Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

"Zhenzhen left home a long time ago..." Xu Zhijie sighed and continued, "Zhenzhen is not actually my mother's daughter. She is my father's illegitimate daughter. It is said that she and her brother are twins, born to a woman named Lan Caiwei."

Back then, when my dad and that woman separated, they each took one child. The woman took the older brother, and my dad took Zhenzhen with him.

Later, that woman passed away from illness, and my father went to bring my brother over, but by then Zhenzhen was no longer at home.

"She's not home? Where did she go?"

"Zhenzhen went abroad to study at a very young age. She had a very bad relationship with my mother. The two of them often quarreled, and when they quarreled, they quarreled fiercely. Sometimes they would even fight. When I was a child, I was often so scared that I would hide in the closet and dare not come out."

Later, Zhenzhen grew up and became very rebellious. She attracted a lot of bad boys. My dad was afraid that she would go astray and that she would harm my mother, so he sent her to a boarding school abroad.

It's been many years...

"I see," An Xiaohai said, kicking a small pebble away as he looked down. "Are you and Zhenzhen close?"

"My relationship with her is...okay."

Zhenzhen wasn't bad to me. I remember when we were little, she would always walk me home from school. But she wasn't particularly nice either; she was always cold to everyone, more like an ordinary playmate.

"Are you still in contact with her?"

"Yes, sometimes I'll call her, but we only chat for a few minutes."

"Where's your brother? What's his relationship with her like?"

"Not so good," Xu Zhijie shook his head. "They're not even as good as me. They're like strangers. I remember when my brother was first brought back, my dad mentioned Zhenzhen to him, but my brother didn't seem to care at all. I've never even heard my brother talk about Zhenzhen."

Sometimes it's really sad to think about it. We're all family, how could this happen... Sigh! Never mind, let's not talk about this anymore.

"Alright, every family has its own problems, let's not talk about this anymore."

"Brother Chen, how long will you be staying here this time?"

"It'll be quite a long time, and I might not even leave. I plan to close down my energy business. This near-death experience has made me see things in a new light."

"That's great! This way we can see each other more often. But the energy business is quite profitable, it's a bit of a shame to give it up like this."

"It's no pity!" An Xiaohai shook his head and smiled: "After you've experienced life and death, you'll understand one thing: nothing matters except death."

Life is the foundation of everything; when life ends, everything ceases to exist, including power, wealth, status, and women, etc.

Just like the poem says: "The tombs of the heroes of the Five Mausoleums are nowhere to be seen; without flowers or wine, the fields are tilled."

No matter how powerful a person is, even if they are an emperor of all time, once their life ends, time will slowly erase all traces of them. In the end, they can only exist in words and in people's imaginations.

Our greatest wealth is our life. As long as we have life, anything is still possible.

Unfortunately, life is short and no one can hold onto it. Time is disappearing every minute and every second, and our lives are constantly slipping away.

So don't overthink it. Live every minute and every second to the fullest. That's the only way to do justice to our precious and irreversible lives!

An Xiaohai's words made Xu Zhijie fall into deep thought. The two walked slowly forward side by side until night fell completely.

"Brother Chen, thank you so much. Hearing what you said makes me feel much better. You know so much!"

"It's not that I know more, it's just that I've lived longer than you and experienced more things."

"Ha, no, you're only a few years older than me! By the way, Brother Chen, I can help you."

I've started to gradually take over the family business. Let me explain it to you in detail. If you're interested in any part of it, we can work together!

"Thank you so much, but let's not talk about that today. I do have something I'd like to ask you for help with."

"Tell me what it is, and I'll definitely help if it's within my power!"

"I'm going to a private party tomorrow and I need two cars to make a good impression. I just got back here and haven't had time to buy any yet, so I can only ask you for help."

"No problem, I have a lot of cars, all kinds. I'll take you to pick one in a bit, and you can just drive away whichever two you like."

"Wow, you have so many cars?"

"Yeah, there are probably twenty or so. They're all pretty good cars, and they're all pretty new."

"You really like cars?"

"I wouldn't say I really like it, but my brother does, so I asked my mom to buy a few more."

"Your mother spoils you quite a bit."

"Yeah, she spoils me a lot, but she's also very strict with me, sigh..."

"Alright, stop sighing!" An Xiaohai hooked his arm around Xu Zhijie's shoulder. "Everything has two sides, as long as your mother truly loves you, that's all that matters."

The deeper the love, the tighter the grip tends to be; this is normal.

But when love crosses boundaries, it can cause pain to the person being loved. You are smart and young, and I believe you can use your wisdom to get out of your current predicament.

Don't always blame your mother. You can also think carefully about whether there are any problems with yourself.

Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. These aren't things that can be understood in a short time, nor can they be changed overnight. They are life wisdom that takes time to accumulate and can only be realized by yourself.

