As soon as Huo Youqing opened his eyes, he was punched in the face.
The blow knocked him to the ground, and before he could recover, someone grabbed him by the collar.
“Huo Youqing!” The person, gritting their teeth and yelling his name, looked like a great white shark, with a murderous glare that seemed to want to tear him apart. “I’ve warned you many times—don’t touch Little Yuan! Don’t you understand human language?”
Huo Youqing, struggling to breathe due to being lifted by his collar, opened his eyes and realized the person hitting him was his childhood friend.
But it wasn’t the friend he remembered—it was a more mature version, several years older overnight.
“Gong Lang,” Huo Youqing muttered the name, and his friend hesitated for a moment. But then, instead of holding his collar, Gong Lang grabbed his neck, squeezing tighter, his eyes filled with even more murderous intent.
“I should just kill you. That way, you’ll never be able to hurt Little Yuan again.”
The lack of oxygen made Huo Youqing dizzy, and after a brief struggle with his pale hands, he went limp. Just when he thought he might die at the hands of his childhood friend, someone else entered the room and pulled Gong Lang away.
Through tear-blurred eyes, Huo Youqing blinked repeatedly until he recognized the newcomer—his college roommate, Qiu Wenfei.
His childhood friend and his college roommate were standing together.
Qiu Wenfei didn’t even glance at Huo Youqing. Instead, he spoke to Gong Lang, “Little Yuan has woken up, but he’s still scared. He asked me to keep an eye on you so you don’t do something reckless. There’s no need to ruin your future by killing him.”
It wasn’t Huo Youqing’s imagination—there was a clear expression of disgust on Qiu Wenfei’s face whenever he mentioned him.
Now somewhat recovered, Huo Youqing got to his feet, glancing at the two people who were much older than he remembered. Then he turned to look around.
He was in a hospital room, still wearing a blue-and-white striped patient gown.
He touched his still-aching neck and made his way to the bathroom.
His movements caught the attention of the other two, and Gong Lang seemed about to say something, but Qiu Wenfei stopped him with a look of guarded disdain. “Leave him be. Let’s go check on Little Yuan. This won’t end easily. Huo Youqing will definitely pay for hurting Little Yuan.”
Huo Youqing didn’t go to the bathroom to use it—he went to verify something. Standing in front of the mirror, he realized that his face wasn’t the one he remembered. While the features were still his, he was older, much thinner, and the patient gown hung loosely on his body like a sack.
His hand lingered on his neck, which bore the marks of being strangled, contrasting starkly against his snow-white skin. His cheeks were still flushed from lack of oxygen, and his almond-shaped eyes were still filled with moisture.
Seeing the blood on the corner of his lips, Huo Youqing realized it had come from Gong Lang’s punch. He wiped away the blood with his finger and remembered a comic book he had read recently.
While waiting for Gong Lang at the library last week, he had casually picked up a comic book.
The story was about a man who lost five years of his memory after a car accident, leading to a series of comedic misunderstandings.
Did he lose his memory too? He only had memories up until he was 18.
Huo Youqing was at a loss. He clearly remembered texting Gong Lang before going to sleep the night before. Gong Lang had invited him to hang out over the weekend, but he didn’t want to go. Gong Lang had pestered him until he reluctantly agreed.
Then, when he woke up, he was punched by Gong Lang.
Huo Youqing heard movement outside the bathroom and stepped out to find that Gong Lang and Qiu Wenfei were gone. In their place was his cousin.
His cousin looked different from his memories—now resembling a regular middle-aged man.
Carrying a bag of fruit, his cousin sighed when he saw Huo Youqing, closed the hospital room door, and began speaking in a torrent of words.
“Youyou, what can I say to you? Why did you provoke them again? You finally have the chance to live peacefully back in the country. Can’t you just forget about those people? I know you’re angry, but after all these years, you should’ve seen it clearly—those people…” His cousin snorted angrily. “They’re heartless. Sooner or later, they’ll end up in h*ll.”
Huo Youqing didn’t understand why his cousin, an atheist, was suddenly cursing people to h*ll. He felt an inappropriate urge to laugh but knew this wasn’t the right time.
He still had many things he didn’t understand.
So, he spoke up softly, “Cousin, I think I might have lost my memory.”
The cousin’s grumbling came to an abrupt halt.
