In the evening, Xiang Zimu and Sun Wenjun came to have dinner with cooked food and wine.
Chao Jian went to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients.
Chen Yang sat on the bed in the room, listening to the conversation between the three people.
"Brother Yang, ever since you and Chao Jian got together, your room feels different every time I come in." Xiang Zimu said, "He has more stuff than you do." She glanced at the bookshelf and frowned, "Why are your bookshelves filled with his action figures and comic books? There are also ghost story collections, flower stamen care guides, and common people's home cooking... What are those things?"
"As a kid, the world is bright and beautiful, unlike an old man like me who is bored."
"Where are your own books and shiny trinkets?"
"I usually put it up there and never look at it, so it gets dusty and I put it away."
"… "
"Brother Yang, don't spoil him too much!"
Chen Yang was in front of the bookshelf, learning about Chao Jian's world through books, when he suddenly heard Xiang Zimu's words. He looked back and saw her face full of disappointment, and the confused look on his face as he smoked a cigarette: "Am I used to it?"
Xiang Zimu bit the milk slice vigorously: "Ask Brother Sun."
Chen Yang saw that he had revealed a smile that deserved a beating and said, "Zi Mu, you can't chew the milk tablets like that, it will ruin your teeth. When you get old, your teeth won't be... Okay, okay, let me ask you something."
Sun Wenjun expressed his opinion without waiting for the person concerned to ask: "Everyone is used to it."
He picked up a book on the desk and flipped through it: "You have more."
Chen Yang glanced at the book in Sun Wenjun's hand. His face changed. Wasn't that his book "The Relationship between Consciousness and the World in Quantum Theory"? How could it be here
Chen Yang quickly opened his backpack and found that the book was not in its original place. He searched everywhere but couldn't find the book. Chen Yang stared at the book that Sun Wenjun put back on the desk. It seemed that he had taken the book out and put it there at this time.
Will it return to his backpack later
This is the lighthouse that illuminates his way home. As long as he carries it, he will not lose his way. He must not lose it.
Chen Yang put on his backpack and walked to Sun Wenjun. Behind him, Xiang Zimu was giving him instructions like an old lady.
"Brother Yang, don't think that just because you are older, you should give unconditionally. You need to let go of your fatherly nature, otherwise your relationship will be unequal."
She said to her brother: "That's too serious, Zimu, love can't be measured in pounds and ounces."
There was a subtle change in the atmosphere in the room.
Xiang Zimu stopped folding the milk tablet packaging bag.
Chen Yang glanced at himself lying on the chair. He could tell at a glance that he was pretending to be angry and he didn't really want to give a long speech or give some advice.
Xiang Zimu was in awe of her brother Yang. He played several roles in her life: friend, confidant, partner, comrade-in-arms, second brother, and teacher. She was a little afraid that he would really frown. Just when she unconsciously put on the attitude of a helpless little girl and wanted to ask Sun Wenjun for help, Sun Wenjun gave her a look, and the two of them made an excuse to go outside to get some fruit.
Chen Yang followed them out and heard them whispering outside the door.
Sun Wenjun said earnestly: "Zi Mu, you really need to change your mentality as a mother's family member."
"Who is my natal family? I am my husband's family!" Xiang Zimu realized later that she was a little excited. She adjusted her mindset and lowered her voice, "Chao Jian is Yang Ge's wife, from my husband's family."
Chen Yang leaned against the door, observing Xiang Zimu's micro-expressions and sighed helplessly. She seemed to know that her awesome brother Yang was suppressed by a kid who she thought was not as strong as him, and she thought he was not motivated.
Maybe she is worried about his poor health and that he is weak. After all, her partner is at an age where he has endless energy.
This girl is the youngest of the three. Although she is the younger sister, she sometimes acts like the older sister.
Chen Yang looked at Xiang Zimu's lively little movements and thought of her younger brother Xiangyue. He tried to speculate the timeline and thought Xiangyue should have left.
Xiang Zimu survived.
She once had a partner and friends, and she could always get out of the darkest situation.
After the reset, her personality changed a lot. She started over again, and was on the road again, all alone.
Although Sun Wenjun also worked in the rehabilitation hospital later, one in Area C and the other in Area A, Xiang Zimu lost his memory and emotions, and was filled with completely new social relationships, while he was constantly registered and reviewed, and experienced over and over again the painful struggle of having a low threshold to meet the standard but not being able to break through the critical point. Their relationship was reset by her and severed by his experiences and the burden of being the deputy district chief. They could never go back to the past, and it was impossible to go back.
No wonder Xiang Zimu defines the second reset as past and present life, and also believes in cause and effect, that there must be a cause for every effect.
Chen Yang had no way to suppress the surging emotions and could only let it swallow him up. He felt a suffocating sadness in it.
"Okay, my husband's family." Sun Wenjun was still trying to persuade Xiang Zimu, "So, do you think you should control yourself?"
"What's wrong with me?" Xiang Zimu's mouth drooped.
Sun Wenjun touched her head and said, "You, don't worry about your brother Yang's love life all the time, and don't look through those dating guides. Everything depends on fate, including love. How far your brother Yang and that kid can go is not something you can figure out. You have to let fate take its course. Besides, no matter who has a partner, their time planning will definitely be different from when they were single. This is normal."
