Live again
"Uncle Li, it's so late, why aren't you packing up?" A young man lifted the curtain of the mobile food cart, walked in, and sat down.
"Hey, that's why I've been waiting for you! Little Tang, I heard about what happened to your company and know it's been a big blow to you, so I didn't close up shop. I wanted to have a drink with you."
Old Li is the owner of a skewers stall near the entrance of Tang Feng's residential area. Tang Feng usually goes there for a couple of drinks after work, but he hasn't seen him much lately. After asking around, he learned that Tang Feng was fired because of a client's outstanding payment contract. He figured he could catch Old Li at the entrance of the residential area and have a good chat with him if he closed his stall a little later tonight.
Tang Feng had lived with his grandmother since he was a child, and Old Li had watched him grow up. Seeing that he was no longer the sunny boy he once was, and that his face had begun to show the vicissitudes of life, Old Li couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.
"I'm fine, Uncle Li," Tang Feng smiled wryly, bending down to take two sets of bowls and chopsticks from under the trolley. "Actually... quitting is a good thing; out with the old, in with the new."
Old Li took off his apron and said with a smile, "Good, good, it's best that you think this way. Look at this, your aunt hasn't let me drink in a long time. Come on, let's drink our fill today." After saying that, he took out a case of beer from the back of the car and said, "This is all my possessions! You've got a good deal for yourself, kid."
After a few bottles of beer, Old Li was already swaying a bit. He staggered a few steps and began to clean up the trash on the food cart and the bottles on the table.
"Uncle Li, let me help you," Tang Feng said, standing up to clear the dishes. "I've been feeling a bit down lately, but I'm much better now."
"You only live once, why not be happy? It's just a job, it's nothing serious. Your aunt said she'll introduce you to a wife once you're settled. Let me tell you, the one your aunt introduces will be perfect. Look at Ah Peng and his wife next door, how well they get along!" Old Li had drunk too much and his speech was already a bit slurred. Tang Feng smiled bitterly at this. Everyone knew Ah Peng's wife next door; she was a notorious shrew in the neighborhood. Thinking of this, Tang Feng was too scared to speak and started clearing the table. Old Li staggered to his feet, leaning on the table, and patted Tang Feng's shoulder. "Alright, alright, stop clearing. Let your aunt do it when we get home. I'm leaving." He then went to push his small food cart.
Tang Feng hurried a few steps forward, saying, "Let me see you off."
After dropping Old Li off, Tang Feng went home alone. He leaned back on the sofa, slowly sat down on the floor, and started looking for his medication. A few days ago, Tang Feng had been diagnosed with mild depression. Normally, he wouldn't need to take medication so frequently, but since being fired from his job, he felt his condition had worsened. He finally managed to find the pill bottle under the coffee table, only to discover it was empty. "Damn it," Tang Feng cursed, rubbing his head. He slowly stood up, took two bottles of baijiu from the refrigerator, walked around the shards of the bottles he had smashed the night before, and sat on the windowsill, drinking silently. Perhaps without the medication's control, he was inexplicably irritable again. Tang Feng laboriously pried open the window latch, leaned against the window, took a few deep breaths, and muttered, "Where's the window? Open it for a bit, it's so hot." He then went to pry open the window.
Tang Feng lived in an old neighborhood, and the facilities in his home were in terrible condition. He couldn't open the window no matter how hard he tried, so he leaned against the window and pushed hard.
The window was open, and Tang Feng's body leaned outwards. In the short few seconds it took to go from the sixth floor to the ground, Tang Feng felt like his brain was exploding, his mind racing.
My parents died in a car accident when I was young, and I went to live with my grandmother. Then I went to an ordinary second-tier university, studied a major that was practically useless, and worked in a struggling factory to make ends meet. Finally, I was fired by my boss for offending a client.
The moment he landed, the sightseeing abruptly stopped. Tang Feng lay on the ground, a gust of evening wind blowing past, making him even more dizzy and his body throbbing with pain, as if his body was falling apart. Just as Tang Feng was about to struggle, he saw a stray black cat running towards him, a golden ball hanging around its neck. Perhaps something was inside the ball; it made a melodious, bell-like sound as it ran. Tang Feng's vision gradually blurred, and he slowly lost consciousness. "If only the window had been fixed yesterday..."
Tang Feng felt himself starting to float, as if he were being detached from something. "Am I dead?" Tang Feng thought. "Yeah, it's hard to survive a fall from the sixth floor! If only there really is an afterlife, I want to live a good life and never live this mediocre and boring life again."
