Since his current appearance wasn't his own, he naturally had no reservations. He planned to find out exactly who was paying respects to his brother in the rain in the most direct, no-nonsense way possible.
Yu Jin thought it was a viable plan, so he didn't stop him.
Red-haired Yu Jin didn't try to hide his footsteps, but they remained soft amidst the noisy clatter of the rain.
The figure was clearly much more alert than he had anticipated. Before he could even get close, the person suddenly whipped around, looked at him, and said in utter astonishment:
“Security Uncle? Didn't I tell you that you didn't need to come over?”
Red-haired Yu Jin raised an eyebrow, a name nearly slipping from his lips.
Tang Yaoting?!
The person standing under the umbrella, paying their respects, was actually Tang Yaoting!
Wasn't he in the hospital? What was he doing here?
Yu Jin was stunned. Instinctively sensing something was amiss and fearing that red-haired Yu Jin might blow his cover, he immediately said, “Don't act rashly. Feel him out first.”
Red-haired Yu Jin was quick to react. Mimicking the demeanor of the guard in the security room, he forced a smile and said:
“The rain's getting heavy, and I was worried something might happen to you, so I came to check. Good to see you're alright.”
As he spoke, he carefully sized up the Tang Yaoting before him.
He scanned the man from head to toe but found no difference from the usual Tang Yaoting. The only unfamiliar object was the umbrella in Tang Yaoting's hand—its canopy was pitch black while the underside was a vivid crimson, incredibly similar to the umbrella from the dream!
He couldn't help but stare at it for a few more seconds, asking in a strange tone:
“That's a real pretty umbrella you've got there. Where'd you buy it?”
Tang Yaoting caressed the umbrella in his hand and said casually:
“Forty-five bucks at the supermarket. You want it, Uncle?
“If you do, I can transfer it to you before I leave. I'll give it to you at cost—sixty-five will do.”
“?”
Red-haired Yu Jin froze. “Didn't you just say forty-five? Why is it sixty-five now?”
Tang Yaoting chuckled.
“Coming all the way out here isn't free. Even food delivery has a delivery fee. It cost me twenty bucks in gas to get here, so sixty-five is a total steal, don't you think?”
“But weren't you here to pay your respects?”
“Yeah. Before you came over, I was here to pay my respects. Now that you're here, I'm here to sell an umbrella. So, Uncle, you buying or what?”
“...”
Classic Tang Yaoting.
Only a lunatic would spend an extra twenty bucks to buy an umbrella in a cemetery.
Red-haired Yu Jin gave Tang Yaoting a look of pure disgust.
He desperately wanted to know why Tang Yaoting had come to the cemetery at this hour, but given his current identity, it was inconvenient to ask.
So, he quickly swept his gaze around the gravestone. Finding nothing else out of the ordinary, he pretended to be on patrol, grunting twice before walking away with his hands clasped behind his back.
However, he didn't go far. After rounding a bend in the path, he slipped behind a nearby tree, keeping his eyes glued on Tang Yaoting's every move, wondering what his good buddy was hiding from him.
Yet, Tang Yaoting merely stood in front of the grave, remaining motionless for a long time.
The rain gradually grew heavier.
A thick mist rolled in, making it hard to see clearly from a distance.
Red-haired Yu Jin was about to shift to a different spot when, upon turning his head, he discovered that the big yellow dog from earlier was now sitting right beside him, staring at him intently.
And it hadn't made a single sound!
Red-haired Yu Jin's face darkened. Instinctively sensing something wrong, he threw a punch at it.
The yellow dog dodged nimbly, casting a look of utter confusion at red-haired Yu Jin before speaking:
“Why did you hit me?”
!!!!!
The dog just spoke?!
Startled and suspicious, red-haired Yu Jin knit his brows. A bone blade slid out to wrap around his forearm as he crouched low, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
But in the next second, he saw the yellow dog sitting exactly where it had been, completely still, merely tilting its head to look at him with a puzzled expression.
Seeing the same scene, Yu Jin's heart skipped a beat as unpleasant memories instantly rushed to the surface.
Why did this feel so incredibly familiar?
Another hallucination?
Was he still in the dream?!
Red-haired Yu Jin's pupils dilated, and the Yu Jin back at home suddenly bolted upright.
He felt his arms and body, thoroughly checking his surroundings to confirm that this was indeed not a dream.
