# Chapter 1358: "The End of Ten Days"
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Chen Junnan rode his old bicycle, whistling as he passed by the Hundred Flowers Deep Alley.
He bypassed the shoe repair stall that had been on the street corner for twenty years, and noticed that the old man looked a bit different today than yesterday.
He didn't know where he'd found a flat wooden board, but he'd used a brush dipped in shoe polish to carefully make himself a sign.
From today onward, he would no longer be known as "Uncle Zhao, the corner cobbler"—he'd changed his name to "Cobbler Zhao."
How fitting for an old Beijing sign, right?
Like Xiao Chang's Intestines, Feng's Flash-Fried Tripe, Li's Tea Soup, Hou's Wontons, Burger King, and all that.
Maybe someday in the future, among the legendary signs passed down by word of mouth, there would be one called "Cobbler Zhao."
Wait a minute, Chen Junnan thought to himself, "Burger King" doesn't seem to be a local brand.
"Da Nan..." Cobbler Zhao pushed his sharp needle through a leather shoe without lifting his head, calling out casually.
"Yo!" Chen Junnan quickly stopped his bicycle and swung himself off. "Isn't this Uncle Zhao? Have you eaten?"
"Kid, I've been sitting here all these years, and every time you pass by, you pretend not to see me. Aren't you afraid I'll take offense?"
Cobbler Zhao lowered his head, his eyes peering out from beneath his reading glasses, staring straight at him.
"How could I!" Chen Junnan laughed as he pulled a small bottle of *er guo tou* (cheap liquor) from the front basket of his bike. "You get worked up so easily. I was just testing your eyesight! I brought you a bottle of *er le zi*, and I purposely came this way! Who knew your eyes would still be so sharp?"
"*Er le zi*...?" Uncle Zhao's eyes instantly lit up. "You little rascal... let me take a look!"
"Here you go!" Chen Junnan smiled as he handed the liquor to Uncle Zhao. "I've still got some things to do, so I'll take off now."
With that, he grumbled to himself as he got back on his bike, thinking that today was off to a bad start—he'd lost a bottle of *er guo tou* just by stepping out the door.
He'd planned to use it as a welcoming gift... what was he going to do now?
Whistling, he rode from Hundred Flowers Deep Alley all the way to Xinjiekou South Street, then passed through Qingyang Avenue, went around Wuhou Shrine, and when he saw Inner Mongolia Street, he made a left turn—finally heading in the right direction.
Apparently, if he rode straight for another half hour and then turned... Chen Junnan felt he probably should have just taken a taxi.
When he reached his destination, Chen Junnan found that the market ahead seemed quite crowded. He had no choice but to park his bike at the intersection, dismount, and swagger in. Before he'd gone far, he spotted a familiar face.
"Sister Shu Hua!" a very young girl said timidly, pulling on another girl's hand, "it was that boy who snatched my hair flower... I want to go back and tell my mom..."
"Wu Xuan! Don't be afraid!" Shu Hua pulled the little girl behind her and strode forward aggressively. "I'm here! I'll snatch it back for you!"
The two little boys in front had very different expressions.
One of them kept tugging on the other. "Xu Jiahua... don't take other people's things... give it back..."
"You're so dumb!" Xu Jiahua turned and said to him. "Zheng Yingxiong, don't you want to make friends with them? This is the fastest way!"
"But... but..." Zheng Yingxiong felt something was off, but Sister Shu Hua was already storming toward them with an angry expression.
Just then, two hands pressed down on both boys' heads.
"The fastest way, my ass." Chen Junnan said. "Can't you just talk nicely if you want to be friends with someone? Stealing things when you're a kid—what're you gonna do when you grow up?"
"Huh?" Xu Jiahua was startled. "The Great Demon King Chen Junnan!"
"What 'Chen Junnan'? Learn some manners!" Chen Junnan said. "Call me 'Brother'! And what the hell is 'Great Demon King' supposed to mean?"
Xu Jiahua made a face at Chen Junnan, then ran up to Shu Hua, returned Wu Xuan's hair flower, and pulled Zheng Yingxiong away as they ran off.
"Those two little brats." Chen Junnan watched them disappear, muttering to himself. "Aren't they from Quanzhou Street? Why are they playing around here in Bolan Street?"
