1: Chapter 1 I'm Back, Perfect Evasion
The last thing Lin Feng remembered was the concrete ground in the backyard of the Shen City First Detention Center.
In winter, the sunlight was blindingly white. He knelt on the ground, his handcuffs already removed.
The executioner stood behind him, cleared his throat, and finished reciting the final procedural words.
Then came a "bang" sound.
The sensation of a bullet passing through the back of his head wasn't pain.
It was a sudden silence.
The world began to shatter, his consciousness plunged into darkness, and it was completely extinguished.
A ray of sunlight shone in from outside the window.
Lin Feng opened his eyes.
The beige ceiling had a circular flush-mount light hanging in the center. The lampshade had a ring of embossed lotus patterns, and there was a tiny crack on the third petal on the right.
He stared at that crack for more than ten seconds, then sat up with a start.
He recognized this crack.
This was the ceiling of Tian Xue's living room.
On the coffee table lay an unfinished game of cards, a dish of melon seeds, and two empty teacups.
The curtains were drawn, and sunlight squeezed through the gaps, cutting the floor into strips.
The sound of a spatula hitting the side of a wok came from the kitchen, and the aroma of cooking oil faintly drifted out.
"Lin Feng? Are you awake?"
Tian Xue's voice came from the kitchen, carrying her usual laziness, as if she had just woken up, yet with a hint of playfulness.
"Mm."
Lin Feng replied casually, lowered his head, and looked at his hands.
His fingers were slender, his skin smooth, without a single callus.
Suddenly, his eyes turned to the calendar on the wall to his right.
The moment his gaze touched it, his pupils contracted violently, and his heart rate accelerated sharply.
Thirty-two years old, a drug trafficker, framed by his newlywed wife Su Qing and his boss Zhao Kai, caught at the airport with 5 jin of heroin, caught red-handed, sentenced to death in the first trial, upheld in the second trial, and executed this January.
He died.
And then he came back.
He returned to the autumn of 2010, at Shencheng University, the first semester of his sophomore year, in Tian Xue's living room.
Lin Feng took a deep breath, forcing down all the shock, absurdity, and disbelief.
He had indeed been reborn ten years into the past.
But the current situation did not seem optimistic.
Tian Xue, a Chinese teacher in the Literature Department of Shen University, thirty-two years old, married.
He had hooked up with her in the first semester of his sophomore year, and their affair had continued until now. He was essentially being half-kept; she bought him clothes and subsidized his living expenses, while he kept her company to play cards.
Lin Feng remembered it was also on such a sunny noon.
After lunch, the two of them had a round of passionate poker.
Just as they were about to reach the climax, they were caught in bed by Tian Xue's husband, Wang Dong.
He was beaten up, and two of his ribs were broken.
Although Wang Dong, for the sake of his own reputation and face, did not let the school know about the scandal.
But because of this incident, Tian Xue resigned, and he lay in the hospital for a full half-month before getting out.
Is it today?
Or did he remember it wrong?
He couldn't remember what time Wang Dong came back that day either.
Lin Feng's mind was in chaos.
If traveling back meant making him walk the old path again, he might as well jump from here.
The same plot must absolutely not repeat itself; this was his bottom line after being reborn.
Lin Feng stood up slowly, walked to the window, and peeked down through the gap in the curtains.
A black Santana was parked downstairs.
He recognized the car; it was Wang Dong's.
"Damn it, it is today."
He let go of the curtain, stepped back, and his heart rate accelerated sharply.
Fifth floor; it would probably only take Wang Dong two minutes to get from the car to the front door.
In this era, elevator apartments weren't common yet; the stairs were the only way down.
In his past life, Wang Dong had specifically come to catch them; he had long known of the adulterer's existence.
[Warning: 1 minute remaining until caught in bed. Please leave immediately. Danger level: Five stars.]
A line of text suddenly appeared before his eyes, very eerie.
"Teacher Tian, I have an urgent matter, I'm leaving first."
"Hey, Lin Feng, what do you mean? I..."
Bang...
Tian Xue rushed out of the kitchen, and the front door closed just then.
"Brat, how dare you stand me up."
"Just wait until I get my hands on you later."
Tian Xue was in her early 30s, slightly plump, still charming, and was Lin Feng's Chinese teacher.
She had originally planned to have a deep conversation with Lin Feng after lunch, but the kid had actually fled.
"Ring, ring..."
Suddenly, the Nokia N95 on the table rang.
She answered it without even looking.
"Hello, who is this?"
"I'm back for lunch, I'm downstairs."
"Hu... Husband? Why are you back?"
"What's wrong? Can't I come back for lunch?"
"Oh... ye... yes, I just finished making lunch."
"Mm, there are two friends with me, cook some more."
The phone hung up immediately.
Tian Xue turned pale with fright. She rushed to the window and saw the Santana parked downstairs.
It's over...
If Lin Feng goes down now, won't he run straight into him?
But she didn't dare open the door. If nothing was wrong, and she opened the door just as Wang Dong saw her, then it would be over.
Standing outside the door, Lin Feng saw the eerie text prompt appear before his eyes again.
[Warning: Target will arrive in 40 seconds. Please leave the area.]
Damn it, there's only one path, how can I leave?
Jump from the fifth floor?
Lin Feng was burning with anxiety. In this life, he wanted to change his destiny; he had to perfectly avoid all the pitfalls.
But right now...
The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and it wasn't just one person.
In his previous life, Wang Dong had indeed brought two people to catch them.
What to do...
Lin Feng looked at the window at the end of the corridor.
Should he take a gamble? Who knows, maybe he could be reborn again if he failed?
[Tip: Please go up to the 7th floor within 15 seconds to 100% avoid this crisis.]
That line of mysterious text appeared again.
In his past life, he would read novels when bored; could this mysterious prompt be...
Lin Feng's heart rate quickened. If that were really the case, wouldn't he take off right here?
He decisively stepped onto the stairs and rushed up at top speed.
Almost simultaneously, the footsteps from downstairs reached the fifth floor.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
"Open the door! Open the door for me!"
"What is it, what is it? A-Dong, what kind of wrong medicine did you take?"
"Tian Xue, is there anyone else at home?"
"What? What do you mean someone else? It's just me, stop taking the wrong medicine."
"You guys, go in and search! If you find him, cripple him!"
"Hey, what are you doing? Wang Dong, did a donkey kick your brain?"
"Get out, all of you, or I'm calling the police!"
"Shut up! Don't think I don't know you're cheating on me. You think I'm an idiot, right?"
"Brother Dong, there's no one in the house."
"Brother Dong, we checked under the bed, the bathroom, the closet, and the air conditioner unit outside; there's no one."
Wang Dong asked with a confused face: "Did you check carefully?"
"We checked everywhere, there's really no one."
"Brother Dong, did you make a mistake?"
Tian Xue suddenly burst into tears: "Wang Dong, fine! You believe rumors but not me. Let's get a divorce."
"Get out! Get out right now, I want a divorce from you!"
Lin Feng crouched in the corner of the 7th floor with steady breathing, feeling fortunate that although he had spent his college life decadently, he had always insisted on working out.
No choice, Tian Xue was at an age where her desires were insatiable; if he didn't train, he couldn't satisfy her.
Fortunately, his stamina was good enough; otherwise, in this kind of old building, climbing two floors quickly would have killed him on the spot.
However, Lin Feng still felt a lingering fear. Only he knew how miserable his previous life had been.
Ten minutes later, there was no more movement downstairs, and that line of eerie text appeared before his eyes again.