"Please note that you have ten years. Once the time is up, you will return to your original timeline."
"What ten years?"
As the light disappeared, a man was lying down on a sandy beach. He wondered as the voices in his head disappeared.
"Why am I here? Who am I?"
The question instantly caused the man to have a headache and fall back onto the ground as the pain became unbearable.
After what felt like forever, it finally went away. But he couldn't remember anything from the past other than the name Xiaoyun.
He wasn't even sure if that was his name, but he felt a sense of attachment to it.
"Where is this place?" Xiaoyun wondered as he got up from the sand and started looking around.
Looking forward, he noticed a seagull just a few steps away from him, looking towards him with curiosity.
The moment he sat up from the sand and stretched his back, the seagull quickly flew away.
With all three directions in his view, he finally turned around, only to see a highway right behind him.
"Maybe I can look at the map."
After taking his phone out of his pocket, he froze in place, not knowing the password to the phone in his pocket.
"Shit... am I stranded here now?"
As Xiaoyun looked around, the sandy beach's vast emptiness showed no signs of human activity, not even after he walked down to explore for a bit.
With nowhere to go, he decided to jump over the highway fences, hoping to see a car driving by. But after not a single car drove by, he started walking down the road, hoping to see some sort of human civilization.
Deep inside, he knew the road had to lead somewhere, driving him to continue walking forward.
Soon, the afternoon became nighttime. There was still no end in sight. Not even a single car had driven past.
Xiaoyun's mouth was becoming so dry that it started cracking. His stomach was constantly rumbling, protesting about the hunger.
Just as he sat down to rest for a bit, he suddenly heard a car sound traveling down the road.
"My chance to civilization!"
He immediately stood up and swung his hand towards the distant car light, hoping for it to notice him.
Soon, the car's bright light became bigger and bigger, finally giving him a little bit of relief as it was traveling in his direction.
However, he soon noticed the car was constantly swirling left and right, almost as if the driver was completely drunk.
"Shit!"
Xiaoyun tried to jump out of the highway at the very last second, but it was far too late as everything faded to black.
---
When Xiaoyun opened his eyes again, the only thing he could see was a white ceiling above him.
"Hm! Mumumum——"
Looking down, he quickly noticed his mouth was completely covered in bandages, as well as his entire body.
He couldn't even move a single muscle either, as every part of his body felt like it was still recovering from some sort of anesthesia.
"Oh, you're finally awake. I'm sorry for the bad news, but you got into a car accident."
In the corner of his eyes, he could see a man wearing a doctor's uniform as he walked right into his sight on the right.
"Don't worry, though. There is good news. You only suffered minor injuries. Most of them will probably go away in a few months."
Unable to feel from the neck down made Xiaoyun a little nervous, so he tried to move his body a little to feel something.
"You're under anesthetic, so you'll regain your movement later... But I really recommend you to please avoid moving."
Xiaoyun finally calmed back down, listening to the doctor's order as the doctor pulled out some sort of clipboard.
"Do you remember your name or anything about yourself?" The doctor asked.
Xiaoyun barely shook his head a little, signaling no.
"It may have been from the concussion during the car accident... Okay, you can lay down and rest."
As soon as the doctor finished talking, the door was suddenly opened, revealing an old man walking in.
"Is he all right, doctor?" The old man asked.
"He should be on track to fully heal, or close to before he got in the accident. But I'm afraid he might suffer a short-term memory loss."
"How short term?"
"I am not sure. You might need to seek a specialist for that... But considering how he was hit, he should be mostly fine."
After hearing the doctor's explanation, the old man looked a little relieved.
"Thank you so much."
"No problem... Oh, one last thing. The police came in earlier and told us that they couldn't find anything related to him in the database.
They said it is almost as if he appeared onto the planet out of thin air, or he probably just never had a record anywhere."
"Actually, are you an orphan?"
Xiaoyun immediately nodded, as his memories didn't have any family members or anything in general.
"Ah, that explains it. He probably never signed up for an ID or a hukou somehow..."
The doctor checks off a list on his clipboard again, his face seemingly feeling a little bad for Xiaoyun.
"I'm so sorry... I shouldn't let my grandchildren drink and drive."
The old man suddenly bowed down all the way as he apologized sincerely to Xiaoyun.
"Hmm!——Mumumum."
Xiaoyun tried to talk, but only a bunch of muffled sounds came out.
