Even though his memories were hazy and he didn’t quite remember the man in front of him, Zhou Jiayu instinctively felt that he wasn’t lying. When the car reached its destination, and Zhou Jiayu saw the surrounding buildings, he was even more certain of this feeling.

“Can you remember?” the man asked him.

Zhou Jiayu’s hair had been pulled into a bird’s nest by that paper, but he dared not show anger, timidly thinking that a bird’s nest was fine, as that piece of paper seemed quite formidable…

Facing the man’s question, Zhou Jiayu cautiously gave his answer: “I don’t remember much… but I didn’t remember anyone when I woke up.” He put on a sincere expression, wanting to tell the man he wasn’t lying, and wasn’t intentionally not remembering him.

The man gave him an indifferent glance and extended his hand.

Zhou Jiayu tremblingly took it.

“My name is Lin Zhushui,” the man said gently, slowly leaning down to kiss Zhou Jiayu’s ear. The warmth against Zhou Jiayu’s ear made him blush. The man said, “I am your husband.”

Zhou Jiayu’s face instantly flushed red, and he stammered, “Sir.”

Only then did Lin Zhushui look satisfied. He picked Zhou Jiayu directly from the back seat and walked into the courtyard.

The courtyard was large, filled with lush vegetation everywhere. As soon as Zhou Jiayu entered, he felt a familiar sense of having been there before. But he couldn’t quite recall it. He had been lying in bed for too long, his body incredibly thin. Although he was diligently doing rehabilitation, he still couldn’t walk on his own.

Lin Zhushui carried him all the way to a small wooden building.

Seeing the wooden building, Zhou Jiayu’s sense of familiarity intensified. He was now completely certain that he had indeed been there before.

“Zhou Jiayu,” Lin Zhushui said. “Welcome back.” As he spoke, he carried Zhou Jiayu into the small building.

In the living room of the small building sat five men and one woman. On the sofa to the right, a white-furred weasel was perched. Seeing him and Lin Zhushui enter, they all looked at them with excited eyes. The woman’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and she rushed directly to Zhou Jiayu, calling out, “Zhou Jiayu—”

Zhou Jiayu was startled and softly said, “Hello.”

“You’re finally back.” The woman seemed to notice his abnormality. “What’s wrong?”

Lin Zhushui said, “He doesn’t remember.”

The woman said, “Doesn’t remember?” Her eyes full of suspicion, she looked Zhou Jiayu up and down. “Jiayu, you’re not afraid of Sir blaming you for feigning amnesia, are you?”

Zhou Jiayu thought, What did I do? Why would I be afraid of him blaming me? Did I act like a jerk before my accident? With such doubts, Zhou Jiayu spoke, “I’m sorry, I really don’t remember…”

“Oh, I’m Lin Jue,” the woman introduced herself, then turned to look at the people behind her. “And them, do you remember them?”

Zhou Jiayu followed Lin Jue’s gaze and saw five men. These five men each had their own distinct styles, but one of them was the most striking—because his skin was too dark.

Under their intense gazes, Zhou Jiayu secretly wiped a bead of sweat, but feigned composure: “I think I know one…” He pointed to the darkest one. “Is your name something like ‘Hei’ (Black)?”

The darkest and youngest one, upon hearing this, twisted his expression and gritted his teeth, saying, “Zhou Jiayu, what the hell are you talking about?”

Zhou Jiayu looked at his expression and even suspected that if Lin Zhushui wasn’t still holding him, he would rush over and give him a good beating.

“Oh,” Zhou Jiayu chuckled awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I really don’t remember.”

Lin Jue laughed heartily, tears almost streaming down her face: “I’m going to die laughing, Jiayu, how can you be so cute—” Even though he didn’t remember anything, he still managed to tease Shen Yiqiong about his skin color.

Then Lin Jue introduced everyone to Zhou Jiayu, saying, “This is Shen Yiqiong, Shen Erbai, Shen Chaosan, Shen Musi, and this is Little Gold…”

Zhou Jiayu noted them one by one, and happily asked, “Are we all friends?”

Shen Yiqiong mercilessly said, “No, you and we are not friends.”

Zhou Jiayu: “Huh?”

Shen Yiqiong said, “You are our ‘Shiniang’ (師娘 – literally ‘master’s wife’ or ‘madam’).”

