The next morning.
The living room in Zhou Mingrui's home.
"You're saying you suddenly felt that staying home all day and never going out was a waste of your precious life and youth, so you resolutely decided to tour our country's magnificent landscapes on a spur-of-the-moment trip?"
Zhou Mingrui stared at Lin Chuan, dumbfounded, trying to find some hint that he was joking. He even began to wonder whether some wandering ghost had possessed his best friend.
That's it! That would explain why he's been spacing out lately like he's lost his soul. Is this possession, or a monster wearing his skin? What should I do? Could a direct physical attack snap Lin Chuan out of it?
Lin Chuan gave Zhou Mingrui a puzzled look. Although he seemed to be thinking about something strange, Lin Chuan answered him first:
"Not entirely. Just think of it as me wanting to go home for a look. Anyway, I'm planning to leave today. Don't worry, I'm only going to look around and confirm a few things. I should be back in about a month."
Zhou Mingrui hesitated, but finally asked with concern, "But aren't your parents divorced? And didn't you say you were taking the postgraduate entrance exam? Will you have enough time?"
Lin Chuan froze at those words and unconsciously frowned. After a moment, he said:
"Oh, not there. Let me think... just assume I mean another hometown. A familiar hometown I've never seen."
"As for the entrance exam, of course I wouldn't go traveling unless I was ready."
Zhou Mingrui waved a hand in farewell. "All right, then. Have a safe trip. Remember to bring something to keep yourself awake. Don't miss your stop on the high-speed train and get shipped all the way to Siberia to dig potatoes."
Naturally, he hadn't understood Lin Chuan's artsy, stream-of-consciousness speech. What was this "hometown I've never seen" business? It sounded like a bout of adolescent delusions. For Lin Chuan, who ordinarily would never sit if he could lie down, saying something like that was downright unbelievable.
But they were both adults in their twenties, and friendships needed boundaries. Lin Chuan clearly didn't intend to elaborate, so Zhou Mingrui wouldn't pry. Even if Lin Chuan wouldn't mind telling him, he still wouldn't ask.
Zhou Mingrui trusted that his best friend wasn't the sort to make decisions on a reckless impulse. That meant this really mattered to Lin Chuan-even more than sleeping at home.
Surely there weren't actually mystical arts or supernatural powers in this world that could control people's minds? Zhou Mingrui nearly laughed at his own thought. Anyone who believed that had to be either a lunatic or an idiot.
Lin Chuan nodded and was about to leave, but stopped as though he had remembered something.
He took a blue notebook out of his backpack and handed it to Zhou Mingrui.
"Here. I was so busy shooting the breeze with you last night, and then I drank too much. I almost forgot to give you your birthday present. These are some handwritten setting notes for that new book. Probably the only copy in the world, so don't show anyone else."
Zhou Mingrui took it without opening it and gave Lin Chuan a firm pat on the shoulder instead.
"Be careful out there. Don't get blackout drunk and let someone haul you off."
"Oh, screw you," Lin Chuan said with a laugh. "I'm off, then? Bye."
"Bye."
Zhou Mingrui wasn't going to work that day. A while back, a mistake with the documents submitted by his bureau had forced everyone to work overtime for several days straight. He had finally gotten his compensatory leave approved for today.
That was the only upside of working in a backwater government office: the pay was low and there was little room for promotion, but as long as there wasn't a campaign for civilized-city or sanitary-city status, they could at least claim their time off after working overtime.
First, he quietly made breakfast for his parents, who weren't up yet. Then he sank onto the sofa, intending to get a good look at the new book Lin Chuan had prepared for him and see whether it really had "a cool aesthetic and sky-high power levels," as the guy had bragged.
As he opened the notebook, a small note stuck to the flyleaf caught his eye.
The note was densely covered in writing in black ink:
"Go to my place. The key's under the mat. Once you're inside, look in the second cabinet from the left on your right. There's a lottery ticket in there, worth about three or four million, I think? A little less after tax, though. I didn't pay attention. Anyway, take it and say you won it."