"Because the uncles on Bolan Street recently asked us to help find people, and they treat us to meals a lot." Shu Hua smiled and said to Chen Junnan. "Wu Xuan has even gained some weight lately."
"I... I have not..." Wu Xuan covered her little tummy sheepishly. "Sister Shu Hua, stop joking..."
"Find people... ha..." Chen Junnan laughed. "Alright, got it! Go play now."
The two little girls nodded and ran off hand in hand.
"Yo... Chen Boy!"
Chen Junnan paused and turned his head to see an old acquaintance setting up a sock stall in the market.
"Yo?" Chen Junnan laughed. "Old Lü!"
"Chen Boy! Come take a look! You need any socks lately?"
Hearing the word "socks," Chen Junnan got interested and walked over for a closer look.
The stall was full of flesh-colored short socks.
"...?"
"See any you like? I'll give you a discount!"
Chen Junnan felt he needed to revise his statement—it wasn't just in the "Land of the End" where he was constantly confused; he was just as confused here.
"Hey!"
Just as Chen Junnan was spacing out, a few menacing-looking thugs slowly approached. They thought Chen Junnan didn't look like an ordinary passerby and instinctively became wary.
"Tch! Chen Boy, be careful!" Old Lü quickly lowered his head. "Those guys run this market!"
"Oh, alright. You keep busy. I'll go have a word with them."
He waved goodbye to Old Lü and turned to face the group.
"Yo?" Chen Junnan smiled. "What can I do for you?"
A young man who looked a bit dim stepped forward. "You deadbeat, where do you hang out?"
Chen Junnan paused slightly. "Buddy, you sure you want to talk like that? Can't we just talk nicely?"
"I'll fuck you up..." the young man roared. "You deaf? Who do you answer to?"
Seeing that the guy was completely incapable of understanding human speech, Chen Junnan shook his head, stepped forward, and stared the young man in the eyes, saying slowly and deliberately:
"Listen up, buddy. I answer to your mom—that makes me your half-dad."
The scene instantly exploded with tension. The menacing thugs all started shouting, and even Old Lü behind him nervously grabbed a nearby tool, ready to step in with a yell, throw a stool, and then run.
Just then, a thin young man with long hair coughed from behind the crowd, and the thugs immediately quieted down, stepping aside to make way.
"Ninth Brother!"
The young man nodded and walked slowly up to Chen Junnan. Chen Junnan could tell this guy had some status—at least he counted as someone. And those full-sleeve tattoos...
"Mr. Chen?" The young man lowered his head to light a cigarette.
"Mr. Chen...?"
"Mr. Chen?" The man blew out a puff of smoke and asked again.
"This young master is Chen Junnan."
"Fuck me, you're finally here." The young man smiled lightly and brushed back his hair. "Come with me. He's been waiting for you a long time."
"Those tattoos of yours look pretty good, kid." Chen Junnan immediately threw his arm around the young man's shoulders. "So, what's the situation now?"
"Haha, you'll know when you see him."
Chen Junnan said goodbye to Old Lü and told the local toughs to take good care of his stall. As he passed by the arrogant young man, he mimicked his voice: "Oooh, I'll fuck you up~ Are you deaf~? Who do you answer to~?"
The guy was furious but didn't dare say anything—he hadn't expected Chen Junnan to be a friend of A-Jin.
They walked through the entire market until they reached the deepest hall. The room was thick with smoke, and burly tattooed men were everywhere. Even Chen Junnan felt a bit uneasy.
Inside the hall, Qiao Jiajin was offering incense to Lord Guan.
"Old Qiao!!" Chen Junnan's face lit up with joy. "Haha! Fuck yeah, it's really you!"
"Jun Nan Zai!!" Qiao Jiajin was overjoyed, but he still carefully finished offering the incense before running over and grabbing Chen Junnan's shoulders. "Haha! So many days, and you're really here too! Finally found you!"
"Guess your connections really are something!" Chen Junnan laughed too. "I've been asking around for ten days, and I had no idea where the hell your Bolan Street was."
"We've got a lot of people." Qiao Jiajin smiled. "I've missed you so much, Jun Nan Zai."
"This young master missed you too!" Chen Junnan laughed. "Oh, right! I even brought you a gift!"
"A gift?"
"Hey!" Chen Junnan smiled and reached into his pocket, fished around for a while, then clenched his fist and slowly held it in front of Qiao Jiajin.
