Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 975: Chapter 19: Lost (9)

If all losses could be retrieved.

If all regrets could be remedied.

If all remorse could be saved…

Would the outcome be different then?

And what is the future?

——I’ve always thought that the most humble aspect of life is not how bleak the present is, but the inability to ever see the future.

——I originally thought life was beautiful, and the future was beautiful… Everyone should think that way.

——Fortunately, after graduation, I found a job that was considered very good and high-paying in the eyes of others and my classmates.

——Yes, I always felt I was lucky… But why, why did everything suddenly change?

——That’s right, I actually shouldn’t have gone back to the company that night… It was raining, wasn’t it? It should have been raining… Actually, I don’t want to remember that night.

——Why did I leave my house keys at the company? Why did I have to go back?

——I went back and ran into the boss who returned from a social engagement. He was really drunk… I actually didn’t want to do anything, but he lunged at me, tearing my clothes.

——The thunder outside was very loud, and the weight of the company boss on my body was also very heavy, I was blank.

——I always thought that such things only happened in TV dramas, novel plots, newspaper headlines, and never on me.

——I gathered the courage to accuse this beast of a man, but he said I seduced him.

——That’s right, I lost the case because I couldn’t afford a good lawyer.

——Suddenly, labels like “slut,” “Fox Spirit,” and “shameless” became evident on me. Then, because of the lawsuit, I became the accused party and had to compensate.

——Funny thing is, the boss said he understood that I was a just-graduated student, trying to take shortcuts to achieve success, lost temporarily on the road of life, so he decided to forgive me and didn’t want my compensation anymore.

——Lost my composure, ridiculed by everyone.

——Became incoherent.

——Should I thank him, right? So I gave him a really good gift… I cut off the tool he used to ruin my life. Hmm… Actually, when cutting it off, I didn’t feel any revenge, just simply felt that if I cut it off, then what he took from me should be returned back to me.

——Ah, it’s really meaningless.

——So I ended my own life.

——I closed my eyes and jumped from the company rooftop.

——I thought everything should be over… until I suddenly woke up.

——Until I met her.

——Until I met myself.

——She was also surprised to see me, said it felt like watching a science fiction movie. In fact, wasn’t I the same?

——Actually, she was luckier than me because she grew up in a very good family, genuinely a wealthy heiress. She almost had everything I longed for… in this strange yet similar world.

——Interestingly, she had so many things that I envied, but she told me that what she wanted wasn’t these things she already had. She wanted freedom, not to be a puppet of the family.

——What a joke… it must be a joke.

——What exactly is the future? Clearly, the old me could never have her future… But why can she, and I?

——And I have to bear such pain.

——Since we are the same, are the same, are the same, are the same.

——Then… why don’t you disappear? Let me become you in this world.

——Now, I am Qiao An, the Qiao An of this world.

——The Eye of Horus ring, later on, I finally discovered its secret… the secret of how I came to this strange yet familiar world.

——It can leap through different spaces and times, bringing me to me.

——I feel like I’ve become the person in the Garden of Eden who ate the forbidden fruit… I always feel that at the end of unknown time and space, perhaps there would be an unprecedented luck, a truly perfect life waiting for me.

…

“What is the future.”

Hoodie Qiao An walked down the stairs step by step, placing the fork for Western cuisine held in her hand against the handrail, making a scraping sound.

As she slowly descended the stairs, she looked at another version of herself in front of her—the Qiao An in a white sweater. As for which different reality this Qiao An came from, she didn’t seem to care much.

At this moment, the Qiao An in the white sweater was anxiously opening the door to the storage room behind the cigarette sales counter—perhaps too flustered to realize that the door wasn’t actually locked.

The storage room was tiny, with eyes that could see everything. But Qiao An in the white sweater apparently didn’t find Paul, who should have been there… leaving only the clerk who had been knocked unconscious by her.

“What is the future?”

