episode 76

S City, 6 PM.

It snowed lightly in the city all day, and the streets and rooftops were covered with layers of white "ice cream," which at first glance looked very similar to the scenery in Christmas and New Year's movies.

But upon closer inspection, it's still the same boring real world.

Pedestrians hurried by during the evening rush hour, seemingly in no hurry, their footsteps crunching through the snow, leaving a trail of anxious, hurried footprints. Only sanitation workers in orange uniforms slowly swept the snow from the middle of the road, their shovels slapping on a layer of white salt with a "crack," then dumping it all into buckets with a "whoosh," repeating this process over and over.

Winter nights fall early. At the end of the street corner, a cozy dessert shop had already lit up. The teru teru bozu (a traditional Japanese doll shaped like a sunny day) at the entrance had been taken down and replaced with a uniquely designed blue wind chime, gazing at the snow and wind outside through the transparent glass. A short, stout snowman, seemingly built by some mischievous rascal, stood at the shop entrance, a crooked, stubby carrot stuck on its nose—a comical yet inexplicably cute sight.

Yan Bitong put her hands in her pockets, stared at the snowman and gave a barely perceptible smile, then deftly pushed open the door and walked into the dessert shop.

The wind chimes jingled, and a shop assistant wearing a bear apron emerged from behind the counter and quickly greeted her: "Hello, ma'am, welcome."

He observed the newcomer without making a sound.

Across from me was a young woman, about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, with a neat high ponytail, wearing a brown wool coat, black skinny jeans, and Martin boots. Looking at her features, she had thick eyebrows, big eyes, a pointed chin, and a high, straight, hump-shaped nose that most girls would envy. From the side, she was simply stunning, easily making one imagine herself as a beautiful female celebrity.

The shop assistant was a student who had just turned 18 and was working part-time. When she met Yan Bitong's eyes, she was too scared to move. However, this was not the kind of fear that comes from being so amazed by a beautiful woman that you can't move. Rather, it was the kind of fear that comes from seeing a strict and powerful homeroom teacher or a police officer with piercing eyes.

The other person's demeanor was so imposing that the shop assistant even began to wonder if he might be a fugitive criminal.

Yan Bitong didn't seem to care much. She glanced at her and pointed to the shop window, saying casually, "Little sister, take a bag of toast, two croissants, two scallion and pork floss rolls, two donuts, and a sandwich."

"Okay, please wait a moment."

The shop assistants were jolted back to their senses by her icy tone and hurriedly put on gloves to take the bread one by one.

Since the scallion and pork floss rolls were still in the oven and needed to wait two or three minutes, Yan Bitong idly swiped her phone to browse random and meaningless news.

Just then, another customer pushed open the door and walked in.

Enveloped in the cold wind and snow, the wind chimes jingled softly. Yan Bitong subconsciously turned her head and saw a tall, handsome young man.

He was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, his wristwatch was dazzling, and his features were indifferent.

The man was on the phone, and as he walked, he gently asked the person on the other end, "What would you like to eat?"

Oh.

Elite individuals who appear respectable but are actually quite servile.

Yan Bitong glanced at it dismissively before turning her head away, losing interest.

A moment later, the man hung up the phone, walked to the counter, and stood next to her.

The scallion and pork floss rolls were finally baked. The staff packed them up and handed her a full brown paper bag, saying respectfully, "Madam, please take care and welcome to visit again next time."

After saying that, she turned to look at the new customer. The man's appearance made the girl's eyes flash with amazement. She was stunned for two seconds before saying, "Hello, sir, welcome."

Yan Bitong put her phone back in her pocket, took the bag, and turned to leave.

The man politely stepped aside, then turned around, his left hand naturally resting on the glass display case, a simple silver ring on his well-defined fingers that flashed briefly with the movement.

With a thud—

It was as if a boulder had been thrown into my heart, stirring up a thousand waves.

Yan Bitong turned her head sharply, grabbed the man's arm, and stared at the ring on his middle finger with an anxious and incredulous tone, saying, "You know the senior?!"

*

Yan Bitong is a rare character in the world, someone whose story is so bizarre that everyone would find it unbelievable and would call her crazy. After graduating from police academy with top grades, she went against the wishes of her family and friends to study at a media university and became an investigative journalist after graduation.

Her acquaintance with He Xun was purely accidental.

In investigating a case involving a well-known entertainment director who allegedly lured underage high school students into sex trafficking, she went undercover as a hostess at a nightclub and ran into He Xun, who was also undercover as a waitress. By a twist of fate, she mistook He Xun for the lured high school student. Fresh out of college and still not very composed, she used a bit of violence to forcibly "rescue" him and "successfully" alerted the perverts.

