Chapter 6

Update Time: 2012-06-30

Shen Huai parked his car under the shade of a tree on Taowu Road.

He knew that as a completely uninvolved "stranger," showing too much concern and affection towards Xiao Li and Chen Dan would only backfire, causing unnecessary resentment and rejection.

However, at this moment, he could not put aside his concern for his sister. It was hard to imagine how Xiao Li could endure the shock of his "accidental death."

The bus returning to Meixi Town would pass through Taowu Road. In the past, he would always take this route to the city steel plant, so he was very familiar with it. At this moment, even a glimpse of Xiao Li would give him some peace of mind.

He didn't know if Ge Yongqiu had reported this matter to Chen Mingde.

Shen Huai knew that if this matter reached Chen Mingde, even if Chen Mingde still protected him, he would at least scold him in public to show that he would not tolerate such behavior. He might even face a disciplinary action and have to apologize to Zhou Dazui at the city steel plant to mitigate the impact.

Shen Huai thought to himself that instead of rushing to the city and passively waiting for a scolding, it would be better to wait for Chen Mingde to call and scold him...

In the end, Shen Huai was not yet mentally prepared to enter someone else's life and world.

The consciousness of the previous Shen Huai disappeared at the moment of the fall, but most of his memory fragments remained.

These memory fragments, like stored video footage, could be recalled and presented in his mind at any time, but they were ultimately the memories of the previous Shen Huai.

Shen Huai felt as if he were watching a movie. Even if the images were clear, he knew deep down that they recorded someone else's life and world.

Although he could use a new identity to enter someone else's life and world, the sense of unfamiliarity and estrangement could not be eliminated in just three or four days.

Since coming to Donghua for half a year, Shen Huai had not had much contact with Ge Yongqiu, so his performance in front of Ge Yongqiu would not be too awkward.

Even so, his behavior today still surprised and puzzled Ge Yongqiu, leading him to misinterpret it. But how could he face Chen Mingde, who knew him better and more intimately?

Others only knew that before coming to Donghua, Shen Huai had worked at the provincial economic college for more than a year, and his reputation there was not good. Later, he followed Chen Mingde to Donghua to work as an administrative secretary in the municipal government.

However, after taking over this body, the complex background and past experiences of the previous Shen Huai shocked him.

It was almost impossible for others to associate Shen Huai with the Song family, one of the few top political families in the country.

Although the old man of the Song family, Song Hua, no longer held a position as a national leader, he was still alive and had significant influence. He had two wives who bore him seven children—four sons and three daughters—all of whom held important positions in central ministries or state-owned mega-corporations.

The Song family's disciples and former officials were widely distributed in both the central and local governments.

There were fewer than twenty such political families in the country.

Shen Huai was the only son of Song Bing, the third son of the old man of the Song family, and took his mother's surname, Shen.

His parents separated due to emotional issues when he was young, and he lived with his mother, so his records had little connection to the Song family.

Although most of the second generation of the Song family were relatively well-behaved, by the third generation, influenced by the reform and opening-up, some could not resist the temptation and fell into corruption and degeneration, becoming a mixed bag. Among them, Shen Huai stood out the most.

In Shen Huai's view, the previous Shen Huai was a parasite living off the political family, with a level of indulgence and depravity that he, who had been raised strictly, could not imagine.

Although the previous Shen Huai's behavior at the provincial economic college, where he toyed with female students, was despised by others, compared to what he did in Beijing and abroad, his behavior at the provincial economic college was relatively mild...

During his time abroad, Shen Huai, after drinking, even attempted to assault his stepmother's daughter.

This incident made his father, Song Bing, extremely angry and lose all hope in him. After recalling him to China, he exiled him to Huaihai Province to let him fend for himself.

It was his own aunt who, fearing he would cause more trouble, secretly entrusted her old classmate Chen Mingde, who worked in Huaihai Province, to take care of him...

Chen Mingde was the secretary of the old man of the Song family when he was in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission. Although the old man retired early, he always took good care of Chen Mingde, ensuring his smooth political career.

Chen Mingde rose from an ordinary official in the National Development and Reform Commission to the deputy director of the Huaihai Provincial Development and Reform Commission, and then to the vice mayor of Donghua City, step by step, thanks to the influence of the Song family.

Shen Huai was called a discarded son of the Song family, but no matter how discarded, he was still a member of the Song family.

Although Shen Huai's behavior was a headache, Chen Mingde still took good care of him. Even when he came to Donghua City, he brought Shen Huai, who was like a rat in the provincial economic college, to prevent him from causing major trouble.

Speaking of which, Shen Huai did have some connection to Donghua City.

His mother, Shen Gui, who died when he was twelve, was the granddaughter of Shen Yaoting, a local capitalist in Donghua City before the liberation.

On the eve of the liberation, Sun Yaoting fled abroad with his family, but his second daughter and son-in-law stayed behind with their daughter, Shen Gui.

