Chapter 120, Part 120: My Love Returns to Its Branches Like Fallen Leaves
The dozens of rewinds had already caused Shen Mi unbearable suffering. She felt as if her soul was being torn apart, and her consciousness was being forcibly pulled into the torrent of time. Each rewind was like being slashed across the depths of her spirit by a sharp blade.
Her nerves were trembling, her breathing was rapid, and her brain throbbed with pain as if it were being squeezed. Even though this time travel was successful, she still felt that a part of her soul had been left behind in the future, lingering there, unable to return to its rightful place.
Sweat streamed down her forehead, blurring her vision.
"Are you alright?" someone passing by stopped and asked with concern.
Shen Mi paused for a moment, then shook his head and forced a smile: "It's nothing... thank you."
As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a heat in her nose, and a wet liquid slid down the tip of her nose. She wiped it away with her sleeve, not even looking at the red mark, and dragged her trembling legs, step by step, towards the backstage.
She had to find Huanlong quickly, before the exact moment of the explosion. Shen Mi had a premonition that this might be her limit.
As he walked, the scenes from before the flashback kept flashing through Chen Mi's mind.
Huanlong's expression at that moment—astonishment, bewilderment, and even a hint of genuine panic.
That wasn't an act. She could tell.
Huanlong was a genuine accident.
But—if it wasn't her, then why did the explosion still happen?
Is there another force controlling all of this?
Or is it that so-called "fate" is not in anyone's control at all? It can explode whenever it wants, but is forced by the rules of the world to make everything seem "reasonable" through someone else's hand?
Fate is as cunning as an invisible puppeteer. Shen Mi seems to be a free man moving through it, but he is still bound by its rules.
No matter how many times she goes back in time, no matter how hard she tries to deviate from that path, fate will always find a new way to push the event back out.
Even if you go through countless hardships to prevent all of this from happening, what's meant to happen will happen.
But didn't the last time she went back in time break this "absolute" rule? She saw with her own eyes that the minute hand didn't explode after passing thirty-five minutes, so she forcibly pushed the time back by five or six minutes.
This shows that her efforts were not in vain. Everything she did truly changed something.
Shen Mi's heart pounded faster and faster, her blood seemed to be burning in her chest. A near-mad thought suddenly occurred to her—
If she couldn't find a way to stop the explosion, she would freeze time forever before it happened.
As long as she keeps going back in time, as long as she keeps reciting the time, she can trap everyone, everything, and all the possibilities of explosion within the same time period.
May that moment never come.
Let everything stop a second before the explosion.
Even if it means she has to die endlessly, repeat herself endlessly, and be torn apart endlessly...
As long as they can live, as long as that explosion never happens again—
She was willing to accept that.
Shen Mi dragged her tired body to the dressing table.
Huanlong slowly opened her eyes.
Those eyes were different from those in her memory; they were deep and cold, as if they pierced through the cracks of time. Chen Mi's heart tightened, and a sense of "knowing" flashed in her hazy expression, as if she were looking at her through this body.
But in an instant, that strangeness vanished silently, like the wind brushing across a mirror, leaving no trace.
She lowered her gaze again, reverting to the composed and serene figure she was in front of the dressing table, her slender fingers playing with her hair, her expression as calm as if nothing had happened.
In that instant, Shen Mi could hardly tell whether he was seeing a phantom or not—
Or perhaps it's a hint from fate.
She stared blankly at the other person, a painful yet clear understanding suddenly welling up in her heart.
The branches of fate need to be continued, but there is also a fear that these branches will take a new turn.
Perhaps, Huanlong's question just now did not come from her own will—
Rather, fate was using her words to warn the "variable" that was altering the course of events.
So...should I do this?
8:31, 55 seconds—
Huanlong stepped down from the stage, stood in front of Chenmi, and said the exact same words again:
"Little sister...you said you would keep it a secret, so how can I believe you?"
Chen Mi's heart pounded heavily in her chest, almost drowning out the music outside. She looked up and met Huan Long's gaze. At that moment, she finally stopped backing down.
“If you don’t believe me…” Shen Mi’s voice was soft, but firm and unwavering, “If this explosion is going to happen no matter what—then I will carry it out.”
