Lu Shen felt a headache coming on.
He looked at the person in front of him who had inexplicably pounced on him and clung to him desperately in anger. Surprisingly, he couldn’t find any way to deal with him.
Later, he examined the person’s face carefully several times, but he truly didn’t recognize him. As for the boyfriend and such… that was purely nonsense.
However, for some reason, he found himself deeply intrigued by the way this person was looking at him. Perhaps it was the way he looked at him with those eyes, the slight furrow in his brows that couldn’t hide the deep and complex emotions in his eyes. Staring at him for a long time even gave rise to a feeling that “his eyes were filled with me.” Or so it seemed?
With a deep breath, Bian Shengjian started thinking quickly about the possible solutions. Since Lu Shen had mentioned that the car accident had caused many deaths due to two cars colliding and falling into the river, the first step to preventing the accident was to ensure that the two cars didn’t reach the bridge at the same time. By eliminating the prerequisite for the accident, perhaps they could prevent the tragedy.
So, the most urgent thing he could do was to indefinitely delay the time.
“And you can’t go,” Bian Shengjian said calmly, repeating himself.
Lu Shen looked at him angrily and finally pushed him away after slapping him on the shoulder. He was about to speak when Bian Shengjian continued, seemingly lost in his thoughts, “When you were in third grade, you wet the bed once.”
Lu Shen: “…?”
“In fourth grade, because you were playing with matches in the back row during class, you accidentally set the classroom curtains on fire. You almost got your class teacher’s bones broken back then.” Bian Shengjian looked at him, and his tone unintentionally softened when he said these words. There was even a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. “Oh, and in your freshman year, you were particularly rebellious and cheeky. You saw someone violently beating up your classmate in the office, and you broke through the window to save him. Then you ended up being beaten by that family along with him.”
Lu Shen stared at him blankly, his mouth slightly agape out of astonishment.
“And in your second year of junior high…” Bian Shengjian looked at him as if he could see through his soul, recalling all those late-night conversations when Lu Shen had confessed all those outrageous things he had done in the past. Among all those memories, one stood out vividly in Bian Shengjian’s mind, the one he remembered most clearly. “One time, you arranged to meet up with a group for a fight after school, but you, the supposed leader, were the first to be knocked down…”
“Shut up!” Lu Shen shouted in annoyance, his gaze on Bian Shengjian filled with disbelief. “How could you…”
“How could I know, right?” Bian Shengjian immediately continued, “Actually, I know even more. There are things you did that no one else has ever seen. For example, you have a mole on your lower back, just above your buttocks, and when you take a shower, you like to scratch it intentionally or unintentionally.”
Lu Shen’s expression shifted from shock to disbelief, and he instinctively touched his lower back – what Bian Shengjian had said was true.
But how did this person know?
“Listen, Lu Shen,” Bian Shengjian said word by word, placing both hands on his shoulders and looking into his eyes, “I didn’t come to see you. I came to save you.”
“Save… me?” Lu Shen looked at him in confusion.
“Whether you believe it or not, at least based on the facts I just mentioned, I’m telling you, I came from the future,” Bian Shengjian said with a serious expression, his words carrying a hint of seriousness.
“… You’re just scaring me, right?” Lu Shen struggled to speak.
“Based on the course of historical events, you will die today,” Bian Shengjian grabbed his shoulder and unconsciously tightened his grip. “Thus, you can’t get in that car, do you understand?”
Lu Shen frowned, struggling to comprehend the series of seemingly absurd statements. “I will die today? How?”
“When your father’s car reaches the bridge, it will collide with a school bus, and both vehicles will break through the guardrail and fall into the river,” Bian Shengjian took a deep breath, trying to steady his trembling voice. “Many people will die in this accident, a lot of people. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Lu Shen stared at him with widened eyes, his lips turning slightly pale due to fear.
“I’m not lying to you,” Bian Shengjian said, feeling a pang in his chest. He gritted his teeth and continued, “So now, call your father immediately and tell him not to leave the house under any circumstances today.”
“But my grandmother… she has a heart condition,” Lu Shen stammered.
“But if you leave the house today, you’ll die!” Bian Shengjian suddenly shouted, “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Lu Shen fell silent for a moment before nodding slightly. “I understand.”
As Bian Shengjian let out a sigh of relief, Lu Shen asked with a hint of skepticism, “Are you… really from the future?”
“Yes,” Bian Shengjian frowned, pressing his chest as if the weight of his recent words was affecting the future. He felt his limbs go weak, and his vision dimmed slightly. He had to lean on Lu Shen for support. “Hey, you’re not lying to me, are you?”
“Why would I lie to a high school kid like you?” Bian Shengjian chuckled weakly.
“What do you mean, a high school kid? You look like a high school student too!” Lu Shen responded, annoyed.
“No,” Bian Shengjian shook his head. “If I were in the same time as you, I should have just started first grade.”
Lu Shen didn’t say anything for a moment, and his lips twitched slightly. “Oh.”
Just as he was about to say something more, his phone in his pocket suddenly started vibrating wildly. He didn’t need to check to know who it was, but he hesitated and glanced at Bian Shengjian before answering the call.
Bian Shengjian immediately said, “Answer it.”
Lu Shen hesitated but answered the call, just as he heard a car whistle coming from behind and a roar that was heard from the other side that wasn’t heard clearly, he saw his furious father driving toward them. When his father’s car reached them, he got out and ran towards Lu Shen, shouting, “Lu Shen! Where the hell have you been?”
Lu Shen turned his head and met his father’s furious gaze. After that, his father slapped him across the face without hesitation and then grabbed his arm, saying angrily, “Get in the car now, or I’ll kill you!”
