48 Hours a Day

Chapter 1045: Seeing Xu Qian Again

“How many cities are like new Shanghai 0297?” E-Goat frowned.

“I can only say that there are far more than you know. In order to facilitate management, each group will divide the city into different living circles, but I’m not clear about specific situations. I’m just like you, an ordinary staff of Shengtang Morgan’s New Shanghai 0297 branch,” Qiu Ming said as he led Zhang Heng and E-Goat through the crowd at the station.

The three of them took the escalator to the fourth floor. There were no more candidates here. Only some staff members in blue uniforms drove forklifts in and out, transporting some two-by-one-meter metal boxes to the station downstairs. Two security guards were also standing outside the door.

Qiu Ming showed his work ID before the three of them were let in. He then pointed to a small house in front of them. “Xu Qian is there. You came at the right time. If you had come any later, her memories would’ve been rewritten, molded into someone that can adapt to the next job. After that, she will be put into one of those boxes that you saw and sent to other cities. Then, you will never see her again.”

Although the road from the door to this place was not too far, E-Goat felt like he had been walking for several years. He looked at the door in front of him with mixed feelings.

Zhang Heng didn’t rush him. He just stood at one spot and waited quietly. E-Goat took ten seconds to calm himself down. Then he took a deep breath and opened the door with the bracelet he wore.

The room was much larger than he had imagined. In fact, it looked more like a hotel suite than a prison cell. Xu Qian was sitting on the sofa, watching a soap opera projected on the screen.

She had even made herself a cup of longan-red date tea and was hugging her knees. Because she was so focused, she didn’t even notice that someone had entered the room.

When E-Goat saw this, he let out a sigh of relief. Although Qiu Ming had previously assured him that Xu Qian wasn’t hurt, he wasn’t completely relieved until he had personally confirmed this.

For E-Goat, the despair and helplessness he felt in the short span of twenty minutes had already surpassed the sum of his memories. However, when he saw the figure on the sofa... when he saw Xu Qian’s long hair draped over her shoulders and the tip of her small nose, he felt the warmth of the world that he hadn’t felt for a long time.

At this moment, E-Goat didn’t even bother about whether his feelings for Xu Qian were real or fake. It was as if he had returned to every lonely and long night. He had dutifully stood in front of the projection just to see the face in front of the camera... he had listened to her talk about all the trivial things that she had encountered that day.

“I bought Patchi’s chocolate today. It was really delicious. I ate one in the morning, and I was filled with vitality all day!”

“AH, KGC team lost again. Seriously, they clearly had a wonderful performance in the early stages, but they were unable to hold on to this advantage.”

“Ay, I don’t know where... but I heard a song in the afternoon... but I can’t remember the name. It should go like this...”

“Last night, I had a dream about a panda, but it kept chasing me. But I’m not bamboo, so who knows how to interpret dreams? Can you tell me what this means?”

.....

This time, E-Goat was the same as before. He didn’t know what to say. He turned to Qiu Ming and Zhang Heng for help, but they didn’t respond. It was apparent that they were waiting for him to speak first. Qiu Ming even gestured for him to open his mouth.

But it was then that E-Goat became nervous again. His mind was a mess.

Although the process was completely different from E-Goat’s fantasy, it was, strictly speaking, a rescue borne of true love.

E-Goat was like the prince riding a white horse in a fairytale. He vanquished demons and ghouls all the way to the castle where the princess was kept. This was probably the most glorious moment in his life. The blood on the dragon-slaying hero hadn’t dried yet, his sword glistened with a cold light, but he did not know what to say to begin the reunion.

Should he be saying, “Do you know how many difficulties I’ve had to overcome in order to find you?”

No. This kind of affectionate confession sounded like he was taking credit for something.

Or, “Do you know that our memories are actually fake?”

But it seemed a little too depressing to get straight to the point.

He might as well just say, “I’m here.” The three words were short and concise, but she might feel it was a little too pretentious.

After thinking for a while, E-Goat finally mustered up his courage and blurted out, “What... What movie are you watching?”

“...” Qiu Ming covered his face, unable to bear to watch the carnage happening before his eyes.

Regardless, Xu Qian’s attention was finally pulled back from the projection. Noticing the three new people in the room, she didn’t immediately answer E-Goat. Instead, she looked around at the three of them.

When she saw Qiu Ming, Xu Qian had a complicated expression on her face, as if she didn’t know whether to hate or thank him. Then, she turned her eyes to E-Goat. Her gaze moved slightly, but she didn’t say anything. She just nodded at the latter and finally looked at Zhang Heng. Looking confused, she asked, “Who are you?”

“A friend of yours that’s come to fulfill our agreement. But it seems that you already know what happened to you,” Zhang Heng said.

“It’s you!” Xu Qian yelped in surprise. “Aren’t you supposed to be dead? The news said that you died in the fire!”

Because Zhang Heng’s disguise was so good, Xu Qian didn’t recognize him at all. In fact, even now, she was still skeptical.

“I’m sorry. I was involved in some things before, and it’s only now that I’m done. I immediately rushed over to see you,” Zhang Heng explained.

“After reading the news, I sent you a lot of messages, but I didn’t receive a single reply. That was when I was in my most panicked and helpless state. I even hated you a little,” Xu Qian paused and continued, “But after I learned the truth about all of this, I actually didn’t care. Even if you were by my side at the time, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome, right?”

“To make up for my negligence, this time, E-Goat and I have deliberately come to take you away from here.”

“Leave? Where?” Xu Qian asked back, “I can’t be a broadcaster anymore, and I’ve lost my previous life. Even if I escape, nothing will get better. There is no place for me in New Shanghai 0297, but the good news is that other jobs are waiting for me elsewhere.”

“But by that time, your memory will be rewritten, and you won’t be yourself anymore. You’ll forget everything here,” E-Goat pleaded.

“Anyway, this isn’t the real me.”

Xu Qian didn’t seem to care.

“I don’t know what you were like in the beginning, just like I don’t know what I was like in the beginning. But now, we really exist,” E-Goat blurted after holding it in for a long time.