Shen Gui and her parents inevitably faced persecution in the 1960s and 1970s. She met and married Song Bing, who was also persecuted and sent down, and they had Shen Huai.

However, this marriage without a formal name did not last long. In the mid-1970s, the old man of the Song family was rehabilitated and returned to work in the central government. To secure his future, Song Bing left Shen Huai and his mother and returned to Beijing.

Shen Huai lived with his mother in the farm where they were sent down. When he was twelve, his mother fell ill and died.

Shen Huai believed his mother's early death was related to his father's abandonment. Although he was taken back to the Song family after his mother's death, he became rebellious and refused to use the Song family name in his records...

Perhaps there was a self-destructive factor in Shen Huai's character from a young age—since the age of twelve, it seemed his only goal in life was to make his father and stepmother, who later married into the Song family, unhappy.

Of course, Shen Huai was also very unpopular in the entire Song family. No family likes an uneducated, immoral, and rebellious descendant.

His father, Song Bing, was relatively mediocre in ability and had such a useless, rebellious son who could cause trouble for the Song family at any time, which marginalized his position in the Song family.

Song Bing, in his middle age, only managed to become the deputy director of the personnel department of the Ministry of Agricultural Machinery, far from a successful career, and even lagged behind Shen Huai's three aunts.

Shen Huai's experience of losing his mother at a young age made his grandparents, who had moved abroad after losing their daughter, particularly heartbroken. Even though they knew their grandson was unruly, they took him abroad when the policy allowed.

After going abroad, Shen Huai's rebellious nature became even more pronounced. He engaged in all sorts of vices, from gambling to fighting, almost nothing was left untried.

Although the Shen family had a deep background abroad and did not leave him with any criminal record, his bad behavior deeply hurt his elderly grandparents.

After the incident of attempted assault while drunk, Shen Huai's grandparents finally gave up on him, sent him back to China, and even rewrote their will to deprive him of his inheritance rights...

Shen Huai's forehead rested weakly on the steering wheel, and he cursed inwardly: Damn, this kid from a wealthy family, but to destroy himself so thoroughly at such a young age and alienate everyone, is truly impressive!

This accident left Shen Huai struggling to adapt at first, and he secretly rejoiced at the prospect of becoming a wealthy family's son.

But after sorting through the memories of the original owner of this body, he regretted it deeply. It was truly a cruel joke of fate to be stuck with such an alienated person.

The key was that he could not separate himself from the previous Shen Huai's life:

Since he had become Shen Huai at that moment, and the secrets could not be shared with others, the rotten life of the previous Shen Huai was a mess he had to bear...

"Go to hell, go to hell, damn it...!"

Shen Huai angrily hit the steering wheel a few times to vent his frustration:

Well, since the previous Shen Huai's life was so rotten and left behind a mess, but he could still survive in this body, there was no reason to complain...

Even if he took a step back, which ordinary young man could become a formal section-level official by just loafing around for three years?

Even as a discarded son of the Song family, he was still much better off than ordinary people.

At that moment, Shen Huai realized: no matter what, from now on, he had to live as Shen Huai, as a member of the Song family, and as Chen Mingde's secretary.

Even if his past life was rotten and degenerate, there was still a chance to get back on track: at least Chen Mingde, remembering the Song family's cultivation, had not given up on him...

Realizing all this, Shen Huai regained his spirit and silently warned himself: it's time to say goodbye to the past life. From this moment on, be a good Shen Huai!

*************

As Shen Huai was sorting through the memories of the previous owner, a bus turned onto Taowu Road.

"Hey, Sister Chen Dan, look over there!"

Chen Dan was still lost in thought about what happened at the steel plant earlier. Hearing Xiao Li's reminder, she looked up.

It was noon, and there were not many people on the bus back to Meixi Town. Chen Dan and Xiao Li sat in the rear seats, with Xiao Li leaning her forehead against the window, looking outside.

Chen Dan followed her gaze and suddenly saw the car that Shen Huai had driven them to the station, parked by the side of the road. Through the car window, she saw Shen Huai resting his forehead on the steering wheel, not knowing what he was looking at or waiting for.

As the bus passed by, Shen Huai turned his head, and their eyes met.

Caught off guard, Chen Dan felt an indescribable panic. She wanted to smile, but the sudden nervousness made her instinctively avoid Shen Huai's gaze. However, as she turned her head, she saw a beauty salon by the side of the road where Shen Huai had parked.

Through the transparent glass door, she saw a few women in revealing clothing flirting with the passersby.

Chen Dan instantly understood why Shen Huai had parked there, her face turned slightly red, and she muttered, "Men are all the same, not a single good one!"

Chen Dan brushed her wind-tousled hair and refused to look back at Shen Huai.

"Huh?" Xiao Li, with her simple mind, did not know what those beauty salons were for. Hearing Chen Dan's sudden remark, she turned back to look at her in surprise...