Chen Junnan rode his old bicycle, whistling as he passed through Baihua Shenchu Alley.
He skirted around the shoe repair stall that had been on the street for twenty years and noticed that the old man looked different today.
Somehow, he had found a flat wooden board and carefully painted a sign for himself using shoe polish and a brush.
From today onward, he was no longer just “Old Zhao the Shoe Repairman at the Crossroads”—he was now officially “Shoe Repair Zhao.”
How very Beijing-style, right?
Like “Small Intestine Chen,” “Tripe Feng,” “Tea Soup Li,” “Wonton Hou,” or “Burger King.”
Who knows? One day, people might start referring to him as “Shoe Repair Zhao” too.
Wait a minute, Chen Junnan thought to himself—”Burger King” didn’t seem like a local brand.
“Big Nan…” Shoe Repair Zhao threaded a sharp needle through a leather shoe without looking up, casually calling out.
“Whoa!” Chen Junnan quickly stopped his bike and hopped off. “Old Zhao! What’s up? Had lunch yet?”
“Kid, I’ve been sitting here for years, and every time you pass by, you pretend not to see me. Aren’t you afraid I’ll take offense?”
Shoe Repair Zhao tilted his head slightly, peering over his reading glasses to give Chen Junnan a direct look.
“Come on, how could I?” Chen Junnan laughed nervously, fishing out a small bottle of *erguotou* from the bike’s front basket. “You’re always so quick to jump to conclusions! I was just testing your eyesight! I brought you a bottle of *erlezi*—I came this way on purpose! Who knew your eyes were still this sharp?”
“*Erlezi*…?” Old Zhao’s eyes instantly lit up. “You little rascal… let me see!”
“Here! Enjoy!” Chen Junnan grinned as he handed over the bottle. “Got some business to take care of, so I’ll be off now.”
With that, he grumbled under his breath as he got back on his bike, thinking to himself that today was off to a bad start—he’d lost a bottle of *erguotou* the moment he stepped out.
And he’d been planning to use it as a gift later… what now?
Whistling, he pedaled from Baihua Shenchu Alley all the way to Xinjiekou South Street, then passed Qingyang Avenue and circled around Wuhou Shrine. After spotting Inner Mongolia Street, he finally made a left turn—now he was on the right path.
Supposedly, if he kept riding for another half hour and then turned… Chen Junnan suddenly regretted not taking a taxi.
When he arrived at his destination, he found the market packed with people. He had no choice but to park his bike at the entrance and swagger in. Before long, he spotted a familiar face.
“Sister Shuhua!” A little girl tugged at another girl’s hand and said timidly, “That boy took my hairpin… I’m going to tell my mom…”
“Wu Xuan! Don’t be scared!” Shuhua pulled the girl behind her and marched forward with determination. “I’ll get it back for you!”
The two boys in front of them had contrasting expressions.
One kept tugging at the other’s sleeve: “Xu Jiahua… stop taking people’s things… give it back…”
“Are you stupid?” Xu Jiahua snapped at him. “Zheng Yingxiong, don’t you want to be friends with them? This is the fastest way!”
“But… but…” Zheng Yingxiong felt something wasn’t right, especially since the girl named Shuhua was already stomping toward them with fury in her eyes.
Just then, two hands landed on the boys’ heads.
“Fastest way my ass,” Chen Junnan said. “Can’t you just talk to them like normal people? If you’re already stealing things as kids, what’ll you do when you grow up?”
“Huh?” Xu Jiahua blinked. “Big Demon Chen Junnan!”
“Who the hell is ‘Chen Junnan’? Show some respect!” Chen Junnan scolded. “Call me ‘brother’! And what do you mean by ‘Big Demon’?”
Xu Jiahua stuck out his tongue at Chen Junnan, ran over to Shuhua, and handed Wu Xuan’s hairpin back before dragging Zheng Yingxiong away.
“Little brats,” Chen Junnan muttered as he watched them go. “Aren’t they from Quanzhou Street? What are they doing playing around Bolan Street?”