"Okay, you need to leave now. The patient needs some time to rest."
The doctor came back, leading the old man to leave the room as Xiaoyun's brain still tried to process what had happened to him.
---
After lying in the hospital for a month, Xiaoyun's body had recovered enough to walk without needing assistance.
However, his memory still ran blank, like a clean hard drive wiped clean.
The old man even hired an internationally acclaimed neurologist to find the reason behind his memory loss, but the two were hit with tragic news.
"Unfortunately, your hippocampus at the temporal lobe nerves is disconnected partially around here. It can sometimes regrow on its own, but the chance of it happening is extremely low.
Especially when someone's brain is already mostly developed, we do have the technology to try to mimic the growth signals, but it's under clinical trials in our lab.
But it's going to be extremely expensive, and he would need to travel all the way on the other side of the globe——"
"Just tell me what the cost is." The old man interrupted.
"Around a several million, not in your country's currency... As a side note, there is also a risk of permanent damage with the chance of short-term coma.
If you want to make an appointment for it, you can email my assistant. I'll be flying back tomorrow."
The neurologist left the room as the old man looked a little disappointed by the expert's answer.
"I can pay for it. You don't have to worry about the cost."
The old man promised as the disappointment on his face disappeared when looking at Xiaoyun.
"It's okay, mister. You had done enough for me already. I'm sure I can live without needing my old memories."
"But what are you going to do next? You don't have any memory of who you are. You don't even know your ID name."
Xiaoyun paused for a second, but he still rejected the old man's offer to pay for the surgery.
"I am sure life finds a way... I can always build more memories. Thank you for your help, mister."
Hearing the optimism in his voice, the old man couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in his heart.
Watching him walk closer and closer to the door all the way to the doorknob, the old man finally decided to speak up again.
"Wait!"
As Xiaoyun turned around, the old man was on his knee, his head on the ground in shame.
"Please let me help you. I can't live bearing the weight of knowing I've ruined someone's life like this."
"Mister, it's not your fault. It's your grandkid's fault, and they are already facing the consequences.
You already paid my medical bill and have done all you could. I think that is a fair enough punishment."
Xiaoyun tried to help the old man stand up again, but he remained stubbornly attached to the floor.
"Please, just let me compensate you, or I'll never be able to sleep in peace."
After contemplating for a second, Xiaoyun pleaded one last time.
"Please, mister, you don't have to do this."
Seeing the old man still on his knee in silence, Xiaoyun finally couldn't bear it and made his decision.
"I... accept your offer."
---
An hour of driving later...
As the driver stopped the car, Xiaoyun was instantly stunned the moment he stepped out.
It was a massive wooden old-fashioned mansion on a hill, with maids and butlers standing at the front entrance.
"Please treat it as if it is yours... I can never repay you for being so merciful to our grandson."
The old man thanked Xiaoyun again, but it only made him a little bit uncomfortable.
"He has already been punished fairly by the police. I should be the one saying I can't repay you for this.
I would never have imagined living in this kind of place... This place looks beautiful."
After the old man passed the gate, Xiaoyun was astonished by the various kinds of flower beds and the rock garden.
Walking past several different arch entrances, an old woman was already standing at the door, waiting for them.
"Welcome back, honey... How's the boy?"
"He's here in front of you."
"Oh, welcome to our house! Make yourself home... And I'm so sorry for what our grandson has done to you."
The old woman bowed down in apology, causing Xiaoyun to walk up to support her back up quickly.
"Madam, your grandson is already facing the punishment he deserved. You guys had already done enough."
Xiaoyun repeated the same answer, his mouth starting to get tired, trying to stop them from thanking him.
However, it seemed to have done the opposite, as the two of them looked even more thankful than before as they guided him to his room.
---
A week later...
After living in the mansion for a while, Xiaoyun finally started to head outside, searching for work.
He didn't want to feel indebted to the old couple, but unfortunately, not a single person was willing to hire him.
All of the nearby places that were hiring asked for IDs. Even the lowest entry-level jobs asked for IDs to check his age.
When he went to the police stations to get an ID, he was instantly denied because there was no sort of Hukou.
As he sat down on the sofa, he was surprised to see both the old man and her wife walking towards him before sitting down.
"We know you have been troubled by the paper... We have some connections, but we need to ask you a question first."
The old woman asked as she held an envelope in her hand. Her husband was sitting down next to her.
