My girlfriend was reborn.

Chapter 128 Found you
Zhou Heming walked along a country path.

I don't know if it's because children are more resistant to heat, or if summers weren't so unbearable back then, but for him at ten years old, the countryside was much cooler than Jiangcheng.

He held a straight tree branch in his hand. To a child of this age, this thing could be a holy sword, a magic wand, or a fishing rod.

After walking for a while, Zhou Heming arrived at his destination for the day.

Beside a small river outside the village.

He and a few friends from the village, whom he had only recently met, had arranged to fish for crayfish here today.

They say you can catch a lot of dark red crayfish by tying a small piece of meat to a rope, throwing it into the water, and letting it sit for a while. Once you have a bucket full, you can build a pit on the bank with stones, scatter fallen leaves, and set it on fire to make grilled crayfish.

There are many restaurants serving crayfish in Jiangcheng, but Zhou Heming rarely goes there because his parents rarely take him out to eat. The only time they take him out to eat is on his mother's birthday if both of them happen to be in Jiangcheng.

More often than not, Zhou Heming ate at Grandma Qian's house next door.

For him, although his maternal grandmother's place was in the countryside and a bit dirty and messy, it was much more fun than the city.

"Here, I brought some QQ candy."

Upon arriving at the riverbank and meeting his friends, Zhou Heming took out a bag of grape-flavored QQ candies from his bag.

"Great! Zhou Heming, you really are my older brother!"

"Zhou Heming is awesome."

"Give me five chips first. I didn't get to eat many chips last time."

Needless to say, because his grandmother ran a small shop, Zhou Heming could often bring over some snacks to share with his friends, and he had become the big brother and idol in the hearts of the village children.

At school, nobody pays attention to him, let alone plays with him.

"Eat whatever you want. Next time I'll bring a bag of spicy strips; they're delicious."

Zhou Heming grinned as he distributed the snacks, gazing at the shimmering river surface.

This river, to be precise, is an irrigation canal used to irrigate farmland. It draws water from Heming Mountain, and the water is crystal clear. There are many fish and shrimp in the area where it flows into the farmland.

The afternoon sun was shining brightly, and several children were fishing for crayfish here, catching quite a lot.

They piled stones to build a fire pit, roasted the crayfish, peeled them, and ate the unseasoned crayfish meat without worrying about getting an upset stomach when they got home.

"By the way, do you know there's a construction site over there on the other side of the mountain?"

While we were eating, one of my friends said something.

"what for?"

"Work has stopped. I don't know why, but some people were making trouble there a while ago, and then no one did any work."

"What's so fun about that?"

"They say it's haunted."

"Haunted?"

Zhou Heming pricked up his ears.

He has been interested in strange and unusual things since he was a child, or rather, he is interested in experiences that transcend the ordinary, like now, sitting with a group of friends he has only known for a short time fishing for crayfish.

"Yes, they said the construction stopped because it was haunted. Don't you know? Heming Mountain is often haunted."

That friend started telling a story again, all in a serious tone.

Things like seeing someone who looks exactly like yourself on Crane Cry Mountain, foxes turning into humans to ask for directions and being possessed if you answer, and the need to sacrifice a child every year or there will be disasters.

Zhou Heming listened with great interest.

"I'm asking you, do you dare go and take a look at the construction site?"

The companion whispered like a tempting Mephistopheles.

"Go ahead, what's there to be afraid of?"

Some people were shouting.

"Go around five or six o'clock, when it's getting dark. They say you can see a female ghost in a red dress there."

When that friend spoke, everyone else fell silent.

It's fine to go during the day, but it gets dark quickly in the countryside at night; it's already quite dark by five or six o'clock.

Especially when the sun is about to set, but it's not completely dark yet, and the streetlights aren't on, the whole world is bathed in a dim yellow light, making people appear as double images, creating a dazzling and mesmerizing effect.

"Zhou Heming, do you dare to go?"

At this moment, someone egged them on.

"Of course I dare! What's there to be afraid of?"

Zhou Heming said defiantly.

"Then let's choose this spot for our adventure today!"

