Ji Mingxia's phone charges very quickly, and half of the power is charged in just over ten minutes. Bao Guangyuan's phone has been turned off for many days, so when Ji Mingxia saw that the power bank was enough, he handed it to Bao Guangyuan.
After Bao Guangyuan turned on his phone, like Ji Mingxia, he was bombarded with messages.
Before he could check the messages on his phone, calls from his family came one after another.
For the rest of the journey, the car was filled with the sound of Bao Guangyuan talking on the phone with his family.
From his father, mother, grandparents, to his uncles, aunts, and so on... Because he was constantly talking on the phone to report his safety, the remaining power in his power bank was not enough for him to use. When he arrived at Quanzhuang Hotel, the power bank was completely out of power, and Bao Guangyuan's phone was on the verge of shutting down for the first time.
Bao Guangyuan returned the power bank to Ji Mingxia: "I'm sorry... I was on the phone all the way and your power bank ran out of power."
Ji Mingxia watched him having so much fun along the way, and then saw that his own family was so deserted. He finally had a grandmother, but the outcome was unclear.
However, in front of Bao Guangyuan, Ji Mingxia certainly didn't show it. He took the power bank with a smile. The two of them got off the car together with their luggage, said goodbye to each other, and returned to their own rooms.
Quanzhuang is still the same as before. It feels like a lifetime ago when I come back here for the first time.
Returning to the luxurious resort from the primeval forest, the last time I came here, I was with Yu Ning. Now, Ji Mingxia is the only one left in the double room.
When they set out a few days ago, although the two of them brought enough luggage, they still left some unused daily necessities at the hotel.
At this moment, in the double room, there were not only the belongings left by Ji Mingxia, but also some of Yu Ning's things.
For example, his notebook, paper and pen, and the underwear that Ji Mingxia had given to Yu Ning before.
Because it didn't fit, Yu Ning accepted it but didn't use it. Instead, he put it in his backpack.
Sitting alone in the huge double room, no matter where his eyes were fixed, Ji Mingxia could imagine the scene when Yu Ning was in this room.
He sat alone for a while, feeling like a single man who had just been dumped in love. The longer he sat there, the more desolate he became.
Realizing that he was in a bad mood, Ji Mingxia quickly got up, packed up the things in the room, and then found Zhao Zhuoyue and others before it got dark.
Yu Ning's bronze mirror modified the memories of Zhao Zhuoyue, Chen Zhen and others, making them unaware of the departure of Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning.
But there are still some bugs in it. After all, human behavior is unpredictable. Ji Mingxia came back this time just to fix it. If Zhao Zhuoyue and others have any doubts, he will come forward to explain.
But in the end, it turned out that... both he and Yu Ning overestimated these roommates.
When the hotel was booked, Ji Ming, Xia Yuning, Zhao Zhuoyue, Chen Zhen and others' rooms were in two different areas, so they were too far apart, making it inconvenient for everyone to meet.
Due to the inherent geographical location, it is difficult for Ji Ming, Xia Yuning and their roommates to meet each other.
When I first checked into the hotel, my roommates would come from far away to join in the fun.
After waiting for a long time, everyone lost interest and became too lazy to move around.
Quanzhuang is so big and there are so many vacation projects. Everyone has different interests and hobbies. We are all independent adults. We are lively and active on weekdays. If there is something we want to do, we can just go out and try it by ourselves without having to force a bunch of people together.
As a result, even if several roommates live close to each other, they may not necessarily see each other every day.
What's more, it is normal for Yu Ning and Ji Mingxia to not see each other since they are far apart. It would be strange if they see each other every day.
In this context, coupled with the bronze mirror's ability to modify memory, Zhao Zhuoyue, Chen Zhen and others did not notice the disappearance of Yu Ning and Ji Mingxia at all.
When Ji Mingxia met with his roommates this time, he mainly explained the fact that Yu Ning had left first, and didn't say much else.
Seeing that no one had any doubts, Ji Mingxia felt relieved.
Before going to bed at night, Ji Mingxia looked at the time. According to normal speculation, Yu Ning should have got off the plane and settled down by now. He took out his mobile phone and tried to call Yu Ning again.
The phone did not beep immediately, but was silent for a few seconds.
Ji Mingxia immediately had a bad feeling in his heart.
Sure enough, after a moment, a response came from the other end of the phone: "The number you dialed is turned off."
