The New World's Gate (Middle-Lower)

The doctor neighbor downstairs examined Tang's father and was a little confused. Judging from his current physical condition, he should be fine, but from their description just now, it was clearly quite serious.

So, at her suggestion, after the ambulance arrived, Tang Baona, her mother, and her father went to the hospital for further examinations.

After a preliminary examination at the hospital, Mr. Tang was found to be fine. However, just to be on the safe side, he decided to stay at the hospital for a full check-up the next day. After all, the previous situation had been quite frightening, and they needed to figure out the cause before they could feel at ease.

At Tang's father's request, Tang's mother and Tang Baona did not inform Tang Baoting and Gao Yao. They decided to tell them when they went for their check-up the next day. After all, Tang's father felt great and was in excellent spirits. If it weren't for Tang's mother and Tang Baona's insistence and the neighbor doctor's suggestion that he get checked out, he wouldn't have wanted to come to the hospital at all.

Sitting on the hospital bed, drinking water and chatting with Tang's mother and Tang Baona, Tang's father still felt a lingering fear as he recalled the previous incident, "Honestly, I really thought I was going to die. Suddenly, it felt like my breathing and heartbeat stopped..."

Tang's mother couldn't help but slap her husband's thigh through the blanket. "Stop talking nonsense!"

Tang's father said, "Sigh, everything's alright now, isn't it? If dying were as easy as death, I could just talk a lot about immortality and eternal life, and become an immortal, right? Haha, don't worry, it's fine, we were just chatting. When I was half-dead before, I felt like I was in another world, and I saw some strange things..."

Both Tang's mother and Tang Baona became a little nervous.

"Old Tang, what did you see?"

"Dad, what kind of world did you see?"

Tang's father recalled, "It was pitch black, I couldn't see clearly, the light was very dim, there was a door in the distance, and I could see a lot of strange-looking people... no, not people..."

"Not human?" Tang's mother asked nervously.

"Yes, they weren't people. They seemed to be rabbits, cats, and some other strange-looking things. I couldn't see what they were because the light was too dim. Anyway, I just kept moving towards that door, moving as hard as I could, and then suddenly the door disappeared, and light rushed in. I opened my eyes and saw Nana," Tang's father said. "I don't know what those things were, but I wasn't scared. It's just that thinking about it now, it seems a bit eerie and strange."

"A rabbit and a cat?" Tang's mother was also confused. She had been on edge, expecting to hear descriptions of hellish scenes or ox-headed and horse-faced demons, but instead it was just cats and rabbits?

Tang's father chuckled, "Maybe what I saw back then was the cycle of reincarnation, and the cats and rabbits next to me were already destined to be reincarnated. Who knows... I might be reincarnated as a cat in my next life? Sigh, I'll definitely be a super gluttonous orange cat, always dozing off."

Tang's mother was amused by him. "All you think about is eating, sleeping, and not doing any work!"

"I'll still come looking for you then. If you see a pitiful orange cat begging for food, remember to adopt it!"

"If you were to be reincarnated as a cat, I'd want to be a cat too!"

"That won't do! If you turn into a cat too, what if we both become stray cats? That would be too much trouble! You still have to turn into a human, a rich and beautiful one, so you'll have money to buy cat food and canned cat treats to take care of me!"

"Why should I have to earn money to buy cat food? Can't I be the cat, and you take care of me?"

"You're more ambitious than I am."

"Can we get a different animal? Something cute and easy to feed?"

"Pig?"

"They're going to be eaten!"

"How about otters? Otters seem quite cute..."

So Tang's parents picked up their phones and started searching for pictures of otters and other cute animals. They even had a heated discussion about what kind of animal they would be better to be reincarnated as if they couldn't be human in their next life.

Tang Baona, feeling utterly humiliated by the display of affection, left the ward with a wry smile and went to the corridor for some fresh air.

My dad is still the same dad; he always manages to make serious, depressing, or bizarre things funny and lighthearted.

Thinking about it this way, it seems a bit like Yang the Third. Why are all the people around me like this? Isn't it said that birds of a feather flock together? Could it be... that I'm actually one of them? Maybe I just haven't realized it yet?

