Time and Eternity
In the end, only countless blank pages remained on the notebook. Chen Can's fingertips remained on the pages as if frozen, motionless, until the entire space began to collapse and decompose, becoming as blank as the notebook.
But Chen Can remembered everything, remembered everything vivid, remembered those vivid people Chen Mo, Ou Zhixu, Liu Shubi, Liu Xiaoxiang, Li La, Li Yachang, Su, Zhu Baifeng... and Ou Ranyu
"Didn't Ou Ranyu take you away and leave you to watch him disappear with your own eyes?"
At the end of the blank space was a pale and ferocious face. Shi Mingxi was kneeling on the ground, looking up at Chen Can.
"Do you know that villains die because they talk too much?" Chen Can felt disgusted before he could even finish half a sentence.
"It's not over yet--" Before Shi Mingxi could shout out, Chen Can kicked him hard on the forehead. Shi Mingxi tilted his head back and Chen Can stepped on his throat.
"Shut up." Chen Can swept his sinister eyes over and stepped harder, ready to break Shi Mingxi's neck at any time.
"This body doesn't belong to you, why don't you get out?" Chen Can stepped on it hard, but couldn't force Shi Mingxi out.
Shi Mingxi grabbed Chen Can's legs, without struggling or resisting, and put on a smile on his purple face. Chen Can just felt disgusted and kicked him in the face a few more times. Chen Can did not stop until he could no longer see the original appearance of the face.
Compared to Li La and Su, and the countless people he tortured, this was nothing? Chen Can only regretted that he couldn't kill him immediately.
A crack appeared at the edge of the blank space, calmly waiting for someone to fall into it. Shi Mingxi turned his head with difficulty and looked at the abyss with infinite sadness and confusion in his eyes. Chen Can also stared at the crack, trying to confirm whether it was someone who came to recycle garbage.
Chen Can stopped torturing Shi Mingxi and picked him up like a piece of trash and walked towards the gaping crack. Shi Mingxi had long lost the ability to resist and allowed Chen Can to drag him over by the collar and finally throw him into the crack.
"I won't give up." Shi Mingxi used up his last bit of strength to grab Chen Can's hand.
"roll."
Chen Can shook his hand away, saying even one word would be redundant.
Shi Mingxi fell in completely. The crack closed again peacefully like a well-fed child, coming in calmly and leaving without any storm.
The surroundings fell into blankness again.
"When are you planning on coming over?" After a long silence, Chen Can couldn't help but ask. There was no sound, no warmth, like the calm before an unforeseen tsunami.
Chen Can was embraced with his back to the man, and he knew who was coming without turning around.
"You will disappear like Shi Mingxi, right?" Chen Can cruelly peeled off the reality.
"As long as you still remember me, I will always exist." Ou Ranyu's voice was like a warm breeze blowing in Chen Can's ears.
Chen Can just felt bitter. He couldn't help but turned back and hugged the person behind him tightly. Ou Ranyu's hand, which was hanging in the air, finally fell on the back of Chen Can's head helplessly and rubbed it gently.
"Stop touching me, let go." As if he was suffocating, Chen Can loosened his grip on Ou Ranyu's hand, then grabbed Ou Ranyu's collar and kissed him forcefully and impulsively. Ou Ranyu hugged him gently, turning the kiss into a moist and soft spring rain, lingering and long.
Time seemed to stop.
"I leave you with the traces of my existence. I hope that after you see them, you won't forget me."
"As long as you remember, I exist. No matter what situation I am in, I will return to you step by step."
Chen Can heard Ou Ranyu's ethereal voice in a daze. He forgot the time and forgot that he was no longer in the void.
In the blink of an eye, the world was gone and only Chen Can was left.
What he has forgotten and what he has remembered, only time knows. Time will not deceive people, time treats everything fairly. Time is lonely, whether it is the present, the past, or the future.
Chen Canshan seemed to have caught a glimpse of the past, so he ran forward hard. He wanted to grab something because he wanted to remember something.
"This is a trace of my existence. After you see it, you will remember me."
Chen Can remembered this sentence and the person who said it, and that person was now a human cub in front of him who had just learned to walk.
