Volume 1 Chapter 16: The Mysterious Lake's Alluring Shadow

  Jin Tianxing looked at the messy room, but he didn't have the mood to clean up. He simply made his bed and fell asleep. In less than two minutes, he was fast asleep. In his dream, he returned to the days when he was with Luo Yi. Luo Yi's laughter and joyful voice surrounded him, Jin Tianxing smiled, even in his sleep, he still smiled, smiling very happily.

  On the second day, early in the morning, Jin Tianxing was woken up by a ringing phone. He picked it up and took a look at today's date. Then he fell back onto his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling with wide eyes. Today was a special day - three years ago on this very day, he met Luo Yi at a dinner party, and for two years after that, they had spent their anniversary together. But where was Luo Yi now?

  Jin Tianxing lay in bed like a dead man, his heart filled with a sense of despair, just like the messy room. His mind was a tangled mess, and scenes of him and Luo Yi together flashed before his eyes like a movie. By the time he had reminisced about their two years together, the sun was about to set. Jin Tianxing got out of bed, his heart full of worries and troubles with no outlet, walked around the room, looked at the clutter on the floor, and his mood became even worse. He slammed the door shut and left home.

  Jin Tianxing wandered aimlessly on the streets, occasionally having a loving couple brush past him. He felt pain in his eyes and heart, so to avoid the ubiquitous couples, he deliberately took roads with fewer people, walking further and further into seclusion. When he finally stopped, he didn't even know where he was; it was completely an unfamiliar environment, and no one would recognize him here. Jin Tianxing let out a loud shout, venting the distress in his heart.

  A passerby looked at Jin Tianxing with a gaze that seemed to think he was mentally ill, muttering "mentally ill, scared me half to death, shouting what shouting." Jin Tianxing glanced at him and continued walking forward, saw a bar called "Heartbreak", and walked in without hesitation. The bar played sorrowful music, there were only five or six customers, all alone, sitting in different corners of the bar, drinking with their heads down. The boss was a young man in his twenties, with a punk hairstyle, didn't greet customers, looked up at Jin Tianxing, and placed a glass of wine in front of him.

  "What's the name of this wine?" Jin Tianxing picked up his cup and gently swirled it, the blue liquid swirling in the cup, exuding a faint melancholy.

  The boss said two words without lifting his head, "Heartbreak!" "Good name!" Jin Tianxing drank the wine in the cup in one gulp, a fiery feeling from his throat to his stomach, his stomach was like a ball of fire burning, and tears were choked out. Jin Tianxing wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes and said to the boss, "This wine is really strong." The boss didn't say anything, poured another cup in front of Jin Tianxing. Jin Tianxing picked up the cup again and drank it all, the boss poured another one, Jin Tianxing drank it all again, after five cups like this, the alcohol rushed up, Jin Tianxing's head was a bit dizzy, and things looked blurry.

  The boss asked Jin Tian Xing, "Do you want to drink more?" With the wine taking effect, Jin Tian Xing vaguely saw Luo Yi smiling at him. He took out a stack of cash and slapped it on the bar, "Drink, I'll drink until I'm satisfied." The boss mixed three more cups of "Heartbreak" and placed them in front of him. Jin Tian Xing picked one up and downed it in one gulp. In his daze, he saw a scene: under the moonlight, a mysterious lake sparkled with layer upon layer of silver waves, not a sound to be heard, eerily quiet. An object slowly rose from the water, gradually taking on the shape of a person, a woman's figure. As Jin Tian Xing's vision drew closer, he saw that this woman was actually Luo Yi.

  "Roy, where are you?" Jin Tianxing couldn't help but reach out to pull Roy, and the screen suddenly went black. Jin Tianxing shouted at the bartender, "Give me a drink, I want to get drunk!" "Sir, if you drink any more, you'll be drunk," the bartender finally looked up at Jin Tianxing.

  Jin Tianxing's tongue was already numb, "A drunkenness solves a thousand worries, I just want to get drunk, and when I'm drunk, there's nothing to worry about." "Looks like you're really heartbroken." The boss lowered his head and adjusted another cup of "Heartbreak" in front of Jin Tianxing.