Zhou Jiayu: “Uh…” Hearing Shen Yiqiong’s words, he inexplicably concocted a melodramatic plot in his mind: something about wanting to be with the man behind him, but his family disagreed, so he angrily tried to leave him, only to suffer a car accident at the last moment and lose his memory, and so on.

My life seems quite exciting, Zhou Jiayu thought, rather amused.

“So, Jiayu, do you remember what happened between you and my brother?” Lin Jue asked.

Zhou Jiayu shook his head, honestly saying he didn’t remember.

“Oh,” Lin Jue said. “You don’t remember?” She had a half-smile, and her gaze sent a chill down Zhou Jiayu’s spine, making him instinctively shrink back.

“That’s good too…” Lin Jue finally said. “Let everything start anew.”

Zhou Jiayu felt himself being embraced from behind by the man named Lin Zhushui. He leaned against Zhou Jiayu’s side, murmuring, “You’re finally back.”

Zhou Jiayu was bewildered, but vaguely sensed something, and gently grasped Lin Zhushui’s hand.

---

After that, Zhou Jiayu was asked to stay there. He was initially worried that his friends would search for him everywhere, but to his surprise, Lin Zhushui invited them all over the very next day.

“Zhou Jiayu and I have been in a relationship for three years,” Lin Zhushui introduced him to his friends. There was a hint of melancholy in his expression, which, coupled with his face, was truly heartbreaking, as if Zhou Jiayu were genuinely a scumbag who had abandoned his wife and child. “But he was unwilling to make our relationship public. Then he suddenly disappeared, and I’ve been searching for him ever since. I never expected it would take this long to find him.”

Zhou Jiayu, being well-fed and cared for, could only awkwardly explain to his friends’ suspicious gazes that he genuinely didn’t remember.

“So, what do you want to do? Do you want to stay here?” the pregnant woman asked Zhou Jiayu.

Zhou Jiayu glanced at Lin Zhushui. Facing his faint, smiling expression, he hesitated for a moment and then nodded: “Yes… I feel like I’m quite familiar with this place.”

“Who would’ve thought, who would’ve thought,” his friends exclaimed. “Zhou Jiayu, you always pretended to be a single dog, but you were already in a relationship so early! That’s too much, really too much.”

Zhou Jiayu smiled foolishly, feeling embarrassed, as he felt the warmth of Lin Zhushui holding his hand.

So, the matter was settled: Zhou Jiayu decided to live there. His friends only left after confirming that Lin Zhushui had indeed prepared everything for Zhou Jiayu, and they promised to visit Zhou Jiayu every few days, subtly implying that Lin Zhushui should treat Zhou Jiayu well.

Lin Zhushui smiled and expressed his acceptance of his friends’ supervision.

That day, Zhou Jiayu settled in. The weasel in the house and the paper doll both loved him very much, so he stroked the weasel with his left hand and the paper doll with his right, enjoying a blissful life.

All the food prepared there was his favorite, which made Zhou Jiayu about 70-80% convinced that he had indeed lived there before.

The only drawback was the rehabilitation that came with it.

After finding Zhou Jiayu and understanding his condition, Lin Zhushui immediately found him the best rehabilitation therapist and arranged a strict rehabilitation plan. How to eat, how to move, how much exercise to do daily, what exercises were needed – the rehabilitation plan perfectly matched Zhou Jiayu’s specific situation, aiming to restore his health as soon as possible.

But it was no easy task to restore atrophied muscles. When Zhou Jiayu struggled to walk using parallel bars, cold sweat drenched one shirt after another due to the pain. He was fine, but Lin Zhushui got agitated first.

“Isn’t there a better solution?” Lin Zhushui argued with someone. “The one with the least pain.”

The person on the other end said something.

Lin Zhushui replied coldly, “I don’t need it fast; I just need it to be the least painful.”

Zhou Jiayu pushed open the door and saw Lin Zhushui and the helpless rehabilitation therapist beside him.

“Sir, I’m fine,” Zhou Jiayu said, having started calling Lin Zhushui “Sir” after settling in. Though it was awkward at first, it became natural with use. “I want to recover quickly, I’m really fine.”

Lin Zhushui walked to his side, crouched down, his expression gloomy: “I don’t want to see you in pain anymore.”