The children seemed to have found their courage and nodded in agreement.

It was called an adventure, but it was really just wandering around the village.

Due to the geological conditions of Heming Mountain, landslides frequently occurred in the past, causing damage to nearby villages. As a result, there are many ruins of abandoned villages, some dating back one or two hundred years.

These abandoned places have become places for children to play and explore, build secret bases, or test their courage.

Most of the time, they go there during the day to play hide-and-seek or something.

Occasionally they would go out at night, but after some children were beaten by their parents for coming home late, they rarely went out at night anymore.

Considering it was evening and not completely dark yet, Zhou Heming agreed.

*
At five o'clock in the afternoon, Zhou Heming grabbed a bag of broad beans and put it into his shoulder bag, along with a flashlight, and went to the village entrance with his friends.

That construction site was originally a hotel resort area, probably intended to develop the tourism resources in the area and create some unique tourism projects in conjunction with the Taoist temples on Heming Mountain. However, construction has been suspended for two years, leaving only some building materials that cannot be moved and exposed to the elements, making it dilapidated.

It got dark a bit early today, and by the time we gathered, it was already difficult to see the road.

A group of friends walked together toward the construction site.

The construction site was located between two villages. They walked along the highway for a while, and then along a dilapidated, unmaintained stretch of wild road. By the time they arrived at the construction site, it was almost completely dark.

Those houses, with only empty shells and unfinished interiors, resembled sleeping monsters, exuding an eerie aura in the dim night.

Strange howling sounds came from the mountains; I didn't know what kind of animal it was.

As they entered the abandoned construction site, the group of friends immediately became nervous.

Zhou Heming turned on the flashlight.

In an instant, they saw an empty face.

"!!!"

The screams were choked back, and the children gasped.

"Billboard".

Zhou Heming was the first to react.

It was a roadside lightbox billboard that had been thrown there from who-knows-where, with a celebrity's smiling face on it.

"Damn, putting this here is scary, it's indecent!"

Someone kicked the billboard and vented their anger by cursing.

At this time.

A sobbing sound came from behind.

"Who's shouting?"

The child immediately turned around, thinking that one of his companions was playing a trick.

Everyone was stunned and looked at each other.

In the beam of the flashlight, everyone's faces looked a bit eerie, but they could still see each other, and no one made a sound.

The sobbing sounded again.

This time, they were able to confirm it.

The voice did exist, and it wasn't made by any of them.

A chill ran down Zhou Heming's spine, and he felt his legs go weak.

"Zhou Heming, you have a flashlight, go and take a look ahead."

Someone instigated it.

Zhou Heming instinctively wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it, and considering his status as the eldest brother, he took two steps forward.

With the flashlight shining, he heard a sobbing sound that seemed to be coming from the house in front.

suddenly.

Perhaps it startled the stray cat, for a sharp howl followed by the sound of something falling.

In an instant, Zhou Heming's friends behind him screamed and scattered.

When Zhou Heming turned around and shone his flashlight, he could only catch a glimpse of the hazy entrance to the construction site.

"Hey, don't go!"

Zhou Heming also wanted to run away.

But my legs had already gone weak.

I couldn't move even if I wanted to.

The surroundings quieted down.

He turned around and shone his flashlight on the building, which looked like one of those souvenir shops.

The sobbing sound came again, startling Zhou Heming.

However, he quickly realized that it sounded like a human voice.

"Or perhaps, the voice of a ghost is also a human voice?"

It must be said that reading third-rate amateur science magazines like "Mysteries" gave Zhou Heming an imagination and curiosity beyond his peers. At this moment, he actually suppressed his fear and wanted to see who was crying.

"Hey, are you an alien?"

Zhou Heming shouted towards the house.

Then he heard the sobbing stop for a moment.

Then, she cried even louder.

It seems they're not aliens.

Zhou Heming discovered that after all that commotion, his legs seemed to be able to move again.

Instead of running away immediately, Zhou Heming's curiosity led him to walk forward.

He arrived at the entrance of the building and shone his flashlight inside.