"What is it?" Xiaoyun curiously asked.
"Are you willing to be our grandchildren?"
Xiaoyun froze for a second as he couldn't believe what he had just heard from his ear, but the old woman spoke up again.
"I know this sounds like it came out of nowhere, but this is the only way we can help you get your paper here."
After a short silence, Xiaoyun finally made his decision.
"I accept."
"That's perfect. In the envelope, we already have your papers as our long-lost grandson."
The old woman suddenly fell into silence, her face looking a little down as if some bad memory had triggered in her mind.
"Ahem, Xiaoyun, you can open it now."
The old man gently patted his wife on the back, then took the envelope and handed it to him.
As Xiaoyun opened the envelope, the exact paper he needed for the application was right before his eyes.
"Sorry about the name... We couldn't really change it since we just told them you're our long-lost grandson." The old man apologized.
Within seconds, Xiaoyun realized how similar the name was to the person who had crashed into him.
In his memories, he could also recall overhearing the hospital nurses talking about the old man's son, who had died a few years ago.
"No, no, it's fine. I like this name."
Xiaoyun murmured the name over and over again as if he had found a new meaning in his life.
The next day...
All the workers in the mansion started calling Xiaoyun by his new name, Songming.
They started giving him even more special treatment, treating him with the same respect as the old man. The old couple also treated him with even more affection.
It almost made Xiaoyun believe he really was their long-lost grandson, but he still always remembers he was only adopted.
He also finally found work, but it was short-lived. The old couple forced him to quit the manual labor job, deeming it a waste of time.
They sent him to a prestigious university instead, telling him that he could learn valuable skills to pay them back if he really wanted to.
After considering it for an entire day, Xiaoyun accepted their sponsor for special admission to the university nearby.
Xiaoyun's only requirement was now to pass the entrance exam, which he did with flying colors after studying for just a week.
Everything just felt familiar, even though his memories of the past continued to run blank.
---
The first year of school quickly began for Xiaoun.
Every day, he goes to school, does homework, and goes back to the old man's home. He barely ever talks to anyone and sits in the corner.
Despite what most people would be bored of, for some reason, his body didn't get tired of it, almost as if he had done this for his entire life.
Until one day, a girl suddenly walked towards him.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" The girl asked.
"I don't mind it."
As Xiaoyun looked at the girl, a sudden sense of familiarity hit him. But he couldn't recall it in his memories.
---
Soon, freshmen year was about to be over.
With the last few days of the class being held for the semester, Xiaoyun finally had enough courage to ask her the question.
"Sorry to ask this so late, but we've been deskmates for so long... Can I ask what your name is?"
Seeing Xiaoyun speaking up, the girl looked a little surprised. But she stops putting her stuff away to answer back.
"My name is Leyan. How about you?"
"My name is Songming."
After Xiaoyun finished replying, an awkward silence lingered between them, as neither of them knew how to continue the conversation.
"Have we met before?" Leyan asked after noticing his eyes looked a little curious.
"I don't think so... But I don't know why you look familiar," Xiaoyun replied with his thoughts.
"Really? I don't think I have seen you before, though... Well, it was nice knowing you, Songming."
After Leyan finished speaking, the two returned to silence as the professor began the next part of the class.
---
Xiaoyun was now in his sophomore year.
Everything was still going mostly the same, except for the fact that he had been having nightmares the past few nights.
He could feel he was forgetting something important, and what's worse, he could feel time traveling weirdly.
"Songming, what's wrong? You look a little lost. Tell me, maybe I can help you."
The old man asked as he sat down on the sofa next to Xiaoyun, who kept staring at the clock.
"I don't know why, but it feels like time is passing faster and faster."
After hearing Xiaoyun's answer, the old man suddenly laughed before patting him on the back.
"Oh, you still have so long to live. You are just worrying too much. You look just like every other eighteen years old."
Seeing Xiaoyun still not cleared up, the old man continued.
"You don't see me worrying about running out of time, and I'm almost in my seventies."
"Maybe you are right..." Xiaoyun murmured.
"That wasn't the only thing in you that you were worrying about, was it?" The old man asked after noticing him still looking a little lost.
Xiaoyun hesitated for a second but revealed his thoughts to the old man.
"I met a girl in school, and I don't know why my heart beats so fast every time I meet her...
