Chapter 1

"Big brother has fainted again, Mama, why does big brother always faint after a headache? I really want big brother to tell me stories!"

"Little girl, let big brother rest. Remember what Mama said, don't tell the villagers about big brother's condition, do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand. Mama, don't worry, I'm a good girl, I won't tell anyone."

As the sun set in the west and the moon rose in the east, the heavy night enveloped this unnamed small fishing village. Wang Zichuan was lying in a stone house, with no extra furniture. A wooden bed was covered with some straw, and a thin cotton quilt provided little warmth. Wang Zichuan moved the quilt aside, feeling more comfortable. He tightly closed his eyes and couldn't help but massage his temples. The events of the past few days were too bizarre, making him feel both fresh and scared.

In the early morning, a woman in her thirties, dressed in rough linen, with her hair simply tied back, looked at the young man on the bed with concern. This young man was someone she had taken in, weak and often ill, but the village conditions were harsh, and the nearest town was about eighty to ninety miles away.

An eight or nine-year-old little girl removed the towel from Wang Zichuan's forehead, washed it in a basin of hot water, wrung it out, and placed it back on his forehead, muttering, "Big brother, get better soon, I want to play with you..."

Wang Zichuan felt the warmth on his forehead and opened his eyes slightly. Seeing the woman's worried look, he comforted her, "Aunt Li, I feel much better. This... this illness is really strange. I get a fever every few days, and my body alternates between feeling cold, like I'm in an ice cave, and hot, like I'm in a fire pit."

The little girl, seeing Wang Zichuan awake, clapped her hands happily, "Big brother is awake, I'm so happy! Do you feel better? I'm a good girl, I even changed the towel on your head!"

Wang Zichuan sighed with relief, feeling his strength gradually returning. He praised the little girl, "You're such a good girl, big brother will tell you a story later, okay?"

"Be a good girl, big brother needs to rest. Let's play somewhere else, okay?"

"Okay! Mama, I won't disturb big brother's rest."

Wang Zichuan smiled at Aunt Li and gently closed his eyes. He couldn't believe he had traveled through time. The worst part was that he didn't know what year it was, but it was definitely in the new China, as there was a portrait of Chairman Mao on the wall.

This place was in southern GD. Aunt Li said the village was by a large river, which stretched as far as the eye could see, indicating it was near the coast.

As the saying goes, "rely on the mountains to eat from the mountains, rely on the water to eat from the water." Although Aunt Li repeatedly told him not to go out, as a man, Wang Zichuan couldn't let a woman support him.

"Big brother, come over, I'll show you how to catch fish."

Seeing the lively little girl, Wang Zichuan felt even more relaxed and quickly caught up with the little girl running by the river.

"Little girl, you've gotten heavier, big brother can hardly carry you anymore."

"Big brother is lying, I just saw you helping Mama carry water."

"Honk..."

Hearing the sound, Wang Zichuan put down the little girl and looked toward the center of the river. He saw a large ship sailing on the river, its luxurious decorations making him lose focus.

"Big brother, that's a big ship from Hong Kong. Don't be afraid, they won't come ashore and won't catch us."

In the little girl's mind, these big ships were just passersby, with no connection to their lives.

"Hong Kong!" Wang Zichuan muttered to himself.

For several days, Wang Zichuan remained silent, watching Aunt Li work hard. His resolve became clearer.

"What? You want to swim to Hong Kong? No way!"

Wang Zichuan said seriously, "Aunt Li! I have no identity here, don't try to persuade me. I feel much better these days. Don't worry, once I settle down there, I'll come back to take you all."

Aunt Li cried, "Seven years ago, the little girl's father swam this river and never came back."

Wang Zichuan flexed his arm muscles and comforted her, "Aunt Li, don't worry. There are ships in the middle of the river, I'll sneak onto one, it will be fine."

For the past few days, Wang Zichuan had been practicing swimming in the river, able to stay in the water for an hour.

