Chapter 33 — IAVD (QT) Chapter 33

Flames licked his body like being submerged in boiling oil; the pain was so intense it bordered on numbness.

Ji Cong struggled to look up at the figure standing atop the steps, crying and laughing as he wailed a single title: "Papa, Papa..." A figure rushed down, seemingly trying to save him. Ji Cong’s eyes widened, a humble and unbelievable hope rising in his heart. But as his vision cleared, the person rushing toward him wasn't the man he longed for, but his longtime rival, Zhong Yuchen. Why him? Ji Cong thought, dazed. Zhong Yuchen took off his suit jacket to beat out the flames. Ji Cong felt a bitter irony: even Zhong Yuchen chose to save him, while the man who sired him stood above, watching with cold eyes.

In the end, his life was a tragedy of obsession, harming himself and others.

"Don't save me... just go," Ji Cong struggled to say. The fire was relentless; he had come seeking death, dousing himself in gasoline beforehand. Zhong Yuchen ignored him, his face etched with anxiety as he desperately fought the fire.

Ji Cong closed his eyes. Soon, a more intense pain swept through him, his nerves twitched, and he fell into total darkness.

…

He didn't know how long he was unconscious. His eyelids felt heavy until sunlight filtered through, hitting his face. He forced his eyes open and raised a small hand to block the light.

"Congcong is awake!" A strange, urgent voice filled with joy rang in his ears. Congcong? The nickname was so familiar. But since his mother, Xu Yun, passed away, no one had called him that. He considered himself an unfilial son, chasing a cold-blooded father while ignoring the mother who raised him. He wasn't even at her bedside when she died alone in the hospital; he had been busy groveling for a role in his father’s movie. It was his life's greatest regret.

He had wanted that man to suffer, so he doused himself in gas and lit a match before him. He thought he’d failed because he still had consciousness—he must have been saved. And the only fool who would risk his life for him was Zhong Yuchen.

Ji Cong lay on the bed, feeling sorry for Zhong Yuchen but also resentful. With severe burns and a ruined face, what was the point of living?

But then, he noticed something odd. Except for a slight sting on his forehead, he felt no pain. He was tucked into a soft, warm bed. Where were the burn after-effects?

"Doctor, look, is Congcong okay?" the gentle female voice asked.

"Don't worry, the patient is fine. Just a scrape. No concussion or long-term effects. Keep the wound dry, and he'll be fine in a few days."

Ji Cong’s heart skipped a beat. That voice... he had heard it for eighteen years. It was his mother, Xu Yun. But she was dead. Was he dreaming?

He forced his eyes open. The woman by the bed turned around, her beautiful face full of worry. She glared at him with feigned anger. "Don't you dare sneak out again! You scared Mommy to death!"

Ji Cong forgot how to breathe. There is no medicine for regret, but had the heavens sent him some anyway? The woman before him was Xu Yun, but not the haggard, broken woman from his memories. She was young, vibrant, and her eyes were full of stars. I've returned to my childhood. He looked at his tiny, short hands. He didn't know what year it was, but it didn't matter. Mommy was alive. He stared at her, silently thanking the heavens. In this life, he wouldn't chase that heartless man. He only wanted his mother.

Xu Yun sat on the edge of the bed, tucking him in. "Does your head still hurt, Congcong?"

Ji Cong shook his head. Compared to the pain of self-immolation, this was nothing.

Xu Yun froze. In the past two years, Ji Xiu had spoiled the boy into a delicate little thing who cried at the slightest scratch. Now, with a large gash on his head, he wasn't crying or asking for Papa? Did he hit his head so hard he became silly? Xu Yun worried. Ji Xiu had left the child in her care a month ago; if he came back from the film set to find his son "broken," how would she explain?

"Mommy, why am I here?" Ji Cong asked.

Xu Yun sighed. "You don't remember? You tried to sneak out to find your father. You fell right outside the house and hit your head. There was so much blood! Your father is thousands of miles away on set, but when he heard..."

Ji Cong’s gaze turned cold. He remembered. He was seven. Because only Xu Yun ever showed up for parent-teacher meetings, his classmates mocked him for having no father. He had broken his piggy bank and tried to run away to find Ji Xiu’s film set. He got lost immediately and fell.

In his previous life, he remembered his mother's screams and her shouting at Ji Xiu over the phone to "get his ass home." But that man never showed up until the wound had already healed.

"Mommy, I want water," he interrupted, not wanting to hear about him.

While Xu Yun went to get water, the nurses at the station were buzzing. "Congcong is so cute! His eyes are so big and dark!" "He’s a god-tier child, just like his father, Ji Xiu."

Ji Cong, hiding near the nurses' station to eavesdrop, was baffled. Why did they know him? Why did they like him? And why did they know he was that man’s son? In his past life, the hidden marriage wasn't exposed until he entered the industry, which ruined Ji Xiu's reputation and made his fans hate Ji Cong forever.

Suddenly, the elevator opened. Xu Yun’s voice drifted out. Ji Cong scrambled back to his bed and pretended to be asleep. When the door opened, he looked up and gave a shy smile. "Mommy, you're back—"

The half-sentence died in his throat. Walking in with Xu Yun was the man he had hated and chased his entire life.

Ji Xiu.

…

The world felt like it was collapsing and rebuilding itself. On the drive home, Ji Xiu and Xu Yun talked in the front seat with a familiarity and warmth Ji Cong had never seen.

"Is Congcong really okay?" Ji Xiu asked.

"The doctor said so, but you should check the report when we get home."

"I'll look. I was so worried I couldn't stay on set."

"You worked so hard to rush back. I'll make your favorite dinner tonight..."

Ji Cong watched them from the back seat. This wasn't the mother he knew; she looked like a girl in love. And Ji Xiu... he was actually smiling. Doting on her. Treating her like a treasure.

Ji Xiu looked back in the rearview mirror. "Is Congcong still mad? Won't you talk to Papa?"

Ji Cong looked down quickly. His acting was terrible, and he didn't want this man to see through his "disguise." Why was he reborn into a world where this man actually stayed?

…

Back in his room, Ji Cong opened a student laptop. He searched for Ji Xiu's name.

The data was normal until four years ago. In this world, Ji Xiu didn't take a certain movie role. Instead, he stayed home and took "Ji Xiaocong" on the show Dad and Me. He exposed his marriage, live-streamed his wedding, and stood up to his fans to protect Xu Yun. He had virtually semi-retired to be with them.

Ji Cong stared at the screen, his lips trembling. Is this a parallel universe? Suddenly, his eyes landed on a shelf. There, sitting without a dust cover or a case, was Ji Xiu’s "Triple Gold" Best Actor trophy. Ji Cong panicked. That trophy was the man’s life! How could it be here? Did the "Ji Cong" of this world steal it?

He scrambled up the shelf to put it back safely, but his small foot slipped. THUD. His head hit the shelf.

Stars exploded in his vision. The pain triggered a flood of memories. He remembered being born to Xu Yun. He remembered smiling at her at three months old. He remembered the "reborn" Ji Xiu emerging from the elevator when he was three and a half...

Ji Cong closed his eyes and tears leaked out, but he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from curling up.

It was him. He was the one who had been experiencing this beautiful life all along. He just forgot. It’s so good... I really am a child loved by his father.