Because it wasn't fully built, the inside was quite empty, with only some tree branches, animal droppings, and immovable cement bags.

"Who?"

Zhou Heming asked loudly, and suddenly, as the flashlight beam swept across the room, he saw a person wearing a pink dress squatting in the corner.

"Damn, this is really ghostly!"

He suddenly took a half step back, a chill running down his spine.

But upon closer reflection, Zhou Heming felt something was amiss.

He mustered his courage and shone his flashlight on that spot.

There was indeed a girl in a pink dress who was crying with her face buried in her hands.

"Hello?"

Zhou Heming greeted him.

The girl stopped crying.

She looked up, squinting slightly and shielding her eyes with her hand because the flashlight beam was too bright.

Zhou Heming had no idea what was wrong with his head.

When I saw the girl crying her eyes out, her face flushed, my first thought was...

—She is very beautiful.

*
"So, you were playing hide-and-seek, and you hid here and fell asleep, and no one found you until it got dark, but then you were too scared to go out?"

Zhou Heming squatted down beside the girl, listening to her sob as she recounted her ordeal that day.

The girl must be from the next village, and she looks like she's from the city and has come back to her hometown for a visit. However, they're playing something big; a group of them are playing hide-and-seek in this abandoned construction site.

As it turned out, she hid it so well, and since it was the afternoon when she was feeling sleepy, she actually fell asleep.

Her friends probably couldn't find her and assumed she had gone back, so they left her alone.

When the girl woke up, it was already dark. She couldn't find her way back, so she could only hide there and cry.

"Ah."

The girl had stopped crying, but her shoulders were still trembling slightly.

"You're really carefree; you can actually sleep."

Zhou Heming guessed that if it weren't for his boldness, her family would have had a long search.

Moreover, villagers generally don't allow children to play in these ruins, and they might not even dare to tell adults that they've been here.

The psychological trauma this girl is experiencing is probably immeasurable.

"I...I'm so tired, I'm sorry."

The girl apologized in a low voice.

"It's okay. Luckily I found you, otherwise you might have been, well, abducted by aliens."

Zhou Heming scared her a little.

"Whoa!"

The girl burst into tears, but only halfway through her crying did she realize what was happening.

What are aliens?

"Aliens are the kind of people who come to Earth to build pyramids and ride in flying saucers. Oh right, do you know the Sphinx? And the crystal skull?"

Zhou Heming chattered on and on, talking about all sorts of mysterious things he'd seen in amateur science magazines he'd read on the roadside.

The girl listened to his words in a daze, forgetting even to cry.

"are you hungry?"

Seeing that she wasn't as impatient as the other children in the village, Zhou Heming took out the bag of broad beans he had brought with him that day from his shoulder bag.

The little girl nodded vigorously.

"Here."

He left the bag open, facing the girl.

The girl grabbed one, popped it into her mouth, and chewed it, making a crunching sound. She immediately stopped, seemingly afraid to make a sound.

"Why, you don't like to eat?"

Zhou Heming popped a few pieces into his mouth and chewed them without any hesitation.

"You must not make noise while eating."

The girl explained earnestly.

"Is that a rule? It's alright, your family isn't home right now, eat whatever you like."

Zhou Heming asked her to hold out her hand and poured a small handful of liquid into the girl's hand.

The girl looked at the broad beans in her hand. She was probably really hungry. She imitated Zhou Heming and stuffed them into her mouth, making a crisp chewing sound.

"What's your name? My name is Zhou Heming. I'm from that village over there, but I only come to visit during the summer vacation."

"Zhou Heming".

The girl repeated the name, as if trying to memorize it. She remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"My name is Lu Qian."

She pointed in a direction; it was the neighboring village.

"Then I'll call you Ashen."

Zhou Heming ate two more broad beans. Just then, animal noises came from outside, causing the girl to instinctively shrink her neck.

"Here's what we'll do: you come home with me first, then call your family to let them know you're safe. They're probably still looking for you."

Zhou Heming stood up and extended his hand to Lu Qian.