"I know. I think... he's completely screwed. He's deeply involved. I'm afraid that if they break up one day, he won't be able to get up. I'm afraid Chao Jian will hurt him." Xiang Zimu gathered the curly hair on her shoulders. "Brother Yang is such a good person. I thought he would find a gentle and considerate girl, but who knew he would find a boy much younger than him. It's too dangerous to take him with him on missions. To be honest with you, Brother Sun, ever since Chao Jian joined us, I've always had dreams about Brother Yang getting into trouble because of him."
Xiang Zimu sighed again: "But if Brother Yang is looking for a gentle girl, he will still be the one to lead us on the mission. It will be hard to find someone who can stand shoulder to shoulder with him or help him. Even when we do the mission with him, we still need his help."
"Look how entangled you are. You have too many things on your mind." Sun Wenjun flicked her forehead. "Every relationship has an ending. It is arranged by God. We are bystanders, family members and friends, not parties involved. We must take the right stance and don't cause trouble for ourselves or others. Zimu, you should find a boyfriend and find something to keep yourself busy."
"Have a boyfriend? Then I might as well get another cat." Xiang Zimu thought of the two cats at home, and the light in her eyes dimmed. "Forget it, I won't keep one. If I'm gone one day, the cats will become homeless stray children."
Sun Wenjun pushes his glasses: "Once the traces of existence are eliminated, one's own things will be distributed and become someone else's, just like a cat will change its owner."
Xiang Zimu clicked his tongue: "How sad."
"Brother Sun, do you think Brother Yang will blame me for being nosy?" she whispered.
Sun Wenjun saw her anxiety and annoyance and said, "It's not that strange, but I think I'm tired for you. The time between tasks varies. I feel like there's not enough time just to sleep and watch a movie."
"I am indeed tired. I am not even 25, but I already have forehead wrinkles." Xiang Zimu touched his forehead miserably.
Sun Wenjun joked: "So, you should worry less in the future. If you are a single dog and don't understand, don't..."
"No, I still have something to say. If I don't say it, I'll get depressed." Xiang Zimu interrupted Sun Wenjun, and hurriedly passed by Chen Yang who had been listening for a long time, and said to him in the room, "Brother Yang, Chao Jian has taken you over!"
Chen Yang: “…”
He threw away his phone in the room and asked, "What do you mean?"
"In the past few months, you have been dating him after completing your mission. How long has it been since the three of us had a drink together?" Xiang Zimu put his hands on his hips.
"Can't we drink tonight?"
Chen Yang saw him get out of bed, lit a cigarette and took a puff, narrowed his eyes and laughed, "Zi Mu, you reminded me. Speaking of which, I found out that I have a partner. You guys distanced yourself from me as if you had agreed. You usually call me and hang up after a few words. It's as if I'm doing something. Am I in a hurry? Even if I'm doing something, I don't mind the time. I forgot to tell you about how long it has been since we made an appointment for dinner and drinks. Now that we've talked about this, let's have a good chat. Come over."
Xiang Zimu took a half step back and stood against the wall.
Sun Wenjun looked out the window silently.
Xiang Zimu muttered: "When a son grows up, he is no longer under the control of his mother."
Sun Wenjun glanced at her from behind his glasses and said, "Didn't you see that your brother Yang was smoking? He's getting excited. If you keep talking, I can't save you."
Xiang Zimu quickly shut up.
Chen Yang next to him was the only audience member. He didn't need to buy a ticket to watch the movie he starred in. He just needed to dig out his emotions, put them on the table, cut them apart and separate the different types of emotions, and weigh them to see how heavy they were.
Chen Yang went to the kitchen. His partner was cutting beef slices. She was cutting very carefully, making the thickness and size almost the same.
"Your knife skills have always been so good." Chen Yang said standing aside, "Who's cooking?"
Chao Jian put the sliced beef on the plate and said, "It's half past five. Call my brother to come over at six to cook."
Chen Yang's mouth twitched: "You're still looking at home cooking recipes, you have no talent."
Chao Jian put the kitchen knife on the chopping board and began to blanch and peel the tomatoes. He was very skilled in preparing ingredients, but he didn't know how to cook.
Chen Yang watched Chao Jian quickly peel a tomato. He thought that his girlfriend had improved and her cooking skills had gradually improved. She could even cook longevity noodles for him.
After peeling the tomatoes, Chao Jian opened the refrigerator to take a look. He took out a sticky note pad from the cloth bag next to the small shelf in the kitchen, tore off a page, wrote something, pressed it on the refrigerator door, then picked up the shiny refrigerator magnet next to it and pressed it on the paper with a "click".
The sticky note read: Go downstairs for a walk in the evening to buy pineapples and yogurt.
Chen Yang looked at Chao Jian, who was full of life, without blinking. He was so well behaved.
He will be good sometimes in the future.
It's all him.
"And the bitch."
Chen Yang heard Chao Jian squatting in front of the trash can, peeling potatoes and muttering to himself.
Chen Yang: “…”
After dinner, Chen Yang and his three companions went for a walk along the river behind Sanlian Bridge. They enjoyed a short period of leisure in this real yet fake world.
