Rebirth: My Childhood Sweetheart Came into My Arms

As soon as the car stopped at Fenglin Garden, He Ziyu, sitting in the passenger seat, exclaimed "Ah!" and held his phone out to Jiang Chengyu.

"Brother Yu, look! The old brick wall is back! There's a small fan meeting in Denmark next month."

Jiang Chengyu was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and then took the phone.

The screen shows a person's Weibo homepage, which had just retweeted a music news item five minutes ago, saying that Old Brickwall was going to hold a fan meeting in Denmark after many years. Tickets would not be sold to the public; entry would only be granted with a signed poster or a signed CD.

This Weibo post was shared by many people, but most of them were just curious. The comments section was full of casual remarks such as "This wave of nostalgia is really impressive," "Do people really go to a fan meeting that far away?" and "People who know about the old brick wall are probably old by now."

Jiang Chengyu scrolled down casually, his gaze settling on a comment that had quite a few likes.

The content consisted of only five words: 【A strange sense of superiority?】

Opening the replies below, a series of unfriendly comments immediately come into view.

[After ten years of silence, they suddenly resort to this kind of scarcity marketing tactic. Who would support them?]

Many rock musicians consider themselves artists, and I guess that's what they think.

[Posters and albums are one thing, but they have to be signed too? This is putting on airs like a ton of bricks!]

Jiang Chengyu turned off the comments, handed the phone back to He Ziyu, and asked him, "Do you want to go?"

"Of course I want to!" He Ziyu looked very excited. "I promised you before that I would eat spicy food with you, go bungee jumping with you, and go to a concert with you. Now I've done the first two, and only the last one is left."

Originally, He Ziyu thought that his third wish would never be fulfilled after the old brick wall faded out of the rock scene. Unexpectedly, he came across such exciting news on Weibo today.

Denmark, a country that recognizes same-sex marriage, wouldn't it be wonderful to get your marriage certificate and then attend a meaningful fan meeting?

"Then let's take leave together next month," Jiang Chengyu said, "and get the paperwork done there while we're at it."

"That's what I think too." He Ziyu winked at Jiang Chengyu, and without saying a word, started checking flight tickets.

However, as I continued my investigation, something suddenly occurred to me.

"Wait a minute, Brother Yu."

"What's wrong?"

"Back then, I only gave you an autographed CD. If we counted by the number of people, only you could get in. So what was I supposed to do?"

Jiang Chengyu: "Then I'll plead with them and say that the CD was a gift from you."

"Will it work...?" He Ziyu muttered, feeling a little uncertain.

Although he wasn't a die-hard rock music fan, he knew a bit about Old Brick Wall because of Jiang Chengyu, and knew that the members of that band were all very principled.

What if they're stubborn and won't let him in? Wouldn't he just be left out in the cold?

It's just too horrible to even think about...

……

Back home, Jiang Chengyu pulled out autographed CDs that he had treasured for many years from a drawer.

Since Old Brick Wall held that concert in Haicheng ten years ago, he has gradually disappeared from the rock scene.

Over the past decade, many fans have longed for their return, but their hopes have been dashed time and time again. Over time, their passion for the band has gradually faded, leaving only nostalgia.

Jiang Chengyu gently stroked the CD's outer casing, his gaze as tender as the sea.

The old brick wall represents his youth, carrying his many memories and accompanying him through countless oppressive nights.

How could ordinary people understand such emotions?

As he was reminiscing, the bedroom door was pushed open, and He Ziyu walked in, a toothbrush in his mouth.

"I've made up my mind. I'm going to bring all the merchandise you've ever bought. I need to prove I'm a die-hard fan, otherwise I'll feel guilty... By the way, you won't mind me touching your stuff, will you?"

Jiang Chengyu: "What 'baby'? My baby is you!"

He Ziyu: "Tsk, that's so cheesy~"

……

Before flying to Denmark, the two made arrangements for their company affairs and visited the Moon City Sanatorium the day before their departure.

After graduating from university, He Ningqiu left Yuecheng to develop her career in another province, making a living by painting. She hasn't returned for many years now, and only calls to greet each other during holidays.

Unlike her previous life, He Ningqiu's evil intentions were nipped in the bud by He Ziyu before they could even ignite, thus her life trajectory after adulthood became very different from before.

As for his younger brother, who eventually willingly distanced himself from the He family and no longer coveted his life, He Ziyu still retained a sliver of kindness. Knowing that she still cared about Xiao Shan, he would regularly visit the sanatorium every year to relay Xiao Shan's recent situation to her.

The day was sunny and the temperature was pleasant.

He Ziyu and Jiang Chengyu arrived at the sanatorium and, accompanied by a caregiver, went to Xiao Shan's ward.

"Ms. Xiao's condition has been quite good recently. She eats well and actively participates in the activities organized by the nursing home." The caregiver opened the door and led the two inside. "It's just that she got into a fight with the patient next door a few days ago and injured her face, but it's not serious, just a small scar."

"A fight?" He Ziyu stopped and peered through the glass at the woman swaying back and forth in the rocking chair inside. "What happened?"

"It seems that person touched her son's painting," the caregiver said. "Anyway, they were arguing quite fiercely, and it took us a long time to separate them."