Lu Qian glanced at the hand before reaching out to grasp it and standing up.

*
"Grandpa, Grandma, I'm back."

When Zhou Heming returned home, his maternal grandparents were still tending the small shop.

"Oh dear, where have you been? I was so worried about you."

As soon as Grandma saw Zhou Heming, she hurriedly stood up.

Then, she saw Lu Qian holding Zhou Heming's hand and hiding behind him.

"Where did this girl come from?"

The village children all knew each other quite often, but Lu Qian was clearly not recognized by her grandmother.

"She said her name was Lu Qian and she was from the next village."

Zhou Heming said.

"Lu Qian, you're from the Lu family, right?"

Grandpa smacked his lips.

Zhou Heming quickly recounted the whole story.

"Oh dear, his family must be very worried. I'll give them a call."

Grandpa picked up the landline and the phone book, dialed a number, said a few words, and then asked Lu Qian to answer the phone.

When Lu Qian answered the phone, she was a little hesitant, afraid of being scolded.

But it seems they didn't say much, and just let Zhou Heming's maternal grandfather answer the phone again.

"They said it's too late now, so Lu Qian should sleep here tonight and they'll come to pick her up tomorrow."

Grandpa put down the landline receiver and said.

"She slept with you that night, Heming."

"what?"

Zhou Heming glanced at Lu Qian, who looked timid, and scratched his head.

"Alright, alright."

"Lu Qian, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Come upstairs with me, I'll heat up some food for you."

Grandma pulled Lu Qian up and led her and Zhou Heming upstairs.

After washing her face and combing her hair, Lu Qian had recovered quite a bit.

Zhou Heming noticed that Lu Qian looked even more beautiful under the lights, as delicate as a porcelain doll.

Her black hair was smooth, she wore a pink dress, and her fair feet were clad in sandals. On her left hand was a small bracelet with jade and beads.

Like a cute little girl you'd see in a movie.

"Lu Qian and your sister acted in a movie, right?"

During the meal, Grandma asked.

Lu Qian was taken aback, then nodded somewhat uncertainly.

"You've acted in movies, that's impressive?"

Zhou Heming's eyes lit up.

Then I realized that such a beautiful girl really does look like a celebrity.

“Our son Heming will also be making movies in the future, and we’ll ask you to act in them.”

Grandma said with a smile, teasingly.

"No, Grandma, don't talk nonsense."

Zhou Heming denied it with the awkwardness and arrogance typical of children his age. He paused, then looked at Lu Qian, who was eating in small bites, as elegant as a princess.

"Actually, I want to be a screenwriter. I plan to apply to Ningjiang University for my major."

He started chattering away again.

Lu Qian listened attentively to Zhou Heming's ramblings, showing no sign of annoyance.

After dinner, Grandma gave the two of them a bath and got Lu Qian a change of Zhou Heming's pajamas.

Two children lay on a bed, the bedside lamp was off, and the room was plunged into silence and darkness.

Zhou Heming wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Lu Qian had a faint milky scent, like a cat basking in the warm sun at the edge of the village.

However, Lu Qian looked very awkward and restrained, shrinking her body, just like a frightened little kitten.

"If you're scared, just hold my hand."

Zhou Heming reached out his hand to Lu Qian, who was covered with a blanket.

Lu Qian stared at his hand for a while before gently pinching a few of Zhou Heming's fingers.

Her hands were like a soft, fluffy birthday cake that a wealthy classmate had treated everyone to.

"Is acting in movies fun?"

Although Zhou Heming claimed to know a lot about movies, he only had theoretical knowledge. He couldn't help but be curious when he heard about Lu Qian's story.

Lu Qian shook her head.

"Is it very hard?"

Zhou Heming asked.

"I can't act in movies, but my dad wants my sister and me to."

Lu Qian replied somewhat dejectedly.

"If I don't act well, I'll get scolded, and my sister will also dislike me. I don't like acting."

"Then don't act."

Zhou Heming said decisively.

"If acting doesn't make you happy, then you should do something to make yourself happy. It's summer vacation, so you should have some fun."

"but."

