Chapter Eighteen: He Is Zhou Yi, But Who Am I?

Zhou Yi hurried off in the direction indicated by the young nurse. Exiting the corridor, he found, as expected, a row of houses opposite him. Several people stood at the entrance, their cries piercing and desperate, so loud they could be heard clearly even from dozens of meters away.

The sound was all too familiar. Zhou Yi broke into a run, and as soon as the woman being supported by others turned around, he recognized her instantly—it was Ah Zhu's mother.

He was about to call out when he caught sight of the person supporting Ah Zhu's mother. Zhou Yi froze in an instant.

What the hell!

That man looked exactly like him, dressed in the very same clothes.

Zhou Yi glanced from that man to himself, at a loss as to whether he should approach or flee. What on earth was happening? He had just answered his phone, been in a car accident, and fallen into the river—how had the whole world turned upside down?

Since waking up, his mind was brimming with memories that didn't belong to him. And now, standing there, was someone who looked exactly like him, comforting his girlfriend's mother.

If that person was Zhou Yi, then who was he?

Had his soul left his body?

Or had he encountered some supernatural incident?

He picked up his phone, punched in the emergency number, and paused with his finger hovering over the call button. What would he tell the police?

I've seen another me?

The police would never believe it, but the psychiatric hospital would certainly take him in!

At that moment, Zhou Yi truly wanted to rush forward, but he managed to rein in the impulse.

Ah Zhu was gone, and right now, her parents could least endure any more distress. At least someone was there to console them.

With that thought, Zhou Yi slowly retreated to the outpatient building he had just left, standing behind the glass doors, watching them.

It seemed Ah Zhu's parents were preparing to leave. The other Zhou Yi tried to escort them, but was refused. That Zhou Yi knelt before Ah Zhu’s parents, seemingly saying something; both of them quickly helped him up.

Zhou Yi couldn't hear, but he could guess, for he had the same thought.

Though Ah Zhu was gone, he remained, and would treat her parents as his own from now on, honoring and caring for them.

Ah Zhu’s parents were clearly moved, embracing that Zhou Yi and weeping for a while before comforting him in turn, then leaving.

At that moment, a flash of red appeared before the other Zhou Yi.

Before Zhou Yi could get a clear look, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

A young nurse glared at him, her eyes wide with indignation. He recognized her—he seemed to have seen her in the emergency room.

"What are you doing here? Come with me, you still have tests to complete." Without waiting for Zhou Yi to respond, she seized his hand and hurried him toward the emergency room.

Zhou Yi glanced back to where the other Zhou Yi had stood. Astonishingly, the space before that row of houses was now completely empty. Zhou Yi was shaken—had he just imagined it all?

Perhaps he truly needed a thorough examination; something was definitely off today, very off indeed!

Escorted by the nurse, Zhou Yi was returned to the emergency room, forced into a wheelchair, and pushed through a series of tests, none of which revealed any issues.

The doctor promptly dismissed him.

Zhou Yi left the First Hospital of ZJ City, standing uncertainly at the entrance, not knowing where to go next. Glancing back at the hospital building, he chose not to return to that row of houses—the person identical to him had vanished in an instant. Perhaps it had all been an illusion.

But that was not the point now. What he wanted most was to know why his girlfriend had been in that accident—who had struck her?

And what about his own car? He still had no idea what had happened to it. He grabbed his phone and dialed the traffic police accident center.

"Hello, I’d like to ask about a traffic accident that happened this morning at the intersection of Yangtze Road and Runzhou Road. The injured party was my girlfriend, Luo Meizhu. I want to find out more about the accident. Where should I go for information?"

"Please hold, let me check... You can go directly to the accident investigation team at the New District Branch of the traffic police."

...

Twenty minutes later.

Zhou Yi got out of the car, standing before the door of the accident investigation team.

The courtyard was nearly empty, with only a few cars parked. He went in quickly and explained his reason for coming. A young officer led him to an office where two policemen seemed busy. The young officer whispered Zhou Yi’s request, and one of them looked up and beckoned him over.

"Are you Luo Meizhu’s family?"

Zhou Yi nodded.

"I’m her fiancé. We got engaged last month!"

The second part was a lie; he worried that as a boyfriend, he wouldn’t count as immediate family and be refused information.

The officer nodded without asking further, simply pulling up a surveillance video.

"After receiving the report, we retrieved footage from the time of the accident. Here, the cameras at this intersection catch all directions. At 6:52, Luo Meizhu's car proceeded straight through Runzhou Road on a green light.

"Look here—a black Hummer came speeding out of Yangtze Road, directly crashing into Luo Meizhu's white Polo, sending it flying. She was thrown clear from the car, traveling over twenty-five meters through the air. The Hummer had no license plate; we are tracking it down and will notify you as soon as we have news."

Zhou Yi stared at the footage.

The street was nearly empty that early in the morning. The Hummer showed no sign of slowing, barreling straight through the intersection. Ah Zhu’s car rolled twice, and only then was she flung out, landing on a distant median strip.

The Hummer did not stop, speeding away. In a fleeting moment, Zhou Yi thought he glimpsed some sort of emblem sprayed on the front passenger door—something oddly familiar.

"Could you enlarge a screenshot of the side of that vehicle? I think I’ve seen this car before!"

Hearing this, the officer perked up, quickly selecting another video—from a camera facing the intersection from the other side. He paused the footage and captured a clearer, higher-resolution image of the Hummer's side.

"Is this okay? There’s no license plate, and we’re still trying to trace the vehicle. But I have to warn you, it won’t be easy—many of the cameras along this stretch are being replaced, some are badly outdated, and some aren’t even connected."

Zhou Yi nodded, took out his phone, and snapped a photo. The Hummer’s side bore a massive, lifelike tiger’s head emblem, nearly covering the entire front passenger door.

"I’ll check at my company. I’m sure I’ve seen that emblem before—I just can’t remember where. Oh, and one more thing: when I got the call about my girlfriend’s death on Runyang Bridge, I panicked and my car went off the bridge. Has the car been recovered? What fees do I need to pay?"

The officer smiled, glancing at his colleague.

"You called it in yourself, saved us the trouble of tracking you down. The car has already been pulled out; you can contact your insurance company for repairs and compensation. We’ll get the results to you as soon as possible. You had your reasons, which are understandable, but the law is the law—just be glad the damage to the guardrail wasn’t serious."

Zhou Yi nodded, signed a few forms, and left.

He hailed a car straight to his company.

Colleagues called out to him as he passed, but he didn’t hear. He walked straight to his desk, turned on his computer, and began searching for the image he’d just taken on his phone.

He searched for quite a while, scouring every folder, but found nothing resembling it. Zhou Yi rubbed his chin, confusion written on his face.

Could he have remembered wrong?

Impossible. The impression was too vivid—he was certain he’d seen that emblem before, only the memory of where was hazy.

But that Hummer had no plates—either it belonged to someone with special status, or it was newly purchased. It was hard to say. As Zhou Yi pondered, someone rapped his desk twice.

"Xiao Zhou, come to my office for a moment!"

Zhou Yi jumped up, startled. After all that he’d been through, his clothes had dried considerably—at least they were no longer dripping, though his chair and desk were still wet, as were his keyboard and mouse.

The boss glanced at the mess, his face darkening, and walked away without a word. A colleague leaned over and whispered, "The boss is in a bad mood—payment’s overdue from that real estate tycoon’s son. Be careful, master!"

Zhou Yi nodded to his young apprentice, then hurried after his boss into the office. The boss gave him a once-over, brows furrowed.

"Very carefree, aren’t you? Did you attend a water festival on your way to work?"