Those few had rested on the plane. I was the only one who'd spent the whole way wrestling with whether to give in to my desires. Now that we needed to take care of some basic needs, we all bought a few things at the airport, ate a little, and used the restrooms before getting into the rental car.
As soon as I got in, I could barely keep my eyes open. I fell asleep.
In my dreams, I heard some sounds. Wu Ling and the others were talking quietly about Morris Town. I caught a few words, but they wouldn't come together into a clear picture in my mind. Their voices became background noise.
Before long, even that background noise faded away.
I heard the sound of brakes and jolted awake in fright.
As I woke, I heard a child crying, people shouting and arguing, and loud music.
I soon realized that the car was still moving smoothly.
Wu Ling had taken over driving from Liu Miao, who was now in the front passenger seat. Guo Yujie was beside me, dozing, with Han Yun sitting on her lap.
My sudden awakening made Wu Ling glance at the rearview mirror. Han Yun turned around to look at me, too.
I shook my head and closed my eyes again.
The sounds I'd just heard had come from a memory I'd newly received.
A stranger... a woman... Lei Baihe. I'd never heard that name, and I'd never seen her before.
I sorted through the memories that had flooded into my mind and confirmed that she was a stranger. She wasn't even from Minqing. I had no connection to her at all.
I patiently went through Lei Baihe's memories. She'd been born in Zhonghe, an inland city, and had lived there until high