Chapter 1: Time Train

On the night of New Year’s Eve, wearing a black windbreaker, Chen Qiao walked alone on the street holding his phone, doing an outdoor live stream.

“In a while, at midnight, let’s watch the fireworks together with the brothers in the live stream. The countryside doesn’t have much, but at least it offers fireworks freedom.”

Chen Qiao had delivered takeout, set up stalls, worked as an internet café manager, written novels, worked in factories, and finally became a full-time live streamer, casually playing games while streaming after work.

Unexpectedly, more and more people joined the stream, and he eventually became a contracted streamer.

He spent his days chatting with his viewers, laughing at his own past mistakes, sometimes singing Cantonese old songs since he was from Guangzhou.

He was the kind of old-school guy with that “flavor.”

He quit his job to become a full-time streamer, but soon faced the “winter” of live streaming, where contracts had to be renegotiated, and pay was based on gifts, not on viewers.

His viewers were more about companionship than making money.

He didn’t encourage people to send gifts, as they would lose a lot of money due to the website’s high commission fees, and if a minor tried to refund a gift, it would end up costing more than he made.

Today was his last live stream of the year, and after the New Year, he would be back to factory work, tightening screws.

No matter what he did, he always felt out of sync.

He joined the industry at its lowest point when it was highly competitive.

It was just his bad luck.

The streets were decorated with lights, firecrackers popping continuously, and occasional fireworks blooming in the night sky.

The festive atmosphere felt strong, but Chen Qiao felt an emptiness in his heart.

He wasn’t sure if it was him or the environment that had changed, but the New Year’s celebrations didn’t feel as fun as they did when he was a kid.

“Brothers, here’s the black internet café I used to go to. It’s now turned into a umbrella factory. Back then, there was a small grocery store in front of it, and next door, there was a room with computers. The door was locked, making it very private. We didn’t worry about being caught by parents or teachers. The shop’s owner was a woman, a single mom with a daughter who was really cute. She was probably just two years younger than me at the time. She liked to sit next to me and watch me play games. I regret not appreciating her back then.”

The first part was true, but the rest was made up by Chen Qiao.

He didn’t even know the names of the shop owner or her daughter.

Who wouldn’t want a girlfriend who wouldn’t disturb them while they played games, who smelled nice, and who could be a bit mischievous?

No, that would actually be even better.

Chen Qiao had written novels and created stories like this—half-truth, half-fiction.

They were interesting, with themes like a classmate from elementary school, a university teacher who came to the countryside to teach, or a widow’s cousin-in-law.

Some of his viewers knew he was making up stories, but they still enjoyed listening to him, watching his exaggerated regrets.

Maybe this was something they related to in their own lives.

Fortunately, Chen Qiao was just a regular streamer, and no one made a big deal of it.

Sometimes his stream’s title was just “Storytime,” and he would even read his viewers’ stories.

However…

“Now, I’m at the elementary school I attended, but there are hardly any students left.”

Chen Qiao greeted his former homeroom teacher, who had become the principal.

He was surprised to find that the school had changed so much.

The dangerous old building he remembered had been flattened to make way for the flag-raising playground and the podium.

“This building is the one I saw being constructed while I was in school. I never got to study there, and now it’s the oldest and most dilapidated building in the school, storing old desks and chairs.”

Memories surfaced.

The time when he was in elementary school was probably the happiest time of his life.

His dad wasn’t in jail, his mom wasn’t sick, and he had a tough cousin who was well-known in the area and protected him.

He was also good at school, though always overshadowed by his high-achieving older sister.

There was also a female classmate, with dark skin, whose name might have been Lin Na.

He added her QQ in the elementary school graduation yearbook.

Although they never talked, he remembered seeing her draw anime-style pictures.

She went from drawing abstract scribbles to decent designs, and eventually to working on design drafts.

It seemed she was also struggling in society, and the dreams of their childhood had all faded.

“Thanks to my sister for sending me…”

Wasn’t it supposed to be no gifts?

Why not just send a red envelope directly?

This way, he’d still be charged a commission by the website and have to pay taxes.

The live stream chat was going crazy, with people getting excited.

“My sister is here.”

“Big sis, you’re here!”
 
“I want to see my sister, streamer, go away!”
 
“My sister stepped on me…”

These viewers were forgetting their loyalty.

This sister was Chen Qiao’s real sister, Chen Feifei, who worked as a doctor at the county’s first hospital.

After Chen Qiao became a full-time streamer, he moved in with her, and the costs in the small town were low enough for them to live comfortably despite earning less.

Chen Feifei’s voice and figure often appeared in his live streams.

Sometimes when Chen Qiao went to the bathroom or picked up food deliveries, she would temporarily take over the stream.

The viewers would request her instead of him.

Chen Qiao had even let his sister stream once for an hour, and it became his most successful live stream.

However, it was a one-time thing.

After the initial novelty wore off, viewers lost interest.

It was better when he acted like a clown in the stream, with his sister occasionally showing up in the background.

The viewers started gossiping about them, some even speculating they weren’t really siblings but were actually dating.

But it was the forbidden sister-brother relationship that made it more exciting for them.

When Chen Feifei entered the live stream, Chen Qiao’s backup phone in his pocket rang.

It was a call from his sister.

“Chen Qiao, it’s already New Year’s Eve, and you’re still not coming home to celebrate?”
 
“Sis, I’m streaming right now.”
 
“I know, I’m watching your stream. Don’t you see what time it is? The New Year’s almost here. Hurry up and come see me.”
 
“I’m at the elementary school.”
 
“What’s there to see at an elementary school? It’s better to watch me. I’m not at home—this place isn’t even a home. I need to see you in half an hour.”
 
