Chapter 74 Li Nian's Independent Side Story - When He Remembered It (Twenty-Three)
His heterochromatic eyes narrowed slightly.
The young man tilted his head slightly and suddenly revealed a gentle smile.
"It seems we're on the same page again."
As he spoke, he slowly walked towards the two people in the classroom.
Shen Yun calmly observed the young man before her, who had a face that was remarkably similar to her cousin's.
However, there are subtle differences in the details, the most obvious of which is probably the eyes.
Heterochromia is extremely rare.
Aside from the color, it looks very natural from any angle.
If she didn't possess the memories of two people simultaneously, Shen Yun would probably assume that the other person was born that way.
But how could I forget?
Or rather, how could the "she" who was Shen Yingxue possibly forget?
When she was ten years old, the real reason her parents moved the whole family to another province was not, as they claimed, a job transfer.
It can be said that thanks to this cousin, for a long time, ten-year-old Shen Yingxue became a notorious dangerous figure in social circles.
Because she was the culprit who caused her cousin to lose complete blindness in one eye.
When the news spread, Shen Yingxue went from being a bright and promising top student to being described by some as a psychopath who harmed her own siblings.
[...You really can't judge a book by its cover. They seem nice on the outside, but they're actually quite terrifying underneath.]
Hey, this is bad news. Students are under a lot of pressure. Maybe they've been holding it in for too long and it's making them sick. So, you know...
What a pity, such a beautiful face.
[How dare you! Do you want the young lady to gouge out your eyes too?]
Don't you want to? But as I've said, dying beneath a peony is a romantic death!
[Death? Forget about death, but if it's just one eye, it's not like I can't give it a try.]
...
Hearing several older boys laughing and joking as they walked away, Shen Yingxue silently clenched her fists, her neatly trimmed nails digging deep into her flesh.
For a moment, she did have the dangerous thought of gouging out the eyes of those filthy creatures and cutting off their tongues to feed to the dogs.
However, if this were true, it would only confirm those unfounded rumors.
It's not worth jeopardizing your future over a few trivial matters.
Shen Yingxue said to herself.
Just bear with it a little longer.
At least not now—
The family has been arguing about this for quite some time now.
Both parents blamed each other and shirked responsibility.
The father thought it was absurd that the mother, who didn't have to worry about anything and spent all her time looking after the child, could still find such a big mess.
The mother pointed at the other person's nose and retorted sharply, saying that it was the father's fault for not raising the child properly.
Everyone says you should lead by example, but this father of his only concern is fooling around outside all day. He's never even bothered to ask about my whereabouts, but now that something's happened, he's ashamed.
The child might have ended up like this because of genetic issues in the Shen family.
The focus of the argument gradually shifted from the initial educational issue, escalating rapidly towards simple venting of anger, and ultimately turning into personal attacks...
The porcelain cups and vases were shattered on the ground.
The argument ended with the mother curled up in a corner of the sofa, her long hair covering her face as she sobbed.
While tending to his cheek, which had been scratched by his wife, the father coldly informed Shen Yingxue of his final decision—to transfer her to another school.
[There's a project in City E that'll last about five years. You better behave yourself and don't cause any more trouble. Get ready, and when the time comes, you'll go abroad.]
Shen Yingxue didn't have a deep impression of City E.
I vaguely remember it being a city outside the province, quite far away.
Are we going to move there afterwards?
Any comments?
Seeing that she was standing there without reacting, her father immediately asked a question that sounded quite displeased.
She shook her head, indicating that she would leave it entirely to the other party's arrangements.
The father's expression softened slightly, and he said earnestly, "I know you're resentful, and I know you and Xiaonian haven't gotten along since childhood, but he's still your brother, a member of the same family by blood."
But I didn't—
Whether it exists or not is not the point; the point is that everyone has seen it.
[...]
It doesn't matter what you think in your heart; what matters is what you want others to see.
At this point, the father paused slightly, looking down at the silent Shen Yingxue, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "In this respect alone, you're probably not even as good as your cousin."
Shen Yingxue remained silent until she heard this sentence, at which point she suddenly raised her head.
Even the mother, who was sitting on the sofa as a backdrop, stopped crying.
The room fell into a vast, deathly silence.
The father didn't even glance at his wife, simply telling her to think it over, before putting on his coat and leaving.
With the sound of the door lock closing.
The nanny, who had been hiding in some corner, came out with cleaning supplies and started cleaning silently, as if she was used to all of this.
Shen Yingxue did not linger in the living room.
Instead, she dragged her slightly unsteady steps upstairs.
