[GESD] Chapter 417: Widower
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Oct 5
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"Director Zhang, this is…"
"He's using sequence ability."
Li Tianming simply answered Qin Siyang's question, and then returned to silence.
Qin Siyang was inwardly puzzled.
'An arrogant man's sequence ability… could even change appearances?'
That really opened his eyes.
Looking at Wu Yu and the other professors all staying calm, it seemed they were already used to Zhang Kuang's kind of change.
Qin Siyang didn't know what Zhang Kuang was doing.
But this way of holding the hand reminded Qin Siyang of the time at the safe zone's exit, when he was tested for memory continuity by the Bureau's inspectors.
A few more minutes passed, and Zhang Kuang let go of Li Pengfei's hand.
Right after, his hair returned to its messy state, and the light in his eyes dimmed.
Zhang Kuang fussed with the hair he could never keep neat, sighed.
"His memory's been altered."
Sure enough, Zhang Kuang had just been testing Li Pengfei's memory.
'Could it be that Zhang Kuang's sequence is connected to memory reading?'
But Qin Siyang remembered that this kind of sequence had little combat power.
It didn't match Zhang Kuang's performance outside the safe zone when he saved him, fighting three against one.
But, that wasn't the key point right now.
The pressing problem now was that Li Pengfei's memory had been tampered with.
Li Tianming seemed to have already expected it, his face showed little surprise.
"Old Zhang, can you tell when it was altered?"
"A long time ago. Probably when you just left Central Glory, it had already been modified."
Li Tianming asked again, "Can Little Fei's memory be restored?"
Zhang Kuang shook his head, "The me right now, can't do it."
"And later, you?"
"Unclear. Memory restoration, this kind of thing… is too uncertain."
Zhang Kuang's expression seemed troubled. He took out a cigarette, wanting to light it.
But when he looked down and saw Li Pengfei staring at him with big curious eyes, remembering he was wearing a mask, he put the cigarette away again.
"Old Li, you know, memory is like building a house. Each person's later memories are built on earlier ones. And memories before and after form a kind of logical continuity, otherwise memories will have gaps, even cause the memory building to collapse."
"The more distant the memory, the more important it is to a person. Because in a way, all later memories are built on the assumption that this earlier memory is valid."
"Accordingly, the older the memory that's been modified, the harder it is to restore or change."
"There are two problems. First, whether I can restore an old modified memory, I have no confidence. Second, even if I do modify it, whether Little Fei can accept the modified memory and form a coherent memory logic chain, is also unknown."
Li Tianming's voice grew hoarse, pressing further, "If you forcibly change it, and he can't form that logic chain?"
"Then he'll develop mental illness. Schizophrenia, insanity, delusional disorder, all possible."
"So what you mean is, he may never know I am his father?"
Zhang Kuang rubbed his eye sockets, trying to wake himself up, "Right now, I can't restore that segment of memory. But I can forcibly implant the memory that you're his father. However, doing that may not bring ideal results."
"As I said, he might very well suffer incurable mental illness from the collapse of his memory building."
Li Tianming stood there for a long time, no one knew what he was thinking.
After a few minutes, he finally held Li Pengfei's small hand.
"Let's go, I'll take you to buy toys."
The moment he heard "buy toys," Li Pengfei's eyes instantly lit up, "Yay!"
But then he thought of something, and looked a little wronged, "But… Uncle Li, can I still see my mom and dad?"
"Yes, in a few days you can. For now, I'll play with you."
"Mm, I understand."
Li Tianming held Li Pengfei's hand, and left Miracle Building.
Watching their father-and-son figures leave, Chang Tianxiong said with some loneliness, "No wonder Old Li could so easily bring Pengfei away."
"I was still wondering, how could Guo Jiuxiao be so careless, to so easily give up a trump card that could threaten Old Li."
"Turns out he'd already set it up early, altering Pengfei's memory."
Qin Siyang asked, "Then what was Guo Jiuxiao's purpose in letting Pengfei go?"
Wu Yu stared at the somewhat broken-down Li Tianming, "Maybe, to shatter Old Li's mental defenses."
"A wife who betrayed him, a son who doesn't recognize him. A fine family, now turned into a widowed, solitary man."
Hao Liang nodded, "Yeah. Look at Old Li now. His whole spirit's collapsed, just like a stray dog."
Chang Tianxiang had been silent at the side for a long time, quietly watching.
Chang Tianxiong patted his back, "Brother, what are you thinking about?"
Only then did Chang Tianxiang speak.
"I was Old Li's high school and college classmate. Even earlier than Ye Hongqing and Chen Fenghe knew him."
"Back then, both Ye Hongqing and Chen Fenghe liked him. He had to choose one. He chose the more passionate and cheerful Ye Hongqing. As his friend, I felt there was nothing wrong with that."
Hao Liang frowned, "Brother Chang, why bring up Ye Hongqing again? Hasn't it already been proven Old Li chose wrong?"
Chang Tianxiang went on, "In my impression, Ye Hongqing was a virtuous, family-loving woman. Just like Yang Dan…"
Lu Daoxing, hearing Chang Tianxiang compare Ye Hongqing to his own wife, immediately grew unhappy.
"Brother Chang, I'm telling you, don't talk nonsense! My wife saved my life. She's nothing like Ye Hongqing, that backstabber!"
Chang Tianxiang wanted to keep speaking, but seeing no one wanted to hear about Ye Hongqing, he shut his mouth.
Qin Siyang then asked, "If in Pengfei's memory, his father isn't Old Li, then who is it?"
Zhang Kuang scratched his messy hair, "In Pengfei's memory, his father is indeed Li Tianming."
"Although Old Li hasn't seen Pengfei these years, I secretly inquired about him. Everything was normal. When others asked about his parents, he said his father was Li Tianming, and his mother Ye Hongqing."
"This matter, I even found a way to get word to Old Li. He knew no one had touched his son, so he felt at ease staying in [Safe Residence School] for two years."
Qin Siyang hesitated slightly, "Then could it be…"
"Yes. In Pengfei's memory, his father's name is Li Tianming, but the appearance doesn't match Old Li. In other words, the name and the real person don't match."
"Then whose appearance is it? Could it be Guo Jiuxiao? He's that vile, wanting to be Old Li's son's stepdad?"
"Guo Jiuxiao is even viler than you think. He didn't replace Pengfei's memory of Li Tianming with his own appearance."
Qin Siyang didn't understand, "Then who did he replace it with?"
At this point, Zhang Kuang took off his mask.
"Me."