Chen Nuo descended the stairs. It was already evening.
The summer night was crowned with stars.
In the old residential complexes of 2001, the greenery couldn't compare to what it would be like more than ten years later, but it was filled with the warmth of human life.
Some brought out stools to enjoy the cool evening breeze, using palm-leaf fans to swat away mosquitoes.
Others set a basin in front of them, eagerly munching on watermelon slices, tossing rinds and seeds into the basin.
They chatted about everyday matters, occasionally swatting at a pesky mosquito.
They discussed whether salaries had increased and how house prices seemed to be rising again. There was also talk about whether the recent saltwater ducks were getting fatter, possibly from growth-promoting additives or hormones fed during breeding.
A neighbor sliced a watermelon, only to find it wasn't ripe, and grumbled complaints while beckoning their child over to take the sweetest bite from the center.
The children were the happiest, running circles around the adults who lounged and chatted, laughing and roughhousing.
Every now and then, they'd be pulled aside by their parents to have menthol oil rubbed on their arms and legs.
In this era, even though people lived in apartment buildings, the neighbors were not as distant and indifferent as they would become many years later.
Even the monthly water and electricity bills were read by the residents themselves.
An electricity bureau ledger would be entrusted to one household in a unit, with each family taking turns to keep track. On meter reading days, the designated family would traverse the building, knocking on each door to read the meter and collect the fee.
Finally, the total would be handed over to the electricity bureau.
These were tasks rotated among the residents.
Since they were all neighbors, reading meters often involved a warm greeting, the offer of a cigarette, a casual conversation, and sometimes, if a family was dining, a jovial invitation: "Have you eaten yet? If not, join us for a bite."
Those with closer relationships might even gather occasionally to play mahjong or other games.
When Chen Nuo came downstairs, this was the scene he encountered outside his building.
He paused and, almost instinctively, lingered at the entrance to the stairwell.
"Chen Nuo from 504? Heading out for a night class this late?"
An auntie casually greeted him, fanning herself with her palm-leaf fan. "Sliced some watermelon, want a piece?"
As she spoke, she tugged her child closer. "Don't scratch the mosquito bites! You'll break the skin!"
Chen Nuo's mind was a bit foggy, and he replied out of habit, "No thanks, I'm just heading out."
After taking a few steps, a middle-aged man in a white undershirt called out from behind, "Chen Nuo, it's your family's turn to collect the electricity fee next month. I'll slip the ledger under your door tomorrow."
"Oh, okay, okay."
Chen Nuo responded, somewhat dazed, and quickened his pace.
Outside the residential complex, the scene was quite different.
In 2001, the economy was still soaring, and it had only been a few years since the push to develop the tertiary sector. Storefronts sprouted up along the streets as prolifically as bamboo shoots after rain.
Even within residential buildings, households began transforming ground-floor homes facing the street into shops.
There were small cigarette and liquor stores, small restaurants, and small noodle shops.
Even at night, the street began to brighten with illuminated shop signs and twinkling neon lights.
The main gate of No. 8 Middle School was closed, but a small iron side gate next to it was open.
Old Qin, the gatekeeper, had moved a stool out and was sitting there, leaning against the wall, smoking.
There was no air conditioning in the porter's lodge—in that era, forget the porter's lodge, even the teachers' offices didn't have air conditioning. Having a broken electric fan was considered a luxury.
Seeing Chen Nuo walk towards the school gate and stand there in a daze, Old Qin first squinted, sizing him up, then gestured with his hand. "Come, come, come."
Chen Nuo walked over, looking at Old Qin blankly.
Old Qin fished out a crumpled pack of Red Plum cigarettes from his shirt pocket, glanced around to ensure no one was looking, and offered one to Chen Nuo.
Chen Nuo hesitated for a moment.
He was about to say, "I don't smoke," but his hand moved as if by habit and accepted it.
Old Red Plum cigarettes had loosely packed tobacco. Chen Nuo casually turned the cigarette around and tapped the filter end on his thumbnail a few times.
"The school is empty at night, and the basketball gym is locked up. What's up, Little Chen? You want to go in and play?" Old Qin asked casually.
That familiar "Little Chen" confused Chen Nuo. He looked at the old man without saying a word.
Old Qin squinted again, looking left and right, then said in a low voice, "Go on in, but make sure you're out before ten o'clock. I have to lock up when I go to sleep."
"..."
"A few of your classmates are still playing on the basketball court. Do me a favor and hurry them along, tell them to come out soon. Don't let it get too late; an old man like me can't stay up all night."
Saying that, Old Qin waved his hand dismissively and squinted, listening to his semiconductor radio, ignoring Chen Nuo.
"..."
Chen Nuo's mind was a whirl of complex emotions as he stepped onto the campus.
Over the past six months, the main campus of No. 8 Middle School hadn't changed much, but the newly-built international section in the distance was now complete.
In his memory, Chen Nuo only recalled it as a cluster of unfinished buildings; the synthetic track on the field hadn't even been laid, and the buildings weren't topped off.