Lu Shen was shocked by the sudden slap, and as he was being pulled towards the car, he struggled and said, “Dad, let me talk to that person for a moment!”
“What person?” his father yelled.
“Just right next to me!” Lu Shen struggled to say, then a terrifying suspicion formed in his mind. “…You can’t see him, can you?”
“Are you out of your mind?” his father replied, glancing to the side without seeing anyone. He quickly locked the car doors, got behind the wheel, and prepared to step on the gas pedal. His mother watched this scene in the car, still nagging and wiping tears.” Son… how have you become like this now? Your grandmother is still lying in the hospital… is it so difficult for you to even see her?”
“It’s not that Mom! “Lu Shen subconsciously went to pull the car door, only to find that his father had already locked the back seat with quick eyes and hands. He angrily circled around the driver’s seat, and buckled his seat belt and prepared to step on the gas pedal before driving out. “Sit down! Give me some peace.”
“No…” Lu Shen’s mind was in chaos, but he caught sight of Bian Shengjian from the corner of his eye, who had slowly risen to his feet at the roadside. He walked step by step toward the front of the car under his frightened gaze, his arms outstretched and his face even wore a faint smile.
“Let’s go!” his father said, pressing the gas pedal, and the car moved straight toward Bian Shengjian.
“Stop the car!” Lu Shen exclaimed in a heart wrenching voice, and his mother, who was sitting next to him, was startled by his shout, “Stop, I said stop the car!”
In his ear were his mother’s screams of fear and his father’s roar, but at this moment, Lu Shen could hear nothing and his eyes were still fixed on the person standing only half a step away from the front of the car–
The car brushed past Bian Shengjian’s body, and with a screech of brakes, it slammed into the greenery at the roadside. Due to inertia, Lu Shen was thrown backward, his head struck what part of the car and felt a little pain and dizziness in front of him after.
The car came to a stop.
Lu Shen struggled to lift his head and glanced at his father in the driver’s seat—overall, it seemed like there was nothing wrong, except for the fact that he and his mother had passed out together due to a massive impact.
He hesitated for just a couple of seconds, then immediately leaned over to unlock the back seat car door. He stumbled out of the car, but he didn’t see the person who had been standing there just a moment ago.
“Hey!” Lu Shen shouted, his voice weak, his hands and feet feeling cold. He realized belatedly that he didn’t even know the name of the person he was looking for, so he clenched his teeth and shouted again, “Where are you?”
Someone lightly tapped his shoulder, and Lu Shen immediately turned around, coming face to face with Bian Shengjian, who was struggling a bit. “Hey, were you worried about me?” he said.
“You idiot!” Lu Shen couldn’t help but yell.
“It’s okay,” Bian Shengjian said, looking at him and then at the car behind him, which was emitting white smoke as if it had just completed some significant mission. His tone became increasingly relaxed. “That car couldn’t have hit me anyway.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Bian Shengjian suddenly felt a dizziness he had never experienced before. His legs gave way, and he half-knelt on the ground, but Lu Shen was quick to grab him and prevent him from falling face-first. “Hey! What’s wrong with you?”
Bian Shengjian closed his eyes slightly and, after a moment, struggled to open them. “Shh… let me take another look at you.”
Lu Shen was momentarily speechless, his shoulders trembled slightly with discomfort. “Come on, don’t say disgusting stuff like that.”
Bian Shengjian let out a soft laugh and, at this moment, even if he were to die here, he felt it was not so bad.
Although he didn’t know if he could change the course of events, he had always felt that the process of meeting and getting to know Lu Shen was a miracle in itself.
Actually, I’m happy to have met you.
Bian Shengjian felt his consciousness becoming increasingly blurry, with memories flashing in his mind, not just in fragments but in a chaotic sequence. He could even hear Lu Shen shouting anxiously, but it was getting harder to make out the words.
Was he going to die? Maybe, since the wheel was broken, and he didn’t know if he would face some kind of challenges in the afterlife.
Well, challenges could come, but he wasn’t afraid.
Bian Shengjian smiled and felt as if he had been embraced by someone. Even the palm of the hand resting on his back was trembling slightly.
This familiar and warm touch alleviated much of Bian Shengjian’s pain. He leaned his head on Lu Shen’s shoulder and even started humming a song softly—a song from a band he used to like, with gentle and melancholic lyrics that seemed particularly fitting for his current state of mind. “You’ve forgotten, the cold wind blowing over the wounds…You believed that without pain or itch, you’d have lived a lifetime…Why do you feel like singing when you see snow falling…Why do tears fall at the moment of letting go…”
“You idiot, don’t forget me,” Bian Shengjian whispered softly, feeling his body suddenly becoming lighter, as if his soul was evaporating.
But he continued to sing softly, “Because you enjoy its brilliance, because you endure its decay… You said not to pursue, yet you hesitate… So life, it’s bitter like a song…”
Bian Shengjian’s voice stopped.
Lu Shen stared blankly at the person in his arms as he gradually disappeared. His heart suddenly ached sharply, as if it had been struck by a hammer.
But the song that had been echoing in his ears hadn’t stopped. It continued:
Do you want to see the blooming flower sea?
Do you want to see the returning swallows?
If none of them come,
Then for whom should I exist?
Because you enjoy its brilliance,
Because you endure its decay…
You said not to chase, yet you hesitate…
So life, it’s bitter like a song.
In this vast galaxy, what are you?
In his gentle eyes, what are you?
Shining and falling, yet you hesitate…
So life, it’s brilliant like a song.
What should I use to keep you?”
