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TMSCEW 106

Ruan Jiujiu maintained her posture of bending down to pick up the cream, but suddenly she felt bewildered.

The sudden burst of light was the glaring sunlight. If the stairs suddenly had power restored, that could be explained, but now, how could it be broad daylight with the scorching sun overhead? 

???

She widened her eyes in astonishment and stood up straight.

Pedestrians hurriedly passed by, some casting curious glances in Ruan Jiujiu’s direction. It was currently noon on a summer day, the sun was scorching, and the hot air burned every cell in her body. In just a short time, she felt like she was on fire.

Ruan Jiujiu was dressed in casual sportswear, clearly different from the exposed thighs and arms of the people around her.

She began to sweat and moved to the shade of a big tree. Around her, people waiting at the bus stop stood in groups of three or four, with a few schoolboys preparing to go to school, their eyes fixed on Ruan Jiujiu. They blushed and whispered to each other.

Ruan Jiujiu’s expression was still somewhat dazed.

The billboard reflected her silhouette, and it was still her face, still wearing the same clothes she had before parting with Cheng Jun. How could she have ended up in another world in the blink of an eye?

Where was Cheng Jun now?

A bus approached the bus stop and stopped, and this familiar scene gradually stirred memories in Ruan Jiujiu’s mind. Her brain had a brief moment of blankness, and she stared blankly as the bus slowly started moving. It was the bus she often took to a nearby mall to watch movies, but wasn’t this a memory from her previous life? 

Could it be…

She had returned to her original world?!

Ruan Jiujiu couldn’t believe it. If she had returned to her original world, did her body still exist? Or was it being used by someone else?

She stumbled and quickly walked towards the building where she had lived for several years. Her face was pale, and she walked unsteadily. Passersby looked at the beautiful but lost woman in surprise, and some approached her kindly, asking if she needed help, but she refused them all.

Her mind was in a chaotic state, and she just wanted to know what was going on. Was it a dream, or had there been some uncontrollable change?

Regardless of the possibility, it made her heart sink deeper and deeper, into a bottomless lake.

Ruan Jiujiu lived in a single apartment, and the ground floor required a password to enter. She confidently entered her birthdate, but it showed “incorrect password.” She couldn’t believe it and tried again, only to receive the same error.

The cold, mocking beep seemed to taunt Ruan Jiujiu’s audacity.

She stood there, gazing blankly at the unfamiliar yet familiar building.

When she had crossed over to another world, she had yearned for her own home countless times. Now, standing here, it was as if a stranger had returned to a foreign land, with no familiar faces. To her, it was still foreign territory.

Could this still be called home?

The thought of Cheng Jun being left all alone in another world, how panicked and desperate he must have felt when he realized that she had disappeared from the staircase, made Ruan Jiujiu’s heart ache so much that she couldn’t catch her breath.

She clutched at the collar of her shirt, slowly crouched down on the ground, allowing herself to take deep breaths. Her airway had become so constricted that it was difficult to breathe, and she felt lightheaded and dizzy, as if a heavy hammer had struck her. She was stunned, and when she regained consciousness, she was overwhelmed by the immense pain, wanting nothing more than to collapse on the ground.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, dripped onto the tiles, and quickly disappeared into the cracks.

“Ma’am, are you okay?”

A warm voice from behind sounded like Gu You. Ruan Jiujiu lifted her head as if grasping a lifeline, but she collided with the face of a young stranger.

The man appeared to be in his early twenties, clean-cut, and he had dimples when he smiled. When he first looked at Ruan Jiujiu, he was startled by her tear-stained face, but then he nervously pulled out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. Is there something wrong?”

Ruan Jiujiu took the tissue, wiped away her tears, and bit her lip, remaining silent as she shook her head.

“It’s okay, thank you.”

