Oh - Teacher Shen, come on. [ he will laughingly reach out for him, though. ] Don't get sent off to another one, I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Stop, I have so many questions.
Every day I remain grateful no one else followed me here.
[ could you imagine the stress he would be under if he had to charade around someone familiar?! he's already waved goodbye to his face and dignity to strangers. he'd never recover if the others learned the truth too. ]
What did I do to deserve this?? Is this their idea of punishment???
[ at least you're not getting your limbs ripped off my guy ]
[ SO IS HE BUT IN COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FIELDS APPARENTLY. JUST CAUSE HE'S NOT THE `AH YES WINE AND CLASSICS` GUY- ]
You may. I've become rather used to it. [ but also pls hold while he reaches into the math lady mind palace of years and dates ] Before I was dragged in....? About 20.
fei du's going to say something else, but that accursed pig decides now would be a fun time to skitter by, and - ]
[ god, you are so tired.
it's july 31st. yan city is hot in the summer, oppressively so - the humidity seeps into your bones no matter where you step, but you feel more cold than anything, as you always do on this day.
you visit the sanatorium by the seaside, a four hour drive from yan city, room 407. you view the man in the hospital bed, his muscles atrophied, plugged into every mechanical device you could imagine, a completely unresponsive vegetable who refused to die. fei chengyu, the man who gave you life, is barely alive in this sanatorium. you reach out for his oxygen tube when you regard him, your expression darkening...
... and then you smile, lean back and blow a kiss to the closest security camera, and say - Just kidding.
you wouldn't do that. instead, you sign a card, and you leave the sanatorium in a pretty good mood. there's something about seeing your father unwell that puts a spring in your step, and you slide back into your car on this, the day of your twenty-second birthday, and consider the rest of your plans: visiting a human vegetable, borrowing a book about concerning mental illness, reading all night and then falling asleep.
today is your birthday, but it's also the anniversary of your mom's death, and so, you treat it with a somber hand, your phone off, and start the drive.
--
but, the drive itself has other plans. traffic is nightmarish, and you sit in your expensive SUV with the ac on, listening to the radio to make sure you don't fall asleep. it rambles on about a missing children's case, and after two hours of stop and go traffic, you finally realize you're almost home.
chenguang road exit 1.5 km, says a roadside sign. relieved, you flash your headlights as you finally escape traffic, your back numb, and speed your car up, considering how you'll apologize to your therapist about missing your book borrowing appointment. you put on your turn signal, and right as you do -
out of nowhere, a car charges out from in front of you, going the complete opposite direction. it doesn't brake - in fact, it accelerates. you have no time to stop it, you slam your foot into your brake and your tires squeal and bang.
the airbag deploys and your whole world rattles - your consciousness blurs, your insides turn over, and you feel a sharp pain in your left forearm, shoved backwards into your seat by the airbag. you have just enough time to think to yourself, through an unclear consciousness - Retribution comes very quickly.
hot air hits you in the face as your door pops open, and you realize in your dim consciousness that you know the person who opens it, and your first thought is not one of relief. it's oh, great.
--
... and sure enough a few hours later, you find yourself sitting in a doctors office with luo wenzhou, whose expression is impossibly grave.
the ancient orthopedic physician beside you is binding up your arm in a cast. it hurts - you do not do well with pain, your face is white and you're sweating - and the physician tuts and clicks his tongue. "Young fellow, this won't do. I can see your lifestyle isn't good, right? You young people these days, staying up all night, not exercising, playing on your computers, can your health be any good? It baffles me. What's so fun about that stupid piece of junk? Just because you're young, getting osteoporosis in your twenties and thirties can happen..."
you have been wronged by this speech, absolutely morally wronged, and you glance over at luo wenzhou and his grim expression... and how he makes a "pff-" noise and then starts howling with laughter.
he holds your glasses in his other hand - they are perfectly unbroken, unlike your arm - and continues his irritating snickering as he supplies background commentary, "Doctor, this kind of bourgeois delinquent doesn't play on the computer. They go out night after night for music and singing. Look at that face! It's vacant, a testimony to a dissipated life!"
you give luo wenzhou a look that could melt glass when the orthopedist isn't paying attention as he continues to laugh, and the orthopedist looks at you, scrutinizing. there's a pause. he says, "Oh, there is something of that."
