Chapter 154 Second Update

Chapter 154 (Part 2)

Jian'guo Hotel room.

Su Jingnian went into the bathroom, ran a warm towel under water and wrung it out, then carefully handed it to Shen Moer. She took it and wiped her face.

Su Jingnian’s eyes remained slightly red. From the moment Shen Moer said, "My mother’s brother was named Su Jingnian," the tears he'd been holding back could no longer be contained. Only now had his emotions finally settled somewhat.

At this moment, only uncle and niece remained in the room. Su Jingnian began speaking slowly, his voice heavy, recounting the events of the past.

When their parents passed away, Gucheng was in turmoil. The siblings fled southward with relatives, but along the way, they encountered a group of bandits, scattering their group of refugees.

In search of his sister, Su Jingnian hid in a nearby village for several days. But by the time the bandits had left and he emerged to look for her, he couldn’t find her no matter how hard he tried. He lingered in the area for months, dodging several waves of bandits and deserters, yet he never found Su Jingxiu.

Later, another group of refugees passed by, among them a few fellow natives of Shan Province. Hearing his story, they urged him to continue heading south.

After all, if he couldn’t find her, she'd likely already gone south with another group of refugees.

Su Jingnian knew staying put was pointless—if she had still been nearby, he would have found her after searching for so long.

Clutching this hope, Su Jingnian followed the group further south.

As fate would have it, their group later encountered stragglers from the Nationalist army and were press-ganged into service. After fighting for over a year, they were evacuated to Taiwan when the Nationalists retreated.

Su Jingnian eventually made his way from Taiwan to America. He had always wanted to return to China to continue searching for Su Jingxiu, but for decades, China's relations with foreign nations were extremely limited. As the political situation grew increasingly volatile, someone with his complicated background simply couldn’t—and didn’t dare—return.

It wasn’t until China announced its reform and opening-up policy, welcoming foreign investment and business, that Su Jingnian could no longer sit still. He took the initiative to write to the relevant Chinese authorities, establishing contact and facilitating this fact-finding mission.

Su Jingnian had envisioned countless scenarios, but he never expected that while he had found his sister’s child, his sister herself had long since passed away.

Shen Moer listened quietly until he finished, then softly relayed memories not her own about Su Jingxiu.

After being separated from Su Jingnian, Su Jingxiu continued south with others. By then, Nan Province had already been liberated, and once she entered its borders, she decided to stay put and wait for word of her brother.

During their escape, everyone had been focused solely on survival, with no room for other thoughts. But once they reached a safe place, some began nursing darker intentions.

Su Jingxiu was a young, beautiful woman—and alone. Many in the group began eyeing the vulnerable young woman.

Once, she accidentally overheard one of them discussing with his family how to trap her. That very night, she fled.

What followed was a story straight out of folklore. Starving and freezing, Su Jingxiu encountered Shen Shaoyuan. Taking the short-haired Su Jingxiu for a young boy, Shen Shaoyuan took her home. Despite barely having enough food and clothing for himself, he shared what little he had with this "boy"... until he discovered Su Jingxiu was actually a girl.

The two young people, having weathered hardships side by side, gradually developed feelings. Soon, they started a family.

Later, they had a child, and life seemed to be improving bit by bit. Su Jingxiu often talked about saving money to find her brother.

Then, Su Jingxiu fell ill and passed away, leaving father and daughter to rely on each other.

Shen Moer spoke softly, relaying memories not her own, though somehow they felt as if they had long merged with her own. When she mentioned Su Jingxiu’s death, a sharp pain suddenly pierced her heart.

Now, she couldn’t even tell whether these memories originally belonged to the body’s former owner or if they had inexplicably surfaced in her own mind.

"Mom, I’ve found Uncle. Moer has found Uncle."

A voice suddenly echoed in Shen Moer’s mind, repeating these words over and over.

At first, the voice was very faint—so faint that without careful attention, it was impossible to discern what it was saying.

The noise grew louder and louder, like countless trumpets blaring in her ears. Shen Moer's face turned increasingly pale, her voice grew weaker, until she finally collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

When she woke again, the first thing Shen Moer saw was a white, slightly mottled ceiling, followed immediately by a familiar voice: "Moer!"

Fu Mingze's handsome face furrowed with worry appeared in her line of sight, his voice heavy with concern: "How are you feeling?"

Shen Moer raised her hand, and Fu Mingze immediately grasped it.

Her hand felt cold, and even Fu Zhiqing's normally warm, dry hand felt cool.

She must have scared Fu Zhiqing.

Shen Moer gently squeezed her lover's fingers, reassuring him: "I'm fine, just worn out from everything lately."

Fu Mingze reached out to touch her forehead, checking for fever, then asked: "Want me to call another doctor?"

Shen Moer shook her head: "No, I'm okay now."

The voice in her head had disappeared.

In fact, during her unconsciousness, Shen Moer had a dream.

She dreamed she was in an endless white space, with no sense of direction or place. She walked aimlessly forward, unsure how long she walked or where she ended up, until she finally encountered the first person in this blank whiteness.

It was a slender girl, crouched on the ground, busily drawing something.

Shen Moer approached,

intending to ask where this place was, but when the girl looked up, Shen Moer was startled.

The girl had her exact face.

Yet upon closer inspection, they were quite different—the girl's expression was timid and uneasy, and when she looked at Shen Moer, that shyness mixed with curiosity.

"Are you the Shen Moer who replaced me?" the girl suddenly asked.

Shen Moer had been studying the girl, fascinated to see such timidity on a face identical to her own, so she answered absently, "Yes."

Only after a few seconds did she fully process the question. She stared at the girl for a long moment before hesitantly asking, "Are you... the original Shen Moer of this world?"

The girl lifted her face and smiled. "Yes."

Then she murmured, "You're amazing. You've lived so much better than I ever did. I was just... too useless."

Shen Moer's expression gradually darkened. "What about you? Where did you go? Have you been here all this time?"

The girl shook her head, then smiled again, this time with a hint of relief and release. "I don't belong to this world anymore. It's good—you helped Mother find Uncle. I have no regrets left."

As she finished speaking, she began fading away. Shen Moer reached out to grab her, but her hand passed right through the girl's body.

"I'm going to be with Father now. Goodbye... and thank you."

...

"Moer, what's wrong?"

She'd asked for water, so Fu Mingze poured her a glass, when he turned back, she was staring blankly at the ceiling.

After a moment, she said, "Nothing, Fu Zhiqing. I want to go home."