"Honk..."

It seemed like a signal, and Wang Zichuan, Aunt Li, and the little girl all tensed up.

"Here are some clothes, put them on when you get there."

"Big brother, these are the socks I prepared for you."

"Here is some food, be careful!"

Wang Zichuan secretly slipped into the water, aimed at the direction of the ship, and closed his eyes, focusing on swimming forward.

"Huh! Where's the ship? Damn! It's going back!"

Wang Zichuan cursed and tried to catch up, but human strength couldn't match a mechanical ship.

He was in the middle of the river, trying to stay afloat, unsure whether to continue forward or swim back.

Moving forward meant death, and going back also meant death!

Wang Zichuan continued forward, his strength gradually fading. Seeing the distant beach, he closed his eyes in despair and soon lost consciousness.

"Little girl! Big brother can't tell you stories anymore!"

...

Wang Zichuan felt his eyelids heavy and took a long time to open them slightly. He slowly got out of bed, held his head, and thought for a while.

"I really have a strong fate, I didn't die even in this situation!"

Wang Zichuan patted his buttocks and got up, checking his body three times to ensure he wasn't injured and felt no discomfort, feeling relieved.

Looking around, he muttered, "This is a hospital. Huh? Why are the posters on the wall in traditional Chinese? This is Hong Kong! Did I drift here?"

"You're awake!"

Wang Zichuan turned his head and saw a beautiful woman in her twenties at the door, looking at him with surprise.

"Wait! Beautiful lady, speak slowly. My Cantonese isn't very good, I only learned it for a while at work."

The woman wasn't surprised and replied in Mandarin, "You're from Taiwan! I learned Mandarin in the UK. This is Hong Kong. If you don't speak Cantonese, it will be hard to live here."

"Right! I'm from Nanyang! Nanyang is so big, who knows where I'm from. Besides, I'm most familiar with Nanyang, having been to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand three times."

Wang Zichuan found the woman increasingly familiar. She was about 1.6 meters tall, 10 centimeters shorter than him, with a head of black, shiny hair. She seemed to take good care of her hair. The most striking feature was her two small tiger teeth, which gave her a playful look when she smiled.

"Beautiful lady, where have I seen you before? I'm Wang Zichuan. Do I know you, or do you know me?"

Weng Meiling frowned and pouted, "What are you pretending? Of course you find me familiar. I'm Weng Meiling. Do you remember?"

"Weng Meiling?"

Wang Zichuan finally understood why she seemed familiar. She looked a lot like the 1983 version of Guo Rong.

Wang Zichuan, having narrowly escaped death, joked, "Are you a fake? Why don't you look as good as TV's Guo Rong?"

"You! You bastard!" Weng Meiling immediately stood up, pointed at Wang Zichuan, stomped her foot in anger, and left.

Wang Zichuan didn't understand why Weng Meiling was angry. Did she get mad because he said she wasn't as pretty as Guo Rong? Women are hard to please. He was clearly complimenting her, but she didn't get it. She must be a bimbo, but her chest isn't even that big.

Weng Meiling left the ward, getting angrier the more she thought about it. Wang Zichuan clearly knew who she was but pretended not to. Her lead role in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was a hit, and who in Hong Kong didn't know her?

"Doctor, the man in room 206 is awake. Please check him again."

A middle-aged man in a white coat immediately replied, "Sure, Miss Weng, please follow me."

Wang Zichuan saw Weng Meiling leave and then return with a doctor, apologizing to her, "I was wrong just now, but you really look like Weng Meiling. Your name must be a nickname!"

Weng Meiling gave Wang Zichuan a dirty look and pouted, saying nothing.

The doctor placed the stethoscope on Wang Zichuan's chest, listened for a moment, and said to the nurse standing by, "This man is fine and can be discharged anytime."

"Understood, Dr. Huang," the nurse replied while taking notes.