As they walked, the four of them split into two teams.
Two singles in the front and a couple in the back.
Chen Yang was very busy. Sometimes he was with the couples, sometimes he was with the singles. There was content he wanted to hear everywhere, and he wished he could use the power of "clone" to clone himself.
Xiang Zimu looked back and saw Chao Jian holding her brother's hand, with her head close to his. She snorted without malice, "Siamese twins? They follow you everywhere."
"It's just the passionate love period, but it will fade after a while." Sun Wenjun said casually.
Xiang Zimu's expression changed instantly: "Indifferent? That won't do. Brother Yang will definitely be worried about the outcome."
Sun Wenjun peeled the milk slices he brought from Chen Yang's house and stuffed them into her mouth.
Xiang Zimu puffed up her porcelain-like cheeks, half-closed her dark eyes, and muttered something indistinctly.
Chen Yang heard what she said: It can’t be diluted, it has to become stronger and stronger.
Silly girl.
Chen Yang wiped his eyes and sighed. Xiang Zimu misunderstood Chao Jian for many reasons. She didn't remember everything, but just speculated the whole story based on some dream fragments, which would be more or less biased.
In addition, Xiang Zimu's temperament, mental state, and mood are not as good as before. Her emotions are easily affected. She doesn't know that she is sick and her soul has aged.
The most important thing is that she dreamed of his death. In the dream, he died tragically, without a complete body. She also helped him find his head. This was too much of a blow to her. Her faith collapsed, and her world collapsed.
Also, the reason for his death was to protect the injured Chao Jian.
Xiang Zimu, as his old partner, couldn't accept it.
She couldn't accept it, didn't dare to face it, didn't want to face it, but she had to accept it. It was like swallowing a knife. Even though she knew it would hurt, she still had to chew it slowly and swallow it bit by bit. Her mouth was pierced and her internal organs were covered in blood.
The more pain Xiang Zimu felt, the more she hated Chao Jian and her fate.
Perhaps in her eyes, her omnipotent brother Yang harmed himself and died at the hands of the love he chose.
So she felt sorry for him.
But in the end, she still pushed him and Chao Jian and did what she could from her perspective and standpoint.
Chen Yang's nose felt sore. Everyone has their own sufferings, everyone has...
"Look, there's a shooting star!" Xiang Zimu in front shouted in surprise.
"It really is a shooting star." Sun Wenjun took off his glasses and looked up at the slender streak of light in the sky.
Chen Yang turned around to look at himself and Chao Jian behind him. They were both looking at the shooting star.
The meteors are already falling rapidly.
"Brother Yang, don't just watch, make a wish quickly!" Xiang Zimu shouted, closed his eyes, and made three wishes devoutly.
—I hope my brother in the mission world won’t cry.
—I hope Brother Sun can break free from the framework his family has put him in, become an excellent doctor, have fewer worries and more happiness.
—I hope that Brother Yang’s ending will be completely opposite to what she dreamed of, and that he will be happy, forever happy.
Xiang Zimu opened her eyes and remembered that she had forgotten her own. She looked up at the place where the shooting star passed by. The wind blew her hair up, and it danced in a melodious arc in the air.
"Forget it if you want. I am not important. As long as the wish I made for Brother Yang and the others can come true."
Xiang Zimu's voice, accompanied by the sweet fragrance of milk flakes, was blown away by the wind, blowing into the sky and earth, and blowing into the ears of passers-by returning from the future.
The passerby looked at her blankly for a while, stood in front of her, and called her softly, Xiao Mu.
She didn't hear it.
The scene in front of Chen Yang changed, and he saw himself rummaging through a storage box. It was full of daily medicines, and was in a mess.
"Where is Qing Kai Ling? I remember putting it in there..."
"Where is it?"
Chen Yang listened to his own anxious voice, and the corner of his mouth twitched. Qing Kailing has been at your feet, waiting for you for a long time.
"Hold."
"Isn't this next to me? When did I take it out?"
Brother Yang, whose short hair had been changed into a buzz cut, was too nervous and his IQ dropped rapidly.
Chen Yang, who was mocking him just now, followed him into a bedroom. When he saw Chao Jian looking listless, his IQ also dropped.
"What happened?" Chen Yang rushed over.
"Look at you. You've seen a lot of storms and waves, but you can still be scared by a dream. Smoking all night, your throat must be swollen and uncomfortable."
Chao Jian's voice was hoarse: "Nightmare."
"Aren't nightmares also dreams? I've brought you the medicine, take it quickly and lie down to sleep."
Chao Jian didn't reach out to take the pills: "I don't want to take it."
"What about me feeding you?"
"eat."
"You're still acting like a spoiled child when you're sick."
"I pee even when I'm not sick." Chao Jian obediently held the pill in his mouth and swallowed it with a sip of warm water.
The atmosphere in front of the bed was very warm. When Chen Yang saw him put the cup of water on the table, he suddenly said, "Chao Chao, you should quit smoking. We won't smoke anymore."
Chao Jian said: "Then you should quit smoking with me."
"I asked you to quit, why did you drag me into it? I have always smoked in moderation, unlike you who are so reckless."