At that moment, the warm spring breeze drifted in through the open window, flowing into the loose hospital gown. Huo Youqing let his hand, which had been resting on his neck, fall and slowly blinked.
***
That afternoon, with his cousin’s help, Huo Youqing managed to figure out a few things.
He was now 27 years old, not 18, and he had lost nine years of memory.
He had dropped out of his first year of college and transferred abroad to finish his studies. When he returned, he found that the people who used to revolve around him were now revolving around someone else. Apparently, a lot had happened during that time, though his cousin wasn’t sure of the details. In any case, he hadn’t stayed in the country for long before going abroad again.
The second time he left the country, it was because he was forced to.
Because he had nearly killed someone in an accident.
The incident caused quite a stir. His cousin had tried to protect him but failed. It was said that he had even knelt down to apologize, and photos of the apology had circulated on social media.
Today marked three months since his return to the country.
“Losing your memory might be a good thing. Forget the past and start over,” his cousin said, though his eyes were full of worry. He was afraid his younger cousin would once again do something reckless, and he held Huo Youqing’s hand tightly. “Youyou, if not for yourself, at least think of Aunt and Uncle.”
Huo Youqing’s parents had passed away when he was very young. Thanks to a large inheritance and the care of his aunt and uncle, his life hadn’t been bad. In fact, one could even say he was like a little prince in the eyes of others.
But no one had expected that, once the little prince grew up, everyone would come to hate him.
Huo Youqing smiled reassuringly at his cousin, then unlocked his phone with his fingerprint. There wasn’t much on it—his older self didn’t seem to enjoy playing games or socializing. He didn’t even post on social media.
There were, however, some texts. Messages from Gong Lang and the others, all threatening him, telling him not to hurt Dai Yuan again, or else there would be consequences.
Dai Yuan was the person his cousin had mentioned—the one he had almost run over. Dai Yuan was also the person he had knelt down to apologize to and, more recently, had kidnapped.
Huo Youqing searched his mind for any recollection of the name “Dai Yuan” but came up with nothing.
His cousin stayed with him that afternoon, but when it was time to leave, he gave Huo Youqing a parting reminder: “If anything happens, call me. And… don’t do anything impulsive.”
Huo Youqing nodded. After his cousin left, he laid on the hospital bed, staring at the trees outside the window.
A doctor had come to check on his wounds. His lip was split, but thankfully, his throat was fine. This was the first time he had seen such hatred in the eyes of Gong Lang and the others. It surprised him and saddened him.
But with only the memories of his 18-year-old self, Huo Youqing thought that if he really had done the things his cousin had mentioned, then they had every right to hate him.
Still, it didn’t quite feel real.
Suddenly losing nine years of memory—anyone would have trouble accepting that so quickly.
Huo Youqing got up to wash his face, but just as he moved, the door to the hospital room swung open. Even though this was a hospital, it seemed like no one cared who came and went.
He watched as Gong Lang stormed in, his face full of anger, and kicked the bed hard.
“D*mn your ancestors!”
Gong Lang had kicked with such force that the bed shifted. Huo Youqing, who had been about to stand, lost his balance and fell backward.
His head hit the bedframe.
Then, everything went black.
***
“Youyou…”
“Youyou…”
“YOUYOU!” The voice grew louder.
Huo Youqing’s eyelashes fluttered, and he opened his eyes. In his line of sight was a handsome face—it was the younger Gong Lang.
Gong Lang bent down, gently stroked his face with his fingers, and said softly, “Why are you sleeping here? You’ll catch a cold.”
As he spoke, his gaze greedily lingered on Huo Youqing’s face. Just woken from sleep, Huo Youqing’s almond-shaped eyes seemed misty, like a pure fawn in the forest. From his forehead to the back of his neck, his skin was snow-white and soft. Gong Lang barely touched him, and already his skin flushed a delicate red.
Gong Lang’s smile deepened, and he was about to say more when Huo Youqing suddenly sat up, swatting his hand away. “Don’t touch me.”
Gong Lang’s smile froze, and he frowned. “Youyou?”
Huo Youqing didn’t respond. He looked around and realized that he was in a private room at an internet cafe. His second sentence was, “I want to go home.”
“I’ll take you ho—” Gong Lang began, but Huo Youqing interrupted with a third sentence.
“I’ll go home by myself. Don’t follow me.”