Tang Feng felt his soul rise to a certain height and then begin to fall endlessly, as if his body was strapped with a solid ball.
When the sensation subsided, Tang Feng felt numb all over. Perhaps he had been reincarnated, or perhaps he had arrived in the underworld. He moved his fingers and, finding nothing amiss, slowly opened his eyes.
Perhaps because he hadn't seen for so long, everything he saw was very blurry. Tang Feng blinked hard again before he could see that he was lying on a wooden bed. He touched the soft texture of the blanket, which was clearly expensive.
Tang Feng thought to himself, "Didn't I fall from the sixth floor? Am I still alive? Is this a stroke of good fortune after surviving such a close call? But these hospital beds are way too luxurious! Haha, maybe some rich woman has taken a liking to me and brought me home."
Squeak~
The wooden door opened, and Tang Feng saw someone carrying a basin enter through the gauze curtain. The person slowly lifted the curtain, knelt down by the bed, and stared at Tang Feng, who was on the bed.
"Judging by the time, I figured the young master should be awake by now, so I came in to check on him."
"If it's not you... who... who is it?" Tang Feng was a little confused. It's the 21st century, but the person in front of him is dressed like he came from ancient times. Is he cosplaying?
"I am Liu Yiwan."
"Pfft, leave one bowl, hahaha, nice name!"
"Of course it's good. It was you who gave me this name, young master."
Tang Feng reached out and covered the man's mouth. "Wait, wait, young master? What are you talking about? Young master? Do you know how miserable I am? I'm destitute, wandering around, barely able to afford instant noodles. Young master? Is some rich woman keeping me? Come on, tell me how much money she has. I won't accept a family fortune less than 100 million." Tang Feng patted the bed. "Sit down and let's talk."
"No, no, young master, no one's going to take care of you, so please don't have such wild ideas."
"What do you mean by 'daydreaming'? How old are you this year, young man? Are you, like me, being kept as a kept man in this backyard or something?"
"Young Master! You can't joke like that! If word gets out, I'll be beheaded!" The man knelt down by the bed, spilling water all over Tang Feng from his violent shaking.
Tang Feng wrung out the water from his clothes and said, "How can you still behead people? What era are we living in? You're hilarious."
"The Thirteenth Year of Qingyun"
"Huh?" Tang Feng's hand, which was twisting his clothes, gradually stopped.
"The Thirteenth Year of Qingyun"
"You're saying it's not 2019 now? Who am I?"
"ah?"
I'm asking you what my name is.
"Tang... Tang Feng"
Where is this place?
"This is your home, my young master. Perhaps I should call the doctor to come and examine you again?"
With a thud, Tang Feng slammed himself onto the bed, staring at the exquisitely carved wooden ornament on the headboard. "The thirteenth year of Qingyun..." Tang Feng murmured, then suddenly sat up, jumped out of bed, and ran to the bronze mirror. "Tang Feng, Tang Feng, you might have transmigrated!" Looking at his youthful face, Tang Feng stared blankly at the mirror: Heaven has given him another chance to squander his life!
"Come on, Liu Yiwan, right? Come on, come on," Tang Feng beckoned to Liu Yiwan.
"You've always called me A-Wan."
"Fine, fine, what are you saying about not eating? I'm only in my early twenties."
"Young Master, what nonsense are you talking about! You're only sixteen, not even twenty yet! It must be that Young Master Zhang invited you to ride a horse yesterday and you fell and hurt your head!" Liu Yiwan knelt beside Tang Feng, babbling on and on.
"Young Master Zhang? Riding a horse? I fell off a horse?"
"Yes! He's the young master of the Zhang family! I've already told you, young master, you've never ridden a horse since you were little, and you rarely leave the manor. I don't know what came over you yesterday, but you were like you were possessed, insisting on going out. You're usually so oblivious to what's going on around you..."
"Liu Yiwan"
"Young Master?"
"Has anyone ever told you you're a chatterbox?" Tang Feng asked, rubbing his head as he glanced at Liu Yiwan.
"Oh? You always told me to focus on the important points, but I wasn't really sure what those were, hehe," Liu Yiwan chuckled.
"Ah Wan, I have a question for you."
"Young Master, please speak freely. As long as I know it, I will tell you without reservation."
"In your world, is it acceptable for a sixteen-year-old to visit a brothel?"
"ah?"
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