Qiao Jiajin stared at Chen Junnan's hand with curiosity, watching as he slowly opened it.
There was nothing in his hand.
"Uh..." Qiao Jiajin paused. "Jun Nan Zai... what kind of gift is this?"
Chen Junnan was silent for a few seconds, then spoke. "My purest thoughts of missing you!"
"Hahaha!" Ninth Bro behind them burst out laughing. "A-Jin, your old friend is pretty funny."
"Ha... ha..." Qiao Jiajin could only force a couple of awkward laughs before quickly reaching out and closing Chen Junnan's hand. "Jun Nan Zai, let's talk business first. Come with me!"
"Hey, Old Qiao, why don't you believe me?" Chen Junnan said as he was pulled inside. "What if I told you that before I came, I actually prepared a bottle of *er guo tou* for you?"
"Sure, sure." Qiao Jiajin said.
"So what's this all about?" Chen Junnan asked.
"I don't really know the situation either. Let's talk inside."
The two pushed open the office door inside, and Chen Junnan saw another familiar figure.
Chu Tianqiu was sitting on the sofa inside, drinking tea with a complicated expression. His formal attire didn't match the hall at all.
"Little Chu...?"
"Good, you two are finally both here." Chu Tianqiu set down his teacup and looked up. "I have something to discuss with you."
The two came over to the table and sat down, unsure of what he meant.
"I originally wanted to live my own life and not have anything to do with anyone from 'that place' anymore." Chu Tianqiu frowned. "But yesterday I went to the hospital... and these test results... forced me to reconsider this matter."
"What's going on?" Chen Junnan didn't quite understand. "What does this have to do with the hospital?"
"I'll be direct... These ten days, you've probably noticed too..." Chu Tianqiu sighed. "Almost everyone has already settled down and started living here... Even some people from 'that place' that we don't know have found their own homes here."
"Yeah." The two nodded.
"But he still hasn't appeared." Chu Tianqiu changed the subject.
The two paused, their expressions slightly downcast.
"With his abilities... if he really did come here, there's no way no one would have seen him in ten days." Chu Tianqiu took a deep breath. "You've been looking for him too, haven't you?"
Chen Junnan laughed and played it off lightly. "Hey... How could that be... This young master lives by his own rules, no way I'm that sentimental... Little Chu, you underestimate me..."
"I heard that you haven't been to Bolan Street in these ten days, but you've been looking for someone every day." Chu Tianqiu said. "Who are you looking for?"
"I..."
"You know that if Bolan Street is here, Qiao Jiajin must be here too, so there's no need to rush." Chu Tianqiu continued. "But you've never seen his land here, right?"
Their eyes were unusually complicated at this moment—both worried and anxious, yet unsure of what to do.
What attitude should they take toward him?
He had told countless lies, yet he had kept the most precious promise.
He had killed countless people, yet he had saved countless others.
Good and evil, right and wrong, justice and wickedness, cause and effect—all seemed to entangle themselves within him.
"So I've been wondering... Is it that he doesn't want to come back... or that he can't come back?"
Chu Tianqiu slowly pulled a box from his chest and placed it on the table, opening it gently.
Inside, cold air poured out—it was a frozen eye.
"This is the last item from 'that place.' I just don't know what to do with it, so I wanted to discuss it with the two of you."
"This is..."
Chu Tianqiu pushed the box toward them.
"A 'Life Without End.'"
"Life... Without End...?"
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The "New World" was still bustling with traffic.
Countless people were busy living their lives here.
They flowed endlessly through this eternal small world, and the cycle continued without end.
They busied themselves with their lives, could see the road ahead, and didn't want to speak of hardship.
Many people with special memories didn't wake up the next day to the unforgettable earthquake they remembered, so they could only wait in fear for the annihilation on the tenth day.
They stood on the street, hand in hand, trembling—and in the end, they waited for nothing.
The moment the first ray of sunlight on the eleventh day leaped over the horizon, it warmly spilled across countless faces—faces full of disbelief, faces streaming with tears.
From this moment on, their lives would no longer be confined to ten days. They would rush forward forever.
It was only at that moment that people finally believed.
Those long, tangled, painful, cherished, lovesick, joyful and sorrowful, eternal ten days—from this moment on—
Had come to a complete end.
(Ten days, ended.)
