"Sister, let me do it for you first, don’t go!"
"Sister, I’m sorry, you better hurry up and leave, Dad is coming!"
"Sister, your wrist is so thin, yes, my teacher is asking us for two hundred dollars the day after tomorrow, can you give it to me tomorrow, and add an extra ten dollars? Mom and Dad are stingy..."
"Okay, I’ll give it to you tomorrow. You finish school earlier, so come find me in the hospital right after school, and I’ll give you the money."
"Mmm, thank you sister!"
"Sister, where are you? I can’t find you, wu wu..."
"Henian, why did you run across the street? I told you not to wander off, why don’t you listen? Come here quickly."
"It’s because you weren’t clear! You said it was next to the red house, and I came here only to find out that it’s not the place at all! It’s clearly your fault!"
"My fault? It’s obvious that you didn’t listen carefully, okay? I said it was across the street, and you ran across making it hard to find you, making me worry. I work at the hospital, and it’s not your first time coming, is there a hospital over there? Running off there when you’re clueless, and now you blame me?"
"Hmph! It is clearly your fault. Who would bother to remember the way, I usually come here with mom, and your hospital looks all white and bare, I thought it was someone else’s place. And you’re blaming me? Why should I take the blame? Hmph, when I go back I’ll tell mom and dad! Tell them you called me stupid."
"Alright, alright, my fault, happy now? Hurry and come here, I’ll give you the money."
"That’s more like it, I won’t tell mom and dad when I go back, okay."
Memory fragments, reaching the final segment, imprinted in Tang Ye’s mind with Li Qingtian’s face in the distance, filled with a touch of helplessness and a hint of indulgence.
The strange yet familiar memories, which flooded his mind just now, quickly integrated into the existing segments of his brain, including the two pieces of memory he acquired after consuming the Evolution Crystal provided by Li Henian. Those memories felt as if they were originally his, everything Li Henian went through, he had gone through as well; the pain and beauty in those memories, he could feel them vividly!
Unable to separate one from the other, such a feeling made Tang Ye feel like he was Li Henian, not some guy named Tang Ye pretending to be someone else. And Li Qingtian, she was his sister, his only family!
That inexplicable sense of kinship he felt towards Li Qingtian became more and more like reality. It seemed not because he was a zombie that he felt an indescribable closeness to her, but because she really was his family, a relative with an unbreakable blood connection!
In the final memory fragment, the perspective kept moving forward. That day, the sky was overcast, with drizzle falling in Lin City, and the distance parts of the city appeared shrouded by a thin mist, forming a murky silhouette. It felt dim but also carried the unique aesthetic that one could only feel in an urban setting.
The bustling streets, the passersby, the lovely people, the warm memories, the yellow bus that would soon arrive on Route 7, the people playing with their phones under the bus shelter—a whiff of the breath of humanity hit him.
And there was the girl in white ahead of him, he turned his head to look, saw the tire shop’s signboard, and in that moment, he smiled. He liked the way she worried for him; it was satisfying. Turning back, he didn’t want her to see his smile. He needed to keep looking annoyed.
Marshalling his emotions, his face returned to the expressionless sulking air. He walked towards his sister.
But with a heart-wrenching scream, all the good times came to a halt at that moment.
"Henian, watch the car, get out of the way, quick!"
Upon hearing this voice, he turned around in a hurry, as a sedan came at him head-on at over eighty miles per hour. In that instant, his mind went blank, all thoughts splintering like a waterfall that suddenly breaks off mid-fall—the disconnected part blank!
He wanted to move, but his whole body seemed to freeze in that moment, his legs not even having the chance to go weak before the sedan was upon him!
Thud!
He heard the sound of his ribs cracking in his chest, the world tumbling before his eyes. His sister in white widened her own eyes, her pupils filled with stupor!
Her figure spun countless times before his eyes, and finally, his body slammed hard onto the ground, the edges of his vision darkening. Vaguely, he saw his sister running toward him, the rain falling and hitting her face, mixing with the tears and streaming down together.
The droplets on her face fell to the ground, splashing out in all directions, as time seemed to stop at that moment.
The urgent screeching of brakes and the sound of impact, like thunder, burst in his ears. At this time, Tang Ye finally came to his senses. He gazed foolishly at Li Qingtian, who appeared to be his kin.
No, no, no! That wasn’t right. She wasn’t his relative. She was Li Henian’s relative. He had no relatives; everything was false. The memories in his mind weren’t his own; they had come later.
No, that’s not right. He was Li Henian. How could he not be Li Henian? His memories were real. How could they not be?
"Am I Li Henian? No, that’s not right! I should be the Zombie King! How is this possible? But something doesn’t seem right. I am also Li Henian, why am I not? Who the hell am I actually?"
Tang Ye’s mind began to unravel. Although his face showed no expression, inside he was roaring in madness. This feeling was too strange. He was the Zombie King. The Zombie King was Li Henian. It was plainly one person, yet there were two entirely different sets of memories of life.
Meanwhile, Li Qingtian was also staring blankly at Tang Ye, her expression indescribably complex, both of them like spellbound, looking at each other vacantly!
After an unknowable span of time, finally, Li Qingtian took the first step towards Tang Ye. Similarly, as if startled by her, Tang Ye stepped back.
"Don’t go, Henian. Sister is back. Don’t leave me again."
Li Qingtian’s voice choked as she spoke. Hearing her, Tang Ye felt an even stronger sense of familiarity emanating from her, to an unbelievable extent!
At the same time, Tang Ye’s retreating movement stopped. He watched as Li Qingtian took the first step and then the second, walking towards him step by step, until she stood right before him, her gaze fixed on him, her eyes filled with surprise and disbelief.
After a while, she raised her arm, gently extending it towards his face, her slender jade hand caressing his face.
She didn’t speak, her gaze surveying Tang Ye’s face, as if warming up to the visage of an old friend, as though memorizing his features.