Yet, the brief illusion from just a moment ago still left him with a lingering sense of dread.
What was going on?
Did the materialization of red-haired Yu Jin from that Nightmare Disaster bring along his hallucination symptoms too?
Unwilling to believe it, Yu Jin forced himself to calm down, sat back onto the sofa, and began to analyze the situation.
Everything happening in the cemetery was too bizarre—bizarre to the point of feeling surreal.
Leaving the hallucination aside, what in the world was Tang Yaoting doing at the cemetery anyway?
The more Yu Jin thought about it, the more off it felt. Frowning deeply, he pulled out his communicator and dialed Tang Yaoting's number.
He decided to ask him directly.
The call went through quickly, and Tang Yaoting's voice came from the other end.
“Yu Jin?
“Ha! I knew you'd regret leaving!
“But man, your information is crazy fast. How did you know a new batch of intern nurses was arriving soon?
“Hey, let me tell you, the bed next to me is vacant. If you really want in, hurry up and sign back in.
“I'm super tight with the head nurse right now. I can get her to save a bed for you. What do you say?”
Hearing this, Yu Jin bolted upright once more.
“What did you say? You're at the hospital?”
“Well, aren't you a genius? I just paid my fees, where else would I be?
“Honestly, the hospital is a great place. The nurses here have wonderful temperaments and speak so sweetly. If it weren't for the fact that I'm rinsing your health insurance, I'd stay here forever.
“It's way livelier than living alone at home.
“Hello? Yu Jin? Speak to me. Are you still there? What did you call for anyway?”
Yu Jin hung up without hesitation. Meanwhile, red-haired Yu Jin back in the cemetery snapped his head toward the gravestone.
By the time they realized the "Tang Yaoting" in the cemetery was an imposter, the figure had already vanished without a trace.
His eyes darkened. Looking back to his side, he found that the big yellow dog that had been sitting there was gone too.
!!!
They'd been played!
Red-haired Yu Jin clicked his tongue in annoyance. “I told you we should've made a move earlier.”
“...”
Yu Jin had nothing to say to that.
With a dark expression, a highly irritated red-haired Yu Jin stepped out from behind the tree. Braving the worsening rain, he walked to his brother's gravestone. Stopping in front of it, he looked down and spotted an object on the ground.
He bent down to pick it up, discovering it was a mirror.
It was a palm-sized makeup mirror. The reflective surface showed red-haired Yu Jin's security-guard face, dripping with rainwater. Written across it in what seemed like lipstick was a line of small characters:
“Looking like someone doesn't mean you are them.”
Both Yu Jins frowned deeply, sensing that these words held a deeper, pointed meaning.
Meanwhile, on a hilltop out of the Yu Jins' sight, two figures—one tall, one short—were looking down at the entire cemetery from beneath an umbrella.
The taller figure was a woman. She was using lipstick to paint her lips a rosy red. Parting her ruby lips, she spoke:
“Did you brush your teeth?”
The shorter figure was the big yellow dog from earlier. It let out a “Woof” and muttered in dissatisfaction:
“I didn't eat anything, why should I brush my teeth?”
The lady put away her lipstick and glanced in the mirror. Within the blink of an eye, everything from her hair to her clothes shifted, altering her appearance entirely from head to toe.
“I didn't ask if you ate. I asked if you brushed your teeth.”
The big yellow dog was exceptionally stubborn: “If I didn't eat, there's no need to brush.”
The lady sighed in resignation.
“Fine, let's change the subject. What wisdom did that security guard leave behind?”
The big yellow dog wagged its tail and said happily:
“He said that anyone who comes to a cemetery in such heavy rain is up to no good. I think he's absolutely right.”
The lady chuckled, turning her gaze toward where Yu Jin was in the cemetery.
“We indeed aren't anything good, but he still is.
“What, is that why you played a trick on him?”
“I learned it from you. You didn't let him off either, did you?”
The lady emphasized, “I was giving a lesson.”
“He's really pitiful to have a teacher like you,” the big yellow dog remarked disdainfully.
“You're quite pitiful yourself. No dinner for you tonight.”
“Why?!”
“Because you've already eaten outside.”
“I told you, I didn't eat!”
“Then starve.”
“...”
The rain grew heavier, and the mist became increasingly elusive and bewildering.
...
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