CH 59

After Gu Zhongyi’s car entered the campus, he slowed down

As he passed by an Alpha dormitory building, his brows furrowed.

In his field of vision, he saw Xu Xiangchi arguing with someone. Xu Xiangchi’s face was angry and upset, seemingly saying something.

The person in front of Xu Xiangchi had a tall and slender figure but he effortlessly pushed away Xu Xiangchi’s hand and grabbed his collar, seemingly not taking Xu Xiangchi seriously at all.

Gu Zhongyi wasn’t very interested in Xu Xiangchi, but as he stopped to let a few classmates pass, he saw the other person’s face clearly.

It was Liao Yan.

Coincidentally, Liao Yan also saw him, or more precisely, saw his car.

Just as Gu Zhongyi looked over trying to figure out what was happening, Liao Yan walked confidently to his car and knocked on the window. Gu Zhongyi hesitated for a moment but Liao Yan knocked again.

Gu Zhongyi had to roll down the window, looking serious, and asked, “Is there something you need?”

“Can’t I just say hello?” Liao Yan turned his head, saw that Xu Xiangchi had already entered the dormitory, and couldn’t help but smile faintly. He then said, “I need to go to Building C for class. Can Senior give me a ride?”

Gu Zhongyi’s cold face made him seem distant, but he unexpectedly unlocked the car.

“get in the back.”

Once the car door was closed, Liao Yan immediately felt Gu Zhongyi’s pheromones, which had become increasingly intense, affecting him. Liao Yan had less control over pheromones compared to Gu Zhongyi, and he couldn’t resist that strong scent. He had to obediently sit in the back seat.

However, this time, he felt somewhat helpless.

“Senior Gu, isn’t this the car that you use to pick up Yu Xing with ? It’s so full of your pheromones.”

Gu Zhongyi didn’t like beating around the bush. “You’re an Alpha.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Your appearance and height are outstanding, unlike a Beta.”

“Senior Gu, are you sexist?”

Gu Zhongyi was bored by Liao Yan’s teasing and responded indifferently, “You restrained Xu Xiangchi just now, and he’s an Alpha. It’s not like he would be afraid of you.” The most important point is, “Betas can’t perceive pheromones.”

As soon as Liao Yan got into the car, he had revealed his true intentions.

Gu Zhongyi knew that he was doing it on purpose.

Gu Zhongyi called out, “Liao Yan.”

“Mm~”

“You helped Yu Xing before, so I won’t interfere with your choice to be friends with him. I’m not interested in any grievances you have with others, but if you approach Yu Xing with ill intentions and hurt him, I won’t just stand by.”

Through the rearview mirror, the two made eye contact again.

Liao Yan’s beautiful eyes blinked, and he slightly bowed, resting his elbow on his thigh and supporting his chin in his palm. He didn’t speak, appearing as if he had taken in Gu Zhongyi’s words but also remained indifferent.

However, Gu Zhongyi’s warning was clear.

Liao Yan withdrew his gaze and, after a moment, asked a seemingly random question, “You’re very strict, Senior Gu. Do you treat Yu Xing the same way?”

“…”

“Liao Yan, you’re really pushing it.” Gu Zhongyi dropped Liao Yan and drove away coldly.

But Liao Yan remained stunned in place. He hadn’t expected that Gu Zhongyi wouldn’t respond to his words.

Liao Yan looked at the gradually disappearing silhouette of the car, frowning slightly. He decided to wait for a few minutes at the same spot.

But Gu Zhongyi had always had a negative impression of Liao Yan, which caused some subconscious bias. But as he calmed down, he felt that something was off.

Liao Yan’s words felt familiar.

He searched his memory for a while until a sudden voice cut through his thoughts. Along with it came the familiar smell of disinfectant from the hospital, lingering around his nose.

That person lying on the hospital bed, watching the migratory birds fly by, had said the same thing to him.

Gu Zhongyi’s hand on the steering wheel trembled, and he slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a confused stop in the middle of the road. Fortunately, at this time, there weren’t many people on the road.