How are human babies born? It's said that they are randomly generated in time and space, and they are quite beautiful and cute when they are born.
The child walked silently on the endless yellow land. His dark eyes seemed to have the sharpness to see through the whole world. He was out of tune with this world.
The change only took a second. The child fell heavily on the gully-covered ground. After getting up, he showed a confused expression for the first time and touched the bump on his head.
In Chen Can's eyes, he was just a child who pretended to be strong even after falling down, needing a hug and compassion. Unfortunately, there was no such thing in that time and space, so he continued to move forward.
Chen Can followed Ou Ranyu's footsteps and walked into a patch of ice and snow. He saw Ou Ranyu, about six or seven years old, huddled in a corner, a blank expression on his face again. His clothes were thin and torn, and his face was dirty, like a stray dog.
He must be very cold.
Although Chen Can didn't see it from his face. Chen Can was very distressed, squatted down, and reached out to touch the dirty face. The blank look on his face passed in an instant, and he stood up and continued walking barefoot in the snow.
He will forget these feelings when he goes to another world.
Chen Can chased after him and followed him silently like snow.
Chen Can hoped that Ou Ranyu would have a better life in the other world, at least not be living on the streets anymore. Finally, he was no longer living on the streets. This time, Chen Can saw Ou Ranyu, then eight or nine years old, in a loving family. The couple loved him dearly, giving him the love he deserved. On his birthday, they celebrated. He sat in front of a birthday cake, facing his parents who sang a birthday song for him. Chen Can also hummed softly beside him. The warm, bright candlelight reflected on his face, and Chen Can saw that face was melting.
He will remember the memories and how he felt in the moment.
Chen Can hoped that Ou Ranyu would be forever happy and remember the feeling of happiness, but not all worlds are beautiful. As a child, Ou Ranyu was truly beloved and seemed easy to bully. Twelve or thirteen-year-old Ou Ranyu was kicked in the stomach from around the corner. He fell to the ground and didn't get up immediately.
Holy shit? Who did this?
Chen Canming knew there was nothing he could do, but he couldn't help but rush over to pick up Ou Ranyu. His piercing gaze met the newcomer's, but unfortunately the newcomer couldn't see.
It was a group of tall and strong thugs who were going to grab Ou Ranyu with a vicious look.
Get out! Don't touch him!
Chen Can has already shouted at the top of his lungs, trying his best to protect Ou Ranyu, but different worlds can never touch each other.
Ou Ranyu ultimately failed to capture the group, and after a fierce struggle, he fled. Heartbroken, Chen Can hurried after him, finally finding him in a damp tile-roofed house. The half-grown boy's face was covered in bruises and purple, and his eyes revealed an unfathomable emotion.
Will he feel pain? Will he be scared?
Chen Can's hand pierced his cheek again.
Ou Ranyu hugged his knees and sat in the corner all night, Chen Can also stayed with him with his eyes open.
Sunny until dawn.
After dawn, Chen Can followed Ou Ranyu away.
Ou Ranyu has traveled to many places and through many years, witnessing four seasons, weathering storms, and traversing mountains and seas. He always finds solitude amidst the crowds, transcending the hustle and bustle into silence. He wanders about, like a star without gravity, drifting alone in the vast universe.
However, one day this star accidentally hit the school. If Chen Can is not mistaken, it is
No. 10 Middle School. This is the world in which Chen Can exists. Now, to Ou Ranyu, this world is no different from other worlds. He is still like an emotionless robot, going to school, wandering around, daydreaming, and taking exams to be in the top ten in the grade. But despite this, there are still people who provoke him. Chen Can discovered that there is a short and thin boy who always follows Ou Ranyu.
From junior high school all the way through his freshman year of high school, the short, thin man and Ou Ranyu were assigned to the same class and dormitory. Although Ou Ranyu hadn't suffered any substantial harm so far as Chen Can could see, the man definitely harbored ill intentions. It wasn't so much that Ou Ranyu didn't notice, as it was that he didn't even notice. Given Ou Ranyu's elusive nature, the short, thin man's stalking and peeping were nothing to worry about. So, the short, thin man finally moved on. He began stealing Ou Ranyu's things.