Lu Qian seemed to want to find some more reasons.

"Did you enjoy playing hide-and-seek with them?"

Zhou Heming asked again.

"Ah."

Lu Qian nodded.

"Then let's play hide-and-seek, stop acting."

Zhou Heming spoke with the open-mindedness typical of a child.

"But I don't like this kind of thing today."

Lu Qian seemed to recall her experience from tonight, and said with lingering fear.

"I'm afraid they won't be able to find me again."

"Then you play with us, and I'm sure I can find you."

Zhou Heming assured him.

"Really?"

Lu Qian opened her eyes wide. Her eyes were very beautiful, with a kind of clarity and innocence, as well as a kind of charm that did not belong to her age.

"Well, look, my family runs a small shop. We can get any kind of snack we want. We can also go crayfish fishing and catch fish in the river."

Zhou Heming leveraged his family's strengths.

"But I'll be going back to Jiangcheng after school starts. Do you know where Jiangcheng is? If you come visit sometime, I'll take you there."

"Okay."

Lu Qian nodded seriously.

"Okay, if you don't like playing with your sister and the others, just call me and I'll wait for you by that billboard on the street and introduce you to the people here."

Zhou Heming thought for a moment and arranged to meet her at a location between the two villages.

"Uh-huh."

Lu Qian smiled, a sweetness far beyond what a girl her age could possess.

Zhou Heming felt a little embarrassed and quickly looked away, changing the subject.

But he couldn't help but steal glances at the girl who smelled of milk.

The two children chatted about everything under the sun. Lu Qian talked about her experiences on the film set, while Zhou Heming talked about everything from school life to astronomy and geography. By the time they were overcome with sleepiness and drifted off to sleep, they had no idea what time it was.

The next day, after having breakfast at home, the convenience store received a call that Lu Qian's father was coming to pick her up.

Before leaving, Zhou Heming got a bag of potato chips from his grandmother's shop and gave it to her, and also wrote down the accounts.

At noon, Lu Qian called to ask if Zhou Heming could come over to play tomorrow. Zhou Heming readily agreed and declared that he would bring his friends along.

At night, Zhou Heming fell asleep full of anticipation, pondering whether to fish for crayfish or go to the fields to collect snails.

Boys at this age don't really like playing with girls because they're often teased for being effeminate, and they don't really get along with girls.

But for some reason, he felt quite happy being with Lu Qian. This kind of happiness was different from the happiness he felt when he was having fun with other boys; it had a sweet taste to it.

Early on the third day, Zhou Heming led his friends to the area between the two villages, near the construction site ruins, to wait for Lu Qian under the highway billboard.

However, the dozen or so ways of greeting that I had planned last night did not work out as expected.

Lu Qian did not appear until lunchtime.

At one point, Zhou Heming's friends thought he was lying and bragging.

"They're definitely looking down on you; those were just polite words."

"Yeah, those who act in movies are stars, how could they possibly hang out with us?"

"What's the fun in hanging out with girls? Why don't you come fishing with us tomorrow?"

Everyone gradually went home for dinner, but Zhou Heming remained waiting.

He had considered going to the next village to find Lu Qian, but on the one hand, he didn't know where she lived, and on the other hand, Zhou Heming thought that if he wasn't there when Lu Qian came looking for him, how heartbroken that girl would be.

So he waited alone.

It wasn't until evening, when the sun was setting, that things continued.

He never saw Lu Qian again.

Looking at the empty road, Zhou Heming gritted his teeth and walked towards the neighboring village.

On the way, Zhou Heming thought of many questions he wanted to ask. At first, he thought he should scold Lu Qian and never play with her again. Later, he changed his mind and thought that as long as she could apologize properly, he could still play with her in the future.

He walked into an unfamiliar village, grabbed a passing adult, and asked for directions to Lu Qian's house.

When Zhou Heming arrived at Lu Qian's house, he was no longer in the mood to be angry. He felt that just being able to see the girl was enough.

After a knock on the door, an elderly woman opened it; she was probably Lu Qian's maternal grandmother.

"Little friend, who are you looking for?"

