Page 200

2034, the year before the Disaster Day, is almost three hundred years removed from their own timeline.

Ye Jiang remained silent upon hearing this. She shifted her gaze from the flyer to her surroundings. Under the sunlight, towering buildings stood tall, making the city seem to shimmer. Both the city and its residents exuded vitality and energy.

Ming Chun leaned closer to Ye Jiang and whispered in her ear, "Teacher, we might have traveled through time."

It is now 2034, and they have traveled through nearly three hundred years.

Ming Chun was filled with emotion, her heart unable to find peace. They had actually traveled through time. She was very worried about her younger sister. Where had her sister disappeared to? Had she also traveled through time like them, which was why she and Captain Xiao had disappeared without a trace?

If those two people also traveled through time, would they have traveled to the same time and space?

Ming Chun was worried; although she had come to a world three hundred years in the past, she couldn't appreciate this unfamiliar place.

"Brother, brother, would you like to buy flowers?"

A clear, crisp voice came from the side, attracting the attention of Ye Jiang and the worried Ming Chun. They looked over at the same time and saw a girl of about 15 or 16 years old. The girl was holding a bouquet of flowers and standing in front of the cold-faced young man, trying to sell the bouquet to him.

She playfully pleaded, "Buy me a bouquet, brother. It's Valentine's Day today, let's buy a bouquet for the pretty lady."

Ming Chun's eyes flickered, belatedly realizing that there was such a young man always by Ye Jiang's side.

Selling bouquets to this seemingly aloof young man—the girl doesn't know how to choose customers. She'll get hurt. Gentle Ming Chun looked at the child, who resembled her younger sister, and felt a surge of pity. She stepped forward, ready to help her out. "Little sister, you..."

She had barely opened her mouth when she saw the young man move. He took a dark green gemstone cufflink from his shirt sleeve and handed it to the girl.

The girl took it, looking confused. "Brother, did you forget your money? Would you like to trade this glass keychain for it?"

The young man remained silent; his meticulously sculpted face was expressionless, giving him an overly distant and unapproachable air.

The girl's ability to appraise jewelry was almost as good as her eye for choosing customers. She grabbed the gemstone cufflinks, her eyes crinkling with a smile, "Okay, sister, you're very pretty, so I'm willing to trade with you. Just this once, brother, remember to bring money next time~ Here, your flowers~"

After saying that, she took a bouquet of flowers from her bosom and handed it to the young man.

She seemed to have helped bring about a beautiful love story, and like a cat, she lowered her head and chuckled, her eyes disappearing with laughter. She skipped and hopped towards the next guest, as lively as a little rabbit.

"Brother, would you like to buy flowers?" Soon, her clear voice came from afar; she had found her next customer.

Ming Chun: "..."

She was speechless for a moment, then laughed at her own unnecessary worry.

Ye Jiang was watching a girl in the distance selling her flowers when a fragrance suddenly wafted to her nose. Looking down, she saw Rong Yin handing her the flowers in his hand; several clusters of violets were in full bloom, their abundant blossoms touching the tip of her nose.

Ye Jiang paused, several question marks slowly rising above his head. His gaze drifted to the young man holding the flowers, puzzled by his meaning.

"For me?" she asked.

Rong Yin nodded.

Ye Jiang refused, saying, "The flower-selling child thought you were going to give them to Ming Chun, that's why she traded them for your cufflinks."

When Ming Chun saw the young man delivering flowers, a motherly smile just began to spread across her face. Then she heard her own name called. Her smile froze, and she blinked in confusion. What did this have to do with her?

Rong Yin, like Ming Chun, didn't understand.

Ye Jiang, expressionless, repeated the flower girl's words, "'Sister is very pretty, I'd like to trade.'"

She emphasized the pronunciation of the word "pretty".

The girl said "pretty older sister" twice.

Ming Chun blurted out, "Isn't that referring to you?"

Why are you talking about her?

Ye Jiang denied it, saying it definitely wasn't referring to her. Although she didn't understand human aesthetics, she had lived in a human form for several months and could already tell that the word "beautiful" clearly described Ming Chun, not the ordinary-looking Ming Chun.

Ming Chun took a moment to process it and finally understood her teacher's thought process. She was both amused and exasperated. "Teacher, you really know nothing about what you look like!"

Ye Jiang's face was exquisite, down to the smallest inch: long eyelashes, almond eyes, cherry lips, a high, upturned nose, and smooth, perfectly proportioned facial features—a truly astonishing masterpiece of genetic creation. But for some reason, this face was always easily overlooked. A fleeting glance might leave one mesmerized, but the initial amazement would quickly fade. Why? Was it her aura? An overly melancholic aura? No, it seemed to be more than that.

It felt as if that face had been subjected to some kind of mental spell that blurred others' attention, Ming Chun thought absentmindedly.

No, how could that be? Who would do such a thing?

