Chapter 2, The Nonexistent Person

After Ge Shifei left, Liu Xiaohong was already in tears, unable to speak. Hong Ma comforted her from the side, while Chen Zhi found it difficult to interject and could only return home quietly.

Chen Zhi was immediately engulfed in a fog of confusion; it seemed that this Teacher Guo had only appeared in Chen Zhi's memory. Could it be... was he seeing ghosts

Gou Shifei, with his keen eyes, noticed that the steps were coming and immediately pointed fiercely at Chen Zhi, saying, "Chen, you wait for me. One day, I will deal with you..."

A few young people approached from the opposite side, with the leader being of a slender build, a fair complexion adorned with a few freckles. As he walked, his whole body trembled, swaggering as if he were someone of great importance. His name is Gou Shifei, and everyone secretly refers to him as "Dog Shifei".

"Think about it carefully; it must have been a male teacher who was later transferred. Have you forgotten because too much time has passed?" Chen Zhi felt a bit puzzled.

He saw Chen Zhi, with a pale face, holding a shovel in his hand, looking at him with a grim expression.

After spending most of the day in the labor market without any gains, Chen Zhi walked home dejectedly. Their family lived in an old residential area for workers, where the families of Z Steel workers resided. At the corner of the building complex, there was a steamed bun shop, where Liu Xiaohong was standing selling buns

By the way, Xiaohong, I want to ask you something! Do you still remember that Teacher Guo who taught us math in the third grade of elementary school? Where did he go later?

"Da Sha Hong, are your buns made with human flesh? Why do they smell so bad?" Gou Shifei directly picked up a bun and stuffed it into his mouth, angrily scolding. The two people behind him were also not idle, continuously shoving buns into their mouths.

Chen Zhi looked at Liu Xiaohong's face, which was flushed from the heat, and felt it was difficult to refuse any longer, feeling a warmth in his heart

No need, I have already eaten! Although Chen Zhi is poor, he possesses an inherent toughness and strongly dislikes taking advantage of others

What do you want to do? My dad is the head of the police station, if something goes wrong, it will definitely be you who suffers! Gou Shifei's eyes darted around, secretly lamenting, why is Chen Zhi, who usually doesn't like to talk, so agitated today?

Liu Xiaohong was momentarily taken aback, but did not ask further. She turned around and took a few buns from the steaming steamer, handing them to Chen Zhi: "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Take them home to eat!"

"Have you eaten? Then save it for dinner!" Liu Xiaohong smiled as she forcefully stuffed the bun into Chen Zhi's hand and hurried away.

Early the next morning, Chen Zhi went out to look for a job. Without a job, there would be no income, and the old man was waiting anxiously in the nursing home. However, Chen Zhi's mind was preoccupied with the events of the previous night, thinking about the strange Teacher Guo.

Later, that Teacher Guo was quickly transferred, and Chen Zhi gradually forgot about this matter. This small note was also unknowingly placed into the cover of his book at some point.

"I won't forget. I might forget other teachers, but I will definitely not forget the math teacher. Have you forgotten? In elementary school, I was the math class representative, and I had the most interaction with the math teacher," Liu Xiaohong said firmly.

Although the dog appears arrogant and overbearing on ordinary days, it is actually a coward. When it comes to a real confrontation, it is fearful at heart

Liu Xiaohong is a classmate of Chen Zhi from elementary and middle school. She is very dark and thin, as if she has not fully developed. She is also particularly timid, and her voice is like that of a mosquito.

Finding work as a riveter is not particularly difficult, but currently it is not an opportune time for job hunting. Most factories offer low wages, and payments are often delayed until the end of the month; otherwise, one must be willing to work in other regions. Chen Zhi cannot go to other places, as he has a father to take care of.

An extremely arrogant voice broke the silence of the originally quiet neighborhood, interrupting the conversation between the two. Upon seeing the person, Chen Zhi immediately frowned.

However, Chen Zhi quickly confirmed that Teacher Guo had definitely appeared; his impression of that gold-edged Omega watch was too deep.

Chen Zhi did not sleep well all night, constantly organizing his memories. His childhood memories are very vague, some of which may even be imagined by himself. However, for some reason, Chen Zhi has a particularly deep impression of this segment of memory and is very certain about some important details

"Oh dear, what are you all doing? You are all classmates, so don't let a small matter ruin your harmony!" Liu Xiaohong's mother rushed out of the house and, seeing the situation, quickly tried to mediate, "Xiaofei, it's our Xiaohong's fault for neglecting you. Auntie will treat you to some buns, please don't be angry..."

Point of Doubt 2: A new teacher, whom one has known for only a few days, actually allows a third-grade child to skip class to find him, and to go to such a distant place; this is highly illogical

After Guo Shifei finished scolding, he quickly took his people and ran away, while Chen Zhi did not pay him any mind

Chen Zhi, what do you think you are? Do you really think you can call Da Fei? What? Do you want to play the hero saving the beauty in front of me? You should consider your own worth. Besides, this big silly Hong is so ugly; your taste is quite heavy, haha.