She never imagined that one day she would be outshone by her somewhat dim-witted cousin in her father's eyes.
However, she did indeed stumble this time, but it was because of her own carelessness.
Everything happened too suddenly.
Shen Yingxue hadn't expected her cousin to be serious.
The other party really wanted to kill her.
In a flash, many thoughts raced through Shen Yingxue's mind, but none of them could justify her death.
The situation left her no room for further thought.
After several unsuccessful attempts to dissuade her, Shen Yingxue had no choice but to take real action.
Then, the [accident] happened.
When the others arrived, they saw Li Nian lying unconscious on the ground, half of her face almost soaked in blood, while the other side of her face was deathly pale.
Shen Yingxue stood expressionless on the other side, seemingly unmoved by everything before her...
However, in reality, Shen Yingxue was reminiscing.
She was certain that, given the force she had used and the angle at which the other person fell, it would have been impossible to cause such horrific injuries.
However, no one cared what had actually happened.
As my father said, what matters is what they see.
Or perhaps, what do you want them to see...?
Shen Yingxue eventually boarded a flight to City E with her parents.
As the plane took off, she watched the ground recede into the distance, watching the people and things disappear into the colorful patches of light.
An inexplicable sense of emptiness suddenly welled up in my previously calm heart.
It was as if she had unknowingly left something behind, something she herself hadn't even realized—
Times have changed.
Returning to familiar ground.
No one remembers that she was once heavily criticized for accidentally injuring her siblings.
People only remember that she was born intelligent, calm and composed, a good candidate to be a doctor, and it was not surprising that she achieved this at such a young age.
As for the former "victim," it seems they've long forgotten about it.
I overheard that Li Nian is currently having a passionate affair with an older man, who apparently is a teacher at some school.
Although it sounds absurd at first glance, it makes sense when applied to Li Nian.
Shen Yingxue didn't pay much attention.
She had little interest in most things in the world, and devoted the little enthusiasm she had left to her research work.
Until that day, a patient was sent to the emergency room of the city hospital—coincidentally, it was Li Nian's rumored boyfriend.
Seeing her cousin's flustered and desperate appearance, as if he wanted to rush into the emergency room, Shen Yingxue silently crossed out the word "scandal" in her mind.
Then, quite naturally, a sense of curiosity arose.
What kind of person is that man named Yu Qingzhou?
And the name Yu Qingzhou sounds familiar—I feel like I've heard it somewhere before.
Memory flashback.
Nearly twenty years ago, during a visit to a prestigious middle school, she caught a glimpse of a boy lost in thought under a plum tree.
After the snow cleared and the sky brightened, the boy stood amidst a patchwork of white, looking up at the red dots on the treetops.
The plum blossoms are blooming beautifully.
Shen Yingxue was drawn to the boy's focused expression.
It was as if I had seen something exactly the same somewhere before—
【Shen, is there something you want to ask?】
The teacher in charge of the group looked at Shen Yingxue, who had stopped for some reason, and asked her with a smile.
Shen Yingxue shook her head.
say what?
You were so engrossed in watching a fool staring at flowers that you became lost in thought?
It's unavoidable—
Despite thinking this way, before catching up with the small group, she couldn't help but look back.
The boy had already left under the flowering tree, with a little girl skipping along beside him, chattering away...
After many years, Shen Yingxue recognized the other person immediately.
—Yu Qingzhou.
She silently repeated the name in her heart over and over again.
With a hidden joy and regret.
I'm glad they're reunited, but I also hate that they met.
She wasn't one to make assumptions, but she fantasized more than once about what would have happened if she hadn't left for City E and had stayed to study locally.
Could they become alumni of the same school and develop a closer relationship?
Shen Yingxue knew that Yu Qingzhou especially liked Li Nian's face.
As cousins, Li Nian and I do share some resemblance in our features.
She thought that if Yu Qingzhou had met her as a man, she might very well have been moved...
I don't know, maybe it's because I'm thinking too much.
She actually saw another version of herself with her own eyes.
After obtaining the memory belonging to Chen Yun, the confusion was easily resolved.
The familiar feeling that Yu Qingzhou brought to him, and the strange flutter in his heart, were always traceable.
Having already lost once, I absolutely do not want to repeat the same mistake again, no matter what.
Since two sets of memories can exist in one's own body at the same time.
So, is the true soul of Li Nian residing in this so-called cousin's body...? That's probably a question mark.
The young man walked towards them step by step.
Chen Yun did not back down.
If he could do it all over again, he would have no reason to back down.
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