"I was scared. I don't usually smoke a lot." Chao Jian coughed a few times. Maybe it was due to physical or psychological reasons, but his eyes were a little red.
"What nightmare scared you like this? Did the last mission traumatize you?"
"It has nothing to do with the mission, there is no trauma, I just want us to be fine." Chao Jian untied the little chiffon on his head and leaned his head closer to his brother, "We will always be together, right?"
Chen Yang's attention was not on his own answer. He found that the world in Chao Jian's eyes had shrunk a lot.
At this time, Chao Jian had already given up a lot of things and just wanted to make room for him to settle down.
A few moments later, Chen Yang heard himself say, "Silly child."
"I'm not stupid, nor am I a child. Answer my questions and don't lie to me." Chao Jian was persistent and serious. There was no coercion in his tone, only humble pleading.
"Okay, I'll answer you. I will always be with my Chao Chao."
Chao Jian leaned forward and grabbed his brother's shoulders: "Then let's try to unbind the ID number, okay?"
At that moment, Chen Yang glanced at the corner of his mouth that was curled up and then pressed down.
The air around him became thinner, and even though Chen Yang was not a person in this movie, he still had difficulty breathing. He desperately wanted to do something to give himself a break.
"I know that your original intention of doing missions was to make friends. You are bored and you want to have many friends, but the friends you make in the mission world will disperse in an instant..." Chao Jian bowed his waist in front of his brother and lowered his head. "You can still make friends outside, and it won't be so easy to disperse."
His brother gave him no response.
"Death is very painful for you too." Chao Jian's voice was slightly choked, "Your hair has turned white."
Chen Yang touched his head reflexively, and the person next to him did the same.
"No way!"
Chao Jian took out his phone like a magic trick and scratched the screen with his neatly trimmed nails: "See for yourself."
Chen Yang leaned forward and saw a photograph, a close-up of a head.
Tsk.
He actually saw a few white hairs.
"There's no name written on the skull, so who knows if you found it on the Internet." He denied it.
Chao Jian said nothing and silently showed a video.
Video cannot be faked.
Chen Yang saw himself collapse on the ground, looking like he had been hit hard: "Being a big brother is physically and mentally detrimental."
Chao Jian lay on the edge of the bed and said, "Then don't be a husband anymore?"
"No, no, no."
"From now on, can you build up the belief to go home?" Chao Jian asked.
"There's something wrong dear, I don't know what it is."
"Don't be afraid, I'll tell you."
The sick person had a smile on his face, and the brightest fireworks were burning in his eyes.
Chen Yangfu suddenly realized that Chao Jian had planned this for a long time and it was successful.
From this moment on, he changed his life goals.
Chen Yang didn't know how long it had been before Chao Jian fell asleep. He pulled his hand out of the other party's grasp, left the room quietly, sat in the study next door and turned on the video: "Brother Xiaowen, Zimu, what are you doing?"
In the video, Xiang Zimu is composing music and playing the piano, with a fat orange cat lying on his mouth and a little black cat squatting on his head.
Sun Wenjun is writing a treatment plan for a patient with a stack of reference materials at hand.
"You're so busy, what's the matter, Brother Yang?" Xiang Zimu bit the pen and scratched his head.
“I want to get to the finish line.”
The pen next to Xiang Zimu's mouth fell onto the orange cat. The sleeping orange cat raised its head, and a confused cat face entered the camera.
Sun Wenjun almost spilled his hot coffee.
"Am I hallucinating?" Xiang Zimu murmured, "It's over, I have PTSD..."
Sun Wenjun reached his hand under the frame and pinched the root of his nose: "I think I need to rest for a while."
Chen Yang saw himself approaching the video, and instead of getting angry, he smiled, a smile that was both helpless and indulgent: "Let's talk business, do you want to follow me?"
Xiang Zimu patted the orange cat's butt on her leg, and when it went down, she folded her thin straight long legs wrapped in beige trousers, pinched a pencil between her fingers like a cigarette, and put on a goddess style: "We said so much, but it's not as good as Chao Jian."
"We have indeed talked about this topic many times," Sun Wenjun emphasized.
Chen Yang peeled an orange and ate it, and easily took on the moves of his two partners: "Time has changed, and people grow up."
Xiang Zimu poured cold water on him: "You are almost 30 years old, brother."
“It’s never too late to learn. No matter what age we are, our thoughts are still growing.”
Xiang Zimu and Sun Wenjun: "..."
Chen Yang next to him: "..."
"Hey, although Chao Jian is my comrade-in-arms, he is more than just a comrade-in-arms. He is also my partner, the one who warms my bed. When I get old, he will also help me with my urination and defecation... I have strayed off topic. What I want to say is," Chen Yang ate the last few slices of orange, put away the smile on his face, and solemnly invited, "Ms. Xiang, Doctor Sun, shall we go to the finish line?"
"Then go ahead." Sun Wenjun smiled gracefully.
Xiang Zimu put one hand on the screen: "Let's go to the finish line together!"
The other two partners did the same.
The three of them high-fived each other and made an appointment to go to the finish line together.
The scene changed again. Chen Yang was sitting by the railway. Behind him was the tasker crying for the loss of his relatives and companions, and next to him was Chao Jian peeling milk slices for him.
