Мечта о переселении душ

Глава 26

He recently contacted a long-term client who specializes in buying "corpse sculptures," or human specimens, at high prices to sell to foreign perverts.

That long-term client was also a collector of corpse sculptures and lived in Very Apartment.

Recently, inspired by a mass suicide incident, this client gave Wang Xiaofeng a videotape and asked him to create a masterpiece of corpse sculpture based on the deaths of 17 suicide victims in the videotape.

This is a massive project, Wang Xiaofeng chuckled, and of course, it will be quite expensive.

14.

In the dimly lit little house, a dazzling array of colors shimmered. Seventeen children, each a teenage version of Xili, smiled, full of hope, and died in the way they desired.

Xi Li sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in sweat, his head buzzing. He glanced at his watch: 1 a.m. All around was quiet. Those 17 children would appear in his dreams every night.

He took a deep breath, climbed out of bed, picked up his crutches, and slowly walked towards the exercise room. Although the doctor said his recovery speed was already a miracle, he still felt it wasn't enough, that it was too slow.

"Xi Li..." Aunt Mei, dressed in her pajamas, stood behind him with a worried expression. "Xi Li... go and rest..."

"Rest?" Xi Li turned her head. "Do you think I'm entitled to rest right now?"

"But……"

“Aunt Mei, I know you mean well, but…” Xi Li clenched his fists tightly, tears welling in his eyes, “but… those children… those children who died because of me…” He lowered his head, sobbing, then resolutely turned around and walked firmly toward the training room.

This is the power of dreams.

Xi Li felt as if she had returned to the days when she relentlessly pursued her dreams. She worked hard, struggled, and even risked her life for a reason, a goal, and an expectation.

Only such a life is a meaningful life. Only in this way can we find the meaning of living and the true essence of life.

As Aunt Mei watched Xi Li's retreating figure, she suddenly squatted down and began to sob. Dreams, indeed, are so moving.

On the same night, another Xili was also awakened by a nightmare.

He dreamed that he was singing on stage, and as he was singing, the entire venue suddenly went dark.

Immediately afterwards, he heard the host say, "Welcome Xili on stage!"

He stood on the stage and shouted, "I've already made my appearance!"

But no one paid him any attention. He stood helplessly on the stage, like a ghost, sweating profusely and at a loss, watching the fake Xili who looked exactly like him shine brightly under the spotlight.

He was about to rush over and expose the fake Xili's true identity, telling everyone that he was the real Xili, when someone stopped him.

In his dream, he couldn't see the person's face clearly, but he remembered that the person said, "He Yu, it's your turn to appear."

He Yu...

Who is He Yu?

15.

The older brother of the child who was killed by the robbery was named He Feng.

When Yang Xin and Ding Yan found him, he was already dead.

He committed suicide.

He somehow acquired a dilapidated old car, attached a long hose from a vacuum cleaner to the car's exhaust pipe, and then extended the other end of the hose through the car window, sealing it tightly with waste newspaper and tape.

“This is how rich people commit suicide!” Ding Yan said. “As soon as he starts the car, the carbon monoxide in the exhaust will fill the car. When it reaches a certain concentration, he will naturally die of carbon monoxide poisoning.”

“Ding Yan…” Yang Xin stared at her blankly: “How do you know so much?”

"Huh?!" Ding Yan stuck out his tongue. "That's because I wanted to help you, so I couldn't help but look up information on this..."

"Thank you," Yang Xin said, touched. "You're so kind to me!"

"Of course!" Ding Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, almost giving himself away. A few days ago, Ding Yan had gone to great lengths to deceive him about Xi Li's matter.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a lie, just a mix of truth and fiction. Ding Yan said she used to be Xi Li's assistant. Xi Li got tired of stage life and wanted to be an ordinary person, so he faked his death by taking advantage of a heart attack. The current Xi Li is traveling all over the world, but she believes that if he finds out about the fake Xi Li, he will definitely rush back to deal with it.

Yang Xin believed this without a doubt, because such a cliché plot often appeared in various clichéd novels.

Ding Yan stared at He Feng's corpse, at the tattoos on his arm, and frowned deeply: "He Feng...this person looks so familiar..."

