are you praising me or insulting me?"
"I was tested before I came back. As long as nothing unexpected happens, I will be in a relatively stable state during this period. I will also take the medicine on time and in the right amount, so I will be fine." Chao Jian said abruptly and went to wash his hands.
Chen Yang took a long time to react. Chao Jian was afraid that he would lose control while doing it. He shouted towards the bathroom: "Why are you washing your hands? Why are you using soap?"
"I'm going to put my hand in your mouth later." Chao Jian explained the reason. "It's not a special hobby, it's because I know your body too well. I can easily make you feel comfortable. Once you feel comfortable, you will scream very loudly. The sound insulation of this old house is not good."
"...???" Chen Yang was screaming as if he was listening to a divine book? How could it be possible? Impossible.
Soon Chen Yang was slapped in the face.
Chen Yang took the initiative to grab Chao Jian's hand and put it into his mouth, blocking his continuous gasps.
The puppy outside the door scratched the door, barked a few times, and scratched the door again. It repeated this three or five times. Then it slid down the door, lay on the ground and fell asleep.
After about forty or fifty minutes, the puppy had an unknown dream. Its short legs twitched and it jumped up. Its amber eyes rolled around in confusion, and then it lay down again.
The puppy was awakened by hunger. It went to the balcony and picked up its food bowl and brought it back to the door. Its teeth loosened and the food bowl made a "dangdangdang" sound for a while before it became quiet.
Just as the puppy raised his two paws to touch the door, the door opened from the inside.
Chen Yang glanced at the puppy that jumped onto his legs, and the dog was also looking at him.
The man and the dog looked at each other.
"Did you think it was Chao Jian who opened the door, but didn't expect it to be me?" Chen Yang muttered, "I understand. I was also surprised."
Chen Yang turned his head to glance at Chao Jian who was packing the bed sheets, and sighed indescribably. You won’t know until you try it. When you do it, you will be surprised. There is no awkwardness in his body at all.
After finishing, except for a little soreness in the waist, everything else is fine.
Chen Yang picked up the rice bowl from the ground with ease: "This is good, I don't have to rest, and I can do it again before going to bed at night."
The puppy bit Chen Yang's trouser leg, as if to say, I'm hungry, please take care of me, please take care of me first.
"But he is still young, doing it too much is not good for his health." Chen Yang talked to himself as he walked, "Although it feels good when we do it, I don't have to think about anything and I forget everything." The moment of climax was like smoking marijuana, he was in a state of confusion and his whole body was shaking, as if he was floating in the clouds, or seeing a sky full of stars.
Chen Yang stopped and realized that he was not smoking marijuana, he was sucking the flesh of a young boy, Tsk.
The temperature difference is large in this season, and as soon as night falls, the city is invaded by waves of cold.
Chen Yang closed the glass door of the balcony. There were still some hot dishes on the dining table. Chao Jian's blue sports jacket was draped over the back of the chair... The house was filled with a simple and warm atmosphere of life.
Chen Yang and Chao Jian were huddled on the sofa with the TV on, but neither of them was watching it.
Chao Jian was typing on his notebook. Chen Yang stretched his head and said, "You are chatting with Miss Ding."
"Yeah." Chao Jian's voice was mixed in with the sound of the keyboard, "She wants to record the cultivation of the flowers so that she can use them later when she finds her relatives."
Chen Yang swallowed the sweet and sour orange flesh in his mouth and thought, Ding Huichun is a legendary young woman, a 20-year-old clearing tasker. She is the owner of the small clinic in the old alley. She holds the incense and threshold seeds that can bring traumatized taskers back to life. She is also the district director of Zone B of the Ninth Rehabilitation Hospital at the mission point.
"If you hadn't saved her life, we wouldn't have incense and seeds," Chen Yang couldn't help but feel fortunate.
"It's just cause and effect." Chao Jian edited the message and sent it over.
Chen Yang thought about it and it was true. If Ding Huichun had not been rescued by Chao Jian, everything would have changed under the butterfly effect, and there would be no point in pursuing it.
Chao Jian gave his cell phone to Chen Yang and asked him to play games.
"I haven't played the intermediate and advanced versions of the escape room yet." Chen Yang said guiltily.
"Don't play that one, play a new one." Chao Jian approached and opened the game, saying firmly, "You must complete this game before the New Year."
Chen Yang was blinded by the tadpole script: "No Chinese version?"
"No." Chao Jian put the phone in his hand, "Ask me if you don't understand."
