The song ended, and Zhang Jin’an had completed the task brilliantly. He successfully obtained a clue card and the right to choose their next route. The options this time were "Bookstore" or "Record Store," and Zhang Jin’an ultimately chose the bookstore.
Holding two sticks of candied haws—their reward for the task—the two of them stepped out of the music shop and headed toward the bookstore.
Zhang Jin’an gave his stick to Jiang Siyang as well. Jiang Siyang ate quickly; they hadn't walked far before he had already finished one.
After a few more steps, Zhang Jin’an suddenly stopped and said to Jiang Siyang, "How about we take a look at the clue cards?"
"Right, I almost forgot," Jiang Siyang said. He finished the last hawthorn berry, tossed the bamboo skewer into a trash can, and pulled the two cards they now possessed from his pocket. Each took one and opened them in turn.
The card in Jiang Siyang’s hand was from the first round. It read: *“Where the dream first began.”*
The one in Zhang Jin’an’s hand read: *“A place that will always be remembered.”*
Jiang Siyang was puzzled. "A place that will always be remembered?"
"A place with Wi-Fi," Zhang Jin’an quipped.
Jiang Siyang laughed.
"Just kidding," Zhang Jin’an chuckled, returning to the discussion. "Now there’s another issue: the two of us are still on the same route."
"True," Jiang Siyang said thoughtfully. "But I was thinking we could map out one route first, and then branch off from the point closest to the final ending. That way, we should be able to cover two paths."
Zhang Jin’an nodded. "That’s one way to do it."
Jiang Siyang caught the implication in his tone. "Do you have another idea, Ge?"
"I do, but I’m not certain. If it really is what I think, then there are just too many elements involved," Zhang Jin’an said with a shrug. "I’ll just verify my theory when we’re close to completing one of the endings."
Jiang Siyang didn't press further and simply nodded. "Alright."
Once they reached the bookstore, they saved their progress again. This time, it was Zhang Jin’an’s turn to drink the bitter melon juice. He pinched his nose and gulped it down, but the moment he let go, the aftertaste surged up. He felt like he was about to pass away on the spot.
"Maybe I should just drink it from now on..." Jiang Siyang suggested, seeing his reaction. "I handle it okay."
Zhang Jin’an covered his mouth and waved him off. "It’s fine. It’s... healthy."
The task in the bookstore was to find a book that shouldn't exist there. Eventually, Jiang Siyang found a diary on one of the shelves. Because the diary’s cover looked exactly like a professionally published book, they had initially overlooked it.
Zhang Jin’an recognized that diary. Although the pages were blank, the cover was identical to the diary he had used as a child.
"Incredible. I really have to hand it to the production team; they even managed to find something this old," Zhang Jin’an remarked, impressed once again.
However, this also gave him an idea.
"I feel like we might be following the main questline," Jiang Siyang said, voicing exactly what Zhang Jin’an was thinking.
"Exactly," Zhang Jin’an agreed. Everything seemed to point toward him. If they weren't mistaken, the other routes likely contained nothing related to his past.
"Yeah, I get the feeling the main line is about finding things from your past, Ge. The final location will definitely be somewhere you’ve been before," Jiang Siyang said.
"But I’ve been to quite a lot of places," Zhang Jin’an said, looking a bit troubled. "I’ve been all over half of Xiaonan Mountain."
Zhang Jin’an had only gradually become a homebody after starting university. Before that, he’d had a normal social life and would participate in class activities. Now, he was starting to regret it—why had he gone to so many places? Staying at home really was better.
"Forget it, let's head to the next place before thinking about it further," Jiang Siyang said.
After that, they visited four more locations. Some tasks were bizarre, like picking green beans out of a pile of red beans. Others were quite difficult, such as a "Sea Turtle Soup" game where they had to deduce a story by asking an NPC questions that could only be answered with "yes" or "no." It took some time, but fortunately, the two of them managed to solve it.
