Cen Yu grabbed the struggling Shen Wei's arm and said, "This duck is a bit disobedient and it's really hard to handle. Auntie, how about I come to visit you again in a few days?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the woman's face darkened. Even in the dim light of the corridor, one could see her face slowly changing... Realizing that if he didn't go along with her wishes, she would probably turn on him, Cen Yu added, "Just kidding. I've been wanting to try Auntie's cooking for a long time."

"Oh, that's more like it." The woman returned to her original kind and amiable demeanor. "Let Auntie show you her skills today." As she spoke, she looked at Chen Wei and said, "This duck is so disobedient, why don't we chop it up today and Auntie will make you a braised duck soup."

Shen Wei shook his head frantically, giving Cen Yu a meaningful look.

"No, I don't think so," Cen Yu said. "It's better to make this duck into a salted dish, so that if I miss my aunt's cooking later, I can still have some."

The woman laughed upon hearing this, and pushed the door open a little wider, gesturing for Cen Yu and Ya Zi to go in together.

Cen Yu grabbed the duck's wrist and walked into the room... When they went in, their nostrils were immediately filled with a musty smell that hadn't been ventilated for a long time, and a smell that seemed like something was rotting.

The room was simply furnished. Cen Yu glanced at the sofa and television in the living room, then at the woman walking towards the kitchen, and the three sets of bowls and chopsticks on the dining table—

The duck doesn't count as a person. Besides him, there's another person who will come. Who is it?

As Cen Yu was thinking, the doorbell rang. Then, a woman came out of the kitchen wiping her hands, hurriedly opened the door, said something to the person outside, and then... Pei Leyun walked in from outside.

Cen Yu was stunned the moment he saw Pei Leyun.

However, when Pei Leyun saw him, she simply nodded politely, with a hint of doubt in her eyes. Then she leaned over and said something to her aunt, who waved her hand cheerfully, "No need, you young people chat."

He then shooed Pei Leyun toward the living room, saying, "You young people talk too much, chat more."

Suddenly, Cen Yu realized what was going on—

This was actually a blind date, his "blind date" with Pei Lejun.

"Hello." Pei Leyun nodded to Cen Yu.

Seeing his deceased lover appear before him, Cen Yu didn't know how to react. He could only nod and then tentatively mention his alma mater, "You also graduated from XX? You look familiar."

Pei Leyun shook his head and mentioned the name of another school, which was about the same distance from Cen Yu's alma mater, at the north and south ends.

"I heard from your aunt that you work at the Lide Building?" Pei Leyun asked cautiously after sitting down.

“Hmm.” Cen Yu also sat down on the sofa. Seeing Cen Yu’s attitude, Shen Wei immediately knew that this “person” must be an acquaintance of the other party. He was about to sit down on the sofa when Pei Leyun stopped him.

"Hey, wait a minute," Pei Leyun said.

Cen Yu looked at him.

“…Duck, maybe you shouldn’t sit on the sofa,” Pei Leyun said a little embarrassed. “I’ll find some newspapers for you to spread on the floor.”

"Did you buy this duck from the market?"

Shen Wei: "..."

He plopped down on the floor in frustration!

I really don't understand why I became a New Year's duck in this story? What kind of New Year's product would be so fashionable as to dye its hair red?

"No, I was playing a ring toss game," Cen Yu said, making up a lie with a straight face.

Pei Leyun smiled, seemingly realizing that Cen Yu was joking.

Cen Yu looked at Pei Leyun beside him... When he came to this world, Pei Leyun had already passed away. The person he met afterward was either the one in his dream or the Pei Leyun who was now appearing on a floor that did not exist.

What is the real Pei Leyun like?

He couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of curiosity.

He was certain that he and Pei Leyun hadn't met through a blind date. Pei Leyun wouldn't know an aunt who lived there. Although he worked at the Lide Building, his first job wasn't there.

The reason Cen Yu uses him and Pei Leyun as the main characters here is probably because this thing knows him and Pei Leyun very well, knows that they are a married couple, and that he and Pei Leyun have something in common with this thing.

Cen Yu sat on one side of the sofa, a variety show was playing on the TV, and the time in the corner of the screen showed that it was a program from 2019.

"Was this something that just aired yesterday?" Cen Yu asked, looking at the TV. "This is the first time I've ever watched this variety show."

“Yes.” Pei Leyun nodded. “It seems like it’s a rebroadcast today.”

It is indeed 2019 now, Cen Yu thought.

But he clearly remembered seeing Spring Festival couplets in the elevator, all with monkey patterns, which he thought were an indication that the time in the corridor was 2016.

Pei Leyun wasn't a talkative person, and after Cen Yu stopped speaking, he also fell silent.

Finally, it was the aunt who opened the kitchen door that eased the awkwardness... They sat down at a table, and the aunt got straight to the point, saying that this was a blind date. Then she told Cen Yu that Xiao Pei was a good girl, and she would be at ease if Cen Yu could be with Pei Leyun.

Her words implied that Pei Leyun came from a wealthy family and was an upright person, making her a perfect match for Cen Yu.

Pei Leyun was a little embarrassed, and he lowered his head, not daring to look at Cen Yu.

Cen Yu looked at the dishes on the table. He wanted to refuse, but then he found his mouth moving—

"good."

"Auntie, let's give it a try."

As this sentence was spoken, the indoor scene suddenly changed... like passing through a series of film studios, everything around was changing rapidly, and finally the scene settled in an old house.

There is a well in the very center of the old house.

It was summer, and cicadas were chirping outside the window. Cen Yu sat by the window, watching Pei Lejun fetching water downstairs.

Pei Leyun, who had drawn water from the well, washed the dust off the ground. From their conversation, Cen Yu learned that this was Pei Leyun's old house. They had been married for three years and were taking their annual leave in the old house.

"Finished work?" Pei Leyun asked, looking up as she carried the bucket of water.

Cen Yu walked down from the second floor. He looked at Pei Leyun, then went over to look at the well, which was about one meter in diameter. "Is this well that big?"

“Yes,” Pei Leyun said, “This place used to be used by the villagers.”

Cen Yu looked down at the well opening—

Naturally, he couldn't see anything clearly; he could only sense a figure appearing behind him.

Cen Yu, leaning against the edge of the well, asked, "And then?"

"He just pushed you into this well like that?"