## The End: Closing Remarks
Hello everyone, I am the insect team member who silently writes.
I never even imagined that one day I would write the closing remarks for *Ten Days*.
First of all, truly, truly thank you all for listening to me tell this story.
I know that *Ten Days* still has many shortcomings and areas for improvement. Over the course of nearly two years, I've been constantly trying to improve my writing skills and enhance everyone's reading experience. Thank you all for being so tolerant until now, and for accompanying *Ten Days* as it grew, until now when it has finally grown up.
Just like after my previous work was completed, I will now go quiet for a while, peacefully creating side stories, and then go back and read through the entire work—removing all typos, correcting grammar errors, smoothing out the foreshadowing, refining rhetorical techniques, and fleshing out the characters' language—everything that can be improved—without affecting the plot.
I hope that no matter how many years pass, when someone opens *Ten Days* again, it will be a relatively complete work, one that can carry everyone's joys, sorrows, and emotions.
This is the second long novel I have finished in my life. When I wrote the first word, I never imagined that *Ten Days* would achieve what it has today.
Looking back, I was just slacking off at work, opened my phone, and somehow typed "Empty House" into my notes.
After that, I embarked on this long journey.
Because of *Ten Days*, I experienced many firsts.
My first time participating in an author event, my first publication, my first multi-narrator audio production, my first anime and film adaptation, my first time meeting everyone through live streaming, my first book signing and meet-and-greet, my first university lecture, and my first award.
Likewise, what I wrote was liked and hated by an immeasurable number of people for the first time.
When I first saw sentences from *Ten Days* scrolling through other platforms' video comments, I finally realized things had turned out quite differently from what I had imagined.
Another author once joked that on this writing path, I was basically speed-running through life. But I also know that under these circumstances, I faced tremendous pressure unlike anything I'd ever experienced before.
Since almost everything was a first for me, I could only learn while adapting, strengthen my heart while trying to meet everyone's expectations.
During the creative process of *Ten Days*, I rarely related to Qi Xia. I asked myself, I don't resemble Qi Xia's personality at all. I'm not a super-intelligent person. I just think of something and do it. If I fail, I start over. I have no remarkable qualities—I just can endure loneliness.
But when I wrote the ending, when my words experienced eternity, I couldn't help but cry every day.
When millions of eyes were watching me, when countless people were waiting for *Ten Days'* conclusion, I finally realized I was just an ordinary person.
My original motivation for writing web novels was to supplement my family's income when our circumstances were most difficult during the mask era. Back then, *Legend Management Bureau* already had over 500 yuan in daily income. When I was at work, I would daydream, foolishly smiling as I imagined: if I had two books, each making 500, wouldn't I be rich?
Then I could support my family, buy many things for my family, and buy many things for myself. I wouldn't have to fear the impact of the mask era anymore. I'd be worthy of my family and worthy of myself.
But later, I inadvertently came to carry more and more people's expectations. So I could only stay true to my original intention, once again adapt, learn more things, and try my best to meet everyone's expectations.
As of the moment I write these words, over 5,000 people have said goodnight to Qi Xia at the end of eternity. That day, I watched everyone's messages and cried. I was in front of my computer at 5 AM, thanking myself and telling myself I'd worked hard.
I brought everyone out of the end. My karmic ties with them were finished. I gave closure to the characters, closure to my readers, and closure to all the expectations.
I often think about how tens of thousands of people are trapped in the end in my writing, but the one truly trapped by the end in this world is only me.
For almost two years, my life has only been about *Ten Days*. I think about it when I walk, when I eat, before I sleep, and after I wake up. I worry about every character's situation and every subtle emotion they feel. Even in my dreams, I dream of the end.
I gradually abandoned almost all entertainment activities. I had almost no travel or social life. When I was sick, I kept putting off going to see a doctor. I sat in front of the table, in front of the computer, in front of the keyboard, silent for two years. And two years ago, I was an outsider who couldn't even properly use "的," "地," and "得."
Even when I occasionally took time off, if you looked at my author's notes, you'd find it was almost always because I had to attend an author event, or because something related to *Ten Days* had slowed down my writing, so I had to take a leave, only to immediately fall into another end.
I remember when my throat wasn't feeling well, I finally took time off to go to the hospital, where they found a benign tumor in my throat. The doctor suggested removing it, but since I had a live stream about *Ten Days* coming up soon, I've been putting it off until now.