In front of him were two parallel railroad tracks.
There was a man lying on the railroad tracks, staggering forward.
When Chen Yang looked again, there was no one on the railroad tracks.
That's a ghost.
But it is not the evil ghost in the mission.
Li Gui was a child. His father was a railway patrol officer. He was killed by his father many years ago and thrown into an abandoned culvert.
The tasker has to lead the evil spirit into the culvert and help him find himself.
One exit of the culvert was blocked, and everyone had already gone in to investigate. They found out that the culvert had no end, and everyone needed to keep walking deeper and deeper, shouting the ghost child's name in unison as they walked.
They cannot walk side by side, must stand vertically, cannot open their eyes, cannot stop, and their shouts must be in unison.
They failed once, lost several teammates, and will make a second attempt later.
Chen Yang ate the milk slices that Chao Jian put to his mouth. This was a two-person team, and he met Xiangdong in this mission.
At this time, Xiangdong was lying in the duty personnel's cabin. He was not anxious about the mission, nor was he sad about the departure of his teammates one by one, but was sleeping.
The snoring sound drifted out.
Chen Yang stood up and walked towards the cabin. The snoring became clearer and louder.
As he opened the door, sunlight ran in and jumped on the eyelids of the person on the single bed.
"Fuck, who is it?" Xiangdong yawned.
"Me." Chen Yang folded his arms and looked at him.
At this time, Xiangdong did not have a shaved head, his hair was dyed gray, and he did not have studs or small hoop earrings on his ears, but only one earring, which he wore on his right ear.
He has a very masculine physique and handsome features, and when he wears those earrings, he doesn't look effeminate at all, but instead looks sexy and fashionable.
"Go into the cave now?" Xiangdong sat at the head of the bed with a carefree look on his face, his hair messed up by his rough fingers.
"It's not the right time yet, and some people are still emotionally unstable." Chen Yang said. Those who enter the culvert must work together and calm down. Whoever makes a mistake will die, and the others will have to start over.
Xiangdong's face was very sour: "Then why did you come in? Come on, and bring your lover with you. I have told you so many times that I don't like to eat dog food... Hey, where are my shoes?"
Chen Yang pointed outside.
There is a boy who has taken a fancy to Xiangdong and is now mending his clothes. I don’t know where this guy came from.
"Fuck, he doesn't understand Chinese, but he's still so excited even after being rejected." Xiangdong stood up barefoot. He was tall and had long legs. "If his waist was a little thinner, I wouldn't be so bored and depressed."
"You're unlucky this time. You're the only one in the whole team who has a waist..." Xiangdong felt a surge of anger. He glanced at Chao Jian and said, "Little brother, don't get angry. I'm just talking."
Chao Jian's face was cold. Anyone who dared to take advantage of his wife would be his enemy. His thinking was very simple.
"Why are you glaring at me? Everyone loves beauty. It's not against the law, little brother. Your wife has the best waist among all the men I know." Xiangdong raised his thumb and used the other hand to tuck the hem of his clothes into his waistband. He smiled at Chen Yang and said, "I remember there was a guy with a waist as thin as yours, but he wasn't as strong as you. He was too fragile. I was afraid that if I used a little more force, I would break him."
A figure popped up in Chen Yang's mind: "Who?"
"You don't know him, his surname is Bai." Xiangdong said lazily.
Chen Yang said: "Bai Tang?"
This was not what he wanted to say, but he said it anyway, and it was obvious that this was what he said back then.
This topic was discussed at that time.
"Yes, yes, that guy." Xiangdong reached for the cigarette box, took a cigarette and lit it. He spoke like a character telling a story, with no emotion in his tone. "As white and tender as a little white rabbit, with red eyes. He must have died a long time ago."
Chen Yang said nothing.
Xiangdong walked out of the house. When he passed by Chao Jian, he said something ambiguous: "Little brother, your brother has such a nice waist and a nice butt, and you haven't touched him since you came in? You have good self-control. When you can't bear it anymore, tell me and let me open my eyes."
Chen Yang, who had sharp hearing, kicked Xiangdong. He was simply used to dealing with the other party's behavior.
Xiang Dong was also a gangster leader in the past. Could he stand and get kicked without fighting back? No, so he punched Chen Yang back on the spot with fierce and fierce force.
The fist didn't hit Chen Yang, and it wasn't his turn to attack, so Chao Jian reacted quickly and blocked it.
The two men started fighting.
Chen Yang was not unfamiliar with this scene. To be exact, he was very familiar with it. It was just that Chao Jian was not as powerful as he was later, nor was he as crazy and violent. His skills did not completely crush Xiangdong. At most, he had a slight advantage and did not widen the distance.
Chen Yang quickly helped Chao Jian beat Xiangdong. When husband and wife join forces, they are invincible.
Xiangdong was soon at a disadvantage. He stopped punching and kicking, panting heavily and spitting, roaring with murderous intent: "Fuck, my front teeth are loose!"
This long-awaited interlude ended with Chen Yang putting out his cigarette.
Chao Jian held Chen Yang's hand, frowned, and whispered to comfort him: "Don't be angry, don't be angry."
