Chapter 17: Returning to Reality

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8:00 a.m. the next morning.
“Ah…”
Chen Fan awoke and stretched vigorously, his whole body trembling on the bed as if struck by electricity.
After completing his waking ritual, he habitually reached for a cigarette and lighter on the nightstand...
“That filthy old habit of chain-smoking has to go. If one day Dad actually handed me a cigarette and I lit it smoothly and took a drag… damn, I’d be finished!”
Chen Fan shuddered at the thought of being roughed up alternately by his parents.
The Chen family was strict with their upbringing.
Though Chen Ping’an and He Lian doted on him daily,
they firmly forbade him from smoking or drinking during high school.
If they caught him, the two of them wouldn’t hesitate to hang him up and beat him.
Another rule at the Chen household was no tattoos.
Chen Fan vividly recalled that in his previous life, to prove his sincerity to Su Xue, he had tattooed the initials of her name on his chest during college.
When his parents found out during a holiday visit, they almost beat him to death and nearly tried to cut the tattooed skin off his chest.
That was the worst day of his life.
Looking back now, Chen Fan felt a mixture of fear and pain.
Just as he was about to withdraw his hand from the nightstand, he accidentally touched a note and some money.
“Xiao Fan, your father and I have gone out. Stay alert at home; there have been a lot of petty thefts around lately. Be careful.”
“Your sister-in-law Xiao Hua is sick at home and can’t come to the shop. I saw the records you made in the ledger yesterday when you watched the store—well done. Keep it up today. I’ll give you a bigger red envelope at the New Year.”
After reading his mother’s note, Chen Fan sneered.
Xiao Hua sick?
What a lie!
That woman was obviously guilty of theft and too scared to face him, afraid Xiao Ze would send someone to beat him up, so she hid with an excuse.
“Tsk tsk… dear Xiao Hua, keep hiding. Once I deal with Xiao Ze, let’s see who you can rely on.”
Chen Fan pocketed the note and money, put on his clothes, and went to wash up.
Not long after, he finished warming up downstairs and began his morning run.
After running some distance, Chen Fan keenly felt the changes in his body since his rebirth each time he woke up.
If it were anyone else running several kilometers in the morning and then fighting at night like he did yesterday, they would be sore, tired, and struggling to get out of bed today.
But Chen Fan felt no soreness at all; instead, it was as if endless energy surged through him with every step, tireless and reborn.
The only downside was hunger—he was very hungry!
By the time he reached the park lake, he felt like his chest was pressed against his back, as if he could eat a whole cow.
Faced with hunger versus running, he chose to eat and turned sharply toward the breakfast stall across the street.
Tan Ya, who had just finished a lap around the lake, noticed Chen Fan suddenly heading for food.
She gave him a strange look as he entered the bun shop.
“Did you see me? Too afraid to run like yesterday, so you went for breakfast? Tsk tsk… quite concerned about your pride!”
Tan Ya chuckled lightly and continued jogging.
As for Chen Fan, under the stunned gazes of the shopkeeper and patrons, he devoured twenty meat buns in one sitting, plus a bowl of lean pork congee and two bottles of water.
Yet after all that, he was only half full.
Noticing everyone stared at him as if he were a monster, Chen Fan paid quickly and bolted.
He didn’t want to be studied by a science documentary crew.
Otherwise, experts might take him away for research.
Next, he went to a nearby beef noodle shop, this time smarter, packing three large bowls of beef noodles with extra meat to go.
He also bought a portion of potstickers and two meat pies.
Then he found a deserted spot nearby and devoured everything without leaving a crumb.
“My goodness, breakfast just cost me fifty yuan—my appetite’s turning me into a bottomless pit. If there were a competitive eater contest, who could beat me?”
“I ate over thirty yesterday; I thought it was because I hadn’t eaten well in my previous life, but it’s actually my body changing.”
Satisfied, Chen Fan leaned on a stone bench and patted his belly.
Though the hunger was no longer as intense, he felt he could still eat a basket of soup dumplings and two pancakes.
But to avoid overeating, he held back, planning to eat more at lunch.
After resting a while, Chen Fan hummed a tune as he strolled home.
Once home, he collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.
Meanwhile, in the distillery’s family quarters, fifth floor of building three, a household was already awake.
Yang Hua lay on her bed, absentmindedly flipping through a novel, occasionally glancing at her phone.
Her face perfectly mirrored worry and unease.
“Xiao Ze said his men found Chen Fan yesterday. Did they handle it? Why hasn’t he replied to any of my messages?”
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“Xiao Ze’s men didn’t hold back—could Chen Fan be hurt? If he’s hospitalized, this will blow up big time.”
