Huo Youqing’s cousin had to go back to work, so he couldn’t stay with him for too long.
In the single-patient hospital room, Huo Youqing stared blankly at his phone.
It didn’t seem like a dream.
He had returned to nine years later again.
His cousin said that Gong Lang had burst into the hospital and attacked him, causing his head to hit the bed frame and leaving him unconscious for a whole day. Although his cousin was furious, Gong Lang and those people were now incredibly powerful and influential, making them nearly impossible to confront.
“Those people?” Huo Youqing picked up on a key word. “Besides Gong Lang and Qiu Wenfei, who else?”
His cousin forced a smile. “Youyou, let’s not think about that now.”
It seemed like his cousin was afraid that hearing the names of these people would upset him.
Huo Youqing wanted to ask more, but seeing his cousin’s expression, he decided against it. He didn’t want to make things difficult for him.
Not long after his cousin left, a nurse came in to inform Huo Youqing that he needed to go to another building for an examination. While waiting for the elevator, Huo Youqing spotted someone familiar.
It was Gong Lang, carefully supporting someone wearing hospital clothes. The person had their head lowered, so Huo Youqing couldn’t see their face, but they were tall and slim. He guessed that the person might be Dai Yuan.
“Ding—”
The elevator arrived.
Huo Youqing withdrew his gaze and stepped inside.
A few days passed, and his cousin came to take him home from the hospital.
In the car, his cousin chatted away, talking about how he had bought plenty of groceries and planned to cook for him. He also mentioned that Huo Youqing’s body hadn’t fully recovered yet, and he wanted him to move in with him for a while.
As Huo Youqing looked out the window, he suddenly asked, “What about uncle and aunt?”
During the days he had been in the hospital, neither his uncle nor his aunt had come to see him. In fact, no one else had visited besides his cousin.
His cousin paused for a moment. “They passed away a few years ago.”
For a while, Huo Youqing didn’t know what to say and just sat there quietly.
“Everyone has to face birth, aging, illness, and death. They didn’t suffer when they passed,” his cousin said, trying to comfort him. “I live alone now too. If you move in, the two of us brothers can be together, and it’ll be good.”
Huo Youqing didn’t refuse.
Over the past few days, he had been wondering if he would wake up one day and find himself back in his 18-year-old body again, but it hadn’t happened. If he really had to live in this future nine years later, he needed to start over, and that meant cutting ties with people like Gong Lang and Qiu Wenfei.
He didn’t know Dai Yuan, and he had no interest in hurting him either.
For now, the priority was to find a job.
His cousin had mentioned that since returning to the country, Huo Youqing hadn’t found a job yet. While he had some savings and his cousin was willing to support him, Huo Youqing felt that, at 27, it was time for him to figure out how to support himself.
Besides, finding work would help keep him from getting bored.
Huo Youqing still lived in his old apartment. On the day of his discharge, he packed up a few belongings and moved in with his cousin. After their parents passed away, it seemed that his cousin had also fallen on hard times. The spacious 500-square-meter apartment in the city center had been replaced with a three-bedroom unit a few metro stops from downtown.
***
Sitting on the carpet, Huo Youqing reviewed his resume.
It showed that he had studied business overseas.
Hmm?
Why would he have studied business?
He thought about it for a while, but couldn’t remember anything. He didn’t have any knowledge of business, so there was no way he could use this resume to find a job.
He spent the afternoon revising his resume and sending it out.
A few days later, he received a call for an interview.
Since his English was good and he also knew some Spanish, he had applied for translation jobs, and one had turned out to be a good fit.
It was a short-term job.
The employer was a foreign photographer who would be working in the country for six months and needed an assistant who could provide simultaneous translation. The pay and benefits were decent.
During the interview, Huo Youqing didn’t meet the employer himself but spoke with his manager.
The manager seemed satisfied with Huo Youqing, and they signed a contract that same day. As he was leaving, the manager suddenly asked, “Sorry to ask a personal question, Mr. Huo, but are you gay?”
After thinking for a moment, Huo Youqing replied, “Maybe.”
The manager was a bit surprised by this vague answer. “Mr. Hyde, your employer, is gay. I just wanted to let you know upfront so you wouldn’t worry—he never makes advances on the people he works with.” At the end, the manager gave a playful wink. “Honestly, if you weren’t so good-looking, I wouldn’t even be mentioning this.”
Since he had known that the employer was from country Y, it didn’t surprise him that the man was gay.