Ji Mingxia hung up the phone with some worry.
The phone remains turned off, there are only a few possibilities.
Either the flight was delayed or Yu Ning is still in the sky.
Either Yu Ning has already arrived in the capital and started testing, so he has no time to check his phone and charge it
No matter which possibility it is, Ji Mingxia cannot get the latest news about Yu Ning now, and can only try to call him tomorrow.
With this thought in mind, Ji Mingxia sent a message to Yu Ning on WeChat before going to bed, and then fell asleep feeling a little uneasy.
The first thing Ji Mingxia did when he woke up the next day was to check his phone for messages.
There were no unread messages, no missed calls, the phone was silent, and Yu Ning did not give him any response.
Ji Mingxia tried to call Yu Ning's phone number for the first time, but it was still turned off.
His face changed slightly, and he suddenly thought of something, and quickly checked yesterday's flights on the Internet.
There was no plane accident. The plane that Yu Ning, Pei Yuan and others were on yesterday landed safely in the capital. At least from the surface information, Yu Ning, Pei Yuan and others were fine.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Then, the voices of Zhao Zhuoyue and others came from the door: "Mingxia, Mingxia, are you here? Get ready to have breakfast and check out."
"Okay, I'll be right there." Ji Mingxia hurriedly put down his phone, changed his clothes, dragged his luggage, and went downstairs with Zhao Zhuoyue and others.
Along the way, Ji Mingxia was thinking about Yu Ning and then his grandmother, and he felt a little uneasy.
It wasn't until someone came up to him and greeted him that Ji Mingxia came back to his senses.
He turned around and saw that the person sitting next to him was none other than Bao Guangyuan, who was holding a sandwich.
"Is this your girlfriend?" Bao Guangyuan, who had stayed in the hotel for one night, felt like a new person. He said to Ji Mingxia with a smile while eating a sandwich.
Seeing that Zhao Zhuoyue and others were also looking over, Ji Mingxia nodded and introduced Zhao Zhuoyue and his group of roommates to Bao Guangyuan.
We were all young people, and Bao Guangyuan was also a well-known blogger, so we quickly became friends.
Compared to everyone else who was so excited, Ji Mingxia looked a little listless.
Since he was the one who made the connection, once Ji Mingxia was depressed, the whole atmosphere was not good. It felt like everyone was looking at him. Ji Mingxia thought for a moment and said, "I'll call Yu Ning, but his phone is turned off and I can't get through."
"Yu Ning?" Bao Guangyuan was caught off guard and suddenly heard the name Yu Ning, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
His expression was so vivid that it immediately attracted Zhao Zhuoyue's attention: "Hey, do you know Yu Ning too?"
"You know them all too..." Bao Guangyuan widened his eyes and said in disbelief.
"Yu Ning is my classmate." Zhao Zhuoyue said.
Bao Guangyuan then remembered that Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning had introduced themselves to him when they first entered the forest, and that they were from the same group.
Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning were the same clan, so it was natural that they were also the same clan as Zhao Zhuoyue and others.
Bao Guangyuan thought of how terrifying Yu Ning was and could only laugh dryly: "What a coincidence, you are both from the same family as Yu Ning."
It was already difficult enough for Ji Mingxia to be friends with such a scary person, but he actually had so many followers!
"We are roommates." Zhao Zhuoyue said again.
Bao Guangyuan's eyes almost popped out: "You guys... all go to sleep for a while?"
"Ah." Zhao Zhuoyue said, and Ji Mingxia said, "Isn't it normal that Yu Ning's cell phone can't be reached? He didn't use his cell phone much before when he was in the junior high school. I've never seen him play with his cell phone."
Ji Mingxia looked up at Zhao Zhuoyue: "Is that so?"
"Oh." Chen Zhen also said to Ji Mingxia, "You forgot that Yu Ning was the only one who didn't join our dormitory group. It wasn't that I didn't invite him at the beginning, but he himself was not interested."
Ji Mingxia was originally very worried, but seeing that everyone seemed to be indifferent to it, he couldn't help but doubt his own judgment.
Thinking about it carefully, Yu Ning really seldom plays with his mobile phone. If he encountered a lot of things after arriving in the capital and forgot to charge his mobile phone for a while... it seems barely understandable, right
"Then how often does it take him to want to turn on the machine?" Ji Mingxia couldn't help but ask.