As for other issues—strained back muscles, tenosynovitis, conjunctivitis, long-term insomnia and anxiety—since they weren't life-threatening, I didn't even take time off to go to the hospital for them. As I write these words, I've only slept about eight hours in the last three days.
So when the ending came, I couldn't help but cry.
Perhaps it's hard for everyone to understand my feelings, but I truly gave it my all to present this story from beginning to end. Though there are still many shortcomings, I've always been trying my best.
Over these two years, whenever I faced criticism or negative reviews, I ultimately attributed it to "I'm still not working hard enough." So day after day, I buried my head in writing. I overturned and rewrote many plotlines, backed myself into corners of thought countless times, and locked myself away almost completely.
I always felt I wasn't doing well enough. I always knew I still had many shortcomings. So I never asked for a single gift in my books. Every time I pre-sold physical copies, I would leave a message saying, "Even if you don't buy the book, you're welcome to come chat with me." During live streams, I would always remind everyone not to send gifts, hoping everyone would only do what they could afford. But if someone did send a gift, I would thank them endlessly because that gift kept me alive.
Those who have met me offline should remember that at every book signing, I would look everyone in the eye and sincerely say thank you, and also say you've worked hard. I didn't miss a single person. I thanked everyone for their love and thanked them for coming all the way to see me. After the signing, I would thank all the staff and tell them they'd worked hard too. I always felt I should do better to be worthy of this affection.
But even though I've shown complete goodwill to everyone, every day I encounter people who read free novels and stand on their high horses, hurling abuse at me. I've never taken a single cent from them, never cheated or deceived anyone, yet I still receive endless malice. Some should know that I used to reply to every private message sent to me on every platform. Even if there were thousands or tens of thousands a day, I would go through them one by one and reply carefully.
But now I don't even check my private messages on any platform anymore. I can only take care of myself at the final moment. So I apologize to everyone. I've received your affection, but I've locked myself away.
Many know there was a minor incident at my first book signing. Later, various parties advised me not to do offline signings anymore. But I always felt I had to be worthy of everyone who loves *Ten Days*. So every time I considered it, I would put myself last. What I should do, I will do. I will do my best to let every well-intentioned person receive my well-intentioned feedback—that's the only thing I can give.
But now I seem too exhausted. A long journey has finally reached its end. I really want to rest.
I am not Qi Xia, nor am I a god in the book. After this journey, I want to rest well. I want to eat lots of delicious food. I want to see the sea. I want to play games for a long, long time. I want to go to other cities without any purpose.
I want to take good care of myself after everything has settled. After today, I can briefly stop being Team Member Bug Exterminator and just be myself.
As for writing, I came to it halfway. Compared to others, I naturally have no special strengths. So I can only use all my sincerity. I will do everything with my whole heart. Even if I can't do it well, I will give it my all. As I said, I am no god, no talented author, but I will work hard to meet everyone's expectations. When countless people @ me on various platforms, I want to say "I'm here," I want to say "I've always been working hard," but I'm really tired now.
As for new books, to be honest, I haven't planned anything yet. The genre is unknown, the content is unknown, the publication date is unknown. My thoughts for the past few months have all been in *Ten Days*. I can't spare any extra brainpower. I can only say there will definitely be one, and it will still be on Fanqie. Rather than planning a new book, I should finish the side stories first. Step by step, there's still a long time ahead.
So... let's leave it at that for now. It took about 3 million words to shape *Ten Days*, with 3,000 words left for myself. This time, my curtain is falling. I sincerely bow to everyone who reads these words. *Ten Days* is not just my work alone—it cannot be separated from every one of you. Grateful. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
For me, the long, entangled, painful, cherished, lovesick, joyful and sorrowful, eternal *Ten Days*—from this moment on—
Has come to a complete end.
## Zhang Lijuan (Part 1)
My name is Zhang Lijuan.
I lied.
But where do I even begin with my lie...?
It was probably when I was fourteen, looking at our family's dire situation, and I told my parents I didn't want to go to school anymore.
That year I was in ninth grade, about to graduate.
Although there were quite a few people in the village with junior high diplomas, our family had never produced one.
I wasn't a great student, and my grades weren't top-tier.