Chen Yang looked at Chao Jian's broken lips and wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Starting from the mission at the train station, every time Chao Jian swung his crutch to hit Xiangdong to protect his food, he protected Chao Jian, kicked Xiangdong, and tried to stop the fight.
It used to be the other way around.
Chao Jian would coax him and tell him not to be angry.
"I'm not angry. This guy deserves it. Just give him a beating." Chen Yang touched Chao Jian's lips, "Does it hurt?"
"It hurts." Chao Jian frowned, "It hurts so much."
As he spoke, he bent down and lowered his head, putting his injured part under Chen Yang's eyes.
Chen Yang gave him a blow job.
"Damn it, if I die, it's because of the dog food poisoning me!" Xiangdong put out the cigarette that fell on the ground and took a new bite. He couldn't find a lighter for a long time, and his anger immediately burned to his bruised face.
Before overturning the table, Chen Yang threw the lighter to Xiangdong: "Next time we meet, I hope you can improve yourself and not ask for trouble like this again."
"There's no next time!" Xiangdong opened the cap of the lighter and sneered disdainfully.
Chen Yang: Haha, nothing, I’ll find it next time we meet.
The next second, he saw Xiangdong standing under the tree, holding a notebook against the tree and writing quickly.
That is his notebook.
Chen Yang walked closer and saw that the page Xiangdong had written... was almost the last ten pages.
I am almost done writing in such a thick notebook.
He made too many friends along the way and lost too many friends.
Chen Yang was sorting out the information package given to him by Rugui while blowing the wind. This was his fifth collaboration with Xiangdong after the railway mission.
After five life-and-death moments, Xiangdong finally had a place in his notebook.
Chen Yang let out a sigh. It turned out that in the past, they also started out fighting and gradually became comrades-in-arms. The rules were not changed much in this matter.
A rustling sound came into Chen Yang's ears; it was the wind dancing in the rice fields.
This mission point is in the countryside. The evil ghost is an old lady who will give them tasks and ask them to harvest rice.
Farm work is not scary. It doesn’t matter if you’re tired or sweaty, as long as you don’t bleed.
But,
There are frogs in the fields, frogs with human faces.
That was the old lady's companion. It would squat on the edge of the field and stare at them, puffing up its mouth and croaking non-stop.
Chen Yang looked around and saw nothing but rice fields. Every time, a scarecrow would work with the taskers to cut the rice, and whoever cut slowly would be eaten by the frog man.
Some of the taskers had never done farm work and didn't know how to use sickles. They cried while cutting rice. They cut their hands from nervousness and some even cut off their fingers. There was a lot of blood in the rice fields.
There are also human heads.
Because one of the taskers had a breakdown and cut his neck with a sickle, the frog man will eat the body and leave the head.
The pastoral scenery of a bountiful harvest combined with bloody human heads and cries of pain weaves into a bloody and weird dream.
Now it's time to take a break.
"Xiangdong, where is Chao Jian?" Chen Yang asked.
"I'm going to pick peaches for you." Xiangdong was still writing quickly. Although his ID number was long, he had completed a lot of tasks and he wrote down everything he remembered.
Chen Yang's eyebrows twitched. Chao Jian couldn't change his habit of looking for food in the mission world. He had to be fed everywhere.
Chen Yang felt a little itchy on his leg, so he slapped away a black ant. He remembered that he had dreamed about harvesting rice before. Xiang Zimu ran out of the grove and stood on the ridge of the field calling him.
But this task was for him to lead the training, without Xiang Zimu and Sun Wenjun.
It seems that he has worked at more than one mission point similar to that in the countryside.
"Old Chen."
Chen Yang was stunned by Xiangdong's address: "Huh?"
"You really don't want to repair your scar?" Xiangdong rubbed his left leg against his right leg and said as he wrote, "If you change your mind, I'll tell my buddy about this mission when you get back and ask him to do it for you at a friendly price."
Chen Yang breathed happily: "What scar?"
Xiangdong turned his head and faced him: "Did your brain run away with the wind? Isn't it just the scar on your left ear? Do you have scars anywhere else on your body?"
After Chen Yang said this to Xiangdong, some information was added to the information package given to him by the rules.
When he was a child, he was playing on Sanlian Bridge and saved a baby who was thrown downstairs. His left ear was scratched by the nail on the iron gate, leaving a scar.
Calculating the time, if the baby were still alive, he would be almost twenty years old.
Chen Yang's adrenaline continued to rise. Could the baby be Chao Jian? He was not overthinking. Chao Jian was the person with the deepest bond with him in his life.
"Old Chen?" Xiangdong called out several times before finally calling Chen Yang back to life. He returned the notebook and pen to him, "I haven't written for many years, so my handwriting isn't as good as it used to be, but it's still okay. After all, the basics are there."
As expected, Chen Yang saw the three pages of "dog's paws visible in the wind blowing the grass". Dong Ge's handwriting of "dog crawling" was still the same old style, no one could recognize it, so he had to guess.
At the bottom of the last page of Xiangdong's biography is his signature.
—The most invincible and handsome guy in the world.
He also used this signature later.
Chen Yang smiled.
"What are you laughing at?" Xiangdong frowned, "When I die, this will be out of print."