Chen Zhiping is usually perceived as a taciturn person, but he knows that when such a person truly becomes angry, even deities would dare to kill.

Chen Zhi took out his phone and called two elementary school classmates he still kept in touch with. The answer he received was the same as Liu Xiaohong's; there was simply no such person as Teacher Guo.

"Stop trying to curry favor with me, you unemployed one, trying to act tough in front of me? If you keep being so ungrateful, I will have someone..." Gou Shifei said this in a stern voice but did not dare to continue.

Chen Zhi knew from Liu Xiaohong's gaze that she had not deceived him

In Liu Xiaohong's middle school year, her father was diagnosed with lung cancer. Her family exhausted all their savings to treat him, even selling their house. After her father's death, they were left with a significant amount of debt. Liu Xiaohong dropped out of school early and, together with her mother, rented a ground-floor space here to sell steamed buns

Seeing Liu Xiaohong's mother come out, Chen Zhi loosened the shovel in his hand

This person truly lives up to this nickname, exhibiting particularly dog-like traits, being a bully to the weak while fearing the strong, and especially fond of gossiping behind others' backs, with a sharp tongue that is no better than that of a good woman. After the mother of this gossiping dog got divorced, she ended up with an old man from the police station. It is said that the old man is a minor leader, but no one has actually seen him; however, this gossiping dog mentions the old man every day, calling him more dear than her own father.

Since elementary school, Liu Xiaohong has always been very concerned about Chen Zhi. The book covers that Chen Zhi used as a child were wrapped by Liu Xiaohong

However, when Teacher Guo returned to work the next day, his reaction was very calm, as if nothing had happened. Chen Zhi was initially surprised, but the thinking of a child is quite simple; he thought that everything was fine and that the car accident might not be a big deal after all

"We are all classmates, is it really necessary to act this way?" Chen Zhi said, suppressing his anger and speaking with a cold expression

In Chen Zhi's simplistic thinking at the time, he believed that the teacher might be angry with him for not keeping the appointment, or perhaps for some other reason. In any case, the adult world was very strange to him, and he could not comprehend it at all

He carefully examined the note, which had been torn from an old-fashioned piece of stationery. Although it had yellowed with age, the handwriting remained clear, and it was evidently written by a man, with neat characters that clearly indicated a practiced hand in calligraphy

"How? Was that my mistake?" Gou Shifei threw away the half bun in his hand and directly kicked the stool in front of the bun shop out.

"Chen Zhi, have you found a job?" Liu Xiaohong asked with concern.

However, one thing changed; from that point on, Teacher Guo never expressed any concern for him again. Even when Chen Zhi took the initiative to speak to him, Teacher Guo showed no interest in responding.

Da Sha Hong, your bun shop is causing disturbances again, do you know that? Do you believe that I will smash your shabby stall today?

After returning home, Chen Zhi took out that note once again

Fifteen years from now, when this small note reappears before him, a long-sealed memory suddenly unfolds in Chen Zhi's mind. What seemed reasonable to him at that time now appears so unreasonable in the mind of this adult.

However, today Chen Zhi watched as Liu Xiaohong was bullied by him, and he could not remain silent! He had no choice but to muster his courage and walk over, politely saying: "Dafei, we are all old classmates, and she has her difficulties too. It's quite cold, so let's not make things difficult for her."

"What new Teacher Guo are you talking about? We have only ever had one math teacher, the very strict fat woman. She has never changed. Are you mistaken?" Liu Xiaohong said, putting down her work with a puzzled expression.

On ordinary days, Chen Zhi would definitely ignore this dog's nonsense. It is not that Chen Zhi is afraid of him, but rather that this guy always brings people with him whenever he appears. In this area, he is notorious for his unscrupulous behavior, and with his shameless demeanor, there are indeed not many who would want to provoke him.

The Youth Forging Factory ... ... '' Chen Zhi was desperately trying to recall this place in his mind. Ever since he grew up, he had not heard a single piece of information about this factory. After so many years, it was likely that this factory had long been abandoned

No, I will go take a look tomorrow!" Chen Zhi replied in a low voice, his eyes filled with exhaustion

It seems that someone whispered in his ear: "Don't forget, you must come!"

Liu Xiaohong is usually timid; when she sees a dog, she feels like crying. She timidly says, "Brother Dafei, these buns at my home are made with fresh pork, they won't smell bad"

Point of suspicion 1: The horsepower of that Liberation brand truck is extremely high, and a collision with a normal person would undoubtedly be fatal. Even if the person were not killed, they should at least have sustained serious injuries, making it impossible for them to stand unscathed on the podium the next day

Point of suspicion three: Now, upon careful recollection, those individuals riding in the back of the truck were all dressed in worn camouflage uniforms. Each of them displayed remarkable agility, leaping off the truck without hesitation. This group of people was certainly not ordinary; they resembled well-trained mercenaries, and their objective seemed to be... capturing people!

Chen Zhi was momentarily confused, "What is going on? Could it be that I didn't sleep well yesterday and am experiencing hallucinations? But that note does exist in reality!"