Air still reeked of the lingering scent of firecrackers, a bit acrid, but it seemed this was the true essence of the New Year, what was commonly known as the New Year's flavor.

Especially for Zhou Ze at this moment, life seemed to have gained a touch of beauty.

Not some grand declaration of love, nor the exaggerated vow of mountains collapsing and the heavens merging,

Simply equivalent to a child who usually had no pocket money finding a ten-yuan note on the road, with no police officer passing by, and a convenience store conveniently close.

He’d taken a trip to hell, changed bodies, and still had many discovered and undiscovered troubles to resolve. His personality had also unknowingly undergone quite a change.

Thinking back to his previous life, emerging from the orphanage, his mind was filled with the idea of climbing upwards step by step with his own hands and abilities. In fact, upon closer examination, the reason he had overlooked Doctor Lin back then was perhaps not because of how naive and ugly Doctor Lin was five years ago. That young woman should have been in the throes of love back then; otherwise, she wouldn't have cut out that photo and kept it in her wallet.

It was just a pity that he didn't have the energy or the mood to take a look at the scenery along the way, his obsession was too heavy, he acted like he was suffering from some great tragedy and pretended to be so cool like a breath of fresh air.

Unlike now, having died once and returned, he felt a sense of freedom and melancholy, as if a burden had been lifted.

But no matter what,

The feeling of being secretly loved, even the feeling of "loving even if it means death,"

Was indeed not bad.

He made a call, and Doctor Lin came down again. She came down in a hurry, took her purse from Zhou Ze's hand, smiled, and didn't say thank you. Given their current relationship, saying "thank you" was more inappropriate than saying "sorry."

Waving his hand,

Zhou Ze left a silhouette,

Went back to sleep,

And waited for tomorrow, tomorrow would be better.

Doctor Lin felt that her husband's mood seemed to have changed a bit, like a feeling of relief.

Perhaps, it was a good thing that both sides could see things clearly.

Rather than awkwardly continuing to struggle together, it was better to separate freely and face life anew.

It could only be said that life was unpredictable. Doctor Lin couldn't have imagined that the shell of her husband's body now housed another soul.

The soul of that man she had vaguely admired when she was still an intern.

Zhou Ze called a car again and then squatted at the entrance of the residential area, smoking a cigarette. The message on his phone screen kept displaying "searching." Zhou Ze regretted it a bit. Why did he let that driver leave? He should have asked him to wait a little longer so he could ride in his car back to the bookstore.

Now things were difficult,

On New Year's Eve,

It was really hard to get a ride.

After waiting for about ten minutes and smoking three cigarettes, Zhou Ze became a little annoyed. He stood up straight and stretched.

Although he wasn't very afraid of the cold, it was still tiring to walk back like this.

Just at this moment, a black car drove over from the road in front of Zhou Ze. It slowed down as it passed by Zhou Ze.

"Need a ride?" The driver stuck his head out of the car window, a round face, middle-aged, unshaven, wearing a black cotton coat.

"Yes." Zhou Ze had no other choice.

"Get in, I won't charge you extra." The driver smiled.

Zhou Ze got into the car, told him the location of the bookstore, agreed on the price, and the driver started the car again.

This car should be new, the seat cushions still smelled of plastic and leather, and the interior was very clean.

Generally speaking, few people would be willing to take a new car out to pick up passengers.

"That place is remote." The driver took the initiative to hand Zhou Ze a cigarette, and Zhou Ze took it.

"Yeah."

"Do you live there?"

"The shop is there."

"Oh, then business must be bad, right?" That commercial center had died a long time ago, and there was no vitality. Many people knew that.

"You're not a local?" Zhou Ze asked.

The Tongcheng dialect was different from other dialects. It was almost two different languages from Mandarin, and it was easy to hear.

"My home is in Rongcheng. I work here." The driver lit a cigarette. "Smoke, don't be polite."

Zhou Ze also lit a cigarette, took a puff, and frowned slightly. The taste of this cigarette was so weak.

"You're not going back for the New Year?"

"My wife and children are at home, no problem. I'm not going back, I'm thinking of earning some more money." The driver stuck his hand out the window and flicked the cigarette ash. "I have four children."

"Impressive." Zhou Ze exclaimed.

"It's also difficult." The driver smacked his lips. "My wife's first child was a son, and the second one was also a boy. I was thinking of having a daughter, and then the third one was also a boy. Fortunately, the fourth one was finally a girl. I'm satisfied."

"That's great." Zhou Ze echoed, took another puff of his cigarette, and then threw the cigarette out the window. This cigarette was so weak, it was like smoking paper.