At first, it was just the draft paper that Ou Ranyu had used, then the used pen and eraser, and the mineral water bottle left behind when drinking water. Later, one night, when everyone was asleep, Ou Ranyu came back from somewhere else and saw the short and thin man. Following Ou Ranyu's secret gaze, Chen Can saw the short and thin man secretly taking down the underwear hanging on the railing, and then he was obsessed with it.
He sniffed it drunkenly, then put it in his mouth and sucked it, and finally spit it out and took back his own with satisfaction.
In the schoolbag.
Perverted and disgusting.
The underwear belonged to Ou Ranyu, and Chen Can saw Ou Ranyu hanging it up a few days ago. After the short and thin man took the underwear down, Chen Can had already punched and kicked the short and thin man.
His future boyfriend's underwear was stained by this filth.
His future boyfriend watched the whole process with an expressionless face, neither disgusted nor shocked, and stood in the dark like a decoration all night.
The next day, in front of everyone in the dormitory, Ou Ranyu forcibly broke the dirty guy's arms at the base of his arms. Without any explanation, he just left.
Chen Can clapped his hands amid the wailing of the filthy creature. All the boys in the dormitory were terrified, their legs weakened, and they howled like ghosts and wolves. No one dared to stop Ou Ranyu. Countless people gathered around, and Ou Ranyu walked through the crowd without any expression, and Chen Can followed him.
Ou Ranyu must have been too disgusted to stay there, and disappeared for a few days. That filthy creature was sensible enough to take a long vacation and go home, leaving Ou Ranyu alone. But after that, everyone viewed Ou Ranyu with a veil of terror, a shadow of oppression cast over wherever he was. Ou Ranyu rarely appeared at school after that, often reading alone in a deserted corner.
Why not tell them the truth?
Chen Can lay on the shabby old desk, playing with the hair of Ou Ranyu who was concentrating on doing homework opposite him.
But will the truth be useful? People often only believe what they see.
Chen Can gently stroked Ou Ranyu's face.
Why couldn't I be by his side at that time?
Chen Can really wanted to pull himself here right now to see Ou Ranyu's pitiful appearance, but here, he couldn't even touch Ou Ranyu. Everything he saw, heard, and felt could only be through Ou Ranyu.
After Ou Ranyu finished his homework, it was already dark, and for some reason he walked back to the school dormitory in the dark. Ou Ranyu walked very fast, and his arms were shaking unnaturally.
What's the matter?
Chen Can could see with his naked eyes that Ou Ranyu was acting strangely, as if he was being chased by something. When he reached the sixth floor, Ou Ranyu finally stopped. After standing on the quiet open-air corridor for a few seconds, he climbed onto the wall. If he stood a little further, he would be able to fall freely.
Danger! Get down, get down!
No matter how Chen Can called out, he remained indifferent. Ou Ranyu glanced back, then turned back downstairs, leaning forward like a demon.
"Ah!" After a broken voice, Ou Ranyu was dragged over and fell to the corridor. At the same time, Chen Can was also pulled back from his fear and fell heavily to the ground.
The dormitory manager pulled Ou Ranyu back in time, alarming the entire dormitory building.
Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Ou Ranyu was completely unable to leave and was finally dragged away by school leaders. This marked the beginning of a lengthy psychological counseling session. Ou Ranyu simply replied, "'They' are here."
Rumors about him being mentally ill spread like wildfire. Although the teachers knew about Ou Ranyu's situation and repeatedly stressed that it was due to excessive academic pressure and warned students not to spread rumors about him, who could stop him from thinking and saying what countless people were saying?
Ou Ranyu once became the leader of all losses. No matter where he went, he would be surrounded by countless demons.
Those demons are hiding in the hearts of countless people, holding sharp pitchforks and baring fangs.
Is it necessary to take this course?
Chen Can really wants to take Ou Ranyu home
During the self-study period before school was over on Friday, Ou Ranyu sneaked away with his schoolbag on his back. He wandered around the park alone for a long time until he heard a quarrel in the distance and hid in the dark.
At this moment, the figure of the short, slender man reappeared in the sight of Chen Can and Ou Ranyu. Under the dark tree, the dirty guy picked up the schoolbag that was thrown on the tree roots and sneaked away.