“Do you… really not need any help? I’m sorry, I just saw that you were very upset.” The young man looked at Ruan Jiujiu, who was crouching on the ground, motionless, with his hands helplessly supporting his knees and his head lowered, not knowing what to do to make her stop looking so sad.

He had never seen someone cry like this, as if the whole person had fallen into a senseless despair, reaching out but unable to grasp anything.

“Are you… a resident here?” The young man patiently asked, “I live here too, so if there’s anything I can do…”

“Wait a minute, you live upstairs?”

Ruan Jiujiu suddenly looked at him.

“Well… yes.”

“Do you live in this unit?” Ruan Jiujiu pointed to the unit door.

“Yes. May I ask—”

“Do you happen to know if there was anyone living in 401 before? I mean, a girl, a girl who can paint.”

“Uh…”

The young man looked puzzled for a moment, then scratched his head and said, “I’m sorry, I’m a bit confused. Are you looking for me? I live in 401.”

“…”

Ruan Jiujiu couldn’t believe her eyes. She looked at him and then back at the familiar building. She was sure she hadn’t made a mistake; she had lived here for several years, and she knew the address by heart. How could she be wrong? But why did this guy live here?

Ruan Jiujiu grabbed his sleeve and urgently asked, “Was there someone living in 401 before? I mean, a girl, a girl who can paint.”

“Huh.”

The man blinked and said, “So, you were looking for her. But… this girl passed away suddenly a few months ago. The landlord noticed something strange when he came to collect the rent the next day, but it was already too late. It made the news at the time, and no one dared to live in this apartment. I saw it was reasonably priced, so… I’m sorry…” He realized that he may have been a bit presumptuous, as he recognized Ruan Jiujiu, and he apologized with a guilty look.

Ruan Jiujiu remained stunned.

She’s dead?

No, not dead, but rather, the original her might have turned into a pile of soil by now?

“Then what happened to her body?” Ruan Jiujiu asked.

“It’s likely that she was cremated.”

“I see,” she muttered to herself.

Ruan Jiujiu only thought about how she was still in this world, all alone, without even an ID, and her only cell phone signal was nonexistent. So, what should she do next to get back?

…Yes, to go back.

At this moment, Ruan Jiujiu realized that she had mistaken someone else’s fictional world for her real belonging.

She laughed self-mockingly, and as she continued to laugh, a heart full of sorrow made her want to cry. If Cheng Jun were here now, he would surely hold her in his arms and softly ask her why she was crying.

“Are you okay?” the man asked cautiously.

“It’s nothing, thank you,” she replied.

Ruan Jiujiu waved her hand weakly and stood up, slowly walking towards the entrance of the residential area.

She didn’t know what to do at all. Who could tell her how to return to her original world?

As she continued walking along the street, Ruan Jiujiu didn’t know how long she had been walking. The scorching sunlight was draining the last drops of moisture and coolness from her body. In a daze, a young figure bumped into her, causing her to stumble, and she heard someone hastily apologizing behind her.

“I’m sorry, the child didn’t walk properly. Are you okay?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine…”

Ruan Jiujiu helped the child, with its chubby little face and round eyes, which looked incredibly adorable. She gently patted the child’s head and then looked up to see a familiar face. Before her was a middle-aged woman who had taken good care of herself. She had a naturally fair complexion, and when she smiled, she bore a striking resemblance to the child.

The woman continued walking with her child. A child born to a high-risk pregnancy was naturally the most cherished, and she wanted to keep him close at all times.

Ruan Jiujiu watched her mother depart from behind.

Her mother had a radiant smile and a loving gaze as she held the child, with no hint of the sorrow of losing a daughter.

In reality, they were indeed strangers now. If there used to be even a slight blood relationship supporting the distance between them, now, the body that represented that blood relationship had turned into ashes, buried beneath the soil.

Ruan Jiujiu stared blankly at the gradually fading figure until the person disappeared around the street corner.

She suddenly realized an undeniable fact.

The ties of this world were no longer relevant to her.

