Chapter 1
"Boss, a pack of Hardman," Tan Yue uttered, extracting five yuan from his pocket, promptly handing it to the supermarket owner with an air of casual transaction.
Procuring the Hardmen, Tan Yue strolled towards a weathered rest chair stationed beneath the sheltering boughs of a roadside tree. There, he indulged in the ritual of igniting a cigarette, the tendrils of smoke weaving around him like spectral wisps as he inhaled deeply. Within this misty shroud, Tan Yue's eyes bore the weight of an increasingly pervasive melancholy.
Three days had elapsed since he found himself transported to this alien realm. In his previous existence, he served as a run-of-the-mill publicist in the labyrinthine corridors of the entertainment industry. A fortuitous yet calamitous encounter with a thundering truck altered the course of his existence.
Tan Yue's head shook gently, a wry smile playing on his lips, tasting the bitterness that lingered in his mouth. Earth and the embrace of a seven-year relationship were now distant memories, vanishing like mist in the light of this new reality.
The three-day span had ushered in a gradual adjustment, a reconciliation with a fate initially deemed insurmountable. After all, life insisted on moving forward, even if the past lingered as a phantom shadow.
Amid the recesses of his mind, the recollections of the present body's erstwhile occupant began to coalesce. Tan Yue, a native of Jishui City in Hedong Province, concurrently served as a program planner at the Life Channel of Jishui City TV Station. The memories unveiled the original owner's protracted struggle with work-related despondency.
Tan Yue's conjured images were not confined to professional tribulations; they extended to the complexities of personal life. A wife, a celebrity in her own right, had become an unwelcome specter, urging the shackles of matrimony to be shattered through divorce.
The cadence of daily life was disrupted by a ringing phone—Qi Xue, the estranged wife, reaching out across the digital ether. "Tan Yue, I must get a divorce! We have no good results together," she proclaimed, her voice firm and resolute.
A nod and a calm response followed: "Well, I'll wait for you at home." The simplicity of Tan Yue's acquiescence seemed to catch Qi Xue off guard, a momentary lapse in her expected narrative.
Embarking on the journey home, thoughts of Qi Xue, a second-tier actress with her own share of fame, dominated Tan Yue's mental landscape. Raindrops, heralding a change in weather despite the calendar indicating September, prompted him to seek refuge beneath a roadside pavilion.
The rain, both a natural cleanse and an interlude, served as a backdrop for contemplation. Tan Yue, amidst the rhythmic pattering of raindrops, flicked away the cigarette butt, a symbolic act of shedding past burdens under the inclement sky.
Post-rain, Tan Yue retraced his steps back home—an abode secured at considerable expense by his aging parents in Jishui City. Despite the day's tribulations, the weariness did not yield to sleep when he settled on the sofa. Nightfall descended unnoticed, its arrival betrayed only by the inky darkness beyond the window.
The midnight kitchen found Tan Yue preparing a modest repast—porridge, a tomato sliced with practiced precision, and an egg deftly scrambled with a flick of the wrist. The solitary meal consumed, he turned his attention to the television, tuning into the broadcasts of Jishui TV station's Life Channel, the realm he now navigated as a program planner.
The evening unfolded with the customary news segment, segueing into a talk show that failed to capture Tan Yue's interest. The television, a solitary witness to his presence, was powered down, and the pilgrimage back to the bedroom ensued.
The contours of the bedroom, and indeed the entire house, were pervaded by a conspicuous absence—the lingering scent and aura of Qi Xue, seldom present. A resigned shake of the head followed, dispelling the thoughts as Tan Yue reminded himself of the second chance granted by this mysterious traverse through time.
Monday loomed on the horizon—a day synonymous with new beginnings. Lying in bed, Tan Yue found sleep elusive, the weight of the original owner's unresolved affairs pressing on him. Yet, amidst the turmoil, there resonated a quiet determination—a resolve to craft a life worth living in this unexpected second act.