Chapter 47 Chapter 47 (2/2)

*

After finishing the homemade breakfast and while praying that they wouldn’t get an upset stomach, Ji Yushi left his place together with Song Qinglan.

The two went downstairs together but ran into Ji Minyue at the base of the stairs.

Ji Minyue wore glasses and was holding a lead for his corgi.

Just like before, he seemed to be taking his dog for a walk and was stopping by Ji Yushi’s place to check on him.

When the three met, Ji Minyue just stood there. He had his back against the sun, making it difficult to see his expression.

“Older brother?” Ji Yushi greeted and then told Song Qinglan, “My older brother.”

Ji Minyue didn’t move.

Ji Yushi walked over and was finally able to see Ji Minyue’s face clearly.

It turned out that Ji Minyue was looking at him. He didn’t appear to be curious about who the person beside him was and just said, “Old Ji wants you to go home.”

Thinking that they were worried about him, Ji Yushi told Ji Minyue, “Cap Song and I have to go to Jiang City.”

Ji Minyue only repeated, “Old Ji wants you to go home.”

Ji Yushi for some reason felt a little uncomfortable, “Ji Minyue, what’s wrong with you?”

Ji Minyue, “Old Ji wants you to go home.”

From their meeting until now, he had repeated it three times. Ji Minyue’s voice was very stiff and also somewhat mechanical.

When he spoke, his eyes stared at Ji Yushi and he didn’t even blink. He was completely different from his usual demeanour.

Ji Yushi was pulled back by someone. He heard Song Qinglan speak to him, “Look at the dog.”

The Corgi stood beside Ji Minyue. As a dog, it didn’t have its tongue hanging out to let it cool down and it was doing the same thing as its owner, staring at them unblinkingly and without any other movement.

“It’s not sleepwalking.” Song Qinglan said, “Something isn’t right about your neighbour and the same goes for your older brother. Advisor Ji, have you noticed that your cat hasn’t made a sound at all this morning?”

As the two ate, the cat had jumped onto the breakfast table.

Ji Yushi thought it was interested in the fried eggs but, recalling it now, the cat only sat there and watched them.

Even when he added cat food to the automatic feeder before he left, the cat only sat far away, not making a single sound.

“We should go!”

Song Qinglan said this and the two quickly walked towards where the car was parked.

Ji Minyue led his dog and silently followed behind them. Even when Song Qinglan started the car, he continued to silently stare at them.

The off-road vehicle backed out smoothly. After a short pause, Ji Minyue pounced onto the glass.

With his familiar face close at hand, Ji Minyue mechanically said, “Old Ji wants you to go home.”

Ji Yushi had an urge to open the car door and follow Ji Minyue away.

Song Qinglan returned him to his senses, “Ji Yushi!”

Only now did Ji Yushi realise that he had placed his hand on the door handle. He was startled by this and quickly withdrew his hand. Song Qinglan continued to focus on driving.

As they got closer and closer to the exit of the community, Ji Yushi saw a very shocking scene through the rearview mirror.

Ji Minyue, the corgi, the neighbourhood aunt and her kids, as well as the community administrator, were all standing behind them.

They all stood there expressionlessly, quietly watching the car drive away.

*

The car drove out of the complex and merged with the early morning traffic.

The city was full of traffic and the sun was bright. Everything seemed to be normal. It was as if that strangeness earlier was just their imagination.

But Ji Yushi knew that it wasn’t.

What was going on?

Ji Minyue was his family, the neighbourhood aunt and her children could be considered as close acquaintances, and that community administrator had also once helped him find his cat…..These were all people who have a relationship with him.

“I called my grandfather’s place this morning but couldn’t get through.” Song Qinglan said, “I tried home too, and no one answered. I thought it was just a coincidence but now it seems that something isn’t right. I think these abnormalities are not only affecting the people around you, it’s also the same on my end.”

As if guessing what Ji Yushi was thinking, Song Qinglan who was driving provided information from his end.

Why was this happening?

Both of them were a little at loss.

“Do you still want to find Chief Wang?” Song Qinglan asked, “What do you think?”

Ji Yushi didn’t hesitate, “Let’s go.”

Song Qinglan already anticipated this answer. He continued to drive the car quickly and steadily.

On the way, Song Qinglan received a call from Duan Wen because of the message he had sent last night.

“Cap Song.” Duan Wen’s voice was very low. His tone sounded a little different from usual, “Is it not convenient for you to talk now?”

Song Qinglan said, “I am with Advisor Ji.”

Through the communicator in the car, Duan Wen seemed to be shocked. Why were these two together again?

But knowing that Ji Yushi was also there, Duan Wen opened up and quickly and nervously spoke, “Fucking hell, I think I’m going crazy.”

