4. “Bungee Jumping”

Unable to withstand my roommate’s repeated persuasion and relentless coaxing, I finally agreed to accompany him on the long holiday weekend to experience bungee jumping.

Riding our heavy motorcycles, the two of us arrived at a site upstream along the river, where an arched iron bridge hung high above a deep valley.

The owner was a foreigner with blond hair and blue eyes, a typical muscular guy. His assistant had strongly defined features, and judging from his accent, he was probably an Indigenous man. He was just as powerfully built. The two big men worked quickly and efficiently, coordinating with remarkable teamwork.

As I watched the thrill-seekers ahead of us jump into the deep valley, some screamed at the top of their lungs, while others closed their eyes and pretended to remain calm. Their various expressions of excitement and fear were so entertaining that I could not help thinking these people were clearly paying money to torture themselves.

My roommate was ahead of me in line. When he jumped, he spread his arms and legs like a Formosan flying squirrel. He bounced up and down several times over the deep valley, and in less than three minutes, he had burned through three NT$1,000 bills.

I suddenly felt a little heartbroken. Those three thousand-dollar bills would have been enough to let me enjoy good hot pot for both lunch and dinner for ten straight days.

Then it was my turn.

I calmly put on the chest harness, waist belt, and crotch harness myself, skillfully wrapping them around my body and fastening all the buckles.

The Indigenous instructor asked curiously, “Have you done this before?”

I nodded with a smile, too lazy to offer any further explanation.

The instructor reminded me, “You can hold a pillow to help ease your nervousness.”

I thought to myself, “LOL, you really must think I’m a total amateur. I served in a special forces unit during my military service. I received parachute training and mountain warfare training. This is nothing.”

I jumped headfirst, upside down, like a dolphin with its eyes wide open. The riverbed quickly rushed toward my eyes.

In an instant, everything in front of me went completely black.

The sound of the wind behind my ears suddenly disappeared.

Just as I was beginning to wonder what was happening, a few seconds later I heard the ringing of an alarm clock beside my ear.

“Huh? Am I dreaming?”

I turned over and sat up, looking around the room.

Judging from the delicate furnishings, this appeared to be a girl’s bedroom. More than a dozen empty beer cans were scattered across the floor.

I muttered to myself, “How did I get back here? Wasn’t I just bungee jumping? Where am I?”

Then the bathroom door opened.

A young woman walked out, wrapped in a towel around her lower body, with another towel wrapped around her head.

I stared at her in stunned disbelief.

The girl, who had a prominent pair of breasts, walked toward me and said, “Xiaoli, you’re awake! I told you, just let your boyfriend go. There are plenty of other fish in the sea!”

“Xiaoli? I’m Xiaoli?”

I immediately realized, “This is serious.”

I lowered my head and looked down, only to discover that beneath the robe was a prominent pair of breasts, shaped like papayas.

I gathered my courage and asked, “Who is Xiaoli? And who are you?”

“What? Is this some kind of post-breakup trauma syndrome? Are you seriously pulling this on me? Here, this is today’s newspaper. You’ve been asleep for more than half a day. It’s almost noon.”

The girl picked up a newspaper from the desk and handed it to me.

“After you finish reading the newspaper, remember to meet me at the restaurant. We’ll have lunch together.”

The girl turned around and walked over to the wardrobe beside the bed. She removed her bath towel and, with her back toward me, put on her bra and underwear.

“See no evil.”

I immediately shifted my gaze back to the newspaper.

A headline and photograph on the front page left me completely stunned:

“Tragedy Follows the Thrill: Bungee-Jumping Accident Claims Life of Male Graduate Student in Dahan River Valley.”

I slapped my forehead several times, completely unable to figure out what was happening.

How had I ended up here, living under a stranger’s identity?

Just then, my cell phone rang.

I picked it up and answered.

“Sir, I’m sorry. It wasn’t your time to die. I accidentally selected the wrong person.”