He is so dedicated that he still steals things even though his hands are disabled.
That schoolbag is exactly the same as the one carried by Ou Ranyu. The dirty thing has been with him for so long.
As a result, I stole the wrong bag.
Wait, that stolen bag looks familiar.
Chen Can's mind flashed back to a time when his schoolbag had disappeared. One evening, after school, he'd made plans with a classmate to play basketball. He didn't know what had happened, but he'd taken his schoolbag, carrying only the school badge and a packet of tissues. After getting to the court, he felt it was useless and tossed it aside. It seemed like he'd left it under a tree, forgotten it after playing, and couldn't find it again. So, the story ended.
It turned out that it was stolen by a dirty thing. What bad luck.
Ou Ranyu glanced at the excitement in the distance and followed the dirty thing.
The dirty guy was walking very fast with the bag in his mouth. Ou Ranyu didn't need to speed up intentionally, and didn't even let the dirty guy notice any movement. He easily overtook the dirty guy and finally stopped in a secluded alley in front and stopped the dirty guy.
When the dirty guy saw that it was Ou Ranyu, he ran back reflexively.
Ou Ranyu pulled the man back, grabbed his throat, and his schoolbag fell to the ground.
"Give it back." Ou Ranyu's voice was soft, and the strength of his hands became stronger.
The dirty thing was forced to pick up its head, staring with its eyes and its face turned blue.
Only then did Chen Can see the dirty thing's appearance clearly: his face was covered with acne scars, his eyes were wide apart, his eyes were two slits, and his chin was flat and short. He looked like a lewd and treacherous person.
Ou Ranyu slowly let go of the dirty thing, and the dirty thing struggled to escape as soon as it had the chance.
Ou Ranyu didn't chase after him. He picked up the bag on the ground and was confused for a long time before he found the school badge in Chen Can's schoolbag and took it away.
So why don't you return the bag to its owner yourself, Ou Ranyu?!
Chen Can looked anxious, but he couldn't bring himself over to claim the body, so he could only wait for Ou Ranyu to come himself.
Sure enough, Ou Ranyu set his sights on Chen Can.
It is no exaggeration to say that Chen Can, who had dark eyes in Ou Ranyu, seemed to be covered with a layer of holy light. No matter when and where he went, the sun was shining and all things revived.
Chen Can truly had few worries. He did things as he pleased, depending on his mood. Those little things that had gone unnoticed were now all on display: the unbridled, effortless Chen Can on the court, scoring points under the shade of his books, the Chen Can who heartily bullied the weaker players and cursed them in the street, the Chen Can who was dragged hiking on a starry night, the Chen Can who dug a stray cat out of a trash can on his way home from school, the Chen Can who reminded the owner of the breakfast stall to collect the bill, the Chen Can who turned the neighbor's child's bicycle around, the Chen Can who inexplicably walked backwards on the road...
These things, which had never been noticed by Chen Can, were now captured by Ou Ranyu and carefully kept. Even though he had stolen them.
Later, Chen Can discovered that Ou Ranyu began to imitate other people's facial expressions intentionally or unintentionally: smiles, anger, sadness, doubt, jokes. Although it was stiff, at least it had a sense of life.
All this was done to get closer to Chen Can. One day later, Ou Ranyu finally plucked up the courage and wrote a note to Chen Can. He deliberately filled his notebook with things that Chen Can was interested in, found excuses to go to Chen Can's house, and stuck to Chen Can wherever he went.
Chen Can was easily soft-hearted, and he had no choice but to do what Ou Ranyu asked him to do.
In fact, I had already let down my guard and become completely dependent on him through repeated approaches and guidance.
In fact, I had already accepted it and fallen into it through repeated compromises and soft-heartedness.
Here, Chen Can could only see himself in Ou Ranyu's eyes. How stupid he was. Chen Can could only bear to look at Ou Ranyu.
