Chapter One: The Return of the King

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November 23rd, 1963.

In the courtyard house at the entrance of Wenhe Alley in old Beijing’s eastern city, Chen Liang felt the “whoosh” of the northwestern wind blowing outside his window, and his whole being was unsettled!

He stared at the roof’s beam for a while, sighing inwardly.

It was all over—he truly couldn’t go back!

This Chen Liang was not the original Chen Liang; his body had been taken over by the soul of a foreigner from the future, who had returned to life by borrowing the corpse.

As for the original Chen Liang? No one really knew his fate. All that was certain was that after a drunken sleep, Chen Liang opened his eyes and became someone else.

Alas! There went the police uniform I never wore in my entire life, hanging with its one-star-three-stripes rank. Who knows which bastard would end up with it!

Damn, I knew that bald Liu Changqing was toxic. Otherwise, how would I have ended up in 1963, transported from the scene of the celebratory banquet?

Whenever Chen Liang thought about his grudges with his superior, he was filled with rage.

From the first year at the police academy, when he met Liu Changqing, the bald man, his life had been shrouded in darkness.

He was too young and foolish then, actually believing Liu’s nonsense and being coaxed into undercover work.

After ten years undercover, when Chen Liang returned triumphant and Liu Changqing threw him a celebration, the bald man had the audacity to ply him with drink. Now look—everything’s ruined. One drunken sleep, and he woke up as this Chen Liang, the village idiot!

But this fellow wasn’t exactly honest either. Relying on his strong physique, he swaggered around the streets, mixing with the crowd, a minor neighborhood troublemaker.

After sifting through all his memories, Chen Liang realized this guy was a fool—rarely gaining any advantage, constantly used as a pawn. Not long ago, after getting drunk, he was ambushed, knocked out, and met his end, only for Chen Liang to inhabit his body.

“Little brother, get up! I bought mung bean soup, fried rings, and fritters!” While Chen Liang lay on the bed lost in thought, the curtain was lifted by a burly man with an honest face, who called out to wake him.

The man was Chen Jian, Chen Liang’s elder brother—a good-hearted, straightforward fellow.

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“Big brother, you’re so biased! You only called second brother, not me!” The little sister, sleeping at the other end of the room, grumbled unhappily.

“Huh? Then little sister, get up too! I bought your favorite mung bean soup and fried rings!” Honest people have this flaw—they can’t tell when someone’s teasing them. Big brother scratched his head, then called out again to his little sister.

“Alright, big brother, you head out first. Little sister and I will get dressed and come out soon!” Chen Liang quickly ushered his brother out. The little sister was still under the covers; with him at the door, how could she dress?

“Okay, then I’ll head out first. Hurry up, or it won’t taste good once it’s cold!” With that, big brother dropped the curtain and left.

Once his brother was gone, Chen Liang flipped upright from the bed, dressed in a flash, and hurried outside to take care of his personal hygiene.

With a newspaper tucked under his arm and pulling a nine-cent pack of Da Shengchan cigarettes from his pocket, he lit one and jogged to the public toilet at the end of the alley.

There was a queue at the toilet, everyone shivering in the northwestern wind. Chen Liang, however, ignored the line and went straight in. Seeing Shazhu squatting inside, his eyes lit up.

“Hey! Shazhu, are you done? If so, hurry up and give up the spot. Don’t just sit there doing nothing—what are you thinking?”

Shazhu was so riled he burst out laughing, “You rascal, what are you saying? Who’s hogging the toilet and not doing his business?”

All of this was Chen Liang deliberately mimicking the original’s behavior.

With Chen Er Leng’s memories, it was easy for the undercover-born Chen Liang to imitate him.

“Hey! Shazhu, you’re not happy, are you? Planning to train solo?”

As an old Beijing troublemaker, Chen Er Leng valued face above all. Bullying ordinary folk was beneath him. Besides, Shazhu, being older, had bullied him plenty as a child.

Once Er Leng grew tall and strong, and mastered wrestling, he loved provoking Shazhu—the “war god” of the neighboring courtyard.

If Chen Liang ever stopped teasing Shazhu, that would be a real anomaly.

“Hey! I’m not going to stoop to your level!” Ever since Shazhu was slammed down hard by Er Leng years ago, he never fought him again, only gaining the upper hand verbally.

Squatting was nearly done, and Shazhu hurried to tidy up. If Er Leng really got angry, things would get awkward!

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Snatching a toilet spot wasn’t really Chen Liang’s intention. Truthfully, he was quite distressed inside—what a ridiculous situation.

Sometimes, habits aren’t easily changed, and if Chen Liang didn’t want his mother dragging him off to see a fortune teller and drink talisman water, he could only slowly reshape his image.

After stealing Shazhu’s spot, Chen Liang finally walked out of the public toilet, deeply satisfied—the relief was immense!

The only flaw was the northwestern wind chilling his backside, but it wasn’t a big problem.

Rubbing his hands as he returned home, he saw his sister-in-law arranging bowls and chopsticks, preparing breakfast.

After greeting her, Chen Liang took his washbasin to the public water sink in the courtyard to wash up.

Once he was clean and refreshed, Chen Liang sat down to wait for breakfast. Suddenly, a tiny figure darted into his arms.

“Second uncle, second uncle, can you marry me right now? I don’t want to live with Dad and Mom anymore!”

While inwardly muttering “children say the darndest things,” he picked up the little one and set her on a chair. “Little Honghong, what’s wrong? Why don’t you want to live with your parents?”

Before he finished speaking, his sister-in-law chimed in, “Chen Hong, even if you marry today, you still have to go to kindergarten! Or your little bottom will blossom!”

Pfft! Hearing this, Chen Liang nearly choked on his own saliva!

Coughing violently, he was thunderstruck inside and out.

Upon hearing her mother, the mischievous Chen Hong wiped her tears and looked at her mom pitifully, “Mom, mom, does marrying and having a wedding mean I can have my own baby?”

Her mother, unsure what she was thinking, nodded. Instantly, Chen Hong was overjoyed, “Second uncle, second uncle, let’s get married quickly! Then mom can take care of my baby and won’t bother me anymore!”

Pfft! Chen Hong’s innocent words succeeded in making Chen Liang choke once more!

The end.