Chapter 2: Why is he here

Shen Xici didn’t go to the dinner gathering that night. He rarely ate hot food, and something scalding like hotpot was completely off-limits.

Before leaving, Lan Xiaoshan patted his chest and told him not to worry, he would definitely eat enough for the both of them and wouldn’t let Xu Lingjia spend a single cent less!

Seeing his earnest face, Shen Xici swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue. After a moment’s thought, he pre-ordered a box of digestive medicine and had it left at the front desk of the hotpot restaurant, telling Lan Xiaoshan to pick it up and take it first.

The taillights of the last car disappeared around a bend, and the surroundings fell completely silent, so much so that even the chirping of insects became clear.

Almost every available vehicle from the film set had been driven away. After searching for two laps, Shen Xici discovered the crew’s most practical multi-purpose vehicle—an open-top, panoramic-sunroof electric tricycle that could also haul goods.

Gripping the handlebars, Shen Xici slowly drove the tricycle away from the filming location and onto a dirt road. This place was located on the southern border, still some distance from the nearest county town, Sui County. A long stretch of the road had been newly carved out by the crew not long ago, making it utterly primitive. Sometimes, you could even encounter wild rabbits darting across the road.

Twilight spread over the forest like a bloom of faint ink. The leaves shed their last trace of amber at the end of dusk. In the distance, the mountain ridges resembled the folded dorsal fins of a crouching beast, casting jagged shadows over the vast sea of trees that stretched for thousands of miles.

From the moment he woke up, met the director, familiarized himself with the new role, and cooperated with the makeup and styling team to redesign his look, Shen Xici finally had a moment of leisure.

The matter of rebirth had completely shattered his materialistic worldview, giving him a strong sense of unreality. He even suspected if Sheng Shaoyan, with his money-is-power abilities, had connected his brain to some holographic world before he was declared brain-dead.

Sheng Shaoyan.

In the evening breeze, Shen Xici let out a breath.

In his previous life, he had been too busy, taking on any role offered, filming any scene available, spending more than three hundred days a year on set. Many friendships had gradually faded due to lack of contact.

Only Sheng Shaoyan.

Although they hadn’t known each other for long, when he was dying, only he stayed by his side. Until the moment he lost consciousness, Sheng Shaoyan had held his hand tightly.

Since waking up, Shen Xici would occasionally be in a daze, always having the illusion that a warmth not his own still lingered on his hand.

Parking the tricycle on the side of the road, Shen Xici lazily leaned against the front of the vehicle, holding his phone with both hands. He first typed the three characters for “Sheng Shaoyan” into the search bar.

Looking at the search results that popped up, Shen Xici sighed. He had to admit, the PR department of Shenghe Group was too dedicated. Apart from the title “Vice Chairman of the Board and CEO of Shenghe Group” listed in the encyclopedia entry, not a single photo had slipped through the cracks on the entire vast internet!

Big data, you’re failing me!

Slanting dead branches stretched into strange antlers in the dimming light. Shen Xici stopped scrolling through his phone. He thought, since the vehicle was stopped and he hadn’t found any photos or news, he might as well grab a beautifully shaped dead branch to take back as a decoration.

Years of fallen leaves were piled underfoot, soft to step on, making a rustling sound. Shen Xici rounded a rock and suddenly smelled an extremely faint scent of blood in the wind.

He had been sensitive to the smell of blood since childhood. At this time, and in the woods, the bleeding victim was most likely a small animal, but it could also be—a person.

It was quiet all around, with only the sound of the wind and birds. Shen Xici hesitated for a few seconds, first dialing the emergency number on his phone’s keypad before casually picking up a sharp, thick tree branch and continuing forward.

On the edge of the flashlight’s beam, a semi-arched rock formation came into view. If one didn’t look closely, they would never have noticed an adult male dressed in black lying there.

Apart from a slight rise and fall of his body, there were almost no signs of life.

Shen Xici took a few steps forward, stopping two meters away. He prodded the other person’s back with the branch, not too lightly, not too heavily. “Are you okay? Can you hear me?”

No one answered.

The surroundings were still filled with only the sound of wind rustling through leaves; even the birdsong seemed distant.

Shen Xici walked a circle around the area with his flashlight. The weather in the mountains was unpredictable, with alternating sun and rain. The original footprints had already been washed away, and the wild grass showed no obvious signs of being trampled, making it impossible to determine which direction this person had come from.

To be injured, enter the unpredictable mountains, find a rain-sheltering rock arch before losing consciousness, and perform counter-tracking to successfully cover one’s tracks—this person had very likely undergone professional training.

Moreover, this was near the complicated border line.

This person was too dangerous.

Shen Xici didn’t go any closer and followed his own markers back the way he came.

The bright light receded like a tide. Rainwater collected on the tips of leaves dripped onto the rocks, whose surfaces were covered in dark green moss. More than ten minutes later, a light suddenly appeared, and a pair of black-and-white sneakers stepped over, leaving a shallow footprint.

