Emperatrices transmigradas (hombres y mujeres)

Capítulo 42

My scream suddenly transformed into the scream of the fat woman I'd seen in the restaurant—a scream filled with terror, a shrill voice echoing in the air, interwoven with a beautiful song: "Though we will never see each other again, I will always be by your side; the words we spoke will never change, we will never be apart..."

I sat up abruptly, drenched in cold sweat. The room was pitch black, with only faint moonlight streaming in through the gaps in the curtains. The song seemed to still be echoing in my ears.

I had such a dream, and now I can't fall back asleep. I turned on the light and sat quietly on the edge of the bed...

The phone rang, and I checked my watch; it was 8 a.m. I had been sitting there for a full six hours since I woke up at 2 a.m.

I picked up the phone, and Chen Yuan's voice came from the other end. It turned out it was Saturday, his day off, and he was going to accompany me shopping. I told him I was feeling a bit tired and asked if he didn't need to come. Chen Yuan asked me a few questions with concern, and I gave him a few casual replies before hanging up.

I wandered around the room for a bit and then decided to go out for a walk.

I walked down the unfamiliar streets, watching the crowds come and go, as if everything in this city was irrelevant to me. I went to the bank and withdrew some money from my account. My feeling yesterday was right; it seems I had indeed been living a good life before. I actually had quite a bit of savings in the bank, so it seems I don't need to rush to find a job anymore.

I wandered aimlessly, occasionally buying a few small items. At noon, I went into a restaurant, and as soon as I sat down, I felt a gaze secretly observing me. I turned around and saw a young woman looking at me. I smiled slightly at her, and she smiled shyly back before walking towards me.

"Are you Wang Xiaoming?" the girl asked first.

I paused for a moment, then said, "Yes, do you know me before?"

The girl shook her head. "Aren't you with Chen Yuan?"

“Oh,” I shook my head, “we’re not together. You’re his friend, right?”

The girl said shyly, "My name is Xiaoxuan, and I'm Chen Yuan's girlfriend. He often mentions you to me, and I've even seen photos of you two together."

"Oh, hello." I quickly invited Xiaoxuan to sit down.

"He said he'd go shopping with you today, why aren't you two together?" Xiaoxuan asked. I said I wanted to walk around by myself, and then invited Xiaoxuan to have dinner with me.

During dinner, I chatted absentmindedly with Xiaoxuan, but my mind was preoccupied with only one thing. Chen Yuan often mentioned me to Xiaoxuan, so did Xiaoxuan know what illness I had three years ago? It seemed Chen Yuan wouldn't tell me, so what about Xiaoxuan? If she knew, would she tell me?

"How long have you known Chen Yuan?" I asked.

“It’s been almost three years,” Xiaoxuan said.

"Oh, Chen Yuan often mentions me to you. What did he say? Did he say anything bad about me?" I asked casually.

Xiao Xuan chuckled, "He keeps talking about your college days, saying you two are as close as brothers. Yesterday he said he'd pick you up, but I haven't seen him all day. Today he said he'd go shopping with you, but he ditched me."

Xiao Xuan took a sip of her drink. "If you weren't a guy too, I would have thought he had a crush on you, haha."

"Haha." I chuckled along with Xiaoxuan, but a touch of emotion stirred within me. It turned out that Chen Yuan and I weren't just colleagues, but also classmates. It seemed we truly were best friends.

"Didn't he tell you where I've been these past few years?" After asking around without getting any answers, I had no choice but to get straight to the point.

"He said you were sick and hospitalized. Oh, by the way, what's wrong with you? Why didn't he come to see you?" Xiaoxuan asked curiously.

"I don't know either," I said honestly.

"Haha, why are you keeping this so secret? Don't tell me you have amnesia." Xiaoxuan glanced at me sideways.

"It might really be amnesia. I'm not one to lie."

Xiao Xuan laughed heartily, "You're so funny." I looked at Xiao Xuan strangely, not understanding why she laughed so much.

