Replacing the Evil Way

Chapter 58: True or False

“Did you take this photo?”

Cheng Zhenqing looked at the photo, a huge disappointment evident in his eyes. “…It’s really true.”

“I can tell you with certainty that the version of me in this world didn’t know Cheng Zesheng at that time.” He Wei leaned in, lowering his voice. “You’ve already revealed enough; just give me the key information directly.”

“I’d love to, but… it turns out that this won’t lead to a good solution.” Cheng Zhenqing chuckled. “I’ve enjoyed watching your expressions shift from confusion to shock, and then to determination many times. I don’t mind seeing it again.”

He Wei fell silent. He had many ideas, needing validation from Cheng Zhenqing, but he refrained from asking what the purpose of the earlier ‘guidance work’ was. The only person informed in the whole incident was him, and he was being kept in suspense without a clear answer. If this were on a stage, the audience would have thrown their teacups long ago.

“You once said you’ve only one younger brother, and you didn’t want me to involve him in this. But if you don’t cooperate, I can’t guarantee what will happen next.”

Cheng Zhenqing and He Wei locked eyes, deep meaning concentrated in their pitch-black pupils. “I gave you hints before, about that mansion. I didn’t want you to go in, didn’t want you to see him. Haven’t you noticed that after leaving the mansion, your frequency of contact with him increased?”

The mansion? He Wei carefully recollected the day he first met Cheng Zesheng, when he went there with Chong Zhen, and then… a flash of insight crossed his mind. He hurriedly took out a pen and paper and wrote down two lines.

HELLO.9th.

Wei Youdie.

At that time, with the greeting card, the letter “t” was connected, resembling an “e”; the circle of “9” was large and round, with a short and thick tail, resembling a capital “G.”

GO HELL, he wei, you die.

“…Will I die?” He Wei squinted, “Or will we both?”

“I’m not sure,” Cheng Zhenqing sighed. “Later on, when I asked you not to involve him, I hoped that you two could reduce contact. But unfortunately…”

“Once this photo appeared, I became powerless in what follows, Officer He. It’s up to you now.”

———

Back in the Future Domain, the sky was already dark. He Wei was in a bad mood, and he received a call from his younger brother asking if he was home. He had just returned from a business trip, bringing a gift for him.

“Yeah, come over. I just got home too, and you can help me with some chores.”

Half an hour later, the doorbell rang, and He Wei went to open the door, seeing his younger brother outside holding a gift box. “Brother, it’s not easy to catch you these days. Why are you so busy?”

“Haven’t you seen the news? That serial murder case, we spent a lot of effort investigating the suspects and their whereabouts, working overtime every three days.” He Wei stepped aside to let him in, taking out a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet. “Later, we realized the investigative direction was wrong and had to retrace our steps to find the culprit.”

“I saw the reports. I never expected the murderer to be his girlfriend. People’s hearts are unpredictable.” He Lu walked in, placing the gift box on the coffee table and looking around. “It’s not too bad here. The house isn’t very messy. When you said you needed help with chores, I was preparing to visit a World War II battlefield.”

This was He Wei’s place; even in a state of slight disarray, it was far from resembling a dog’s nest. His so-called ‘mess’ was just a few things on the table, the desk and bookshelf needing a dusting, and the floor needing a mop. He Lu rolled up his sleeves and asked where the mop and towels were, getting ready to help out.

He Wei was tidying up the kitchen, clearing out the refrigerator. There were too many things that Cheng Zesheng had bought before, and both of them were often away, which led to some fresh food items being long past their expiration date and breeding bacteria in the fridge. He Wei checked each item’s expiration date while He Lu cleaned with a cloth. He Lu peeked into the refrigerator and was shocked, “Brother, you live alone, and yet you’ve stuffed the fridge so full?”

“…A friend is coming over, and he’s the one who bought all this.”

He Lu instantly recalled, “Is it the one who didn’t want me to come last time? The one who stayed over at your place?”

He Wei showed a rare hint of embarrassment as he tossed onions and potatoes into the trash bin together. “Just a regular friend.”

He Lu felt bewildered. “I didn’t say anything wrong. You’re different from me. Your sexual orientation is normal.”

He Wei didn’t respond. Whether it was normal or not wasn’t something he could determine.

After He Lu finished mopping the floor, He Wei took out two bags of trash. About half of the food in the refrigerator’s cold storage had been cleared out. He Lu exclaimed about the waste and went outside to throw the trash. However, a few seconds later, the door opened again, and He Wei said, “Back so soon? You’re not leaving it right outside the door, are you?”

The door closed with a horror movie-style effect.

Cheng Zesheng had returned.

Worried that his brother might be scared, He Wei quickly tore a piece of paper and wrote a note, telling him to go upstairs as there was a guest at home.

Cheng Zesheng looked at the note, but unfortunately, he couldn’t hear any sounds at that moment. Otherwise, he could’ve asked who had come and why there was a guest again. Your friends seem to be quite numerous.

Undoubtedly, Officer Cheng was starting to feel as sour as vinegar.

The upstairs door closed, and simultaneously, He Lu came in. “Brother, the elevator in your apartment is quite fast, almost like the one at our company.”

“Did you go downstairs?” He Wei smiled wryly. “There’s a communal garbage bin on this floor, although it’s a bit farther away. You don’t need to go downstairs.”

He Lu scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward. He stood at the stairwell, ready to go upstairs. “Do you want me to tidy up your room too?”

“No need, I’ll take care of upstairs myself.” He Wei changed the topic and opened the gift box on the table. “What did you bring?”

“Pineapple cake. Try it; I specifically went to queue up to buy it.”

