Chapter 1 Prologue: Hit by Lightning but No Time Travel
On the day Gongping was hit by lightning, it was bright and sunny at the courthouse.
The verdict was being announced that day, even though everyone could predict it themselves. How could the owner of an orphanage fight a real estate developer? Not to mention the orphanage was not registered and had rumors of child trafficking.
But Director Gong, the owner of the orphanage, did show up, dressed in an old suit in spite of the heat, and wearing a new tie, a gift from his favorite student, Gongping.
The verdict was not a surprise: Director Gong lost development rights to his land to the real estate mogul Mei Youxin.
While Director Gong knew this was coming, he couldn't accept the news at first. After the verdict was read, it was as if he aged ten years; he had trouble walking and had to be helped out of the courthouse by Gongping.
And then more things happened. Director Gong was arrested by police for child trafficking at the courthouse entrance.
Gongping was a cop, too; he just worked in the file room. He was enraged watching his mentor being arrested and not being able to do anything. Pointing at Mei’s car, he shouted, “Karma is coming for you!”
Before he knew it, the skies darkened and the stormy clouds looked so heavy they seemed to almost touch the tops of people's heads; it was as if day had become night in an instant. Gongping’s face was overjoyed as he said, “See, here’s your karma!” He was actually an atheist, but people tended to overthink in a moment of crisis.
Mei, seeing the bizarre weather change, appeared a little shaky, too. He began praying to Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Buddha, and all the deities. What followed was different from everyone’s guess, however, as the dark sky opened up to bellow out a series of loud thunder, piercing everyone’s ears, and then the sky returned to its previously sunny state. Everyone was stunned and looked around, only to see Gongping and Director Gong charred to a crisp, their hair resembling mushroom clouds. Both men were gone. Gongping, being younger, had a little breath left as he puffed out a wisp of smoke, uttering, “What kind of justice is this . . . ?” Then he died, too.
Mei, watching from the back of his car, was first shocked, but then laughed hysterically. “Hah, I’m so rich even gods help me!”
Gongping fell to the ground. He could feel his body becoming lighter and floating up. During this process, he saw the mass of people of below and his burned body. A crowd of people, including one of his police academy friends, was performing CPR on him.
“Maybe I died.” Gongping sighed. He also saw Director Gong’s body being surrounded by emergency workers.
“You idiots! Stop crowding him! Keep the air flowing!” he shouted, but no one heard.
“Yes, I’m a ghost now,” Gongping realized, talking to himself. When he turned around, he saw Director Gong smiling at him.
“Teacher!” he shouted.
Director Gong smiled, but didn’t answer. His smile stayed as his body faded, until his entire image dissipated.
“Teacher! Teacher!” Gongping cried, but his teacher never reappeared.
“The old man is gone, but Gongping may have a chance. Did anyone call 120?” He saw his old school friend still trying to resuscitate him.
“My body isn’t dead, but my soul is already here.” Looking around him, Director Gong’s soul was nowhere to be seen. On the ground, his school friend covered the director’s face with a handkerchief. Before my soul is completely gone, I better do something, Gongping thought as he crawled inside Mei’s car.
Mei was riding high when he felt a deep shiver. A coldness crept up from the soles of his feet; first the bones, then the spine, and then it wrapped around his heart. Mei felt uneasy as he told the driver to turn down the AC and his assistant to call his doctor. He swallowed two nitroglycerin tablets before calming down.
Here, real estate mogul Mei Youxin’s good luck ends, and our protagonist’s story begins.