My Beloved Died Eighty Years Ago

Shen Beiling was a modern-day college student. While visiting a museum one day, he suddenly transmigrated back to the Republic of China, eighty years in the past. Fortunately, he was lucky enough to be taken in by a young master who had just returned from studying abroad.

Gu Changmian had been back in the country for less than three months. His words and manner were full of cosmopolitan flair, and Shen Beiling shamelessly made himself Gu Changmian's sidekick, designing a few novel gadgets the young master had never seen before.

Once, Gu Changmian got his hands on a curious new Western invention. He carried it everywhere and showed off to the young man. "I paid several hundred silver dollars for this thing. It has a strange name, too: a camera. I've eaten chickens from the sky and chickens that walk on the ground, but I've never heard of this camera. Have you?"

Shen Beiling's eyes lit up at the sight of the camera. It was a rare antique! If he could get his hands on it and return to the future, he'd make a fortune. He showered Gu Changmian with praise. "Exactly, young master. Just look at it. You're the only one worthy of this thing. Everyone else is trash."

Gu Changmian frowned and glanced at Shen Beiling's handsome face again. After making a few more teasing turns around the subject, he said, "You like it, huh? Heh. Well, I'm definitely not giving it to you."

Shen Beiling laughed in exasperation. What a spoiled brat. Before he could finish getting annoyed, he saw Gu Changmian toss the camera into his hands. "There's a banquet tonight, hosted by my family's newspaper. You're the smartest person working for me. When I give my speech, record it for me. If you do a good job, I'll give it to you as a prize."

"Sure. I'll make you look absolutely stunning, young master."

At the banquet, Shen Beiling watched Gu Changmian surrounded by people onstage and couldn't help turning the camera back toward his face. Perhaps his movements were too obvious, because Gu Changmian narrowed his eyes and looked at him several times, wearing a particularly devious smile.

Shen Beiling's cheeks flushed, and only then did he turn the camera away.

Later, war broke out in China. To avoid trouble, the whole family moved to Britain, but Gu Changmian stayed behind. He sold the property his family had left him and used the money to support Mr. Yang.

By an unfortunate twist of fate, Shen Beiling never boarded the ship. Instead, he returned to the future. He thought it had all been a distant dream, until he visited a museum and saw that old, battered camera.

A film was playing on the museum's big screen. Gu Changmian was looking in the same direction, his gaze just as it had been when he looked at Shen Beiling all those years ago.

From then on, my last memory of him existed only in that recording. My beloved had died eighty years ago.

Theme: This story has nothing to do with real history.