Chapter 147: Reincarnation
The rushed splashes of water were constantly washing the white porcelain sink. He scooped up a handful of water and poured it on his face. The cold water rushed into his mouth and nose, waking up his consciousness, which was trying to numb itself.
Su Yu had finished searching all his pockets before he had left the bathroom. He didn’t have much money left. His hands were trembling, and the blue veins were bulging, like a poisonous snake, and it was baring its fangs and brandishing its tongue on the back of his hand.
He swallowed, and he found that his throat was dry. He tried his best to straighten his bent back, and his inner lining was wet with sweat and was clinging to his flesh. He squeezed out a smile and looked at the etiquette lady who was waiting outside the door.
“Um, is there any money? I want to buy a pack of cigarettes.”
“Cigarettes?”, the etiquette lady was stunned for a moment. She took out her wallet from the counter with a confused look. She had half-opened the zipper and had asked again, “You’re about to get married. Isn’t that a bad idea? Should I go and ask my colleague to lend you a few?”
“I’m nervous.” He spread his palm, and the sticky sweat was shining under the light. “Just one. It will be quick. It’s not time yet.”
“Then… alright. I don’t have any small change. You can have this whole bill.”
“Thank you.” He lowered his eyelashes and said thank you.
“Hey, what about that suitcase?”
Su Yu had just taken two steps when the etiquette lady had called out to him.
He suddenly turned his head and lowered his eyes slightly. The mud and water in his dark eyes were cloudy.
“I put it on the sink. You can go and see for yourself.”
…
He was glad that he hadn’t spent all his money when he had bought the ring. It was enough for him to buy a ticket.
Sometimes it was just that coincidental. He had just happened to want to propose that day, and the jewelry store had just happened to be having a sale on that day. And then he had just happened to discover the reality that was hidden under the two words “love” today.
He had seen the dust that was flying in the sky, the rottenness that was full of holes, and… the lies from beginning to end.
A one-way ticket. The destination was his hometown, which he had thought he would never go back to.
The rusty and mottled main gate, the overgrown weeds and bushes, the old and dilapidated building that was about to collapse…
Su Yu walked around a few excavators that were parked at the entrance of the neighborhood. The iron fence had not yet been set up. The downstairs was only surrounded by a simple circle of paper tape. The corners of the walls were vaguely visible with spider-web-like cracks, and the entire building was crumbling in his vision.
He looked around, like a sneaky thief. There was no one around. He rushed into the building, regardless of the mud and dust that had fallen on him. He covered his mouth and nose and brushed aside the pungent dust and rushed upstairs.
For more than half a day, he had been rushing for thousands of kilometers. His heavy breathing had crushed his sore and soft muscles, and his blood was boiling and was craving for oxygen. His obsession was pulling at him, and he was not willing to stop for a moment.
A brand new iron lock was on the old and dilapidated red wooden door.
Su Yu was standing at the door, and his messy hair was scattered. His profile was sharp, and a shadow was cast on his cheeks under his eyelids. His eyes were as deep as a well, and a dangerous emotion was flowing.
He, who was young and strong, had kicked open the wooden door with one foot. The dust was flying, and the wood chips were splashing. They had almost scraped past his eyes, and a bright red was on his face, a few centimeters below his eyes. A drop of blood had seeped out, and it had slid down his cheeks, and it had looked strange in the shadows.
He couldn’t hold back his restless emotions. The unease that he had been trying to suppress was like a precarious volcano, and it was about to erupt.
The path of his rebirth was leaning towards an extreme shadow. The doubts of the past had been crushed to ashes by the pain of life and had been rekindled. He had been numbed by happiness and joy. Behind all the coincidences, there must be a carefully designed inevitability.
The house was gray and dilapidated, and the things had long since been moved out. He went straight to the bedroom in the inner room. The wooden cabinet, which had a lot of scratches on its door, was still there. It was curled up in a corner, as if it were afraid of his arrival.
The lock on the handle had been violently removed by someone in advance, and it had fallen at Su Yu’s feet. He reached out, and under his trembling hand, the cabinet door was opened. A pungent smell of dampness and mold rushed to his nose, and the narrow space was filled with shadows.
He stiffly stopped his movements and slowly withdrew his hand.
The cabinet was empty.
The desolation was along his back and was pressing on the soles of his feet. He walked downstairs in a daze.
“Hey, who let you in? Didn’t you see the fence here?”
A rough and hoarse voice was calling him. Su Yu raised his head and looked at the dark-skinned man in front of him.
“What are you doing, kid? You’re running around in a construction site. Do you know this is a dangerous building?”
