Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
“Zhang Yang, what are you doing? Don’t move… I have something to say to you!”
My body was enveloped by an unfamiliar, distinctly masculine presence, causing my heart to race. Please, I had lived so many years in ancient times, experienced countless things, yet at this moment, why did I feel like a naive girl?
Isn’t my body just that of a girl?
Upon reflection, perhaps during all those years in the past, I never truly matured. Under the indulgence of that man in ancient times, I might have retained a genuinely childish heart for my entire life.
But what should I do in this situation? I didn’t expect Zhang Yang to act without words and take action directly; it was indeed typical of him. However, I couldn’t resist now. First, I knew my own limitations; if he didn’t want to let go, I wouldn’t be able to escape. Second, we hadn’t even exited the hospital yet; how could I dare to be rough with an injured person?
“Don’t! Do this!” Please, let’s talk calmly.
Yet Zhang Yang lowered his head, burying his face in my hair and greedily inhaling my scent. One hand gently caressed my body, leaving me frozen in shock.
Teacher Zhang, how have you become like this… isn’t this just being a rogue?
Before I could think of a way to respond, I heard Zhang Yang’s voice softly whispering in my ear.
“Silver candles illuminate the cool autumn light on the painted screen, Light Silk Fan Swatting Fireflies. The Night on the Steps is Cool as Water, sitting and watching the Cowherd and Weaver Girl Stars.”
He was reciting poetry…?
But the meaning of this poem was so profound that it left me momentarily speechless.
In another distant time and space, the man I loved sat on a tree branch, securely holding me in his arms. Together we watched as summer night fireflies pierced through the darkness, reminiscing and giving thanks to that beautiful woman who silently faded away but had given me life.
At that time, the poet Du Mu had not yet been born, but I had already taught my beloved to recite this poem. He loved it dearly; we snuggled together and gazed up at the Cowherd and Weaver Girl Stars above.
In this poem, it contains my ancient name—Liuying.
I suddenly looked up, surprised to see Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang was also staring at me.
"Why... could it be..."
A hint of sadness appeared on Zhang Yang's face.
"Zhenzhen. I know it's you, Zhenzhen. But if I call you Zhenzhen, it proves nothing. Liuying, my love, is me. We had an agreement..."
The name "Liuying" struck my heart like a heavy hammer.
"...Qiu?"
So, this person in front of me was not Teacher Zhang, but... my Qiu?
The man held me in his arms, and I realized that the way he embraced me was so familiar.
We had lived together for decades. I knew all of Qiu's habits like the back of my hand—his embrace, his kisses, his caresses, the way he was affectionate with me—they were all part of my own being. So there was no need for further proof.
I let him hold me, standing silently. As I stood there, tears began to fall.
It wasn't because of Nie Qiuyuan's arrival; his coming was a matter of course, and I had a ten-thousand percent confidence in him. At that moment, when I realized that the man holding me was indeed my Qiu, another heavy truth overshadowed everything else.
"Is he still here?" After a long silence, I finally asked, "You just called the professor; you shouldn't know these things."
Zhang Yang, who had become Qiu, remained silent for a moment before answering: "Yes, I know about the professor, but that person is no longer here; he has already left."
I know that Nie Qiuyuan would never lie to me. My heart had already shattered once, and now it was just a matter of experiencing it all over again.
I lifted my head and looked at the person before me. He still bore the appearance of Zhang Yang; every strand of hair, every inch of skin belonged to him. But the person standing in front of me was no longer him. He would never return. Even though the one inside him had become my lover, it could not conceal the sorrowful truth that he was gone forever.
I never imagined that upon my return, the person I had always respected and trusted would transform before my eyes into a love and life like Ye Liuhui's—one without a gravestone.
"Zhenzhen, I'm sorry," Qiu said in Zhang Yang's voice, filled with sadness. "I never expected it to be like this. This is the worst outcome I could have imagined."
In our past life, during our most intimate moments, Qiu had jokingly shared his plans with me about how he would deal with Teacher Zhang in modern times, ensuring he would never have a chance to get close to me again. Now, it seemed that all of Qiu's plans were rendered useless.
I thought the "worst outcome" he referred to was precisely this. Nie Qiuyuan was someone who never backed down or admitted defeat; he would rather compete openly than owe a debt of gratitude that he could never repay.
But now that Teacher Zhang had met with an accident at this moment, fate could only be blamed; it could never fall on Nie Qiuyuan.
