Chapter 233: Someone Died
"Chen Junnan... in your memory... how old am I?" Qi Xia asked.
"Age...?" Chen Junnan furrowed his brow. "You're exactly the same as you were back then."
This incisive question nearly overturned half of Qi Xia's wild guesses.
In other words, he hadn't entered "The End" at the age of nineteen, but at twenty-six.
If he wasn't someone from seven years ago, could he be someone from seven years in the future?
"There are too many doubts..." Qi Xia frowned and thought for a long time, then suddenly grabbed Chen Junnan. "Don't you think there are too many doubts?"
Chen Junnan was taken aback. "Where?"
"From your perspective... if the twenty-six-year-old me escaped for seven years and then came back here... shouldn't I be over thirty?" Qi Xia asked with a furrowed brow. "Why am I still twenty-six?!"
This statement plunged Chen Junnan into thought as well.
"So maybe I never actually escaped... and instead became a 'Native'?"
Qi Xia felt that only by driving himself mad could he explain all of this: "During those days I went crazy... and I met another Native, Yu Nian'an! Since every Native thinks 'The End' is the real world... I thought I met Yu Nian'an in reality... but the two of us were clearly just two lunatics..."
Qi Xia felt that this guess was closer to the truth than any before.
It could also explain why Yu Nian'an had appeared in "The End."
Chen Junnan felt that Qi Xia was already pretty crazy right now.
"Old Qi..." Chen Junnan said with a frown, "We've been operating together in 'The End' for so long... we should all know a 'principle.'"
"What principle?"
"A 'Native' can never return to the 'Interview Room,'" Chen Junnan said coldly. "If you really became a Native... then you'd be a Native forever."
"No... no..." Qi Xia said, "A 'Native' can return to the 'Interview Room'... I met Xu Liunian before... she..."
Before he could finish, Qi Xia froze.
Had Xu Liunian returned to the Interview Room?
According to what he'd heard, she came from the same Interview Room as Chu Tianqiu, Yun Yao, and Kim Won-hoon.
If she had actually gone back, how could Yun Yao not know?
The last time he saw Yun Yao's reaction, she had no idea about Xu Liunian at all.
"Have I been deceived again...?"
Could it be that Yun Yao and Xu Liunian had conspired to trick him?
Yun Yao actually knew everything?!
Seeing Qi Xia's reaction, Chen Junnan was stunned for a moment, then reached out and gave him a clean, crisp slap across the face.
It wasn't very painful, but it was exceptionally loud.
"What are you doing?" Qi Xia was startled.
"Are you here impersonating Qi Xia?" Chen Junnan asked. "Are you that 'Shapeshifter'?"
"What?" Qi Xia slowly frowned. "How could I possibly be a 'Shapeshifter'?"
"Then what the hell are you babbling about?" Chen Junnan asked in confusion. "The Old Qi I know has never said the words 'I've been deceived,' but I've already heard it from your mouth several times. Are you sure you're not an impostor?"
"I never said 'I've been deceived'?"
"No, you always tell me, 'Don't worry, they can't fool me.'" Chen Junnan shook his head helplessly. "Looking at you now, I'd say we're never getting out of here."
Chen Junnan's words snapped Qi Xia back to reality.
When he first stepped into "The End," he had also confidently spoken similar words.
When it came to trickery, he wasn't afraid of anyone.
But now he was like a startled bird, timid and hesitant at every turn.
"I'm starting to believe you're my teammate now." Qi Xia patted Chen Junnan on the shoulder.
Even though this was his first time talking to him, Qi Xia felt a sense of familiarity with Chen Junnan.
"Don't touch me, dude." Chen Junnan irritably shook off Qi Xia's hand. "I still suspect you're an impostor."
"Yes, I almost stopped being Qi Xia." A faint smile tugged at the corner of Qi Xia's mouth. "I should trust my own instincts."
Just as they were speaking, Yun Yao walked out of the teaching building.
"Qi Xia," she called.
"What's wrong?"
"And this is...?" Yun Yao looked at Chen Junnan.
"A newly joined old friend," Qi Xia replied.
"Oh..." Yun Yao nodded. "Tonight's the usual welcome party. Do you two want to come?"
"I understand. You go ahead; we'll be there shortly," Qi Xia said.
After Yun Yao had walked away, Chen Junnan said in a low voice, "You don't remember who Chu Tianqiu is?"
"Hm?" Qi Xia's expression darkened. "Did we know him before?"
...
At the welcome party, everyone listened to Chu Tianqiu's monotonous opening remarks.
The roles seemed to have reversed this time.
Most of Qi Xia's teammates were "Echoers," but "Heaven's Entrance" had even fewer people retaining their memories than last time.
But that was to be expected—the more people with memories, the harder it was for Chu Tianqiu to control them.
What Qi Xia hadn't expected was that Xu Liunian was sitting boldly among the crowd, acting as if nothing that had happened last time had anything to do with her.
In this bizarre place, even if you committed a terrible wrong, as long as you could silence the other party before they "echoed," it was as if nothing had ever occurred.
Qi Xia turned his head and saw Tiantian timidly standing by Yun Yao's side.
Yun Yao was currently introducing her to the crowd and asking everyone to take care of her.
For Tiantian, this wasn't exactly a good idea; it would only heighten her anxiety. After all, in her world, everyone who was nice to her had ulterior motives.
Su Shan was drinking a bottle of beer while looking around at the noisy crowd. She had to admit, "Heaven's Entrance" had given her a very good first impression—there didn't seem to be any bad people here.
She turned to look at Qi Xia and asked, "Why are you so late?"
"I went to give my wife something," Qi Xia said.
"Give something?"
"Where's your wife?" Lin Qin asked Qi Xia.
"She doesn't want to come." Qi Xia shook his head. "I don't want her to come either. This kind of fake gathering is just a way for fists to scam some beer. There's no need for her to participate."
"You still haven't introduced her to us. What kind of person is she?"
Dr. Zhao and the others also gathered around at this moment. Although they still didn't understand why Yu Nian'an had appeared in the Interview Room, she currently seemed completely harmless—a very quiet girl.
"She's a perfect person," Qi Xia said.
"Perfect?" The group was puzzled.
Dr. Zhao clicked his tongue and said, "Qi Xia, there's no such thing as a perfect person in this world."
"No, there is." Qi Xia said with conviction. "Yu Nian'an is a perfect person. She has no flaws."
Everyone shook their heads helplessly.
They already knew that Qi Xia had always been strange.
Lawyer Zhang muttered to himself on the side, "I really envy the love between you and your wife."
Officer Li raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "I've never asked you before, Lawyer Zhang—are you married?"
"No..." Lawyer Zhang paused after saying this, then corrected himself, "I mean... yes."
Qi Xia studied Lawyer Zhang for a moment. He naturally understood that everyone had their own story.
But what kind of story would make a lawyer unsure whether he was married or not?
"Bad news! Bad news!" Kim Won-hoon came rushing into the party cafeteria, shouting loudly. "Someone died!!"