The impact of these two names was far more intense than the initial "rebirth," and the truth hidden behind them was so horrifying that it seemed like a ghost story.
Jiang Di died in a highway car accident in 2018.
Ye Ying died in a bus accident in 2019.
The "going abroad" that Jiang Que mentioned did not exist at all. His adoptive parents had actually passed away one after another!
"What's going on?"
Zuo Jianqing originally just thought that Jiang Que's "rebirth experience" sounded familiar, so he searched for the news based on his memory. But now, seeing Song Yecheng's series of reactions, he suddenly realized that there might be more hidden secrets behind this matter.
Song Yecheng slowly lowered his phone, blinked blankly, and turned around after a long while to tell him his discovery.
Zuo Jianqing took his phone in surprise, leaning over his desk to scrutinize the pictures and carefully examine the details of the accident. Then he looked up and said incredulously, "So his adoptive parents didn't leave the country, but have passed away. And the two rebirths he told you about... were actually the two accidents involving his adoptive parents?"
Song Yecheng nodded, some vague thoughts flashed through his mind, but he was unable to sort it out for a while.
At this moment, the phone on the desk suddenly rang.
Caller ID: [He Jingsheng]
Song Yecheng picked up the phone and put it to his ear: "Hello?"
"Hello?" He Jingsheng asked anxiously, "Are you with Jiang Que? Why is no one answering his calls?"
The night before in Shanghai, Tang Yao had already told him about the WeChat incident. Although he was shocked at the time, he felt that there must be more behind it than that, so he asked Tang Yao not to make any conclusions until he returned and investigated thoroughly.
But what he didn't expect was that Tang Yao found the dashcam video as soon as she came back, and then she didn't discuss it with him anymore, but directly made an appointment to meet with Song Yecheng.
After receiving a call from Song Yecheng in the evening asking whether Jiang Que had been to the crew, he always felt that there might be a connection between the two things. As a result, when he asked Tang Yao, he learned about the existence of such a video.
He was worried that the two might have a quarrel or conflict over this matter, so he quickly called Jiang Que to ask about the situation, but he didn't expect that he couldn't get through.
Song Yecheng barely suppressed the confusion in his heart and said truthfully: "We are in the hospital."
"Hospital?!" He Jingsheng said in horror, "You, you guys...had a fight?!"
Song Yecheng didn't know what he was thinking, and said helplessly: "No, he has some health problems."
"Which hospital?" He Jingsheng asked immediately, "I'll go there now."
Song Yecheng hadn't originally wanted him to come, but then he thought, he might be the person who knows Jiang Que's situation in recent years best, so he didn't hesitate any longer and said, "Okay, I'll send you the location."
Forty minutes later, in the hospital ward corridor.
"Mental condition?"
Outside the intensive care unit, He Jingsheng stared at the snow-white curtains in the visiting window and listened to Song Yecheng's retelling in surprise.
Song Yecheng nodded: "The doctor said it might be a long-term potential mental condition, but it's not certain yet."
He Jingsheng frowned and was stunned for a long while. Suddenly, as if he thought of something, he turned to look at Zuo Jianqing: "Aren't you that... psychiatrist? You can't be sure?"
Zuo Jianqing rolled his eyes at him helplessly. "Even though I'm an expert, I still have to wait until the person wakes up before I can make a diagnosis, right? How can I diagnose him when he's so unconscious?"
He Jingsheng curled his lips and was at a loss for a moment.
Song Yecheng looked at the doctors and nurses coming and going around, raised his hand and patted his shoulder: "Go to the office first, I just happen to have something to ask you."
He Jingsheng also knew that this was not the place to talk, so he nodded and followed the two back to the doctor's duty office.
Zuo Jianqing still sat in front of the table with the computer. Song Yecheng leaned on the edge of the table, while He Jingsheng pulled a chair and sat down next to the table.
As soon as the conversation settled, Song Yecheng got straight to the point and asked, "Do you know where his adoptive parents went?"
He Jingsheng hadn't expected that the first question he asked was this one, and the question sounded so strange to him that he was stunned for a moment before he asked blankly, "Aren't they... already dead?"