"Don't come looking for me. I'll definitely be gone by now, and my phone's switched off, so you won't get through. I've scheduled all my updates on the platforms too, so don't bother trying to contact me. And don't get all reluctant about accepting it."
"This money isn't for you. It's for your mom. You mentioned before that she had some chronic illness. It's best not to put off treating that kind of thing. Once she's old, it'll be sheer misery, and it'll shorten her life!"
"You know what my family situation's like. Those two cut off all contact with me years ago. Honestly, there isn't much affection there to speak of."
"Don't even think about making excuses or saying you can't accept it. Don't make me look down on you. Just take the money and find a hospital in a big city to treat your mom. If that doesn't work, go abroad. Got it?"
"I believe someone with your ability will make something of himself someday, but that's all in the future. Right now, you're just an employee in a backwater government office. How long will it take you to save enough? I looked into this kind of illness. Domestic health insurance doesn't cover it yet."
"That's probably enough writing. No time to waste-go get it now. Don't forget that lottery tickets have a redemption deadline. If I remember right... today might be the last day? If you leave now, you might still make it."
"Holy shit?!"
Zhou Mingrui forced the scream rising in his throat back down and sprang off the sofa as though he were fitted with a spring. Clamping a hand over his mouth, he glanced at his parents' tightly shut bedroom door, his heart pounding.
Meanwhile, aboard a speeding high-speed train.
Lin Chuan leaned back in his seat, his lips curling into a smile of pure delight.
"I hope Comrade Zhou has seen the birthday present I left him. I'd love to see his expression."
"Too bad. If I'd stayed, he probably would've accepted it eventually, but he'd have tried to save face in front of me. Leaving him to agonize over it himself is much more fun."
He sat upright, unfolded the little tray table on the seat in front, and pulled a thick hardcover notebook from his backpack. It had originally been his predecessor's diary. Later, he had used it to jot down assorted notes over the years since his transmigration, with the occasional diary entry as well.
For his own twisted amusement, he had even inscribed a line on the cover to imitate the notebook from Your Name.
My predecessor's barren family relationships, severed long ago... not this page.
Embarrassing history from when I first transmigrated... not this either. Oh well, at least these are
precious memories.
The day I finally changed my name back to my original one in the household registration system...
The survival plans I made when my paranoia flared up and I mistakenly thought this was the world of Lord of the Mysteries... damn, why haven't I torn out something this ominous yet?
Chuckling, Lin Chuan flipped past those old stories and absurd contingency plans, finally resting his pen over a blank page.
He uncapped his fountain pen and, with the smug satisfaction of a successful prank, wrote with a soft scratching sound:
"Of course, the part in the note about the ticket expiring today was just to mess with Zhou Mingrui. I bought it three weeks ago. It won't expire even if he waits until I get back."
"But Zhou Mingrui doesn't buy lottery tickets, so he'll definitely believe it. Or rather, given his personality, even if he knows I like teasing people, how could our little Zhou, who comes from a working-class family, gamble on Lin Chuan lying about the 'expiration date' when there's so much money at stake? He's definitely cursing his head off while running to my place right now."
"Installing cameras in someone else's home is rude, but installing them in your own home is perfectly reasonable. The security camera will undoubtedly capture every detail of little Zhou's shock, frustration, and inner turmoil shortly, and that is entirely reasonable."
"Ah, poor Zhou Mingrui, dancing in the palm of Lin Chuan's hand."
After finishing the last line, Lin Chuan contentedly capped his pen, then added the day's date in the bottom-right corner.
"-March 5, 2018"
After carefully putting the notebook back into his backpack, Lin Chuan turned his gaze to the window again.
The train was about to pass through a dark tunnel, and the window reflected his still-youthful face.
The joy of his prank gradually faded, replaced by the wistful apprehension of someone nearing home.
"Heaven and earth are but an inn, and I too am a traveler..."
He murmured the words softly and closed his eyes, letting the train carry him swiftly toward that unknown "hometown."
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