Zhou Jiayu didn’t understand why he reacted so strongly to the word “pain.” He could only comfort him, saying that it didn’t actually hurt that much, and he wanted to get better soon; long pain was worse than short pain, so the sooner he recovered, the sooner it would end.

Lin Zhushui said, “What do you mean ‘long pain is worse than short pain’? Didn’t you just say you weren’t in pain?”

Zhou Jiayu: “…” Sir, please don’t be so unreasonably calm. He felt a little helpless, but Lin Zhushui ultimately respected his opinion and told Zhou Jiayu that if he couldn’t bear it, he must say so, and he would choose a gentler plan for Zhou Jiayu.

So the rehabilitation continued. Zhou Jiayu gritted his teeth and persevered every day, his clothes getting soaked repeatedly.

After sweating so much during the day, he naturally needed a good bath at night.

Before, these tasks were handled by a nursing aide, but now Lin Zhushui was helping.

Amidst the steam, both sat in the bathtub. Zhou Jiayu was held in Lin Zhushui’s arms, who gently washed the shampoo from his hair from behind.

Zhou Jiayu was too thin. After lying in bed for several years, his muscles had almost completely atrophied. Holding him felt like embracing a collection of bones. Lin Zhushui gently massaged Zhou Jiayu’s head, occasionally asking about the pressure.

At first, Zhou Jiayu felt embarrassed when Lin Zhushui bathed him like this, but after a few times, he became numb to it. Now, lying in Lin Zhushui’s arms, he hummed contentedly, on the verge of falling asleep. Lin Zhushui softly called his name, “Jiayu,” from behind.

“Mmm… it’s good,” Zhou Jiayu mumbled sleepily.

“Mm,” Lin Zhushui’s voice was a little deep, with a hint of something usually absent. He rested his chin on Zhou Jiayu’s shoulder, their heads close: “I’ve missed you so much, especially so much.”

Zhou Jiayu’s sleepiness instantly vanished. He whispered, “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to sleep for so long.”

“No,” Lin Zhushui said. “I’m the one who should apologize.”

His hands kneaded Zhou Jiayu’s joints, giving him a massage: “I couldn’t protect you.”

Zhou Jiayu felt a bit sore from the massage and quietly hummed, gritting his teeth. After humming for a while, he noticed the atmosphere seemed off; Lin Zhushui’s breathing behind him suddenly became heavier, and he stopped speaking.

Their bodies were already pressed together, so physical changes were naturally very obvious. Zhou Jiayu clearly felt a hot, hard object pressed against him. His body immediately stiffened, unsure how to react.

“Do you dislike it?” Lin Zhushui whispered from behind him.

“No… I don’t dislike it…” Although Lin Zhushui said they had been in love for several years, when faced with this situation, Zhou Jiayu still felt as awkward as if it were the first time. He certainly didn’t dislike Lin Zhushui’s touch, and even felt his heart pound and his face blush when pressed against Lin Zhushui. Zhou Jiayu’s answer seemed to make the person behind him sigh in relief.

Lin Zhushui slowly kissed Zhou Jiayu’s earlobe: “If you said you disliked it, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Zhou Jiayu heard the tone in Lin Zhushui’s voice and felt a strange pang of heartache. He held Lin Zhushui’s hand, bravely gathering his courage: “I don’t dislike it. If you want to… I can…”

“I want to very much,” Lin Zhushui’s tone was very serious. “When I found you, I wanted to hold you so badly.”

Zhou Jiayu didn’t expect him to be so direct, and his heart immediately pounded like a drum.

“But not now, your body is too weak.” Lin Zhushui’s fingers slowly glided along Zhou Jiayu’s spine, stopping at the scar from the car accident. His fingers gently caressed it, and his voice held a hint of heartache, “Does it hurt?”

“Mmm…” Zhou Jiayu nodded. “But it’s much better now, not as painful.” He paused, then whispered, “If you don’t mind, I can… help you with my hand…”

Lin Zhushui chuckled softly upon hearing Zhou Jiayu’s words. He kissed Zhou Jiayu’s shoulder and said, “Alright.”

---

The next day, neither Zhou Jiayu nor Lin Zhushui appeared for breakfast. They finally emerged at noon.

It was summer, and although Lin Zhushui was very careful, some marks were still left. However, everyone saw them but pretended not to, fearing Zhou Jiayu’s shyness, and only discussed it after the two went for rehabilitation in the afternoon.