Hearing this answer, Song Yecheng and Zuo Jianqing looked at each other in surprise.
"You have always known about this?" Song Yecheng confirmed.
He Jingsheng was puzzled: "...right?"
Song Yecheng said: "When we were having dinner that day, Xiaobei said that I hadn't passed the test of his parents yet, why did you..."
At this point, he suddenly got stuck, because he suddenly realized that this question was actually redundant: with so many people present that day, it was impossible for He Jingsheng to directly refute Xiaobei by saying "they are all dead", and his reaction at the time was completely logical - he realized the inappropriateness of Xiaobei's words, so he immediately made a joke and changed the subject.
"Why...what?" He Jingsheng was a little confused after hearing what he hadn't finished asking.
However, Zuo Jianqing did not allow them to delve into the issue further. Instead, he asked, "Did he ask you to keep this a secret?"
"Keep it a secret?" He Jingsheng blinked. "No? Besides, there's no need to keep this kind of thing a secret, right?"
Hearing this, Song Yecheng and Zuo Jianqing looked at each other again, and both saw some possibility in each other's eyes.
He Jingsheng looked at their reactions and became increasingly confused. Just as he was about to ask further questions, Zuo Jianqing turned his head away and asked, "Then do you know what he said to the public?"
"To the outside world?" He Jingsheng didn't understand the meaning of this for a moment and was a little confused. "What else can I say? Are you saying that they... turned into stars and flew into the sky?"
Zuo Jianqing choked and quickly realized that with He Jingsheng's way of thinking, it would be better not to beat around the bush. He could only say helplessly, "He told Chengzi that his adoptive parents went abroad."
"ah--?!"
He Jingsheng nearly jumped out of his chair, his face filled with disbelief, "Impossible? How could he possibly tell such a lie? He didn't even tell me not to tell anyone else. So if we accidentally mentioned this during a casual chat, wouldn't it be too easy to reveal the truth?"
This is exactly why Zuo Jianqing asked him if he was asked to keep it confidential. If Jiang Que told everyone that his adoptive parents had gone abroad, it could be understood that he did not want others to know the fact of their death.
But He Jingsheng, who knew the truth, never asked him to keep it secret. So his statement of "going abroad" would be exposed almost at any time, and there was no possibility of it being established in the long run.
Moreover, as He Jingsheng said, there was really nothing worth keeping secret about this matter. Whether his adoptive parents passed away or went abroad did not actually affect other people, including Song Yecheng, so he had no need to deliberately lie.
The thoughts of several people were swirling around.
Song Yecheng tried to get out of the present situation and examined several doubtful points from a holistic perspective. His thoughts soon turned back to "rebirth" and "two car accidents".
Considering the coincidence that the two accidents happened on the same day of the same month even though they were one year apart, and their connection with what Jiang Que called the "rebirth experience", his intuition told him that perhaps the accident itself was the key to the problem.
Thinking about it, he looked at He Jingsheng: "What were the details of the two car accidents involving his adoptive parents? Do you know the cause and effect?"
This idea coincided with Zuo Jianqing's, so when he heard him ask this, Zuo Jianqing immediately looked at He Jingsheng.
He Jingsheng was originally still lost in the mystery of "Why on earth did Jiang Que say his parents were going abroad?" Seeing both of them looking at him, he realized he might be the only person who knew about this matter. He didn't dare to be vague and nodded, "I know, but... this matter is quite complicated. I need to think about where to start."
Song Yecheng said: "Just tell me from the beginning, tell me as much as you know, and don't omit any details."
He Jingsheng nodded again, then continued to recall carefully while blinking.
After a moment, he finally spoke, mumbling, "Two years ago... in 2018, we were graduating. Aside from me, none of my roommates were from here. At the time, they said they were all planning to go back home, meaning we were all going our separate ways. So, at our farewell dinner that night, I couldn't help but have a few extra drinks. I got drunk and cried my heart out. I cried all the way back to the dorm and ended up in bed."
Perhaps because his sobbing was so annoying, at two or three o'clock in the middle of the night, Jiang Que, whose bedside was against his, knocked on his bed board for the first time.
