Chapter 1 Zhang Chengyuan

  His head was heavy and dizzy, with countless voices echoing in his ears and countless images flashing before his eyes. The memories were hazy and fragmented, making it impossible for Xiao Yuan to clear his mind. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep. He didn't know how long he slept, but when he finally woke up, he suddenly realized that there were many memories in his mind that he had never experienced before. These memories were unfamiliar yet familiar, as if they had been with him since birth. For a moment, he felt at a loss, unable to distinguish who he really was.

  Is it Xiao Youqingxu Tian, the first cave heaven of Zhongzhou, Wangwushan's indoor disciple Xiao Yuan, or a ordinary high school student named Jang Seong-won from Guro-gu, Seoul, South Korea? Wait, what is South Korea? What is a high school student? These titles are both familiar and strange.

  Xiao Yuan Zheng was deep in thought, his brain suddenly feeling like it was about to burst open, as if something had surged out from the depths of his mind, telling him what kind of country Korea was, what high school students were like, and even bringing back many of Zhang Cheng Yuan's past experiences.

  Jang Sung-won, male, was born on February 24, 1983 in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, a small country he remembered as the Republic of Korea. At the age of nine, his mother died of a serious illness, leaving only his father Jang Dong-ho to raise him until now.

  According to the memories in his mind, this year is 1998. Zhang Chengyuan was already in a coma by the end of June, and according to Korean calculations, he was born before March, barely making him 82 years old now, but his virtual age is only 17 years old, and he is still just a first-year student at a higher school (equivalent to China's high school freshman).

  When Zhang Chengyuan was in elementary school, he didn't have his mother's care and his father was often away on business trips. He never even attended a parent-teacher conference, so his classmates thought he was an orphan who relied on government assistance. They bullied him mercilessly, taking advantage of the fact that he was small and weak from irregular meals. Zhang Chengyuan couldn't fight back and would often cry for days on end, with no one to turn to for help. Over time, this led to his introverted and timid personality. Even until he fell into a coma, he was still frequently extorted by students from his own school or neighboring schools for pocket money, but he didn't dare speak out. This miserable situation continued without anyone standing up for him because he didn't have even half of a friend; in everyone's eyes, he was just an insignificant person who could be ignored.

  In the teacher's eyes, he was a quiet, trouble-free and rule-abiding student, with grades that were neither high nor low, not excellent enough to attract attention, nor poor enough to require extra tutoring.

  In the eyes of his male classmates, this guy is so thin and weak that he seems to be blown away by a strong gust of wind. If he were to fight or argue with someone, not only would he not gain an advantage, but it would also boost the morale of his opponent.

  In the eyes of his female classmates, Zhang Chengyuan is a country bumpkin who is even more rustic than the children in the mountains of Jiangyuan. Only the poor devils in North Korea featured in recent KBS documentaries can compare to him. He's so rustic that it's laughable - how could he possibly get them to take a second look at him, when they're all about handsome guys and are crazy about chasing stars?

  In Zhang Chengyuan's own eyes, he was a complete waste of space. When faced with bullying, he didn't have the courage to fight back and could only lament his fate alone, nursing his wounds in silence. No one would come to sympathize with him, not even his father bothered to pay attention to him. To everyone else, except when they were bullying him, he was an invisible existence.

  It's better to leave this painful and oppressive world early, rather than living a muddled and aimless life. Learn from those who collapsed under the pressure of the college entrance exam and took their own lives. It would be better to end one's life early and save father the tuition fees for the future. Perhaps without me as a burden, father can remarry and form a happy family, and he can reunite with mother in another world and gain a new life.

  A moment's difference led Zhang Chengyuan to have suicidal thoughts.