  Jin Tian Xing downed the drink in one gulp, and the disappearing scene reappeared. Roy emerged from the water's surface, and something even more unbelievable happened - Roy stepped on the lake's surface, walking towards him step by step, like a celestial being. In the blink of an eye, Roy arrived before him, and at this moment, the scene changed again, transforming into Qingqing. Jin Tian Xing shook his head, "It seems I really got drunk." The boss poured another cup of "Heartbreak" on the bar, "This is the last one." Jin Tian Xing could no longer taste the wine, so he picked it up and finished it in one go. His willpower was blurry, and he was about to pass out. A gentle voice came from outside the door, "You shouldn't drink that much alcohol; it's not good for your body." It was Roy's voice! Jin Tian Xing mustered his energy to turn around and look back, a woman wearing a black robe pushed open the door and walked in. As she approached Jin Tian Xing, he saw her face clearly - it was indeed his longed-for wife, Roy.

  "Roi, I've finally seen you again." Jin Tian Xing revealed a brilliant smile and fell head-first from the chair.

  Jin Tianxing woke up from the effects of alcohol on the second day in the morning, and when he opened his eyes, he saw everything familiar to him, it was his own room, which had been cleaned up. "How did I get back here?" Jin Tianxing patted his still slightly dizzy head, and everything that happened last night came back to mind, before he passed out drunk in the bar, Luo Yi pushed open the door. Was it Luo Yi who sent him back? He suddenly heard a noise coming from the kitchen, and the aroma of fried eggs wafted over. When she was with Luo Yi, she liked to fry eggs for him to eat every morning. Had Luo Yi really come back?

  Jin Tianxing jumped down from the bed and ran to the kitchen without even putting on his shoes. As expected, he saw a woman with her back to him frying eggs. Jin Tianxing had an impulse to rush over and hug her, never letting her run away from him again.

  "You're awake, how did you drink so much wine, the whole house is full of wine smell." The woman turned around, it wasn't Luo Yi, but Lan Xinlin.

  Jin Tianhang took a step back, "How could it be you? How did you get in?" Lan Xinlin served the scrambled eggs and placed them in front of Jin Tianhang, "You didn't say anything, I almost forgot. You didn't close the door, and you were drunk like a dead pig. Luckily it was me, if it were a thief, they would have taken everything from your house and you wouldn't even know." "There's nothing valuable in my house, what would thieves steal?" Jin Tianhang ate two mouthfuls of scrambled eggs, "Did you tidy up the house?" "Tidy up what?" Lan Xinlin was confused, "When I came in, your house was already like this. I only made scrambled eggs, I didn't do anything else. What's wrong with your house?" "Like your house, mine was also burgled and turned upside down. When I woke up, it had returned to normal. Wasn't it you who did it?" Lan Xinlin shook her head, "I've been here for less than ten minutes, even if I wanted to do it, I wouldn't have time." "Then who could it be?" Lan Xinlin speculated, "Could it be the thief who burgled your house?" "I've never heard of a thief helping with household chores." Jin Tianhang's eyes rolled around, "Right, it's early in the morning, not even eight o'clock. Why are you here?"

  "Is it you who sent me a text message to come here? You said you drank too much and asked me to make breakfast for you. Don't tell me you don't remember." "I really don't remember," Jin Tianxing wiped his mouth after finishing eating, "Let me see the text message, how could I not remember sending such a text message?" Lan Xinlin took out her phone and handed it to Jin Tianxing, who looked at it and indeed saw that the text message was sent from his own phone. The content of the text message used many modal particles, which seemed like Luo Yi's style. Could it be that what he saw before getting drunk last night was really Luo Yi? Was she the one who brought him back home, cleaned up the house, and then sent a text message to Lan Xinlin to make breakfast for him in the morning? It seemed like Luo Yi's style. But how did she know Lan Xinlin? Could it be that Luo Yi had been monitoring him all along?

  "What are you thinking about?" Lan Xinlin looked at Jin Tianxing who was lost in thought and called out to him.

  "Didn't you notice anything unusual when you came to my place?" "Unusual?" Lan Xinlin thought carefully for a moment, "When I entered the door, I saw some water marks on the ground. Ah, and I also found this at the entrance." Lan Xinlin ran to the trash bag in the corner, rummaged through it, and pulled out a green plant, waving it in front of Jin Tianxing's eyes.

  "What is this?" Jin Tian Xing rushed over and looked at what seemed like a water plant.

  "This is called Yishui grass, a special plant in Poyang Lake. I thought you brought it back from your hometown." Jin Tianxing was struck by lightning, "Could it be, could it be that what I saw last night was real?" "What did you see?" Jin Tianxing told Lan Xinlin everything that happened yesterday, his mind was a bit confused, he needed someone to help him think clearly. Had Luo Yi really come back?