Boom boom boom.
He Jingsheng sniffed and turned over to stand up, stretching his neck to look towards the bed: "What are you doing?"
"Don't cry." Jiang Que said.
Hearing this, He Jingsheng became even more sorrowful: "Do you have any humanity at all? We'll never see each other again! You won't even let me cry?"
"..." Jiang Que was speechless for a moment, "We are not dead."
"Does it make any difference?" He Jingsheng sobbed until he almost hiccupped. "You all left, and I'm the only one left. It's so hard to see you again after all!"
Hearing his voice getting louder and louder, Jiang Que felt helpless. He turned his head to look at his two roommates who were snoring loudly not far away. After confirming that they had not been woken up, he finally said as if admitting defeat: "Maybe I won't leave."
He Jingsheng was stunned for a moment, and then he said stupidly, "...Ah?"
Jiang Que sighed and said, "I want to buy a house here."
This surprise stunned He Jingsheng. After realizing what was happening, he almost jumped out of bed: "Is this true?!"
At that time, because the filming of "Twins" had started, He Jingsheng already knew that he was Bai Yeling, so he was not surprised at all that he could buy a house in the capital right after graduation. What was surprising was his decision itself.
"Hush," Jiang Que motioned him to keep his voice down, "I just had this idea, I haven't confirmed it yet."
However, He Jingsheng didn't care about so many things. He was like a chicken with blood, and he wanted to lean half of his body towards Jiang Que, shouting: "Buy, buy, buy! Buy it here! Anyway, it doesn't matter where you write the book. It's so good to stay here!"
After saying this, he still felt that his persuasion was not enough. After racking his brains for a while, he suddenly had an idea: "Oh right! Don't you like Song Yecheng? He is also from here. Tomorrow I will go and find out which district he lives in. You can buy a house in that district too. If we round it up, won't we be neighbors?"
Jiang Que was so amused by what he said that he felt like his saliva was about to spray onto his face. He said helplessly, "I know, I know. Can you just lie still?"
He Jingsheng was quite obedient. He turned over like a carp and lay back down with a clang.
However, even though he was lying down, he couldn't stop thinking excitedly, so much so that every few minutes he would sit up like a zombie and chatter "Hey, hey, hey" at Jiang Que.
This jolting and twitching continued for nearly two hours. In the end, Jiang Que was so sleepy that he could barely open his eyes. When he finally heard the bed creaking again, he couldn't stand it anymore and issued an ultimatum: "If you get up again, I'll leave tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, He Jingsheng's body, which was halfway up, shrank back like a quail, and he lay flat on his back obediently, but he still couldn't help but whispered: "...I won't get up. I'll accompany you to look at the house tomorrow?"
However, Jiang Que could no longer hear what he was saying. He hummed a few times in response and finally fell into a deep sleep in the gradually brightening sky outside the window.
"After that day, I had originally wanted to go house hunting with him," He Jingsheng recalled, "but my father insisted I take over the company. He dragged me to his office every day to teach me management lessons. I was exhausted for several months and couldn't spare any time at all. It wasn't until September that I had a little freedom. But when I contacted Jiang Que, he told me that he had already bought all the houses."
This really surprised Song Yecheng: "He bought a house here?"
He Jingsheng nodded: "And he actually bought a high-rise apartment in Nanhu District, near your home."
Hearing this, Song Yecheng couldn't help but think of the conversation he had with Jiang Que.
"What were you busy with when you graduated?"
"Find a job, find an apartment. Isn't that what you have to do after graduation?"
Yes, Jiang Que was indeed looking for a house at that time, but he was not renting one, but preparing a new house.
But if that’s the case, why did he end up living in that tube-shaped building?
Thinking about it, Song Yecheng asked: "Then what?"
He Jingsheng said, "I was planning to go over and take a look, but he said the house was still under renovation and there wasn't much to see, so it would be better to wait until it was finished. I thought so too, so I decided to wait a little longer. Then I waited until November, when he finally told me he had moved into his new home."
Mid-November.