  On June 29, 1998, the last day of this year's first semester, on his way home from school, Zhang Chengyuan was dragged to a remote place by several delinquents and beaten again. Even the old automatic watch left by his mother, which he treasured most, had its strap torn off and fell to the ground, breaking it. This watch was the most precious memento left by his mother, every time he saw it, he remembered his mother's kind and regretful face before her death, as well as her words "Chengyuan, you must live a good life!", which were the support of his soul, his only solace in life.

  Zhang Chengyuan, who was furious and humiliated to the extreme, burst out for the first time in seven years. Unexpectedly, he pounced on one of the perpetrators and bit his face fiercely, as if he were going to swallow him alive. Unfortunately, before he could bite off a piece of flesh, he was beaten by the angry youths until he was covered in bruises and almost fainted.

  When Zhang Chengyuan was able to crawl up, the bad boys had already gone away with a loud noise. Only Zhang Chengyuan stood alone, holding the watch his mother left him, wailing loudly because he could no longer hear the ticking of the seconds, which sounded like his mother's gentle whispers in his ear when he was a child.

  I'm exhausted from crying, my heart is shattered. I feel like there's no point in living anymore. Zhang Chengyuan carefully put his watch into the pocket of his inner garment and slowly got up. He could no longer feel any physical pain, only a sharp ache in his heart. At this moment, he kept repeating one sentence to himself: "Mom, I'll be with you soon! Wait for me!"

  Zhang Chengyuan walked unsteadily and didn't go home, but instead headed in the direction of the Han River.

  The Han River is a famous river in Korea, considered the mother river that has nurtured the people of Hancheng since ancient times. Perhaps it was named after passing through Hancheng (renamed Seoul in January 2005), or perhaps Hancheng was named after the Han River? On this, Zhang Chengyuan, a high school student who rarely reads extracurricular books, cannot be sure. He only knows that the Han River is the most popular and spectacular suicide spot chosen by Korean people who commit suicide.

  Imitating the blind is almost everyone's common problem. At this time, Zhang Chengyuan had no mind to think of a strange way to die. Jumping into the Han River and drowning was the fastest and most romantic method he could think of at that time. Dying in the rolling waters of the mother river that gave birth to the people of Hancheng, it's like throwing oneself into the mother's arms, how warm and comfortable.

  From the southwesternmost Jiyang District of Hanzhong to Yeuido Island on the Han River, Zhang Chengyuan didn't know how long he had walked. Anyway, it was already dark, and the lights along the Han River were shining brightly, with a modern urban atmosphere spreading across the entire river surface. The silver waves glistened under the light, telling the story of the ingenuity of the people who created the miracle of the Han River industry, and witnessing the final moments of many people seeking death.

  Inside Seoul, on the Han River, there are more than 20 modernized large bridges. Almost every bridge has had people who have bravely jumped off to commit suicide and plunged into the vast river below. Among them, Mapo Bridge on Yeouido Island is particularly popular with those who want to jump to their deaths. Perhaps it's because after the Asian financial crisis in '97, South Korea's economy was severely impacted, and some failed financiers on Yeouido couldn't take the blow of bankruptcy and thought jumping from a high-rise building would be too destructive to their bodies, so they simply jumped off Mapo Bridge, which is closest to Yeouido. This way, their bodies could remain intact because the government would rush to salvage them, but by the time they were pulled out, most had already died.

  Today, Mapo Bridge might also be the last stop of Zhang Chengyuan's life. He stumbled onto the bridge, preparing for the bravest act of his lifetime.

  However, Heaven seemed to be really displeased with him and didn't even want to fulfill his last wish. As he walked onto the big bridge preparing to gaze out at the Han River, it's unclear whether he was dazed or if the blood flowing from the corner of his eye blurred his vision, but Zhang Chengyuan unfortunately stepped into the motor vehicle lane and was hit by a speeding artist's nanny car. In that instant, he seemed to see his mother smiling warmly at him with her bright eyes in the sky, so loving, so warm; and also saw the hidden reluctance in his father's stern gaze. He flashed through the last thought of his life: "Father, please don't be sad for me, live a happy life!"