Chapter 1: Past Lives and Present Life

When I think of Tang Xueqian, I cannot help but recall my father's tumultuous fate over the past decade, which has been intertwined with Tang Xueqian's ups and downs

Am I still in a dream

Once again unaware of how long he had been unconscious, Zhang Ke woke up to find his mother sitting by the bed, her face filled with concern. His left arm was wrapped with a silicone tube for intravenous infusion, and the intense headache had subsided somewhat. He stretched his hands and feet, feeling somewhat weak and powerless, but did not sense any loss of limbs.

Zhang Ke looked again in confusion. Even though the wrinkles on her forehead had disappeared, the crow's feet had lightened, and her skin had regained its elasticity as if it had been hydrated, the person before him was undoubtedly his mother, Liang Gezhen. However... why had his mother become younger?

In 1999, Ding Xiangshan, the Secretary of the Haizhou Municipal Committee, was arrested for bribery, and only then did the court acquit Tang Xueqian of the charges against him. It was at this time that people learned that Tang Xueqian had been falsely accused of bribery in 1994 by Ding Xiangshan. As for why the Secretary of the Municipal Committee would frame a Vice Mayor of a lower rank, the court's judgment was vague, leaving much room for speculation. Some said that Ding Xiangshan and Tang Xueqian were competing for a woman named Xu Si, while others claimed that Tang Xueqian had long possessed evidence of Ding Xiangshan's bribery and sought to use it to bring him down, but Ding Xiangshan acted first. As for the truth, it seems no definitive conclusion was reached. However, after his release from prison, Tang Xueqian was in poor spirits and could not remember that he had once sent someone to convey a message to his father. People began to recall the events and rumors of that time; his father had left Haizhou when Tang Xueqian was under investigation. In their view, besides betrayal, there was also suspicion of collusion with Ding Xiangshan to frame Tang Xueqian.

A doctor in a white coat walked in with Zhang Ke's father. Zhang Ke only remembered that this person's surname was Lu. Dr. Lu reached out and touched Zhang Ke's forehead, confidently stating: "The fever has subsided, take the medicine on time, I will come by again tomorrow. If there are no issues, then there will be no issues..."

Zhang Ke looked at his mother, who appeared more than ten years younger, and suddenly recalled that fourteen summers ago, he was lying at home, suffering from a high fever, and had fainted, with his head aching as if it were about to split open

With the ups and downs of my father, the family's fate also experienced considerable twists and turns. After my father left the city, my mother was soon transferred from the municipal petition office to a company with poor performance, and by 1998, she was laid off. The family faced significant financial difficulties for a time, until Zhang Ke graduated from university and became a department head at Haizhou Longyu Group, subsequently rising to the position of branch manager, which improved the family's economic situation.

The dream repeats an experience from fourteen years ago, which is truly sad to think about. Father left Haizhou, Tang Xueqian was imprisoned for accepting bribes, and rumors ran rampant. Father became the betrayer who framed Tang Xueqian, leading to a shocking reversal of the family's fate. The world around was about to turn cold and cruel. After experiencing the pain of his first setback in life, Zhang Ke became cynical. Before the age of sixteen, Zhang Ke, in his own words, was an innocent boy who had no experience even with his own hands. The world around was about to turn cold and cruel. After experiencing the pain of his first setback in life, Zhang Ke became cynical. Before the age of sixteen, Zhang Ke, in his own words, was an innocent boy who had no experience even with his own hands.

At this moment, Zhang Ke recalled the voice he had heard upon waking, belonging to Ye Xinming, the dedicated secretary of Tang Xueqian before his double regulation. If this dream were to repeat the scenario from fourteen years ago, Ye Xinming should have been using Tang Xueqian's name to deceive his father into leaving Haizhou

Zhang Ke's gaze fell upon his hands and the body beneath the sheets, which indeed differed from his own hands at the age of thirty; the body also resembled the slender form of his youth.

Upon regaining consciousness, Zhang Ke desperately tried to recover his memories of the accident, only to find that they seemed like fragments left over after a distortion of time and space, lacking the tangible reality one would expect.

Falling asleep in a daze, even though it feels so real, Zhang Ke is willing to believe that this is a dream. The wrongful imprisonment fourteen years ago was a nightmare for Tang Xueqian and the Zhang family. Who would wish to go through it again

The content and tone of this sentence evoke a strong sense of familiarity for Zhang Ke: there must have been someone, at some place and time, who has spoken the same words in this manner

Zhang Ke closed his eyes, allowing the intense headache piercing the back of his head to consume his consciousness. Even if he were to wake up with broken arms and legs, it would still be better than not waking up at all

I am still dreaming, merely repeating the scenes from fourteen years ago

What time is it today? Zhang Ke remembers that the day of his car accident was April 28, 2008. On the way from the community gate to the bus station, he was struck by a small car that suddenly darted out. He lost consciousness in the air and felt as if he had been in a coma for a long time, perhaps three or four days, or maybe the May Day holiday had already passed.