My emotions were extremely complicated. If it were someone else, an unfamiliar person, I might think that Qiu's arrival allowing his physical existence to continue was a good thing. I could choose to ignore that life and treat this body as if it were Qiu himself. However, if the soul that had vanished belonged to someone familiar and close to me, my feelings would be entirely different.
Every time I looked at him, I clearly knew in my heart that he would never return. This feeling was almost impossible to describe or express in words.
We stood embraced in the hospital garden for a long time until passersby began to glance our way. Only then did I take a deep breath, gathering my composure honed over many years, and said to him, "Let's go; I'll walk you back to your dorm."
Nie Qiuyuan nodded obediently and walked slowly behind me. He understood me too well; he surely knew what my feelings were and what I was thinking.
"How did you recognize Old Liu? Did you deduce it from what I told you before? What does 'dorm' mean? I've never mentioned it to you. How could you understand?"
I tried to engage him in lighter conversation to shift the focus.
Qiu fell silent. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before responding, "Everything I'm seeing now—I can't quickly identify their names yet. But if I think carefully and take some time, I'll know them all. Zhenzhen, I have his memories—Zhang... Yang's memories."
What? I was taken aback, so much so that I stopped in my tracks and turned towards him abruptly.
"How could this be? I have experienced the memories of Ye Liuhui, yet I have nothing, theoretically. It shouldn't be possible. I have read that book and many related materials. In all the cases, none of them retained the original owner's memories after success. How do you have them?"
Qiu looked at me with Zhang Yang's eyes and said quietly, "It was him. He gave them to me."
"He... gave you...?" I couldn't comprehend what Nie Qiuyuan meant at that moment.
"You might not believe it when you come out, but when I arrived here, I met him. He was very surprised to see me. We sat down and talked for a long time; I don't even know how long it was. We discussed many things, mostly about you. In the end, he made a decision: he didn't take his memories with him but left all of them to me."
I stared at him in astonishment. The two of them had met and spoken during their physical connection, and he even voluntarily transferred his memories? It was truly unbelievable.
"The fact that Zhang Yang's memories remain means he is still here, still alive?"
The "Zhang Yang" before me shook his head, denying my thought.
"Only the memories are left; the person is no longer here."
"Then why did he do this?!" I felt a surge of worry; after all, this was something that went against the rules. I wondered if it would affect Zhang Yang's journey to the afterlife.
"Zhenzhen," Nie Qiuyuan said softly as he took a deep breath, "because he really loves you."
I fell silent, listening as Qiu continued speaking slowly.
"I had heard you talk about him before and knew he cared for you, but I never imagined he was such a devoted person. I told him about our past life and that I came to find you, fearing I would need to borrow his body in the future. He was quiet for a long time, then realized that since I came from ancient times, living in this era wouldn't be easy. So he gave me all his memories, which contained all the information and knowledge I needed. He could no longer protect you himself, so he hoped I would become stronger in this world to protect you well and ensure your safety and happiness."
Tears streamed down my face once again as Qiu spoke. I hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye to Zhang Yang, yet all his final decisions were made for my sake.
Normally, the deceased cannot actively leave their memories for those who come later; what kind of obsession must Zhang Yang have had to achieve this?
Nie Qiuyuan held my hand as we walked slowly back to Zhang Yang's single dormitory.
I fumbled around him for a moment and found no keys in his pockets. He furrowed his brow, thought for a while, and knocked on the door of the third room next to us.
Detective Liu opened the door, rubbing his sleepy eyes, clearly having just woken up from a nap.
"Ah, Yang? What brings you here?"
"My backpack, didn't you bring it back for me yesterday? I think the spare key to my room is inside."
"Yeah, it's here. Just wait a moment, Yang."
Liu turned around and soon returned with a black backpack. By now, he was mostly awake and noticed me behind him. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by a mischievous grin.
"Oh, it's Zhenzhen! What are you doing here?"
Nie Qiuyuan smiled back at him but didn’t engage in his banter. She simply took the bag and led me back to her door. From the side pocket of the backpack, she pulled out the spare key and unlocked her dorm room.
At that moment, I had no interest in how others perceived us. Although bringing a girl back to one's dorm alone on a weekend usually carried significant implications.
But all I felt was a sense of admiration. What Zhang Yang had done for us was truly helping Nie Qiuyuan to quickly integrate into this new world. (To be continued...)
Comment 0 Comment Count