"Of course he looks familiar. Didn't I see him in the video before?" Yang Xin always seemed so clueless. Ding Yan wanted to punch him.

"It's not that... Don't you think he looks a little bit like Xili?"

“Hmm…” Yang Xin also frowned, “It is a bit…”

“He Feng…” Ding Yan murmured, “By the way, Yang Xin, could you check his household registration and see if there’s anyone in his family named He Yu?”

“No need to investigate further,” Yang Xin said. “I already looked at all the information when I was checking that child’s records. There are only three brothers in their family, and their parents passed away a long time ago. Their eldest brother’s name is indeed He Yu, but he disappeared three years ago and is very likely dead.”

“That’s right… I know who the fake Xili is most likely…” Ding Yan said, “It’s… He Yu!”

"Who is He Yu?"

“A few years ago, impersonation shows were all the rage on variety shows, basically celebrity look-alikes. There was a really famous variety show that did a 10-episode special on Xi Li, which was to select the person who looked most like Xi Li.” Ding Yan swallowed, as if that talent show was a terrifying thing: “Back then, there was a boy named He Yu who was a crazy fan of Xi Li. Not only did he look exactly like Xi Li, but his singing voice, acting skills, and so on were also very similar. If he hadn’t been a child at the time, and not a little shorter than Xi Li, even I would have had a hard time telling the difference…”

Ding Yan frowned deeply, glanced at Yang Xin, and continued, "There's a segment in the show where they play photos of the imitators when they were little. Do you know how terrifying that is? Before Xi Li debuted, that kid didn't look like Xi Li at all! He said that he liked Xi Li from the moment he debuted. And it was from that time that his appearance slowly started to look like Xi Li's."

"Then what?"

"And then?" Ding Yan glanced at the corpse and continued, "When they interviewed his parents at the scene, the two old people actually pointed at Xi Li and started cursing. They said that their son, ever since he became obsessed with Xi Li, refused to do anything else. Every day he would just imitate Xi Li's singing, Xi Li's speaking, Xi Li's dancing, and everything else he could imitate... They said that Xi Li had poisoned their son."

“Xi Li didn’t force his son to like her,” Yang Xin said, speaking up for him.

“That’s true. But Xi Li has always been very protective of his fans.” Ding Yan sighed. “The champion of that talent show was naturally He Yu. In addition to winning a large prize, he was also invited to Xi Li’s home. At that time, Xi Li earnestly advised him, saying that he was a very talented person, and told him not to just imitate others, but to have and realize his own dreams. Xi Li has always been a person who values dreams, and he has always encouraged his fans to have their own dreams.”

"What happened to He Yu afterward? I think his idol-worshiping behavior is almost pathological!"

"And then?" Ding Yan gave a bitter smile. "Later, to comfort the two elderly people, west Li arranged a menial job for He Yu at a friend's agency. Since he only finished junior high school and wasn't very educated, it was already quite good for him to have such a job. Not long after, He Yu suddenly found Xi Li and told him that he had found his dream. After that, he quit the job and disappeared without a trace. We only found out later that his parents died shortly after he returned home, and he disappeared as well. At the time, we didn't pay much attention to him because Xi Li was very depressed during that period and was secretly planning his retirement."

16.

“But if it really is He Yu, he should be riding high right now!” Ding Yan said to Lao You while looking at the information from the talent show back then. “Then he would definitely take care of his younger brother. Why would He Feng commit suicide?”

"Suicide out of guilt?" the old postman said. "Because he orchestrated that mass suicide?"

“I don’t think that kid has the ability. Maybe he’s just an executor. The real mastermind is He Yu, who is also the fake Xi Li…” Ding Yan stared at He Yu on the big screen. Perhaps he had always harbored the ambition to replace Xi Li. “Letting his brother organize this matter and then killing people to cover it up, that’s fucking ruthless!” Ding Yan cursed.

"Did you find the phone at the scene?" Old Mail suddenly asked.

"No……"

"Perhaps He Feng wasn't involved in this at all, and the phone fell into someone else's hands. The whole thing was organized by someone else."