And she feels so familiar. It's like I met her before. But my memories just aren't there to prove it."
As soon as Xiaoyun finished talking, the old man suddenly patted Xiaoyun on the back again and laughed even louder.
"Songming! You are just in love with her! It looks like you finally reached that age. Here, let me show you what is love."
"Love?" Xiaoyun asked in confusion.
The old man took out his wallet and opened it, revealing a photo of a young man and a young woman together behind a theme park.
"Look at this picture. This is me with your grandma, being happy together. That's what love means." The old man replied.
"So, love someone is to make them happy?"
"Well, that is part of it. Everyone has their definition of love. It's a very confusing and messy thing.
You will need to explore it yourself to find what love means to you. No one can tell you what love is exactly."
The old man scratched the remaining few hairs on his head, his mind a little unsure how to answer such a broad question.
"How do I start making her happy then?" Xiaoyun curiously asked.
"Well... Hmm, what do all the youngsters do nowadays?"
The old man paused for a second, thinking of various things before finally coming up with one.
"Wait, I got it. You should ask her about an amusement park date. If she likes you, she will agree to it."
"Date? Amusement park?"
Xiaoyun was even more confused now as the old man brought out more technical terms that he couldn't understand.
"Yep, just trust me. Ask her out tomorrow. If I remember correctly, there is an amusement park near your school.
You just need to go there and buy the tickets first. If she accepts it, that means there is a chance for love to happen."
The old man patted Xiaoyun on the shoulder again and gave him a confident look.
"Okay, I'll do that."
Xiaoyun finally got a sense of direction as he pondered the two words that the old man had just said.
---
The next day.
Xiaoyun and Leyan were in the classroom, still sitting next to each other in their second year.
The advanced math class they were in was still taught by the same professor in the same classroom.
"Hey, Leyan."
"Hm?"
As Leyan turned around to Xiaoyun, he took out a ticket and put it right in her hands.
"Here you go."
With no further explanation, Leyan looked down at the ticket in hand and realized it was an amusement park ticket.
"What's this for?" Leyan asked in confusion.
"I want to ask you to go to the amusement park as a date."
The casual tone caught Leyan off guard, and her face started to blush more red.
She could not comprehend what he had just said out loud. The sudden confession completely short-circuited her brain.
"Um, can you give me a minute to think about this?"
"Okay."
Xiaoyun shifted his attention back to the professor as Leyan's face was blushing red.
Turning to the side, she quickly took out her phone and opened up a group chat.
A cute little kitty: Is Wuli or Shuli there?
Lily Lover: Yeah, I am here. What are you doing texting in class time?
A cute little kitty: It's an emergency!
Lily Lover: what happened?
A cute little kitty: A boy asked me to go to the amusement park for a date! What should I say? I never done this before.
Lily Lover: Just reject him. This is not the first time you have rejected someone.
Lily Lover: Come on, you had done this more than me already back in high school.
A cute little kitty: But I don't know why, but I don't want to reject him. He is the only one that hasn't constantly bothered me like other men.
Lily Lover: So, just agree then. What are you so nervous about?
Lily Lover: Looks like someone has fallen in love.
Little Chestnut: What!?! Is Leyan in love? When are you inviting me to your wedding?
A cute little kitty: Shut up! >﹏< I'll answer him now.
Leyan closed her phone and looked back at Xiaoyun, only to see him listening attentively to the class.
Leyan immediately took out her phone and typed again.
A cute little kitty: He is so handsome when he is concentrating on the class lecture!
Lily Lover: It looks like our precious Yanyan really has fallen in love. She's already losing her brain cells (－‸ლ).
Little Chestnut: Come on, just tell him already. What's his reaction? Don't leave us hanging.
Leyan closed her phone and decided to wait until the class was over, not wanting to disrupt Xiaoyun's study look.
A few minutes later...
"I accept your offer." Leyan nervously replied as Xiaoyun began packing up his backpack.
"See you on Sunday then."
Xiaoyun quickly grabbed his backpack, got up from his seat, and prepared to leave.
"Wait, this is my phone number."
Leyan ripped a small piece of paper from her notebook and quickly wrote down her number.
"Okay... Here's my phone number as well."
Xiaoyun quickly wrote down his phone number in her notebook, almost as if he had just realized he needed to give it back as well.
"Why is my heart beating so fast?" Leyan thought to herself as she watched Xiaoyun leave the classroom.