At the same time.

Jia Cheng Company.

Tu Nan and the others sat in the office in silence. They faced an empty seat where Cheng Jun should have been, but ever since the upheaval that occurred a few months ago, everything had changed drastically.

His sister-in-law had disappeared from the face of the earth.

Recalling the boss’s numb expression at the time, as if he had lost his soul, the several grown men couldn’t help but feel heartbroken to the point of being speechless.

“The boss…” Tu Nan sighed but couldn’t continue.

Jiao Fan’s eyes were red. “What if he can’t cope and does something in that house?”

Not saying it was one thing, but as soon as it was mentioned, Tu Nan almost jumped up in shock.

Tu Nan still remembered how devastated Cheng Jun had been when his sister-in-law left, almost on the brink of giving up on himself. Now, his sister-in-law had completely vanished, as if she had never existed in this world. No matter how hard they searched, they couldn’t find any trace of her, and they were starting to think they were seeing things.

In the past, if someone had said that Cheng Jun couldn’t live without a certain person, Tu Nan would have scoffed and ridiculed them.

Now, Tu Nan wasn’t so sure anymore.

“…”

Tu Nan gritted his teeth. “I’ll go check on him.”

“We’ll come with you.”

“Alright, there’s a lot of work to do in the company, and you guys need to hold the fort. I’ll just go see if he’s still breathing.”

“Don’t say nonsense, Tu Nan!”

Tu Nan was genuinely afraid that Cheng Jun might be barely holding on.

He arrived at Cheng Jun’s residence. The entire neighborhood had recently undergone renovation, especially the aging electrical circuits, which had been thoroughly repaired. The residents of the neighborhood were delighted. Renovations were a significant project, involving both money and little immediate return. It was said that a company’s CEO had invested the money, allowing the neighborhood to be completely rejuvenated.

Tu Nan went upstairs and stood in front of Cheng Jun’s door, hesitating for a moment before knocking loudly.

There was no response for a long while.

He knocked on the door again, this time with such force that it felt like he might break it down. Cheng Jun’s phone was still switched off, and now Tu Nan was genuinely worried. “Boss, if you don’t open the door, I’m calling the police! Boss! Cheng Jun! Can you at least say something!”

Upstairs, there was the sound of the door opening, and a middle-aged woman’s sharp scolding reached his ears, “Can you please keep it down? My child is studying for the college entrance exam!”

“Sorry, sorry…”

Tu Nan apologized with a disheveled appearance, and before he could call the police, the door to the apartment opened, and Cheng Jun stood silently in the doorway.

He stared at Tu Nan expressionlessly.

Cheng Jun was wearing a loose hoodie, and his slightly tousled short hair looked fine. He didn’t appear as haggard as Tu Nan had imagined, nor did he look drastically thinner.

“What are you doing?” Cheng Jun asked.

“It’s nothing. I just came to check on you.”

“Go back.”

“Boss!”

Tu Nan leaned against the doorframe, determined. He clenched his teeth and said, “If you’re feeling down, you can lean on my shoulder… Wait, don’t close the door! You almost trapped my hand!”

His hand, resting on the doorframe, was nearly caught and crushed when the door slammed shut. Tu Nan quickly withdrew his hand, breathing a sigh of relief. He cautiously tapped on the door and asked, “Boss, are you still there?”

“Boss?”

“Boss, listen to me. As long as we haven’t found her, there’s still hope for everything. Trust me, I’ve contacted a friend whose relative is a detective expert. They’ll definitely be able to…”

“No need.”

“W-What?”

“No need to investigate.”

Cheng Jun’s voice was muffled through the thick security door. “Just go back.”

Cheng Jun leaned against the cold door, staring at the ceiling in silence. Ruan Jiujiu had suddenly disappeared without a trace, and there had been no news from her until now. Perhaps he was truly the punished Orpheus, and just that one glance back had forever separated Ruan Jiujiu and him in different worlds.