Chen Yang thought it was a bloody killing style, but he didn't expect that after entering, the background was blue sky and white clouds. The character was a girl named Seven. She was picking mushrooms in the mountains with a basket. The hem of her floral skirt and her long black hair swung in a light arc.
A girl's game? Chen Yang continued playing strangely.
Chen Yang put his phone aside for a few minutes, and his chest rose and fell violently while he was sleeping.
This game is so scary, it is several times more frustrating than the heart-pounding escape room game, because the first half is sunny and peaceful, but the second half is suddenly cloudy and depressing.
Chen Yang's psychological process was that he was mentally prepared, and when he realized he was overthinking, he relaxed. But when it finally came suddenly, he was caught off guard.
Before Seven's head fell off, she was still smiling at Chen Yang. The powerful impact caused his limbs to be temporarily paralyzed.
The more beautiful the beginning is, the more tragic the end is. There is no transition between the two, the scene just cuts to the past, which is so abrupt and cruel.
Chen Yang drank a few sips of water and continued. He knew Chao Jian was training him. It was most likely related to the last level.
No one knew when the last task would come. Chao Jian didn't say much. Chen Yang guessed it would be when the flower buds bloomed. He could only wait and make preparations.
The phone suddenly sounded a message alert, and Chen Yang handed the phone to Chao Jian: "Your uncle is looking for you."
Chao Jian took the phone while holding the milk tablet in his mouth.
Chen Yang leaned back on the sofa. Sometimes one really had to trust his intuition. When he first saw Jin Xiaochang in the video, he felt nervous and flustered, as if he was meeting a parent.
As expected, Jin Xiaochang is Chao Jian's uncle.
Jin Xiao is Chao Jian's psychologist. He knows Chao Jian's condition and treatment process best, which is why he resents Chen Yang.
From the perspective of an uncle, Jin Xiaochang disliked and hated Chen Yang, the so-called culprit, but he endured it for the sake of his nephew. He even went into the mission world in person to take care of Chen Yang, supervise him in completing missions, and assess his abilities.
The nephew had changed his partner, but he was determined to live and die together. This was their last chance, and Chang Jin Xiao could only swallow his resentment and lend a helping hand.
Chen Yang said softly: "Chao Jian, please say thank you to your uncle for me."
"Okay." Chao Jian typed a few words and handed the phone to Chen Yang, letting him continue playing games.
Chen Yang was absent-minded: "Let's play tomorrow, not tonight." He looked at Chao Jian in a daze, "When did I buy the book I put on the bedside table?"
"You get the book when you complete a mission in a fragment of the real world." Chao Jian said, "You have to bring the book with you when you reach the last level."
Chen Yang was puzzled: "Why?"
Chao Jian touched the kiss mark on his neck: "That is something from the real world. It is your spiritual sustenance. It can guide you and strengthen your faith when you can't find the direction."
Chen Yang's body trembled. That's why Sun Wenjun always reminded him to read books so that he would know that this world is fake, everything is fake, and told him not to forget the way home and not to get lost.
Miss Qiao's horoscope book is like this too. Chen Yang's peripheral vision caught sight of the toy fish not far away: "Where's 03? When I first saw it, it stared at me without blinking. Could it be that it has some connection with me? Is it the dog I raised in the real world?"
Chao Jian said: "You should ask its owner."
Chen Yang pursed his lips, not knowing when Wu Yu would wake up. He rubbed Chao Jian's little nose and asked, "Is there anything else I forgot to ask?"
"We have made the 'Xiao Ming Playing Games' scene at the train station before." Chao Jian said shockingly.
Chen Yang was stunned: "I am also a little rabbit?"
Chao Jian: “Yeah.”
Chen Yang took a long time to make a surprised expression. No wonder when he and Chao Jian looked at each other, he seemed to sense something in the depths of his soul. Then that thing rushed out from the bottom of his heart, prompting him to give the answer in a firm tone.
It turns out that I have played it before, and there are still some memories left in my soul.
Chen Yang leaned in to look at Chao Jian: "I remembered a question, are you a descendant of the Yi clan?"
Chao Jian: “No.”
This answer caught Chen Yang off guard. He thought Chao Jian would nod, "Then why can your blood activate the ritual of the mission on Xiaoyin Island?"
"I don't know." Chao Jian lay on Chen Yang.
Chen Yang scratched his Adam's apple and said, "You have passed all the levels, is there anything you don't know?"
"Have you ever seen a track and field competition? There is a line at the finish line." Chao Jian's Adam's apple rolled up and down from being tickled. "I ran to the finish line, and my body was inside the line. I don't know what was outside the line, and I didn't pass through it."