“Zhushui’s finally sped things up,” Lin Jue said, sipping her afternoon tea, sighing with emotion. “I thought this would take at least another year.”

“Yeah,” Shen Yiqiong agreed. “Sir’s definitely different after being in a relationship once, much more skilled.”

Lin Jue: “So when are you going to get into a relationship?”

Shen Yiqiong dropped his cup and turned to leave, leaving Lin Jue laughing heartily behind him.

Although Lin Zhushui had finally found his ‘little foolish fish’ again, and their relationship progressed rapidly into a shameless, carefree life, Zhou Jiayu’s “death” still had some after-effects.

For example, during the Spring Festival, Xu Ruwang came to visit Zhou Jiayu’s grave and stopped by the Lin family’s house to see the others. As soon as he entered, he saw Lin Zhushui embracing an unfamiliar young man, both nestled intimately on the sofa. The young man had a delicate face, seemed to have been seriously ill, and a wheelchair was placed beside him.

In terms of seniority, Xu Ruwang’s master, Xu Jian, was of the same generation as Lin Zhushui, making Lin Zhushui somewhat of an elder to Xu Ruwang. But when he saw this scene, Xu Ruwang couldn’t suppress his anger—it had only been a year since Zhou Jiayu passed away, and Lin Zhushui had already found a new person to replace him?

And this anger completely erupted when he learned that the young man’s name was also Zhou Jiayu.

Xu Ruwang furiously shouted, “Lin Zhushui, you’re absolutely despicable!”

Lin Zhushui raised an eyebrow and gave Xu Ruwang a cold look.

Zhou Jiayu, on the other hand, was startled. He had been a little afraid of this bald man with a gold chain the moment he walked in. The man was tall and muscular, with a shaved head and a gold chain as thick as a baby’s arm, sitting there like a gangster.

Shen Yiqiong was also shocked: “Xu Ruwang, are you crazy? What are you saying?”

Xu Ruwang said, “Am I wrong? How long has Zhou Jiayu been dead, and Lin Zhushui has already found a new lover?” He gritted his teeth, clearly feeling that Zhou Jiayu had been done a disservice.

Shen Yiqiong said, “Holy crap, that is Zhou Jiayu—come outside, I’ll explain everything to you in detail.”

Xu Ruwang clearly didn’t think Shen Yiqiong could explain anything worthwhile. He glared fiercely at Lin Zhushui before turning and leaving.

Zhou Jiayu was also glared at by Xu Ruwang. He asked, “Sir, what did that person mean?”

Lin Zhushui said expressionlessly, “Nothing, he has a problem with his brain.”

Zhou Jiayu: “…”

Twenty minutes later, Xu Ruwang re-entered the house from outside, looking a bit deflated. He seemed to have prepared himself mentally. He looked up at Zhou Jiayu: “Zhou Jiayu, do you still remember me?”

Before Zhou Jiayu could speak, Shen Yiqiong mumbled from the side: “How could he remember? If he remembered you and forgot Sir, he’d probably be torn to shreds on the spot…”

Zhou Jiayu indeed timidly asked, “Did I… owe you money?”

Xu Ruwang: “…”

Shen Yiqiong stifled a laugh.

Xu Ruwang said, “…Quite a lot.”

Zhou Jiayu looked at Lin Zhushui. Lin Zhushui scoffed, “Xu Ruwang, I think you’re looking for trouble again?”

Xu Ruwang scratched his bald head and chuckled awkwardly, then apologized to Lin Zhushui, saying he shouldn’t have called Lin Zhushui by his name earlier, but he was afraid Zhou Jiayu was being bullied, which caused his strong reaction.

Lin Zhushui’s expression remained quite cold, and after a long while, he responded indifferently. However, the fact that he didn’t directly kick Xu Ruwang out was already a significant show of respect.

Zhou Jiayu was still a little afraid of Xu Ruwang, shrinking in Lin Zhushui’s arms, not daring to move. This man was too much like a gangster, making him seem particularly intimidating.

Xu Ruwang was a bit helpless. After chatting with Zhou Jiayu for a few minutes, he got up to leave, saying he would visit again later.

Shen Yiqiong: “So how much later are you planning to visit?”

