"Big brother, big brother..."
Shen Heng struggled to open his eyes.
What greeted him was a little girl with chubby cheeks.
"Big brother, how are you? Are you okay?" The little girl looked at Shen Heng with some concern.
Shen Heng tugged at the corners of his mouth. Just as he was about to speak, scene after scene flashed before his eyes.
A rainy night, a little girl on a crosswalk, a shrill horn, headlights right before his eyes, a spinning world, raindrops landing on his retinas...
Shen Heng's eyes lost focus slightly.
Had he...
Gotten himself killed saving someone?
Then was this...
Transmigration??
"How are you feeling? Do you need me to call 120 for you?" asked the woman standing beside the little girl.
"No, no need..." Shen Heng declined. "I'll be fine after a little rest!"
"Are you really okay?" The woman looked at Shen Heng worriedly.
"I really am!"
Shen Heng nodded with difficulty. Aside from being exhausted in body and mind, he really could not feel anything wrong with his current body.
The woman gave Shen Heng a long look. After a moment's hesitation, she took the little girl's hand and headed home.
Shen Heng let out a long, soft breath. Just as he was about to close his eyes for a short nap, a patter of footsteps rapidly approached from the distance.
The little girl hurried over to Shen Heng on her short little legs, holding out both hands.
"Big brother, this is my favorite grilled sausage. Here!"
The corners of Shen Heng's mouth lifted gently. "It's okay. I'm not hungry. You eat it!"
"People feel happy when their tummies are full!" The little girl stubbornly kept her hands raised, though a barely perceptible trace of reluctance flashed in her eyes.
Shen Heng's smile deepened. Just as he was about to refuse again, the woman, who had returned to their side, spoke.
"Go on, take it. It's Nannan's little gift to you!"
Shen Heng glanced at the woman. After hesitating briefly, he accepted the grilled sausage.
"Thank you, then, little girl!"
"You're welcome!"
Seeing Shen Heng accept the grilled sausage, the little girl's eyes lit up, and her reluctance to part with it instantly turned to happiness.
"Mommy and I will get going, then! Bye, big brother!" The little girl waved her little hand vigorously at Shen Heng.
"Bye!"
Shen Heng smiled as he said goodbye to them, his gaze following the pair until they disappeared. Only then did he look down at the blue-and-white school uniform he was wearing.
"So, where exactly have I transmigrated to?"
"The past? The present? The future?"
"My original world? Another world?"
Shen Heng closed his eyes, trying to search his mind for useful memories.
Great Xia, Lingnan Province, Linhai City.
In elementary school, he had excelled in both conduct and studies, and his family had been harmonious;
in middle school, his father had died of illness, and the family had fallen on hard times;
in high school, he had gone astray and started gambling, racking up debts.
Then, recently, he had stayed up all night for several days running, finally scoring himself a sudden death!
"Looks like I've transmigrated to another world!"
With something of a headache, Shen Heng raised his hands and gently rubbed his temples.
Although he had also been all alone in his original world, with nothing much to miss, who would want to transmigrate to an unfamiliar world for no reason?
Perhaps the only thing to be thankful for was that he had not been dumped in a foreign country!
Shen Heng let out a long breath. Just as he was about to check how much debt the original owner had left him as a welcoming gift, stabs of pain shot through his mind, and the exhaustion of days without sleep swept over him.
For the moment, Shen Heng set aside the thought of checking his debts. He closed his eyes, leaned back against the bench, and took a nap.
He had no idea how much time passed.
A breeze swept over him, its faint chill waking him.
After his short nap, he had recovered a little of his energy. He was still far from fully recovered, but a roadside bench really was not a good place to rest.
He stood and headed toward the home in his memories, his steps somewhat unsteady.
He also brought the grilled sausage the little girl had given him to his mouth.
With who knew how much time having passed, the grilled sausage in his hand had long since gone cold, but Shen Heng paid that no mind and continued eating it bite by bite.
Soon, he finished the grilled sausage and regained a little strength.
As he passed a trash can, he casually tossed the bamboo skewer inside.
He walked for another ten minutes or so.
Suddenly, broken sobs came from up ahead, and the little girl who had just given him the grilled sausage ran toward him, crying.
Her eyes lit up when she saw Shen Heng, as though she had found her savior.
"Waaah... Big brother, hurry, please hurry and help Mommy!" the little girl pleaded.
Was this domestic violence? A flicker of confusion crossed Shen Heng's mind, and he asked, "Don't panic. What happened to your mom?"
"Just... just..." The little girl was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath.
Shen Heng crouched down and raised a hand to wipe the tears from her face.
"Don't rush. Take your time, take your time!"
"Just... just now, when we were going home, a big dog suddenly ran out and bit Mommy! Big brother, please hurry and help Mommy!" the little girl said through her tears.
Bitten by a dog? Who was so inconsiderate as to keep a dog without a leash?
Shen Heng frowned and hurried after the little girl.
Before long, the two reached the entrance of an alley.
"In there!" The little girl raised her hand and pointed inside.
The alley was unlit, making it hard to see clearly.
He could only vaguely make out a large black dog with its head lowered. Beneath it, a figure lay silently, not moving at all...
Was he too late? Shen Heng's heart sank.
The little girl also grew uneasy. Grabbing Shen Heng's sleeve with both hands, she shook it over and over. "Big brother, please go chase the bad dog away! Please!"
Shen Heng said nothing. He simply stared fixedly at the large black dog in the alley.
It was some distance away and difficult to see clearly, but that dog was definitely almost a meter tall!
What did almost a meter tall mean?
Simply put, it was not much smaller than a tiger!
If an ordinary person could beat something that size, the tale of Wu Song slaying a tiger would never have been passed down through the ages.
"Big brother, please hurry over there! Please hurry!" the little girl begged desperately.
Shen Heng's brow was tightly furrowed, and he did not answer. It was not that he did not want to save her, but in his current state, never mind winning a fight-he might not even be able to chase it away.
Besides, the little girl's mother was lying there motionless. She might very well already be...
Suddenly, Shen Heng's gaze paused. The person lying on the ground struggled to raise a hand and struck the large black dog on the head, then slumped back down weakly.
Was she... still alive?
Then now...
To save or not to save?
The thought circled in Shen Heng's mind.
Suddenly, Shen Heng's body stiffened slightly, and he looked down at his exposed hand.
His well-proportioned hand, with its long fingers, was trembling faintly...
Shen Heng could not help but laugh.
He suddenly realized that only a small part of him had actually been agonizing over whether to save her. Far more of it had been the fear of death hidden deep in his heart...
The human fear of death kept telling him, Don't go, don't go!
Just then, he felt something warm and wet on the back of his hand.
"Big brother, can you please help Mommy? Please! Please!" the little girl pleaded, her tiny figure like a desperate little animal.
Shen Heng looked at the little girl. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
The two silently looked at each other like that.
A moment later, Shen Heng took out his phone and made a call, then slowly crouched down.
"I'll go chase it away. Be good and run over there first. Find three to five people, then come back together, okay?" Shen Heng looked at the little girl with a smile.
"Then you have to bring Mommy back, okay?" the little girl said between sobs.
"Yes, I'll definitely bring your mom back. Hurry along!"
That same smile remained on Shen Heng's face. He did not know whether he could bring the little girl's mother back either, but...
Now, it was no longer a question of whether to save her, but...
He had to save her!
He absolutely had to!!
After all...
Some things always needed someone to do them!!!