Sie nodded with certainty.
"That's strange..."
Ren Yu sensed the suitcase on the ground and found that the energy it had taken so much effort to fill was constantly dissipating.
At this rate, it would probably be empty before morning.
He had waited a full half year just to fill that suitcase with energy.
And in the end, all it gave him was a girl?
Ren Yu couldn't help feeling like he had taken a huge loss.
The last time he opened the box, he had gotten a ring. After putting it on, he had been able to equip badges to increase his strength.
This time, he had been hoping it might produce some kind of weapon, or that the toy box itself could be used as a turret.
Now, all his plans had gone down the drain.
No, perhaps they had not completely gone down the drain. Ren Yu could sense that something seemed to have changed.
Was it a change in the ring?
As Ren Yu lifted the suitcase to inspect it, Sie blinked her watery eyes and asked, "Oh, right, I still don't know your name. Can you tell me what it is?"
She leaned forward slightly, as if waiting for Ren Yu's answer.
"Me?"
"Mhm." Sie's face was full of anticipation.
"I..." After hesitating for a while, Ren Yu ultimately gave his real name. "My name is Ren Yu. I'm from Shenzhou. You can just call me Ren Yu."
"Alright, I'll remember that."
"Then, Mr. Ren Yu, can you tell me about the changes in this world? Sie has been gone from here for a long time and doesn't know anything anymore."
At the mention of not knowing anything, Sie lowered her head dejectedly, sorrow clouding her expression.
What time was it now? Just how many years had passed? She had stayed in the Sea of Quantum for so long that even she had become a little muddled.
Was Sister Bronya doing well?
What about everyone at the orphanage?
And... how was Mother doing now?
There were too many things she wanted to know.
Noticing her change, Ren Yu's heart stirred slightly. He comforted her gently, "Don't worry. Things are nowhere near as bad as you imagine. It's 2015 now. Only one year has passed since you left."
After that, Ren Yu gradually explained some things about the state of the world.
Though they were all common knowledge that everyone knew, along with some relatively unimportant events.
Still, Sie listened with unexpected attentiveness.
Or rather, perhaps she had been lonely in the Sea of Quantum for too long. As long as someone was willing to talk to her, it did not matter what they talked about—she could listen to it all.
As they chatted, time slowly passed, and Sie was no longer as reserved as she had been at first.
She could keenly sense that this black-haired man did not seem to bear her any ill will.
Moreover, Ren Yu occasionally slipped in little stories that whetted her appetite, making her heart itch like it was being scratched by a cat. She desperately wanted to hear everything in one go.
Just as Ren Yu was about to talk about Bronya, he suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Sie tilted her head, looking curiously at Ren Yu, who had fallen silent.
She had been just about to hear the part she cared about most, so why had he suddenly stopped?
Ren Yu hesitated, but in the end, he did not tell her Bronya's news.
He knew that if he told Sie what she cared about most, she would probably run off to find Bronya the very next day.
Besides, he did not know Bronya's current situation either.
It seemed that her nominal mother—Cocolia—had called her back, but it was still unclear where she was.
If Cocolia learned that Sie had escaped from the Sea of Quantum, she might very well use her for another round of experiments.
Ren Yu glanced at Sie's full chest. Though he could not see anything through her clothes, he knew there was an unusual stigma there.
—A natural-born stigma.
Combined with the fact that Sie had walked out of the Sea of Quantum alive, there was no telling whether Cocolia would stuff her into some experiment again.
With a sigh, Ren Yu looked at the clock on the wall.
—03:24
Wearily, he said, "It's late. Get some sleep."
"Okay... alright."
Sie answered obediently and did not force Ren Yu to keep chatting with her.
Ren Yu picked up the suitcase from the floor. Just as he was about to open the door and head next door to sleep, Sie suddenly jumped out of bed and hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to sleep." Ren Yu looked at her with amusement.
"It's this late. What else could I do besides sleep?"
"Can't you sleep here?" Sie asked nervously.
Even though Ren Yu had told her so much, she was still afraid.
Afraid that this was not the real world.
Afraid that this was only a false dream, and that once she woke up, she would return to that twisted Sea of Quantum.
Afraid that all of this was merely Mirror Flower Water Moon.
"Sleep here?"
"That works too."
Before you continue