Xu Ruwang said, “Either my hair grows back, or Zhou Jiayu remembers me…”

Shen Yiqiong burst out laughing.

Xu Ruwang left with a heavy heart, wondering if he would seriously discuss the issue of hairstyles with Xu Jian after returning home.

---

After staying there for a few months, Zhou Jiayu’s memory showed signs of recovery. He first remembered the names of his friends, then recalled that he was a civil servant. These memories returned intermittently and inconsistently; they were the result of Zhou Jiayu’s conscious effort to recall.

However, in Zhou Jiayu’s memories, there was still nothing about Lin Zhushui. Although he felt a sense of familiarity, it was as if this person had been forcibly erased from his mind.

Zhou Jiayu felt somewhat melancholic at this thought and asked Lin Zhushui if he would abandon him if he never remembered.

Lin Zhushui, however, was quite unconcerned. He stroked Zhou Jiayu’s head and comforted him: “If you can’t remember, then don’t. It’s perfectly fine now.”

Zhou Jiayu, however, felt guilty. He looked at Lin Zhushui’s white hair, thinking that he must have worked incredibly hard to find him, but he just couldn’t remember, no matter how hard he tried, it was still a blank.

Lin Zhushui looked at Zhou Jiayu’s expression, fearing he would worry too much, and after that, never mentioned these things in front of Zhou Jiayu again.

During his time living in the Lin family home, Zhou Jiayu was actually quite happy. However, as time went on, his original materialistic worldview began to be overturned. The most significant shift was probably caused by Little Paper, who bounced around calling him “Papa” and loved pulling his hair. Then Zhou Jiayu also discovered that he seemed to be able to see other things.

For instance, one day they went out for a late-night snack, and Zhou Jiayu saw a series of white shadows drifting outside the house. At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. After rubbing them hard a few times, he actually saw the white figures become even more distinct.

“Did you guys see anything?” Zhou Jiayu asked, startled and pale.

“Just some dirty things,” Lin Zhushui said, sitting beside Zhou Jiayu, his tone completely unchanged. “Here, eat some shrimp.”

Zhou Jiayu opened his mouth, allowing Lin Zhushui to feed him the peeled shrimp.

Everyone else looked completely accustomed to it, which made Zhou Jiayu inexplicably wonder if he was overreacting.

“Relax, relax,” Shen Yiqiong said. “Every time you ate late-night snacks before, something bad would happen. I knew we definitely had to bring Sir along…”

Zhou Jiayu: “…” He had such a strange trait?

Everyone drank beer, and the atmosphere grew lively. Shen Yiqiong was the most talkative, recounting many stories about Zhou Jiayu’s past. Some things felt very familiar to Zhou Jiayu, while others he had no recollection of at all—for example, Zhou Jiayu was skeptical when Shen Yiqiong mentioned lending him two thousand yuan.

“But it’s good that you’re back,” Shen Yiqiong drained his beer and sighed heavily. “Thank goodness Sir found you, otherwise we wouldn’t know… what to do.”

Zhou Jiayu detected the bitterness in his words and vaguely guessed that a lot must have happened during the time he was missing, and Lin Zhushui’s white hair was proof of these events.

After a few rounds of drinks, everyone was a bit tipsy. Lin Zhushui had also drunk quite a bit, while Zhou Jiayu, due to his physical condition, had barely touched any alcohol.

Lin Jue stood up and said she was going to sing by the roadside to celebrate, and no one tried to stop her. Shen Yiqiong was even suggesting songs.

Little Gold looked helpless and went out with Lin Jue, probably fearing she might run into danger in the middle of the road.

Zhou Jiayu smiled from the side, finding this scene unusually familiar. He turned his head to look at Lin Zhushui, and a flash of memory suddenly pierced his mind.

“What?” Lin Zhushui suddenly turned his head.

Zhou Jiayu then realized with a start that he had just spoken his thoughts aloud. However, facing Lin Zhushui’s tender, drunken black eyes, he could only repeat himself. He said, “Sir… your eyes, can you see now?”

Lin Zhushui’s movements froze: “You remembered?”

“Mm,” Zhou Jiayu smiled, leaning in to kiss Lin Zhushui’s eyelashes. “I remembered.”

Everything about Lin Zhushui, their past separation, and their current reunion, all resurfaced in his mind.

---