"Remaining lifespan: 366 days, usable lifespan: 365 days."
He looked at the screen in front of him that others couldn't see, almost transparent yet he could read the contents clearly, thinking about closing it, the screen disappeared. When he started to ponder this thing, it appeared again.
After experimenting several times, pinching himself several times because he couldn't believe all this, he pinched hard each time, the pain was sharp, finally, after he estimated his thigh was bruised, he confirmed that this must represent something.
He could still live for 366 days?
But what does "usable lifespan" mean? Can lifespan be "used"?
Yet 366 days... He felt the pain in his thigh, not angry but incredibly excited. When he pinched himself the first time so hard it hurt, he knew for sure something unimaginable had happened.
To have such freedom of movement was something from "two years ago," back then, when he could still move freely, he donated his body for research after death to contribute to solving this incurable disease; being able to feel pain was something from "over half a year ago!"
Despite being excited, he decided to put this matter aside for now, to delve into it later, and focus on figuring out where he was.
Definitely not in the hospital, now he's on a big road.
But this is absolutely not the city where he worked for several years, nor his hometown, not even in the country. To analyze whether this is abroad or a different world... A few minutes ago when he opened his eyes, he was no longer on the hospital bed, instead leaning on a seat at a bus stop by the roadside, he got up and looked to the right, it was an apartment entrance.
Looking at this old apartment, memories about the building suddenly floated into his mind.
"This is an apartment over 20 years old. The apartment owner, a fierce Black auntie, if drug dealers or punks dared to do something to bully students here, she'd dare to shoot them directly.
Such a living environment is already as good as it gets for international students... International students?"
Just as he posed this question, a brown-skinned girl passing by greeted him: "Aix, why are you standing there dumbly? Doesn't the men's basketball team have training this afternoon?"
She spoke English, but he surprisingly understood, and images of past interactions with her surfaced in his mind swiftly.
This is Aprile Clark from the school's women's tennis team, a very enthusiastic Latino girl, the first girl he met in the United States, somewhat familiar—"Knowing each other for three years and barely familiar? What have I been doing? Aix, is that what she's calling me? It should be... My English name seems to be Aix..."
Recognizing the acquaintance, he replied, "I'm feeling a bit unwell, taking a day to rest..."
Aprile Clark heard this without doubting him and responded, "You should take more rest, you've been training too hard recently, Paul already told me about you, you don't need to rush, training like this every day is overwhelming for your body. Plus, you're academically excellent, even without a basketball scholarship, you can still get into a great university."
As she said this, more memories flashed through his mind, mostly about recent events, but he focused primarily on recent thoughts concerning her. Based on his work experience, centering conversations around the other person is always foolproof.
The school newspaper wrote about this top amateur female tennis player soon to participate in a district competition, he paused for a moment, then said, "Oh, my situation is just like that, how about you, Aprile? Can you win Los Angeles' top spot?"
This solitary guy unexpectedly proactively spoke another sentence! Aprile Clark was pleasantly surprised, upon closer look, this guy didn't have his usual shy and timid expression, appearing particularly cheerful, he was originally tall and handsome, his masculinity suddenly emerged.
"District competition? I hope before graduating high school, I can win the Los Angeles championship; this is my last time participating in a major event. I don't have the talent you and Paul have, I've never thought of becoming a professional athlete. If I don't get into college, I'll go learn car repair!" Saying this, Aprile Clark was a bit excited, high school was finally nearing its end!
He showed a regretful expression and said, "It'd be a real pity if you don't continue playing tennis, Aprile. I thought I'd have a classmate who's a world-class beauty tennis player, you should try more, when you're in college you can also try, there's plenty of time in college, applying for college... you have two exam opportunities this year, right? Good luck, if you need help, you can reach out to me, I'm quite good at studying."
Aprile Clark was taken aback for a moment; this guy is so eloquent today!
After chatting briefly, Aprile Clark found the interaction of this classmate, who could be considered a friend, today very outgoing and enthusiastic... Compared to before it was even too enthusiastic, she felt a bit uncomfortable and left first, not because she disliked it, purely out of discomfort, as she's known him for almost three years and he's always been the kind who wouldn't actively seek topics to chat, capable of sitting there half the day without saying a word.
Initially, it seemed due to language barriers, when coming to the United States, he knew some English, but conversations were challenging, eventually becoming solitary, with only a few teammates from the basketball team having good relations with him, and her friendship was maintained by proactively approaching him to keep a decent relationship.