wenzhou finally shuts up, and you look at the doctor, who continues disregarding your dignity and carries on with his intructions, "I've set it for you. The fracture isn't serious. Come get the cast off in a while. Remember not to engage in strenuous exercise. No smoking, no drinking, no sex." he is so serious as he scolds you, "Also, you must be sure to take calcium supplements, young fellow, otherwise in another decade you'll just - snap!"
that's it for luo wenzhou, who bursts into hysterical laughter, and continues to laugh as you stand up and bow your head in thanks, and continues to laugh as you get in his car and he drives you home like this is the funniest thing that's ever happened. you deeply hate him, and you decide, petulant, that luo wenzhou is the absolute worst person on god's green earth.
(cranky and annoyed, by the time he drives you off, you realizes he's taking you not to your own house, but to a shopping center, and when you come back from a train of thought that edges a little too close to the danger of a car accident and the fate of your father, you realize you're holding a birthday cake in your hands - one that luo wenzhou bought you.) ]
[
as it finishes, fei du just closes his mouth very slowly and presses his lips together.
I thought as much. [ his kin ] I'm the only son, myself, but I run with a similar crowd.
[ he's sort of the head of the pack of ridiculous rich boys out in yan city because he can do whatever he wants with his dad's money now that he's [redacted] so there's that. ]
It's interesting - you've lived a very interesting life.
Well, Yuzuriha and I went for drinks on Sunday. I offered her some of the wine I brought, and she couldn't handle the taste of it - it was too strong. Too many complex flavors. So, I was already suspicious when you and I shared the last.
[ that damn rich boy kush. that $3K bottle of wine. ]
And, it is. You've lived two of them, technically. That's more than most people can say for themselves.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Oh - Teacher Shen, come on. [ he will laughingly reach out for him, though. ] Don't get sent off to another one, I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Stop, I have so many questions.
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[ could you imagine the stress he would be under if he had to charade around someone familiar?! he's already waved goodbye to his face and dignity to strangers. he'd never recover if the others learned the truth too. ]
What did I do to deserve this?? Is this their idea of punishment???
[ at least you're not getting your limbs ripped off my guy ]
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[ fei du says
as if he has read it. he is very convincing ]
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REALLY NOT SURE IF HE WANTS TO MEET A FELLOW FAN IN THIS SPECIFIC HELL.
actually shouldn't his name been a big ol hint? hm anyway, ]
.............Proud Immoral Demonic Way.
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a concerningly long pause ]
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Never heard of it.
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YOU....!
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What? I'm very well read, Teacher Shen. Should I still be calling you that? How old are you, anyway? New body aside.
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You may. I've become rather used to it. [ but also pls hold while he reaches into the math lady mind palace of years and dates ] Before I was dragged in....? About 20.
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fei du's going to say something else, but that accursed pig decides now would be a fun time to skitter by, and - ]
[
as it finishes, fei du just closes his mouth very slowly and presses his lips together.
well
could've been worse ]
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because look how sqq's expression brightens immediately. talk about instant revenge ]
Snapped like a twig, hm?
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As an avid reader of webnovels, I imagine you must know the same feeling?
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I've never snapped a bone actually.
[ blown up, stabbed, and injured by evil plants however... ]
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[ rich boy to rich boy vibes ]
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he did actually
die at his computer
from food poisoning (probably) but still!
the opening and closing of his mouth while he speedruns the five stages of grief sure must be something ]
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anyway, ]
Are you a fuerdai? Were, I suppose.
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The third son, but close enough I suppose.
[ the weird weeb of the family, rip ]
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[ he's sort of the head of the pack of ridiculous rich boys out in yan city because he can do whatever he wants with his dad's money now that he's [redacted] so there's that. ]
It's interesting - you've lived a very interesting life.
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I guess there are some things even an entire transmigration later can't hide.
[ he's huffs a small noise though ]
"Interesting" is certainly a nice way to put it.
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[ that damn rich boy kush. that $3K bottle of wine. ]
And, it is. You've lived two of them, technically. That's more than most people can say for themselves.
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That's true. You'd think dealing with one life was hard. Trying to handle a second one without it going on the rails is a struggle.
[ that sure is a ten yard stare because it.... sure did go off the rails! they switched tracks so hard, they changed genres entirely!!! ]