Who's Real, Who's Fake?

Before going home, Shen Xing bought two bowls of wontons from a street-side shop to go. Firstly, he was hungry, and secondly, Hong Bin's mental state was very poor. He might be hungry, but he didn't realize it himself.

Carrying two bowls of packed wontons in his right hand and holding the silent Hong Bin with his left, they entered the residential complex.

The old-fashioned complex where Shen Xing lived was rented a long time ago and was called Ivy Apartments. It had a seventy-year history in Yungu City.

In this world after his transmigration, there was no concept of countries, only "provinces." For example, the current location of Yungu City was called Kua Province, which governed twenty large cities and over a hundred medium and small cities. Yungu City could be considered a medium-sized city.

The old residential building looked dilapidated everywhere, but the quality of the construction was very good. It had only been renovated a few times and was not yet uninhabitable.

This place was located in the old district of Yungu City, which used to be the most prosperous area of the city. Even though the urban area had been redeveloped and it was no longer the city center, the atmosphere of urban life was still very strong, and the population density was high.

Unless the houses were demolished, many of the elderly residents who had lived there for a long time were reluctant to move.

There was no elevator in the building, and it was only five stories high at most. Shen Xing's rented apartment was on the fourth floor.

Holding Hong Bin's hand, they slowly climbed the stairs. Fearing that Hong Bin's body couldn't handle it, Shen Xing deliberately slowed down his pace.

When they reached the third floor, they happened to meet their neighbor, a mother and daughter, who were about to go downstairs after dinner.

This was a mother and daughter. The mother was a single mother named Lin Wanru, who raised her seven-year-old daughter alone.

Lin Wanru had long wavy curly hair, was about 1.7 meters tall, and had a voluptuous figure. Shen Xing was very familiar with this mother and daughter from seeing them often in the building.

Lin Wanru was often not at home, and sometimes Shen Xing would help her daughter buy some snacks.

"Haven't eaten yet?" Lin Wanru asked with a smile, glancing at the wontons in Shen Xing's hand.

Her familiarity with Shen Xing was not as great as her daughter's. She glanced at Hong Bin, who was walking behind, and mistook him for one of Shen Xing's relatives.

"Yes, you're already getting ready for a walk," Shen Xing replied with a smile.

"Feifei, say hello to uncle," Lin Wanru reminded her daughter, who was holding her hand.

Feifei had fair skin, a small braid tied at the back of her head, a cartoon character hairpin, and wore a red and white dress. She looked very well-behaved.

"Hello, Uncle Shen! Hello, Grandpa!"

Before her mother could remind her, she greeted Hong Bin as well.

"Good girl, Feifei."

Shen Xing said with a smile, then glanced at Hong Bin and gave Lin Wanru an apologetic look.

Lin Wanru seemed to understand. She glanced at the somewhat dull Hong Bin, feeling that he might not be mentally well. She then stood aside, holding Feifei's hand, and waited until Shen Xing and Hong Bin went upstairs before the mother and daughter went downstairs.

Shen Xing's rented apartment was not large, with one bedroom, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom, totaling just over fifty square meters. Except for the bedroom, which was slightly larger, the other rooms were pitifully small.

The living room had a fabric sofa, a small coffee table, and a water dispenser. There was basically no extra space. He rarely watched TV, so he didn't bother buying one; as long as there was internet at home, it was fine.

He asked Hong Bin to sit on the sofa, then turned to close the living room door, habitually checking it. He then went to the kitchen to get spoons for the wontons, opened the bowls of wontons for Hong Bin, placed a spoon inside, and gently pushed them towards him.

"Uncle Hong, please eat. Hong Anjie might arrive after you finish your wontons."

When he had held Hong Bin's hand earlier, he had specifically felt his body temperature, which was normal, like that of an ordinary person. Coupled with his previous deductions, the possibility of him being a ghost was now greatly reduced.

Besides, whether ghosts existed in this world was still unknown. Shen Xing had a sudden idea and was considering if this was a situation similar to overlapping parallel universes, where perhaps both Uncle Hongs were real!

If there was no strangeness, then it should be explained from a scientific perspective. This was his current thought.

As he ate his wontons, Hong Bin, sitting beside him, also started using his spoon, slowly putting wontons into his mouth and chewing silently.

As the sun set, it began to get dark inside the house. Shen Xing got up, turned on the living room light, returned to the sofa, and continued eating.