Chen Yang narrowed his eyes. It seemed that there were still some doubts. The answer would not be known until he crossed the finish line.
"Weren't you curious at the time?" Chen Yang said, "The truth was right in front of you."
Chao Jian shook his head. The line was just a metaphor. In reality, it was a vast expanse of white. He knew that he would see something if he walked forward for a while, but he didn't walk.
Once you leave, you can never come back.
Chen Yang's breathing was a little heavy: "Then can you still leave?"
"I am bound to you. If you can leave, I can leave too." Chao Jian grabbed Chen Yang's hand and covered his face with it, breathing in the scent of his palm.
Chen Yang chewed the corner of his mouth a few times. No matter what the outcome was, they would face it together, live and die together.
Sadness and depression tried to engulf Chen Yang, but were dispersed by his strong belief. He scratched the back of his neck with his free hand, and a question came to his mind: "What is written in the diary that Xiangyue gave me?"
Chao Jian: "You didn't tell me."
Chen Yang blurted out: "I didn't even tell you."
Chao Jian took off the hand that was covering his face, and stared at Chen Yang with his dark eyes, with an angry, aggrieved and paranoid look.
"... You are my partner. I didn't tell you about the diary. It shouldn't be important." Chen Yang saw that he didn't coax her well, so he said "ouch", "My waist hurts."
As soon as he finished speaking, a hand appeared on his waist.
But instead of massaging him, she grabbed him and pushed him onto the sofa.
When Chen Yang felt dizzy from the kiss, he remembered one thing. Ding Huichun said that the end of the mission road varies from person to person. Everyone's end is different. In fact, there are only three types.
—Get out, die completely, or reset.
Half a month later, on a nice day, Chen Yang and Chao Jian went out to purchase.
Chen Yang clearly felt that Chao Jian's emotions were not as calm as before. This was the real situation after he received treatment in Germany.
Chao Jian probably took some medicine in the first half of the month. He forced himself to stay in the most stable condition for a short period of time so that he could provide psychological counseling to Chen Yang while he was accepting the truth.
Now the effect of the medicine has worn off.
Chen Yang tightly held Chao Jian's hand that was hanging by his side.
Chao Jian was paying attention to the traffic lights. The touch between his fingers startled him. His breath was a little heavy, his palms were a little sweaty, and his fingertips were shaking slightly.
Pedestrians at the intersection looked sideways.
Chao Jian pushed down the baseball cap on Chen Yang's head to block the strange gazes from those people.
"It's okay." Chen Yang raised the brim of his hat again, "I'm holding the hand of my girlfriend, it's not illegal." He glanced at the people around him with a smiling look, making them so embarrassed that they didn't even look at him.
Chen Yang held Chao Jian's hand as they crossed the road. He looked up at the sky and saw a layer of dark clouds above the warm sunshine.
The clouds pressed down the sunlight, making it hard to breathe.
Chen Yang forced himself not to think about those things. All he had to do now was to take one steady step at a time.
"What was your previous ID number?" Chen Yang walked to the other side of the street, breathing in the aroma of sugar-roasted chestnuts next to him.
Chao Jian caught a glimpse of a boy peeking at Chen Yang. His eyes suddenly turned cold, and the next moment he took out a mask from his pocket and put it on Chen Yang: "0111."
Chen Yang didn't care about the sudden mask-wearing and asked in surprise: "Four-digit numbers. I remember Zheng Zhitan was 0112 and Wen Qing was 0113. Aren't they all your teammates?"
"Only Zheng Zhitan," Chao Jian said, "I have never done any missions with Wen Qing."
Chen Yang pulled the mask down a little, revealing his straight nose: "Wen Qing has done countless tasks, you haven't encountered it?"
Chao Jian: "No chance."
"..." Chen Yang whispered Chao Jian's ID number, "0111..."
He suddenly remembered the time in Penang when Chao Jian wrote a "3" on his palm and said "This is me", which turned out to be his ID number.
Isn’t 0+1+1+1 equal to 3
"Are you from the second batch of tasks?" Chen Yang asked tentatively.
"Yeah." Chao Jian pulled him forward.
"Then I am in the first batch?" Chen Yang asked anxiously, "Who is in my batch?"
"I'm not sure. I only know that Captain Jin Xiao is in the same batch as you. He is the first of the first batch, 001." Chao Jian said.
Chen Yang thought back to everything that Jin Xiaochang had revealed: "He's not my teammate, is he?"
"I asked him and he said no." Chao Jian said.
Chen Yang nodded. The tasker entered the task world randomly.
