Author’s message: Second update tonight, it should conclude tonight.
There will probably be an extra chapter about Qi Zhuang and Zong Yuan.
—
The pungent smell of disinfectant.
Zong Yuan’s consciousness began to clear, and the pitch-black field slowly brightened.
He couldn’t move his body, but his five senses began to recover.
Zong Yuan heard a voice.
“Boss, these are the documents you need to review today.”
“Put them here.”
A male voice sounded, tiredness evident in the tone, “You should go back to the company, keep your voice down.”
“Yes,” the secretary spoke softly, “Take care of yourself. I’ve placed the breakfast I bought for you on the table. You must remember to eat it. Otherwise, when Second Young Master wakes up, he’ll definitely blame himself.”
“I know, go back.”
Zong Yuan thought, ‘This big brother is such an idiot, having a meal or not, still complaining about living too long?’
He’s back.
Unable to move his body, Zong Yuan wasn’t in a hurry. He silently called out in his heart, “0046?”
No sound came in response.
“Don’t rush,” Zong Yuan told himself, “Probably because my body is currently in a comatose state.”
The sunlight spilled onto him, warming his entire body. His older brother sat beside him, and all he could hear were the sounds of keyboard typing and flipping pages.
He could even smell the faint fragrance of roses.
Zong Yuan told himself not to think about anything else, not to think about his lover, not to ponder how they would reunite, and not to dwell on the disappearance of 0046.
Think about nothing.
After a while, he could feel his fingers moving. Starting from his fingers, a stiff pain spread throughout his body.
‘This was the consequence of lying in bed for too long’, Zong Yuan thought as he struggled to muster the strength to control his limbs.
He had no idea how long he had been unconscious.
Zong Shen was dealing with documents when he saw his brother’s fingers move. He froze for several seconds before rushing out to find a doctor, “Where is the doctor? My brother woke up!”
The calm and rational Zong Shen, the CEO, completely forgot about the existence of the call button.
Zong Yuan found it amusing; he had never seen his brother so flustered. Now he could only listen to the voices and imagine, not quite satisfying enough.
From fingers to forearms, control over his entire body was gradually returning. Zong Yuan exerted all his strength and opened his eyes.
Outside the ward, there were noisy voices, and Zong Shen’s excited voice repeatedly exclaimed that his brother had awakened.
Zong Yuan turned his head, looking at the door, waiting for a group of people to come in. He raised a smile, “Bro, I’m awake.”
After a long journey, I finally returned home.
Zong Yuan woke up, and Zong Shen completely let go of his worries. Zong Yuan had been unconscious for three days, and no hospital could detect the cause. Zong Shen’s stress had increased day by day, and his thick hair fell in large clumps.
Fortunately, he woke up.
The hospital wanted to reexamine Zong Yuan’s body, but he insisted that they examine Zong Shen as well.
Zong Shen frowned, “I’m fine, much healthier than you. Go get yourself checked.”
“Together,” Zong Yuan glanced at his brother, “with your irregular diet, who gave you the confidence to think you’re very healthy?”
“You little brat!”
In the end, Zong Shen compromised and went for a full-body examination with Zong Yuan.
The results for the two brothers were excellent. Zong Yuan was a bit weak from not having proper meals in the past three days, while Zong Shen, with his stomach nurtured by coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol, surprisingly only had a mild stomach condition.
Zong Shen himself found it quite miraculous. In a time when many people had some degree of stomach issues, he, who indulged in such habits, was still fine.
His body was just too resilient.
He followed Zong Yuan, showing off, “See, healthy, right?”
Zong Yuan still remembered his pale face and the pain he endured while lying in the hospital bed, hands scratched. He looked at the health certificate the doctor provided and forced a smile, “Good, impressive.”
Brother, you still have many years ahead.
Back at home, Zong Shen felt like he had only been away for three days, but Zong Yuan knew that he had experienced the passage of time across multiple worlds.
He looked at the familiar yet strange decor and returned to his room.
It was very neat, and the bedding still carried the scent of sunlight.
He opened the first layer of the bedside table, which was filled with expensive cigarettes.
He took out a garbage bag and disposed of the items.
Carrying the bag, he went to Zong Shen’s room, opened the first layer of the bedside table, and threw all the cigarettes into the cabinet.
One bag wasn’t enough. Zong Yuan placed the valuable tobacco and the discarded items in one bag then grabbed another bag and went to the study. In front of Zong Shen, he threw away the cigarettes from his brother’s bookshelf.
