On the internet, people often commemorate their childhoods. Chen Bing, a young man from a small town who was one of them, found himself back 24 years ago, in the small town of his birth, after his ...
The evening breeze mingled with the moonlight, and the weather was slightly chilly.
After a busy day, Chen Bing went to the rooftop of her apartment complex to enjoy the rare moments of tranquility. Although big cities are bustling, Chen Bing still prefers her hometown village, town, and county seat.
Small towns have their advantages. Whether it's places to eat, watch movies, or go shopping, they're all familiar. You'll recognize most of the pedestrians you bump into on the street, and you'll run into acquaintances every few steps.
The lady who cleaned my ears yesterday might come to my little shop today. And the young couple who come to my shop today might be the children of someone I know.
So, do those people who risked everything to escape their hometowns and come to big cities only to find themselves struggling now regret it?
Chen Bing felt some regret. Although he was living a relatively comfortable life, he would occasionally miss certain things.
In the high school classroom, has the broken light from our class been repaired? Has the middle school's synthetic track been built? Is that delicious, affordable boxed lunch place near the elementary school still selling them? Where are my classmates now? Have the teachers retired? How is everyone at home? What are my parents doing? And who are the girls I used to have crushes on, dating now?
Thinking too much makes me feel a bit down.
Looking at the city lights twinkling before him, Chen Bing suddenly felt like shouting. He wanted to unleash all the frustration and irritability in his heart, along with his longing for his hometown and the past.
Without further ado, he climbed the wall on the edge of the rooftop. It wasn't very high, and there was a section of iron railing about half a meter high, so as long as he was careful, there would be no danger.
He gripped the railing with both hands, stared for a moment, and was about to shout when a scream suddenly came from behind him.
"Don't do anything rash, okay!"
Following the sound was a sudden impact to the waist.
Chen Bing was thrown off the railing by the impact and plummeted towards the ground, which was thirty-seven stories high.
The instant he fell from the rooftop, he turned to look behind him, where a woman was kneeling on the ground, staring at him in terror.
She tried to help me up, but tripped and fell on top of me. Thinking about this, Chen Bing cursed her bad luck, and a feeling of weightlessness immediately followed.
Falling from a building feels like riding a drop tower, but the ticket price is your life.
The world was noisy, with the wind whispering in my ears. Then, a strong tremor ran through my body from my feet to my upper body, and the whispering noise vanished.
Blood mingled with the corpse, leaving behind a scene of utter chaos.
Am I dead?
Is this what it feels like after death?
My whole body felt limp, as if I had lost all my strength.
But it doesn't hurt, so am I a soul now?
I heard people's voices nearby, noisy and boisterous. Were they celebrating something?
Just as Chen Bing was thinking this, his leg was suddenly grabbed by someone, and he was hung upside down while a giant hand slapped his buttocks hard.
No, why are you squeezing so hard? First aid doesn't involve giving a slap on the butt!
At the same time, he felt fluid buildup in his lungs, making it difficult to breathe. He coughed up a lot of stuff, and then his breathing finally became easier.
After all this was done, the surroundings fell silent for a moment, then erupted in loud cheers.
Immediately afterwards, someone hugged me and said something to me.
After struggling to open my eyes, the world was a blur; I could only vaguely see some light and outlines.
Although he can't see anything, his hearing is perfectly normal.
"Oh my, my little Neng Neng..."
"Mom, let Xiaoyue see, she hasn't seen the baby yet."
"Alright, alright, daughter, look at Bingbing, doesn't she look like you?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than another pair of hands pulled him into a hug.
The feeling of being held, these sounds, these names...
Dad!? Mom!? I've gone back to the time I was born!?
...
A month passed in the blink of an eye, and Chen Bing gradually realized that what she was experiencing at this moment was not a fleeting moment in her life, but that she had truly been reborn.
On January 31st, when Chen Bing's vision improved to the point where he could clearly see the outlines of objects within 20 centimeters, he also celebrated his one-month birthday. Many guests came and went, and he could roughly distinguish some by their voices. These included, but were not limited to, his uncles and aunts, his father's sworn brothers, and some of his drinking buddies.
For the first month after his birth, Chen Bing's main activity areas, besides being held by his parents and grandparents, were his bed. He lived a baby life of eating and sleeping every day.
Oh, right. Besides eating, drinking, and sleeping, he also occasionally has to cooperate with his mother and do things that please her vanity, like now.
"My Bingbing is so well-behaved, she doesn't cry at all. She only cries when she's hungry or needs to poop," Liu Yue said proudly to her relatives in the room, hugging herself.
She cleared her throat and continued to describe her extraordinary abilities.
"And a few days ago I discovered that whenever I call his name, he responds with 'ah ah ah'."
Yes, although his body was that of a baby, Chen Bing's mind was that of a man in his twenties. Of course, he was different from ordinary infants. Apart from his usual daydreaming, he would only cry to remind Liu Yue when he was hungry or needed to poop. If she misjudged him, he would shake his head to indicate that he was wrong. These amazing behaviors made Liu Yue deeply believe that her son was a genius, and she used her silver tongue to convince the rest of the family of this as well.
Chen Bing didn't have any particular thoughts about this. It's perfectly normal for a mother to want to show off her child. Besides, being labeled a genius would greatly help her gain more influence within the family in the future.
He had thought it through. Since God had given him a second chance at life, he was determined to use the information advantage of his new life to improve his family's life, so that his second life wouldn't have been in vain. To achieve this, the first step was to cultivate a wise and intelligent image in front of his parents.
"Let me show you." With that, Liu Yue began to call her by her nickname affectionately, just like always.
"Bingbing, Bingbing."
He responded to her with "ah ah ah" as usual, but this time, he also shook his head and added some hand and foot gestures. After doing all this, he thought for a moment and then gave a few fake laughs.
Chen Bing's outstanding performance won unanimous praise from the audience. If Chen Bing were just quiet and well-behaved, he might be called "silly and clueless". But once you add that you can understand his name, he suddenly becomes more sophisticated.
"Oh dear, they say a child is only as good as the one who feeds them, but I think Bingbing is quite something!"
"That's for sure. He might become a high-ranking official in the future, and he'll have to travel by big plane."
"\"Hahaha!\""
Upon hearing this, the whole room was filled with cheerful sounds, and everyone laughed and continued to say auspicious words.
At this moment, a six or seven-year-old boy in the house said to his parents, "Grandma, if you call my name, I can respond with 'ah ah ah'. Can you give me 50 cents to buy a spicy snack?"
"You look like a spicy snack, go away and play somewhere else! Go away!! Go away!!!"
After three distinct "go"s, the little boy left the house in dissatisfaction.
This little incident ignited the atmosphere in the room even more enthusiastically, with everyone eagerly vying to experience this activity.
In response, Chen Bingbao remarked that it's great to be a baby; such a simple thing gets you praise from everyone. If I were in my twenties and performed this in front of a crowd, I probably wouldn't get praise, but rather looks like I'm a fool.
Amidst the continuous praise and fervent enthusiasm of her relatives, Liu Yue's face was beaming with smiles. Like an animal trainer, she directed Chen Bing to perform several more "difficult" acts.