He was still waiting for Yu Ning to report that he was safe. He wanted to ask about the condition of Yu Ning's ring and the test results. However, all contact methods were now completely cut off, and Ji Mingxia had no idea where to start.
"This... If you don't know, then I don't know either." Zhao Zhuoyue said.
In the dormitory, Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning are the only ones who have the best relationship. He doesn't have an answer, so the rest of the people can't help.
Ji Mingxia also understood that this was indeed the case and could only nod.
Bao Guangyuan was listening to Zhao Zhuoyue and others talking, and vaguely felt that when Zhao Zhuoyue met Yu Ning, although he was somewhat evasive, he was not afraid at all. He couldn't help but ask a few questions tentatively.
When Bao Guangyuan learned about Yu Ning's treatment in the back school, his eyes almost popped out. He looked at Zhao Zhuoyue, Chen Zhen and others in disbelief. In the end, Bao Guangyuan finally understood why Ji Mingxia said that Yu Ning was kind...
Judging from the fighting ability that Yu Ning showed in the forest, he was really kind-hearted for not killing Zhao Zhuoyue and his group!
But why was Yu Ning able to kill him and Meng Xinyi at that time
Zhao Zhuoyue and his group bullied Yu Ning like that, but he did not resist. However, in front of Bao Guangyuan and Meng Xinyi, he was so cold and ruthless!
Bao Guangyuan was puzzled until he saw the ring on Ji Mingxia's hand, and then he got the answer.
Ji Mingxia also knew that her ring was too eye-catching, so she tried to hide it all the way. Fortunately, Zhao Zhuoyue was very calm and didn't even notice that Ji Mingxia had an extra piece of jewelry on her hand.
Even if careful people like Chen Zhen saw it, they did not ask any more questions out of respect for Ji Mingxia.
Breakfast time ended quickly, Ji Mingxia, Zhao Zhuoyue and others were ready to check out, but Bao Guangyuan planned to stay for two more days.
After everyone said goodbye to each other, Ji Mingxia followed his roommates to leave Quanzhuang and return to the county town.
After the college entrance examination, the seniors left school one after another. However, since there were still procedures to go through, such as checking scores, filling out applications, and getting high school diplomas, the seniors still needed to return to campus, so the principal did not urge everyone to move out of the dormitory.
Most people's luggage is still in the dormitory. Some high school juniors are still living in the back school during the summer vacation, waiting for their grades while working summer jobs.
The luggage of Ji Mingxia and others was still in the dormitory. According to the original plan, Ji Mingxia had intended to return to school with his roommates, and he would go home after settling down.
But the phone call yesterday made Ji Mingxia a little uneasy, and he finally decided not to return to school and go home directly.
After briefly saying goodbye to roommates including Zhao Zhuoyue, Ji Mingxia went to the station alone and took a bus to the countryside.
Although Ji Mingxia's family has some assets, besides Ji Mingxia himself, his grandmother is the only relative left in the family.
Grandma has been living in the countryside for many years and is reluctant to leave. Every time Ji Mingxia goes home, he goes back to his hometown in the countryside.
The bus was shaking on the country road. There were green farmlands on both sides of the road. From time to time, you could see farmers picking fresh fruits and selling them on the roadside.
The weather is nice today, the sun is shining lazily, the sky becomes bluer the further into the countryside you go, and the air is fresh with a slight smell of earth.
Whether it was the accents of the people on the bus or the scenery along the way outside the window, they were all familiar to Ji Mingxia.
He sat in the car, quietly looking at the mountains and trees on the roadside, and he almost had the illusion that he hadn't gotten dressed yet.
Only the cold touch of the blood-red ring on his hand reminded him that there was Yu Ning and the mysterious item in this world.
The distance from the county town to the township is not far. At each stop, people get off the bus one after another. When they arrive at the village where Grandma Ji lives, Ji Mingxia is the only one left on the bus.
After being swayed in the car for so long, Ji Mingxia felt a little sleepy. When the car stopped, Ji Mingxia looked up and found that he had arrived at his hometown. He got out of the car immediately.
The car door opened and a gust of wind blew in from the outside, bringing with it a strange fishy smell.
Ji Mingxia moved his nose unconsciously, but before he could smell the smell, he found that the driver was turning his head to look at him.
When the driver noticed Ji Mingxia looking at him, he immediately turned his head away and didn't look at him.
Seeing this, Ji Mingxia didn't ask any questions and got off the car with his luggage.