“What the hell!” Zong Shen jumped up directly. “What are you doing?”
“These are all good things! Money can’t necessarily buy them!”
Zong Yuan continued his actions, speaking frankly, “I had a nightmare, dreaming that you smoked yourself to death.”
Zong Shen looked at his younger brother with disdain. “Let go of me, just a dream, impossible!”
Zong Yuan, in a leisurely manner, added, “I smoked myself to death too.”
Zong Shen’s breath caught, “Damn it.”
Throwing the bundle of cigarettes into Zong Yuan’s bag with both hands, Zong Shen exclaimed, “All gone! Don’t try smoking again in the future!”
“If you smoke, I’ll smoke too.”
“I don’t smoke! There’s still a cabinet full, throw it away!”
“Damn it, Zong Shen, you’ve been hiding so many?”
“These are my collectibles.”
“How about giving them away?”
“No, throw them away! Zong Yuan, don’t think about finding an excuse! Do you really want to smoke yourself to death?”
Zong Yuan smiled, watching bag after bag of cigarettes being packed.
From today, he decided to quit smoking.
Zong Yuan also had his own business. He collaborated with partners to open a software company, providing funding while his partner offered technical support.
He used to enjoy it, but now he had lost interest. He handed the company over to Zong Shen and spent two days at home.
The only thing he persisted in doing at all times was calling 0046 and checking for news about Qi Zhuang.
He remembered the words he had said.
Zong Shen handed a stack of documents to Zong Yuan, “Who is this Qi Zhuang? How come I don’t know anyone you know has this name?”
“I don’t know who he is,” Zong Yuan raised an eyebrow and smiled, “but he will become your little brother’s wife.”
Zong Shen was stunned, “A woman?!”
“Male,” Zong Yuan said, “Bro, I like chubby kids. Have more in the future; my wife wants to play with them.”
“… Get lost.”
The information about everyone named Qi Zhuang in the entire city was there. Zong Yuan went through it one by one. His speed was extraordinary; just by looking at the photos, the emotional resonance etched in his heart for a long time allowed him to quickly find the Qi Zhuang he was looking for.
But there was none.
He wasn’t there.
Zong Yuan looked expressionless at the information spread out on the table, “Bro, bring the information of all the Qi Zhuangs in the country.”
Nonsense. Zong Shen was about to reprimand Zong Yuan when he saw his brother’s expression.
He had never seen Zong Yuan with such emotions. Zong Shen held back his words and dialed his secretary’s landline, “Collect information about all the males named Qi Zhuang nationwide and send it to Second Young Master’s place as soon as possible.”
Zong Yuan lay on the sofa with his eyes closed, and legs propped up on the coffee table.
In these past few days, he hadn’t relaxed his brows.
He had a premonition that, in the next set of information sent, he still wouldn’t find Qi Zhuang.
“Quickly remember me.”
Zong Yuan asked his brother, “Bro, if someone says to you, ‘Quickly remember me,’ what do you think it means?”
Zong Shen, busy signing documents, asked, “Did I know that person before?”
“Yeah,” Zong Yuan tapped his legs, cryptically saying, “I think so too.”
The system could maintain memories, but who knew if it could tamper with them.
Zong Yuan trusted his wife more than he trusted his memories.
He stood up, “Bro, our old house and the apartment we had during my primary and high school days, are they still there?”
“They’re all there. The keys are in the study; take a look.”
“Are all the things inside still there?”
“They’re all there.”
Zong Yuan hurriedly walked out, waving his hand, “Bro, I’ll be staying at our old places for the next few days. I won’t come back, don’t worry.”
Zong Shen lifted his head from the desk, watching his brother’s retreating figure, burying his worries in his heart, “Qi Zhuang…”
Zong Yuan, holding a bunch of keys, went to various locations.
He arrived at his room, leaving no trace unexamined. From each year’s textbooks to drawers where he used to randomly toss things, he searched for any clues about Qi Zhuang.
From childhood until now, the Zong brothers have moved five times.
But Zong Yuan believed that with his brother’s possessive nature, he would never lose any of his belongings.
Countless childhood memories surged as he uncovered one item after another. Zong Yuan tirelessly searched four locations and then continued without a break to their old house.
Opening the gate, a cloud of dust rose into the air.
Zong Yuan entered his room and opened the door.
This place was where he had lived the longest, but it was also the place he least wanted to visit.
He rummaged through the neatly arranged wardrobe, and from a box in the corner, he unexpectedly unearthed an entire box of plush toys.
