Chapter 2, This is Youth

Returning to the past, yet my memories and thoughts cannot go back... Is it possible to try another choice of life? Chen Wenjin pondered, increasingly finding it intriguing. Since I don't know how to return to the future, I might as well experience a different life path until I meet my wife, which seems quite good...

Aren't you someone who never believes? The old leopard was perplexed

Chen Wenjin surveyed his surroundings at the station when his pager went off again. Just as he was about to look for a public phone, he heard a voice calling him from a distance, a voice that was once very familiar to him: "Huang Jin—"

He does not remember the date, but he recalls that it was shortly before February 14, 1998

Chen Wenjin looked at the time displayed on the blue BP machine: January 1, 1998

The BP machine rang again. Chen Wenjin glanced at it; it was an unfamiliar landline number. In the era of 1998, landline phones were everywhere, and he had long forgotten what the prefixes represented in terms of regions.

However, this nickname has not been used by anyone for many years

The changes in matter are characterized by both physical and chemical properties, while time is a concept defined by humans. In such changes, the 'past' no longer exists; how can one return?

Soon, the unusual changes came to a halt

"Old Leopard, if I said that I heard the voice of an alien while I was in the restroom just now, and it told me to go to a place where the winning numbers for the third prize of the next lottery are displayed, would you believe me?" Chen Wenjin observed the change in Old Leopard's expression.

February 14 ... ... Chen Wenjin was suddenly startled, as the colorful light suddenly illuminated before his eyes while he was contemplating what this day would have been like if he had made different choices back then

Yet there was not the familiar feeling that Chen Wenjin had been looking forward to, which was the sensation of the basketball hitting his stomach; instead, it was the long-lost firmness of his abdominal muscles.

Do I really, truly possess the ability to reverse everything? Chen Wenjin was both astonished by the current reality and increasingly agitated.

The look in his eyes clearly conveyed suspicion, suspicion that he was joking, and then he found his disappearance quite strange, realizing that he was not the type to make such jokes. Thus, he became half-convinced yet very hopeful that it was true, and eagerly asked: "Is it true or not?"

Now, Chen Wenjin touches the real changes in his body, looking at the clothes on him that are clearly those from several years ago

After a twenty-minute drive, when it rang for the third time, Chen Wenjin had just gotten out of the car

Chen Wenjin was pondering that, according to the timeline, he should not be here at this moment—indeed, he was still at the seaside, having not returned to the point in time where he was supposed to be.

Where have you gone? You suddenly disappeared after going to the restroom, I called you but you didn't respond, and when I looked for you, there was no sign of you. Hui said she would call you back, did you return her call?" Lao Bao was eagerly waiting for a reasonable explanation, and the look in his eyes clearly conveyed a sense of confusion that could not be unraveled no matter how hard one tried.

As for now, I hardly remember much of the past, harboring neither resentment nor hatred

Chen Wenjin's car, which he originally drove over, has also vanished without a trace

If it were possible to exceed the speed of light, one should be able to catch up with the light from the past and thus see the past, much like an imaging device records scenes from the past. While it is possible to see the past, the physical changes are not mere images, and it is impossible to truly return to the past to make alterations

Chen Wenjin realized that there was no second him, because he had returned; the original him had simply vanished into thin air while he was in the restroom. As for Lao Bao's question, he thought of the pitiful twenty-one yuan in his pocket and said, "Do you believe in metaphysics?"

The sun and moon alternate, time and again, time and again

I once thought that in this life, I would marry no one but her, and I firmly believed that apart from Mount Wu, there are no clouds. Little did I expect that in the end, only a name, a story, a vague figure, and an unclear face would remain in my memory. Chen Wenjin still remembers how heart-wrenching it was back then, with unwavering devotion, taking more than a year to finally move on.

An old minibus, which could only be seen over twenty years ago, passed by, raising a cloud of dust that made Chen Wenjin cover his nose and quicken his pace.

This thought lingered for a moment, and Chen Wenjin suddenly discovered that his body was illuminated with colorful light. Immediately afterward, the wind in the air changed direction abruptly

I did not know, so I took a car to the seaside, and I really saw numbers written in the sand. After I looked at them, a gust of wind blew and erased the writing. Chen Wenjin spoke with great seriousness, and Lao Bao's eyes were filled with excitement, completely convinced, even fearing that it might not be true, and thus urged, "Did you buy it?"

This time, the number looks somewhat familiar

He has always felt that life is the most complex game, but he could not view life with the attitude of a game; however, now he can.

When I opened my eyes again, there was no change in the surroundings

Gold, this is his nickname. It originates from the saying 'silence is golden' and is also due to the phrase 'a golden mouth speaks precious words'

More than twenty years ago, Pangran City and Buzhong District still resembled the images in my memory. Although not clear, they can generally be matched when seen again.

The old leopard approached Chen Wenjin with quick steps, a radiant smile on his face. His tall and slender figure was clad in faded light blue bell-bottom pants and a flamboyant shirt, complemented by his red hair. It was clear that he was the second most handsome guy on this street

Young man... this m.hetushucom is for the youth... the matter of winning the lottery is not as important as the feelings and emotions that come with it! Chen Wenjin smiled and dialed the phone in the telephone booth

Chen Wenjin looked at the number, unable to recall it, yet pondering that it was highly likely to be his girlfriend Hui's home phone.