"Hello, Grandma, I'm looking for Lu Qian."

Zhou Heming noticed that the room was quiet, with no sounds of fighting.

"Ah Qian, she went back to Rongcheng with her father early this morning."

Lu Qian's maternal grandmother answered.

hum-

Zhou Heming felt his heart skip a beat.

"Why don't you come in and have a seat?"

Lu Qian's maternal grandmother invited Zhou Heming into the house.

Zhou Heming walked in blankly and sat down, listening to Lu Qian's grandmother recount the events of the day.

It turns out that Lu Qian and her sister were originally filming in Rongcheng. After filming, they were going to go back to their hometown to visit their elders for a few days. However, the director of the crew had a last-minute change of heart and asked the two of them to go back to reshoot. So they had to rush back to Rongcheng. This time, they probably won't be going back to their hometown.

"What's your name? Should I give them a call?"

"Lu Qian's maternal grandmother asked."

"My name is Zhou Heming."

"You're Zhou Heming?"

Lu Qian's grandmother was somewhat surprised. She carefully examined Zhou Heming before speaking.

"A-Qian left you a message. She said she will come back next year and will let your grandma know in advance so that you can play together again."

".good."

Zhou Heming felt a sudden sense of relief in his chest.

"It's so late, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Eat something first, I'll call your home."

Lu Qian's maternal grandmother treated him to dinner, which included a plate of spicy shredded beef, a dish that was very appetizing, and Zhou Heming ate a lot of it.

Later that evening, his grandfather came to pick up Zhou Heming. He stayed for a while longer before returning to Jiangcheng.

During his elementary school years, there were no cell phones, and Zhou Heming didn't know Lu Qian's number. As those dazzling days gradually passed, his memory of this summer interlude became somewhat hazy.

If they were to meet again the following year and exchange contact information, over time, perhaps a childhood sweetheart romance would blossom between them.

However, when the following summer vacation came, Zhou Heming's parents finally had a holiday. The three of them went to a southern island for a week and were unable to return to his maternal grandmother's home in Sichuan.

A few days after returning to Jiangcheng from the island, Zhou Heming's parents learned about the serious geological disaster that had occurred at Heming Mountain. They entrusted Zhou Heming to their neighbor, Grandma Qian, and returned to Sichuan to help his maternal grandparents with the various post-disaster matters.

Six months later, his maternal grandfather passed away due to illness, and Zhou Heming returned to Sichuan to attend the funeral.

When he returned to Heming Township, he dialed the number he remembered Lu Qian's family number once.

It's just that the number is no longer in service.

After the disaster, the villages were merged into Heming Township, thousands of families changed their addresses, and many people who knew each other in the past lost contact with them.

Zhou Heming didn't know what happened to Lu Qian afterward.

Later on, as his parents became busier with work, he returned to Sichuan less often. When he did return, he mostly stayed indoors looking at his phone and enjoying the air conditioning, no longer going out to play with his old friends.

Like many childhood playmates, the girl eventually faded into the depths of his memory, never to be recalled again, and even her name was forgotten.

Just like the super special moves of the main characters in the cartoons I loved watching as a child, the transformation methods of my favorite toys, and the names of the snacks I loved to eat near the school gate, they have all become hazy memories of my childhood.

But now, Zhou Heming realizes that he has never actually forgotten.

just.

He ultimately failed to keep his promise and was unable to find the girl in time.

"Got you."

Zhou Heming looked at the girl with a gentle smile on the tombstone and murmured.

Subsequently.

Their gaze shifted to Lu Bai, the girl who bore a striking resemblance to Lu Qian.

"So, how did Lu Qian die?"

Zhou Heming wanted an answer.

"Let me tell you."

At this time.

A voice came from behind the three of them.

Turning around, Zhou Heming saw the girl he had met that night on the pedestrian street in Rongcheng, the one who had accused Lu Bai of being a murderer, standing panting at the bottom of the steps, looking up at them with a hint of resentment.

"Lu Bai is the culprit who killed Lu Qian."

*
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(End of this chapter)