Replacing the Evil Way

Chapter 69: Gamble

He Wei sat on the window sill, holding Stephen, and made an international call to He Lu.

He Lu was in the middle of washing up, but he answered the call quickly with foam in his mouth, saying, “Hey, what’s up?”

“Are you currently abroad?”

“Yeah, I’m in Italy.”

“When are you coming back?”

He Lu rinsed off the foam, turned on the tap to wash his face, checked his calendar for a moment, and replied, “Probably by the end of April. Why, what’s going on?”

“…Nothing,” He Wei found an excuse, “I came home a couple of days ago, and Mom said you were abroad.”

“Ah, I often video call her! I asked about her health and even specifically asked Uncle Qin. It’s just a minor cold. I told her to drink more hot water, and she scolded me for being heartless. Dealing with menopausal women is really tough…”

After chatting for a while, the two brothers hung up the phone. He Wei stared out the window in contemplation. Lian Jingyuan came out of the bathroom, drying his hair, and sat by the window. “What are you thinking about again?”

“He Lu is not in the country, and he won’t be back until the end of the month.” He Wei smiled faintly. “In my memory, he came to my house after I moved and asked for a favor. He wanted me to help arrange a trip to the observatory to watch the meteor shower with you.”

With Lian Jingyuan’s intelligence, he easily understood what He Wei meant. He placed his hand on He Wei’s shoulder. “So, according to what you’ve experienced, ‘He Lu’ and ‘you’ will meet, and ‘you’ will invite me. If you’re worried about Murphy’s Law, we can wait until He Lu returns, and I can make the arrangement in my name to make the observatory visit a reality. That way, it won’t raise any suspicions.”

He Wei smiled at Lian Jingyuan. “I’m wondering if, in the previous loop, we did something similar, which is why I sent the information about June 16th.”

“Maybe,” Lian Jingyuan’s smile was gentle. He reached out and ruffled He Wei’s hair. “Don’t think too much. Some things may require deliberate planning, while others should just follow their natural course.”

Stephen moved from He Wei’s lap to his owner’s side. With its front paws on He Wei’s thigh, it kneaded like it was nursing, and it raised its head with a pair of blue, expectant eyes. Lian Jingyuan lowered his head, and Stephen gently nuzzled his cheek with its nose, contentedly curling up and closing its eyes.

“He’s so attached to you; no wonder you call him your ‘little sweetheart.’ By the way,” He Wei suddenly remembered something, “do you know how my younger brother feels about you…”

Lian Jingyuan’s smile remained faint. “I know, but He Lu and I are friends, and that won’t change.”

Through his smile, He Wei gradually understood that his brother’s years-long crush was now definitely hopeless. Lian Jingyuan was just that kind of person, gentle and approachable, but the sense of distance in his gaze couldn’t deceive anyone. He said he and He Lu were friends, so they would only ever be friends, with no possibility of a romantic relationship.

“Computer password?” He Wei blurted out.

“What about the password?” Lian Jingyuan looked at He Wei’s expression and suddenly realized, “Oh… you thought it was your birthday? It’s not. January 24th in the lunar calendar is my mother’s birthday. I only just noticed that this number coincides with your birthday.”

For some reason, He Wei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Lian Jingyuan smiled; his eyebrows and eyes curled, and he used his index finger to play with He Wei’s soft hair. “Why the sudden shock? You’re ‘asexual,’ with no feelings for men or women. If I liked you, I’m afraid you wouldn’t notice it even if we were together until old age.”

He Wei pushed away his hand, relieved that he hadn’t told him anything about Cheng Zesheng; otherwise, Lian Jingyuan would surely be shocked to the point of breaking his glasses.

Lian Jingyuan propped up his chin, tilting his head to look at He Wei. “But I’m also curious; what kind of person would you like?”

He Wei lowered his gaze, and a faint smile curled on his lips. “It should be someone who makes me fall in love involuntarily.”

———

He Wei visited home again, but Ye Lanlan wasn’t there. Uncle Qin said that Madam had recovered from her cold a while ago and was just taking a few days to rest at home as a rare excuse.

“That’s good,” He Wei pointed upstairs, “You go ahead, I’ll look for something.”