What exactly is that light? Could it possibly reverse the motion of matter and restore it to over twenty years ago? But why specifically over twenty years ago? Chen Wenjin couldn't help but let his imagination run wild, speculating aimlessly.

Chen Wenjin tried to keep his eyes open, gazing at the sky and thinking... After a moment, there was still no change

Must I relive my life all over again? Chen Wenjin, having tried in vain, began to entertain a thought: What if I try to recall the events of February 13? ... I remember February 14, but I do not recall the 13th ... What about a few days prior?

Chen Wenjin recalled how poor they were back then, relying on the financial support of wealthy children to gather the funds for their activities. One friend would treat once, another friend would treat another time, and after taking turns, two to three months would pass. Although they frequently visited entertainment venues, in reality, each person only contributed money once.

The smell on the minibus, long absent and unpleasant, consistently made him feel nauseous. As he sat on the bus lost in thought, an uncontrollable idea suddenly sprang to mind: if he were to return to the past, would he encounter another version of himself here?

The palm strikes the abdomen

This is one of Chen Wenjin's best friends, and at this moment, it marks the fifth year since they became acquainted

At that time, he was eating Guilin rice noodles at a newly opened restaurant located near his girlfriend's home

The BP machine beeped once, then beeped again

"Did we just get off the car?" Chen Wenjin said, raising his hand to brush his long hair styled in a 3:7 part, and then immediately looked at the ticket booth and said: "Let's go"

Chen Wenjin still could not recall it. As one reaches middle age, memories of the past become increasingly vague and fewer... Suddenly, a clear image froze in his mind

Chen Wenjin lifted his shirt, gazing at the lines of his abdominal muscles, and hurriedly rolled up his pant legs, revealing the scars left on his legs from when he was twenty-two years old

However, Chen Wenjin recalled based on the time: 'At that time, I must have gone out to play with Lao Bao and accompanied Hui and Fen... I can't remember where we went to have fun, I only remember that after sending them home, I saw a newly opened rice noodle shop, and the taste was quite good '

To him, living again is merely a game, rather than life itself

Time is relentless, and many past events have been forgotten, yet eating has become the most vivid memory! Chen Wenjin sighed as he waited for the minibus, taking a seat heading back to the city.

What a wonderful time of youth, yet it has become like this due to a withered wallet... Ah, no, I clearly do not even have a wallet now. Chen Wenjin feels quite sorry for his past self, as the small change in his pocket was lighter than the wallet itself, what use is a bag?

Chen Wenjin was drinking water when the bus arrived, and as he boarded, the pager beeped again

These are clearly not illusions

Does this not equate to living again? Or is it a selective rebirth? However, such changes should involve many people and many matters; just how extensive is the scope of returning to the past? Does everyone remember? Chen Wenjin instinctively began to reason through the rationality of this situation, but after a moment, he felt it was absurd, entirely beyond his comprehension. The forced reasoning was clearly just a self-deception of 'correctness,' which was truly meaningless

Do you believe in extraterrestrial civilizations that surpass humanity? Chen Wenjin recalled that he had believed in Marx at that time, so he changed the question.

The old leopard excitedly strode over, and after taking just a few steps, suddenly stopped Chen Wenjin, saying: "You should call Hui back first! She is extremely worried!"

The development of the Dragon Country has been remarkably rapid, with changes over the past twenty years being nothing short of a complete transformation, as if it were two different worlds

Chen Wenjin believes that only if matter can undergo ordered reverse motion can one truly return to the past

He lowered his head and saw the date above: February 14, 1998

"Believe it!" replied Old Leopard quickly, but he was clearly uninterested in the topic at hand. Impatiently, he continued to ask, "Have you called Hui back? If not, you should call her first! Then we need to go get some money; we will need it for going out tonight. I only have 10 yuan left on me, and I just had water that Hui treated me to."

Suddenly, the BP machine began to beep repeatedly

If this is not an illusion, I should be able to return by just thinking about it, right? Chen Wenjin closed his eyes, reminiscing about the scenes from his original life...

After getting off the minibus, Chen still felt nauseous, so he bought a bottle of cola. While drinking it, he counted the money in his pocket, and it was pitifully little. 'Taking the bus, buying water, and now only twenty-one yuan left? ... How strange, where did more than twenty yuan come from? Didn't I only have ten yuan for the whole week?'

It is not an illusion ... Chen Wenjin despaired as he realized that the rain curtain flying backwards seemed to revert to the scenes from over twenty years ago, and the BP machine he had attached to his waist from his third year of junior high was indeed not an illusion

As Chen Wenjin gazed out at the scenery, the people on the bus began to appear endearing as well

I have returned to the body of my teenage years? Could those scenes of rain curtains flying backward be ... ... Chen Wenjin had previously found this inconceivable; he did not originally believe in the concept of returning to the past