Chapter 1: Rewind
Mi Yang lay in the rocking chair, drowsy. Opposite him, a small fan was whirring away like a lullaby, and listening to it made Mi Yang’s eyelids feel even heavier. After a moment, the phone beside him rang twice. He picked it up and glanced at it—it was a notification for the last two payments to the bank. The mortgage was finally paid off, and Mi Yang breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, his cousin knocked and entered, calling out, “Bro!”
Mi Yang was startled. His cold hadn’t cleared up yet, and his voice was nasal. “What’s up?”
The cousin, who wore glasses, sidled up to Mi Yang and fell silent, his gaze hesitant as if he was struggling to find the right words.
Mi Yang found his behavior a bit odd and asked, “What is it?”
After a moment of silence, his cousin suddenly said, “Bro, the Bai family is holding an engagement today.”
Mi Yang was taken aback for a second. “Huh?”
His cousin studied his expression and said in a low voice, “The one, Bai Luochuan.”
Mi Yang waved his hand dismissively. “I know his family, but what does his engagement have to do with me?”
His cousin said, “Weren’t you and him the closest back in the day?”
Mi Yang thought for a moment, then frowned. “Are you saying… I have to go give a cash gift?”
His cousin’s expression turned strange, and he began to stammer, “Bro, are you going? I think, maybe you should lie low today. Why don’t you head back to the city first? It wouldn’t be right for you two to run into each other like this.”
“Go back to the city for what? Tomorrow is Grandma’s birthday. I made a special trip here, why would I leave before her birthday is over?” Mi Yang was completely bewildered. But having just paid off his mortgage, he was feeling light as a feather without any debt. With his newly received salary in his pocket, his confidence was a little inflated, and he didn’t pay his cousin’s words any mind. He smiled and said, “It’s fine. It’s just a cash gift, right? I can still afford that. I’ll drop by tonight and see!”
His cousin immediately said, “Then I’ll go with you.”
Mi Yang said, “It’s no big deal, you don’t have to. I’ll just go drop it off and be done with it.”
Mi Yang had a perfectly peaceful meal at home and chatted with the old lady for a while. Mi Yang’s grandmother doted on her eldest daughter the most, and by extension, she also spoiled her grandson, Mi Yang. Seeing that he had a cold, she insisted on giving him her ginseng lozenges to take. Mi Yang pretended to eat two pieces and, after coaxing the old lady to take her afternoon nap, finally found the time to make a trip to the Bai family’s home.
It was already afternoon when he got there. The cicadas chirped incessantly in the summer afternoon heat, making one feel unbearably hot just by listening.
The Bai family’s ancestral home was quite famous in the area, enclosing a large tract of woodland. It took Mi Yang a good ten minutes to get there on his bicycle. As he rode, he couldn’t help but marvel at the Bai family’s fortune. It wasn’t just this patch of forest; he’d heard they owned the two mountains behind it as well. He was perfectly content with his little hundred-square-meter apartment, but the Bai family had this vast estate with only Bai Luochuan to inherit it all. There was truly no comparison.
When he arrived at the Bai family’s old residence, Mi Yang rang the bell at the gate twice. He had planned to just hand a red envelope to whoever came out and be on his way, but before anyone from inside appeared, he ran into Bai Luochuan.
Bai Luochuan was driving over. As he passed Mi Yang, he quickly slammed on the brakes. He efficiently rolled down the window, his sharp eyes fixing on him. He was handsome, and emotions churned in his deep-set eyes as he said, word by word, “What are you doing here?”
Mi Yang’s voice was nasal from his cold. “I heard you were getting married, so I came to see you.”
Bai Luochuan gave him a long, hard look. “Get in the car.”
Mi Yang hesitated slightly. “No need, I rode my bike, it’s not convenient…”
Bai Luochuan cut him off impatiently, “I told you to get in the car!”
Mi Yang was starting to get annoyed, too. He and Bai Luochuan used to be on good terms, but the man had a domineering and arrogant personality, with a pride so ingrained he didn’t even bother to hide it. Gradually, Mi Yang had stopped contacting Bai Luochuan as much. Their relationship could now only be described as old friends from the same hometown. But since it was Bai Luochuan’s engagement, he decided to be a gracious guest and follow the host’s lead. He parked his beat-up bicycle to the side and got into Bai Luochuan’s car.
Bai Luochuan’s sports car had a low chassis, and after getting in, Mi Yang felt like he was nestled inside it. The air conditioning was blasting, and after a short while, he sneezed, curling up with the tip of his nose turning red.
Bai Luochuan glanced at him. “How did you know I was getting married?”
Mi Yang said, “Oh, my cousin told me.”
Bai Luochuan pressed his lips together, saying nothing.
The atmosphere in the car was a bit awkward. Mi Yang thought for a moment, then ventured, “Congratulations?”
Bai Luochuan let out a cold laugh, not looking particularly happy.
Mi Yang’s head was throbbing. He reached up and rubbed his temples. He hated dealing with rich people like this the most. What on earth goes through their minds? If I had that much money, I’d be as happy as if it were New Year’s every day! Can’t they just enjoy life?
After parking the car, Bai Luochuan suddenly frowned, leaned over, and touched Mi Yang’s forehead. “I had a feeling something was off just now. Why are you so hot… Are you running a fever?”
Mi Yang already had a cold, and after being baked by the sun on his way over and then blasted by the car’s air conditioning, he was already feeling dizzy. Hearing Bai Luochuan’s words, he nodded. “I think so.”
Bai Luochuan said, “You don’t even know if you’re sick or not. Are you an idiot?”
Mi Yang thought, You’re the idiot.