"Think about Mayor Tang's words..." The person said again, and then I heard someone push the door and walk out, without coming back in. The door was closed by someone outside.

After Tang Xueqian was imprisoned, his father was relieved of his public office and returned to teach at Haizhou University. At this time, Haizhou Normal College had already merged with several other institutions to become Haizhou University

Since it is a dream, why does it feel so real? Perhaps it is also possible to return to fourteen years ago

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"Mayor Tang's intention is for you to go out and take a break..." With that single remark, silence ensued, and it was impossible to discern how many people were standing nearby

Zhang Ke's heart was filled with confusion, yet the sensation of his mother's cool palm pressed against his forehead was a tangible reminder of being alive. His father pushed the door open from the outer room, wearing a freshly laundered white stand-collar short-sleeved shirt. His eye sockets were deeply sunken, his hair was disheveled, and he had not shaved for several days. This was exactly the image of his father from fourteen years ago when the provincial authorities sent an inspection team down due to Tang Xueqian's bribery issue.

Are you dreaming!

There is no pain felt in any part of the body, yet there is an intense pain at the back of the head, as if someone is forcefully prying it open. The pain is severe, and there is no strength to turn the head to see who is standing nearby. This sensation of headache is very familiar to Zhang Ke. He remembers experiencing a high fever during the summer after graduating from middle school, and the pain in his head was just as severe as it is now, as if a wooden wedge had been driven into the back of his head.

At that time, in 1994, when Tang Xueqian, the executive vice mayor of Haizhou City, was falsely accused and imprisoned, my father, as someone promoted by Tang Xueqian, was greatly implicated. Our family was in a state of panic and did not have the presence of mind to think about sending ourselves to the hospital.

The fever had not yet subsided... A cold hand pressed against his forehead. Zhang Ke opened his eyes and saw a familiar yet unfamiliar face. It was familiar because he had seen this face for thirty years, and unfamiliar because it could not possibly look this young, resembling more the appearance from over a decade ago. At that time, his father, Zhang Zhixing, was still the deputy secretary-general of the municipal government, and his mother, Liang Gezhen, a regular staff member at the municipal petition office, appeared much younger than women of the same age, even with crow's feet at the corners of her eyes.

Zhang Ke looked at his parents standing in front of him, truly at a loss for words, as patients always have their reasons for remaining silent

After graduating with a master's degree in the early 1980s, my father returned to Haizhou Normal University to work. Later, the president of Haizhou Normal University, Tang Xueqian, was transferred to the city to serve as deputy mayor, and my father followed him to the city, where he served as deputy director in the second office of the municipal government. He stayed in the city for five to six years, during which Tang Xueqian became the executive deputy mayor, and my father gradually rose to the position of deputy secretary-general of the municipal government. By 1994, Tang Xueqian was investigated for suspected bribery due to his role in the restructuring of Xinfeng Group, and the provincial authorities sent an inspection team to investigate. During this time, when Tang Xueqian was under isolation for investigation, he had someone convey a message to my father, advising him to stay away for a while. My father took the opportunity of assisting my uncle with funeral arrangements to leave Haizhou. Shortly thereafter, the provincial inspection team obtained key evidence of Tang Xueqian's bribery. Interestingly, at that time, rumors circulated that my father had provided the clues that led the inspection team to Tang Xueqian's misconduct.

The court did not provide my father with a clear explanation. He no longer had a foothold at Haihe and Tushuzhou University. With the help of former colleagues, he was transferred to the Haizhou Chess Academy to work as a doorman, merely getting by in life. My father's intelligence throughout his life was wasted on being a messenger, and he could never turn his life around. He felt deeply troubled, and before reaching fifty, he had already turned gray.

Hearing this person mention the title "Mayor Tang" once again, Zhang Ke thought to himself: Who is this Mayor Tang? The only Mayor with the surname Tang that I know is Tang Xueqian. However, Tang Xueqian was falsely accused of bribery in 1994 and imprisoned, and he was released in 1999 after being retried and found not guilty. At that time, his mental state was very poor, and he took several years to recuperate, unable to return to a leadership position. Now he is just an old man; is there any other mayor with the surname Tang?

It is this familiar headache that makes Zhang Ke doubt whether he is experiencing a high fever again, rather than having been in a car accident

Although the severe headache would not go away, Zhang Ke thought to himself that it was good enough to be alive, and he fell back into a daze and slept again

At this moment, Zhang Ke finally began to awaken slowly. His eyes were shrouded in a layer of grayish haze, and the pale yellow ceiling was somewhat mottled, resembling nothing like a hospital ward. This color was very familiar; it was the same as the ceiling in his home before they moved out of the municipal government compound. At that time, his father was the deputy secretary-general of the municipal government, and his mother was an ordinary staff member in the municipal petition office. He was still a good student.

Liang Gezhen saw her son Zhang Ke wake up, and the worry on her face lessened a bit. She reached out to touch his forehead, then pressed it against her own, feeling the difference in temperature: "The fever has subsided, Zhixing, Xiao Ke's fever has subsided..."

There are people nearby talking quietly