The voice from behind… Hoodie Qiao An’s voice.

The Qiao An in the white sweater turned around in alarm—Paul was missing, leaving her panicked. Moreover, right in front of her was an exceedingly ruthless version of herself.

She didn’t even want to admit that this Hoodie Qiao An was another version of herself from a different reality—she was like a beast, a beast with insatiable desires, a devil unleashing all the evil thoughts in her heart.

“That person must be you,” Hoodie Qiao An suddenly asked.

It made Qiao An in the white sweater part her lips slightly.

Hoodie Qiao An touched the fork’s prongs with her fingers, smiling: “The one who’s been trailing behind me, the one who’s been chasing me. It happened several times, right, I could actually feel your presence… Do you know why I never took action against you?”

White sweater Qiao An pressed against the wall, her gaze darting around, looking for a way to escape—though the Eye of Horus ring had been snatched from the other’s hands, Paul was missing… it rendered it meaningless.

“You’re not fighting me because you’re afraid I’ll retaliate, aren’t you?” White-clad Qiao An sneered coldly, forcing herself to remain calm. “Since you know I’ve encountered you several times, you should also realize that the ring… I can use it too.”

Sweatshirt Qiao An shook her head, “Perhaps that’s a factor to consider, but it’s not the main one. The main thing is… you and I are actually of the same kind.”

White-clad Qiao An sneered, “Don’t you dare compare me to you! You’re a complete lunatic! Among all these worlds, I’ve never actively harmed any version of myself. And you… how many have you killed?”

“How many?” Sweatshirt Qiao An suddenly pursed her lips, as if deep in thought, then suddenly smiled, “3? 5? 8? Or 10? Maybe more? I can’t remember—oh right, I just killed two more, do you want to know?”

White-clad Qiao An was drenched in cold sweat… She couldn’t understand why in different times and spaces, such a murderer would emerge.

“Two?” White-clad Qiao An tried to distract her, “How could this world originally have two of us?”

“Us?” Sweatshirt Qiao An’s voice suddenly turned icy. “I am me, and you are you, even if we have the same name, you and I are independent of each other. In my view, you and they are merely individuals who share my appearance but enjoy what should belong to me in other times and spaces. So it’s ‘you’, not ‘us’.”

White-clad Qiao An took a deep breath, “I heard a skinned female corpse was found in a men’s restroom… I’m guessing that was your handiwork?”

“Yeah.” Sweatshirt Qiao An suddenly bit her fingernail, “She just had bad luck triggering the ring’s function and still didn’t realize it after arriving here. She even said how amazing the world was, shouting about how wonderful it was, describing her life in that world in front of me, even brought Paul over… Such a happy person, I’ve jumped through so many worlds and haven’t found one where I could bear Paul… No, I haven’t tried to experience the joy of motherhood either. It really makes you want to destroy it!”

“Don’t make excuses for your cruelty!” White-clad Qiao An coldly retorted, “No matter how you put it, killing is one thing, but you even…”

“There’s nothing that can be done, is there?” Sweatshirt Qiao An said indifferently, “Each world seems only to allow one Qiao An, so since I’m here, she couldn’t survive. Blame her for disappearing too slowly… and in a crowded place like an airport. If someone noticed her, it would have been troublesome for me to stay.”

Sweatshirt Qiao An smiled, “Actually, skinning is quite a skilled task, if you’re not careful, you might mess it up.”

White-clad Qiao An felt terrified — even though she’d encountered Sweatshirt Qiao An in her limited jumps, she always seemed more ruthless each time.

Fallen, or corrupted?

“Actually, I quite like this world… because this time and space are so similar to my last one. Since I’ve arrived, it’s like living again… Who wouldn’t like that? It’s like going back before the regret. And I’m pretty lucky, I’ve run into my enemy from the last time space. Han Bingjiang… I didn’t expect to meet him again, and he’s even an entertainment journalist here. Really still a scumbag!”