"I don't have any old-fashioned ideas, and I don't mean to favor sons over daughters. I just like children and want to have more children, haha." When talking about his own children, the driver talked more.

"The fine for the youngest hasn't been paid yet. I'll go pay the money and register the household when he goes to school. By the way, what kind of shop do you run?"

"Bookstore."

"How's business?" The driver asked the wrong question.

"Not good."

"Yeah, these days you can buy books online, and there are coupons."

Ahead on the road, there was a car accident. Traffic police had set up roadblocks there. The original four lanes were now reduced to a single lane. Fortunately, there weren't many cars on the road late at night during the New Year, so it shouldn't take too long.

"It's unlucky to have a car accident during the New Year." The driver exhaled a smoke ring. The tone of his speech was like a leader's, with a bit of criticism.

Zhou Ze leaned back and changed to a more comfortable sitting position, and asked:

"Is this car new?"

"Yeah, my son gave it to me."

Zhou Ze smiled. "How old are you? How old is your son?"

"Hehe." The driver narrowed his eyes. "My son is promising. These days, ambition doesn't depend on age. If you have hands, feet, and a brain, and you're not destined to be unlucky, how can you endure poverty?"

"That's the truth." Zhou Ze nodded in agreement.

"Beep beep… beep beep…"

A car behind them seemed to be in a hurry to get home, honking its horn frequently, urging the car in front to hurry up.

"Honk, honk, honk, honking to see a ghost."

The driver also had a bit of a manic temper. He stuck his body out of the car again and cursed at the car behind.

But the cars behind honked their horns even more frequently, as if deliberately showing off.

"Hey!"

The driver pretended to open the car door, ready to get out and reason with them.

Just then, the traffic police clearing the traffic gestured for the cars here to pass quickly. Only then did the driver awkwardly sit back, start the car, and drive past.

"Business is bad today." The driver began to lament again. "I knew I should have gone home to see my wife and children."

"It's okay." Zhou Ze remained noncommittal. He saw that the noodle shop next door was doing okay. Most of the competitors were taking a break for the New Year. Even if the demand was a little smaller during the New Year, business was still better than before.

Especially just now, Zhou Ze had been trying to get a ride for so long and no one had accepted the order.

"Hey, it's not easy." The driver shook his head. "I don't dare to rest either. The children's tuition fees, I have to send money home every month. I work during the day and drive for half the night in the evening. Life is quite boring. Even this cigarette, I can't afford to smoke a good pack."

This cigarette of yours... seems to be fake.

Zhou Ze took out his own cigarette, pulled one out, and played with it in his hand.

"But it's good, now the internet is convenient, when I get home at night before going to bed, I can video chat with my wife and children, it's good to be able to see them." A relaxed look appeared on the driver's face.

Zhou Ze closed his eyes slightly. He couldn't sleep, but at this time, he didn't really want to talk and chat.

But even without Zhou Ze's feedback and reaction, the driver continued to talk about his own affairs. During the New Year, he was alone in a foreign land, of course he was lonely.

From the children's names to the children's schools, to his parents, to the local customs of his village, the driver rambled on.

Zhou Ze finally just rested his forehead on the car window and urged, "Master, drive faster."

This driver was driving too slowly, probably only thirty miles per hour.

This was an elevated road.

Zhou Ze even felt that the other party was probably too lonely, so he deliberately drove slower to find someone to chat with, but Zhou Ze had no interest in being a confidante.

"Hehe, new car, not too familiar yet, don't dare to drive too fast." The driver stroked the steering wheel with some affection. "This car isn't worth much, it's even very cheap, but it's also the intention of my eldest son, I have to cherish and treasure it.

I'll try to use this car to make a few years of business. When my eldest son finds a girlfriend, I'll get him an apartment, one is enough for now. I don't want the older one to take care of the younger ones, it's not fair to the older one. After all, it was me, the father, who decided to have them. As long as I can still work and still go to work, I have to grit my teeth and carry it. We are not irresponsible people, and we won't do things like giving birth without raising them."

Zhou Ze frowned slightly,

He felt a little annoyed,

Then he lit his own cigarette, took a puff,

"Master, really, please hurry up." Zhou Ze missed his freezer and regretted it a bit. He should have let Doctor Lin drive him back.

"Don't be anxious, young man, it's the New Year, we have a fate, don't need to rush, I understand, I understand, I'm an old driver…"

Zhou Ze flicked his cigarette ash,

Accidentally didn't flick it out of the car window,

A bit of ash fell on the inside of the car door.

Immediately afterwards,

The ash burned a hole in the inside of the car door,

A hole the size of a thumb,

The cool wind outside kept "whooshing" in from the small hole.