“Are you still on duty at the hospital?”
 
“Yeah, I swapped shifts with someone else. I only have you and Xin Yu as family left. I’ll cook, and we’ll eat something together. Bring Xin Yu over too.”

Chen Xin Yu was the daughter of his cousin, who had dropped out of school, smoked, drank, and was a troublemaker in the town.

He had gotten a girl pregnant and then abandoned her, leaving her to raise the child alone.

The girl had been deeply in love with him and even wanted to marry him, but he refused.

Later, she remarried and moved away.

Xin Yu couldn’t even afford her middle school fees, and Chen Qiao and his sister had helped her through school.

Fortunately, she worked hard and was accepted into a prestigious university.

She had even worked part-time to pay for her tuition and living expenses.

She was the only one who showed any kindness in their family.

When Chen Qiao was a child, he got along well with his cousin, playing games like small bullies together.

But now, he can only sigh at the unpredictability of life.

After being such a good student and a good kid for so long, he had lived to this point still a virgin.

If he could live his life again, he would definitely make better use of his younger years!

Become a beast.

But that’s just wishful thinking; it seems this life is as it is.

After leaving the school, Chen Qiao walked down the long slope and finally saw the street.

Like many schools, this elementary school was built on a hill.

At the street corner, there was a sign warning drivers to slow down near the school.

A petite figure dressed in a pink down jacket was standing there, hunching her shoulders and rubbing her hands together to keep warm.

This was a rural town in Beijiang City, Guangdong Province, close to other provinces.

It gets pretty cold in winter, and sometimes it even snows on the mountain.

This town is one of the few places in Guangdong that gets to see snow.

“Little uncle, Happy New Year! Although I guess it’s a bit early to say that,” Chen Xinyu said, tilting her head.

“Didn’t I tell you to call me brother? Here, your New Year’s money.”

Chen Qiao took out a red envelope from his pocket that he had prepared in advance.

This year, due to the tough market, it was a little flatter than usual.

“Hehe, thank you, brother,” Chen Xinyu said with a sweet and silly smile, making it clear that the effort of working hard in life is all for moments like this.

Chen Qiao instinctively reached out to pat her head but realized she was no longer that little girl who snotted and played in the mud.

He retracted his hand, but unexpectedly, she leaned in and rubbed her head against his rough palm.

“Brother?”

If Chen Qiao had a wish, it would be to have a younger sister.

However, that was something he could never have in this life.

There might be a small chance for a daughter, but that was close to zero.

“Did you buy new clothes? Why are you still wearing old clothes? Isn’t this the one I bought for you last year?”

Chen Qiao asked, looking at the collar of Chen Xinyu’s jacket.

“It’s still fine. I don’t wear it often, just for the New Year’s. If I bought a new one, that would be a waste,” she replied.

“You’ve been wearing this for two or three years, haven’t you? You’re the one who needs new clothes. Look, there’s a hole here, and the down feathers are leaking out,” Chen Xinyu said, pointing at his arm, where it looked like he had scraped it somewhere at school.

“I’m not a little kid anymore; I don’t need new clothes.”

“I’m not a little kid either.”

“Then let’s be kids again. Let’s go buy new clothes. It’s getting late, but we can go with sister tomorrow to the market. Maybe there will be a discount.”

This was the strategy for buying new clothes during the New Year when they were younger—wait until the price dropped on the first day of the New Year.

But nowadays, with better living conditions and online shopping, they rarely go through such trouble.

“Let’s go. Get in the car.”

“Should I call Auntie ‘sister’ now?”

Chen Xinyu asked obediently while fastening her seatbelt.

“If you get it wrong, I can’t help you.”

Women are more sensitive to these titles, especially the older ones.

Chen Qiao’s live stream had not been turned off.

Since Chen Xinyu appeared, the comments in the stream exploded.

“Another sister? What a winner in life.”

“His daughter is already this big, truly born lucky.”

“Brothers, I need to turn off the stream to go drive. I’ll be back later…”

Even after Chen Qiao clocked off, many people still stayed in the live stream room, chatting in black screen mode, either cursing in jealousy or waiting for the next stream.

The national highway to the county town was in poor condition, full of potholes and hard to drive on.

The road was frequently occupied by overloaded trucks, but on this New Year’s Eve night, the road was almost empty.

The car was playing “The Doctor’s Ten Years.”

Now, hearing this song again in his later years, Chen Qiao felt deeply emotional.

Suddenly, a strange sound reached Chen Qiao’s ears.

After turning off the music, it became even clearer.

“Xinyu, do you hear that? It sounds like a train—clang, clang.”

“No, our county doesn’t even have a train yet. They’re planning to build one, but I don’t know if it will be done before I graduate from university. Once it’s done, travel will be much more convenient.”

“Could it be that I’m hallucinating from lack of sleep?”

Chen Qiao pinched his brow and resumed the music, but suddenly, a strong beam of light shone on the car, so bright that he couldn’t open his eyes.

“Ah! Brother! What’s that?”

Chen Xinyu also jumped in fright and hugged Chen Qiao tightly. A steam train, as if traveling through time and space, appeared in the sky.

The train’s engine was emitting loud steam, and in an instant, the night turned into day.

The trees on the side of the road were clearly visible, and the sound of gears turning echoed like thunder.

“I don’t know either.”

Chen Qiao suddenly swerved the steering wheel 180 degrees and slammed on the gas, trying to speed away.

But the rough road and old car made it impossible to shake off the descending train.

Chen Qiao could feel the impact from behind, as if the blinding light could engulf them.

Was this how his life ended—so absurdly and incomprehensibly?

Chen Qiao let go of the steering wheel and held Chen Xinyu tightly, at least to protect this child…