Chen Can finally caught a glimpse of the periods during which Ou Ranyu disappeared. After leaving Anning Town and the storytelling session, Ou Ranyu put away the doll in the hospital ward, later returning it to Venatches. He searched diligently for clues near Junzi Building. After returning from a certain world, he ran to the supermarket to buy tomatoes. After arguing with Chen Can and injuring his hand, he spent a few days in an empty world, feeling emo. After leaving Junzi Building, he began frequently traveling between worlds, searching for records of Shi Mingxi. After escaping from his dream, he woke up one night while sleeping with Shi Mingxi and realized something. Through his own empirical deductions, he deduced his own life story. On his birthday, he visited the volcano fish tank he brought back from another world. After being confessed to, he left alone and ran around the park for two hours. Finally, during his frequent disappearances, he was searching for these memories and accelerating Shi Mingxi's punishment cycle.
Ou Ranyu has now shown all of this to Chen Can, and Chen Can will never forget it, ever.
He has accompanied that person through the past and present, without asking for eternal words or blessings surrounded by flowers. Just remembering him is eternity.
Everything returns to its blank origin, and all time and space are frozen in that last kiss.
“Time and space will never stop running, and human memory will be constantly updated and metabolized.”
"I will never forget him, and I won't let him forget me.
"Even if time stops, I will return to him step by step."
"His name is Chen Can, and he's the one I finally fell in love with."
"Chen Can!"
"Quick, come and see, he's awake!"
The incandescent light made Chen Can dizzy. The room was in chaos and full of voices, and he couldn't hear anything.
He still remembered everything, and nothing was the same.
"Can you get me a glass of water?"
Chen Canping sat calmly on the hospital bed and said to the two people who had just finished chattering:
"Are you okay? Knocking you out was a last resort. I'll be gentler next time."
Li Yachang stayed in the ward and chatted with Chen Can, while Zhu Baifeng went to get some water.
"Don't you find it strange why I ran to Junzi Building and why I went crazy?" Chen Can asked weakly.
"Because of Li La or Shi Zhimu?" Li Yachang only had two candidates in mind.
It seems that only Chen Can remembers that all traces of those two people have been erased from this world.
"Neither." Chen Can didn't explain any more, and dropped his arms in exhaustion.
Li Yachang didn't ask any more questions, but he still had doubts in his heart, but he didn't know how to resolve them. He felt that besides saying goodbye to Chen Can on behalf of Li La, he also had some important things to do, but he just couldn't remember them.
"Then you have a good rest. I'll go see Zhu." Li Yachang gently closed the door and left. Chen Can was the only one left in the empty room. Chen Can glanced at the pure white walls around him, put on his shoes and got out of bed.
It was just a knock on the head, no need to be hospitalized.
Chen Can brought Li Yachang and Zhu Feng home, and persuaded them to go back home. He closed the door and continued to lie down.
What should I do? It seems that when I close my eyes, I only see that person. But when I open my eyes, I can’t find even a trace of that person.
The volcano fish tank is gone, the half-cut tomato in the frost is gone, the paired toiletries in the bathroom are gone, the linen shirt hanging on the balcony is gone, the half-sheet of scratch paper taped to the homework book is gone, and other people's memories are gone...
Chen Can wouldn't act like a madman, grabbing someone and asking "Do you still remember Ou Ranyu?" and then explaining who Ou Ranyu is and who he is connected to. No one would believe him at all, and others would only believe that Chen Can has gone crazy.
In fact, Chen Can has gone crazy and is waiting for the day when he will completely explode.
On the first night, Chen Can walked back to the bedroom and saw a blank and clean notebook on the desk. He sat on the chair and stared at the notebook all night.
The next day, Chen Can searched the whole house and pried open the entire house but found nothing. He then put everything back in its original place.
On the third day, Chen Can opened a single-player game and played it all day while leaning on the sofa.
On the fourth day, Chen Can was asked out by Zhu Baifeng and Li Yachang. After a crazy day of fun, Chen Can was often distracted and almost got lost.
On the fifth day, Chen Can wrote the first sentence on a blank notebook, "I have a very crazy boyfriend named Ou Ranyu. Although he is really crazy, I still love him." Then he sat there for a long time.
On the sixth day, Li Yachang fondly replayed Li La's farewell to him in front of Chen Can. After Chen Can had kicked him out, he opened his notebook at night and wrote furiously, the water stains smearing the ink like a blooming flower.