But he didn’t dare to talk back. Bai Luochuan had been quite formidable when it came to dealing with people back in school, and Mi Yang certainly wasn’t going to provoke him now.
Although Bai Luochuan’s words were scornful, his actions were surprisingly gentle. He half-supported, half-carried Mi Yang inside and took him to a room to rest. Mi Yang was pushed down onto the bed, and it was only after his shoes were taken off that he realized something was wrong. He quickly sat up. “No, no, I just came to give you a…” Red envelope.
Bai Luochuan said impatiently, “Who cares about your pocket change? Keep it for yourself. Lie here and don’t move. I’ll go get a doctor.”
Bai Luochuan’s young-master temper sparked a rebellious streak in Mi Yang. But the angrier he got, the calmer he appeared. He said in a deferential tone, “You’re right. My little red envelope is nothing in your eyes. I’ll give you something else then.”
Bai Luochuan looked at him. “Give me what?”
Mi Yang said, “My blessings.”
Bai Luochuan was still looking at him. “That’s it?”
Mi Yang nodded. “Yeah. I’ve delivered them, so I won’t trouble you to call a doctor. I’ll be heading back now. My grandma is still waiting for me to have dinner with her.”
Bai Luochuan took a breath. “Since you’re here, wait a bit before you leave.”
Mi Yang lifted the thin blanket to get up, but Bai Luochuan pressed him down. A slight, humorless smile touched his thin lips. “Since you came to give your blessings, you should at least stay for a meal before you go. It’s my engagement banquet. Will you drink to it or not?”
Hearing him say that, Mi Yang could only nod.
It seemed as if Bai Luochuan was just starting to make arrangements. The huge residence had been quiet just a moment ago, but with a single phone call from Bai Luochuan, it quickly filled with people. The guests arrived quickly, and the banquet was prepared just as fast. Mi Yang had only seen a doctor and rested for a short while before it was time to go downstairs for the engagement party.
Mi Yang glanced at the time. Four in the afternoon. Where they were from, it was customary to hold banquets in the morning. Afternoons and evenings were for second marriages. He wasn’t sure if this taboo applied to engagements. But Bai Luochuan had always been willful, and he was highly capable, so the Bai family probably indulged him in these minor matters.
The bride-to-be was also someone he knew—the campus belle from their school days. The worst part was that there had been rumors about her and Mi Yang, saying they had dated for a brief week. At this moment, her eyes darted away when she saw Mi Yang, but Mi Yang’s expression was composed.
The bride-to-be wore a stiff smile, likely also bothered by the afternoon banquet, but she didn’t dare to voice her displeasure. She was wearing a simple cocktail dress, and her makeup was plain and understated. She looked more like an actor who had been hastily dragged onto the stage without any time to dress up.
Standing on the stage, Bai Luochuan looked as if he were attending someone else’s engagement ceremony, even during the toasts. It was only when he reached Mi Yang that his face soured, and he fiercely drank three consecutive glasses of liquor with him.
Bai Luochuan said, “All these years as classmates, you have to drink to that, right?”
After Mi Yang drank, he asked again, “We’ve known each other for so many years. Aren’t we brothers?”
By the third glass, Bai Luochuan was already a bit drunk. His hand rested on Mi Yang’s shoulder, gripping it so tightly it hurt, but he seemed oblivious. He continued to stare at Mi Yang like a predatory mountain hawk, his gaze sharp. “You tell me, aren’t you my best… friend?”
Everyone else at the table kept their heads down, drinking and eating. Not a single person dared to make a sound.
Mi Yang had no choice but to drink those three glasses. The hard liquor went down, and with his cold, he felt even worse. His head was pounding, and he felt dizzy and muddled. He couldn’t even remember what else Bai Luochuan said to him. He vaguely recalled Bai Luochuan telling the people around them, “He’s drunk,” and then helping him upstairs. As they walked, Bai Luochuan kept talking to him, saying many heartfelt things, which sounded like dissatisfaction with the engagement and a great deal more unwillingness.
“…Do you think she’s some saint? She’s just trying to get something out of me. She comes when I call, and she’ll leave when I tell her to. Mi Yang, was this the kind of woman you liked back then? I’m telling you, if you think you can marry her, you’re dreaming. What I can’t have, no one else can even think of having.”
Mi Yang frowned. “What do you mean?”
Bai Luochuan gripped him tightly, gritting his teeth. “All these years, have you been blind? You can’t see? You can’t see what I mean by this…”
Mi Yang’s head was splitting, and a wave of drowsiness washed over him. As he lay on the bed, he suddenly heard Bai Luochuan say with something like a sigh, “I really wish I could go back to when we were kids. To start over, to meet you all over again.”
Mi Yang thought, This young master actually wants to go back? If it were me, I wouldn’t want to live through it all again. Life is pretty good now, why stir things up?
With that thought, he drifted off into a hazy sleep.
When he woke up again, the first thing Mi Yang heard was the sound of a pellet drum, a rhythmic “dong-dong-long-dong.”
Mi Yang frowned, trying to reach out and turn off the alarm, while also thinking that he didn’t have a ringtone like this on his phone. When he finally forced his eyes open, he saw clearly who had woken him—a young couple in old-fashioned military uniforms. They were holding a pellet drum, shaking it back and forth to amuse him. Their faces were still youthful, tinged with the radiant satisfaction of new parents.
“Yangyang, look! This is the pellet drum Daddy brought back specially for Yangyang from his business trip. Do you like it? Are you happy?”
Mi Yang: “…”
Mi Yang was not happy at all!!
But he couldn’t even protest. He was now bundled in swaddling clothes, turned into a tiny baby. Before him were his parents’ youthful, vibrant faces from over twenty years ago. And he had returned to his own childhood.
