Chapter 178 Perhaps this is some kind of truth about human nature…
Before I knew it, another semester had ended. From preparing my final paper to the start of the holidays, Worston frequently contacted me and often treated me to meals, all in an attempt to glean more information about the other world. But some of my classmates at the community college thought I was dating a rich and handsome guy, and they often gave me suggestive looks.
Even the castle maids and Dalene suspected there was something between Worston and me. I would occasionally explain that we were talking about another world or that ancestor from another world, and the castle maids would remark sourly, "I've noticed that ever since you became involved with that other world, you've had a lot of romantic luck."
Daisy sneered, "That's right, she's really lucky with men."
Compared to Daisy, I seem to have been much luckier. This "luck" lies in the number of men I've met, not in the fact that men aren't scumbags.
But there's one thing that makes me different from Dalene. When Dalene falls in love with a man, she sees him as the most important person in the world, like her former "ex-boyfriend" the Duke, Mamboa's philandering father, and the cynical and crazy Hya.
I don't think I've truly fallen in love with anyone yet, or rather, I'm willing to give everything for any man. I'll enjoy the pleasures of love with this man, but I won't be foolish enough to worship him. These men have never had only one woman, and I won't have only one man.
Perhaps this is a certain truth about human nature: loving only one person in one's life is just an illusion of love, and it has never been the true nature of love in human nature.
If possible, people will try to experience different kinds of love rather than concentrating all their love on one person. Human nature is to seek advantage and avoid harm; perhaps loving only one person cannot withstand the vicissitudes of life.
It started pouring rain that day, and it seemed no different from any other day. As I walked out of the teaching building with my umbrella, I saw Woston's black luxury car.
The rain was heavy, and not many people noticed us. Unlike usual, when people passing by would always glance at me with envy and resentment.
As I got into his car, I sighed, "If you keep coming like this, people will think we're getting married."
Worston, gripping the steering wheel, chuckled. Just as he was about to speak, his phone rang. He answered it with his earpiece on, but could still hear a coquettish voice on the other end, seemingly asking if he wanted to have dinner together that evening. He simply declined and hung up.
"Girlfriend?" I asked, "Won't this affect your relationship?"
“A female suitor,” he said tactfully, then stepped on the gas and started the car.
The luxury car moved slowly through the heavy rain. I didn't ask him where he was going; as usual, we went to the library's basement to search for any clues about the other world. Although several months passed without any results, he never gave up.
I'm willing to search with him, just to try my luck and see if I can find the secret to traveling to another world. Going back and forth so many times is just too tiring.
Five minutes from the library, traffic suddenly jammed. Worston honked twice in frustration, but to no avail. In the torrential rain, the not-so-wide road was completely congested.
Suddenly, the castle maid called. I answered, and her boisterous voice was very clear in the car, "Lana, did you come to the library in Worston's car?"
"yes."
“I was right in front of you, I just got out of the taxi, but the taxi wouldn’t go any further. I saw your car.”
"What brings you to the library today?"
She hung up the phone, and I was wondering what was going on. Less than a minute later, she knocked on our car window. I opened the door, and she got in.
“I found this in the library’s basement last night.” The castle maid, soaking wet, handed me something—a beautiful crescent-shaped silver earring.
I was stunned. This is... Bernard's.
"You said he came here last time, is that what he left behind?" the castle maid said smugly. "I found it last night and took it straight home. The lost and found office was already closed then. I was about to take it there today when I saw your car and suddenly thought, is it what the man from another world left behind?"
“It’s his.” I touched the crescent-shaped silver earring, and just as I was about to examine it closely, Worston’s long hand grabbed it from me. “Let me see.”
The castle maid was somewhat displeased, "Hey, you're robbing me..."
Beep beep—horns sounded from both the front and the back, indicating that the traffic jam was starting to clear and vehicles were beginning to move. Worston, holding the silver earring in one hand and the steering wheel in the other, said, "Sorry, I just wanted to take a look around a bit more."
"You can watch it later, drive, watch your car!" the castle maid shouted.
A hasty BMW suddenly cut in from the side. Worston slammed on the brakes, but the car behind was following too closely, and Worston's car crashed into it with a bang. The little maid and I were stunned. Then, with another bang, we collided with the car that had cut in from the side. My head hit the windshield this time, and the little maid screamed, not knowing where she had hit. I groaned and touched my head, about to ask what had happened, when Worston suddenly stepped on the gas. With another loud bang, we crashed heavily into the right-hand road railing. Before I could react, another car crashed into us...
——
As spring arrives and flowers bloom, sunlight streams into the magnificent, spacious room, making the entire room shimmer with golden light.
A group of little girls in gray dresses and with braided hair laughed and played hide-and-seek on a thick, dark red carpet.