Uncle Qin rubbed his hands and hesitated for a long time before tentatively asking, “Young Master, you’ve been coming back frequently lately. Is there something wrong?”

“No, just moved to a new house, and there are some things from before that I want to bring over.”

Uncle Qin didn’t ask further and just reminded him, “Young Master, I saw reports about a murder case in Fulong Mountain. Be careful when you’re up in the mountains. There’s heavy yin energy there, and it’s not clean. It’s easy to get lost.”

He Wei chuckled, “What’s with getting lost? You mean people can easily get lost in the mountains, right? I know, I know, I’ll be careful.”

He went upstairs to He Lu’s room and picked out a suit. He opened a drawer to choose a watch and recalled He Lu’s attire at the time. It seemed like there was also a silver lock-eye necklace around his neck. He Wei opened the jewelry cabinet, searched for a while, and finally found that necklace in a navy blue velvet box.

Being a refined and elegant man was not easy at all.

Leaving home, He Wei bought a prepaid SIM card at a roadside phone booth that was unregistered and disposable.

In the evening, He Wei stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his suit cufflinks. His bangs were swept back, leaving a few stray strands on his forehead. He loosened the collar of his shirt, revealing the simple pendant of the lock-eye necklace. With the addition of the small mole under his eye and after flattening his brows and eyes, he looked almost perfect as a replacement for He Lu.

Lian Jingyuan stood at the door, his arms crossed, and he smiled, “It’s quite uncomfortable to see you like this.”

“If you imagine me as He Lu, you’ll get used to it.”

Lian Jingyuan rubbed his chin, nodding slowly. Indeed, when he imagined He Wei as He Lu, the sense of dissonance disappeared instantly.

With the disguise confirmed to be satisfactory, He Wei took off the suit and hung it properly. Lian Jingyuan, curious, asked, “You’ll be meeting him in a few days. Are you nervous?”

He Wei nodded, perhaps, but it was also himself, the person he knew best and was most familiar with. There was no need to worry.

“I have to go to an out-of-town seminar tomorrow and should be back on Friday evening.” Lian Jingyuan walked closer, placing his hand on He Wei’s shoulder, “I hope everything goes smoothly for you.”

The “He Lu” in the mirror gave a faint smile and gestured back.

“No problem.”

———

Back in the Future Domain, He Wei checked his watch and waited for time to pass, leaning against the wall. Finally, a set of steady footsteps approached. He Wei took a deep breath, raised his head, and made eye contact with the other version of himself. To ease the inner tension, he rubbed his neck and adopted He Lu’s mannerisms.

“Ge, why did you take so long to come back? I’ve been waiting for you for half a day.”

He opened the door to the 404 apartment, and the familiar scene unfolded before him. Every corner held memories of him and Cheng Zesheng, and now that Cheng Zesheng was still alive, even though He Wei couldn’t see him, he could easily sense his presence in this place.

“Have a seat.”

As He Wei went to the kitchen to pour water, he quickly picked up the phone on the coffee table, unlocked it, and edited He Lu’s contact card, adding a new number.

Fortunately, he usually answered calls based on the name and didn’t pay much attention to the numbers below, making it a convenient loophole for him to tamper with.

When He Wei returned with the glass of water, his “younger brother” sat there quietly, completely unaware that the phone on the table had been tampered with.

The following conversation was not much different from his memory. He Wei’s acting skills were far from perfect, but he knew his younger brother too well, imitating He Lu’s tone and demeanor almost perfectly. He knew that Cheng Zesheng had stayed at his place today and wouldn’t return to the apartment, which made him a little regretful. He had thought of Cheng Zesheng as a nuisance when they were living under the same roof, but now he realized that his only luxury was to see an extra note magically appear.

The conversation ended smoothly, and He Wei went to the entrance to change his shoes. Suddenly, he was called back, “A-Lu, do you know Cheng Zesheng?”

He Wei tried to sound casual and nonchalant, “Yeah, I know him. We used to work together.”

“What’s your relationship like?”