They failed once along the way, but thanks to their save point, they completed it successfully on the second try. The two of them stood at a shop entrance, holding the fried chicken strips they had received as a reward.
"Shall we go see what the others are up to?" Zhang Jin’an asked for Jiang Siyang’s opinion.
"I think so. I’m pretty curious too," Jiang Siyang agreed, popping a piece of chicken into his mouth.
They wandered around for a bit and happened upon a shop that caught Jiang Siyang’s interest. It sold something he had never eaten before, so they stopped.
"What is this?" Jiang Siyang asked.
"It’s sweet ice skin. It’s quite good," Zhang Jin’an explained patiently.
The plump lady running the shop was very enthusiastic. "Oh my, Zhang Jin’an! My daughter absolutely loves you!"
"Thank you, Ma'am," Zhang Jin’an smiled at her.
"You’re even more handsome in person than on TV," the shopkeeper said, then glanced at Jiang Siyang. "Oh, is this young man your little brother? How old is he? A high schooler?"
"Sister, he’s twenty-five," Zhang Jin’an explained, stifling a laugh.
"Huh? He looks just like a high school student. My, my, how can someone be born looking so handsome?"
"Thank you..." Jiang Siyang said bashfully.
The shopkeeper continued chatting. "Are you filming a TV drama this early in the day?"
Zhang Jin’an checked his phone. Without realizing it, it was already two in the afternoon. It wasn't exactly early anymore.
"No, we're recording a variety show," Zhang Jin’an said. "He said he wanted to try this, so we came over."
"A variety show? Oh, stop joking," the shopkeeper clearly didn't believe him, but she spoke politely to Jiang Siyang. "Handsome, which one do you want? If you buy one, I’ll give you another for free. No charge."
"I couldn't possibly. I have to pay," Jiang Siyang said quickly.
"It’s fine! Just take a photo with me, and I’ll send it to my daughter," the shopkeeper said with a beaming smile, her hands already busy preparing the snack.
The streets were getting more crowded. While they were doing tasks, Zhang Jin’an had already noticed over a dozen people filming them from a distance. Now, as they waited for their snack, a few bold girls walked up beside Zhang Jin’an. They kept a distance of about a meter, seemingly just to check if it was really them. After looking, the girls huddled together, their voices neither too loud nor too soft: "It is! It’s really the two of them!"
One of the girls stepped out from the small group and asked boldly, "Excuse me... sorry to bother you."
Zhang Jin’an turned around. "Yes?"
A girl slightly further back was holding her phone, filming as she spoke: "Ah! Dage is so handsome! Siyang, I can also—" She was cut off as the girl next to her covered her mouth.
"Could we take a photo together?" the first girl asked, gathering her courage.
"I’m sorry, we can’t right now," Zhang Jin’an replied.
"The photo with me was traded for buying snacks," the shopkeeper added helpfully.
"Ah—I'm so jealous," the girl said. "But we still really like you! I’ve watched *Equal Difference* three times already! And I watched *Falling Flowers* too!"
Jiang Siyang gave the girls a smile. "Thank you."
"So handsome..." The girl covered her mouth. "Are—are you guys filming a drama right now?"
"No, we're recording a show," Zhang Jin’an answered truthfully.
"A variety show?" a girl in the back asked.
"That’s right," Zhang Jin’an said.
"Really?! Dage, you’re doing a variety show?!" That girl excitedly grabbed her friends' hands. "Our wishful thinking actually came true!"
Just then, the shopkeeper finished the snack. Zhang Jin’an paid, the two of them took the food, and they posed for a photo with the shopkeeper.
"We’re heading off now," Zhang Jin’an waved to the girls. Before leaving, he didn't forget to add, "Remember to study hard."
"We will, we will!" The girls didn't follow them; they just waved back and stayed where they were.
They were like any other passersby, brushing past them as the rest of the world continued to turn.
***
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Unable to be Arrogant [Entertainment Circle] | Chapter 35 | Tracing Memories | Novela.app | Novela.app