"Chen Yuan said you were a womanizer, and it seems he was right. You lie without batting an eye."

I looked down at myself and could only see my protruding belly. I didn't know how I resembled a playboy.

After having dinner with Xiaoxuan, I solemnly said goodbye to her. She laughed heartily again, and I could only chuckle awkwardly.

When I got home, I casually put down the things I bought and went into the room where the old boxes were stored. I wanted to rummage through my old things to see if I could remember anything.

I opened several boxes, which contained old clothes, old books, and the like, but not the letters or photos I was looking for. I randomly flipped through a few books, mostly about computers and martial arts novels. Just as I was about to put the books back, a photograph suddenly fell out of one of them.

I picked up the photo, and a wave of dizziness washed over me.

III. A radiant smile

In the photo, a girl and I are smiling brightly by a flower bed.

The girl had long, flowing hair, big eyes, and two shallow dimples on her cheeks. The familiar melody echoed in my ears again, "Though we will never see each other again, I will always be by your side; the words we spoke will never change, we will never be apart..."

The girl in the photo looks exactly like the girl in my dream yesterday.

I squatted there silently. The girl in the photo was smiling brightly, but I felt cold sweat pouring down my back.

The melody was still playing in my ears, and a familiar feeling slowly welled up in my heart. I saw myself.

Yes, in a daze, I saw myself standing by the school's flowerbed, waving to the girl. She ran towards me, and Chen Yuan, camera in hand, adjusted the aperture. The girl came to my side, and I put my arm around her shoulder. Chen Yuan's face was behind the camera, blurry, but I knew it was Chen Yuan…

"Ring..." A ringing sound rang out, the familiar melody suddenly disappeared, and all that was left in front of me was this photograph.

I stood up, my legs were a little numb, I didn't know how long I had been squatting.

I went to the bedroom to answer the phone.

"Hey, why did it take you so long to answer the phone?"

"I'm in the bathroom, I just came out." My voice trembled slightly.

"What's wrong? Are you tired?" Chen Yuan asked with concern.

"Oh, maybe so."

Chen Yuan invited me out to dinner, and I didn't want to stay home alone, so I immediately agreed.

We went back to the place where we had dinner last night, and Xiao Xuan came along too. It seems that Chen Yuan already knows that we have met.

Chen Yuan asked me to order, and I ordered braised pork without hesitation. Chen Yuan gave me a strange look.

During the meal, while Xiao Xuan went to the restroom, Chen Yuan asked, "What did you ask Xiao Xuan today?"

"I didn't ask anything, just chatted casually."

“I understand you want to know about the past. But since you can’t remember, don’t think about it. Remembering it might not make you happy. Isn’t it better to start over like this?”

I smiled bitterly to myself. I probably couldn't stop thinking about it; the memories of the past had already come back to haunt me.

"Okay, I'll listen to you. I don't want to think about it anymore. Cheers!"

Chen Yuan smiled with satisfaction and raised his glass.

After dinner, I got home very late. I quietly opened the door, silently went into the bedroom, and turned on the light. The photo was on the bedside table; the girl was still smiling brightly.

I rummaged through a few more old boxes, but found nothing useful except an old photo frame. For some reason, I put the photo in the frame and placed it on the table opposite the bed.

I lay in bed, feeling like I should remember something, but I just couldn't recall anything. I don't know how much time passed before I drifted off to sleep.

Though we will never see each other again, I will always be by your side. The words I spoke will never change, and we will never be apart...

The white dress fluttered gently, the girl's radiant smile and shallow dimples...

The scene suddenly shifted, like a scene from a movie. The girl disappeared, and I suddenly found myself in a room, sitting at a table. There was someone sitting next to me, but I couldn't see his face clearly. We were drinking, and there were several plates of food on them, but I couldn't make out what they were. Only one dish was clear to me: braised pork.

The scene shifts again, and the girl appears in my kitchen, singing a familiar melody, seemingly making a dish. But I know it's for me.