After Dr. Huang left, the nurse immediately took a pen and paper and said to Weng Meiling, "Miss Weng, I really like your portrayal of Guo Rong. Can you sign for me?"

Weng Meiling glanced at Wang Zichuan triumphantly, took the paper and pen, signed her name, and handed it to the nurse.

"Thank you, Miss Weng!"

Wang Zichuan smiled and nodded, feeling embarrassed to ask, "Can you lend me some Hong Kong dollars?"

Weng Meiling laughed, her lips curling up, "I knew you didn't have Hong Kong dollars. But since I saved you, I'll help you once. Wait, I'll handle your discharge."

The nurse, after Weng Meiling left, looked at Wang Zichuan disdainfully. He couldn't even pay for his hospital stay, what a loser.

"Mr. Wang, please sign here."

Wang Zichuan smiled at the nurse, took the medical record and pen, and saw it was all in traditional Chinese. He hesitated for a moment, then remembered his name was the same in both simplified and traditional Chinese, and signed it.

The date on the medical record was May 13, 1983.

Returning the medical record to the nurse, Wang Zichuan asked, "Is the date on this wrong? This year is ridiculous."

The nurse, with a stern face, said, "You're the one being ridiculous... You scoundrel! I won't talk to you."

Weng Meiling came in and saw the nurse leave angrily, pouting at Wang Zichuan, "Did you tease the nurse? Why did she call you a scoundrel?"

Wang Zichuan cried out in injustice, quickly explaining the situation.

Weng Meiling looked at Wang Zichuan suspiciously, picked up a newspaper from the table, and said softly, "Check the date. Don't doubt it, this is today's newspaper. I read it when you fainted."

Wang Zichuan took the newspaper and immediately replied, "It's the Civil News. I know, it's a newspaper by Jin Daxia. It has a strong ink smell."

Weng Meiling stomped her foot, angry, "I didn't ask you to read the title!"

Wang Zichuan found the date at the top and read it softly, "May 13, 1983. I finally give up!"

Seeing Wang Zichuan's incredulous look, Weng Meiling comforted him, "Maybe you were in the water too long. It's really May 13 today." She then teased, "I didn't expect you to be so lucky, not even eaten by sharks."

Wang Zichuan closed his eyes, realizing he had traveled through time. The fishing village could be fake, the Civil News could be fake, but Weng Meiling couldn't be fake. She was indeed the actress who played Guo Rong in the 1983 version.

Seeing Wang Zichuan's painful expression, Weng Meiling patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, you're not dead. At worst, I'll pay for your return to Taiwan."

Wang Zichuan suddenly opened his eyes and asked, "Aren't you afraid I won't pay you back?"

Weng Meiling laughed, "Do you think I'm a rich woman? It's just a few thousand dollars. If it can save a life, it's worth it."

Wang Zichuan found her small tiger teeth particularly cute and kind.

Wang Zichuan suddenly smiled, looking at Weng Meiling, and said seriously, "A drop of water's kindness should be repaid with a spring of water."

Weng Meiling didn't take it seriously, secretly laughing at Wang Zichuan for exaggerating, but didn't mock him, replying, "Then I'll thank you for saving my life."

Wang Zichuan, having just made a grand statement, then said with a pained face, "Beautiful lady, can you help me with something?"

Weng Meiling pretended to be angry, "You just made a wish and now you want my help? Wait, what kind of help?"

Seeing her playful and mischievous look, Wang Zichuan was speechless. She really did look like Guo Rong. Right, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was being filmed, and she was deeply into her role.

"You know, I'm new to Hong Kong and don't know anyone. Can you introduce me to a job to solve my basic needs?"

Weng Meiling asked playfully, "You're not going back to Taiwan? That saves me a plane ticket. I've only been in Hong Kong for a short time, but if you don't mind, you can be an extra in the production. I'll talk to Uncle Tian, it will be fine."

Wang Zichuan just wanted to settle down, whether as an extra or a tiger, and immediately agreed.

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