Chapter 14 Xie Shijin, please try to live for me…
Two years have passed.
Cheng Shiyun is reborn.
She lost her daughter in middle age; her father's hair turned white, and her mother developed mental health issues.
Her high school classmate, Xie Shijin, gave all her money to their family and then prepared to commit suicide.
Even though she knew they were all struggling, Cheng Shiyun still hoped they could live well.
However, if there were no attachments in this world, it would be like a tree without roots or a ship without an anchor.
It's so tiring to survive.
In contrast, dying is easy, but it requires immense courage.
Whether she became a fish, a cat, or anything else, Cheng Shiyun never considered dying.
But after going around in circles...
She also experienced several deaths.
She is very afraid of dying.
Therefore, I don't understand why Xie Shijin wasn't afraid.
Then she heard her name.
It's not that I'm not afraid, but sometimes, living is more terrifying than dying.
Cheng Shiyun guessed that Xie Shijin must have gone to the police station many times, either voluntarily or involuntarily, and had been questioned many times by her parents and Ni Jiaqi.
—It would be best if you could provide useful information; if not, just lament her untimely death.
Actually, she thought Xie Shijin would hate her, after all, it was because of her that his original life was disrupted and he even had suicidal thoughts.
But Xie Shijin wasn't that kind of person; he only felt self-blame and guilt.
People who are too kind are always torturing themselves.
Two years is enough time for guilt and a lack of responsibility to destroy a person.
If someone dies because of her, Cheng Shiyun feels deeply guilty.
Cheng Shiyun thought hopefully.
Xie Shijin, I'm so sorry I dragged you into this and brought you a lot of pain that wasn't yours to bear.
You are in unbearable pain because of me.
Now, I'm back.
Please try to live on for my sake.
...
The next morning.
Xie Shijin started reading the news and job advertisements.
With more than a month left before school starts, he needs to take care of his cat and doesn't have much money left, so he needs to find a short-term job as soon as possible.
I logged into QQ, and messages flooded in, filling the screen with red bubbles.
After the college entrance examination, he never passed the exam again.
After the college entrance exam results came out, many people congratulated him, some messaged him privately, and others tagged him in group chats. He wasn't familiar with any of them.
One of them is the homeroom teacher, Lao Zhao.
Old Zhao knew his family situation, and after the college entrance exam, he messaged him saying: "[Principal Guo's son is graduating from junior high this year and will be entering senior high school. He's looking for a tutor to help him prepare for high school courses. The tutoring fee is 200 yuan per hour. If you're available, you can give it a try.]"
Hourly wage: 200.
That's enough to buy 4 pounds of cat food.
Looking at the message timer, almost a month has passed...
The chances are slim.
Xie Shijin apologized first, and then asked if Old Zhao's tutor had been found.
Old Zhao's profile picture is a heartwarming family photo. His latest post on his social media, which was posted a few days ago, included several photos of scenic spots. He had gone on a trip with his family.
The little tabby cat, perched beside his hand, suddenly asked, "Xie Shijin, have you added Feng Yue?"
Feng Yue, their former class monitor, also sat next to Cheng Shiyun.
Xie Shijin shook his head: "No."
He had very few contacts, and he hadn't even added many of his classmates. Cheng Shiyun added him.
"Are you going to find Feng Yue?" Xie Shijin asked.
"yes."
Xie Shijin frowned slightly.
"Why didn't you even add Feng Yue? You're in the class group, right?" Cheng Shiyun said. "Look for her QQ number in the group."
Xie Shijin gripped her phone, her fingers stiff: "Do we really have to go find her?"
The little tabby nodded emphatically: "Yes!"
It seemed like he couldn't wait to go find that girl.
"Xie Shijin?" Cheng Shiyun sensed something was off about him.
"You and Feng Yue...have a good relationship?"
"Not very good."
Cheng Shih-yun emphasized: "It's exceptionally good!"
Feng Yue was the girl she was closest to in class.
The little tabby cat is healthy, doesn't eat much, and is so cute; Feng Yue would probably be very willing to raise her.
She was so unwilling to let him raise her.
She would rather go to Feng Yue than stay by his side.
The phone screen was off, and the dark screen reflected the boy's pale face.
He turned the screen back on and unlocked it. It was a very simple action, but his knuckles seemed rusty, moving slowly.
"Could you..." the boy's voice was hoarse.
"What?"
Cheng Shiyun looked up at him.
After a long silence.
Xie Shijin lowered his eyes in dejection, and after a long while, he uttered a hoarse, barely audible voice: "...Why do you have to go find her?"
"Because she owes me money," Cheng Shiyun said matter-of-factly. "Three hundred yuan. Who else can I go to if not her?"
Although it wasn't much, it was enough to solve the immediate problem.
"Pay back the money?" Xie Shijin was taken aback.
Little Tabby said, "Yes, she borrowed it from me in the second semester of her first year of high school. If you can find her contact information, make her pay you back."
Xie Shijin snapped out of his reverie, his brows relaxed slightly, and he blinked slowly.
"...I haven't added her, let me look for her."
He clicked into the class group chat.
Cheng Shiyun paused for two seconds: "You don't think I'm going to tell Feng Yue that I turned into a cat, do you?"