As soon as he landed, the bus started and drove away quickly, leaving Ji Mingxia standing alone at the entrance of the huge village.
The village where Grandma Ji lived was called Banana Leaf Village, named after the many cannas planted in the village.
When Ji Mingxia was a child, Jiaoye Village was still an ordinary rural village.
When he was in middle school, the economy took off, the country vigorously built towns and villages, and Jiaoye Village was transformed into a new countryside.
The original mud houses have been transformed into retro alternating-style buildings. The walls of each house are uniformly painted white, with reddish-brown eaves, which look neat and refreshing.
The dirt road was flattened and turned into an asphalt road. Trees and cannas were planted on both sides of the road, and ribbons and lanterns were hung between the trees.
The whole village looks brand new, with a new and festive atmosphere everywhere.
It was noon at the moment. Although Jiaoye Village did not have a large population, there would always be a few people coming in and out.
But what was strange was that there was no one at the entrance of the village, only Ji Mingxia was standing alone with a suitcase.
Before, when he was in the car, the window saw blue sky and white clouds, and the weather was very good. But now he didn't know if the weather had changed. From Ji Mingxia's perspective, Jiaoye Village seemed to be shrouded in dark clouds.
Although the surroundings were still bright, there was not the scorching heat of summer, and it was even slightly chilly.
Ji Mingxia moved his nose and sniffed hard.
Fortunately, the strange smell that he suddenly smelled in the car just now disappeared. The air in the countryside was fresh. Looking around, the clean roads were lined with refreshing green plants on both sides. In the distance, white clouds were lingering among the green mountains and green waters. After all, it was still his familiar hometown.
There was no one at the entrance of the village, so Ji Mingxia didn't delay and walked inside with his suitcase.
Grandma Ji’s home is located in the middle of Jiaoye Village. To get there from the entrance of the village, you have to pass a wooden bridge by the river and a gravel road.
Houses in the countryside cover a large area, are not high, and usually come with a small courtyard.
Since the village has a small population and most people are familiar with each other, in Ji Mingxia's memory, the residents of Jiaoye Village usually keep their courtyard gates open during the day.
One is to facilitate entry and exit, and the other is to enhance air circulation and make it easier for sunlight to come in.
In recent years, most newly renovated houses use fresh air systems. Many young people have adapted to the feeling of staying at home all day long, but the older generation pays great attention to sunlight and natural ventilation.
Ji Mingxia was used to the happy scene in Banana Leaf Village with its doors wide open. However, what was strange was that at this moment, as he dragged his suitcase along, the general layout of Banana Leaf Village was similar to what he remembered, but the doors of every household were closed.
The gate to the courtyard was not open, and one could not see inside the courtyard from the gate, so it was unclear whether the owner of the house was at home.
It might be okay if there are only one or two families, but when all the villagers do this, with no people coming and going, no children laughing and playing, the whole village seems deserted.
The clacking sounds of footsteps and the dragging of suitcases echoed with each other. Ji Mingxia shuttled through the gravel roads of Jiaoye Village. It seemed as if he was the only living person in the entire village.
At this moment, Ji Mingxia vaguely saw a red light at the corner of his eyes.
He quickly lowered his head and looked at his left hand, only to see that the blood-red ring was still intact on his hand, without any flashing light.
Ji Mingxia looked at the ring strangely, not sure whether the red light just now was his illusion.
He walked forward while observing the ring, and the next moment, he saw a figure walking past.
He walked out of a small supermarket, holding some products in his hands the whole time, and walked quickly with his head down, as if something was chasing him.
It was not until he turned a corner and half of his face appeared vaguely that Ji Mingxia realized that the person in front of him was actually an acquaintance he knew.
She was Aunt Cheng who lived next door to Ji Mingxia. She had watched Ji Mingxia grow up since he was a child. She loved Ji Mingxia the most when he was a child and often secretly gave him candies.
There was such an aunt in Ji Mingxia's original world. Now he saw this aunt again in the village.
The feeling of seeing an acquaintance should have made Ji Mingxia happy and at ease, but when he saw Aunt Cheng's profile clearly, Ji Mingxia's heart sank.
In Ji Mingxia's memory, Aunt Cheng was slightly plump, with fair skin and rosy complexion. She was cheerful all day long and very energetic.
But the Aunt Cheng in front of him at the moment, although she looked the same, had a dull complexion and sunken cheeks, as if she had just had a serious illness and looked extremely bad.