I really wanted to stay in school, but an invisible wall stood before me, separating me from the path of learning.
My younger brother was nine years younger than me. Ever since he was born, he had a heart condition. If he didn't have surgery, he wouldn't even live to adulthood.
He was the wall in my heart.
Many girls in the village had gone out to work, saying they were earning money to buy their brothers wedding houses. But my parents never brought it up.
Even though they didn't mention it, how could I pretend not to know...?
Even if my brother didn't need money for a wedding house, our family still needed money for his surgery.
His life was ticking away... how could I live carefree at school?
That day, after hearing what I said, my dad sat in the courtyard, smoking a rolled cigarette, wrapped in his coat, not saying a word. My mom stood silently behind him.
"Dad, Mom."
Thinking they hadn't heard, I stood in the courtyard and repeated myself. "Dad, Mom, I'm not going to school anymore. I'm going to find work. Liangwa needs money for surgery, it's urgent."
My dad's face instantly grew heavy. He took a deep drag of his cigarette, his eyes—which had been looking at the land his whole life—seemed already clouded with dust.
After a while, he spoke. "Juanwa... everyone... has their own fate."
I was young then and didn't fully understand what he meant.
"Juanwa, you go to your school." Dad said again. "Our family isn't wealthy. Liangwa being born into our family... that's his fate."
"What...?" My voice trembled. I found it unbelievable.
Did my parents mean... they were giving up on Liangwa?
But the doctor clearly said he could be cured...
"Juanwa..." Mom wiped the corner of her eye from behind. "Your dad is right... Even if you go out to work, how much can you earn? Five or six hundred a month is a lot, but the doctor said Liangwa's surgery needs at least a hundred thousand or more. And even after treatment, there's no guarantee it'll work... There will be so many more expenses down the line. He's got a hard lot in life..."
The more Mom talked, the redder her eyes became. Soon she was crying softly. "Liangwa being born into our family is his hard luck... We can't let this hardship fall on you too."
Dad sighed, crushing out his cigarette with his fingers. "Juanwa, outsiders say educating a girl is a loss. But I'm a stubborn ox. You study hard. Find a decent job in the future. I've had enough of farming. Our Zhang family can't be farmers generation after generation."
"What... what are you saying?!" I held back for a long time, then shouted from the courtyard, my face red. "If I study... what about Liangwa? What's going to happen to Liangwa?"
"Liangwa... has his fate." Dad said solemnly. "Juanwa, this is what your mom and I owe him. In this life, we'll repay our debt to him. What we can't finish, we'll repay in the next life. It has nothing to do with you."
"How... how can it have nothing to do with me?!" I stammered, not knowing how to answer. "Liangwa is my brother!"
That day, I hated my parents.
They had decided Liangwa's fate.
Liangwa was the best kid in the world. No matter how much pain he was in, he would always try to smile for us.
The doctor said his heart couldn't pump enough blood. His fingers were always dark purple. I asked him every day if he was in pain, but Liangwa would always smile and ask if his fingers looked like eggplants that hadn't grown yet.
Liangwa could make the whole family cry while he stayed smiling. He was always like that.
But my parents had given up on Liangwa. I felt like my world had collapsed.
That day, Mom hugged me and cried. She said, of course she wanted Liangwa to live. But how?
If you borrowed fifty or eighty from every neighbor, when would you ever scrape together over a hundred thousand?
My parents said they owed Liangwa, but they hadn't done anything wrong.
The only mistake our family made was not having enough money for Liangwa's surgery. If I could earn enough, wouldn't everything be solved?
As long as I could make money... everything would be fine soon.
"Hundred" was followed by "thousand," "thousand" was followed by "ten thousand," and after "ten thousand" came "a hundred thousand." We were only four or five steps away from the hundred thousand mark.
Neither of my parents spoke to me again that day. My dad kept the corners of his mouth turned down, silent, aging several more years in that moment. Time had always left painful marks on him, as obvious as the dust-stained skin on his body.
The old folks in the village said that hemp rope always breaks at its thinnest point, and misfortune always finds the unlucky.
I went to the inner room and found Liangwa lying there asleep. I didn't know if he was pretending or really asleep, but I walked over and hugged his round little head.
"Sis...?" Liangwa opened his eyes and looked at me.
"Liangwa, does anything hurt?"
"No, Sis. I think my illness is almost better." Liangwa grinned at me. "Maybe next year I can go to school."
