The Lost Corpse

Chapter 11: Best Friend's Advice

My back was against the alley wall, and flashes of scenes flicker in my mind like a movie: "Wu Mo, you haven't eaten for days and now you're trying to steal my sticky rice chicken!" Haha, "Wu Mo, I have a girlfriend now.", "Wu Mo, If they dare to hit you again, I'll take care of them," and "Wu Mo, I'm going abroad for studies. Don't forget me, okay?"

I remember now.

"You... you're not Wu Mo? Did I mistook you for someone else?," Lin Cheng withdraws his hand, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"No, Lin Cheng, I'm sorry. I don't know how to tell you, but I've lost my memory," I explain hastily. Along with the memories come emotions, and I almost wanted to tell him everything immediately. I stopped him from speaking, "I just want to ask one thing. If I were a ghost, would you still consider me a buddy? Seriously."

"Did something happen to you? Why would you say that? Of course, you're my brother," he asks with a furrowed brow.

I remain silent, slowly walking out of the alley, exposed to the sunlight. He follows, not noticing anything wrong, still concerned about my mental well-being...

I point to the ground, and then I see his face filled with astonishment as he looks down.

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The coffee slid down my throat after years of abstinence, and for someone who had been away from eating for so long, it felt extremely uncomfortable. Amid the bitterness, I carefully recounted the memories to Lin Cheng from the beginning.

Lin Cheng rested his face on his hands, frowning as he looked at me. "Why do I feel something is off?"

"Of course, it's weird for a dead person to come back to life. What do you mean by something is off..." I put down the bitter-to-death coffee and said to him.

"No," he interrupted me and continued, "I mean Lu Nan seems off. Let's not mention that I've never heard his name in our previous messages; let's just say you have a secret. However, how did he know you lost your memory? As soon as he found you, he took you to your mom's grave and asked if you remembered. Also, you said he was surprised when he found your soul hidden in the bones, but his brother directly said those bones belonged to a woman. Why does he still insist it's you? Has he never asked how you died?..."

I sat stunned at the table, letting Lin Cheng continue talking in front of me. I watched his lips moving without hearing any sound. I remembered the sudden appearance of words on the tombstone, and many details of life. Did he shave his beard or trim his fingernails? Why, apart from losing weight, his body not change at all? Why could I recall some things from before when triggered by an event, but when I'm with him, I didn't restore a single memory associated with him?

Lin Cheng waved his hand in front of me. "So, did you hear what I said? Don't you think that Lu Nan seems to be in control of everything?"

"Not... maybe there's an explanation for all this. Perhaps he's hiding something from me, causing things to be a bit unclear." Why was I still trying to argue...

"I'm not at ease." Lin Cheng shook his head. "Let me go back with you. I won't confront him directly; trust me."

I hesitated and replied, "No need. I'll handle it myself. For now, I can invite you to my place..." Anyway, he still has a long time before coming home