"What about Xiang Zimu?" Chen Yang suddenly asked.
Someone had told him before that Xiang Zimu knew him and that she was afraid of Chao Jian. He couldn't remember who it was, but he knew it was from a teammate in the mission in the small town.
"We've met her a few times since we became partners." Chao Jian frowned and said in annoyance, "I don't want to talk about her."
"Then let's not talk about it." Chen Yang took out the milk slice and tore it open. Xiang Zimu was his old teammate, and Chao Jian didn't like her.
As for the reason... Chen Yang gave the milk tablets to Chao Jian and told him to talk about it after he met Xiang Zimu.
When Chen Yang and Chao Jian were buying daily necessities in the supermarket, Uncle Wu called.
"Where are you Zao Zao? Come to the rehabilitation center quickly. Xiaoyu is awake... Mom, please move aside. Xiaoyu, lie down... Doctor, call a doctor quickly—" There was chaos on Uncle Wu's end.
Chen Yang heard the "beep, beep" sound and frowned: "Wu Yu is awake."
Chao Jian is looking at the seasoning.
Chen Yang put the pepper in Chao Jian's hand back on the shelf: "Let's go to the hospital!"
Chao Jian bit the milk slice and said, "That family has nothing to do with you."
Chen Yang hurriedly put the cart aside and walked away with Chao Jian. He knew that his social relationship after reset was fake, but this was his current life and he was still in this circle.
"Wu Yu won't be reset, right?" Chen Yang asked himself, no. If she was reset, Uncle Wu wouldn't remember her.
"Let's hurry up." Chen Yang quickened his pace.
Chao Jian was dragged away by Chen Yang, his eyes fell on the back of his head.
"Do you regret knowing everything?" Chao Jian said, "You originally had family members to reminisce about, friends and neighbors. After knowing everything, you find that you have nothing."
Chen Yang kept walking: "Regret or not, people should look forward and move forward."
"Besides, it's not like I have nothing." Chen Yang shook the hand that he had been holding, turned around and smiled.
Chao Jian strode forward and walked shoulder to shoulder with him.
Wu Yu's brain waves were impacted. She woke up and looked at the world, feeling a little collapsed.
"Xiao Yu, you can't get out of bed anymore." Aunt Wu pressed the corner of the quilt, "The doctor said that your body function has not recovered yet. You should lie down today and do rehabilitation the next day."
"Yes, yes, yes." Uncle Wu said hurriedly, "Let's listen to the doctor. Let's listen to the doctor!"
Wu Yu looked at the two old men standing by the bed without saying a word.
Aunt Wu pulled her husband out of the ward and asked, "Why doesn't our daughter talk to us?"
"She has been like that in recent years." Uncle Wu didn't care.
"It's different. Just now in the ward, she looked at us like strangers." Aunt Wu slapped her thigh, "Is her brain broken? Like the one on TV who hit his head and lost his memory..."
Uncle Wu interrupted her: "Why are you yelling? When people on TV lose their memory, they always ask 'who are you', 'who am I', 'where is this'. Did she ask?"
Aunt Wu stopped pulling the toilet paper and said, "That's right, I didn't ask. My daughter didn't lose her memory."
The next second she was unhappy again. She wiped her eyes with the tissue paper she had pulled off: "If she didn't lose her memory, why didn't she pay attention to her parents..."
"I've been lying in bed for a few months. I feel dizzy. I need to take a break." Uncle Wu took out his cell phone from his pocket and took a look at it. "Send him a message early to say that he will be here soon. When he comes, let him talk to Xiaoyu."
Aunt Wu sighed: "Oh, now I really think that Zao Zao is more mature and stable than his peers. It would be great if he could be our son-in-law."
"He rushed over as soon as Xiaoyu woke up. I think there's hope for the two of them."
Less than ten minutes after Aunt Wu finished speaking, Chen Yang came over, accompanied by an incredibly handsome young man.
The young man held the shopping bag in one hand and placed the other hand behind Chen Yang's shoulder, pinching his coat collar with two fingers.
Aunt Wu’s first reaction was that the puppy urinated to mark its territory. She was completely confused, but Uncle Wu was relatively calm.
"Zao Zao, you're here." The choking smell of cigarette smoke filled Uncle Wu's mouth.
Chen Yang saw Uncle Wu secretly looking at Chao Jian, as if he had never seen him before. He pointed at Chao Jian and introduced him generously: "Uncle, aunt, this is my girlfriend."
Uncle Wu: “…”
Aunt Wu at the side called out, "Old Wu, give me a hand."