As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Ye could no longer control himself. He stretched out his arms and pulled the man he loved to the core into his embrace.

His strength was astonishing, as if he wanted to embed her into his own flesh and blood.

"sorry……"

A hoarse, broken voice came from Su Tang's ear, with a heavy nasal tone and suppressed sobs.

"I'm sorry... Tangtang..."

He buried his face deep in the crook of her neck, greedily inhaling her familiar scent, like a traveler who had been adrift in the storm for a long time and had finally found a harbor.

“I’m not blaming you,” she said softly, trying to comfort you.

Qin Ye's body stiffened, then he hugged her even tighter.

He finally admitted his deepest fear, his voice hoarse: "I'm afraid... afraid that one day you'll leave..."

“No, I won’t.” Su Tang interrupted him, her tone incredibly firm. “Qin Ye, listen to me, as long as you don’t let go, I will never leave.”

She paused, looked up, and kissed his chin.

"Jiang Xubai said we can go back early. Shall we leave now?"

Qin Ye slowly released her, raised his hand, and used his fingertips to wipe away the tear stains that had somehow gotten on her cheeks. His eyes were red like a rabbit's, yet surprisingly bright.

He nodded slightly. "Okay, let's go home."

Su Tang grasped his hand, and with a thought, the ring emitted a warm glow.

A familiar tearing sensation came over them, and when the two opened their eyes again, they were back in the small courtyard bedroom where they had woken up after their wedding night.

But... something's not right.

Su Tang glanced out the window; the light wasn't the pitch black of the night, but the dim glow of dawn.

The pair of dragon and phoenix red candles inside the room hadn't burned out; the flames still flickered gently, filling the room with a festive atmosphere. The lingering scent of last night's intimacy still hung in the air.

Everything was exactly the same as before they left.

No, it should be said that everything was exactly the same as the morning of the second day of their last marriage.

Qin Ye also noticed the strange time difference. He glanced at the wall clock, and the hands pointed exactly to 4:30 in the morning.

He remembered clearly that the day he was urgently summoned away was at this very time.

The two looked at each other, both seeing deep confusion in each other's eyes.

This journey into the future seems like nothing more than a bizarre and fantastical dream.

"Knock knock knock—"

Just then, there was a hurried knock on the courtyard gate.

The two exchanged a glance.

That knocking sound...

Qin Ye frowned, got up, put on his coat, and strode out. Soon, the anxious voice of the guard, Xiao Zhang, could be heard from inside the courtyard.

"Commander! Emergency! Deputy Commander Liu wants you to go to headquarters for a meeting immediately! The border..."

Su Tang sat on the edge of the bed, listening to the conversation outside, which was exactly the same as the last one.

It's not a dream.

They're really back...

Qin Ye returned quickly and hurriedly changed into his military uniform.

Unlike last time, both of them were mentally prepared and no longer felt the same panic.

Su Tang wanted to get up to see him off, but he pressed her back onto the bed, kissed her forehead, and whispered, "You're tired, sleep a little longer, wait for me to come back," before striding away.

After Qin Ye left, she lost her sleepiness.

On a whim, she retrieved the encrypted message left behind by Jiang Xubai.

Information flowed through her mind, but the content was shockingly simple.

"There's no need to delve too deeply into Lei Zhen's purge plan."

"The world you live in is real."

"Live your life well and stop trying to uncover any secrets about the 22nd century. It will only bring you danger."

"Tangtang, forget the dawn, forget the past. Begin your new life there."

That's all for now.

What seemed like an explanation or reassurance actually revealed to Su Tang as utter perfunctory and concealed meaning.