“I’m sorry. I went to the wrong place.”
He lowered his head and apologized. After a few seconds, the dark night had prematurely descended in his eyes. The stars were twinkling. He then asked, “Do you know where the things in this building were collected?”
“You used to live here? Isn’t this building empty? What a jinx.” The man stared at him and smacked his lips. “I just had someone pack it up and send it to the junkyard. I’m not giving you the money back. You can go and ask that old man for it.”
“Hey? What’s wrong with you, kid?” the man shouted from behind.
He had bumped into the man and had ignored him. He had chased after the sunset, which had not yet set in the distance.
…
The garbage station was no different from his memory. It was filled with crushed plastic bottles, and the sugar water had dried on the concrete, and it was sticky under his feet. The garbage was piled up like a mountain…
“Is this pile just collected?”
Su Yu was holding his left abdomen, which was cramping with pain. It was a harsh winter, and the sweat on his forehead was about to freeze before it could drip.
“Are you collecting garbage, young man?”
The old man was hard of hearing. He threw away the empty bottle in his hand and walked out of the inner room.
“No. I’m asking… is this pile just collected?”
“Yes, yes. It was just collected. The building over there is being demolished. I’ve been busy all day. Oh… it’s so good. The demolition is probably going to make a fortune. I’m so envious. When will it be our turn…”
The old man nodded, and his mouth was chattering. He was impatient. He ignored the dirt and went into the pile of old objects, which were covered in dust. He brushed aside a few moldy blankets, and a pile of pots and pans, which were stacked together, fell down and were scattered on the floor.
The dust had blurred his vision. He was searching with his sore and painful eyes. He lifted another blanket and finally saw a few stacked cardboard boxes. His breathing was heavy. He pounced on them and was searching frantically. He tore open the cardboard, which was soaked with water, and a lot of old and yellowed textbooks were scattered on the floor, and they were over his ankles.
It seemed that he couldn’t find it no matter what.
He couldn’t make a sound with his hoarse voice. It was as if he had fallen into a boundless deep sea. He was shouting desperately, but no one answered. He kicked away the few books in vain, and a black leather-covered notebook had fallen out from somewhere.
An unknown fear was flowing up from the soles of his feet. His heart was pounding. A layer of a shiver was crawling up his back.
His trembling hand, he had grabbed the notebook. He didn’t even have time to brush away the dust. He had opened the first page almost roughly.
His gaze was fixed in an instant, and blood vessels were rooted in his swaying eyeballs. The dim yellow page was covered with fine and small characters. Every stroke, every stroke, the handwriting was rotten in his heart, and he could recognize it even if it were turned into ashes.
He was flipping through it page by page, and he was looking at every page as if he were possessed. He could always see a few characters that were appearing frequently and repeatedly. Every page had them, as if they were engraved on it. This diary was born for him.
Every word, every sentence was him. It was as if she only had him. The diary was filled with a world that was made up of two words.
Confusion, horror, and then numbness… the diary was at its bottom. Su Yu was trembling as he took out a crumpled and broken piece of note paper from his pocket. The paper was rough, and it was yellow. It was exactly the same as the paper in the notebook. He stared at the cross-section of the last page of the notebook, which had been torn off. The paper in his hand was seamlessly pieced together.
The two of them were snuggling together. The boy had short hair, and his eyes, nose, and lips… were all like his. It was as if he were looking in a mirror. The girl with long hair was holding the boy in her arms. The girl was smiling, and a red tear was dripping from the corner of her eye.
A puzzle with thousands of pieces that was hard to see. He had put the last piece on, and the truth was revealed in the silence.
His heart was cut into pieces and was buried in a grave. He stared blankly at the mess on the floor.
She had once saved him, who was lost.
Her expression, her language, her demeanor… how many times had she copied them in the mirror in the dead of night? She had carved thousands of possibilities in her heart and had used them to build a canary’s cage. She had smiled and had watched him walk in willingly.
Gentleness had irrigated desire. He had fallen into a vortex. She had watched him in a daze, and he had fallen into a false like. How fascinating was the pleasure of playing with people’s hearts? So much so that she was so happy, and he was so angry.
He pinched his fingers, and his loose hand was clenched into a fist, and then it was loosened again, like a reincarnation.
A black human-shaped silhouette was silent on the ground. The sunset had burned a corner of the sky, and a world of blood was poured out.
…
“Hello, where do you want to go?”
“I…”
He raised his head, and the scarlet at the corners of his eyes was thick.
