My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 5 People Are Gone
After getting off the train, I stepped onto the platform of the old North Station.

After a long and arduous journey, they finally arrived in Shanghai. Although physically exhausted, they were in high spirits. Carrying their luggage out of the station, Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying smiled as they looked at the gray sky outside.

"Shanghai! I'm back!"

Lin Ying spread her arms wide, making a megaphone shape in front of her mouth, and shouted loudly in front of her. Inspired by her, Zhou Jiye also shouted loudly. After shouting, he felt extremely relieved. They looked at each other and burst into laughter.

As she laughed, Lin Ying inexplicably burst into tears, covering her face and sobbing. Others might not know, but Zhou Jiye knew exactly why she was crying. If he had to stay in a village in the Northwest for more than three years, enduring such hardship, he would probably cry when he returned to the familiar metropolis.

What's going on with these two?

"Deep well disease? Did you just escape from number 600?"

"Damn it, we've run into a madman first thing in the morning. Let's get out of here, or we'll just be getting beaten up for nothing if he goes berserk..."

Their actions immediately attracted the attention of passersby. Putting aside the fact that the two of them had been disheveled all the way to Shanghai, they were shouting, crying and laughing in the square outside the train station. They didn't look like normal people at all, so it was normal for them to think they were crazy.

Zhou Jiye was extremely embarrassed and was about to explain to everyone that they were normal people when he suddenly saw passersby pointing and talking about a man wearing a red armband in their direction. He immediately had a bad feeling. Seeing that the man in the red armband was coming towards them, he didn't care about anything else and quickly grabbed Lin Ying and ran. They ran for two miles in one breath. When they looked back and saw that no one was chasing them, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Grandma, please don't make a fuss. It would be a joke if you really arrested us for being sick in the deep well." Panting, Zhou Jiye clasped his hands together in prayer as he looked at Lin Ying.

"Isn't this just a matter of getting emotional? Besides, do you think number 600 is easy to get in? Don't be ridiculous! Ordinary people can't even get in if they want to." Lin Ying said nonchalantly, looking around with a confused expression: "Where am I? Where did you lead me?"

"Aren't you from Shanghai? Don't you know where this is?"

"It's true I'm from Shanghai, but I only know Shanghai forty years from now. Do you think I can recognize Shanghai now? Besides, the old North Station was moved to the new station before I was even born. Who would wander around here for no reason?" Lin Ying said, pouting, while looking around trying to find familiar buildings from her memory, but she couldn't find one after searching for a long time.

Even Lin Ying, a native of the area, didn't know the way, let alone Zhou Jiye. The two had no choice but to ask someone for directions.

This era is so inconvenient. It would be so much better if we had a smartphone like in later generations, so we could just open the navigation and search for directions. But where can we find such a thing now? Moreover, Shanghai is still not under major development. It is full of old buildings from decades ago, and the roads are not wide. Without a map, you can't tell which way is which.

They asked a kind-looking old man for directions and finally figured out where they were. Then they asked how to get to their destination. Lin Ying spoke fluent Shanghai dialect, so communication was no problem. They finally learned which bus to take and which to transfer to. The two of them then arrived at the bus stop, waited for the bus, boarded it, bought two tickets for one cent, rode for five stops to Jing'an Temple, transferred to the No. 15 trolleybus, and spent another eight cents to finally arrive at their destination.

They went to a certain place on Gao En Road because it was where Lin Ying's home was located.

When discussing their trip to Shanghai, the two talked about where to go after arriving. Zhou Jiye, being a new Shanghainese in his later life, was not only unfamiliar with the old Shanghai, but also had nowhere to go in the present-day city. On the other hand, Lin Ying was originally from Shanghai. According to her, her home was somewhere in the Wutong District of Shanghai, and four generations of the Lin family had lived there since before the liberation, and they were still living there after she came to this era. Therefore, "going home" was the best choice.

Although, judging by the timeline, Lin Ying's great-grandfather is still alive, her grandfather is only middle-aged, her father is still a child, and her mother probably hasn't even been born yet, and Lin Ying herself doesn't even exist in this world.

To be honest, going to stay with relatives like this seems a bit unreliable, but Lin Ying has enough confidence. According to her, she was raised by her grandparents since she was a child and knows a lot about her family's past. As long as she gets there, she is confident that she can convince the other party to trust her and then settle down there.

After getting off the tram with Lin Ying, Lin Ying looked up at the distance, her eyes glistening.

"What's wrong now?" Zhou Jiye asked with concern.

"Come on! Come home with me!"

Lin Ying raised her hand to wipe away her tears and then smiled.

"Do you want to take a break?" Zhou Jiye asked with concern, noticing that Lin Ying was a little agitated.

"No need, I've been waiting for this day for a long time." Lin Ying shook her head and refused Zhou Jiye's offer. She straightened her clothes and smoothed her hair, trying to make herself look better despite her disheveled appearance. After doing this, Lin Ying strode across the street, with Zhou Jiye following behind carrying the luggage. The two crossed the road and walked a short distance before stopping in front of an old house.

"Is this your home?"

Zhou Jiye looked at the old house in front of him with surprise. He never expected that the home Lin Ying mentioned was actually an old villa.

"If it's not my house, is it yours? What's wrong? You were so reluctant to propose to me back then, but now you feel like you've won the lottery, right?" Lin Ying smiled with a hint of smugness.

"Hehehe..." Zhou Jiye nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, his heart bursting with joy: "My God! I'm rich! I'm rich!"

He never expected that Lin Ying came from a wealthy family. Zhou Jiye, a former resident of Shanghai, knew all too well what owning an old villa in Wutong District meant.