Shen Xici squatted down under the arched rock, thinking. He would just take a look. If it was a distinctly foreign-looking face, it was most likely an illegal border crosser. But there was also a very small possibility that this person was an ordinary person who had managed to escape from criminals.

Using the light from his flashlight, Shen Xici applied a little force with his hand, and the unconscious person’s face was revealed.

It was a face with obvious foreign ancestry, excellent facial structure, a high and narrow nose bridge, deeper eye sockets, and sharp, defined features. Due to blood loss, his lips were dry and pale, yet he was still excessively handsome.

Shen Xici’s eyes widened slightly—

Sheng… Shaoyan?

Why was he here?

---

The small town near the border had a different scenery from the inland. The exterior walls of the four- or five-story buildings were tiled with beige bricks, and the red roofs formed a continuous stretch, spaced very close together, so close that one could push open the window opposite with a clothes-drying pole.

The streets were narrow. A motorcycle, with its engine roaring, sped past on the stone-paved road. The middle-aged shopkeeper whose light box was knocked over ran out, waving a cattail leaf fan in his hand, cursing into the exhaust fumes:

“Not even a monkey swinging on a vine is as fast as you! Are you in a hurry to see your great-grandmother!”

Shen Xici carried a bag of medicine just bought from the pharmacy and turned the corner. He was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and black casual trousers. The edge of his matching black mask sat at the height of his nose bridge. The exposed half of his face, his neck, and his forearms were as white as snow under the sun, making the messy gray street scene behind him brighter by a couple of shades.

He walked at a leisurely pace. Seeing a fruit stall with a canvas awning on the side of the road, he stopped to pick a few golden-yellow mangoes.

The old woman tending the stall was missing a tooth. She placed the mangoes on an old, paint-chipped electronic scale and asked with a smile, “A’Di, you’re back so early today?”

The locals spoke with a heavy accent. Shen Xici had spent a month filming here in his previous life, so he had some foundation. After living here for a short while, he could basically understand daily conversations.

“Your mangoes are the best in the whole county. If I don’t come early, how can I beat the other grandmas?” Shen Xici’s voice had a clear, translucent quality. When he smiled, his eyes and brows became lively, and the dimple on his left cheek appeared, immediately dispelling the coldness about him.

The wrinkles at the corners of the old woman’s eyes deepened. She added another mango to the plastic bag. “You’re the only one with words as sweet as honey water. If you like them, Grandma will save a few for you next time and not sell them to others!”

Every few yuan saved was a few yuan earned. As a reincarnated poor soul, Shen Xici was not stingy with his smile. “Thank you, Grandma!”

“Sister Ningyu, there’s news that your son, Xu Lingjia, is participating in Director Wan Shan’s new work Mountain Range Line, playing an important role. Is it true that Jiajia’s screen debut will be a collaboration with Director Wan?”

The sound of a fast-paced interview came through. Catching a few of the words, the corners of Shen Xici’s raised mouth slowly flattened. He looked up and saw, in the shop, a television set placed on a worn, paint-chipped wooden cabinet, broadcasting entertainment news.

A dozen microphones of different sizes and colors were all pointed at the woman in a white shirt dress in the center.

Cheng Ningyu was exceptionally well-maintained among female celebrities of her age. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her smile radiant and captivating. “How is your information so quick? But Jiajia is still young and has no experience, how could the word ‘collaboration’ be used? To be able to receive Director Wan Shan’s guidance is a great blessing for him. When the movie is released, I’ll have to rely on you all to publish more articles and help promote Jiajia.”

A reporter on the scene pressed on, “You’ve been selected as an anti-drug ambassador. Jiajia just turned 21 not long ago. They say children these days are hard to teach. Do you have any concerns in this regard?”

Cheng Ningyu’s face turned cold for a moment, then she quickly smiled again. “A situation like that will absolutely not happen in our family. Jiajia doesn’t even touch things like tobacco and alcohol. You all know, Jiajia has been especially well-behaved since he was a child. Please don’t ask such questions in the future.”

The old woman handed him the plastic bag of mangoes and glanced at the television. “That young lady is Cheng Ningyu, right? She’s still so beautiful in her forties or fifties. I can even sing her song No Regrets. What was her husband’s name again, Xu something?”

Shen Xici stopped watching the interview on TV. “His name is Xu Yuanjin, Grandma.”

“Right, right, Xu Yuanjin! You don’t know, when she got married, my youngest son bought newspapers every day. They were all about how expensive her wedding dress was, who was invited, where they were going for their honeymoon. Oh my, my son, he would watch every day and cry every day. After crying, he wouldn’t even use his own tears as a mirror to see his own toad-like face. What’s the use of crying, could he, could he—”

Shen Xici finished her sentence smoothly, “Soak his face in tears and become beautiful?”