Chen Yang kicked him. He cursed and looked very angry, but did not fight back.
"Old Chen, after all, I am one of the assisting members of you and Chao Xiaozi. When you are getting married, will I be included in the invitation?" Xiangdong touched his crew cut.
Chen Yang squinted his eyes: "You are helping a fart attack, when you met us, he and I were already in love."
Xiang Dong snorted coldly: "It's as if you didn't have a fight afterwards!"
Chen Yang pursed his lips and said, “We had argued before.”
That’s fine, they are just an ordinary couple.
Xiangdong began to count his assists on his fingers, and Chen Yang showed his admiration: "Okay, okay, Dong Ge, let's not crawl past it, just look forward, I'll send you an invitation when we get married."
Xiangdong was satisfied: "I'll give you something good when the time comes."
A guess popped up in Chen Yang's mind, and he asked curiously, "What?"
"Secret." Xiangdong said one second ago, and the next second he said two words, "Diamond."
He was so angry that he slapped himself: "Tell me, tell me, tell me a few more!"
Chen Yang was used to the East Street boss's monkeyish behavior: "Where did you get the diamond?"
"I met a teammate in the real world. After two glasses of wine, he gave me three diamonds." Xiangdong shook off the fallen leaves on his shoulders and picked the mud from the wound on his palm. "He is a diamond bachelor, a rich man who walks around in a villa complex in the rich area. Can you imagine that when he is doing a mission, he just throws a handful of diamonds, and they are not even broken diamonds. Isn't it scary?"
"It's so scary. I'm scared to death."
Chen Yang stuffed the notebook into his backpack and glanced at the book that had returned to its original position. He breathed a sigh of relief. A large field of golden wheat waves was nodding to him.
So beautiful.
Chen Yang saw a young man in the painting painted by nature.
That was his youth.
Chao Jian walked towards him holding a handful of peaches, taking big steps with her eyes fixed on him. Nothing in the world could influence Chao Jian's steps and mind.
Chen Yang ran towards Chao Jian. As he ran, everything around him changed.
The wheat waves disappeared, the sunshine disappeared, the fishy smell of the earth disappeared, Chao Jian disappeared, and the wind around became stronger, very hot and very cold, mixed with horrible air currents. The wind gradually returned to normal temperature and the wind force began to decrease.
Then, Chen Yang saw Chao Jian again. He was wearing a mask, with bloodshot eyes, and his forehead was against his.
A pile of milk tablets fell at their feet, including Chao Jian's medicine bottle.
Chen Yang turned his head dully. He was standing in a computer room shrouded in multiple lights. Countless headphone wires were twisting wildly above his head. He had headphones on his head, and his body had swelled up.
And it didn't stop, it continued to swell.
Coming back…
Why did I come back
Chen Yang couldn't help but grab the mask on his face and pulled it off along with the white silk that he vomited out.
The ball of white silk stained with Chen Yang's blood floated towards Chao Jian.
Chen Yang stared blankly at Chao Jian taking off his mask and kissing his bloody lips.
The machine room was filled with white filaments that entangled the floating dust like a spider web.
Tears welled up in Chen Yang's wide eyes. What happened? Why did I come back
Impossible, I have seen so many revolving doors, impossible... Impossible, impossible, Chen Yang grabbed Chao Jian’s shoulders and pushed him hard.
Chen Yang didn't know how much strength he used, but Chao Jian was not pushed away by him, and he just ended the kiss of death.
"Brother, have you entered a fantasy world?" Chao Jian sighed softly.
Chen Yang opened his mouth, bent over and vomited, clumps of white silk came out of his mouth, the illusion...
Is it an illusion
My faith didn’t take me to the finish line; I didn’t even get to the final level.
Were all those past events just illusions of mine
Chen Yang could no longer shed tears. He placed a hand on his chaotic back and whispered, "It's okay."
"It's okay." Chao Jian said over and over again, patting Chen Yang gently.
Chen Yang's throat made a cracking sound. How could it be alright? How could it be alright
Why didn't you go in
Why? !!! Why can’t I reach the end? !!!
"Boom!"
Chao Jian knelt in front of Chen Yang, his back greatly arched.
Chen Yang stood there in a daze.
Why... Why did I fail...
Chao Jian has been planning for so long, and I have been preparing for so long, why haven't we made it yet
Chen Yang stroked Chao Jian's soft chestnut hair. The pain from his swollen abdomen made his face distorted and terrifying. The back of his hand was twitching, but he spoke in a soft voice: "Why..."
Chao Jian couldn't answer him.
There was a sound of something heavy falling to the ground, followed by one, two, three, four...
Chen Yang turned his head and saw Zheng Zhiqin, Miss Qiao, Qi Bei, Jiang Jiang, Ai Xiaoyu, A Yuan, Lao Xiao and his partner, Qian Qin. They had taken off their masks at some point and now all fell to the ground, with their stiff hands still strangling their necks, their faces bruised, their pupils dilated, and no longer reflexes.
Zheng Zhiqin and the others were not parasitized by the spores and would not grow into fruits. They inhaled the white silk and died of poisoning, and they died quickly.
All dead.
Chen Yang murmured numbly: "Is it the white silk that I spit out that I inhaled?"