Why did He Feng commit suicide?

"Perhaps he was killed by someone else? To silence him. He Feng is the only person in the world who can prove that He Yu is not from Xili. Wouldn't it be too dangerous for He Yu to live?" Old You's words were not without reason.

Ding Yan scratched his head: "What's the truth of this?! Ugh, this is driving me crazy! Why am I suffering like this? What does this have to do with me? Never mind! This is so annoying! Old Postman, get me a cup of blood!"

The old postman said, half-laughing, half-crying, "You forgot? Your blood-drinking machine is gone!"

"Ugh!" Ding Yan slapped his forehead. "What a bummer! Drinking the blood Wang Xiaofeng brings every day is awful, it's not fresh at all!"

"Then you can drink mine!" A person appeared at the door, raising his wrist with a large scar on it.

"Xi Li! You're so fast!" Ding Yan jumped up excitedly. "Xi Li! Are you really Xi Li?"

Xi Li smiled and pointed to her forehead, where the faint scar was still there.

"Xi Li! You're finally back!" Ding Yan hugged Xi Li and acted coquettishly. If Yang Xin or Wang Xiaofeng saw this, they would definitely be furious.

"You miss me that much?" Although Xi Li's face was still a little pale, she had regained her vitality.

"No, that's not it!" Ding Yan released Xi Li. "I just suddenly realized something."

"What are you realizing?"

"I've realized I've been reaping what I sowed. Shouldn't you be the one truly responsible for the fake Xili and the mass suicide of her fans, and for finding out the truth? This whole thing has driven me crazy, and now I realize I've brought this upon myself! What does all this mess have to do with me? I'm not getting involved anymore!"

When Xi Li heard the words "fans committing mass suicide," his expression immediately became very serious. "Yes, these are indeed things I should be responsible for. Ding Yan, you've had a hard time these past few days." Xi Li gently patted Ding Yan's shoulder.

"Uh! It's all what I should do..." Ding Yan said embarrassedly, "It's what I should do... It's what I should do... Xi Li, don't worry, leave this to me. I will definitely help you find out the truth and clear your name!"

"Hey? Who was it that just said they wouldn't care anymore?" Old Postman chuckled sarcastically.

The whole room immediately burst into laughter.

Xi Li said, "You little rascal, why haven't you grown up yet?"

17.

Another person named Xili has been feeling uneasy lately, but doesn't know why. He just vaguely feels that his mind and body have completely separated, leaving him feeling empty and void, as if he were a person without a past.

Yes, there is no past.

The media found a new topic for hype: Xi Li's song.

Many celebrities make a comeback with new songs, but Xi Li is different. Since his comeback, he has been singing old songs and rehashing old material. He has also tried to write songs, but he just can't seem to come up with anything.

He crumpled the manuscript paper into a ball, threw it on the ground, and said irritably, "Ugh! Why can't I write a song?"

Shao Wen sneered, "Why can't you write it? Have you even tried?"

"Of course I've written them!" Fake Xili said seriously, "All the songs I wrote before were my own!"

“That’s right, all of Xi Li’s songs are written by Xi Li himself.” Shao Wen’s words had a double meaning. However, the fake Xi Li did not understand the true meaning behind her words, because in his heart, he was the real Xi Li.

“I always feel…” Jia Xili pinched his brow, “I always feel… that I’ve forgotten something important, forgotten someone important…”

I know what you've forgotten.

"What?"

"I won't tell you. Haha!" A cold laugh seemed to be Shao Wen's usual expression. "Today I received a call from my lawyer saying that the property transfer will be resolved soon. The other party's lawyer said that Ding Yan has agreed to return the property to Xi Li as soon as possible."

"Is that so?"

"Don't forget what you promised me."

“I haven’t forgotten that I’m not interested in wealth; I only care about my dreams.”

What is your dream?

"To become someone like Xili?"

"Since you are Xili, why do you want to become someone like Xili?"

“Yes…” The fake Xili’s head throbbed with pain again. “I am Xili myself… I am Xili, and Xili is me!”

He stood up resolutely, picked up his pen, and began to rack his brains for lyrics that could touch people's hearts.

18.