Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"Hey kid! We're at the service area. If you're not getting off, at least move aside so I can get out."

A forceful shove startled You Nan awake. He abruptly opened his eyes, startling the insistent middle-aged man beside him.

The middle-aged man patted his chest. "Were you asleep?"

You Nan didn’t respond immediately. His gaze swept around, taking in his surroundings.

It was a bus stopped at a rest stop. A few seats were empty, but many passengers remained onboard. The bus felt stuffy, with all sorts of unpleasant odors mingling together.

Seeing that You Nan wasn’t speaking, the middle-aged man frowned and was about to say something when a young person nearby quickly stood up to make way for him. The middle-aged man snorted and took his time getting off.

You Nan sank back into his seat, his mind still reeling.

Just a moment ago, he had been with the children and Xian Qing. How had he ended up in this unfamiliar place in the blink of an eye?

You Nan quickly searched for 007 but didn’t see him on the bus. Panicked, he hurried off the bus.

The feeling of being left alone, with not a single familiar face in the entire world, was terrifying.

"007!" You Nan kept shouting around the parking lot, but no matter how loudly he called, he couldn’t hear 007’s soft mews.

The middle-aged man, who had just come out of the service area, noticed You Nan and exclaimed, "Hey, why are you still down here? Get back on the bus now. It’s about to leave."

Hearing this, You Nan felt frantic. But he also knew that if 007 hadn’t appeared after all his calling, he might not be here. Burying his panic, You Nan boarded the bus. "Okay."

The bus soon started moving again.

Perhaps because they had spoken earlier, the middle-aged man became more friendly toward You Nan. Seeing the troubled look on the young man’s face, he couldn’t help but offer some fatherly advice.

"So kid, where do you live?"

"How old are you? Are you in high school yet?"

You Nan didn't know how to answer these questions. He only knew that he had likely entered a new world, but without 007 here, he had no way to access the original host’s memories. He was completely in the dark.

You Nan was about to casually say something to deflect the man’s questions. "I’m…"

As he spoke, he glanced up and noticed a keychain in his line of sight—a small yellow square.

It was like flipping a switch. Suddenly, a flood of unfamiliar memories rushed into You Nan’s mind.

The memories came swiftly and intensely. You Nan’s brow furrowed instantly, and his face turned pale, startling the middle-aged man.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

No wonder he had seemed so out of it earlier.

You Nan covered his head with his hands. After a few seconds, once the pain of the memory influx subsided, he opened his eyes and breathed heavily.

Just as he had guessed, this was the second world where he had become a "cannon fodder" character.

But now, he only had fragments of the original host’s memories. He couldn’t see the entire world’s storyline.

The original You Nan had once had a happy and harmonious family, living in a small town with his parents and his younger brother, who was ten years younger.

He was an excellent student. After graduating from the town’s middle school, he got into a key high school in a small county and consistently ranked at the top of his class.

But two months ago, a sudden tragedy struck. His parents and younger brother were driving him back to school in the county when they were involved in a car crash. His parents died, leaving behind his brother, who had just started elementary school.

When the original host heard the news from his teacher, he fainted. After waking up, he rushed to the hospital in tears. There, he found his brother, forehead bruised and clothes dirty, surrounded by adults, helpless and crying uncontrollably. You Nan broke down sobbing.

After comforting his brother to sleep, the original host went to see his parents for the last time.

From then on, the two brothers would have to rely on each other.

The incident made local news and was later shared online. The pitiable plight of the two children and their heart-wrenching cries moved many people, leading to widespread attention, shares, and likes.

Soon, kind-hearted individuals donated money. Aside from the compensation from the at-fault driver in the accident, the original host declined all other donations from strangers.

But the compensation wasn’t much. The main responsible party was also poor—they had spent their savings on a truck to make a living and never expected such a tragedy.

They offered all their money, tearfully begging for the original host’s forgiveness.

Raised with a good upbringing by his parents, the original host couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh, even though he was filled with hatred. The sight of the fifty-something-year-old man and woman, aged and weeping on their knees, left him speechless.

After accepting the compensation and arranging his parents’ funeral, the already meager funds were nearly exhausted.

The remaining money wasn’t even enough to cover his tuition for the new semester.

Holding his brother, the original host considered dropping out to work and support his brother’s education.

Fortunately, as luck would have it, a prestigious private high school in another province reached out to him. They promised that if he attended, not only would his tuition be waived, but he would also receive free accommodation, a 10,000 RMB enrollment bonus, and additional rewards for academic excellence.

But the school wasn’t running a charity.

Its students were all from wealthy or powerful families. You Nan was the first impoverished student they had ever admitted.