Some of the food he had stashed in the fridge had already gone moldy.

During this long period, he couldn’t say how many meals he had eaten or how many times he had slept. His body reminded him of the emptiness in his stomach, the urgent need for new energy replenishment, but he resisted any form of nourishment mentally.

He leaned against the cold door for a long time.

Straightening up, he walked to the kitchen and took out a long-forgotten instant noodle pack. Apart from the instant food Tu Nan had forcibly given him, everything else remained in its original place. Two bowls used for drinking ginger and brown sugar water were still on the kitchen counter, and he could faintly recall the rainy night when they had shared those bowls.

He poured water onto the noodles, paused for a moment, and suddenly realized it was cold water that wouldn’t cook the noodles. He emptied the cold water and refilled the pot with hot water. The instant noodles quickly softened, emitting the tempting aroma of braised beef, which also made him slightly nauseous. He furrowed his brows, took a bite, but found himself unable to swallow the second mouthful.

The soup gradually cooled down, and the noodles clumped together into an unappetizing mess, completely killing his appetite.

Cheng Jun remained expressionless.

He stood in place, suddenly contemplating seriously: Maybe living alone was the most difficult thing of all.

A fresh layer of snow had fallen over the entire city.

Overnight, even the concrete jungle had turned white.

Jia Cheng’s business was thriving. Despite the loss of a talented original artist, they were never short of outstanding talents. When the teaser for the new game was released, players watched the short video multiple times in excitement. The visuals were as exquisite as ever, with intricate designs and rich, distinctive characters.

However, some couldn’t help but feel that something was missing.

They flooded the official Weibo account of Stupid Bird Flies First.

The previous Weibo post had stopped half a year ago, asking everyone if they preferred rice or noodles for lunch.

Without a clear response from the official account about what had happened, people left comments, hoping that Stupid Bird would come back soon. With the release of Jia Cheng’s new game, the hashtag “#StupidBirdComeBack” also began to trend.

The secretary who witnessed this scene covered her mouth, her eyes welling up with tears, almost crying out loud.

Tu Nan, by her side, held her in his arms, comforting her gently, “Don’t cry. Everything will be okay.”

The next day, Cheng Jun arrived at the company as usual, startling everyone. They stared at him in shock as he entered the office and took his seat.

Cheng Jun had returned to normal and resumed working!

This good news relieved everyone, and they could finally get a good night’s sleep. However, they couldn’t help but feel that Cheng Jun was different from before.

As for what exactly was different, they couldn’t quite put their finger on it.

Ruan Jiujiu, on the other hand, was struggling with the feeling of wandering in another world.

She felt dizzy with hunger and began to regret why she didn’t carry any cash in her pockets. Like a lost soul, she walked along the roadside, her head hanging low, feeling utterly lost about how to survive the next day.

She didn’t even have an ID, and if she continued wandering like this, she might get picked up by the police. If they found out she didn’t even have any personal information on record, it would be even worse.

At the thought of this, Ruan Jiujiu instinctively avoided the patrol officers, sneaking around like a criminal.

She roamed aimlessly on the streets, her mind in disarray, and no direction in sight.

“Sigh…”

Hungry and tired, she felt like sitting on the roadside and begging.

As she passed by an internet cafe that was holding a promotion, her eyes lit up. She stopped in her tracks, instantly remembering that she might still have a glimmer of hope.

…That’s right!

The book!


Author’s note: Stay calm, everyone! Please don’t send me to meet Jun’s mom! qaq
Also, why suddenly send me nutritional supplements? Hahaha, you guys are strangely cute.
With a strong will to survive, the author, after receiving the nourishment from the nutritional supplements, will work hard to release another chapter today!
Our goal is sweet moments! Hohooho (Sorry, there was a moment of wickedness, and I kind of wanted to see Jun’s transformation, my bad.)

 

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