Did the world end today?

Chapter 372 Memories of My Youth

Huaning County is high.

Zhang Ziyi walked out of the classroom, her fingers still stained with a few traces of dark blue ink left by a marker.

She had textbooks and lesson plans slung under her arm, and her eyes were filled with exhaustion.

Walking down the corridor, as summer approaches, the cicadas are already chirping in the trees of the school.

At times like these, she would always recall memories that didn't seem to belong to her.

It seems that many years ago, in the same school, amidst the chirping of cicadas in the height of summer, I said goodbye to something important.

She didn't know what that important thing was, nor did she know where this feeling came from.

But the overwhelming sense of "youth" gave her a strange feeling of "falling down".

It felt like I had returned to that naive yet bold age.

An ambiguous atmosphere swirled around her, and she subconsciously looked up, trying to grasp that fleeting illusion.

But the next second, she burst into laughter.

I'm no longer a student.

They've even reached the age where they need to be urged by their parents and relatives to go on blind dates.

It's somewhat ridiculous to be stuck in the mindset of a teenage girl at this age.

Moreover, such a state of mind is completely unfounded.

Zhang Ziyi shook her head, turned around and walked down the stairs.

She hopped on her electric scooter, greeted the security guard at the gate, and rode under the blazing sun to her small, temporarily rented apartment.

The road in front of the gate had been dug up, and construction workers were sweating profusely as they carried building materials. She glanced at them casually and noticed that the equipment they were carrying had some names and symbols that she couldn't understand printed on it.

Normally, she would definitely stop and take a closer look, and might even want to ask the workers what they were doing and why this broken road had been dug up and repaired repeatedly.

But today, she felt that her curiosity was being suppressed by some more chaotic thoughts.
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After leaving the school, she felt she could never shake off the "illusion" brought about by those few cicada chirps.

She felt as if she were trapped in a certain situation, unable to break free.

This upset her, and even the sound of her footsteps going upstairs became heavier.

"Click."

The fingerprint lock opened, and Zhang Ziyi pushed the door open and entered.

"call"

She let out a long breath and slumped heavily onto the bed.

The water stains on the ceiling slowly magnified in my eyes, then became somewhat blurry and distorted.

In the end, the stain even formed the shape of a human face.

She felt that she was very familiar with this face, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember who this face belonged to or which memory it belonged to.

This feeling.
It's like a sneeze that's about to burst out, but is forcefully blocked in your nose.

Zhang Ziyi became increasingly agitated. She suddenly sat up and looked around, trying to find something to do to pull herself out of her reverie, but after looking around, she couldn't muster any interest in anything.

"Is she going to become depressed?"

A slightly frightening thought popped into her mind, making her shiver involuntarily.

There's no way around it; being a teacher these days is incredibly stressful, especially with the massive, counter-current educational reforms.

Teachers of my generation are starting to fall behind; many have resigned or changed careers, leaving only a few still persevering.

Even if it ultimately results in depression, it wouldn't be surprising.
But no.

I still have so much to do.

Cheer up!
Zhang Ziyi suddenly jumped out of bed; she knew she had to get moving.

If there's really nothing else to do, then you might as well tidy up the house.

Upon thinking of this, her body seemed to immediately regain its vitality.

Years of intense work left her with almost no time to tidy up her small house where she had lived for several years. But as the old, dilapidated, and abandoned items were cleared out one by one, her depressed mood did seem to ease a bit.

I kept the teddy bear from high school.

I've flipped through the textbooks countless times, but it's no longer useful. Educational reforms are being pushed forward with great strides. When I was in school, we were still learning Ohm's Law, but this year's students are already starting to explore quantum mechanics.

The first bottle of perfume I bought for myself after starting work, I only used a few times and then left it to gather dust in a corner.

The aroma is still there when I take it out now, but I feel like I won't need it anymore.

Let's put it aside.

She piled all the clutter she had cleared out to one side, and inexplicably felt a sense of "decluttering" pleasure.
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Until she found that dusty notebook.

The notebook cover still had some yellowed labels with lyrics that were hard to decipher.

Zhang Ziyi picked up the notebook with a puzzled look.

She had absolutely no recollection of ever leaving behind such a diary.

But when she held the notebook, which reeked of decay and dust, in her hands, that familiar "illusion" in her heart grew even deeper.

This notebook seems to hold some secrets.

Zhang Ziyi gently blew away the dust, then she opened the notebook.

The first page of the notebook still contained copied lyrics.

She did remember that lyric.

That was the most popular love song in 2016, and even now, 10 years later, it can still be heard frequently in short videos.

She hummed a song softly as she turned the pages of her diary.

The further she looked, the more alarmed she became by those familiar illusions.

The girl's innermost thoughts were all contained in this notebook.

It turns out that the cicadas' chirping in the height of summer is not just chirping, but also the silhouette of a boy in the sunlight.

The hot, humid air was mixed with the unique fragrance of that age.

A name appeared on the paper, and its frequency of appearance increased.

From once every few pages, to several times per page.

Zhang Ziyi could clearly sense that the owner of the diary was deepening his "love" for that name, or even "obsession" with it.

But this only made her more confused.

Am I really the owner of this diary?

Judging from the handwriting, yes.

Even some of the things recorded in the diary were indeed things that she had personally experienced.

But why do I feel this way about this name?
No recollection at all?

Qin Shizhong.
This name doesn't sound like the name of someone I would like.

Zhang Ziyi silently recited the name in her heart, and just then, there was a knock on her door.

"Boom boom boom!"

She immediately put down her notebook.

"coming!"

Zhang Ziyi got up and walked towards the door, still wondering who would come to see her at a time like this.

Is the bathroom leaking again?

She opened the door without any warning.

Standing outside the door was a man in uniform.

The latter held up a certificate in front of Zhang Ziyi.

Then he began to speak:
"Hello, I'm from the Kunming State Security Bureau."

"I have some things to discuss with you."

There is someone, I don't know if you remember.

His name is Qin Shizhong.

(End of this chapter)