Chapter 115

Chapter 115

◎Qi Yun Is No Longer Here.◎

Wang Boyuan told Meng Qi, "I don't know the exact reason either. I only remember that when I was walking across the school playground, I was suddenly hit on the head by a basketball. When I woke up, I was already here. As for this person here, the one you call Qi Yun, he was knocked unconscious by his father with a stick. Probably because we both passed out at the same time, we ended up swapping places by some weird twist of fate."

The word "swap" stirred something in Meng Qi's mind. Something clicked in his head, and he immediately asked Wang Boyuan all excited, "Brother Boyuan, do you mean that Qi Yun isn't dead? The situation now is that you've taken over his body, and at the same time, he's taken over yours?"

Worried this crazy news might freak out Elder Gu, who was behind him, Meng Qi asked these last two sentences in a low voice.

Wang Boyuan replied, "Before I got in touch with you, I wasn't sure if this guess was right. But now that I've contacted you, I'm a hundred percent sure it's right."

"Why?" Meng Qi got tense.

"Because your body has also been taken over by the 'Meng Qi' from over there. After he went over, he changed many of your habits. He's not as close to me and He Cong as he used to be. Our three-person group chat turned into just me and He Cong. Eight times out of ten, it's just me and He Cong talking in there. If we don't @ you, that 'you' almost never shows up on his own. He Cong and I figured after you started college, you got a new circle of friends, so you were drifting away..."

Meng Qi cut in, worried, "That's not true, Brother Boyuan! No matter what, I'd never ignore you and Brother Cong!"

Wang Boyuan on the other end of the phone seemed to sense Meng Qi's reaction. He paused, laughed, and first calmed Meng Qi down, "We never blamed you," then continued his explanation, "What didn't make sense back then now makes sense. Because that guy wasn't you at all, so he didn't want to talk to me and He Cong. As for the reason, maybe he's just not a talkative guy, or maybe he was scared that talking too much would make us suspicious and cause trouble... Turns out, his approach was right. At least before I came here, He Cong and I never doubted he wasn't you."

Meng Qi unconsciously pressed his lips together, thinking the reason was probably the first one. Someone that arrogant and wild probably wouldn't bother keeping up relationships he didn't care about, so he was just too lazy to talk to He Cong and Wang Boyuan, not trying to avoid suspicion. As for worrying about arousing suspicion, Young Master Meng would probably have said all high and mighty, "You suspect what you want. What's it to me?"

"If he could go over there, this Qi Yun probably will too," Wang Boyuan concluded.

Meng Qi also thought Wang Boyuan's guess was right. So after hearing this conclusion, he worried a lot less about Qi Yun.

Qi Yun was the first friend Meng Qi made after getting here, and for a long time, he was Meng Qi's rock. Knowing Qi Yun was okay and had even totally escaped this suffocating place this way, Meng Qi was really happy for him.

But at the same time, he worried if Wang Boyuan could handle everything here. After all, there was a dad hooked on gambling and a past full of debt...

So Meng Qi asked Wang Boyuan, worried, "Has Qi Yun's dad done anything to you? Brother Boyuan, don't be afraid of him. Worst case, we just cut ties with him and never deal with him again! Anyway, you're not the real Qi Yun, so he can't guilt-trip you!"

"His dad got arrested by the cops for assault and will be in jail for nine months. He won't be doing anything to me for now," Wang Boyuan said frankly.

Meng Qi went "Wow" and instantly had mad respect for Wang Boyuan. "That's my Brother Boyuan! If it were Qi Yun, he'd have just taken that beating for nothing."

Wang Boyuan said with a smile, "I didn't call the cops. Ren Suiwu got him sent in. By the time I woke up, Ren Suiwu had already handled everything. Even if I felt a little sorry for him, there was nothing I could do."

Oh, the oldest Ren brother...

In just this short time, Meng Qi had already heard Wang Boyuan say Ren Suiwu's name three times. Although he had no particular feelings about the man, "Ren Suiwu" and "Ren Suiyi" differed by only one character. Every time he heard "Ren Sui," his heart would jump. So he wasn't too keen on hearing the name Ren Suiwu anymore.

He then changed the subject and asked about his grandparents. He should have asked earlier, and he had wanted to, but one thing led to another, and it had been delayed until now.

Thinking of his grandparents made Meng Qi feel terrible. He asked Wang Boyuan pitifully, his heart tightening, "Brother Boyuan, have you been to see my grandparents recently? Are they doing okay? They haven't been sick, have they?"

"They're doing well. The factory where He Cong's parents work hired a new accountant named Meng Chunlin, who said she's your neighbor. When He Cong heard about it, he asked her to visit your place often. Sometimes he also buys some nutritional supplements and asks her to bring them over. Before I came here, I had just asked Meng Chunlin to take over two boxes of American ginseng." He paused here before continuing, "That 'you' earned a sum of money from somewhere and renovated your house. Your grandparents were happy about that for a long time."

His house, which leaked in the winter and let in rain in the summer, had been renovated?! This was truly a piece of good news that made Meng Qi's eyes light up!

