Yuan tossed around in bed, covered in sweat with his eyes squeezed shut and his hands clenched. He had been having the same nightmares for hours now. He could see himself in a car with Xiangu, and then all of a sudden, a truck came out of nowhere and smashed into his car, but for some reason, Xiangu wasn't in the car with him when the car tumbled off the road.
Everything went dark; suddenly, he was standing in the middle of the road, holding an umbrella on a rainy night. The man in the middle of the road wasn't Yuan; it was a man he had never seen before, but for some reason, he felt like he was inside the person standing in the middle of the road. Just like his former dream, a truck sped down the road and knocked down the man, but this was different; he had wanted to die.
Yuan woke up startled, he was gasping for air, and his shirt was wet and stuck to his back like glue. He tossed the blanket off and reached out to feel his legs in the darkness. He sighed in relief when he felt his leg.
He got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. He gripped the sink as he stared into the mirror; something wasn't right. Why was Xiangu suddenly not in the car when the accident happened? He thought as he stared deeper into his reflection.
"Who am I?" He whispered to himself. He could feel a headache coming on; he groaned in pain as he threw open the cabinet and pulled out his pills. He popped two tablets into his mouth, turned on the faucet, and splashed some water on his face.
Listening to the water dripping into the sink and the gurgling sound it made as it drained out, he looked up at his reflection and was stunned to find a younger pair of eyes staring back at him; he gasped in shock as he staggered backward towards the door.
"What... the...the...fu..." He stuttered; his eyes never left the mirror. The face in the mirror remained still; it was Jian but Yuan didn't know that. He still doesn't know that he is two men in one body.
At least he doesn't know that yet.
Suddenly, his phone rang out, and he collapsed on the door. His heart almost jumped out of his chest, but he quickly realized that it was his phone, so he calmed down and looked back into the mirror, but the reflection was gone, Yuan's handsome face stared right back at him.
He slipped off his wet shirt to reveal a well-structured body. He admired his abs, his muscled arms, and his broad chest. The phone rang again, and he rushed back out; he switched on the lights and picked up the phone, wondering who would call him at such an ungodly hour.
Yuan placed the phone to his ear as he waited for whoever was on the other end to speak first.
"Boss!" A male's voice rang out from the other end. "Boss, are you okay?" The caller added quickly.
"Uhmmm... I am fine, I guess. Who is this?" Yuan said.
"It's me, the detective you hired before the accident. You told me you felt something wasn't right and asked me to help look into things."
"I hired a detective?" Yuan sounded confused. "I think you should talk to Xiangu about this; he is in charge of my affairs and would know how to handle this."
"No! You cannot tell Xiangu about me, you are not to do that under any circumstances." The caller said, sounding very serious. Too serious and it made Yuan suspicious.
"What are you talking about?" Yuan hissed, irritated at how the caller sounded.
"F***! I heard you lost your memories." Yuan looked on wide-eyed.
"How... How do you know that?"
"I told you, you hired me before the accident." Yuan struggled to remember if the voice of the caller sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember anything related to what the man on the other end was saying. Infact, he felt like this is the first time he would ever hear that voice.
"The accident?"
"Yes boss. I have been looking into it while you were unconscious, and I think it wasn't just an accident; someone tried to kill you and I think it's Xiangu."
"Xiangu?" He didn't want to believe it, but then, he remembered his dream. Xiangu had mysteriously disappeared from the car just before the crash. That might not be a dream; what if it's a memory and his brain was trying to alert him of the danger, he thought.
"I... Xiangu is my most trusted assistant, the doctor said I should..."
"Boss, we have to meet. I would text you the address, meet me there tonight and alone." The caller said, cutting Yuan off rudely.
Before Yuan could reply, the man on the other end hung up.
Yuan stood in the middle of his room, staring at nothing in particular, still holding on to his phone. His phone made a beeping sound as the screen lit up with a message.
What am I supposed to do now? He thought. He fought the urge to hit the buzzer to get Xiangu's attention, but what if the caller is right? What if Xiangu had tried to kill him? He couldn't think of anyone to call for help.
Xiao Mei! Her name rang out in his head as he scrolled through the phone to dial her number. It didn't bother him that it's so late at night; after all, she owes him a favor and it didn't matter if he requests for that favor now.
He didn't think he had any other choice, since he woke up, he had only been introduced to Xiao Mei and Xiangu as the only people close enough to him. That is, if one could count a woman that hates him enough to wish she remained single rather than getting married to him, as someone close to him.
The phone rang for a while before she answered,
"Hello." Her sleepy voice rang out from the other end.
"Xiao Mei, it's me, Zhi Yuan." It felt weird calling out that name out loud and admitting out loud that he is Zhi Yuan. "I need a favor."