ryethenovel Chapter 1: Rebooting 2008
Chapter 1: Rebooting 2008
"Lime, I've come to see you again."
Lin Bei took off his suit jacket and draped it over the tombstone in front of him. He was holding a case of beer in his hand as he stood in the cemetery at the end of July.
The tombstone in front of me was very clean, as if someone cleaned it regularly, and there was a line of text engraved on it:
【Song Qingning】
[July 29, 1991 – June 11, 2008]
The girl in the photo has exaggeratedly long, blonde, permed hair, wears a colorful headband, and laughs carefree, revealing two small tiger teeth.
That was the most popular "non-mainstream" style of 2008, but in Lin Bei's eyes, it was the most beautiful smile in the world.
Lin Bei squatted down and placed the cans of beer one by one in front of the tombstone.
Then he took a beautifully packaged box out of his suit pocket.
"This is YSL's latest lipstick, the brand you used to always talk about."
"Back then, I was too poor to afford it, but now I can."
Lin Bei placed the box on the base of the monument and took out a lighter to light a stack of paper money.
The flames were almost transparent in the sunlight; only the heat distorted the air.
"Today is your 35th birthday. If you receive a gift in the afterlife, remember to send it to me in a dream."
"Pfft!" Lin Bei opened a can of beer and took a big gulp.
Carbonated bubbles burst in my throat, mixing with the 37-degree air, and I swallowed them all.
Eighteen years have passed in the blink of an eye.
"You're so heartless, girl. Back then... back then, when I didn't answer that call, you really didn't come to me in my dreams for over ten years?"
Lin Bei's hands trembled as he pulled an old Nokia model phone, long since obsolete, from his pocket.
He specifically went to the secondhand market to find it; it was exactly the same as the one from back then.
"Do you know what? For the past eighteen years, I've heard that ringing bell every night."
"Ring ring... Ring ring..."
"Every time I tried to take it, my hand felt like it was nailed to the ground and I couldn't move it."
When I woke up, it was pitch black all around me, and I was all alone.
Lin Bei tilted his head back and took a big gulp of beer, his eyes slightly red: "We're childhood sweethearts, after all. Have you forgotten how you used to mistake sheep droppings for chocolate beans and stuff them in your mouth when you were three?"
"Have you forgotten about how we went to steal sweet potatoes from someone's field and were chased for three blocks by that big yellow dog?"
A gentle breeze rustled the pine trees in the cemetery.
Insects were chirping in the distance, one long chirp followed by another short chirp, their noise was irritating.
Lin Bei slowly poured the remaining half-can of beer in front of the tombstone. The foam sizzled twice on the hot stone slab before evaporating.
"Remember to send me a message in a dream if you receive it, don't be stingy and reluctant to give it to me."
Lin Bei sat down next to the tombstone, leaning against the cold stone, his suit jacket under his head, and beer beside him, drinking one can after another.
Just then, Lin Bei's phone rang.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, saw the contact name on the screen was "Old Gao," and casually asked, "Hey, what's up?"
"Lin Bei!" The voice on the other end of the phone was loud and urgent, sounding somewhat excited. "Have you seen the news?"
Lin Bei asked suspiciously, "What news?"
Old Gao exclaimed excitedly, "Su Qianqian! She was our school beauty back in high school!"
"Her company went public today, and its market value has exceeded 10 billion. It's already on the Forbes list."
Lin Bei opened another can of beer and said irritably, "Why are you so excited about their company going public?"
"Besides, it has nothing to do with me, there's no need for them to call me specifically."
"How can it be nothing!" Old Gao chuckled. "Have you forgotten about confessing your feelings to someone back in high school?"
Upon hearing the word "confession," Lin Bei's expression changed slightly, and some long-buried memories came to mind.
The summer after the 08 college entrance examination.
In the dimly lit corridor of the KTV private room, amidst the loud singing, Lin Bei, fueled by alcohol, confessed his feelings to the aloof and arrogant school beauty.
In return, he received a cold reply: "Lin Bei, I cannot accept your confession."
That rejection was like a sharp knife, piercing through all his pride and fantasies from his youth.
At that time, Lin Bei was extremely depressed, so he got himself completely drunk and went home to sleep for a day and a night.
The next day, while Qingning was shopping, she was hit by a truck that ran a red light.
In her fading consciousness, she used her last bit of strength to dial Lin Bei's number.
But he didn't answer.
By the time passersby discovered the incident and called the police, the best time for rescue had already passed.
If he hadn't been drunk and had answered that phone call...
"Don't even mention it." Lin Bei took a deep breath and said into the phone, "If I had known earlier that the campus belle of Su University was the heiress of the Su Group, someone unattainable, I would never have gone to humiliate myself like that."
"Maybe... I wouldn't have gotten drunk, and then... lime would have..."
Lin Bei swallowed the rest of his sentence.
"Hey, let me tell you some gossip." Old Gao suddenly lowered his voice mysteriously: "I heard from our high school classmates that the reason why the campus belle of Su University rushed to study abroad after graduating from high school was because she was dumped by her boyfriend and suffered heartbreak."
"So, she's almost forty now and has never been married, not even a boyfriend."
"No way, what kind of man is that beast?" Lin Bei raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Being able to date Su, the campus belle, is already a blessing from several lifetimes ago, and he still dares to abandon her?"
"Who knows?" Old Gao sighed. "I heard it was an online relationship. He dumped Su Qianqian without even meeting her in person."
"Tsk tsk, what a waste! If I could have a relationship with Su, the campus belle, I'd break my ribs to make soup for her!"
Lin Bei scoffed, "Keep dreaming. Anything can happen in dreams."
After chatting for a few more minutes, Lin Bei hung up the phone.
He leaned against the tombstone, gazing at the gray sky, lost in thought.
Online dating?
abandon?
It turns out that even the aloof and superior Su Qianqian has such a disheveled side.
Unfortunately, none of this mattered to him anymore.
Lin Bei reached out and stroked the tombstone, whispering, "If only I hadn't drunk so much that day."
"If I could answer your call, I would hear your last voice."
"You can even insult me a few times, come to my dreams and insult me, I promise I won't talk back."
A gentle breeze made the shadows of the pine trees sway and tremble, but no one answered him.
Lin Bei finished the last sip of beer and then crushed the can.
He rubbed his reddened eyes and suddenly felt very sleepy, his eyelids so heavy he could hardly lift them.
Never mind, tomorrow's the weekend and I don't have to work, I'll sleep here for a while before leaving.
Lin Bei slowly closed his eyes.
Consciousness gradually sank, and darkness swallowed everything.
In a daze, Lin Bei felt as if he could hear loud music and familiar yet unfamiliar noisy voices.
Immediately afterwards, a clear and calm voice, yet one that shook his very soul, rang in his ears.
"Lin Bei, I cannot accept your confession."
Lin Bei opened his eyes in a daze.
What came into view was not a gloomy cemetery, but a KTV private room corridor with dim and ambiguous lighting.
Standing before me was a tall, slender young woman with cool, aloof eyes, a face full of collagen, long, straight black hair cascading over her shoulders, and a simple white dress paired with white sneakers.
Lin Bei was immediately stunned.
This is... Su Qianqian at eighteen?