“Because the uncles here asked us to help find someone,” Shuhua explained with a smile. “They treat us to food a lot. Wu Xuan’s even gained weight!”
“I… I haven’t!” Wu Xuan shyly covered her little belly. “Sister Shuhua, stop lying…”
“Find someone… huh…” Chen Junnan chuckled. “Alright, got it. Go play now.”
The two girls nodded and ran off hand in hand.
“Hey… Chen!”
Chen Junnan turned to see an acquaintance selling socks at a stall in the market.
“Well, well!” Chen Junnan grinned. “Old Lu!”
“Chen! Come take a look! Need any socks?”
Intrigued, Chen Junnan stepped closer to inspect the goods.
The stall was lined with nothing but short, flesh-colored stockings.
“…?”
“See one you like? I’ll give you a discount!”
Chen Junnan felt like he needed to rephrase his thoughts—he wasn’t just constantly baffled in the “Land of Finality,” but here too.
“Hey!”
Before he could react, a few burly, menacing-looking men slowly approached. They eyed Chen Junnan suspiciously, sensing he wasn’t just an ordinary passerby.
“Damn it, Chen, be careful!” Old Lu quickly ducked his head. “Those guys run this market!”
“Got it. You stay put—I’ll handle this.”
He waved at Old Lu before turning to face the men.
“Yeah?” Chen Junnan smirked. “What’s up?”
A young, rough-looking guy stepped forward. “You deadbeat, who the hell are you with?”
Chen Junnan paused. “Buddy, is that how you talk to people? Can’t we have a civil conversation?”
“I’ll knock your damn teeth out…” the guy growled. “Are you deaf? Who’s your boss?”
Seeing that the guy was beyond reason, Chen Junnan sighed and took a step forward, staring him dead in the eye.
“Listen up, punk. I’m with your mom—technically, that makes me half your dad.”
The atmosphere instantly turned explosive. The thugs started shouting, and even Old Lu nervously grabbed something from beside his stall, ready to throw it and bolt at the first sign of trouble.
Just then, a lean, long-haired young man coughed behind the group, and the rowdy men immediately quieted down, parting to let him through.
“Ninth Brother!”
The young man nodded and walked up to Chen Junnan, who sized him up—this guy seemed like someone of importance, especially with those intricate sleeve tattoos…
“Mr. Chen?” The young man lit a cigarette and took a drag.
“Mr. Chen…?”
“Chen Xiansheng?” he asked again, exhaling smoke.
“It’s Chen Junnan, young master.”
“Damn it, you’re finally here.” The young man chuckled, smoothing back his hair. “Come with me. He’s been waiting for you.”
“Hey, those tattoos look pretty slick,” Chen Junnan said, slinging an arm around the guy’s shoulders. “So, what’s the situation?”
“Haha, you’ll see when you meet him.”
Chen Junnan waved at Old Lu and told the local toughs to take care of his stall. As he passed the loudmouth, he mimicked his accent: “I’ll knock your damn teeth out~ You deaf~ Who’s your boss~?”
The guy seethed but didn’t dare retort—he hadn’t expected Chen Junnan to be friends with A’Jin.
They walked through the market to a backroom shrouded in smoke, where tall, tattooed men moved about. The scene made Chen Junnan a bit uneasy.
Inside the main hall, Qiao Jiajin was lighting incense for Guan Yu.
“Old Qiao!!” Chen Junnan burst into laughter. “Hahaha! Damn, it really is you!”
“Handsome Chen!!” Qiao Jiajin was overjoyed but still carefully placed the incense before rushing over to grab Chen Junnan’s shoulders. “Haha! It’s been days! I knew you’d be here too! Finally found you!”
“Only because you’ve got connections!” Chen Junnan grinned. “I’ve been asking around for ten days and had no idea where Bolan Street was.”
“We’ve got a lot of people here,” Qiao Jiajin said with a smile. “I missed you, Handsome Chen.”
“Same here, buddy!” Chen Junnan laughed. “Oh, I even got you a gift!”
“A gift?”
“Ta-da!” Chen Junnan reached into his pocket, rummaged around, then held out a clenched fist in front of Qiao Jiajin’s face.