Looking at it now, under the cover of night, it was a complex of finished buildings, looking much more imposing.
On the old campus's basketball court, people were still playing. Under the dim yellow streetlights, some teenagers were still at it, chasing their basketball dreams.
They wore a miscellany of singlets, sports jerseys, T-shirts, basketball shoes, and running shoes.
Chen Nuo glanced over from a distance but didn't go that way. Instead, he headed directly towards the academic building.
Walking down the first-floor corridor, he found the classroom from his memory.
The classroom door was locked. Chen Nuo pushed it a couple of times without success but quickly noticed the ventilator window above was open.
After a moment of thought, he climbed up, then wriggled through the ventilator window into the room.
Jumping down to the floor, Chen Nuo could clearly feel that his physical fitness, jumping ability, and strength seemed to have improved a lot.
He pinched his arm and felt that he had gained quite a bit of muscle.
All this made him feel strange.
He walked to what he remembered as his seat and sat down. Chen Nuo seemed to let out a soft breath.
This... this felt familiar.
From the moment he left home, throughout his journey, and all the way to the school.
The familiar neighbors, the familiar restaurant owners, even the old school gatekeeper—they all seemed to be very familiar with him.
Not to mention the three women at home.
How terrifying!
On the desk, the carvings made with a penknife were still there. Though indistinct, he could feel them with his touch.
All this... What exactly is going on...
Chen Nuo slumped onto the desk, suddenly feeling an urge to cry.
The boy didn't have a strong personality. The immense upheavals in his family over the past few years, coupled with the death of his sole support, his grandmother, had taken their toll.
The boy was solitary, using indifference as a shield for his helplessness and timidity.
He wasn't strong, nor did he understand what courage meant.
He just passively, silently endured.
When life threw a punch, he covered his face.
When fate dealt him a kick, he rubbed his backside.
That was all there was to it.
It wasn't that he hadn't had rebellious thoughts. Writing a love letter to Sun Keke, the school beauty, had been one such act, born from a contrarian mindset.
It was as if he were trying to thumb his nose at fate.
Actually, writing that love letter wasn't necessarily because he truly liked Sun Keke.
The words in the letter were copied from a book.
The reason for choosing Sun Keke was very simple.
It was just an act of rebellion.
Like a spring compressed for too long, pushed to its limit, he had always wanted to do something to prove he wasn't just an invisible nobody.
He'd also thought about causing a big commotion one day, something to make everyone around him jump in surprise. "Wow, that so-and-so, he's actually really incredible…" Thoughts like that, pretty much.
That was the extent of it.
A luckless, ordinary young boy couldn't really think of anything more outrageous than writing a love letter to the school beauty.
A boy with no money, no power, no support, not even any particular talent.
What else could he do?
Perhaps getting first place in exams might have an effect… but the problem was, he couldn't do it.
And… that one time, there had been special circumstances.
After lying on the desk for an unknown amount of time, Chen Nuo stood up and climbed back out through the ventilator window.
He landed in the corridor and walked out, heading back towards the sports field.
A group was playing basketball. Just as Chen Nuo was about to leave, he remembered the old gatekeeper's words. He hesitated, then took a few steps closer.
"Um..."
His low voice naturally went unheard and unheeded.
"Pass it, pass it! Damn it!"
"Get the rebound!"
"What the hell are you shooting for! Can't you pass?!"
Chen Nuo pursed his lips and raised his voice slightly. "Um... you guys..."
BANG!
The basketball suddenly flew out of someone's hands, heading towards Chen Nuo.
Instinctively, his first reaction, true to his character and habit, was to cover his head with his hands and turn his body away…
The basketball hit his shoulder and bounced off.
A boy ran over, picked up the ball first, then turned and said, "Sorry about that, are you okay?"
"No... no problem..."
Chen Nuo lowered his hands.
"Huh? Chen Nuo?"
A somewhat familiar voice called out. From the basketball court, a skinny young man in a sports vest ran over, his body lanky and his head drenched in sweat.
Chen Nuo glanced at him, a bit dazed. He looked familiar, yet somewhat strange.
"What are you doing here? Want to play?"
"You..." Chen Nuo hesitated for a moment, then his mind whirred a couple of times before he recalled the other's name. "You're..."
The other boy paused, then laughed. "What are you spacing out for? Hey... I just got a haircut a few days ago. Is it a bit hard to recognize me?"
As he spoke, he rubbed his buzz-cut head.
Seeing the other players approaching, he quickly whispered, "Boss Chen, do me a favor. We've got outsiders here, so give me some face. Call me Monitor."
Having said that, the Monitor turned and announced, "Adding one more! Let's add one! My classmate is here. Chen Nuo's in; I'll take a break."
Then, turning back, he slung an arm around Chen Nuo's shoulders, making it seem like they were on very good terms.
The stench of sweat was unpleasant, and Chen Nuo was a bit repulsed, but his personality prevented him from dodging, so he endured it.
