186 The Two Tang Ens Part 1 (2/2)

That was the current plan of the ex-Tony Twain.

In May of 2004, that plan was in the process of being put in place step by step, even before Twain met himself outside Southwest Book City at Chunxi Road.

That afternoon, Twain had just spent an entire day shopping at the bookstore, and was standing by the side of the road waiting to cross and take a bus. While waiting, Twain was hugging a few books related to Chinese history when he caught a glimpse of a foreigner on the opposite side of the road. At first, it did not bother Twain much; it was not uncommon to see foreigners on the streets of Chengdu City. However, he soon discovered that that foreigner was staring intently at him, so Twain decided to take a closer look at the person's face. Afterwards, he thought that he was not standing in front of a bustling street, but a mirror.

Inside the mirror, he saw himself from one-and-a-half years ago. That face, the face that he had seen in the mirror for thirty-four years, had appeared in the streets of Chengdu City and was staring intently back at him.

Seeing the other's expressions, Twain suddenly came to the conclusion that the soul that was currently in his original body was, in fact, the original owner of the body that he was currently in control of. There were no reasons, no scientific proofs, no rational analyses to support his conjecture. But he just felt a sense of familiarity that had come from the bottom of his heart; a type of resonance.

Just as he stood there lost in a daze, the Tony Twain on the opposite side of the street walked towards him. Beside him, there was also a woman… Well, judging from the youth and immaturity of her face, perhaps the word ”girl” was more accurate.

The man walked and stopped in front of him, before asking with a slight Nottingham Village accent, ”Mister, may I ask if you know the directions to Xinhua Gardens? We want to go there…”

Xinhua Gardens? Isn't that where I live? Why would he ask me that? Don't tell me he is hinting at something?

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Tang En felt that he should be slightly more proactive at the moment. If everybody froze there, then Shania would soon realize that something was amiss. A child's intuition was not to be belittled. His true identity and his background were absolute secrets that had to be kept. It was something that could not be mentioned even to the people closest to him, and Tang En had no intention of telling Shania.

So he crossed the road and walked directly to the person, before pretending to be someone asking him for directions as though he was lost. Tang En also conveniently mentioned a place that the other person should be very familiar with. Upon asking his question, Tang En stared at the man, intending to use the changes in his facial expressions and body language to find out any useful traces of information that he could.

Shania felt that it was slightly strange, because there was no such place as ”Xinhua Gardens” in the travel itinerary that they had prepared prior to the trip.

If this Tang En was still himself, then he should respond to the question as though it was any other passerby asking him for directions. He would tell Tang En how to walk there, before saying goodbye and turning around. He would not be so cold as to say that he didn't know despite the fact that he knew, nor would he be so kind as to personally show them the way if they did not understand his directions.

However, it was very obvious that the Tang En before him had gone into a daze after hearing him. Would something as simple as being asked for directions make one become lost in a daze that way?

Tang En could therefore confirm his suspicions that the person in front of him was definitely not the past him. Instead, it was the unlucky Englishman, Tony Twain.

”Mister?” Tang En asked again, snapping Twain out of his daze.

”Umm, Uh… Xinhua Gardens is just, just right in the vicinity of where I live…” Tongue-tied, the real Tony Twain answered in English. It had been a while since he had tried conversing in the language.

Hearing him reply that way, Tang En smiled. ”That's great. Are you going back now? We can head there together.” Afterwards, Tang En did not wait for the other man's reply. He simply extended his hand and flagged down a car.

Having completely understood Tang En's intention, the other Twain knew what to do as well. He said in English, ”You might not be able to get a car here even if you wait for half an hour.” Pointing to the front, he continued, ”Walk a bit more in this direction.”

In the street slightly farther ahead, the three of them managed to flag down a car easily. Perhaps it was because the driver saw that there was a foreigner by the side of the road, and drivers generally thought that it was easier to earn a foreigner's money.

Once in the car, Tang En intentionally asked for the other's name. As expected, the reply he got was ”Tang En.” This Tang En was a man of few words, which matched the personality of the original Tony Twain. By then, all of Tang En's doubts had been resolved.

Looking at the version of himself who was seated quietly in the front seat, Tang En suddenly had a thought: Walker had already officially left the team, and he was lacking a capable assistant manager who had a sufficient understanding of Nottingham Forest, and could have good rapport with him. A capable assistant manager was much harder to find than a capable manager…

But wasn't there a perfect candidate right in front of him right now?