On the seventh day, Zhu Baifeng almost had his legs broken by his father. He came to Chen Can to cry and was scolded by Chen Can again. Zhu Baifeng called him an ungrateful person and ate all the snacks that Chen Can had stored.
On the eighth day, Chen Can picked up the spatula again to cook and made a pot of the most unpalatable dish in history, but compared to tomato porridge, it was a rare delicacy.
…
On the fortieth day, Chen Cansheng entered the second year of school. On the first day of school, he politely declined a love letter from a freshman girl and told her that he already had a super handsome boyfriend.
On the 43rd day, someone spread a rumor that Chen Can’s super handsome boyfriend was Zhu Baifeng. Zhu Baifeng posted a message overnight to refute the rumor and hung up on Chen Can for three days and three nights.
On the 48th day, Chen Can told Li Yachang and Zhu Baifeng everything that had happened before. They were surprised but willing to believe that Chen Can did not have much emotional fluctuation.
On the seventy-ninth day, when Chen Can returned home, he saw an old friend: the black-haired Venus, and the doll in her hand.
"Don't you want to know where he is?"
Chen Can was pouring water in his hand, and he poured it out of the cup with the kettle, and the cup fell directly to the ground.
"Where is he?" Chen Can tried his best to keep his tone steady and picked up the debris on the ground.
"He is with Chen Shi. He is coming back and asked me to inform you." Venatis snatched the pot from Chen Can and took a few sips from it.
"When?" Chen Can gritted his teeth and asked with difficulty.
"Probably recently, but I'm not sure about the exact time since the times in the two worlds are not synchronized."
Venatchis, who was concentrating on playing with the doll, answered casually.
Chen Can had a lot of questions on his lips, but they were blocked by Venatis.
"Don't talk too much, nothing else, I'm leaving"
"What are you in such a hurry for!?" Chen Can saw that she was about to leave and hurriedly blocked the door.
"Get out of the way." Venatis raised his head impatiently, and it looked like he was going to twist Chen Can's head off in the next second.
"How is he over there?"
“Get out of the way.
"How did he get to your place?"
"Get out of the way."
"Can I go find him now?"
"Get out of the way."
"Let me get out of the way, are you a repeater?"
Reply to him, what happened?!
Venatis pulled off Chen Can's hands that were blocking the door and pulled Chen Can down with force.
"What on earth do you want to do?" Chen Can was forced to be pulled down and level with Venatis.
"Nothing, it's just because of her." Venatsis finally answered Chen Can seriously, hugged the doll tightly in his hand, let go of Chen Can, and slowly left.
When Chen Can chased after him, the man had already disappeared.
On the ninety-eighth day, Ou Ranyu still hadn't returned, so Chen Can put on his school uniform jacket. The weather was a bit chilly.
On the 105th day, the rain started to fall at 4 a.m., and it came and went. Chen Can walked into the rain with his schoolbag on his back and an umbrella open. When he arrived at school, a corner of his shoulder was soaked by the rain and he felt a little cold.
During his free time throughout the morning, Chen Can was staring at the rain outside the window in a daze. The rain stopped and then started again, and then stopped again, flowing quietly through every corner, with the silent passage of time.
After school at noon, after Chen Can walked out of the school gate, the rain fell silently again, and the raindrops lingered on Chen Can's shoulders. The day students were sparse and had all left. Chen Can was still staying in a small pavilion next to the school.
I used to stay here to avoid the rain, but now? I don't know. The rain was light, and I wouldn't get wet for a while. But Chen Can still wanted to wait for it to stop completely. But the rain kept getting heavier and heavier, and finally I had to open my umbrella to leave.
The rain was pouring down and the curtain of rain was hazy. Chen Can's hand that was opening the umbrella suddenly stopped because someone stopped in front of him in the rain and did not leave for a long time. The wide umbrella blocked the upper body, leaving only two long legs in the lower body exposed.
He slowly walked towards Chen Can in the rain until he was actually standing in front of Chen Can.
"Classmate, do you want to go home together?"
Ou Ranyu put away his umbrella and smiled at Chen Can innocently, just like when they first met.
Chen Can said nothing, but pulled Ou Ranyu into his arms and strangled him tightly.
(End of text)
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