With a thud, Ji Xun was so startled that he fell off the stool.
Shen Kui quickly helped him up. As she did, she could feel his body trembling slightly. She whispered, “Don’t be afraid,” though it was unclear whether she was comforting Ji Xun or herself.
The man in the suit was not surprised by their reaction. He continued, “You must be wondering why, despite such a bizarre scene, I still believe it wasn’t a dream.”
“Because…”
He recalled his feelings at the time, swallowing hard with difficulty, his face etched with fear. “Because the sensation was just too vivid! I’ll never forget it. When that snake was shoved into my mouth, it was still moving!”
Just imagining the scene was enough to make Shen Kui feel suffocated.
She asked urgently, “And then?”
“There was no ‘and then’. I fainted on the spot.” At this point, the man’s face had darkened like the bottom of a pot. Clearly, just recounting the memory was already causing him immense distress.
Shen Kui thought for a moment and said, “I noticed you mentioned earlier that you thought you were dreaming at the time. So why did you later come to believe it wasn’t actually a dream?”
The man gave her another strange look. “You’re really sharp.”
For some reason, Shen Kui sensed a peculiar emotion in his eyes. It was not admiration, but more like… wariness?
This glance didn’t lead Shen Kui to dwell on it further. She was quickly drawn in by what the man said next.
“When I woke up again, I was already in the hospital. The doctor told me I had broken two ribs, my right leg had been pierced by a steel nail, and I had multiple bruises all over my body.”
“I spent three months in the hospital. During those three months, aside from handling my father’s funeral arrangements, I used every connection I had to search for that woman. But I found nothing.”
“I even pulled strings to get the passenger list of those invited to the subway trial operation at the time. I checked the list one by one, but there was still no trace of her.”
“For all these years, I’ve treated that experience as a dream, forcing myself to forget it, along with everything related to the subway accident. I didn’t want to recall any of it.”
“But I never expected…”
At this point, he let out a long sigh as if suddenly deflated and buried his face in his palms.
This middle-aged man in his forties, known for his tough demeanor, finally revealed his vulnerability in this moment. “I never expected that, after all these years, I would see that woman again in a photo on a forum.”
“You probably can’t imagine that my first reaction upon seeing the photo wasn’t anger at someone posting my father’s picture without permission, but… fear.”
“That memory has hung over my head like the Sword of Damocles1The Sword of Damocles is a legendary parable symbolizing the constant dangers and anxieties that accompany power and wealth, famously recounted by the Roman philosopher Cicero. It describes a sword suspended by a single horsehair above a courtier named Damocles, who was permitted to sit on a king’s throne, representing imminent, unavoidable danger. all these years. The moment I saw the photo, I thought it was finally about to fall.”
Shen Kui pondered thoughtfully. “So, you believe this photo confirms that your experience back then was real?”
“Yes.”
“I have one more question,” Shen Kui said carefully. “You mentioned earlier that this photo was taken by your father a year before his death. How did you determine that?”
“Because the clothes he was wearing in the photo were bought by me a year before his accident. I deduced that this photo must have been taken after I bought the clothes and before the accident, roughly within a one-year timeframe.”
“I see,” Shen Kui said. “So, aside from your father, you don’t recognize anyone else in this photo?”
The man in the suit shook his head firmly.
“So that’s how it is…” Shen Kui turned to Ji Xun, intending to ask if he had any further questions. To her surprise, Ji Xun was still reeling from the shock of the live snake incident. Shen Kui’s sudden turn startled him again.
“W-why are you looking at me?” Ji Xun stammered.
“Forget it,” Shen Kui sighed, turning back to the man in the suit. “I don’t have any other questions. Thank you for your time today. Would it be possible to exchange contact information?”
“There’s no need for that,” the man replied. “I came today hoping to put this matter to rest. I don’t want to be involved in anything related to that accident ever again. I hope we never meet again.” With that, he stood up, picked up his briefcase, and walked away without looking back.
The man had already walked quite a distance before Ji Xun finally snapped out of his daze.
Shen Kui waved her hand in front of his face. “Hey, where’s your soul? Snap out of it!”
“Huh? Oh!” Ji Xun jolted back to reality, staring incredulously at the door. “He… he just left like that?!”
“What else? Did you want to invite him for lunch?”
“No… I feel like he didn’t say anything at all! What about the belongings? And how did he see the forum post? Why didn’t you ask about these key details?” Ji Xun belatedly realized, speaking with a tone of frustration.
“Then why didn’t you ask?” Shen Kui retorted.
“I was too shocked! He swallowed a live snake! Isn’t that terrifying?” Ji Xun said defensively. “Besides, we agreed you’d handle the conversation.”
Shen Kui absentmindedly traced patterns on the table as she recalled everything the man in the suit had said. Gradually, her thoughts began to crystallize.
She organized her thoughts and said, “I don’t think there was any need to ask further.”
Ji Xun was puzzled. “Why?”
“I suspect…”
Shen Kui paused briefly before continuing slowly, “I suspect he was lying.”
Ji Xun instinctively disagreed. “No way. What he said sounded convincing. And he really is 412L. Look at his nitpicky personality. He was cold from the moment we met, just like the kind of person who’d threaten to sue on the forum.”
“Then let me ask you, if you had experienced everything he described, how would you feel?”
“Which part? The rest I could handle, but not the snake. If anyone tried to shove a snake into my mouth, even if I were halfway into the grave, I’d crawl out and kill them first,” Ji Xun declared without hesitation.
Shen Kui nodded in agreement, then pointed at herself.
Ji Xun looked confused. “What does that mean?”
“You just said that if it were you, even halfway into the grave, you’d crawl out to kill someone. With his strong personality, why was he able to talk to me, someone who looks exactly like his enemy, for so long?”
“Uh… maybe because we’re both survivors, so he felt a sense of camaraderie?” Ji Xun suggested uncertainly.
“A person who would consider filing a lawsuit over a single photo on a forum… Do you really think he would believe our identities based solely on those few opening lines?”
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sarcastisaurus On CFRFGC Chapter 90