Zong Yuan skimmed through each item and came across a green, gloomy little turtle plushie.
Except for the age difference, it was exactly like the turtle that Zong Bao loved so much.
Zong Yuan set it aside and continued searching for his belongings. However, as the night faded away and the day dawned, he still hadn’t found anything.
Zong Yuan sat despondently on the floor.
He couldn’t remember.
If he couldn’t remember, would he still meet him?
Feeling restless, unwilling to dwell on it, he thought about smoking.
Sitting in the quiet room, he didn’t know what else he could do.
His phone rang, and Zong Yuan wiped his face as he answered, “Brother.”
His voice was extremely hoarse.
Zong Shen was startled, questioning sternly, “Did you go out to play all night again?”
“No,” Zong Yuan replied, “Brother, I’m at the old house, and I couldn’t find anything.”
Zong Shen frowned, “What are you looking for?”
“I was looking for some of my things,” Zong Yuan sighed, “but I didn’t find them.”
Zong Shen snorted, “You should have said earlier. I have your stuff here, in the attic at our house, along with a few of your diaries.”
Zong Yuan’s eyes widened, and he jumped up with the turtle plushie in hand, heading out, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“How would I know what you were looking for?”
Zong Yuan hung up the phone, his speed increasing. He drove straight home.
He forcefully pushed open the gate, “Brother, where are the things?”
Zong Shen had just found them, and he was washing his hands, “I moved them to your room.”
Zong Yuan rushed into the room, looking dusty and disheveled.
He never remembered having the habit of keeping a diary.
Zong Yuan took a deep breath, casually picking up one of the diaries. The somewhat immature handwriting caught his eye.
He flipped through the pages meticulously, not missing a single word.
“April 8, XXXX. Clear.
He kept something from me.
He didn’t want me to know.
He’s good at lying.
I went along with his wishes and said, ‘You said you need to go back early every night to study?’
He said yes.
I told him, ‘I believe you.’
I didn’t tell him that I secretly asked that doctor. The doctor said he only has half a month left.”
“April 9, XXXX. Cloudy.
Brother seemed really off this morning.
He looked into my eyes several times, hesitated, and finally gave me a card, telling me to spend it happily.
Interesting, does he think I’ve been crying?”
Zong Yuan never cried, and he must have been acting foolishly again.
Moreover, could this card save his life?
Impossible.
Zong Yuan’s hands trembled as he held the paper. He had no recollection of ever writing such a diary or knowing the “he” mentioned in it.
Memories indeed had issues.
But the traces left by “him” wouldn’t disappear.
Zong Yuan took a deep breath and continued reading.
“April 10, XXXX. Clear.
I went to that hospital again.
I found some information; there were cases of successful recovery after surgery for his condition.
I found the hospital director, took out all my cards, and asked him, ‘Is this enough?’
The director didn’t dare accept; he thought he couldn’t succeed.
So, I threatened him.
The way he looked at me was like the bullies who used to torment him.
The director took the cards, and I reminded him again, ‘Remember to charge him a certain fee.'”
“Or else, he won’t be at ease.”
“April 21, XXXX. Clear.
Today is his surgery day.
He’s still keeping it from me.
After he finishes the surgery, I must scold him thoroughly.
Also, Qi Zhuang, stay alive for me.”
The pages beyond that were mostly blank.
On the last page, there appeared a bold and hastily scrawled sentence.
Zong Yuan looked at the line of words, “Early in the morning, I saw this diary on my desk. I read the first few pages, indeed matching my handwriting. Who the hell is so boring, imitating my handwriting to create a diary?”
“But I’m not interested in reading to the end.”
Zong Yuan’s eyes turned red.
He remembered this little incident.
One morning, as he prepared to go out after changing his clothes, he saw this diary on the table.
He casually flipped through a few pages, then closed it without much interest.
But the handwriting on it was the same as his.
“Prank?” he said, then casually picked up a pen and wrote this paragraph at the end of the diary. Upon meeting Zong Shen outside, he asked Zong Shen to throw away the diary, “Bro, was this your doing?”
Zong Shen looked puzzled, “What?”
Young Zong Yuan clicked his tongue, “Alright, I didn’t read to the end. I don’t remember ever writing this diary. Just toss it.”
Until now.
Zong Yuan covered his eyes.
His eyes felt dry.
Author’s note:
Estimated one more update tonight.
Can’t believe it, I actually did a daily update today…
Livestream finished, haha, posting after finishing.
