False evidence

Chapter 408 Unexpected Changes
"Who are you calling 'father'?" Erpang grabbed the rolling pin.

Gu Haitao suddenly stood up and grabbed a chair.

"If you want to order, order outside!" The proprietress brought over the noodles.

I asked Erpang to sit down and apologized to the landlady with a smile.

Gu Haitao also sat down.

I thought to myself, this kid is really possessed. He used to just talk the talk, he would never dare to actually fight someone like this.

Erpang and I slurped down our noodles. I wiped my mouth, took out my cigarette case, shook out two cigarettes, and handed them to Gu Haitao.

He shook his head.

I smiled faintly and just put the cigarette away when I saw him pull out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, take out two and toss one in front of me and Erpang respectively, then light one for himself, frowning as he took a deep drag.

"Now you can tell me what happened to you."

I really sensed something was wrong. Gu Haitao never smokes, and he doesn't know how to smoke.

Gu Haitao nodded, but then took a few more deep drags before extinguishing the half-smoked cigarette.

He looked at me and said, "When I woke up this morning, I found a young girl next to me. I'm only a little older than her."

When I saw him pointing at An Xin, I couldn't help but frown.

His insight was keen, and he immediately said, "You'll understand more easily if I start from the beginning."

I said, "Continue."

He said, “I asked the girl who she was, but she argued with me, saying that I had used sweet words to deceive her and that I was denying it after just one night. I was grumpy when I woke up and my mind was still a mess. Without thinking, I found my wallet, took out the money and threw it at her, telling her to leave. As a result, she slapped me.”

"puff!"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Slapping you was too lenient. But now I believe you're really in trouble."

Gu Haitao is the kind of person who takes advantage of every opportunity. When I lived in the dormitory, I personally witnessed him returning from a date with his girlfriend and writing down the day's expenses in a small notebook.

Gu Haitao lit another cigarette, frowning as he smoked, and said, "When I came to my senses, I realized I was in a small hotel. I also realized that the wallet wasn't mine."

He hesitated for a moment, looked at me and said, "I thought I had a mental problem, so I wanted to take a shower first. That's when I saw a stranger in the mirror. After realizing something was wrong, I found and went through everything that could confirm my identity, and then used my phone to contact the numbers marked as close to me. In the end, it was confirmed that I had become another person, and this person was named Gu Haitao."

"You've become a different person? I think you've been reading too many fantasy novels!"

Erpang scoffed, then beckoned to the proprietress to make another bowl of noodles.

I asked Gu Haitao, "You said you're not Gu Haitao? Then who are you?"

He stubbed out his half-smoked cigarette, then lit another one. Through the smoke, he said with distress, "That's the problem: I can't remember who I was!"

“Continue,” I said.

“After I left the hotel, I called you, but you wouldn’t answer.”

He pointed at An Xin, "This girl just happened to be passing by, so I borrowed her phone to call you."

"Why did you think of calling me? And why did you borrow someone else's phone to call me?"

Gu Haitao definitely has my number in his phone, but if what he says is true, out of dozens of numbers, he has no reason to call me.

Gu Haitao frowned, asking me, "Do you believe what I just said?"

Seeing my silence, he sighed. "You probably don't believe me, but everything I'm saying is true. You ask why I called you? The story is even stranger. So strange, I wonder if I'm dreaming. I called you because, in my memory, I once met an old gentleman. I treated him to a meal of pan-fried buns, and he said he couldn't accept kindness for nothing and had to repay me. He told me then, 'If one day you find yourself transformed into a different person, call this number…'"

Gu Haitao gave me a phone number, and before I could speak, he picked up his own phone: "When I called you, I dialed the number directly and didn't know you knew Gu Haitao or this young lady. Your name and number were given to me by that old gentleman, 176-XXX-37201. Three times seven is twenty-one, it's hard to forget."

I smiled and asked, "Don't you think your words are contradictory?"

Gu Haitao said, "I know what you mean. I've truly forgotten who I am, but I still retain some memories from the past. That old gentleman, and your name and phone number, are part of those memories. Also, I'm definitely not mentally unstable; I'm not Gu Haitao!"

"When did you meet that old man?" I asked.

Gu Haitao said, "It was the eighth day of the fourth lunar month last year."

"You remember it so clearly?"

“Yes, that’s the anniversary of my wife’s death.” He suddenly shuddered.

I glanced at my phone. "So, the day after tomorrow..."

Halfway through my sentence, Gu Haitao suddenly stood up, walked around the table, and grabbed my arm.

"What do you want to do?" Erpang stood up and glared at him.

"Help me...help me!" Gu Haitao said breathlessly.

I could feel him trembling all over. I glanced at his hand gripping mine and said, "Let go first."

He seemed not to hear me at all, and reached out his other hand as well.

I frowned, pushed his outstretched hand away, and flicked the numb bone in his wrist that was gripping mine.

He gasped, took two steps back, looked at me blankly for a moment, as if he had just realized what was happening, and hurriedly said:

"I'm sorry, I was too impulsive, I'm so sorry!"

"Speak properly, and don't get physical," I said coldly.

I'm starting to believe that something really unusual has happened to him, but I just can't stand Gu Haitao's attitude.

Gu Haitao swallowed twice and said to me:
"Don't blame me, I'm really excited right now! A year ago... that old man said I would become a different person. I thought it was absurd at the time, I thought he just wanted to scam some money, I gave him money but he didn't want it. But... but what he said has come true now, hasn't it? Since there really is such a thing as prophecy, then... then I really am going to see Qiaomei again!"

As he spoke, he reached out to grab me again, but quickly realized what he was doing, looked around, and called out towards the counter:
"Boss lady, give me some wine!"

The proprietress had been watching us closely. She glanced at me, and only after I nodded did she ask, "What kind of wine would you like?"

Gu Haitao shouted, "Of course it's Moutai!"

The proprietress rolled her eyes and ignored him.

I couldn't help but chuckle, "Just bring a small bottle of Erguotou!"

This is just a small noodle shop; the best liquor they serve costs no more than a few dozen yuan. Where would they get Moutai?

Besides, I know Gu Haitao's alcohol tolerance very well. Two ounces of strong liquor is his limit; any more and we'll have to carry him out.

Unexpectedly, Gu Haitao downed the entire two-ounce bottle of Erguotou in one gulp, his face unchanged, but his eyes were red as he stared at me and said:

“I remember now. Twenty-one years ago, I met an old gentleman who told me that my marriage with Qiaomei was not over and that I would see Qiaomei again!”

(End of this chapter)