Qiao Jiajin stared curiously as Chen Junnan slowly opened his hand.
It was empty.
“Uh…” Qiao Jiajin blinked. “Handsome Chen… what kind of gift is this?”
Chen Junnan stayed silent for a few seconds before declaring, “My purest, most heartfelt longing!”
“HAHAHA!” The young man, Ninth Brother, burst out laughing behind them. “A’Jin, your friend’s hilarious.”
“Hah… hahaha…” Qiao Jiajin forced a laugh, quickly closing Chen Junnan’s hand. “Let’s get to business first, Handsome Chen. Come with me!”
“Wait, Old Qiao, don’t you believe me?” Chen Junnan protested as he was dragged inside. “What if I told you I actually brought *erguotou* for you earlier? Would you believe me?”
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Qiao Jiajin said.
“So what’s this all about?” Chen Junnan asked.
“No idea. Let’s hear it together inside.”
They pushed open the office door, and Chen Junnan saw another familiar face.
Chu Tianqiu sat on the sofa, sipping tea with a complicated expression. His formal attire clashed with the rough atmosphere of the place.
“Little Chu…?”
“Good, you’re both finally here,” Chu Tianqiu set down his cup and looked up. “There’s something I need to discuss with you.”
The two sat at the table, unsure what to expect.
“Originally, I wanted to live my life without getting involved with anyone from ‘there’ again,” Chu Tianqiu said, frowning. “But yesterday, I went to the hospital… and the results forced me to reconsider.”
“What’s going on?” Chen Junnan frowned. “What does the hospital have to do with this?”
“Let me be blunt. You’ve probably noticed over the past ten days…” Chu Tianqiu sighed. “Almost everyone has settled into life here… even people we didn’t know from ‘there’ have found their place.”
“Yeah.” The two nodded.
“But *he* hasn’t shown up.” Chu Tianqiu’s tone shifted.
The two fell silent, their expressions darkening.
“With his abilities… if he were really here, someone would’ve seen him by now.” Chu Tianqiu took a deep breath. “You’ve been looking for him too, haven’t you?”
Chen Junnan forced a laugh. “Pfft… no way… I’m not that sentimental… Little Chu, you’re underestimating me…”
“I heard you haven’t set foot in Bolan Street these past ten days, yet you’ve been searching everywhere,” Chu Tianqiu said. “Who were you looking for?”
“I—”
“You knew that if Bolan Street existed, Qiao Jiajin would be here, so you weren’t in a hurry to find him,” Chu Tianqiu continued. “But you never saw any sign of *his* territory, right?”
Their expressions grew complicated—a mix of worry, impatience, and helplessness.
How were they supposed to face him?
He had told countless lies, yet kept the most important promise.
He had killed countless people, yet saved the world.
Good and evil, right and wrong, justice and sin, cause and effect—all tangled together in him.
“So I’m wondering… does he not *want* to come back… or *can’t* he?”
Chu Tianqiu slowly pulled out a small box from his pocket and opened it on the table.
Inside lay a cryogenically preserved eyeball, radiating cold.
“This is the last remaining item from ‘there.’ I just don’t know what to do with it, so I wanted to discuss it with both of you.”
“This is…”
Chu Tianqiu pushed the box toward them.
“An ‘Endless Cycle.'”
“Endless… Cycle…?”
……
……
……
The “New World” continued to bustle.
Countless people lived their lives, busy and thriving.
They flowed endlessly through this eternal microcosm, cycling without end.
They toiled, they dreamed, they looked ahead without complaint.
Many who carried special memories waited in dread for the earthquake that never came on the second day—then for the annihilation that never arrived on the tenth.
Hand in hand, they trembled in the streets, waiting for nothingness.
But when the first rays of the eleventh day’s sun broke over the horizon, warmth spilled onto countless disbelieving, tear-streaked faces.
From that moment on, their lives would no longer reset every ten days—they would surge forward, unstoppable.
Only then did they finally believe.
The long, tangled, painful, nostalgic, bittersweet, eternal ten-day cycle—
Was truly over.
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