Putting everything else aside, this old villa alone would be impossible to acquire without several small goals in forty years. Just this house alone would guarantee a lifetime of wealth. He never imagined he'd be so lucky, actually marrying such a gem. However, if Lin Ying went home, would she turn around and dump him? Zhou Jiye suddenly thought of this possibility, and the smile on his face became somewhat unnatural.

“I wouldn’t be able to go home without you. I know how to repay kindness. Since you helped me, I will naturally help you. Besides, we come from the same era, and we are husband and wife now. What are you worried about?” As if she could see what Zhou Jiye was thinking, Lin Ying said these words.

These words relieved Zhou Jiye, and the weight on his heart instantly lifted, making his smile much more natural.

Standing before the heavy door, Lin Ying felt a surge of excitement. She stared intently for a while, took a deep breath, and as if making a momentous decision, raised her hand to ring the doorbell on the right.

The old-fashioned doorbell rang, its sound somewhat jarring, but to Lin Ying it was like the most beautiful music in the world.

"Ring ring..."

A few seconds later, I pressed it again, and finally there was movement inside. Soon, footsteps approached from afar, and with a click, the door finally opened.

Lin Ying was overjoyed to see the door open, but when she saw who opened it, her joy turned to astonishment.

A middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit and glasses, with a refined appearance, frowned slightly when he saw Lin Ying and Zhou Jiye standing at the door, but still politely asked the two strangers, "Who are you looking for?"

"Is this the Lin family's residence?"

"The Lin family?" The middle-aged man frowned and said, "This is the Liu family. You've come to the wrong place."

"The Liu family?" Lin Ying's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. "Isn't this number XX?"

“It’s number XX, but there’s no one with the surname Lin here. My family’s surname is Liu. This is my home,” the middle-aged man said, adjusting his glasses.

Lin Ying was stunned. The Liu family? That shouldn't be possible! Her Lin family had lived here since the 1930s. Even after the first ten years, the house was still inhabited; the residents had never changed. Moreover, Lin Ying had heard her grandparents talk about this countless times since she was little. How could it possibly become the Liu family's home?
"Does Mr. Lin...Lin Ruoxu live here? Do you know him?" A thought suddenly surged in Lin Ying's mind, and she asked in a trembling voice.

"Lin Ruoxu? Never heard of him, don't know him." The middle-aged man shook his head blankly.

"Impossible! How could this be! Are you lying to me? Where is Lin Ruoxu? Did you take over his house? Move aside, I need to go in and see!" Lin Ying's expression changed drastically at the middle-aged man's words, her voice became shrill, and she excitedly tried to force her way in.

"What are you doing! This is my home!" Suddenly seeing Lin Ying's expression change drastically, and actually trying to barge in, the middle-aged man hurriedly stopped her, grabbing Lin Ying who was trying to rush in: "What Lin Ruoxu or Lin Ruowu? I've never heard of this person. My family has lived here for 49 years. There's no one with the surname Lin here."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Once her defenses crumbled, Lin Ying, like a cat with its quills snapped, desperately tried to break free from the middle-aged man's obstruction, determined to go inside and see what was happening. The middle-aged man was both angry and furious, blocking the doorway and refusing to let Lin Ying in. The two were locked in a fierce struggle, unable to reach an agreement.

"Zhou Jiye! Are you out of your mind?! Come and help!" Lin Ying shouted anxiously.

"Trespassing! Outrageous!" The middle-aged man was furious. "You're trying to talk to me nicely, young lady, and you just barge in? Robber? Bandit? If you keep this up, I'll call the police!"

"Go ahead and report it! This is clearly my home, how did it become your home? Lin Ruoxu! Lin Ruoxu! Come out! Come out! It's me, Lin Ying! It's me, Lin Ying!" Lin Ying shouted into the house, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..." Zhou Jiye was completely dumbfounded. He had considered all sorts of possibilities for Lin Ying's return home, but he never expected it to be like this. By the time he came to his senses, Lin Ying was already arguing with the middle-aged man. Judging from Lin Ying's agitated state, she might just reach out and scratch his face.

He quickly stepped forward and, taking advantage of his size, forcibly separated the two, pulling Lin Ying back desperately while apologizing, "I'm sorry, comrade, my wife is here to find her relatives, she may have come to the wrong place."

"I didn't go to the wrong place! This is my house! How could I go to the wrong house?" Lin Ying exclaimed, jumping up and down in a panic.

"Alright! Stop talking!" Zhou Jiye roared at Lin Ying for the first time. This was the first time they had ever yelled at Lin Ying like this since they met. Lin Ying was stunned by his roar.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. My wife has been living in the countryside for a few years, and things are a bit difficult here..." Zhou Jiye said sincerely to the middle-aged man, clasping his hands together and bowing repeatedly. At the same time, he raised his hand and drew a circle next to his head, then added, "We've really troubled you. We'll be going now..."

The middle-aged man was initially very angry, but after Zhou Jiye's explanation, and seeing Lin Ying's emotional yet distraught and tearful appearance, his expression shifted slightly as if he had thought of something. He shook his head and decided not to pursue the matter further: "Since that's the case, then let it go. Let me reiterate, this is my home, not some Lin family. You should find out the address before you talk to your relatives. If I weren't so easygoing, I would have called the police directly. This would have been a serious matter. Alright, alright, you can go now..."

The middle-aged man muttered a complaint under his breath, then turned and went back inside, closing the door behind him. As the door slammed shut, Lin Ying, standing outside, seemed to have lost her soul, staring blankly at the closed door, muttering, "Impossible...this can't be..."

(End of this chapter)