He Xun, whose plans were completely disrupted, was so angry that he almost fainted. He lost his temper and scolded her, telling her that if she was inexperienced, she shouldn't try to be an undercover agent. After she squatted on the ground and cried her heart out because of a variety of complex emotions such as self-blame, shame, and anger, the two naturally became good friends.

Later, after she learned that He Xun was also a graduate of the Communication University of China, she naturally began to call him "senior."

Although He Xun would occasionally say with disdain that she made herself sound old, her face clearly looked just as youthful.

The two shared the same ambitions and ideals, had a close friendship, and together exposed a lot of shady news. In the end, of course, they also died together in a bloody car accident—a deliberate car accident.

"Madam, you say you know He Xun, but why should I believe you?"

Having just experienced a thrilling trip to Southeast Asia, Mo Shilin was still somewhat wary of a stranger suddenly approaching him and claiming to know He Xun.

He glanced calmly at Yan Bitong across from him, his slender fingers tapping the table rhythmically. "You can't just rely on your words. He always wears this ring on his hand, so it's not surprising that you recognize him."

Yan Bitong took a sip of coffee, glanced at him, and dropped a bombshell: "He's from another time, and so am I."

Mo Shilin paused upon hearing this, raising an eyebrow to signal her to continue.

“This is a fictional world—no, to be more precise, perhaps a parallel world? Because some of the countries here are also there, and the social systems are quite similar. I don’t know the specific differences, but it’s true that neither he nor I originally lived in this time and space.” Yan Bitong rested her chin on her hands and said with certainty, “Since he could give you such an important ring, you must know a lot about him.”

"So, can you trust me now?" Yan Bitong raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Mo? Or—President Mo?"

Before Mo Shilin could reply, she waved her phone. The screen displayed a public photo of Mo Shilin attending a business banquet the previous morning.

“You’re easy to recognize, after all, my phone just pushed a business news article about Yuntu five minutes ago.”

Mo Shilin remained noncommittal.

Since a system like this could cause him to lose his memory, it's not surprising that He Xun's identity and origins are unknown.

No wonder I couldn't find any information about He Xun back then.

“He’s safe now, you can rest assured.” Mo Shilin didn’t know the exact nature of the other person’s relationship with He Xun. His meticulous nature prevented him from believing just one side of the story. He would at least have to go back and ask He Xun before saying anything. He didn’t want to say more and gave a lukewarm smile. “But I’m sorry I can’t tell you anything else right now.”

“Okay, I understand. I just hope you can help me pass on a message to him, tell him that I’m here now and that I’m eager to see him.” Yan Bitong sighed, stirring her latte art with a silver spoon, her heart racing. “We haven’t seen each other in a long time, and I miss him very much.”

I miss him so much.

"Eager...do all you liberal arts students speak so formally?" Mo Shilin chuckled, making a sarcastic remark, suppressing his displeasure, and raised an eyebrow to ask, "Are you very familiar with him?"

“Of course, we’re as close as can be.” Yan Bitong chuckled softly, then her gaze fell on the plain ring on his hand. Her tone was a mix of sigh and disbelief, with a hint of bitterness. “Are you that important to your senior? This ring was made from jewelry left by his deceased mother. He’s always worn it and has never taken it off.”

Mo Shilin's gaze froze, and the jealousy that had just arisen vanished instantly, like the receding tide.

He lowered his head, his fingertips caressing the silver ring on his finger, a tender and gentle light shimmering in his dark eyes.

Tsk.

Yan Bitong couldn't stand his gaze. She felt uncomfortable and awkward because He Xun had a friend here who was more important than her. She crossed her arms and deliberately interrupted, "But I really didn't expect that he would become friends with someone of your status."

The tone was quite sarcastic.

—But we're more than just friends.

Mo Shilin chuckled, ignoring the obviously barbed retort, and instead posed a new question: "Why did you time travel? There must have been a trigger."

He wanted to know more about He Xun.

Yan Bitong reluctantly acknowledged his intelligence: "As expected of the leader of Yuntu, you are indeed smart, unlike those good-for-nothings."

Mo Shilin remained noncommittal, a slight smile curving his thin lips as he made a gesture of listening attentively.

Unexpectedly, Yan Bitong, who had been chatting and laughing just moments before, suddenly stared at the table and fell silent. Her face was even paler under the light, almost blending into the white paint on the wall.

Mo Shilin had a feeling that what she was about to say might be very heavy, so he didn't urge her. He simply reached out and poured her a glass of water.

"Thanks."

Yan Bitong suddenly gripped the cup, tilted her head back, and gulped down a mouthful of water. She lowered her eyelashes, then raised her head again, repeating this action two or three times before finally speaking heavily—

"Before I traveled through time, he and I were investigating a heinous case involving the CEO of a well-known entertainment company who used drugs to illegally control his trainees and forced them to drink and sleep with him."