“Cap Song, do you remember the tree in my backyard? The one I planted on my twenty-fifth birthday?” Because he was too excited, Duan Wen forgot to leave out the profanities, “I made a wish that day that I would get married when I turn thirty-five and by that time, I would be able to put up a swing on the tree for the child. Yesterday, while I was putting up a swing, I suddenly fucking remembered….What child?”

Duan Wen’s voice was trembling, “But I really did have one. It’s a daughter, and very cute. My wife is from the Jiang City branch research team and we’ve known each other for five years but I clearly remember pursing her only to be rejected and was even later invited to her wedding…..What’s going on? In my current memory, that wedding was for me and her. I’m wondering if I’m going crazy. Did the time and space hijacking leave me with such a serious sequela?”

The expressions of the two in the car changed.

Although it didn’t make sense, it was something they expected.

Song Qinglan comforted calmly, “Don’t panic. We also have similar symptoms.”

Duan Wen was stunned, “This damned thing. It’s not a blessing to share so how can I not panic?”

“Brother Wen.” Ji Yushi spoke up, “Cap Song and I are guessing that this situation is likely caused by the overlapping of two memories.”

Ji Yushi’s voice was cold and clear. Every time he analysed something, the listener was able to quickly settle down and pay attention. Although he and Song Qinglan currently also didn’t have any clues, Ji Yushi was able to use a simple explanation to let Duan Wen understand the current situation.

Duan Wen asked, “Then what do I do now?”

“I have some documents here that I will send to you later. See if you remember anything when you look at it.” Song Qinglan was referring to Chief Wang’s information. He then continued, “You should contact the others and learn about their situation. Advisor Ji and I are on our way back to Jiang City.”

The call ended.

Ji Yushi sent the documents over to Duan Wen.

There was a traffic jam on the road. When they arrived at Ning City North Station, they didn’t have much time.

Fortunately, both of them were tall and had long legs. They headed straight for the station without stopping after parking the car.

There were many people coming and going at the station. Passengers from all over the place gathered there. It was always in a busy state.

Crossing through the parking lot and the lobby, Song Qinglan noticed that there would occasionally be some unfamiliar faces stopping and staring at them.

Ji Yushi quickly retrieved these faces from his memories.

It seemed that these people who had stopped to look at them were people he had at one point interacted with.

There is a term called six degrees of separation.

The meaning for it was that, between two strangers, at most every sixth person would be someone they know. It meant that no matter who it was in this world, they would be no more than six social connections away.

Passing by each other in the same city or catching a glimpse of each other at a certain place, the world was both big and small. Even if it was not as exaggerated as the so-called six degrees of separation, these people here still had some form of connection.

Ji Yushi followed Song Qinglan and crossed through the crowd.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his clothes.

Ji Yushi looked back. It was the cleaning staff.

Having passed through this lobby several times in the past, he had once helped the cleaner pick up rubbish from the ground.

At this moment the cleaner had grabbed him, but he didn’t speak. There were no emotions in his dim eyes, as if his task was just to stop him from moving forward.

Ji Yushi only stopped for a moment when five or six people appeared from behind the cleaner.

They stepped out of the crowd and stared at Ji Yushi without blinking, just like how it was with Ji Minyue and the neighbourhood aunt. They approached him silently and seemed to be wanting to encircle and trap Ji Yushi.

The other people passing by seemed to not notice anything.

Facing such a group of people with expressionless faces, it made one feel like they were in a nightmare.

“Ji Yushi!”

Song Qinglan very quickly discovered that Ji Yushi wasn’t behind him. He returned and grabbed his hand.

In just those short seconds, cold sweat had formed on Ji Yushi’s palms. He suddenly returned to his senses, “Cap Song!”

There were more and more people. From the initial five or six, there were now a dozen or so people.

These people formed a human wall, blocking their way to Jiang City.

Song Qinglan’s expression was solemn, “Let’s go!”

Ji Yushi followed Song Qinglan out of the encirclement. The two walked very quickly.

Song Qinglan unceremoniously pushed away the people circling them. He was strong and was able to knock them away with ease to create a path, but they still continued to follow them at the same pace.

Their IDs were verified at the ticket gate and the two finally entered the platform.

They had moved swiftly enough. Those people couldn’t take the suspended train without a ticket so they could only stand behind the glass windows outside the platform.

Being watched from behind by such a group of people, it felt like even the speed of the train had slowed down.

On the platform, the passengers waiting for the train chatted cheerily, forming a sharp contrast with the strangeness behind them.

Whilst stuck in this reality that didn’t seem like a reality, the train finally arrived.

They boarded the train. Because of the angle, those people could no longer see them.

Along with the sound of the wind whistling, the suspended train began to move. Ji Yushi saw from the distance that the people by the window seemed to have suddenly come back to life. Each of them regained normal, vivid expressions and slowly scattered away.