Travel Back Twenty Years Ago to Adopt Myself (Completed BL)

Chapter 1

Jiang Wang took a deep breath and swam to the shore. His collar was soaked with blood from the impact, his chin grazed, his palm scratched, and his shoes and socks filled with water.

The park lake had turned into a small river, and the city stretched flat to the horizon, with a group of birds flying across the clear sky at that moment. Jiang Wang hadn't seen a flock of birds in years. He propped himself up and walked toward the embankment, sensing that something was amiss everywhere.

Two hundred meters away was an intersection, with a newly built newsstand on the side, the smell of paint hitting his nose. He stumbled over, ignoring the curious glances of passersby, and picked up a local newspaper, searching among the numerous flipped-open cell phone and health product advertisements for the date.

"Damn."

It was June 10th, 2006. He was back in City A.

The outdated car models and old streets resembled scenes from a nostalgic period film. A stray dog took advantage of his daze to lift its leg and urinate beside his trousers. Jiang Wang turned silently and walked back to the river, plunging in.

When he resurfaced, it was still 2006, but there were a few curious children on the bank. Jiang Wang's face grimaced as he soaked in the water.

"Mom—" 

"Come back for dinner! Don't stare at the lunatic!"

A woman in a floral dress shooed her child back, and the sky gradually darkened. The man silently swam back to the shore, wringing out his clothes before walking deeper into the streets.

Jiang Wang was familiar with this place. Secluded, remote—it was a small city on the fifth or sixth line of high-speed rail, and it was the ghostly place he hastily left when he was barely in his teens. The only thing he needed to confirm was...

If it's 2006 now, then does the me from 20 years ago still exist?

The town wasn't large; it only took ten minutes to reach familiar places. Inside the mahjong parlor, people laughed loudly, and the shuffling of cards sounded like a lottery draw. At the open-air stalls, a light bulb hung, illuminating the sale of braised chicken and duck. Vendors grabbed a handful of noodles after taking money and tossed them into the pot to fry, sweat dripping down their necks. Everything was exactly like childhood memories.

The man usually kept his emotions hidden, and now, he remained silent, walking deeper into the narrow streets as if retracing memories. Sometimes, the company organized movie nights, and he knew some things. People from different timelines couldn't see each other, or else it would trigger antimatter and cause annihilation.

He was just about to completely forget some things.

A woman carried a bag of onions and pork while chatting with neighbors, shaking her hand enthusiastically and sighing. "It's a busy life." Jiang Wang walked past them and turned into the shantytown, suddenly hearing a child's cry.

His breath tightened.

First, there were the sounds of rolling bottles, followed by the crack of a whip slicing through the air. "Please stop, dad— I'm begging you, dad!!!" The child nearly screamed in anguish, the sound tearing through the night like an abused kitten's cry.

At that moment, Jiang Wang's blood ran cold. The thought of just taking a glance and walking away was replaced with a surge of impulse. No, that's my past self, I can't— The drunkard overturned the table, the crash of shattered glass filling the room, as he cursed loudly and prepared to kick again. The next moment, the plastic printed curtain was yanked open violently, and a young boy, clutching his arm and almost falling to the ground, stumbled out. He took a shaky step forward, his face streaked with tears and his eyes red with crying. Then, he widened his eyes and saw Jiang Wang standing in the corner.