He Jingsheng was so happy when he received Jiang Que's call that he felt like he had moved into a new house. That evening, he rushed to Jiang Que's new home with bags of various handicrafts, potted plants, fruits, and snacks. He even put a few tubes of fireworks in the bags.
However, when he found the apartment building according to the address Jiang Que gave him, and went upstairs with great difficulty, the moment Jiang Que welcomed him into the brand new security door, he almost thought he had walked into the wrong house.
"You call this pretending?!"
He Jingsheng looked at the empty new house in front of him and could hardly believe his eyes.
Yes, Jiang Que's house was indeed "decorated", but it was only decorated. Looking around, it was "bright and clean", empty without even a table, chair or bench. It could be said that the house was bare.
Jiang Que felt a little embarrassed for once, and raised his hand to hook the tip of his nose: "Didn't I tell you to come back in two days? It was you who insisted on coming today."
As he said that, he turned and went into the bedroom. After struggling to find a tatami mat, he spread it on the floor. He suppressed a smile and said, "I'm sorry, you should sit here first."
He Jingsheng was speechless for a moment, but he couldn't help but laugh. He threw his bags by the door, went into the house, and admired the decorations in each room. Then he returned to the living room, sat down cross-legged on the cushion, and said with a smile of admiration, "You're really good. You moved in without buying any furniture or appliances?"
Jiang Que went to the kitchen to get two bottles of water, came back and handed him one, then bent down and sat down. He finally explained, "I was planning to buy it two days ago, but my dad was worried that I didn't have the experience and wouldn't be able to choose well, so he asked me to wait until he came to go with me."
This really surprised He Jingsheng.
Because Jiang Que was reluctant to go home during every winter and summer vacation during his university years, He Jingsheng always thought that his relationship with his family must not be very good. But when he heard him say this now, it seemed that was not the case.
Thinking about it, he couldn't help but ask tentatively: "Your father...is quite concerned about you?"
Jiang Que bent his knees and propped the bottle of water between his knees and chin. Upon hearing this, he smiled slightly, seemingly from the heart: "Yes, he treats me very well."
He almost never mentioned his family before, and even when others mentioned it, he remained silent. But that day, perhaps because he was finally in an environment that was completely his own, he felt a sense of ease. After a slight smile, he actually added a few more words for the first time: "He didn't really agree with me moving so far away from home, but since I made the decision, he didn't object. He was just worried that I couldn't handle it all by myself, so he insisted on coming over to help me settle down before he could feel at ease."
Although He Jingsheng didn't know the specific situation of his family, after hearing this, he could still feel that he must be a father who loved his children very much, so he puffed his lips and nodded: "When will uncle come? I will accompany you to pick him up then?"
"No need," Jiang Que said, "He said he would drive over and should be there tomorrow afternoon, and then go shopping directly."
He Jingsheng rolled his eyes. "Well, then I won't leave tonight. I'll go with you guys tomorrow. I can see how uncle chooses and learn some experience. Maybe it will be useful in the future."
Jiang Que was a little amused, but he also knew that he always liked to join in the fun, so he said indifferently: "If you want to go, go ahead."
He Jingsheng nodded with satisfaction, and finally returned to the present: "Oh, right, what are we having for dinner? Can you start the fire?"
Jiang Que choked a little: "...The gas hasn't been recharged yet."
He Jingsheng: “…”
"But I ordered takeout," Jiang Que quickly made up for it, then pointed to the ground in front of him, "You can pretend to be having a picnic."
He Jingsheng was truly convinced this time, his stomach twitching with laughter. "Thank you so much! You've really opened the door to a new world for me. Let's have a picnic on the high floor, huh?"
Although he said he was disgusted, he still resigned himself to his fate, patted his butt, got up and went downstairs, took out two pieces of plaid cloth from his car and spread them on the ground, creating a "picnic" atmosphere in a very ceremonial way. Then, after the takeout was delivered, the two of them sat on the floor and had a warming meal.
When night fell that night, neither of them thought of turning on the lights in the house. He Jingsheng lay leisurely on the tatami cushion with his arms resting on his head, while Jiang Que sat by the half-person-high bay window not far away, gazing at the lights of thousands of homes outside the window through the entire glass.