“Okay, just ordinary friends,” He Wei raised his head, fearlessly locking eyes with his younger brother, “If you didn’t mention it, I wouldn’t even remember. Wasn’t he murdered a while ago? Have they caught the killer?”

The too-familiar face, the too-familiar gaze, the too-clear expression.

Two individuals who shared the same blood and were completely identical from the inside out stared at each other at this moment. One was calm and composed, while the other was cautious and vigilant, as if engaged in a silent game.

Finally, the other version of himself across from him shook his head slowly and said, “Not yet.”

He Wei knew from the relaxation in his eyes that he had successfully deceived him, just as he had been deceived before, believing that the man in front of him was indeed his own younger brother.

After returning home, as soon as Lian Jingyuan came back, he was busy feeding Stephen. When he saw He Wei come in, he asked, “How did it go?”

He Wei took off his suit jacket, ran his hand through his short hair, and with a relaxed tone, he said, “Do you even need to ask?”

Lian Jingyuan laughed, waved him over, and handed him the cat toy. He Wei half-crouched down to continue feeding Stephen, and Lian Jingyuan, finding it more and more amusing, said, “I really didn’t expect this. Nobody can escape Detective He’s sharp eyes, but you managed to deceive yourself. It seems like everyone’s biggest enemy is themselves.”

“You would’ve been nervous too. When I saw him, my heart was beating much faster than usual.” He Wei raised his head, “Tomorrow, after your class, he’ll come to find you and ask you some questions.”

“What will he ask me?”

“About parallel universes. Just say whatever comes to mind; don’t think too much.”

Lian Jingyuan nodded, understanding. Fortunately, he had experienced He Wei’s time-traveling event beforehand; otherwise, hearing someone talk about “parallel universes” might have been taken as an unattainable joke.

Early on Saturday morning, He Wei dropped off Stephen at the pet store, and Lian Jingyuan would pick him up in the afternoon. He went to Fusheng Jinlong Garden, opened the basement door, and found Cheng Zhenqing inside playing a mobile game, not even bothering to lift his eyelids. “You’re here. You’re crashing at my place today; remember to pay for the meals.”

“… ” He Wei couldn’t be bothered to respond. While he wasn’t a fugitive, his current situation was quite similar; staying out of sight and experiencing a life of constant hiding.

“Are you going to buy food later, or should I?” Cheng Zhenqing asked.

“You.”

“…Big brother, I’m wanted too; can’t you be a bit more considerate to a fugitive like me?”

He Wei sneered, “Since you’ll be photographed anyway, there’s no point in avoiding it.”

Cheng Zhenqing sat up from the lounge chair and looked at him seriously. “This is another black mark I’m taking for you. Let me tell you, the one caught on camera at the intersection was actually you.”

“… Me?” He Wei furrowed his brows, carefully recalling the details of the case. He and Cheng Zhenqing did have similar clothing colors, and their heights and weights were close, so it wasn’t surprising to be misidentified in the surveillance footage. However, when He Wei spotted the black coat hanging nearby, he sneered again and turned away, ignoring Cheng Zhenqing.

In the surveillance footage from the intersection, the shoulder of that trench coat had decorative buttons, while He Wei’s coat did not. Who else could it be but Cheng Zhenqing?

Cheng Zhenqing rubbed his chin and shook his head in disbelief. “You’re no fun. You never fall for it. Why is my little brother so uninteresting, choosing such a boring man.”

“Well, you’re more interesting. Go buy the food.”

Cheng Zhenqing stood up and put on his coat. “Do you want pork liver with onions over rice? I know you’re allergic to mushrooms, eggplants, seafood, lamb, and goose. You’re really unfortunate—rich in body but poor in health. You can’t eat anything; very difficult to serve.”

“I don’t eat onions,” He Wei glanced at him. “Allergic.”

Cheng Zhenqing wanted to facepalm. Why did he even bring up pork liver with onions? He should’ve suggested something like tofu with vegetables instead.

He Wei lounged comfortably in the chair, completely at ease. Cheng Zhenqing stood at the basement door, waving his hand, and earnestly advised, “I have the keys. Don’t answer the door to strangers.”

His tone made it sound like He Wei was not thirty-something years old but thirty months old.

“… Just go.”