Ji Mingxia was somewhat confused, but Aunt Cheng was in a hurry, there was some distance between Ji Mingxia and her, and he only saw half of her face, so it was possible that he was dazzled.
Thinking of this, Ji Mingxia could only suppress the doubts in his heart, dragging the suitcase and continuing to move forward.
After taking a few steps, Ji Mingxia paused and suddenly remembered a detail that he had overlooked.
He saw Aunt Cheng at the door of a small supermarket, but in Ji Mingxia's original world, there was no small supermarket in the village.
This small supermarket is built in the center of the village. The first floor of a three-story western-style building has been converted into a small supermarket.
But in Ji Mingxia's memory, the owner of this small Western-style building died of illness when Ji Mingxia was in the first year of high school.
After the owner of the western-style building died, his family members also passed away one after another. Eventually, the entire building was left vacant and was bought by the village chief, who converted it into a cafe.
Today, the coffee shop has become a small Western-style building, and the Banana Leaf Village, which has always been bright and hospitable, has become a closed and deserted village.
Is it a deviation caused by the butterfly effect, or a change caused by the insertion of the plot
Ji Mingxia secretly kept these suspicious points in mind and finally arrived at Grandma Ji's door dragging his suitcase.
From the outside, the Ji family's house looked no different from before.
The walls are white and the tiles are red. The black and gray iron door is closed, but at this moment, a plastic bag is hanging on the door.
The name of the supermarket was engraved on the surface of the plastic bag. It was the shopping bag from the small supermarket that Ji Mingxia had just seen.
Seeing that it was a product from a small supermarket, Ji Mingxia couldn't help but walk forward, take down the plastic bag and open it to take a look.
It was filled with some common foods such as bean paste, rice, pork, etc.
Everything was packed into its own category, and in the corner of the bag there were a few five- and ten-yuan bills.
Ji Mingxia hadn't seen RMB for a long time as he was used to mobile payment. He took a closer look and found that the RMB seemed a little different from what he remembered.
Ji Mingxia wanted to take out the coins to have a look, but at this moment, the door creaked open and an old, wrinkled face poked out from inside.
When he saw Ji Mingxia standing at the door with shopping bags in his hands, the old man was stunned for a moment, then said calmly: "You are back, come in."
After saying that, he turned and walked into the house.
Ji Mingxia's hand holding the plastic bag froze all of a sudden. He stood there, staring blankly at the old man's back, and didn't come back to his senses for a long time.
Because, the appearance of the old man in front of him was too unfamiliar to Ji Mingxia...
Ji Mingxia’s real age is nineteen. If his father were still alive this year, he would be fifty-six years old. People of Ji’s grandmother’s generation gave birth early, and Ji Mingxia’s father was born when she was twenty years old.
In other words, the real age of Ji Mingxia’s grandmother in her original world was seventy-five years old.
The seventy-five-year-old woman, although already entering old age, but the Ji family has good genes. Grandma was a great beauty when she was young. Although it is inevitable to grow wrinkles and age spots when she is old, her hair is still thick and black, her figure is slim, and her manners are dignified at the age of over seventy. Compared with people of the same age, grandma is obviously more energetic, younger and healthier than their peers.
At first glance, people who are not familiar with him would think that he is just in his early sixties.
After Ji Mingxia traveled to this world, he became one year younger. If calculated based on Ji Mingxia's current situation, Grandma Ji in this world is seventy-four years old this year. Logically speaking, she should be younger than the grandmother in his original world.
But the Grandma Ji in front of me at the moment had gray hair, a wrinkled face, cloudy eyes, and she walked with a hunched back and a slightly trembling body.
Not to mention being younger than his peers, he even looks much older than them, like a 60-year-old man with slight mobility problems.
However, apart from the signs of aging, if you look closely, her face is still Grandma Ji's face, and if you listen carefully, her voice is still Grandma Ji's voice.
This is the original body’s grandmother, but not the grandmother in Ji Mingxia’s memory.
"What are you still standing there for? Close the door." At this time, Grandma Ji saw that Ji Mingxia had not moved for a long time, so she turned around and said.
Ji Mingxia came back to his senses all of a sudden, and he managed to adjust his facial expression so as not to let Grandma Ji see the flaw.
He held the luggage in one hand and a plastic bag in the other. He walked into the door, closed it, and followed Grandma Ji into the house.