I could smell the delicious aroma wafting from the pot, as I watched something cooking inside. I didn't realize I'd appeared in the kitchen. The girl smiled sweetly at me and asked, "Check if it's cooked yet?"

I opened the pot lid, and the aroma became even stronger. I scooped up a piece of meat, took a bite, and it was delicious.

I continued scooping water from the pot with my spoon when suddenly I saw the girl appear in it. Her big eyes were staring at me, and her shallow dimples were no longer visible. My spoon scooped out a human head—it was the girl! I screamed in fright.

No, I suddenly remembered, that girl should be next to me. I turned around, but the person next to me wasn't that girl anymore. He looked up, and I screamed even louder. The person next to me was actually myself! So who am I now?

The background music starts again, "Though we will never see each other again, I will always be by your side. The words we said will never change, we will never be apart..."

"Ah..." I was startled awake by my own scream and sat bolt upright in bed. In the darkness, I could only see a bright smile.

IV. Am I a libertine?

The photograph on the table opposite me shone brightly in the darkness, and I could clearly see every pore on the girl's face. Then, like a stage lighting effect, the light in the photograph gradually faded, the girl's face blurred, and finally, everything went dark.

I sat blankly on the bed, intense fear seeping into every pore of my body.

I don't know what my relationship with that girl was, but judging from the photos, we must have been very close, perhaps even lovers. But where is she now? Is she dead? If she is dead, how did she die, and did it have anything to do with me? And what does it have to do with the illness I got three years ago?

All these questions lingered in my mind, and I was wide awake.

I need to know the answer, I need to retrieve my memories, no matter how cruel the answer may be, or how much I would rather forget.

I lit a cigarette. Chen Yuan undoubtedly knew everything, as did some other people I knew before, like that fat woman, Sister Xu. Where should I begin?

As dawn broke, I ate something and went outside.

I arrived at the entrance of my old company, and to my surprise, I found it without much effort.

I hid in an inconspicuous corner and saw Chen Yuan walk into the building with his briefcase. He was now the company's vice president.

The crowd thronged and filed into the gate.

I saw the plump Sister Xu struggling to walk towards the building in her delicate high heels, making a creaking sound.

I suppressed the urge to rush forward and watched her disappear through the doorway.

I knew Sister Xu was in sales, and she would definitely come out alone during the day. To my surprise, I discovered that I knew many things I thought I had long forgotten.

"Hi." A clear female voice interrupted my thoughts, startling me. For a moment, I thought I heard that beautiful female voice singing at night again.

A delicate face came into view; it was Xiao Xuan. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing so early in the morning?" Xiao Xuan asked curiously.

"Just wandering around, what brings you here?"

A thought popped into my head: Chen Yuan must know the most about me, and if he could only tell one person, it would definitely be Xiao Xuan.

"I work at the hospital up ahead. I just finished my night shift and am heading home," Xiao Xuan said, pointing in the direction she had come from.

I already knew she was a nurse yesterday. "I haven't had breakfast yet, let's eat together," I lied, keeping my expression calm.

"Okay." Xiaoxuan still had a cheerful smile as she followed me into a breakfast shop.

After breakfast, I said I'd been cooped up in the hospital for a long time and wanted to wander around. Xiaoxuan readily agreed to be my guide.

On the bus, Xiaoxuan pointed out the buildings outside the window to me, and I looked around in confusion.

In the square, water from the fountain splashed all over Xiao Xuan's face, and Xiao Xuan's bright, sunny laughter rang out.

At the amusement park, we sat on the roller coaster, our eyes tightly closed, screaming loudly.

In the fast food restaurant, Xiao Xuan listened to my made-up jokes, and then sprayed Sprite all over my face.

...

It was getting dark when Xiaoxuan and I were walking down the neon-lit street. A motorcycle sped past us, more than two meters away, when Xiaoxuan suddenly grabbed my hand and screamed as she hid behind me.

I felt Xiaoxuan's soft hands, her faint fragrance, her slightly warm body temperature... her gentle breath brushed against my neck, and a familiar feeling welled up in my heart.