It’s not mine, it’s all white silk, all of it.
Chen Yang thought again, but the part I vomited is still in there. His teammates died with their eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling, and he wanted to help them cover their eyes.
But he couldn't take a single step. He shrank like a fruit that was about to finish sowing seeds. His legs could no longer support him and he collapsed to the ground. His whole body convulsed as he fell into Chao Jian's arms.
"Brother, it's okay. I've thought about it a long time ago." Chao Jian touched Chen Yang with shaking hands. "If you really can't reach the end, then forget it. Let's go to hell together."
Chen Yang's eyes went blank, and his painful struggle stopped at that moment: "Go to hell?"
Chao Jian covered his lips with one hand and vomited, white silk flew out from his violently trembling fingers. His other hand was still on Chen Yang's face, his palm was cold: "Yes, go to hell, brother, will you go with me?"
"Okay, let's go together..."
There was not much white silk left in Chen Yang's mouth, and the strength and amplitude of his legs pushing against the ground were getting weaker and weaker.
At the moment when the road in front of him was about to collapse, he seemed to see a blurry figure just in front of the road, looking at him quietly.
Who is it
Why is that person standing there
Chen Yang wanted to take a look, so he opened his eyes wide, and at the same time a voice floated up from the depths of his broken soul.
"You have to bring the book with you when you reach the last level."
"Why?"
"That's something from the real world. It's your spiritual sustenance. It can guide you and strengthen your faith when you can't find your direction."
A crack appeared in Chen Yang's heavy consciousness, and a ray of light squeezed in.
Book…
Yes, where is my book
In the backpack, where is the backpack
Chen Yang found his backpack in a daze, unzipped it, took out the book and hugged it tightly in his arms. "Go home, I want to go home, take me home, please..."
Chao Jian, do you see me? Do you see me? Take me home!
Chao Jian -
A warm breeze blew past Chen Yang, leaving a faint fishy and salty smell. The smell went up from his fingertips and stopped at his mouth and nose. It was like a naughty child trying to wake up a sleeping adult.
Chen Yang's tightly closed eyes trembled slightly, and he opened his eyes little by little, and found himself standing on a high ground on the mountain. In his sight was a group of stone houses. The wind was still blowing, and he heard the sound of the waves greeting him.
Another illusion
The small houses were connected in a U-shape. The walls of each house were not touching each other, but were separated by a circle of strangely shaped stones, leaving only a large door.
Chen Yang seemed to see a large necklace of stone beads.
Some memory fragments played automatically in Chen Yang's blank brain.
Xiaoyin Island…
This is Xiaoyin Island!
Chen Yang's gaze shifted a little, and he saw a familiar figure running towards him.
Chao Jian’s left leg can’t run.
This is indeed an illusion.
Chen Yang looked numbly at Chao Jian who was running towards him. He couldn’t hear clearly what the other party was saying. He was just thinking, this time, has he entered the final level this time
There was a pain on his lips, and Chen Yang's numbness began to stagnate slightly.
"We're going home." Chao Jian kept biting Chen Yang's lips, his body and voice trembling violently, "Brother, we're going home."
Chen Yang raised his head: "... Going home?"
"Yes, I'm home." Chao Jian kissed away the blood on Chen Yang's lips, rubbing and sucking inch by inch. He suddenly stopped, "What's wrong with you?"
Chen Yang looked into Chao Jian's crying eyes and was speechless.
"You really came out." Chao Jian held Chen Yang's head tightly, and the breath of restraint sprayed on his face, "Brother, hug me."
Chen Yang hugged him, but it was very mechanical.
It's impossible, this is an illusion and I can't get out.
"This is not my home..." Chen Yang heard his own calm voice, "No."
Chao Jian's breath was choked. He pulled off Chen Yang's backpack and poured everything inside onto the ground.
Chen Yang looked over subconsciously.
The book is still there, the diary is still there...
Chen Yang saw Chao Jian squatting down and quickly rummaging through his belongings. His eyes followed his movements.
After a few seconds, Chao Jian stood up and looked at Chen Yang again.
Chen Yang's numbness and calmness were instantly swept away by a tsunami. They were gone, and his white identity card was gone!
Chao Jian took Chen Yang to a place.
Chen Yang saw a stone tablet standing in the bushes. His hand, held by Chao Jian, shook for a moment, and then began to shake violently. He had seen that stone tablet during the mission on Xiaoyin Island.
At that time, the islanders burned the dandelions and called Chao Jian to go there, and they dug out a small half of the stone tablet.
It's the one in front of him!
Now it is complete, and he recognizes every word on the inscription!
"I knew a piece of information when I came in." Chao Jian buried his head in Chen Yang's neck, and his tearful cheeks kept rubbing against his skin which was hot due to emotional excitement.
Chao Jian told Chen Yang that those who pass the level will randomly appear in a piece of world fragment. He was assigned here and became a resident here.
Drop by drop, the warm liquid flowed into Chen Yang's collar with Chao Jian's uncontrolled emotions. He burst into tears in a state of sudden enlightenment. No wonder...
No wonder Chao Jian’s blood was useful in Xiaoyin Island’s blessing ceremony.
It turns out that Chao Jian is a member of the Yi clan.