"What are you looking at?" He Jingsheng crossed his legs and swung his legs. "Can you see Luming Villa from your side?"
Jiang Que's gaze had been fixed on the island-like villa complex surrounded by South Lake two streets away. Upon hearing this, he replied, "Yes, I can see it."
"Then do you want to know which building his house is?" He Jingsheng asked, "How about I help you find out tomorrow?"
Jiang Que's gaze still lingered over the buildings, but he rejected the overreaching proposal without hesitation: "No, this is fine."
He Jingsheng curled his lips, not understanding what was so good about it. After pondering for a while, he couldn't help but complain, "Hey, you said that 'Twins' has been filming for so long, and you haven't even visited the set or anything. After all, you are the screenwriter and the original author. It shouldn't be difficult for you to join the crew, right?"
Jiang Que stared out the window and didn't say anything for a long time.
It was not only not difficult, in the few months since the filming started, Zhuang Yan had actually invited him several times, but he declined each time with various reasons.
Thinking about it, he sneered helplessly: "It's not that I can't go, it's that I don't dare to go."
"Why would we be so afraid of that?" He Jingsheng was puzzled. "Will the crew eat people?"
Jiang Que ignored his teasing, still looking out the window. His fingertips slowly traced the glass, quietly tracing the outline of the dim lights in the distance. After a long moment, he said, "You don't understand."
He Jingsheng was about to ask what he didn't understand when he heard him continue in a soft and slow voice, "It's okay not to see some people, but once you meet them for the first time, I'm afraid you can't take your heart back."
He Jingsheng couldn't help but be stunned.
If these words were spoken by someone else, he might laugh out loud because of his pretentiousness, but somehow, at that moment, looking at Jiang Que's profile illuminated by the dim light from the window and the serious expression on his face, he felt that these words were full of the weight accumulated over the years, which made people dare not laugh at them easily.
It was also at that moment that he vaguely realized that Jiang Que's feelings for Song Yecheng seemed not just the admiration of fans for their idols as he thought, but a deeper and more complicated emotion that he really "didn't understand".
For a moment, he felt a little speechless. He opened his mouth indifferently, but couldn't say anything to persuade her.
However, during this long silence, Jiang Que suddenly spoke again: "But I promised Director Zhuang that I would go to the wrap party in two days."
Hearing this unexpected turn of events, He Jingsheng's eyes lit up, as if he was happy for his decision to finally make progress, and then he jokingly said, "Hey, aren't you afraid that you won't be able to change your mind?"
Jiang Que looked out the window and took a deep breath, as if he had made some kind of resolution: "If I can't take it back, then I can't take it back."
He turned his head and revealed a faint smile of relief against the backdrop of the thousands of lights behind him: "That heart originally belonged to him. Giving it to him is like returning it to its rightful owner."
That was the first time He Jingsheng saw such undisguised yearning on his face. In that brand new apartment that symbolized a new life, in the colorful lights coming in from the window, it was as brilliant as a flash of fireworks and as lively as a dream.
In the hospital duty ward.
Song Yecheng listened quietly to this past event that he had never participated in. It was as if he had walked into the new house following He Jingsheng's narration, saw the quiet figure by the bay window, and heard those voices that were like homesickness, and who knows how many hesitations and wanderings they had gone through before they were revealed.
"It's okay not to see some people, but once you meet them for the first time, I'm afraid you can't take your heart back."
"If you can't take it back, then you can't take it back."
"...The heart originally belonged to him. Giving it to him is like returning it to its rightful owner."
These words and sentences are like tiny pieces of glass, passing through my heart bit by bit, exuding a slight bitterness and sourness.
At the same time, the message revealed in this past has made it clear that people have an extremely strong ominous premonition.
Song Yecheng took a deep breath and finally asked, "That day is November 13th, right?"
He Jingsheng nodded, his eyes becoming serious. "That day he moved into his new home and decided to take the first step to see you. I really thought that would be the beginning of his new life, a starting point full of hope."
But he never expected that the peaceful night was just a dream-like illusion, a last glimmer of fate's mischievous prank before Jiang Que's longest nightmare began.
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