However, when he finally met the employer in person, Huo Youqing discovered that the man was actually of Chinese descent.
When his cousin found out that he had accepted the job, he was quite worried. “What if it’s a scam? Youyou, how could you sign a contract so quickly? You should’ve talked to me first. You’ve got no experience in this field at all. How could they trust you with a translation job?”
Huo Youqing peeled an orange and stuffed a segment into his cousin’s mouth. “Relax, the contract’s already signed. Besides… I don’t really have anything worth scamming, do I? Even if I’ve lost my memory, I can still judge character. The guy who signed with me was wearing pretty expensive clothes.”
“Huh?” His cousin looked puzzled.
On his first day at work, Huo Youqing met his employer—a typical successful man, but with long hair, probably because of his artistic background. He wasn’t effeminate, though. He had a handsome face, with a bit of facial hair.
He looked to be in his thirties, with a few fine lines around his eyes.
When they first met, the employer was rather cold towards Huo Youqing. After a full day’s work, Huo Youqing realized his job was mainly just to watch the employer take photographs.
From 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., Huo Youqing couldn’t help but yawn. Recently, he’d been staying with his cousin, going to bed early, waking up early, and even taking afternoon naps, so at this time of night, he naturally felt drowsy.
“Tired?” A mature man’s voice suddenly sounded.
Huo Youqing turned his head and saw that the person speaking was his employer, Mr. Hyde.
Mr. Hyde handed him a cup of coffee and, speaking in English, asked, “How do you feel after watching the whole day?”
“Uh, not bad.” Huo Youqing, an outsider to the field, was afraid of saying too much and making mistakes.
The employer raised an eyebrow, seemingly dissatisfied with that vague answer, and quickly moved on to other matters, leaving Huo Youqing standing there. He took a sip of coffee and then slowly exhaled.
So tired, I just want to sleep.
***
After working for a full week, the 18-year-old mind of Huo Youqing was beginning to feel the pain of adult work life. If the first day was boring, the following days were incredibly hectic. His employer had so many job requests that almost every three hours, they had to meet with someone new.
Although his employer rarely spoke directly to him, he was very thorough when discussing business with partners, so Huo Youqing had to constantly translate on the spot. After several days, his throat felt dry, and he couldn’t help but lick his lips.
“Stop licking them, or you’ll peel them off.” The employer suddenly interrupted his work to say.
Although Huo Youqing appeared to be working, he was actually daydreaming. It was already 10 p.m., his usual bedtime, and he absentmindedly repeated his employer’s words to the business partner.
The business partner froze, instinctively touching his own lips. “I… I didn’t…”
“Sorry, I mistranslated.” Huo Youqing snapped back to reality. He glanced at his employer, who was staring directly at him, and forced a smile. “Thanks for your concern, Mr. Hyde.”
The employer turned away and resumed the discussion.
The workday finally ended, and Huo Youqing headed to the restroom, washed his face with cold water, and then prepared to leave the building.
To his surprise, he encountered his employer downstairs. Mr. Hyde stood next to his sports car and asked, “Do you need a ride?”
Huo Youqing’s eyes lingered on the limited-edition sports car, and he couldn’t help but feel tempted.
What man doesn’t love a good car?
“Sure,” he agreed without hesitation and climbed into the car.
After giving his cousin’s address, he sat obediently in the passenger seat when he suddenly heard a soft chuckle from beside him.
“Come on, it’s just the two of us here. Do you really have to keep up the act?”
Hmm?
Confused, Huo Youqing looked over at his employer. Mr. Hyde was focused on the road ahead, his brow bone higher than average, giving his deep-set eyes a mysterious glow under the streetlights.
“I didn’t expect you to dare send in your résumé,” Mr. Hyde glanced at him, then added two words, “Dai Yuan…”
Sleepiness hit Huo Youqing hard, and he passed out before he could ask anything more. When he woke up again, he found himself back in his university dorm.
Gong Lang was lying on his bed, having been there who knows how long, propping his head up and watching him. “Slept like a little pig, didn’t you? Ready to get up for breakfast? I got up early to grab food from Xinda Hotel.”
With that, he sneered a little, his smile filled with contempt. “That shameless Qiu Wenfei from your dorm… even with me here, he still tried to bring you breakfast. You think his food is edible? What if it upsets our Youyou’s stomach?”
Staring at the face so close to him, Huo Youqing asked a question, “Who is Dai Yuan?”