Her phone suddenly vibrated—after checking into the hospital, she had quietly put her phone on silent—and when she picked it up, just as she wished, it was a video call request from Yang the Third.

As soon as the video call connected, Yang Zhen'er on the other end immediately let out a loud yelp, then shouted, "Happy birthday, Nana!"

Yang the Third squeezed half of the Little Chubby Girl's head under his own and shouted, "Pretty sister... have fun!"

Little Apple and Lao Xia, standing behind Yang Zhen'er, also said, "Happy birthday, Sister Nana."

"Oh dear, Little Bell, you didn't come as planned! We agreed you'd shout 'May your happiness be as boundless as the Eastern Sea and your longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountains,'" Yang Zhen'er said with a smile, ruffling the Little Chubby Girl's head.

Tang Baona was startled by their voices. She quickly turned down her phone volume, looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief when she found no one there.

It turns out it was past midnight, now it's October 4th, so Yang the Third and the others came to video chat with her right on time to celebrate.

Tang Baona made a shushing gesture, signaling them to be quiet, and then said, "Thank you, thank you all. Little Bell, why aren't you asleep yet? Yang the Third, you'd better watch out, Sister Lin might beat you to a pulp! It's past midnight and you still haven't let Little Bell sleep!"

"No, Little Bell had a blast playing on the mountain this afternoon with Egg Pie, Gold Glitter, and Little Apple, so she couldn't stay awake after dinner and went to sleep. She just woke up hungry," Yang Zhen'er said with a smile, rubbing the Little Chubby Girl's head.

The Little Chubby Girl sat on Yang Zhen'er's lap, craning her neck and trying to get her eyes in the video frame, as she protested, "I didn't wake up from hunger! I woke up specifically to wish the pretty lady a happy birthday!"

"Then why are you having late-night snacks with us?"

"I'm really hungry!"

"No more eating! After you've wished your pretty sister a happy birthday, go brush your teeth and go back to sleep!"

"No... Uncle Baldy said we should finish what we start and not give up halfway. I haven't finished eating yet..."

"You're getting heavier and heavier! Look, you're making my legs bend!"

"No! No weight! No bend!"

Seeing this familiar, noisy, and joyful scene, Tang Baona couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, Nana, aren't you at your parents' house? Why is the background so dark? Didn't you turn on the lights?" Yang Zhen'er said to Tang Baona in the video.

"I'm not home, I'm at the hospital. My dad had a bit of a problem, and my mom and I brought him here," Tang Baona explained. "He's in the hospital corridor now."

"What happened?" Yang Zhen'er exclaimed in surprise, "What's wrong with Uncle Tang?"

"It's alright now. I went to the hospital just to be on the safe side and wanted to get a check-up. The initial examination showed nothing wrong, so don't worry," Tang Baona said.

Yang Zhen'er said with some annoyance, "Sigh! I should have gone back with you."

"Hey, don't make it sound like you're the one taking care of me. I'm clearly the older sister, okay?" Tang Baona said, both amused and exasperated.

Of course, she knew very well that Yang Zhen'er's concern for her situation and her family was absolutely genuine.

Although Tang Baona turned the phone volume down very low and spoke very softly, it was still nighttime, and talking here might disturb others. In addition, she wanted Little Bell to finish eating and go to bed quickly, so she only chatted with Yang the Third, Lao Xia, Little Bell, and Little Apple for a short while before ending the video call.

Standing in the hallway, looking through the glass at the distant buildings and starry sky, Tang Baona thought of the little girl in the white dress who had suddenly appeared and disappeared in her living room not long ago.

She calls me Sister Nana.

Tang Baona knew that her close and familiar relatives and friends would call her Nana, and those who would call her Sister Nana were naturally younger than her among these relatives and friends—of course, Little Bell was an exception.

But the little girl in the white dress doesn't need to be found among her younger relatives and friends, because the little girl looks like Lao Xia when he was a child, and Lao Xia also calls her "Sister Nana".

Is this little girl really, as Yang the Third said, someone who possesses some kind of... "cloning ability" of Lao Xia?

But judging from those two simple sentences, her feelings for Lao Xia are very different, completely different.

Moreover, during the video call, Tang Baona also observed Lao Xia, who was standing behind Lao San. Although only his eyes were visible, she didn't notice anything unusual—of course, it's possible that she couldn't see it.

