Chapter 1

"Who is it, tapping at my window..."

"Who is it, plucking the strings of the lute..."

The melodious song played softly in the car's radio as the ride-hailing car drove towards the university town of Shanggang City.

The driver was in a good mood at the moment because the young customer in the back seat had been generous, paying three times the market price to secure the car from another customer and even giving that customer 100 yuan to prevent any complaints.

After this trip, he could go home early to be with his wife and children.

Thinking of his family, the driver's heart warmed. He slowed down, turned his head, and glanced at the passenger slumped in the back seat, who was wearing headphones and playing with his phone. The passenger was wearing a white T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and had short hair, looking clean and neat.

The driver offered a cigarette, "Are you a college student? Where are you studying? Do you smoke?"

"I don't smoke, but you go ahead, brother."

Lin Xu adjusted his headphones and added, "I'm a freshman at Shanggang University."

The driver skillfully lit his cigarette with a lighter, rolled down the window, and exhaled a puff of smoke, sighing, "Ten years ago, when I was your age, I just played around and hung out in society. I didn't study hard, and now, even a decent job requires a degree."

"At least I can still drive for Didi. I don't earn much, but it's enough for the baby's milk."

Seeing the driver was talkative, Lin Xu took off his headphones and smiled, "Making money is tough, right?"

"It is tough, but that's what it takes to support a family! Now I drive for thirteen hours a day, and when the kids are older and in school, it will be even harder."

"When I was hanging out in society, my relatives all looked down on me. Only my wife didn't despise me. She's my neighbor, and we grew up together. She even borrowed money to buy me a car to drive for Didi, or we wouldn't even be able to support our child..."

The driver chattered on, mostly about family matters, showing that his wife and children were his greatest pride.

Lin Xu suddenly interjected, "Is your wife's child a boy or a girl?"

"Boy!"

The driver couldn't help but light another cigarette, clearly in a good mood, "Unfortunately, both my wife and I have low education levels, so we haven't come up with a good name yet."

"Really? I happen to know how to name people. Do you remember your child's birth date, brother?"

"Wow, you can even name people! My child was born on the 25th of last month at 2 PM. My surname is Wang."

"Alright!"

Lin Xu immediately started counting on his fingers, muttering, "Year of the Rooster, Month of the Goat, Day of the Dog, Hour of the Goat, lacking fire, weak wood, dominant earth and metal."

"How about naming him Wang Yang Liu? The character for 'Yang' has a fire radical, replacing the three dots of water in 'Tang,' and 'Liu' means willow tree. Water and wood complement each other, and this name will bring good luck and protection for the child's safety and success."

The driver excitedly said, "You really know this? Great, great! I'll talk to my wife about it, and we'll use this name!"

As they chatted, the car entered Xuecheng Avenue, which was empty at the moment.

The driver was surprised, "Hey, that's strange. I remember this place is usually jam-packed. Why is it so empty today? No cars, no people... I remember the last time..."

As he spoke, the driver's frown deepened. He couldn't remember when he had last driven through this area.

Lin Xu sighed and finally turned up the volume on his phone, playing a news broadcast he had heard earlier:

"Latest news: This evening, a traffic accident occurred on Xuecheng Avenue near the university town of Shanggang City. The victim was a Didi driver named Wang * Bing, with the license plate number Gang MW1V48. According to surveillance footage, the Didi car swerved to avoid a pedestrian who suddenly crossed the road and unfortunately hit a utility pole..."

The driver's eyes grew vacant, "Gang MW1V48? Wang * Bing... Isn't that me and my car?"

Lin Xu looked at the driver with pity, then turned off the broadcast and snapped his fingers.

With that crisp sound, the car instantly disappeared, and Driver Wang Zhebing found himself surrounded by thick white fog. He looked around in terror, but could see nothing but the fog. Lin Xu stood silently behind him.

"Little... little brother, what's going on?!"

"Brother Wang, you're actually already dead," Lin Xu sighed.

"How... how can that be?" Wang Zhebing took a step back in fear, then ran to the side, trying to escape the fog.

But in this small world of dense fog, Wang Zhebing found himself like a rat in a maze, always ending up back by Lin Xu, as if the young, neat-looking passenger were a ghost.

Finally, Wang Zhebing remembered. He shakily pulled out the 300 yuan the young passenger had given him, and sure enough, it was just three pieces of冥币 (funeral money).

"So I'm already dead..."

Wang Zhebing sat down on the ground, his eyes vacant, clearly struggling to accept this reality. He muttered, "Wife, wife, I'm sorry to you..."

Three years ago, his wife had married him despite everyone's objections and had pooled her resources to buy him a car, calling it her dowry. Since then, he had driven for thirteen hours a day, working hard to earn money and pay off her debts.

After their child was born, he worked even harder, never stopping.

Life was finally on track, and their small family was gradually improving, but why was he dead?

At that moment, Wang Zhebing sobbed, his body trembling with a mix of regret, fear, and longing.

Lin Xu didn't rush him, patiently standing by and waiting.

After a long time, Wang Zhebing finally stopped crying and sighed, "Little brother, are you a ghost leading me to the underworld?"

"No, I'm just a freshman at Shanggang University who happened to be passing by tonight."

"Then, can I come back to life?"

"No, Brother Wang, the dead cannot come back to life... You swerved to avoid an elderly pedestrian and hit a utility pole. Many netizens sympathized with you, and most comments praised you for your self-sacrifice. Didi also announced on their social media that, in addition to the regular insurance, they would give your family an additional 200,000 yuan. This money will be enough to support your wife and child for a long time."

"200,000 yuan, that's... that's not bad... Little brother, you're not an ordinary person. Can you help me tell my wife, Liu Guifang, my child's name? And tell her that if it doesn't work out, she should find someone else to marry. I've held her back in the first half of her life, and I can't hold her back in the second half..."

"Sure, I promise you."

Then Lin Xu reminded him, "Brother Wang, it's time for you to be reborn."

Wang Zhebing looked around longingly, but saw nothing in the thick fog.

With no choice, Wang Zhebing wiped his tears and stood up, "Thank you, little brother!"

Lin Xu nodded slightly, took out a piece of white paper, and skillfully folded a palm-sized paper boat. He solemnly recited:

"Throughout the ten directions, always with divine power, saving all beings, guiding them out of confusion.

Beings are unaware, like the blind seeing the sun and moon. I, from the great void, lead the boundless..."

As he chanted, a white light emerged from the paper boat, enveloping Wang Zhebing and drawing him into the boat.

The paper boat was then lifted by the fog, swaying gently as it rose into the night sky...

Until it disappeared.