Chapter 406: I Miss You So Much

"A-Yan..."

"A-Yan!"

A series of calls rang in Chen Ling’s ears, and he opened his eyes abruptly.

A young man wearing cotton-padded clothes was standing by the bed, patting his shoulder. "A-Yan, wake up."

In Chen Ling’s sleepy vision, he saw another young "Chen Ling" placing neatly folded clothes by his bed, saying:

"Brother has to go to the hospital in the Second District today. I’ve put your clothes here. There are steamed buns in the steamer. Stay home and be good, you hear? It’s very cold outside today. Once we leave, you can sleep a little longer."

This is... himself?

No, this is the local "Chen Ling" from before he transmigrated. Chen Ling recognized the identity of the person in front of him instantly.

"Brother, has your illness worsened again?" Chen Yan’s worried voice sounded.

Chen Ling was stunned, because this voice came from his own throat.

Wait...

As the tearing pain in his mind receded, Chen Ling’s memory gradually repaired itself. He remembered what happened before he passed out, and a thought suddenly emerged in his mind.

Did he... adopt Chen Yan’s memories?

The young man paused, smiled slightly, and reached out to touch Chen Yan’s hair.

"No, just going for a follow-up check."

"Oh... then when will you be back?"

"In the afternoon, I’ll be back for dinner."

"Okay."

After giving instructions, the young man walked out of the room. Before closing the door, he saw two adults following him as they left. Judging by their backs, they looked like their parents.

Chen Yan sat on the bed, watching those figures leave. After the door closed, he didn't go back to sleep, but checked the time and began to get dressed in silence.

Chen Ling watched everything before him and felt it was quite marvelous. This was the first time he had watched a memory from this perspective, just like watching a movie. He could see the scene and hear the sound from "Chen Yan’s" perspective, but he couldn't actively observe the surroundings...

However, why did he suddenly adopt Chen Yan’s memories?

Was it the power of that mirror?

In his perspective, Chen Yan finished dressing earnestly, then got out of bed to wash up.

It was about five o'clock in the morning, and it was still pitch black outside. The cold wind, mixed with flying snow, drilled into the house through the gaps, making a wailing sound.

Chen Yan shivered, but didn't crawl back into the quilt. Instead, he ate a steamed bun simply, then ran back to the room quickly, hugged a small box from inside, and opened it on the dining table...

Inside were makeup tools.

Chen Yan cleared his throat while netting up his hair.

"The sea island ice wheel begins to turn~ See the jade rabbit, the jade rabbit rises early in the east. That ice wheel leaves the sea island, the universe is exceptionally bright, the bright moon is in the sky, just like Chang'e leaving the moon palace, the slave is like Chang'e leaving the moon palace, just like Chang'e descending from the nine heavens, cold and clear~ falling into the Guanghan Palace, ah, in the Guanghan Palace."

The melodious, clear singing voice rang out in the dawn of the cold winter, echoing in the empty, dilapidated house and the dim streets.

Chen Ling was stunned.

This lyric was the one he hadn't been able to sing correctly for an entire afternoon at Mo Jiao’s place a few days ago. But now, in Chen Yan’s mouth, it was so natural and melodious, even more vivid than when Mo Jiao sang it himself.

Not a single wrong note, the rhythm and power between every word were grasped perfectly. And this was just him singing casually while putting on makeup to kill time... But this level, even if Chen Ling practiced for another thirty years, he might not be able to catch up.

"Is this talent..." Chen Ling sighed in his heart.

Snow fell heavily. Chen Yan sat alone in the room, facing a bronze mirror, earnestly outlining the makeup on his face.

After about a few dozen minutes, the handsome young man left the table, put on the bright red opera robe in the room, and like a light red butterfly, pushed the door open and went out.

He crossed the empty streets, walking toward the wilderness against the faint white of dawn in the east. The flying snow brushed against the young man’s hem, staining the bright red opera robe with a touch of snow white.

Chen Ling knew where he was going. In his memory, he often accompanied Chen Yan there to practice opera. Basically, regardless of wind or rain, he would never be absent.

Chen Yan stepped onto the empty wilderness, took a deep breath, and began to pace and turn in the snow.

He struck a pose, eyes wide, as if he were not in the empty wilderness, but had already stepped onto a stage full of audience members. After circling the stage, he returned to the center and stood still.

He sang loudly:

"See the King sleeping soundly in the tent, I leave the tent to dispel my sorrow. Lightly moving my steps forward to the courtyard, slowly and deliberately applying the law to determine the sentence..." (Note 1)

This was a one-man show with no audience and no partner, just like the life Chen Yan had spent drunk on opera all these years.

Chen Ling followed Chen Yan’s footsteps, dancing in the flying snow. Vision, hearing, touch, smell—everything overlapped. His limbs seemed to have completely merged with Chen Yan’s. As his lips opened and closed, he couldn't tell if the voice singing the opera was his or Chen Yan’s...

They seemed to be one and the same.

The melodious opera voice gradually dissipated. The figure in red stood quietly in the flying snow, already covered in sweat... He panted lightly, patted his small face, which had been turned red by the cold wind, and walked slowly toward the riverside.

The clear river water flowed silently in the frozen world. The figure in red came to the stone pier where people usually washed vegetables, standing in the middle of the river;

He crouched down gently, and the bright red opera robe looked like a drop of red ink, spreading on the surface of the river...

He looked at himself in the reflection and blinked gently;

"Brother, did you learn it?"

Hum—

Chen Ling’s brain buzzed, as if waking from a big dream. Only at this moment did he come back to his senses from the "adoption" just now... He almost really thought he was "Chen Yan".

On the shimmering water surface, countless things like mirror shards rolled over. The reflection that originally belonged to him was gradually replaced by Chen Ling’s appearance.

At this moment, Chen Ling’s consciousness sank abruptly, as if falling through the mirror-like water surface, returning to the reflection of "Chen Ling".

He looked at the reflection in the water, looked at the Chen Yan in red, and was so shocked he couldn't speak for a long time;

Did Chen Yan know he was in his memory just now?

No, that’s not right... This isn't just a pure memory, this is a fusion of his and Chen Yan’s subconscious? In the deepest part of this body, Chen Yan still exists? He is helping him?!

Chen Ling’s brain was buzzing. He wanted to ask something, but for a moment, he didn't know how to speak.

Meanwhile,

In the reflection, Chen Yan slowly reached out his hand, as if wanting to pass through the water surface and touch Chen Ling’s cheek... His eyes were full of nostalgia and tenderness:

"Brother... I miss you so much."

……

……

Note 1: Selected from "Farewell My Concubine"