Gu Zhongyi’s face gradually warmed, and an unrealistic idea took root in his mind.

At that moment his phone rang at an inopportune time, a call from a private detective.

Gu Zhongyi pressed the answer button, “Speak.”

…

A few minutes later, Gu Zhongyi found Liao Yan waiting for him in front of Building C. Just as he expected.

Gu Zhongyi got out of the car and approached with bated breath.

The Liao Yan in front of him had a similar height to his but a gaze that held a sense of familiarity after their long separation.

“I thought I had guessed wrong,” Liao Yan sighed in relief. “But luckily, you figured it out.”

Liao Yan walked towards Gu Zhongyi’s car and opened the rear door. “It’s not convenient to talk here. Do you have a place we can go and talk privately?”

Gu Zhongyi followed closely and sat in the driver’s seat.

“I do.”

Around 2 PM.

Manager Zhang was surprised to see Gu Zhongyi entering the restaurant with a tall man. It was quite unusual, as in his memory, Gu Zhongyi never brought anyone along except Lin Yuxing.

Usually, when Lin Yuxing was not around, Gu Zhongyi preferred to dine alone.

Gu Zhongyi requested a private room with soundproof walls and had the waiter prepare some tea and fruits.

Liao Yan looked around the elegantly decorated restaurant and naturally took a seat. His reaction was completely different from Lin Yuxing’s nervousness when he went there for the first time.

It was evident that his life had always been far more superior to Lin Yuxing’s, whether in the past or now.

The waiter quickly served the tea and fruit platter, including a separate dish of pineapple.

After closing the door, Liao Yan smiled and said, “Thank you for remembering my preferences.”

Gu Zhongyi called out to him, “Qu Xing.”

That name caused Liao Yan’s fingertips to quiver. It had been a long time since someone called him that. Slowly, the nonchalant attitude in his eyes faded away, replaced by weariness after a sigh.

“Long time no see, Gu Zhongyi.”

The reunion did not evoke much excitement or surprise from Gu Zhongyi. Because just now, his private detective contacted him and informed him that they found the person sending messages to him: an Alpha named Liao Yan with sandalwood pheromones.

But that wasn’t the only strange thing.

The private detective said that he finally found Qu Xing’s whereabouts.

Unfortunately, the news wasn’t good.

Qu Xing was killed in a car accident two years ago. He fell from a bridge in City D after being hit by a drunk driver and landed in the river. The subsequent heavy rain caused the search team to miss the optimal timing, and his body remains unrecovered to this day.

The police quickly identified the victim as a 17-year-old boy named Qu Xing, who had returned from abroad only a few days ago. But when they contacted Qu Xing’s family overseas, they were told that they didn’t care about his life or whether his body would be found, nor did they care about the handling of the matter.

The drunk driver was already arrested, and with Qu Xing’s family’s indifference, the case was quickly closed.

It was on that day that 17 years old, Lin Yuxing miraculously survived a car accident.

Gu Zhongyi had too many questions he wanted to ask, but he didn’t know where to start. He could only begin with the simplest question, “When did you come back?” He thought for a moment and added, “Into the body you’re in now.”

“Last October,” Liao Yan replied.

Gu Zhongyi nodded. “In December last year, I received a bouquet of roses signed by Lin Yuxing. Was that your doing?”

Liao Yan suddenly raised his head, puzzled. “You’re starting with that question?”

“Let’s take it step by step,” Gu Zhongyi said. “It’s important too.”

Liao Yan shrugged helplessly and admitted it.

“You’re too indecisive. Clearly, you noticed Xing Xing but hesitated to pursue him. I couldn’t stand it, so I reached out to help you.”

Gu Zhongyi responded, “I hesitated because Yu Xing’s sudden appearance made me realize that this world has changed, and maybe it’s not the same world I originally lived in. So I wanted to observe first.”

Gu Zhongyi said, “But still, I am very grateful to you.”

A bouquet of roses provided Gu Zhongyi with an appropriate opportunity, skillfully bridging the distance between him and Lin Yuxing, allowing Gu Zhongyi to stand by Lin Yuxing’s side earlier.