“No matter what someone did in another time space, in this one perhaps they won’t… You’re just a Devil!” White-clad Qiao An gritted her teeth but then was suddenly startled as she looked behind Sweatshirt Qiao An, “Why is there another one…”

Others might not understand what she meant, but Sweatshirt Qiao An obviously did… another one meant!

Counting the white-clad before her, Sweatshirt Qiao An had already encountered three different versions of herself here. One came with Paul… no, from her situation, she must have accidentally triggered the ring’s ability and ended up defenseless here, so she essentially brought Paul lost in time.

The second was the original celebrity Qiao An of this time space, whom Sweatshirt Qiao An intended to replace.

But if there’s one more… it’s not impossible!

Sweatshirt Qiao An looked back instinctively, but the staircase behind her was evidently vacant — suddenly, Sweatshirt Qiao An felt a dizzy spell!

White-clad Qiao An pressed down on her with her whole body, forcing her face onto the cold floor.

“You’ll stay here forever! Whatever life you want has nothing to do with me!” White-clad Qiao An coldly stated, “I only want my Paul, and as long as I can leave with him… you and I have no relation!!”

“Hahahahaha!! That’s why I say, you and I are no different… look at your face, look at how you are now.” Sweatshirt Qiao An laughed loudly, “Look alike? Look alike? Now we can use ‘us’!”

“I’m not like you!!” White-clad Qiao An raged.

Sweatshirt Qiao An sneered, “Your child isn’t with you, right? I mean your child from the original world… was he named Paul too? Dead? Or just gone? Was it your fault?”

“You’re lying!! I found Paul! You’re lying! Lying!! Lying!!! Ah——!!!”

Suddenly a sharp pain.

Being pressed down, Sweatshirt Qiao An unexpectedly retaliated by stabbing a fork into white-clad Qiao An’s waist!

The fork’s tip even entirely embedded into white-clad Qiao An’s body, and meanwhile, taking advantage of the situation, Sweatshirt Qiao An rolled over and pinned white-clad Qiao An to the ground.

She straddled white-clad Qiao An, grabbing her neck with her left hand and punching her face ruthlessly with her right.

Punch after punch, almost using all her strength.

It’s unclear how many punches landed before Sweatshirt Qiao An suddenly stopped, panting, looking at the bloodied face of white-clad Qiao An, and scrutinizing her own right hand.

The right hand started to fade.

As did white-clad Qiao An’s body.

Sweatshirt Qiao An spat in white-clad Qiao An’s face, “Tsk, it’s starting… the world’s correction. Seems I have to deal with you now.”

White-clad Qiao An was barely hanging on, Sweatshirt Qiao An directly pulled the fork out from her waist.

The action made white-clad Qiao An scream in agony.

Sweatshirt Qiao An gripped the fork with both hands, raised it high above, aiming at white-clad Qiao An’s throat!

“Mama!!!”

Above, a child’s terrified shout.

Sweatshirt Qiao An abruptly looked up, seeing a strange man and woman appear on the pedestrian walkway on the stairs.

The woman watched, wide-eyed and covering her mouth, too shocked to speak… while the man held a blonde child.

“Mama! Mama…”

The child screamed in fear, but the man suddenly clamped his hand over the child’s mouth.

The man looked down as well, his lips twisted into a grin, “Sorry for interrupting… although I have a lot of questions for both of you, seeing your situation, I figured you wouldn’t have the time to answer, so I’ll just digest it myself… Hmm, would you like a gummy?”

The man shook the gummy packet in his hand, smirking, “They seem to be from 2025.”

Sweatshirt Qiao An swiftly dodged the white-clad Qiao An’s ring, slipping it back onto her finger, disappearing instantly.

The man holding Paul… Song Haoran hesitated.

“Die!”

The next moment, a voice full of killing intent came from behind!

It was Sweatshirt Qiao An!