The old woman exclaimed, “Yes, yes! Not only is little 

 handsome, but you’re also so cultured!”

“You flatter me, Grandma.” Shen Xici paid the money, apologized a few times in his heart to the uncle he had never met, and casually switched to Weibo to check the trending list.

“Grandma, what’s the date today?”

“The seventeenth. What’s wrong, A’Di?”

Shen Xici turned off the screen and smiled. “Nothing, I was just checking if I remembered the date correctly.”

On this day in his previous life, the media, various marketing accounts, and fans and passersby all joined the fray. Topics like #XuLingjiaIsNotBiological, #ChengNingyuShoutsJiajiaMomWillAlwaysLoveYou, and #ProtectXuLingjia exploded on the trending lists and stayed there for a whole month.

But now, at the same time, only #XuLingjiaStarsInMountainRangeLine was ranked sixth on the trending list.

Compared to his past life, many things had indeed changed.

Carrying the fruit and medicine, Shen Xici turned into a side alley and pushed open the stainless-steel security door downstairs. The light immediately dimmed. A dim incandescent bulb in the corridor lit up, illuminating the spiderwebs entwined on bundles of black rubber-coated electrical wires.

Stepping on the rough concrete floor, he went up flight after flight, stopping in front of a dark green door on the fourth floor. He took out his key and opened it.

The apartment he rented was not large, a one-bedroom, one-living room with a kitchen and bathroom. The furniture was simple, but the newly painted white walls and concrete floor looked clean enough. The only exception was the bougainvillea on the small balcony, its branches drooping, blooming magnificently like a waterfall of pale purple flowers.

It was also because the apartment was small that Shen Xici saw at a glance that the white gauze curtain with a plant pattern had been moved by the wind—before he left in the morning, he had clearly secured it with a tie-back.

Someone had touched it.

With a ding, the keys were tossed into a tray.

The instant a strong wind came from behind him, Shen Xici instinctively ducked and sidestepped. He reached out, just managing to block the other’s elbow joint while forcefully pulling to the right.

A sleeve brushed past his nose, bringing with it a scent that smelled expensive—a perfume specially created for Sheng Shaoyan by a top international perfumer, reminiscent of moonlight and mountain forests.

Shen Xici couldn’t be more familiar with this scent; identifying a person by their fragrance from several steps away was a basic skill.

After sleeping for two days, Sheng Shaoyan was finally awake?

In his past life, he had collapsed on the roadside. If he hadn’t been saved by a passing Sheng Shaoyan, he would have died long ago. He hadn’t had a chance to repay him in that life. He never expected that with a gentle swing of fate’s thread, he would run into an injured and unconscious Sheng Shaoyan in this life.

A third jab came piercing through the air. Even though Shen Xici was distracted, his neck still reflexively tilted three centimeters to the right.

This angle allowed him to perfectly avoid the trajectory of the punch. Only the metal watchband on the other’s wrist scraped past the tip of his ear, leaving a faint red mark.

But Sheng Shaoyan didn’t stop. His long, muscular leg moved forward, his knee driving into the space between Shen Xici’s legs. His five fingers clamped around his neck, slamming him hard against the standing old refrigerator.

With a thud, his back hit the refrigerator. Shen Xici thought he could hear the sound of frost in the freezer compartment falling like rustling snow.

He had learned all his fighting and combat skills from Sheng Shaoyan in his past life. But even though he remembered Sheng Shaoyan’s attack patterns like the back of his hand, he had never won once in their eight hundred spars. Every time it ended, he was either slammed against a wall or pinned to the floor. He was used to it.

Although Sheng Shaoyan came from a prominent Chinese family, his birth mother had Slavic blood, which made his eyes appear close to black, yet with a deep blue arc of light around the edges, like the deep sea under the night sky. Shen Xici had always thought these eyes were exceptionally beautiful, perfectly embodying the essence of Slavic genes.

Meeting such a familiar pair of eyes, Shen Xici spoke helplessly, “Alright, alright, let’s stop here for today? A couple more moves and the wound on your back will split open.” After speaking, he lifted the plastic bag and said casually, “Mango, want some? I know you don’t like peeling them. Seeing as you’re an injured patient, I’ll—”

With a thud, the sound of a heartbeat hit his eardrum like a branding iron. A sense of crisis that exploded like a spark made Shen Xici suddenly fall silent. An eight-thousand-watt red light instantly lit up in his mind—I’m screwed!!

To him, just over a week ago, he was still sharing an apple with Sheng Shaoyan in a hospital room. So, facing this person, he really couldn’t muster any sense of unfamiliarity.

However, in this life, he and Sheng Shaoyan didn’t even know each other yet!

Most importantly, he knew very, very well that this man was extremely suspicious.

At the same time, Shen Xici felt Sheng Shaoyan’s knuckles lock into place three millimeters below his Adam’s apple.

In his past life, Sheng Shaoyan had taught him: the most vulnerable node of the trachea.