“Qu Xing, I want to know why you didn’t come to find me in October last year?”

Seeing Liao Yan exhale a breath, he replied, “Actually, when I found out that you were also at C University, I thought about coming to find you. But I wasn’t sure if you were in the same situation as me. To be honest, I changed some things two years ago, and everything after that is unknown, including my current self.”

Gu Zhongyi’s eyebrows moved, not quite understanding the last sentence.

Liao Yan smiled bitterly, hesitatingly explaining, “How should I put it? It’s just that my body… isn’t in great shape.” He moved his large hands and hesitated, “Sometimes, I would briefly lose consciousness. Even if it’s only for a few seconds or minutes, I can feel that it’s not entirely mine.”

Only in the past two months has his physical condition improved, and the problems occurring occasionally have subsided.

“The most troublesome part is that I can’t leave City C. The owner of this body seems to have no intention of going anywhere. Perhaps his soul is still lingering, I don’t know.”

Liao Yan pondered for a moment but didn’t immediately reveal what he had discovered. He needed to exchange information with Gu Zhongyi first.

His first question was, “Did you die over there too?”

If others heard this question, they would find it really strange. However, Gu Zhongyi calmly replied, “Yes.”

“When? How did you die?”

“After your funeral, there was an accident,” Gu Zhongyi said straightforwardly, “Xu Xiangchi came to attend your funeral, and he told me that you had died a long time ago.”

“So, you were heartbroken and got into the car accident?”

“Not exactly. I had a fight with him at that time, and it injured my eye.”

Liao Yan froze for a moment, clenching his fists. “That bastard…”

“It’s okay. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity.”

If Xu Xiangchi hadn’t punched him, causing Gu Zhongyi’s eye to suddenly go blind while driving, he might still be living aimlessly in that world, alone.

Gu Zhongyi took a sip of tea, looking at Liao Yan’s face. He paused for a moment, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Liao Yan noticed Gu Zhongyi’s thoughts, “You don’t like this face?”

“A little.”

“I think it’s great, handsome enough, and it can help improve your relationship with Xing Xing.” He casually pointed out Gu Zhongyi’s jealousy, causing Gu Zhongyi to cough softly.

In the midst of a heavy conversation, they had a rare moment of lightness.

After a while, Liao Yan touched the edge of the cup. “Don’t you find it strange? Why did I become someone else instead of waking up in my own body like you?”

“Just waking up in a different life is already incredible,” Gu Zhongyi had strong acceptance, and he had already sorted out his thoughts clearly, “If you think carefully, I should have returned here one year later than you. But you died again; this is your second rebirth.”

He was still in the time of this world but not in his own body.

Gu Zhongyi didn’t hide anything from him, “When I came back here, my first thought was to find you, to have you tell me where Yu Xing is, and to stop you from being with Xu Xiangchi, to prevent history from repeating itself.”

Liao Yan trembled slightly. The pain he experienced still remained in his heart.

Gu Zhongyi said, “At that time, I couldn’t escape my father’s control and couldn’t seek help from others. I knew you graduated from C University and filled in your preference for C University. But after school started, I couldn’t even find a trace of you.”

“…”

“Later, I asked a private detective to find you. I learned that you had cut off contact with your foster parents two years ago and returned to the country.”

Gu Zhongyi continued, “But it was as if you disappeared.”

Just when Gu Zhongyi was desperate, Lin Yuxing appeared. He entered C University one year later and became Gu Zhongyi’s junior in the same major.

It was quite strange, as if the broken fate had been reconnected.

And only today did Gu Zhongyi learn that it was Qu Xing who reconnected their broken fate.

In the previous world, Lin Yuxing did die.

He died in a car accident at the age of 17, at a time when Gu Zhongyi couldn’t rush there.

“Qu Xing, when you said ‘changed some things,’ you were referring to the car accident on the pedestrian walkway. You stopped Xing Xing from crossing the road, and later, it was you who got hit by the car and fell into the river.”

It wasn’t a question but a statement.