I had an accident while traveling alone in Sichuan. The person responsible was named Yang Lin.
I was sitting on the ground in terrible pain, but when I looked up and saw his face, I immediately wanted to laugh.
From the day I was born, I already possessed seventy years’ worth of memories.
And so I grew up in post-Reform and Opening Up China, carrying these memories from a feudal dynasty.
Six hundred years ago, Yang Wan once told me that “transmigration” isn’t fortunate at all – you end up cursed by your “perspectives.”
During the process of reconciling memory with reality, I gradually came to understand the pain she had once endured.
That pain wasn’t physical – it was having to accept the marks of my past self while also hiding them, having to reaccept the interpersonal relationships around me, and living actively like everyone else.
This year I’m thirty, still unmarried, and haven’t even dated. My parents keep pushing me about it.
Before this Spring Festival, I finished my work in Chengdu. To avoid being nagged by my family, instead of going home immediately, I combined all my annual leave to travel around Sichuan with my backpack.
On the twenty-eighth day of the last lunar month, I visited the temples on Front Mountain at Qingcheng. Around noon, having just come down from Mount Qingcheng, I rented a bicycle, planning to ride to a fish restaurant two kilometers away. Who would have thought that after riding just a few meters, I would collide with Yang Lin? Yang Lin landed first on his hands, then his face, before finally sprawling completely on the ground.
I was in worse shape – when I fell, Yang Lin’s bicycle landed on my leg, but that wasn’t even the worst part. The crucial thing was his entire body weight also pressed down on my lower leg…
His appearance hadn’t changed – I could recognize my old acquaintance at a glance.
But he had gained some weight, and his hair had thinned.
Looking at his forehead, I finally understood why Yang Wan had been so afraid of me losing hair back then.
Passersby helped call the police, and the hospital ambulance arrived shortly after.
As I was being lifted into the ambulance, I kept staring at Yang Lin, until he couldn’t help saying to me: “Stop staring, I’m not going to run away. I’ll compensate you for everything I should.”
After saying this, he started making phone calls.
However, his injured hand was immobilized, so he had to ask the doctor to help put it on speaker.
When the call connected, I heard that most familiar voice from my memories, now speaking in crisp Sichuan dialect.
“Hello, brother.”
“Where are you?”
“University library.”
“You… you need to come to Dujiangyan right away.”
“Come to Dujiangyan now? What happened?”
“Had an accident… hit someone.”
There seemed to be a pause on the other end, “What? Didn’t you go without your car? Does sister-in-law know?”
Yang Lin hurriedly said: “Your sister-in-law went abroad on business last week, and hasn’t come back yet. Come quickly, and also, it wasn’t with a car, wasn’t too serious, don’t tell Mom and them yet.”
“Oh…”
Sounds of books closing and furniture moving came from the other end, “Are you hurt?”
Yang Lin sighed, “Seems like I sprained my hand, and scraped my chin, nothing else.”
“What about the person you hit? Badly hurt?”
“We were both just on those rental bikes, how bad could it be? But I saw he couldn’t stand up at the time, probably something was wrong with his leg bones. Don’t worry, I’ll compensate him properly.”
The other person seemed to be going downstairs, but their voice rose: “Don’t take it lightly. Besides medical expenses, you need to properly compensate for their lost work time, and nursing care – ask them seriously what they do, if they’re local.”
Hearing this, Yang Lin turned to ask me, “Brother, I notice you haven’t called family. Are you local?”
I shook my head and answered: “No, I’m from Beijing, here on business in Chengdu.”
“Oh, what do you do?”
“Architecture.”
Just as I finished speaking, Yang Lin suddenly asked: “Are you married?”
“Huh?”
While I was wondering how to respond, I heard the voice on the phone shout: “Brother, what are you asking!”
“Nothing, ah forget it, just come quickly. Take my car, the keys are on top of my fridge. Be careful on the way.”
“What about your card, where is it? I’ll bring it over too.”
Yang Lin looked somewhat embarrassed and lowered his voice: “How would I know where your sister-in-law put the card? Help me out first, I’ll pay you back as soon as your sister-in-law returns.”
The hospital in Dujiangyan was very crowded, so I was put on a bed in the corridor. Yang Lin had minor injuries and no bed, so he could only sit in a chair across from me getting an IV. He seemed very busy with work – even with his swollen mouth, he kept making phone calls after sitting down.
The police officer handling the accident couldn’t talk to him, so came to ask me if I had any other requests about handling the incident.
I sat up a bit straighter on the hospital bed and told the officer: “You’ve already helped negotiate very well, I don’t have any other requests.”
Yang Lin put down his phone and said to me: “I’ve noticed you’re easy to deal with.”
I smiled, “Should I try to scam you instead?”
Yang Lin patted his head, “It’s entirely my fault, nothing much to say. By the way, brother, since we’re just sitting here, let’s chat a bit. You said earlier you work in architecture, right?”
I nodded, “Yes.”