Her lips trembled slightly, her breath came in short gasps, but she still managed to finish her last sentence: "I'll detonate it, and then... disappear forever."
If the branches of fate truly feared her causing them to take an unusual turn, then she was willing to relinquish all possibilities, including the only chance to return—
She asked for little, only that fate would be lenient and allow the fallen leaves to return to their branches.
"good."
In a daze, she seemed to hear a response.
*
"General, you're back?!"
Qingcu had sharp eyes and spotted the figure carrying luggage, looking travel-worn, walking past the audience.
Jing Yuan smiled slightly and nodded. He raised his hand to smooth his disheveled long hair, biting the hair tie, and retied it. His movements carried the casualness of someone returning after a long absence and a sense of weariness that had been swept away.
"Why are you all alone? Didn't Chen Mi come out with you?"
Qingcu shook her head, still holding the camera she was filming. "She said she was a little tired lately and wanted to rest at home, so she stayed home and watched the broadcast."
Jing Yuan's hand paused slightly. The hair ribbon he had just tied slipped between his fingers and tightened gently. He silently hummed in agreement, seemingly deep in thought.
"How has she been lately?" he asked in a low voice.
“She’s fine,” Qingcu scratched her head, “but she seems a little troubled. I asked her if she was too tired from work, but she wouldn’t say much.”
Jing Yuan looked up at the stage high above, where graceful singing and dancing filled the air, with flowing skirts and fans, and the lights and shadows shifting, while cheers erupted from the audience. But that clamor seemed far away from him.
He suddenly felt a tightness in his chest, as if something was being gently pressed down.
"I understand," he said softly, switching the luggage to his other hand and walking slowly toward the crowd.
Qingcu called out, "General, aren't you going to stay and watch the performance?"
"No, thank you." He said with a smile, without turning his head, "I have to go home and see her."
A breeze blew in through the gaps in the crowd, ruffling the hair on his shoulders. At that moment, Qingcu noticed—the general's steps were lighter than ever before.
With anticipation of seeing her again, Jingyuan turned the street corner, passing the place where he had tried to persuade her to stay that night. The lights were still bright, the rain had long since stopped, and even the oppressive, suffocating silence of that time was gone.
He took a slow breath, his steps hesitant and uneasy. In the darkness, he thought: her world was vast enough to accommodate countless lights and shadows. If her gaze fell upon someone else, he could silently bear it—as long as her steps toward him remained firm, as long as her heart was at peace, even if his shadow was only a wisp of it, it would be enough.
"It's really strange, it's like everyone made a prior agreement."
Someone leaning against the gate in the distance once again unleashed his taunting skills, but unfortunately, they were no longer effective against the two of them.
Jing Yuan greeted Dan Heng simply, "You're back?"
Dan Heng was taken aback, somewhat embarrassed to admit it. Jing Yuan's tone was too matter-of-fact, as if he had expected his arrival all along.
He lowered his gaze, his lips tightening. The shame and indignation did not stem from being exposed, but from the resolute way he had left in anger that day—now, looking back, he felt a sense of guilt that he could not find a place to put.
Jing Yuan looked at Ren and asked him the same question, "And you?"
It seems there's another intention behind it.
Blade neither gave a direct answer nor denied it: "I've come to find a way to break the Demonic Yin Body."
Jing Yuan didn't expose him, but just smiled faintly.
"Come in, Qingcu said she's home today."
Crossing the courtyard, Jingyuan stood at the door, about to open it, when he suddenly felt his toes touch something.
Looking down—
It was the watch he gave to Shen Mi.
*
"The bomb has been moved to the location you mentioned."
Huanlong leaned against the vanity, her fingers casually tracing the surface, a half-smile playing on her lips. Her gaze swept across Chen Mi's expression in the mirror, her tone light, yet probing.
"As for keeping it a secret... you're not trying to fool me, are you?"
Shen Mi remained silent, simply gazing at her with an expression that seemed to say, "What more do you want me to say?"
"Why don't you come with me to see?" If we get blown to bits together, it'll save us from the whole plot and prevent you from causing trouble in Luofu.
"Then forget it."