"..."
"..."
Xie Shijin: "No."
real?
But Cheng Shiyun had thought about it.
"But Feng Yue is even more timid than you."
A man who had been dead for two years suddenly returned, scaring Xie Shijin to tears, and Feng Yue was so frightened she almost died.
"So..." she said, a little guilty, stomping her two little cat paws together. "I suggest you don't tell anyone else I'm back. Not only will no one believe you, but you'll also be treated like a lunatic."
This excuse seems a bit lame. Could Xie Shijin also want her to go see Feng Yue?
Will Feng Yue support her?
She doesn't eat much and is so obedient, can't Xie Shijin just treat her like a pet?
So annoying.
"Hmm." A short, sharp sound came from above.
Cheng Shiyun: "Hmm what?"
Xie Shijin said, "I don't want to be seen as mentally ill."
"...Good that you understand."
His tone wasn't cold or harsh, but it sounded somewhat tense, making Cheng Shiyun feel that he seemed to have agreed... rather reluctantly.
Xie Shijin began looking for Feng Yue's contact information.
Cheng Shiyun poked his hand again and said in a cat-like voice, "I can look for it later, but can I borrow your QQ account first?"
Let's see if anyone left a message for her after she died.
"..." Xie Shijin raised his phone a little higher. "Wait a minute."
He opened his browser and searched: "How to hide QQ Space access history?" and "Can messages from two years ago be deleted?"
"Meow?"
The kitten blinked: Not done yet?
"...Okay." He hadn't deleted it. Xie Shijin lifted his eyelashes and placed his phone on the table. "Log in."
Cheng Shiyun rubbed her hands together, eager to try, and entered her account and password.
The next second, a gray exclamation mark popped up at the bottom of the screen, with the following text in a yellow box:
Your account has been frozen due to prolonged inactivity. Please take a photo of yourself holding your ID card for verification.
Holding...
ID card……
What did she use to hold it? Her cat paw?
In 2017, to prevent minors from becoming addicted to the internet, QQ began to enforce real-name registration, which unfortunately Cheng Shiyun missed.
Even if she is a person now, it doesn't matter, her household registration has been cancelled.
Cheng Shiyun no longer exists in the world.
Xie Shijin assumed she wanted to contact Feng Yue herself, and said, "Feng Yue transferred schools in her second year of high school."
"Huh? Transferring schools?" Cheng Shiyun looked up. "Why would you want to transfer schools when everything's fine?"
“She handled the transfer procedures herself.” Xie Shijin tried to recall, but unfortunately, he had hardly paid attention to his classmates and could only shake his head and say, “I don’t know the specific reason.”
Cheng Shiyun wondered, "Could it be that her parents won't let her study anymore?"
Feng Yue was the third child in her family, with two older sisters and a younger brother. Cheng Shiyun often heard Feng Yue complain about the family's preference for sons over daughters.
Xie Shijin composed himself and frowned: "She... has changed a lot."
"Meow?"
What changes?
Xie Shijin thought for a moment and said, "It looks like she got her hair permed."
Cheng Shiyun looked at him with surprise: "...Haven't you ever seen a girl get a perm before?"
No way...
What's so strange about that?
People love beauty.
Yichuan No. 7 Middle School has a rule that students are not allowed to perm or dye their hair. Cheng Shiyun originally wanted to perm her hair after the college entrance examination.
Xie Shijin: "..."
He said, "Feng Yue is a student from a poor family."
On the day Feng Yue went through the procedures to withdraw from school, the evaluation of outstanding students in the city began, and he was also in the office.
As soon as Feng Yue opened the door, he smelled a strong perfume scent.
Cheng Shiyun lifted the cat's chin: "What does it smell like? Fruity, floral, or woody?"
Xie Shijin: "...?"
He pursed his lips: "I don't know."
Cheng Shiyun guessed that he didn't know either.
“I gave Feng Yue a bottle of perfume for her birthday before.”
A sample of perfume costs over two hundred yuan a bottle; she herself wouldn't be willing to buy something that expensive.
The little tabby cat meowed, "Besides, who says impoverished students can't get perms and wear perfume?"
"The love of beauty knows no distinction between rich and poor." Xie Shijin's idea is unacceptable.
Xie Shijin remained silent and simply hummed in agreement.
Cheng Shiyun tugged at his arm: "Check if Feng Yue is still in the class group chat?"
Xie Shijin opened the group members list and entered a name to search: "Not here".
"She even left the class group chat?" Cheng Shiyun was genuinely surprised this time.
She didn't know where Feng Yue lived, and she was at a loss for the 300 yuan.
She sighed and asked again, "Did my parents take my phone?"
She didn't have much with her when she died, only an umbrella and a cell phone.
Xie Shijin shook his head.
"Still at the police station?" Cheng Shiyun licked her paws. "Wasn't it ruled an accident? Don't the victim's belongings need to be returned to the family?"
He frowned and looked at Cheng Shiyun, saying, "Your phone wasn't found at the accident scene..."
The little tabby cat's eyes widened: "?"
What about her phone?
Xie Shijin said, "This is also one of the points of contention in classifying that car accident as an accidental traffic accident."
A note from the author:
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There's a suspense plot that might be a little silly [Let me see].
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