Ming Chun put aside her random thoughts, smiled, and said, "Teacher, you are very beautiful."

She glanced at Ye Jiang a few times. "Besides, the gentleman beside you has been looking at you the whole time, how could the flower-selling child have made a mistake?"

That aloof young man was silent and had a faint presence, but if you looked closely, you would find that his gaze was always fixed on Ye Jiang.

Ye Jiang's eyes flickered.

She subconsciously looked up at Rong Yin, who had been looking at her, but when he noticed her looking up, he turned his head slightly away, avoiding her gaze.

Ye Jiang: "..."

She paused for a moment, then reached out and took the bouquet of flowers.

I'm feeling a bit strange.

Suddenly, a loud "bang" rang out in the square, and several high-definition screens surrounding the square...

They all lit up at once, and fireworks exploded on the screen.

"Oh oh!!"

People in the square cheered loudly, couples embraced each other, and spouses smiled at each other.

Bang.

Bang.

Fireworks burst into bloom one after another.

This is truly a beautiful world.

Amidst the jubilation of the crowd, this thought arose in Ye Jiang's mind.

Just as she thought this, a dark shadow fell from the twenty-something-story building, quickly passing through the exploding fireworks screen, and crashed to the ground. The sound of the landing rang out along with the fireworks, and the cheering crowd suddenly fell silent.

People stared blankly at the dark shape that had crashed to the ground.

There are two people.

Two people, their flesh and blood mangled beyond recognition.

Two people jumped off a building together.

"Aaaaaah!"

Screams erupted.

Bang--bang--bang--

Fireworks, oblivious to human emotions, bloom beautifully.

People surged toward the scene like a tide, then paused, before quickly receding back, a dark mass, as if frightened by the body of the person who jumped, watching from a distance.

No one spoke; their eyes were hesitant, and their faces showed only panic.

Behind the crowd, Ye Jiang looked at the giant screen fireworks. After a while, her eyes lowered and fell on the ground below, looking at the pool of blood and flesh. After a while, her gaze turned to the surrounding crowd.

This is a beautiful world.

But hidden beneath the beauty, inconspicuous mold seems to be rotting in secret.

Next to Ye Jiang, Ming Chun Chun's mouth was agape, unable to close it for a long time.

How could this be?

One moment they were celebrating romance, and the next this tragedy struck?

She looked reluctant to leave, took two steps forward, and wanted to go over and do something for the two deceased.

A passerby stopped her and shook his head at her. Ming Chun was puzzled and was about to ask when a car horn sounded, an official vehicle pulled up, and several plainclothes government officials got out.

Two people quickly set up a cordon, one shook out the body bag and began collecting the body, and the other picked up a loudspeaker and adjusted it.

"Hello, hello—everyone, the central square is now under lockdown. The reopening time will be announced later. Please go home and find your mothers... Ouch!"

One of the men pulling the caution tape walked by, slapping the man with the megaphone on the back of the head, and walked away expressionlessly, leaving the man with the megaphone grimacing and rubbing the back of his head.

This scene, witnessed by Ming Chun, filled her with worry. "How could such a serious murder case have come about in such a... such a way..."

A lazy and irresponsible office worker.

Ming Chun added in her mind that she was a gentle person and wouldn't say anything unpleasant.

There was no sound from the side. Ye Jiang didn't respond to her words. Her gaze passed through the crowd and landed on the young man with the megaphone. The young man looked to be only in his early twenties, with short hair, delicate features, and a frivolous air about him. For some reason, she was drawn to this man.

Beside her, Ming Chun spoke, saying, "These are such young officials; they'll probably have a hard time controlling the crowd. The people won't easily follow their orders..."

Ming Chun didn't continue speaking, because the crowd in the square began to disperse spontaneously and orderly.

Ming Chun was surprised.

As the crowd began to disperse, Ye Jiang finally withdrew her gaze from the human and looked at the increasingly empty square.

At this moment, Rong Yin asked, "Are we leaving?"

Ye Jiang remained silent.

Ming Chun gently tugged at her sleeve. "Let's go, teacher."

If they don't leave now, there will only be a few of them left in the square, and they'll be questioned for obstructing official business, right?

"Let's go." Ming Chun tugged at Ye Jiang again, and this time she pulled. Ye Jiang followed her and retreated with the crowd, Rong Yin silently followed.

After leaving the square, Ye Jiang suggested that Ming Chun part ways. She guessed that Ming Chun was going to look for someone, her younger sister Ming Xia, and wouldn't stay in one place forever.

"And what about you?" Ming Chun asked.

Ye Jiang said, "I'll stay here."

"Huh?" Stay here?

Ye Jiang remained expressionless, offering no further explanation. Ming Chun opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't ask any more questions, only saying with a slight sense of melancholy, "Then farewell, teacher."

Ye Jiang nodded to her.