Huanlong's smile gradually faded. She lowered her head, took out a silver disc the size of a fingernail from inside her clothes, and gently twirled it with her fingertip, causing a light blue halo to appear.
“This is a spatial anchor point.” Her voice lowered slightly, sounding both casual and like a tacit agreement. “It will allow you to arrive instantly. I’ve already set the location; you can activate it with a simple press.”
She paused, then looked up to meet Shen Mi's gaze, her eyes suddenly becoming somewhat ambiguous. She touched her lips with a finger, then looked at Shen Mi and said, "It's been a pleasure working with you."
Shen Mi took the anchor point, and could feel the thin layer of energy vibration at his fingertips.
She didn't look at Huanlong again, but took a deep breath and whispered, "Thank you."
The next instant, the light burst forth from the anchor point. The edge of space seemed to be sliced open by a sharp blade, and the air suddenly distorted.
Shen Mi was swallowed up by that pulling force, and when she opened her eyes again, the scene around her was completely different.
—A pitch-black expanse, the farthest reaches of Luofu Mountain. The wind has ceased, and the light has fallen silent.
If you detonate it here, you'll only be the victim.
Shen Mi looked at the liquid device placed in front of him. Having been blown up by it so many times, now that he was examining it up close, he felt that it was nothing special and there was nothing to be afraid of.
As she pondered, Shen Mi suddenly felt a strange sadness. After uttering those words, perhaps she would truly be saying goodbye to everyone.
But if he didn't recite it, they would all perish together. Chen Mi thought about it and decided that a short, sharp pain was better than a long, drawn-out one. He couldn't miss this chance, which he had earned through so many deaths.
Without delay, Chen Mi recited the mantra that Huanlong had taught him: "...I will put this resolve into practice 'destruction'."
As the white light surged up and completely engulfed her, Shen Mi trembled with fear. Before losing consciousness, she whispered the blessing she had kept deep in her heart.
May your "hunting" journey no longer be accompanied by loneliness;
May the fire of your actions bring warmth rather than destruction;
May the stars remember your name, and know the hardship and courage of your pioneering spirit.
When consciousness returned, Chen Mi felt as if he were suspended in a weightless space.
She slowly opened her eyes—
The world before my eyes was bathed in golden light.
It was a huge "tree".
It is composed of countless crisscrossing fibers of varying thickness, extending like veins in the boundless black void. Each fiber shimmers slightly, with light flowing, converging, and dispersing within it, like breathing, or like whispering.
She couldn't see the tree in its entirety; all she could see were endless branches—stretching into the distance, intertwining and diverging, like the veins weaving the entire world. Countless golden leaves adorned the branches, their soft light shimmering gently yet intensely, piercing through layers of mist, stubbornly growing upwards as if trying to break free of all constraints.
High up, a small, pure white bird perched on a branch, its feathers tinged with golden light. It seemed to sense her presence, tilting its head slightly and gazing intently at her.
Shen Mi stared blankly at that scene, and suddenly felt a tightness in his chest, as if he were being gently grasped by some tender and distant force.
"Goodbye." Shen Mi mouthed the words silently.
She was prepared for annihilation.
*
"Quickly notify Dr. He, General Manager Liu, and Professor Lü! The patient is conscious and responsive—I just saw her fingers move, and now her eyelids are blinking!"
Another slightly trembling voice followed, filled with barely concealed excitement: "And! Don't forget to notify the patient's family!"
The monitor's curve jumped up instantly, accompanied by the deep hum of the equipment, and the air in the laboratory seemed to be tinged with some invisible joy. Some people held their breath, while others chuckled softly.
“It seems—” the white-haired professor pushed up his glasses, his voice low and trembling with barely suppressed emotion, “our non-invasive multimodal emotional brain-computer interface… has finally welcomed its first truly awakened patient.”
-----------------------
Author's Note: Well, including tomorrow's extra chapter, it's officially finished! There's a giveaway tomorrow, anyone with a subscription rate of 20% or higher can participate! 15 lucky readers will be drawn, each receiving 100 Jinjiang Coins. There might be a handling fee, so you might not receive 100 Jinjiang Coins?
See you tomorrow! [Starry eyes][Starry eyes][Starry eyes]
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