"I, I'm not playing," Chen Nuo shook his head. "The gatekeeper asked me to tell you guys not to be too late. He's going to lock up and go to sleep soon."
"No problem. If it gets late, we'll just climb the wall to get out," the Monitor said nonchalantly, waving his hand. "I'll smooth things over with Old Qin later—a pack of cigarettes should do it—and we can keep playing."
It had to be said, spending a summer vacation as a gofer for the school director had given him a certain adult-like air.
"Yo, Chen Nuo."
"Wow, Brave Warrior Bro, hahaha, where's your school beauty?"
The other boys also greeted Chen Nuo with grins and surprisingly respectful words.
Chen Nuo had never been the center of so much attention before. He felt flustered for a moment, opened his mouth, but couldn't speak.
"Come on, let's pick teams again! Damn it! I want to be on Chen Nuo's team!"
"You just want an easy win, don't you! Rock, paper, scissors!"
"With Chen Nuo, we're sure to win! I played with him last PE class; man, his shooting is goddamn accurate!"
"Beautiful!"
Chen Nuo felt increasingly at a loss.
Faced with everyone's enthusiastic energy, his first thought was actually to escape!
"I, I, I'm not playing, really not playing..." Chen Nuo swallowed.
Suddenly, he had an idea and pointed to his feet. "I'm wearing slippers."
"Oh, is that so." The Monitor glanced down. "That's fine. How about we swap shoes? You can wear mine."
"I, I really don't play. I, I have something else to do. I'm leaving."
Chen Nuo broke free from the Monitor's arm and quickly walked away, almost as if fleeing.
The boys behind him were momentarily stunned but didn't think too much of it. It's unclear who initiated it, but they resumed their basketball game.
What have I been doing this past half-year… What exactly has happened?
The young man's pace became faster, more urgent…
As he walked out of the school gates, Old Qin waved to him, but Chen Nuo almost tripped and then staggered out of the campus.
Standing on the street, he looked back at this No. 8 Middle School…
Familiar, yet strange.
His mind was in turmoil, overwhelmed with a torrent of emotions.
Chen Nuo tried hard to widen his eyes, to take in everything around him.
Everything seemed exceedingly unreal.
Standing there for a while, Chen Nuo had an idea. He turned and left!
The district hospital's evening emergency room.
Chen Nuo stood beside the registration desk. He fumbled in his pocket and actually found two crumpled banknotes.
Fortunately, it was enough for the registration fee.
"Fever? What's bothering you?"
The doctor on night duty in the emergency room was an internist with thinning hair and a very indifferent attitude.
"No, I don't have a fever," Chen Nuo sat in front of the doctor. "I just..."
"Doctor, the lab results are here. Take a look."
Another patient barged in from outside, slapping a lab report on the desk.
This was clearly cutting in line.
The doctor glanced at Chen Nuo, noticed he didn't show any obvious dissatisfaction, and so ignored the interruption, picking up the lab report to examine it.
"Blood count is normal, no inflammation. Probably just a viral cold. Go home, rest, and monitor it. For medicine..."
"We have common medications at home," the patient immediately interrupted.
Seeing that no prescription could be given, the doctor's enthusiasm waned. He waved his hand. "Then go home and rest. Observe."
After speaking, he carelessly scribbled on a medical record slip and tossed it over.
Once the patient left, the doctor finally looked at Chen Nuo's registration slip and casually asked, "What's uncomfortable?"
"I… I feel like I might have lost..."
Before Chen Nuo could get the word "memory" out of his mouth.
"Nurse! Nurse!!" the doctor suddenly called out again.
A plump nurse poked her head in from outside.
"What's going on? Why was this patient allowed in without having his temperature taken during triage?" the doctor said, tapping Chen Nuo's medical record. "How many times have I said it! Take the temperature before triaging!"
The plump nurse responded indolently, "I wasn't at the triage desk just then. Shall I take his temperature now?"
The doctor waved his hand. "Go. Take his temperature, then we'll talk."
Saying this, he turned his head away from Chen Nuo.
Chen Nuo hesitated for a moment, stood up cautiously, and then followed the nurse out.
At the triage desk, the nurse wiped an oral thermometer and handed it to Chen Nuo.
"Hold it under your tongue. Take it out after three minutes. Watch the time yourself."
As she spoke, the nurse turned to mutter to her colleague on night duty, "He's losing his temper again... Always so fussy."
"He's just unhappy about being assigned to the night shift in the ER."
Chen Nuo sat in a chair in the emergency hall, silently holding the thermometer in his mouth, his head bowed.
Outside the emergency hall, standing by a window, Lu Xixi, Sun Keke, and Li Yingwan stood quietly, silently watching the young man seated inside, head bowed in silence.
"...He…" Sun Keke looked very uncomfortable.
Lu Xixi squinted her eyes but suddenly shook her head.
"No!"
The Empress took a deep breath. "Wrong! He's not the Chen Nuo I know!"