He Wei tasted one; it wasn’t the overly sweet taste of those from the shops outside. The filling was slightly sour, and eating one wouldn’t lead to feeling sick. He Wei wiped his hands. “They’re quite tasty, not bad. You really understand your brother’s preferences.”

“I knew you’d like it.”

Cheng Zesheng stood upstairs, straining to listen. He finally heard the sound of the anti-theft door opening and closing. The guest should have left, and he felt relieved enough to go downstairs.

Walking into the living room, he saw an opened box of cake on the table and closed the lid to take a look—it was pineapple cake.

He Wei had seen his brother off and had just returned to the living room when he noticed the pineapple cake on the table were gone.

At the same time, he heard the sound of a small package being torn open and Cheng Zesheng’s voice, “It’s packaged so well. Was it quite expensive?”

“…Did you touch the box?” He Wei felt helpless. “Those were brought by my younger brother.”

Cheng Zesheng felt embarrassed and placed the pineapple cake back on the coffee table. He instinctively thought these were gifts from He Wei; after all, they had an arrangement between them—anything without a note must be intended for the other person.

“Well, there’s no way to return them now. I’ll find a purchasing agent and buy another box to give to you.”

“Forget it; it’s just a box of pineapple cake. It’s just that He Lu and I have a good relationship, so I tend to accept things he gives me…” He Wei suddenly froze, stood up, and rushed out of the door, running to the corridor. He saw that the elevator had just gone down and had reached the first floor.

He hurried back and dashed toward the balcony, spotting the familiar figure down below walking toward the electronic door.

“He Lu!”

He Wei shouted loudly, and He Lu downstairs turned his head, waving at him with a smile.

Nothing seemed amiss—his expression, his movements, his walking habits—all exactly the same as usual.

Holding the pineapple cake, Cheng Zesheng walked to the balcony. Although he couldn’t see He Wei, he knew he was looking down from here. That call just now had been thunderous; he heard it clearly in the living room.

“Why did you call your brother? Did you forget something?”

“He might not be He Lu.” He Wei whispered.

“…?” Cheng Zesheng was a bit confused, looking at the pineapple cake in his hand, gradually widening his eyes.

The rule of exchanging items applied only between the two of them. Third-party items could coexist. Logically speaking, the pineapple cakes He Lu brought shouldn’t have been transported to his world due to Cheng Zesheng’s touch.

But he and He Wei were twin brothers, sharing the same DNA. It was not out of the realm of possibility that this intriguing node of “poor eyesight” treated them as a single entity. Of course, a more mysterious conclusion would be that this individual was indeed not He Lu, but another “He Wei.”

This “He Wei” was highly likely the one who disappeared into the mist in Cheng Zesheng’s world.

While He Wei furrowed his brows in thought, his phone rang—it was a call from He Lu.

“Brother, if you can’t finish the pineapple cake, remember to put it in the fridge. Or take them to the office and share them with your colleagues. Don’t let it go bad.”

“…Hmm, okay. A-Lu,” He Wei’s fingers tapped the railing restlessly. “Meng Meng gave you a candy and asked, ‘Can we go to the amusement park together?'”

“I replied, ‘If you’re inviting me, you don’t have to give me a candy, because I’m He Lu, not He Wei.'” He Lu smiled from the other side. “Brother, why are you suddenly bringing this up? It’s an elementary school memory. I was quite happy at that time, Meng Meng invited me to the amusement park, but little did I know it was all about you.”

He Wei’s expression instantly relaxed. “Nothing, just thought of it and mentioned it. Be safe on your way back.”

It was indeed He Lu.

He Wei let out a sigh of relief. Only his younger brother, who spent day and night with him during their childhood, would know about such a minor episode from their past.

—— 

He Lu sat in the car, leaning on the door’s armrest, absentmindedly fiddling with his phone.

“Knock, knock.” The window was tapped twice, and he rolled it down, revealing a face with a gentle smile.

“Did you go?”

“Yeah.”

“Why aren’t you heading up then?” Lian Jingyuan gestured upstairs. “Stephen’s been searching for you everywhere.”

“I had something to do today and didn’t have time to buy canned food for it.” He Lu got out of the car, his coat draped over his arm as he locked the car.

Lian Jingyuan sized him up and said softly, “You really look alike.”

“We’re identical twin brothers.” He Lu took out his phone and shook it. “He was just asking me about our elementary school days. It’s been so long, but I still remember everything clearly.”

“Because both of your memories are excellent.”

“Yeah, so whatever he asked, I could answer.”

Both of them returned to Lian Jingyuan’s home. As they opened the door, Stephen approached them with graceful steps, rubbing against He Lu’s legs. He Lu crouched down, picking Stephen up, “Are you feeling lonely because I haven’t been home to play with you? I’m sorry, I’ve been busy these past few days. How about I take you for a bath tomorrow?”

“You can take it; I have a meeting at school tomorrow and will be back late.”

“Okay, you do what you need to do.”

He Lu carried Stephen to the windowsill and used a seashell comb to groom its fur. Lian Jingyuan hugged his arms, watching this warm and tender scene, a touch of melancholy slowly welling up in his heart.

The more beautiful something was, the harder it was to let go.

“How much longer will I remember you?” Lian Jingyuan asked.

He Lu shook his head. “I’m not sure. Not just you; maybe even Stephen won’t remember.”

Lian Jingyuan nodded, saying, “That’s probably for the best.” He bid him “goodnight” and returned to his room.

He Lu walked into the bathroom, staring at his reflection in the mirror—dressed immaculately in a suit, his hair combed meticulously, a stranger yet familiar. 

It would end soon.

He turned on the tap, scooping up water to wash his face. When he looked up again, the mirror reflected the same familiar face, unmarred by any tear mole.