Two Identical People

Chapter 2 Two Identical People

"What? You... look carefully, don't... don't scare... me!" Hong Anjie on the other end of the phone clearly started to tremble.

From the very beginning, he had suspected that his father at home seemed to have been replaced by someone else. At this moment, after Shen Xing said these words, the suspicion he had just dismissed instantly reached its peak. He didn't even have time to question the truthfulness of Shen Xing's words.

"I see very clearly," Shen Xing said. "I just had a long chat with Uncle Hong up close at your house, I wouldn't mistake him."

As he spoke, he followed the receding, thin figure and continued to ask, "Does Uncle Hong have any brothers, or is he a twin?"

"No," Hong Anjie replied. "My dad only has one younger sister, and she's not in this city."

"What's Uncle Hong's name?" Shen Xing asked.

"Hong Bin, Bin as in 'wen wu bin'," Hong Anjie said.

"Be careful, keep an eye on Uncle Hong at home, don't let him out of your sight. I'll follow him for now," Shen Xing nodded and temporarily hung up the phone.

At this moment, the street was bustling with pedestrians. The setting sun behind them cast a faint golden afterglow, stretching the pedestrians' shadows long.

Shen Xing looked and found that Hong Bin, walking ahead, had a shadow just like the other pedestrians. He looked like an ordinary person, with no apparent peculiarities.

However, Hong Bin's arm swing was minimal as he walked. He appeared very wooden, his head slightly bowed, lost in thought.

Shen Xing quickened his pace, approaching him from behind, and called out, "Hong Bin?"

The other person continued walking without any reaction. Other pedestrians, however, glanced back at Shen Xing.

Shen Xing ignored them, sped up to overtake the thin figure still walking, and reached out to grab his shoulder.

"Uncle Hong?"

The thin figure stopped. His body was stiff. He slowly raised his head, his eyes unfocused, as if his consciousness was in a daze.

At this moment, Shen Xing was even more certain that this person, in both appearance and build, was identical to Hong Anjie's father.

This thought inexplicably filled him with a sense of dread. If this person was Hong Anjie's father, then who was the person at Hong Anjie's home?

Or, if the person at home was the real one, was the person he was seeing now... a ghost?

He looked down again at the shadow cast by the setting sun, which was stretching long. According to the older generation's sayings in this world, if it were truly a ghost, it wouldn't have a shadow, nor would it appear in a crowded place with strong yang energy!

At this moment, Shen Xing had a feeling that if he had to say one of these two Hong Bins was real, the one he encountered was more likely to be the original. After all, the Hong Bin at home had always behaved strangely.

If that were the case, it would have been necessary to warn Hong Anjie to guard against the guy at home, who was neither human nor ghost.

"Uncle Hong, I'm Hong Anjie's university classmate. Where are you going?" Shen Xing asked the dull-faced, dark, and thin man.

Hong Bin's gaze gradually focused, but his consciousness still seemed hazy. It was unclear if he had heard him.

His mouth parted slightly, but no sound came out.

Shen Xing pondered for a moment, took two steps back, and took a full-body photo of Hong Bin with his phone. He immediately sent the photo to Hong Anjie with a message.

"Anjie, carefully identify his clothes. See if they are what your dad usually wears, then check his closet to confirm if these clothes are still there."

The reply was "Okay," with no other words, indicating his anxiety.

"Uncle Hong, are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?" Shen Xing turned off his phone screen and looked at Hong Bin.

Hong Bin shook his head silently, not speaking. However, he could still hear Shen Xing's question, indicating his consciousness wasn't completely muddled.

"How about this, I'll buy you some water first."

To prevent Hong Bin from wandering off alone, Shen Xing took his hand and led him to a small shop. He bought a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed it, and handed it to him.

Although Hong Bin didn't speak, he took the water and gulped it down, finishing almost half the bottle in one go.

After putting down the water bottle, with some water droplets on his chin, Shen Xing took out a tissue and wiped it clean for him.

Just then, Hong Anjie's call came through.

Upon answering, Hong Anjie's voice was urgent, and he deliberately lowered his tone. "In the photo you sent, the gray shirt and black casual pants my dad is wearing are what he was wearing. I remember them. And I just checked his closet, and they weren't there. I remember he wore this outfit about two weeks ago."

He paused and added, "He said he was going out for a walk then. It was late when he came back, and I didn't notice if his clothes had been changed."

Shen Xing said, "Uncle Hong here is a bit confused and hasn't spoken. What's the situation on your end?"

"He's been sitting in the living room watching TV," Hong Anjie replied. "I suspect the one you met is my real dad. The one in the house is too weird in his behavior, something's not right!"

His thoughts at this moment coincided with Shen Xing's.

The two fell into a brief silence. After a moment, Hong Anjie asked again, "Then what should we do?"

"There must be a reason. Your dad might have encountered something after going out two weeks ago. The most important thing now is to ensure your real dad is safe," Shen Xing analyzed.

As he spoke, he glanced at Hong Bin, who was sitting by the entrance of the small shop, head bowed, silent.

He had a hunch that the real Hong Bin's consciousness was unclear, which might be the reason he hadn't returned home. He hadn't expected that the house would already be occupied by another identical person.

"How about this, you bring my dad to your place and wait for me. I'll be right there!" Hong Anjie said on the phone.

It was clear his guess coincided with Shen Xing's, otherwise, he couldn't explain why the other person watching TV was behaving so strangely.

After hanging up, a message notification soon sounded. Shen Xing took out his phone and saw a photo sent by Hong Anjie.

The photo seemed to have been taken secretly from his bedroom, pointing towards the living room. In the photo, another Hong Bin, identical to the one Shen Xing was with, was sitting on the sofa in the living room.

The Hong Bin watching TV looked exactly the same as the person beside Shen Xing now, just wearing different clothes. He was wearing a dark blue shirt, and because he was sitting, the color of his pants couldn't be seen.

This was the proof Hong Anjie had specially filmed and sent over to verify that his words were not empty.

Shen Xing tucked the phone into his pocket. Afraid that Hong Bin might wander off, he took his hand and said softly, "Uncle Hong, I live nearby. Let's head back first; your son, Hong Anjie, will be here in a little while."

Hong Bin made no indication, but he allowed Shen Xing to lead him by the hand, following him toward an old residential complex less than five hundred meters away.

The current situation was truly bizarre. Based on the memories of the original owner of this body since Shen Xing's rebirth, the current world was perfectly normal, with no major differences from his previous life other than the political system.

This meant that all the talk of ghosts, demons, spirits, and supernatural entities existed only in legends. While these stories were widespread, there was simply no concrete evidence to prove their existence.

Yet, what Shen Xing had encountered today seemed to be shattering his own inherent understanding, as well as the memories held by the original owner of this body.

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