“A ticket back to the capital…”
Volume 2: Afterword (Author’s notes)
This volume ends here. Most of you are probably confused because you’ve forgotten the previous plot. Actually, if I didn’t have an outline, I would be confused too.
I’ve been emphasizing not to rush. Although the daily life seems to be dragging on, and only a little bit of the plot is pushed forward each time, the length is actually saved from the plot. I’ve cut out a lot of unnecessary things and condensed it. That’s why I said that it’s basically under control at the moment. I’ve written a lot about the emotional scenes, and I don’t want to spend any more effort on these boring plots. It’s not a palace drama or a suspense novel, so I’ve cut them all out. I’m not focusing on this aspect, and it would be redundant to write it.
For example, how Qian Ge’s father died, including the disappearance of her stepmother’s daughter, how her stepmother went crazy and came to find her, and how the male lead slowly found out. These plots can be there, but I feel that they are not necessary. They are tasteless to eat and a pity to lose. Let me briefly sort it out. It’s actually very simple and easy to understand. If you remember the general plot, you can figure it out yourself. It’s just not that detailed.
I’m speaking very colloquially. Please forgive me.
The background is that Qian Ge reported her father’s illegal and profitable business, and then she kicked out her stepmother and her daughter. Later, she was also messed with by Qian Ge. Before her father went to prison, he had pointed to the one million and had gone all in. But the money was not in place, which had caused a big loss in the business of others. After he was released from prison, he had run away and had been killed by the people who had been in the underworld before (anyway, he was gone).
The stepmother was a pure mistress. She was old and ugly, and no one wanted her in her old profession. She was also used to a life of ease. She was so poor that she had no food to eat. Her daughter had run away from home. It was probably because she had been hit very hard, and her mental state was problematic. Otherwise, she would not have dared to come and find Qian Ge.
The stepmother had brought a message to the male lead, that is, Qian Ge’s father had been released from prison and had died. This was very strange to the male lead, because in his previous life, his father had died of illness. But this was basically not taken seriously by Qian Ge’s sweet talk. But this also made the male lead uneasy before the wedding. There were too many coincidences.
Later, why did the male lead suddenly run away from the wedding? This was because of the things that were in the suitcase that the stepmother had sent. A dagger, and a piece of paper that had been torn from a notebook. On it was a drawing of a man and a woman snuggling together.
The dagger was the one that Qian Ge’s mother had used to commit suicide. Under the dagger was the piece of paper that had been torn from the notebook. Qian Ge had put all these things away. Here, let’s go back and look at the fifty-eighth chapter of the first volume, the diary. This was what Qian Ge had drawn when she was not very happy before.
The stepmother had seen Su Yu once at Qian Ge’s mother’s funeral. She would definitely not remember him after a few years. But she had an impression of the notebook, and she had an impression of the drawing. A drawing from a few years ago, the boy on it looked the same as the person in front of her. But when she asked the male lead, the male lead definitely couldn’t tell the truth. He just said that he had met Qian Ge in the capital. This was very terrifying for a person with unclear logic.
Using a suitcase with a “囍”(double happiness) character on it to send a wedding gift was in itself to show that the stepmother’s mental state was already very abnormal at that time. She had not gotten the money, and she would have asked for death. But the purpose of sending these two things was not entirely out of revenge for Xia Qiange.
And a madwoman couldn’t have thought of so much. She was also not sure that this thing would definitely be seen by the male lead. It was more inclined to be a release of fear before suicide. This scene was used by the last exposed murderer in a suspense novel I had read before. Of course, this is not important either. Just for fun. Everything is based on the basis that the male lead is a little suspicious and uneasy.
Why did Su Yu go back? In the one hundred and forty-third chapter of the second volume, I left a sentence. Qian Ge said to leave the past here. If Su Yu wanted to find his old things, he would definitely think of that old home.
Then why didn’t Qian Ge destroy everything? This can be seen in the one hundred and thirty-fifth chapter of the second volume. After she was with the male lead, she had put all these things in her old home. She had wanted to burn the diary, but she was reluctant later. The house was about to be demolished, and it could also be destroyed together. As long as the male lead didn’t see it, everything would be fine.
The development of the event is probably like this. Then, this is the same reincarnation as in the previous life. The problem is that the male lead did not collapse this time. This is thanks to the change in the male lead in the daily life description during this period, and he has a new understanding of his feelings for Qian Ge. Similarly, Qian Ge also has a great change in her feelings (this will be detailed in the later chapters).
At the end of the last chapter, the male lead went to the station to buy a ticket. The first thing he wanted to buy was a ticket back to the capital.
