"Of course it's true."
"Father, look..."
Not daring to make the decision herself, Amei looked at her father, seeking his opinion, and it was clear that he was hesitant.
At that moment, Jiang Wanqing gave the villager a look, and he immediately understood.
"I'll feed your chickens and ducks for you, so you can stay here without worry."
"Alright then, it would be best if Aye's illness could be cured."
And so, Amei and her family of three stayed in the county for the time being. Under the pretext of registration and going through the procedures, Jiang Wanqing had Hong Xing send the others away, leaving only her and Cheng Ran.
Seeing them leave, he turned to follow them, but Jiang Wanqing almost instinctively grabbed his arm.
"Wait a minute..."
Surprisingly, he didn't reject her touch. As Ah Ye, this was the first time he had ever had such natural contact with someone.
"Oh, sorry." Jiang Wanqing quickly let go of his hand, afraid of scaring him away.
Fortunately, he only took half a step back and did not make any other moves.
"Is there anything else?"
His eyes were unfamiliar, and his questions left Jiang Wanqing at a loss. Was something wrong? Of course, something was wrong. She wanted him to immediately remember her, recall their past, and then go home with him to see their daughter…
She suppressed the lump in her throat and forced a smile.
"Your name is... A-Ye, right? Is that your real name?"
"This is the name my father gave me; it's my real name. What are you trying to say?"
"Don't get me wrong, I just think you look a lot like me...like someone I know who disappeared two years ago. You...don't you really recognize me?"
Aye's eyes flickered. Two years ago... he disappeared... wasn't that the time when his father and sister found him in the mountains? Could the memories he lost really belong to his friends?
But that doesn't make sense. I heard she came from the Beijing area, and he was found in this remote mountainous region. These are two completely unrelated places. It's impossible!
He quickly dismissed his doubts and chuckled.
"I don't know you, and I don't know your friends either. You've mistaken me for someone else."
His indifference pierced Jiang Wanqing's heart. His eyes, devoid of love, wouldn't even deign to glance at her. If it weren't for the fact that he bore Cheng Ran's face, she simply wouldn't have believed that this was him.
"Don't you remember anything at all?"
"Brother, we've finished registering. Comrade Hongxing said he'll take us to our accommodation. Let's go."
When A-mei and the others returned, they noticed the strange atmosphere between the two, and their smiles froze.
"Brother, Sister Wanqing, what... happened?"
She thought A-Ye would say she was strange or something, but he didn't say anything, he just shook his head.
"Nothing's wrong, let's go."
"good."
Hong Xing glanced at Jiang Wanqing, who shook her head at him. He was a little disappointed. When he led them to their accommodation, he deliberately started chatting with A Ye along the way.
"Comrade Aye, have you not undergone professional training? I wasn't as strong as you when I was in the army."
He tried to bring up his time in the army to remind Cheng Ran of something, but he remained silent, not saying a word.
"Ah, Comrade Hongxing, my brother has never been trained. He just trains by doing farm work with us."
"I see."
They chatted casually, but the father's eyes darkened.
After dropping them off at their lodgings, seeing no opportunity for further contact and not wanting to alert them, I left.
As soon as he left, the father started talking about his daughter and "son" together.
"Father, what's wrong?"
"Ah Ye, tell your father honestly, do they have some ulterior motive towards you?"
"Huh? Dad, what are you saying? He's a big boss from Beijing, rich, powerful, and influential. What would he want from us?" Amei thought it was impossible, smiled and shook her head, treating it as a joke.
“You’re still young and can’t see through their pretense. I felt that the way they looked at your brother was strange just now, and it wasn’t my imagination.”
However, when he looked at A-Ye seriously, the other person opened his mouth, but in the end only said a few words briefly.
"I have nothing. There's nothing about me that they could possibly want."
"It's you, Dad. You're overthinking it. My brother doesn't let anyone touch him, so who would dare to covet him?"
"I hope I'm just overthinking it..."
In his father's eyes, his son had always been taciturn and never lied, so he was temporarily relieved.
That night, A-Ye tossed and turned in his room, unable to fall asleep. He repeatedly rubbed the skin that Jiang Wanqing had touched with his thumb and forefinger, feeling as if his heart was being scratched by a kitten's claws.
Why didn't he react when she touched him? Jiang Wanqing was the first person he didn't reject.
Even for the briefest moment when she touched him, he felt a little flutter in his heart...
Her words from earlier that day still echoed in his ears. He had only lost his memory, not become stupid, and he actually started to seriously consider whether she and the so-called acquaintance she mentioned could be in contact.
He had already denied it yesterday, but he couldn't help thinking about it.
As I pondered these thoughts, I drifted into a deep sleep.
For the first time ever, he dreamed of fragmented scenes.
He was helping a pregnant woman to her prenatal checkup when her voice overlapped with Jiang Wanqing's. But when he looked up to see her face clearly, a blurry white light enveloped her, obscuring his vision as well...
"...Burning..."
The voice in his dream seemed to be calling him.
What's "燃" (ran)? Does it refer to burning or the name?
The dream scene shifts to the depths of the mountains, where squads of camouflage soldiers are carrying out their mission.
"...There are signs of bandits ahead...I'll go check it out..."
"Bang...thud..."
Hunting rifle... a rolling boulder...
"ah!"
Ah Ye woke up drenched in sweat, feeling groggy and with a heavy head.
He opened his eyes and looked outside. It was pitch black, and it was still the middle of the night. He didn't know why he would have such a dream. It was too scary and too unbelievable.
Are these related to his memories? Or are they his memories?
After waking up, he couldn't fall back asleep. He put on his coat, opened the door, and went out.
All was quiet except for the chirping of insects. He was staying in a guesthouse, and the iron railings on the second-floor corridor were icy cold. He touched them briefly and quickly withdrew his hand.
A figure appeared not far away. He composed himself, walked forward, and saw that it was Jiang Wanqing.
For some inexplicable reason, he didn't think about getting away, but instead stopped a step away from her.
She turned around, saw him, and was a little surprised and delighted.
"Cheng... Ah, it's you."
"What did you want to call me just now? Was it the name of that person you said you knew during the day?" he asked bluntly.
Jiang Wanqing raised an eyebrow slightly: "You don't mind?"
"If I mind, does that mean you won't treat me like him?"
"And what if you were him?" she asked stubbornly, murmuring, "Cheng Ran."
He should have been indifferent or puzzled by the name, but it vaguely overlapped with the voice he heard in his dream...
He was about to open his mouth when a voice stopped him.
"Ah Ye, what are you doing out so late!"
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