Mysterious Resurrection: What If

Chapter 48 The Butterfly Dream of Zhuangzi (Part 3)

Upon seeing the words on the exam paper, Yang Jian's pupils contracted, as if a sudden flash of inspiration struck him. A key idea flashed through his mind, and he looked up at Zhang Xianguang and said...

"I've been feeling really strange these past few days. I keep feeling like my behavior is out of sync with what's happening around me. It's like I'm in a...

"Yang Jian!"

A dull voice interrupted Yang Jian's thoughts.

Looking up, Yang Xiaozheng was standing at the classroom door, holding a newspaper in his hand to shield his face, with the big black dog still by his side.

"Dad? What are you doing at school?" Yang Jian was a little surprised. Why would his father suddenly appear here?

Yang Xiao walked in and stood opposite Zhang Xianguang.

"Teacher Zhang, Yang Jian's mother is sick, and I need to take him home."

Zhang Xianguang stared silently at the newspaper in front of Yang Xiao's face, his gaze piercing.

After a while, he turned to Yang Jian and said.

"Go and take good care of your mother. Don't forget to review what we just discussed."

"Okay, thank you, teacher."

Yang Jian got up and followed his father out of the classroom.

But what he didn't notice was that the words on the test paper on the desk were slowly disappearing, and dense, large characters were beginning to appear on it.

"There's a ghost!"

As they walked down the teaching building, Yang Jian silently followed behind his father.

"That feeling...it's back again. Just when I'm about to grasp a key point, something suddenly interrupts me."

The two were passing by the large Buddha statue at the school when...

"Snapped!"

It sounded like something had fallen from the top of the Buddha statue. Yang Jian looked in the direction of the sound and saw a piece of glass stuck vertically into the soil.

Because of the distance, Yang Jian could only vaguely see that someone inside the glass seemed to be shouting loudly at him, and that person appeared to be bald.
"Glass?"

Yang Jian frowned. Things were getting increasingly wrong, and he seemed to have subconsciously overlooked something.

Yang Xiao's voice came from behind the newspaper: "What are you looking at? Your mother is still waiting for you to come home."

"Oh, here we come."

Yang Jian quickly caught up with Yang Xiao.

Upon returning home, Yang Jian went straight to his mother's room.

Zhang Fen was lying in bed, covered with a thick quilt, and looked very weak.

Yang Jian asked worriedly, "Mom, are you alright?"

My mother was perfectly fine when I left home this morning, how could she have become so seriously ill in less than a morning?

"It's nothing... I'm probably just too tired lately, and I caught a chill this morning. I'll be fine after a few days of rest."

Yang Jian turned to look at Yang Xiao.

"Dad, let's take Mom to the hospital."

Yang Xiao's voice came from behind the newspaper.

"I've already been to the hospital, and the doctor prescribed some medicine. I'll be fine after taking it for a few days."

Have you already been to the hospital?
A hint of surprise flashed through Yang Jian's mind; he had only been at school for half an hour.

The drive from home to the hospital takes more than ten minutes, and the round trip takes half an hour. In between, you have to register for a doctor's appointment, not to mention that Yang Xiao also had to settle his mother in before picking him up from school.

The timing doesn't match at all...
Yang Jian slowly opened his mouth and said:

"Dad, why are you staring at this newspaper?"

It was too strange. Yang Jian suddenly realized that he never remembered his father being so obsessed with newspapers before, and even though his mother was so ill, his father still held onto the newspaper and refused to put it down. All of this was too abnormal.
"It's nothing. Keep an eye on your mother. I have something to do outside."

After Yang Xiao finished speaking, he turned and left. He seemed unwilling to explain himself to Yang Jian's follow-up questions.

Yang Jian stood up, wanting to chase after her, but then looked at his pale-faced mother on the bed and finally sat down.

Zhang Fen said weakly, "Yang Jian, don't blame your dad. He's always had a strange temper. Just stay here and keep Mom company."

Yang Jian nodded.

"Don't worry, Mom, I'm right here. If you're hungry, just tell me, and I'll cook you some noodles." "Okay."

Zhang Fen turned her head to the side and slowly fell asleep.

Seeing that his mother had fallen asleep, Yang Jian prepared to get up and cook something.

Just as he looked up, he saw his mother and father's wedding photo on the wall above the bed.

A chill instantly ran from the soles of my feet. In the photo, my father was also holding a newspaper to cover his face.

Yang Jian stared in shock at the image of his father in the photograph.

"How could that be? How could they even bring a newspaper to their wedding?"

"By the way... why can't I remember what my father looks like at all..."

Yang Jian immediately got up and began searching the room.

Household registration booklet, photo album, driver's license
In every single photo featuring Yang Xiao, without exception, he is holding that newspaper in front of his face!

His back was soaked with cold sweat. Yang Jian realized that he might be caught in some terrible truth, but he was completely unaware of it.

A sliver of moonlight shone through the window, and Yang Jian suddenly turned around.

He's only been home for less than half an hour, how could it have gotten dark already!
at this time.

"dong dong dong"

A series of very regular knocks sounded on the door.

Yang Jian looked toward the door in horror.

"Who! Who's there!"

"Squeak—..."

A familiar face appeared behind the door.

Yang Jian was somewhat surprised: "Teacher Zhang?! What brings you to my house?"

Zhang Xianguang strode in, drew the curtains, and casually sat down on the stool opposite the bed, as if he were very familiar with the environment.

"It seems you've met a group of reliable friends who are giving you pointers."

Yang Jian stared coldly at Zhang Xianguang, his eyes filled with vigilance. The events of today were all too bizarre.

Yang Jian had already gripped the bedside lamp; if the new homeroom teacher showed any unusual behavior, he would not hesitate to knock him down.

Yang Jian said coldly, "What do you mean? Why are you in my house?"

"I am your father."

"What?!" Yang Jian almost rushed forward.

Zhang Xianguang pulled an old photograph out of his jacket pocket and asked, "Who is this person in the photo?"

Yang Jian leaned over and, in the dim light, could vaguely make out that the person in the photo was a man in his thirties.

But Yang Jian's expression changed after he saw the man's face clearly. Apart from looking somewhat mature, the man in the photo looked seven or eight parts similar to himself.

"Have you remembered something?"

Seeing that Yang Jian did not react, he put the photo next to his face.

Yang Jian suddenly realized that his homeroom teacher's face was exactly the same as the person in the photo.

Yang Jian was speechless with surprise. Why hadn't he noticed something so obvious before? Why were the people and things around him so strange these past few days, revealing something unusual everywhere?

The room fell silent. The man seemed to be waiting for Yang Jian's response, sitting there gazing at him quietly.

After a while, Yang Jian raised his head and looked at the man.

I'm still dreaming.

"...Before entering this dream, Lin Bei, Xiao Yuan, and I were in the car...The source of this dream, the ghost, was right behind me, and I was attacked..."

The man nodded and praised:
"You are much more outstanding than I imagined."

Yang Jian looked coldly at the man in front of him.

"Are you a human or a ghost?"

(End of this chapter)