If not for the viral video about You Nan, and the school’s need for public votes to compete for ratings and attract public attention, they would never have considered someone like You Nan, who had nothing. They wanted him to enroll to draw public attention to their institution.

To an adult capable of earning a living, 10,000 RMB might not seem like much. But to a student still in school, it was a fortune.

The original host was tempted. He agreed.

Then, with the 10,000 RMB, he brought his brother to the city.

He got his brother transferred so they could study in the same district.

But the area near the school was expensive. You Nan had to take his brother to and from school daily while also attending his own classes. To avoid disrupting either of their studies, he rented an apartment midway between the two schools and also rented an e-scooter for his daily commute.

When the teachers at the prestigious school learned he wasn’t living on campus, they generously covered his meals, depositing 1,500 RMB into his meal card each month—though the funds couldn't be cashed out.

The original host was truly grateful and remembered the teacher who had consistently helped him.

When he first moved with his brother, they packed light, leaving many belongings behind. Now that their academic lives had stabilized, the original host took the bus back to his hometown to retrieve the rest of their things.

You Nan carefully sifted through the original host’s memories but still found no trace of the familiar 007. He sighed inwardly, wondering where 007 could be now.

Turning to the concerned uncle beside him, You Nan rubbed his face, mustered some energy, and smiled. "It’s nothing. I just didn’t eat much for breakfast, so my blood sugar's low."

He made up an excuse on the spot.

The uncle exclaimed, "Aiya!" and pulled out a snack bread from his bag. "Here, have this. If it’s not enough, just let me know."

You Nan felt a bit uncomfortable. The bread in the uncle’s bag was clearly meant for his own child, yet he was willing to share it.

Unable to disregard the gesture, You Nan accepted it and thanked the man sincerely. "Thank you, Uncle."

The uncle chatted with You Nan all the way to the final stop. When they got off the bus, the uncle still wanted to keep talking.

You Nan saw the uncle off and prepared to go home to pack his things.

It was already very late outside. You Nan took out his phone, thinking, "Since I've come this far, I might as well make the best of it." Though the road ahead was not very clear, he was now You Nan of this new world, so he would just keep going.

He believed he and 007 would meet again.

Following the memories of the body he now inhabited, You Nan arrived at his old home.

The house was still tidy, but was dustier than he remembered.

You Nan turned on the light. He had already made up his mind: tomorrow, he would hire a long-distance moving service like Huolala, then put the house up for rent through a real estate agent.

The original body had found a place to work near the school, and he would see if he could switch to a better workplace.

The economy around the school was quite vibrant, and the original body had seen many shops hiring.

You Nan packed until midnight when he heard a pitiful, faint tapping sound. It was very soft, almost mixed with what sounded like faint mews.

You Nan looked up at the window and realized it had started raining heavily outside at some point. The sound of the rain was so loud that it completely drowned out the noise at the door.

007, who had been reincarnated as a kitten, was at its limit.

When it woke up, it was in a pet shop, waiting to be chosen by customers. This terrified it, and the little kitten used all its strength to escape from the pet shop at night.

Fortunately, as a system, it could use its system capabilities to see You Nan's real-time coordinates.

At first, in the afternoon, when it saw how far away You Nan was, it felt like the sky was falling. But by evening, the distance between them had shortened. Seizing the opportunity, it mustered all its desperate courage and slipped out of the pet shop when no one was paying attention.

The blue cat's color made it nearly invisible in the night. It risked being caught by dogs, carefully hiding itself, but it overlooked one thing: it hadn’t checked the weather.

Halfway through, a downpour started, drenching it completely and turning it into a drenched mess.

The rainy night was bitterly cold, with a biting wind.

The little blue kitten couldn’t handle the cold. By the time it dragged itself to You Nan's doorstep, despite the cold rain, it could hardly keep its eyes open, shivering all over.

Seeing light from the window, it knew You Nan was still awake. It quickly raised its tiny paw, smaller than a human's pinky nail, and knocked on the door. But its voice was too weak, and its strength too little. There was still no movement from inside.

007 thought all was lost. Just as its eyelids were about to shut uncontrollably, the door opened from the inside.

You Nan’s heart leapt to his throat at the sight of the lonely little kitten suddenly appearing at his doorstep. He carefully picked 007 up, wiped it dry with a towel, used a hairdryer to blow its fur, found a hot water bottle to keep it warm, and gave it some lactose-free milk that hadn’t expired.

Seeing You Nan, 007 finally relaxed. It closed its eyes and let itself faint from exhaustion.

You Nan was frantic with worry.

After tending to it for a while, he realized 007 had just fallen asleep and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He crouched beside 007, watching its little belly rise and fall, and finally felt at peace.

His dependence on 007 grew deeper, but at least they had finally reunited.