Another group of women, dressed in dark blue dresses and wearing white headscarves, stood to one side, watching the little girls warily and cautiously.
These little girls were not of noble birth, but they were not lowly either; they were all illegitimate daughters of high-ranking officials and nobles. To save on education costs, they were collectively cared for by a group of lower-ranking noblewomen who had passed cultural and etiquette tests. It was rest time, and the girls could play freely indoors, but the supervision remained strict, with the noblewomen never leaving their side.
Even though they were illegitimate children, noblewomen would be severely punished if they were injured or went missing.
The large door to the room opened, and a tall, stern-faced woman in her fifties led in a young woman in a dark blue dress, wearing a white headscarf, and with delicate features.
“She’s a new caretaker who arrived today; her probationary period begins today,” said the stern-faced woman in her fifties. “Her name is Shiloh.”
The noblewomen nodded slightly to her as a greeting.
"For the first month, you only need to watch and learn how others do it. In the second month, you can participate in the work," the fifty-year-old woman said solemnly.
I nodded. I am Shiloh. This is my English name in the modern world.
Coming here was purely by chance.
Waking up from a car accident in the modern world, I found myself back in another world. This time, I landed in the Eastern Lands, in a worse situation than the first time I arrived. I woke up in a street corner, looking like a beggar, when two young girls passing by tossed me a few copper coins.
It was snowing heavily that day, and snowflakes were falling on me one by one. I was shivering with cold, and I almost felt as miserable as the little match girl. Perhaps even worse than the little match girl, I had no matches, and my hands were empty.
I struggled to my feet from the snow, wrapped my modern dress tighter around myself, and walked forward step by step. It was summer in modern times, so I was naturally wearing a summer dress. Although it was raining heavily that day, and I had put on a long-sleeved dress with a cardigan over it, the material was still thin, and I was still very cold.
Clutching the copper coins the two young girls had thrown at me, I went to a bakery and begged if they could sell me a loaf of bread. I was cold and hungry, so I put all the coins on the counter. The old man selling bread gave me a disdainful look, turned his face away, and ignored me completely.
I was extremely embarrassed. "Could I buy a cup of hot water?"
The old man selling bread finally put away the coins and gestured with his chin to a kettle on a table in the corner of the shop. I quickly went over, poured myself a cup of hot water, and downed it in one gulp. One cup wasn't enough, so I drank two more, making a total of three cups before I finally felt a little warm.
As I left the bakery, I was starving, but penniless. I had no choice but to bite the bullet and go back to the corner, pretending to be a beggar. Or rather, I didn't need to pretend; I already looked like a beggar.
I looked at the passersby with pitiful eyes while searching my body from head to toe to see if I could find anything valuable. Even if I had Bernard's earrings on me, it would be good to exchange them for some money.
But after searching for a long time, I found nothing.
I huddled in the corner, begging pitifully, but after more than twenty minutes, I only managed to get five copper coins, which was even worse than before. At least the two girls had given me six copper coins.
Unable to stand in the cold corner any longer, I clutched my five copper coins and stumbled back to the bakery I'd just visited. Even if I couldn't buy bread, I could still get hot water.
My whole body was already ice cold.
The old man who had been minding the shop was gone; a woman holding a baby was now sitting inside. I placed the five copper coins back on the counter. "Excuse me, may I buy a cup of hot water?"
The woman holding the baby paused for a moment, then stood up and said, "Wait a minute, let me pour you a cup." Perhaps she was a kind person, because she actually said, "You don't need to pay."
I was taken aback. She had already brought hot water and placed a cup in my hand. "Drink it quickly, or the boss will kick you out when he comes back."
I finished the cup in one gulp and placed it on the counter. She then put the five copper coins back into my hand. The moment she put them back, she suddenly froze again. I found it strange, but without thinking much of it, I took the coins and was about to leave when she rushed to me, holding the baby. "Sister, sister, is that you?"
I was stunned for a moment, and she exclaimed excitedly, "I'm Aya!"
Aya?! This name is both familiar and unfamiliar.
Looking at her again, her face was pointed, her chin was pointed, and only her eyes were round. She seemed familiar, but her face was haggard, and there were light wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and lips. Her long, dry, yellow hair tied behind her head was completely unfamiliar.
“Aya, Shaling.” She tried her best to evoke my memory. “We are from the same village. Shaling is my neighbor and older sister.”
I finally remembered that when I fell into another world for the second time, it was also winter. I was buried in thick snow. It was Aya who rescued me and took me back to the village, where I met Shaling again.
"It's you!" I murmured in disbelief. Her once round face had become pointed, her pure features had become haggard and wrinkled, with deep crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, dry and brittle hair, and rough, peeling fingers. She was clearly younger than me, but looked much older. I couldn't recognize her at first glance.
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Author's Note: Thank you everyone for following the story!
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