A moment later, his phone on the coffee table suddenly rang. He picked it up and answered. It was Hong Anjie calling.

"I'm almost there. Which floor are you on?" Hong Anjie asked.

"Fourth floor. Come up from the first unit's stairwell. Don't go to the wrong one," Shen Xing said. "Uncle Hong and I are eating."

After hanging up, the phone screen displayed the photo Shen Xing had opened earlier, showing another Hong Bin sitting at home.

Shen Xing didn't notice that the Hong Bin eating wontons had stopped and was now staring at the photo.

"Uncle Hong, please eat slowly."

Shen Xing picked up his phone, got up, packed his own bowl and spoon, threw them into the trash can, and then took a tissue to wipe his mouth before walking into his bedroom.

The bedroom was also simply furnished, with a large bed, a carving workbench, and a wardrobe. A wooden chair could fit in front of the workbench, making full use of the space in the room.

On the front of the workbench were the wooden carvings Shen Xing was currently working on, which was a bust of Hong Bin.

This bust was not made to a one-to-one scale but was reduced by one-third, making it look very exquisite.

This bust was nearing completion, and after the final fine carving was done, it could be waxed.

Glancing at the bust, the face of the wooden carving was at least ninety percent similar to the Hong Bin sitting outside. If it were refined further, the similarity would increase.

As his phone was running out of battery, Shen Xing went to the workbench, took the charging cable placed beside it, plugged it into his phone, and turned back to go out when his body suddenly jolted, startling him.

In his line of sight, Hong Bin had appeared behind him at some point.

The old man's expression was still dull, his gaze fixed on the bust of himself on the workbench, without saying a word.

Shen Xing patted his chest, still feeling a bit shaken, and pointed at the wooden carving. "Uncle Hong, this is a bust I made for you. I'll give it to you in a few days when it's finished."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hong Bin expressionlessly reached out his hand. However, instead of touching his statue, he grabbed Shen Xing's shoulder with great force, forcing Shen Xing to face him.

Shen Xing was startled and quickly grabbed Hong Bin's arm, exclaiming, "Uncle Hong, what are you doing!"

Hong Bin's face was now less than two fists away from his own, his eyes wide and bulging as if they might pop out. His mouth hung open, yet he remained silent, emitting only a gurgling sound from his throat like rushing water—the exact sound of someone drowning and choking on liquid.

Seeing this, Shen Xing was stunned for a moment, but he quickly recalled Hong Anjie mentioning this very scenario, claiming that his father would make these strange noises whenever he was alone.

An ominous thought immediately rose in his mind: perhaps this Hong Bin before him was also a fake!

Could it be that he had guessed wrong? Was the Hong Bin at Hong Anjie's house the real one after all!?

There was no time to overthink; the man's strength was rapidly increasing. His lips curled back to reveal a row of neat teeth, his expression turning savage like a wild beast as he lunged fiercely toward Shen Xing's neck.

Shen Xing immediately drove his knee into Hong Bin's abdomen to keep him at a distance, then pushed forward with all his might.

Crash!

Hong Bin lost his footing and tumbled backward, his body colliding with the workbench. A bust sitting on the table wobbled, and the heavy Wooden Carving plummeted straight down, striking Hong Bin square on the forehead.

After the dull thud of the impact, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Just then, a knock sounded at the living room door, followed by Hong Anjie's voice: "Shen Xing? Shen Xing? Open the door..."

Shen Xing's heart hammered like a drum, and he was drenched in cold sweat. He looked down at Hong Bin lying on the floor; his skull was split open, yet no blood seemed to be flowing out yet, and the vacant look in his dull eyes had returned to a state of listlessness.

Shen Xing slowly straightened up, answering Hong Anjie while rushing toward the living room.

He reached the door and twisted the handle. Hong Anjie, who had been standing outside looking puzzled, was shocked to see Shen Xing's disheveled state. "What happened?"

Shen Xing pointed toward the bedroom. "That... that person... he doesn't seem to be Uncle Hong."

Hong Anjie, confused by his words, hurried inside, only for his voice to drift back from the room: "Who are you talking about? There's... no one in here?"

"What?" Shen Xing was stunned. He rushed into the bedroom and looked down at the spot where Hong Bin had been lying.

The floor was empty, save for the toppled bust lying to the side.