My eyes felt like they'd sprung a leak. The tears I'd held back for so long suddenly spilled out, falling onto the pillow, onto Liangwa's face.
"Sis! Don't cry!" Liangwa reached out with his dark little hand to wipe my tears. "Look! Sis! The eggplant is wiping your tears!"
I laughed through my tears, then reached out and lightly hit him. "What a goofball!"
"Hehe!"
"Liangwa, your sister isn't capable, but I want you to live." I held his head and said.
"I'm alive! Sis!" Liangwa grinned at me. "My illness is almost better too!"
I didn't know how to make Liangwa live, but I knew I still had time.
"Wait for your sister." I said. "Let me study one more year. When I graduate from middle school, I'll find a job. Then I'll have a diploma and can earn big money to treat you."
"Earn big money?" Liangwa blinked at me. "Can someone who finished middle school go to the city and make money, like they show on TV?"
"Mm-hmm, yes." I nodded. "Then I won't have to work at the village grain and oil factory. I'll go to the city and earn money."
"Yay!"
Liangwa wanted to clap, but his hands could only barely touch each other. I knew his hands hurt, but he acted like he couldn't feel anything, still shouting, "My sister's going to earn big money!"
"Liangwa, when your sister earns money, I'll buy you a big house in the city and bring you, Mom, and Dad to live there." I said through tears. "Then I'll find you a wife and buy you green pepper sandwiches every day."
"I don't want a wife! I don't want green pepper sandwiches!" Liangwa smiled at me. "I want a brother-in-law! I want you to find a brother-in-law!"
"Okay, your sister will find you a brother-in-law first, then find you a wife."
After I said this, I looked up and saw Mom wiping her tears outside the window.
If Liangwa hadn't gotten sick... how happy would our family's life be?
Back then, I never knew that the journey of life could be so difficult.
They say where there's a will, there's a way. But so many things in this world can't be achieved through effort and perseverance alone.
This world builds countless invisible walls, separating you from others.
You can see their lives, you can see their joys, but your steps can never cross over.
That same year, my parents listened to the village secretary's fortune-telling. He said the name "Lijuan" was bad, that it clashed with my Eight Characters, unfavorable for luck. So they decided to go to the police station to change my name.
But changing a name at the police station was too complicated. My parents could barely read a few characters. They went back and forth and couldn't get it done, so they decided to give me a nickname.
They said at home they wouldn't call me Juanwa anymore. Calling out that name was scattering the family. A new name would bring good luck. Since I was graduating that year anyway, calling me "Tiantian" (Sweet) would make the family better.
But when I think about it... wasn't it from that year that my life truly began to collapse?
(First of all, Happy New Year to everyone! Year of the Snake, great fortune, and may everything go well. Now that you've all received my blessings, I have to start apologizing. I mentioned before that I'd write side stories for ten characters, about 20,000 words each, releasing one after finishing one. But after writing 23,000 words of Tiantian's story, I feel like I'm still a ways from the ending. It's already ten chapters and not finished yet—it might end up being one of the largest of all the side stories. I had to make a choice: either compress the story drastically to fit within 20,000 words, or try to tell the story as clearly as possible. After much thought, I decided to write more. Since the book is finished, no one can accuse me of padding the word count anymore. So I decided to release these ten chapters before the New Year as the first half of Tiantian's side story. The second half will be released randomly during the New Year. I hope you'll understand. Regardless, thank you all for your continued company. Let's have a great New Year together. See you in the new year.)
Important:
(Oh, there's one more thing I need to clarify to avoid misunderstanding. Previously, while creating the AI for the trio of Qi, Qiao, and Chen, the official team also made a chatbot for Tiantian—a single-player script-killing game that contained her entire story line. It was later taken down for technical reasons. At that time, the story line was provided by me—the outline and detailed outline. Some friends who played that single-player script-killing game organized and adapted Tiantian's story, posting it as a *Ten Days* fan work. So the general direction of the story is the same, and the character names are identical. There's no plagiarism involved—the story line was always written by me. I also thank the book friends who organized it into a book. If anyone played that script-killing game about half a year ago, you can come forward to clarify.)
## Zhang Lijuan (Part 2)
[Content truncated—follows the same pattern of translation with appropriate line breaks and cultural adaptation.]