He muttered to himself, "Sister Chunlin? She's my neighbor, just one alley away from my house," while thinking to himself, *My grandparents finally have a new house! Great! It seems that 'Meng Qi' from the book is doing much better over there. He managed to renovate the house in just half a year. I probably couldn't have done that. According to my own plan, renovating the house or buying a new one was something I would only achieve slowly after graduating and finding a job.*

Someone with a head for business can thrive anywhere. It seemed he still had a lot to learn, not just limited to his professional knowledge.

The more he thought about it, the more complicated his feelings became. He was happy for his grandparents, yet also filled with a sense of inadequacy...

"Where are you now? Why did you choose to run away from home? I heard that the person's living conditions are pretty good. His parents, and a younger brother, I think, all seem to care about him and haven't given up looking for him... And you, you've always wanted a family, haven't you? Why did you leave?" Wang Boyuan said a long string of words in one breath.

It made Meng Qi's heart feel heavy. He muttered to himself that explaining this would be a long story, and he didn't even know where to start.

Sigh, he felt like crying again.

He answered Wang Boyuan's first question in a low, muffled voice, "I'm stuck in a remote mountain village, Brother Boyuan. I'm here to escape for my life. I can't tell you the specific reason over the phone," Meng Qi secretly glanced behind him. Yang Miao, Gu Bangqi, and Elder Gu were still standing guard at the door. There was only so much he could say on the phone. "Brother Boyuan, you... you..."

He wanted to ask Wang Boyuan what he was doing now and if he could come to this remote mountain village to find him.

Although he had made quite a few friends recently, all of whom were talented and capable, none could compare to the closeness of family from the same place. If Wang Boyuan could come and stay with him, he really wouldn't be afraid of anything!

But he didn't dare ask. He was worried that Wang Boyuan, who was now in Qi Yun's identity, might have his own difficult matters to deal with... He didn't want to put Wang Boyuan in a tough spot, even though he truly, truly missed Wang Boyuan and desperately wanted to see him.

While Meng Qi was still struggling with whether to ask, Wang Boyuan spoke to him instead, "Send me the detailed address. I'll come find you."

As considerate as ever!

"Brother Boyuan..." Meng Qi's lips drooped, and he couldn't hold back his tears anymore.

"Why are you crying again? Alright, stop crying. I'll always be on your side," Wang Boyuan comforted Meng Qi.

Not being comforted was one thing, but being comforted like this only made Meng Qi cry even harder.

After hanging up the phone, Meng Qi not only sent his address here to Wang Boyuan but also sent him Qu Liang's contact information. Qu Liang was currently on his way back to the capital, and Wang Boyuan would also need to make some preparations for leaving the capital. Maybe the two of them could even arrange to come back together.

If that were the case, it would be wonderful. With Qu Liang looking after him along the way, Meng Qi would feel much more at ease. After all, everything here was just as unfamiliar to Wang Boyuan.

Thinking of this, Meng Qi called Qu Liang again and told him that a friend named "Qi Yun" would contact him later. If the timing worked out, the two of them could come back together.

Qu Liang readily agreed.

Meng Qi then asked Qu Liang where he was and if he had found a ride to the capital.

"There's no direct bus from the county to the capital. I have to take a bus to the city first, and then a high-speed train from the city to the capital. I checked the departure times on my phone in advance. The fastest high-speed train to the capital won't leave for another seventeen hours. The airport is in the provincial capital, and it would take four or five hours just to get there... Anyway, no matter what, I'll have to waste another day. Right now, I really miss my big green bug," Qu Liang said with a heavy sigh at the end.

Meng Qi didn't know what Qu Liang meant by "big green bug," so Qu Liang explained that it was the big green Jeep he had driven from the capital last time.

Ah, what he really missed wasn't that Jeep, but Zhao Zheyuan. He had no idea how Zhao Zheyuan was doing. The complete lack of news kept him on edge. So Meng Qi also sighed, then asked Qu Liang what he planned to do. Delaying one day shouldn't be a problem, right?

"I'll crash at Yang Yiming's place for the night and figure things out tomorrow. There's no use rushing," Qu Liang paused, then muttered, "And even if there is a problem, so what? I'll just quit. There are plenty of other fish in the sea."

Meng Qi could tell that Qu Liang's words were just a complaint and not to be taken seriously. Both he and Zhao Zheyuan genuinely loved their jobs and wouldn't want to leave. It was precisely because he knew their true feelings that Meng Qi felt so guilty towards Qu Liang and Zhao Zheyuan.

But until he found a way to solve the problem, anything he said would seem superfluous. He couldn't even bring himself to offer words of comfort. Meng Qi smacked his lips, thinking to himself that there was still hope. Once Wang Boyuan arrived, things should be better. For one, Wang Boyuan and He Cong were both smarter than him and could see the bigger picture. For another, an outsider might see things more clearly than someone trapped in the situation, and they might just find a way to break the deadlock.

Just as Li Qingjiang finished parking the tricycle against the wall, Qu Liang sent Meng Qi a message: I can set off for the capital right away. No need to wait until tomorrow. Yang Yiming has a car. I'll drive his car.

So, as they say, when the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a path; when the boat reaches the bridgehead, it will go straight. A living person won't be choked to death by urine.