Yang Hua stared nervously at her silent phone.
Knock knock…
Suddenly, there was a knock at the bedroom door.
Startled, Yang Hua’s face went pale, sweat beading on her forehead.
But the next second, a soft female voice called out, “Hua Hua, is your stomach still hurting? Want to go to the hospital?”
Hearing Chen Ya’s voice, Yang Hua breathed a sigh of relief but frowned unpleasantly.
“Chen…”
She was about to snap at her as usual.
But thinking of Chen Fan, she forced herself to say, “Sister-in-law, I’m feeling better now. It’s nothing serious.”
“Okay, your brother’s gone to work, and your parents are in the countryside gathering herbs. If you feel unwell, tell me—don’t hold it in.”
“Got it, sister-in-law.”
Yang Hua replied, rolling her eyes impatiently and resumed reading her novel.
Buzz!
Her phone by the pillow vibrated suddenly.
Seeing a message from Xiao Ze, Yang Hua’s tension returned.
“Sorry, baby, I was busy in the city and couldn’t reply. The rats lost Chen Fan last night, so they didn’t catch him or get the goods. Don’t worry, once Chen Fan returns to school, they’ll ambush him at the school gate.”
Reading the text, Yang Hua finally relaxed.
She quickly typed a reply:
“Darling, remember not to be too rough. Don’t escalate things.”
Shortly after, Xiao Ze replied simply, “Okay.”
Yang Hua exited the message screen, looked at Xiao Ze’s photo on the background, and frowned more at his two-tile hairstyle.
After a few seconds of hesitation, she changed the wallpaper to a poster of the Dongfang Shenqi band.
Finally, the screen looked much more pleasing.
Having not rested well all night, Yang Hua put on her headphones and lay down again, slowly drifting to sleep with the music.
…
Over the next two days,
without Su Xue’s harassment, Yang Hua took leave to hide at home.
Chen Fan’s routine remained simple and steady: a casual run in the morning, running the shop at home at noon, and gaming online with Tan Ya in the evening.
His days were peaceful and orderly.
The only difference was his astonishing appetite, which even shocked Chen Ping’an and He Lian.
Breakfast now required at least forty to fifty yuan worth of food to feel full.
Lunch was five bowls of rice, with every dish wiped clean.
Dinner was the same.
To avoid alarming his parents, Chen Fan controlled his intake at lunch and dinner, secretly eating more.
If he ate less, he couldn’t sleep from hunger at night.
Once full, he fell asleep instantly as usual.
After two days, Chen Fan had basically returned to a normal high school holiday life.
Besides that, a fragrant aroma occasionally wafted from the Chen household,
drawing curious neighbors’ attention, who often asked about it.
The Chen family always had excuses to deflect.
The mysterious scent became a popular topic among the neighbors.
On January 15th, 3:00 p.m., clear skies, temperature 10°C.
Make-up classes had begun.
Chen Fan, flamboyant as ever, stood before the bedroom mirror, fussing over his freshly cut spiky hair.
Then he picked out clothes from the wardrobe, carefully planning his outfit.
If one didn’t know it was a make-up class day,
one might think he was preparing for a beauty pageant or fashion show.
After a while, Chen Fan donned a long black trench coat, a black turtleneck, black straight pants, and Martin boots—definitely a dark high-street style.
He struck a confident pose in the mirror and, finally satisfied, went downstairs.
Downstairs in the shop, Chen Ping’an, arranging shelves, looked at Chen Fan with a puzzled expression.
“Son, are you really going to class like that empty-handed? Where’s your backpack?”
Flamboyantly dressed Chen Fan raised his head high.
“Dad, carrying a backpack would ruin my aura, so I…”
Noticing his father had stopped and pulled out a Seven Wolves cigarette pack, he dashed back upstairs.
He Lian, sitting behind the counter, squinted and smiled.
“Not bad, our son looks like a star with the new hairstyle and clothes—just like those little celebs on TV.
Old Chen, stop scaring him with the belt. He’s not a child anymore; if he can reason, don’t hit him.”
“Fine, you spoil him then.”
Chen Ping’an rolled his eyes, resumed shelving, muttering,
“That brat inherited my looks, or else how would he look like this? Humph…”
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Not long after, Chen Fan came downstairs with a brownish-yellow sling bag hanging off one shoulder, head drooping.
The stylish aura from before instantly dropped to minus one with the backpack.
He Lian frowned in distaste, spitting out some sunflower seed shells, and said,
“Son, tomorrow I’ll go to the city to buy you a new bag. That one looks so rustic on you.”
Chen Fan gave his mother a thumbs-up; she had fashion sense just like him sometimes.