"Okay, I've got it. I'll try my best!"

"Brother Chen, it's getting late. Why don't you come home with me? Come to my house for dinner, and I'll introduce you to my dad. After dinner, we can also go choose a car."

"No, not today," An Xiaohai shook his head. "I have some very important things to take care of right away. Let's do it another day."

I'll have Secretary Xiaoyu and my cousin go back with you to get the car, since one of the cars is for Secretary Xiaoyu anyway.

"Oh, okay then..." Xu Zhijie nodded with a disappointed look on his face.

"Don't be discouraged. I've decided to change careers, so I have to finish all the current business I'm handling first. After I'm done with this busy period, I'll give you a formal visit."

Maybe your mother will be back by then, and you can introduce her to me as well.

"Okay, it's settled then. You can't go back on your word."

"Don't worry, I'm a person who always keeps my promises..."

An Xiaohai and Xu Zhijie chatted as they walked, and soon arrived at the school gate, where Xu Zhijie's car was already waiting.

"Brother Chen, I'll be staying home with my dad these days and also trying to find out about my mom, so I won't be at school much. Give me a call if you need to find me."

"Okay!" An Xiaohai nodded to Mai Xiaoyu and Zhou Xun, who were waiting not far away, and the two immediately walked over.

Xu Zhijie knew Mai Xiaoyu; An Xiaohai had only introduced Zhou Xun briefly. Xu Zhijie was very interested in Zhou Xun and secretly stared at her for a while.

Mai Xiaoyu and Zhou Xun followed Xu Zhijie. An Xiaohai looked around and He Xiaohu, who was hiding nearby, immediately appeared and gave him a subtle greeting.

An Xiaohai nodded almost imperceptibly, then turned and walked back into the campus. When he reached the girls' dormitory, he realized that he had forgotten to ask the girl in the blue dress her name.

This is a bit tricky.

"You... Xu Zhimo! You still dare to come!" Just then, a familiar female voice rang out.

It's Teacher Deng.

An Xiaohai immediately turned around and gestured for Teacher Deng to be quiet.

Teacher Deng was naturally not going to shut up obediently. Just as she was about to say something more, An Xiaohai showed her an ID card. The large national emblem on the ID card almost blinded her.

"Teacher Deng, please don't speak, come with me!" An Xiaohai put down his ID and turned to walk towards a secluded spot.

Teacher Deng was startled and involuntarily followed. Xu Zhimo's gaze was truly terrifying!

In a secluded corner, An Xiaohai handed the ID card in his hand to Teacher Deng. He had taken the ID card from Zhou Xun's room before leaving home.

"Teacher Deng, I am a member of the Special Operations Team of the Haidong Provincial Security Bureau, ID number HD232. If you have any doubts about my identity, you can call the Haidong Provincial Security Bureau now to verify!"

As An Xiaohai spoke, he handed over his phone.

"No, no, I don't doubt it!" After carefully examining the identification, Teacher Deng handed it back to An Xiaohai with both hands: "So you're from the Security Department! I knew it! You're here to investigate the disappearance of Ms. Ding, Xu Zhijie's mother, right?"

Teacher Deng's eyes were bright, and it was clear at a glance that the fire of gossip in her heart was burning fiercely.

"We can't just tell people about the mission we're carrying out, please understand."

"I understand, I won't ask anymore! Is there anything I need to do to cooperate with you?" Teacher Deng's attitude completely changed 180 degrees.

"Yes, I came here to see you. At the presentation this afternoon, there was a girl in a blue dress. Do you know who she is?"

"Of course I know. She's the girl Xu Zhijie likes. What happened to her?"

"It's nothing, I just need all her information."

"Ah! Tang Ke'er is an excellent student in both character and academics; there's no way she could be involved in Ms. Ding's disappearance!"

"Whether or not there's any involvement isn't up to you to decide!" An Xiaohai frowned, his imposing gaze making Teacher Deng's heart tremble. "I need all the information on this Tang Ke'er now. Can you provide it?"

"Yes, let me explain it to you in detail!"

"I don't need you to tell me!" An Xiaohai frowned again. "Personal statements can be emotionally charged, which can affect my judgment. I need to see the paper documents, including all of Tang Ke'er's registration information and all of her transcripts."

"Oh, I see... Yes, they're all in my office. Come with me!"

"Thank you for your cooperation. Please go to your office first. If there's anyone else inside, please send them away. If no one is there, just turn the light on and off. I'll come up when I see it. Understand?"

"Understood!" Teacher Deng clasped her hands to her chest, looking extremely excited. "Is there anything else I should be careful about?"

"That's all for now. Go ahead and be natural. Don't let anyone else know. If too many people find out, it will be bad for the students."

"Yes, yes, I understand! Don't worry, I'm going right now!" Teacher Deng jogged towards the office.

An Xiaohai shook his head with a wry smile and slowly followed.