Building B, fourth floor.
Moving company workers went up and down, carrying things back and forth. The homeowner, Lu Lang, sat listlessly on a red plastic stool on the balcony, watching them move.
His wife, Pan Fang, sighed with teary eyes, “Old Lu, is it really impossible not to go back to our hometown? Over all these years, your brothers have already divided up what little there was. All that’s left are two dilapidated ancestral mud houses—how can anyone live there!”
Both husband and wife worked within the education system, but they were unlucky. When they started their jobs, they missed the period when work units allocated housing, so they had to buy a house themselves with their own money.
Lu Lang’s brothers back in their hometown called him every day, complaining about poverty and having nowhere to live. They wanted Lu Lang to give them the land he inherited from their parents so they could build houses, promising to leave one floor for him.
Once the houses were built, their tune changed. They no longer admitted to promising him a floor and spread rumors everywhere that Lu Lang, who had bought a house outside, was coming back to fight his brothers for property. They claimed he had already sold the land and taken the money.
In reality, Lu Lang had never received any money for the land—not a single cent.
But Lu Lang was thin-skinned and couldn’t bear the gossip and pointing fingers in the village. With both his parents gone, he never went back.
“After all, fallen leaves return to their roots.”
Lu Lang said hoarsely. He didn’t have long to live. He didn’t want to waste money on the hospital, burdening his children, nor did he want to die in this house, fearing his future daughter-in-law would find it distasteful.
He packed up all his belongings and prepared to return to his hometown.
The mud houses where his parents once lived hadn’t collapsed yet. With a little tidying up, they could still be lived in. He would spend the rest of his days there.
His life was just like that.
“Teacher, are you still inside?”
A familiar voice came from outside. Lu Lang felt a bit dazed and looked toward the door.
Outside stood two men and a woman, carrying a fruit basket.
Pan Fang wiped her tears and said, “Your students have come to see you. Cheer up a bit—don’t scare the children.”
Pan Fang composed herself and walked over to greet them on Lu Lang’s behalf. Lu Lang was in pain all over and couldn’t walk properly anymore.
Among the three, Pan Fang was more familiar with Zeng Keyu, having seen him around the neighborhood before. The other two looked somewhat unfamiliar.
She said they were Lu Lang’s students, but Lu Lang taught at a high school. These two had a somewhat youthful air about them, but their physiques were anything but immature.
The young man was tall and burly, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. The young woman was delicate and graceful, as beautiful as a flower. They didn’t look much like high school students.
“Lu Shiyan? He Mu?”
Lu Lang rubbed his eyes again and again, looking them over carefully before he could find familiar traces in them. One was his trusted aide, the other was his biggest headache.
When Pan Fang heard these two names, she was also surprised, because she had seen Lu Shiyan and He Mu before. Not long ago, they had visited Lu Lang in the hospital.
But at that time, these two didn’t look like this.
Little did Pan Fang know that not only did they not look like this before, but they hadn’t looked like this even until yesterday.
He Mu walked in carrying the fruit basket, with Lu Shiyan and Zeng Keyu following behind. They politely greeted Pan Fang, “Teacher’s wife, we’ve come to see our teacher.”
Pan Fang put away her surprise, took the fruit basket from He Mu’s hands, and said, “We’re moving today, so it’s a mess. Please find a place to sit anywhere. I’ll go get you some drinks.”
“Thank you, Teacher’s wife.”
After speaking, He Mu walked to the balcony and grinned carelessly at Lu Lang. “Old Class, your eyes are as sharp as ever—you still managed to recognize me.”
Lu Lang was still quite shocked. “He Mu, did you get plastic surgery? Or did you have limb-lengthening surgery?”
Lu Lang then looked at Lu Shiyan. “Did Lu Shiyan encourage you to do this?”
Lu Shiyan wore an expression of helplessness. “Old Class, I’m innocent. I’ve been wronged.”
The top student in the class and second in the grade was indeed the teacher’s favorite. Whenever something happened, she was always the first to defend herself, while the troublemaker at the bottom of the class was the one who took the blame.
Did the model student do something wrong? It must have been the bad student who led her astray.
“Lu Shiyan…”
Lu Lang’s eyes dimmed, and his voice trembled slightly. “Yes, the fault isn’t yours. It’s the teacher’s preconceptions, the teacher’s arbitrariness, worrying that a promising student might go down the wrong path. Am I very annoying? I must have often made you feel wronged before. You just got the questions wrong—you didn’t do anything wrong as a person.”
“Ah…” Lu Shiyan suddenly felt uncomfortable. He would rather the homeroom teacher scold him a few times than see him like this.
It was as if… a person on the brink of death speaks kindly.
Lu Shiyan said, “Old Class, don’t be so pessimistic. In school, everyone knows you’re the most protective of your students. You care for the high-achievers, but you never gave up on the low-achievers either. You always urged us to study hard and improve every day. Other classes simply abandoned the low-achievers, leaving them to fend for themselves.”
“Old Class, I’ve always felt that meeting you was a very lucky and happy thing.”
Lu Lang’s eyes immediately reddened, and he choked up a little. “Do you really think so?”
Lu Shiyan nodded. “You’re a good person.”
Touched by the sentimental scene before her, He Mu was also moved, but she was more rational—at least she couldn’t bring herself to say such mushy words.
He Mu said, “Old Class, you really did misunderstand. We didn’t go to any cosmetic surgery clinic for procedures, and we certainly didn’t have limb-lengthening surgery. I guarantee you, there isn’t a single cosmetic surgery clinic in the world that could achieve results like ours.”
Lu Lang’s gaze returned to He Mu’s face. He believed her, because it had only been about ten days since he last saw her. If she had gone to a cosmetic surgery clinic for procedures, she would still be in the post-surgery recovery period now, and it would be impossible to have such results.
But if that wasn’t the explanation, how else could He Mu and Lu Shiyan’s current state be explained?
“We met an Immortal!”
Lu Lang’s eyes lit up as he stared at He Mu. “An Immortal?”
Both Lu Shiyan and Zeng Keyu looked at He Mu, clearly surprised by the mention of an “Immortal.”
He Mu explained, “This Immortal possesses divine skills, and I am the spokesperson, able to take a limited number of people to travel through different times. Yesterday, Lu Shiyan and I embarked on a Time Travel journey. We spent a day in that place, and because of that day, our bodies underwent subtle changes. Yet when we returned, only a minute had passed.”
“Now, I’m about to embark on a second Time Travel journey. There are still two spots left for passengers. Do you want to come? Perhaps this divine skill can cure the illness you’re suffering from.”
Lu Lang fell silent for a long while.
He suddenly smiled and shook his head, “It’s the first time I’ve heard you tell a cold joke. It’s really a bit hard to get used to all at once. I’m moving today. Once the movers have loaded everything onto the truck, I… I’ll be heading back to my hometown.”
He Mu said, “Going home to wait for death?”
Lu Lang’s face paled, and he smiled bitterly, “You’re still as blunt as ever.”
“Old Lu, why don’t you give it a try?”
Pan Fang walked over with a plate of sliced apples, “I heard everything you just said. I believe in He Mu.”
When medicine fails, one can only place their faith in the existence of the divine.