Or is this little girl a second personality that split off from Lao Xia?

Lao Xia had previously told her about some kind of "congenital defect," and one of the purposes of setting up that Research Base in Chongyun Village with Xiang Kun was to treat this "congenital defect." Could this method be to materialize that second personality?

As for how to visualize it, it should be directly related to Xiang Kun, just like her current ability to transform other people's emotions and various objects into melodies for understanding and expression. Lao Xia might have had the same experience and gained some kind of ability through Xiang Kun?

Wait, is that little girl a real person or an illusion?

The feeling of that little hand pressing against the back of my hand, it must have felt real, right?

But how did she save my dad? Was it the same situation as controlling streetlights or someone else's phone?

Ugh? What on earth am I thinking? It's all so confusing.

Tang Baona slapped her forehead, realizing she'd gotten herself into a mental rut. She picked up her phone, thinking she might as well call Lao Xia and ask. But then she thought, knowing Lao Xia's personality, if he were willing to tell her, he would have already said so when they talked about it last time. This might be a very important secret, something he had to reveal to save her father? Would calling him so abruptly put Lao Xia in a difficult position?

Or, if I call and don't ask about the "Little Sprite," could I first talk about how I can sense the melody? Or tell her my own secret first? That way, if Lao Xia is willing to talk, she will take the initiative to tell me.

But instead of unlocking her phone or making a call, she looked around and whispered, "Little Sprite, are you there? Can you hear me?"

After saying that, she couldn't help but smile wryly and shake her head.

Just as she was about to unlock her phone, a familiar voice rang out. "I'm here! Sister Nana!"

Tang Baona was startled, then noticed the change in light. Looking up, she saw a little girl in a white dress standing on the windowsill outside the corridor, smiling at her through the glass.

"It's you... Little Sprite!" Tang Baona instinctively wanted to shout for danger and try to open the window to let her in, but then she immediately remembered that when the passenger plane was attacked, she was able to stand on the wing high in the sky, so this should be even easier now.

"Sister Nana, are you looking for me?" The little girl's mouth opened and closed, but the voice came from the speakerphone in Tang Baona's hand in the corridor.

"Thank you for what you just said," Tang Baona said softly.

"You're welcome, Sister Nana! It's what I should do!" Although she said that, the little girl still had pride and happiness on her face.

"Why... why are you standing outside? Aren't you cold outside?" Tang Baona looked at the little girl, unsure of where to begin.

"It's not cold! I think it looks more impressive to appear like this!" the little girl said, spreading her arms out to the window, her hair beginning to sway in the wind.

"Then... can you come in?" Tang Baona asked.

The next instant, the little girl outside the window disappeared. Her sleeve was tugged, and when she turned around, the little girl was already standing in the aisle, looking up at her with bright eyes.

Tang Baona instinctively reached out and gently pinched the little girl's cheek. Although it wasn't as bouncy as the Little Chubby Girl's cheek, the texture was definitely real!

"Are you Lao Xia?" Tang Baona asked instinctively.

"I'm not Lao Xia."

"Then... who are you?"

"My name is Alice! I'm the boss's assistant! I'm Little Bell's Little Screw! I'm Sister Nana's Little Sprite!" the little girl said cheerfully.

"The boss's... assistant?"

A questioning voice suddenly sounded behind Tang Baona: "Nana, who are you talking to?"

Tang Baona turned around and saw that it was her mother. Then she immediately turned back to look at the spot where the little girl who called herself Alice had been, but there was no one there.

"Oh, it's nothing, I just finished talking with Zhen'er," Tang Baona quickly made up an excuse.

Tang's mother didn't seem to suspect anything. She walked over and said, "I'll take care of things here. You go home first, get some sleep, and come back tomorrow. You, your sister, and your brother-in-law can accompany your father to his checkup then, and I can go home and sleep."

"Mom, you go back to sleep. I'll stay up all night. I'm young and can stay up late," Tang Baona quickly said.

"Oh dear, who celebrates their birthday in the hospital? Go on, go on, don't disturb my private conversation with your dad," Tang's mother scolded. "Be careful when you take a taxi, send me a WeChat before you get in."