He Ziyu paused for two seconds after hearing this, then said, "Those paintings are her treasures; try not to let outsiders touch them."

Caregiver: "Don't worry, Mr. He, we will be careful."

Behind the glass window, Xiao Shan seemed to have overheard their conversation. She turned to look at them and gave them a silly grin.

He Ziyu couldn't remember when Xiao Shan became so crazy. He only remembered that after she moved into the sanatorium, her mental state deteriorated. She went from being extremely irritable to becoming taciturn, and finally turned into a "crazy woman" with the intelligence of a few years old.

Later, He Ningqiu learned about this and visited the sanatorium once.

At the time, He Ziyu thought He Ningqiu would definitely be furious and blame him for ruining his mother's life. But to his surprise, He Ningqiu was not angry at all. Instead, he said meaningfully, "It's good this way."

"Mr. He, Mr. Jiang, would you like to go in and talk to her?" The caregiver asked the two of them, seeing that Xiao Shan seemed to be in relatively good spirits today.

"No, we don't have much to talk about," He Ziyu said, handing the paper bag to the caregiver. "These are her son's recent drawings. You can take them in for her in a bit."

"good……"

……

He Ziyu left the sanatorium less than ten minutes later due to feeling unwell.

This place held too many painful memories for him in his previous life. Although it had been a long time since then, returning to this familiar place still triggered a stress response in him. He first felt chest tightness and shortness of breath, and then began to feel anxious.

Jiang Chengyu quickly noticed his unusual behavior.

"Ayu, what's wrong?"

"I probably didn't sleep well last night; I feel a little dizzy."

"Why don't you go home and rest for a bit?"

"No," He Ziyu quickly shook his head, "The stylist we booked today was hired by Ruo Ruo from the United States. I heard that she used to work for celebrities and her appearance fee is very high. We can't be late."

The two busy people usually don't have time to dress up, but when the crucial moment came, they remembered that they needed to take photos on-site to register their marriage. So they quickly made an appointment to do their hair and makeup, preparing to make themselves look presentable before going out.

After getting into the car, Jiang Chengyu opened the window and helped He Ziyu fasten his seatbelt.

"If you're really feeling unwell, just tell me. Don't try to tough it out, okay?"

"Okay, I understand."

He Ziyu adjusted the chair back to its lowest position, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and closed his eyes.

As the car drove along the highway in Yuecheng, a gentle breeze rushed in through the car window, ruffling He Ziyu's hair.

After a long pause, Jiang Chengyu, gripping the steering wheel, said, "I had a strange dream last night. Would you like to hear about it?"

"I want to," He Ziyu replied, without opening his eyes.

Jiang Chengyu: "I dreamt that your leg was injured, and you were sitting in a wheelchair. The surrounding environment looked a lot like a nursing home..."

He Ziyu, who was already dozing off, opened his eyes instantly upon hearing Jiang Chengyu's words. "And then?"

"Then a cat ran in, it looked like Eryu..."

"Then there were two men, but their faces were blurry and I couldn't see them clearly. Your face was also blurry, like it was pixelated."

"Then how can you be sure that person is me?"

"I feel," Jiang Chengyu said, "I don't know if you've ever had a dream like that, where there's no sound, but you can clearly sense what everyone is saying. That's what I dreamed about last night. Even though I couldn't see your face, I was 100% sure it was you."

Upon hearing this, He Ziyu fell into a long silence.

If I remember correctly, the time Jiang Chengyu dreamt of was before he committed suicide in his previous life, when He Ningqiu and Lan Yuan came to the sanatorium to find him.

At that time, his face was disfigured and so ugly that he dared not look in the mirror. Fortunately, Jiang Chengyu did not see his ghostly appearance in his dream, otherwise he would have been scared to death.

Just then, Jiang Chengyu said again:

"It's strange, but lately I've been having these fragmented dreams. Some are about you, and some are about myself, but they're all from when we were young. There are no dreams about middle age or old age."

"One of them is the funniest..."

"I dreamt that I went back to my first year of high school and confessed my feelings to you during the flag-raising ceremony, but you rejected me."

"Although I did think about confessing to you at that time, I remember you told me that at our age we should focus on our studies. Even if we like someone, we shouldn't make a big fuss about it. We should wait until the time is right before taking that step."

"Later, after listening to what you said, I suppressed the urge to confess my feelings."

"So, do you think this dream is suggesting that my decision back then was the right one?"

He Ziyu, sitting in the passenger seat, was lost in thought and didn't hear a word Jiang Chengyu said behind him.

He is now almost certain of one thing.

That is, the content of Jiang Chengyu's dreams is something that actually happened in his previous life.

In other words, it wasn't a dream, but reality.

"Ayu, are you listening?"

"Huh?" He Ziyu snapped out of his reverie. "I'm listening..."

"So, do you think what I said makes sense?" Jiang Chengyu looked straight ahead, her voice soft. "Two parallel universes accidentally overlapped, allowing people from different universes to share each other's memories, and then..."

"That didn't happen in a parallel universe," He Ziyu interrupted him, his eyes shining. "That was us, us in our previous life."

"The reason you didn't dream of middle age and old age is because you and I both died in the prime of our lives."