“Here, fifty yuan. Buy something to eat if you’re hungry; your appetite’s scary lately.”
“Thanks, dear mother! Dad, I’m off!”
“What do you want for lunch?”
“As long as there’s meat and rice!”
After leaving the shop, Chen Fan looked back and replied, then hopped on his bike and pedaled toward school.
Watching him leave, He Lian munched sunflower seeds and said,
“Old Chen, our son’s appetite is terrifying. Should we take him to the city hospital or maybe find that village shaman to have a look?”
“Didn’t you notice he’s grown taller and stronger lately? At this age, boys eat a lot. Don’t scare yourself or be superstitious.”
Chen Ping’an finished dusting off his hands, took a sip of strong tea, and said,
“It’s good he’s eating well. No matter how much he eats, it won’t cost much. We can afford it.
And he’s clearly cut ties with that Su girl from Xinran Village. Looks like he’s figured things out. Our allowance for him is enough.”
“Yes, in just a few days, he’s changed a lot and cares more about family affairs. Our son’s finally growing up.”
He Lian nodded with satisfaction and looked at Chen Ping’an, adding,
“By the way, the plan our son came up with for Xiao Ya seems promising. After this busy period, we should talk about it. Xiao Ya can’t just sit idle.”
“Alright, I’ll follow your lead.”
…
Xinran Village.
It was 3 p.m., most villagers were working in the fields, and the main road out of the village was almost empty.
Only high school and middle school students heading to make-up classes occasionally passed by on bicycles.
Not far off, a slender figure walked out of the village, struggling to carry a red checkered woven bag, stopping every few dozen meters to catch her breath.
It was Su Xue!
Since Chen Fan hadn’t fallen for her trap and no longer fed her, plus the torment at home, Su Xue looked thin and haggard.
Her pitiful, delicate appearance stirred sympathy.
Su Xue stood under a tree wiping sweat, took out a water bottle to quench her thirst, then pulled out her phone to call Chen Fan.
But it went straight to voicemail.
“Damn Chen Fan, why is your phone still off? Are you not going to class?”
Su Xue stamped her foot in anger, looking toward the village entrance, still not seeing Chen Fan’s figure.
Usually, at the start of school or after holidays, Chen Fan would arrive half an hour early at the village entrance to wait for her.
Once he saw her, he’d eagerly ride his bike to meet her and accompany her to school, buying snacks and treats along the way.
But today, Chen Fan’s phone was off and he didn’t even show up.
Su Xue glared at the bag beside her in frustration, texting herself while muttering,
“Chen Fan, if you’re not here by the time I reach the village entrance and your phone stays off, then don’t ever send me home or pick me up again. I won’t care about you anymore!”
After sending the message, she gritted her teeth and picked up the bag to continue toward the village entrance.
A few steps later, a bicycle bell rang behind her.
Ding-ling-ling!
A short, dark-skinned boy struggling to pedal slowed down and teased,
“Hey, beauty Su, why didn’t Chen Fan come to pick you up today? Did he stop liking you after that fight with Zhao Qinghe?”
“Zhao Er Gou, don’t make me slap you. Get lost.”
Su Xue snorted coldly and turned away with difficulty carrying her bag.
Zhao Xin parked his bike crosswise ahead and patted the back seat.
“If you let me kiss you once, I’ll take you to school, how about that?”
“Don’t disgust me. Look in the mirror—you look like a pig’s head and still want to take advantage of me? You’re not worthy! Get lost. Just seeing your ugly face makes me sick!
If you harass me again, I’ll tell Chen Fan and see how he deals with you.”
Su Xue glared at him and walked around.
Zhao Xin spat on the ground and cursed silently.
If it weren’t for fear of Chen Fan’s trouble, he wouldn’t tolerate this.
As he passed Su Xue, he couldn’t help but call her a “pauper.”
Luckily, he pedaled fast and ran off laughing before she could retort.
“Zhao Er Gou, just wait! When we get back to school, I’ll have Chen Fan deal with you.”
Su Xue shouted.
Zhao Xin stopped laughing and fled quickly.
Out of breath and angry, Su Xue pouted sadly.
When she finally reached the village entrance, Chen Fan still hadn’t appeared.
She had no choice but to spend a yuan to take the village bus back to school.
On the bus, Su Xue took out a small notebook, flipped to a page titled “Daily Expenses.”
She recorded the date and bus fare.
On this page, besides the bus fare, she had logged recent phone bills, snacks, groceries, and other daily expenses.
“Hmph! When I get back to school, I’ll throw this bill right in Chen Fan’s face! He has to pay me back every cent I spent during the holiday!”