I burst out laughing: "What did she guess?"

  Tang Jiao nodded: "I think she probably guessed that the two people who were shuttling through time and space, whom I told her about last time, are us. After all, she's just like you, a top student."

  I said: "Your good friend is very loyal."

  Tan Jiao smiled: "That's natural."

  "Why aren't you very happy?"

  She paused, lowering her eyelids and said: "I'm just... thinking carefully, this feeling is really tough. We and Zhuang Yu, Shen Shiyan, have been through the case of Yan Yuan together. But when we two crossed over to this time, they both forgot everything. This time I explained so much to Zhuang Yu, she vaguely guessed it. But next time, the people around us will still forget about us... repeating like this, going on like this..."

  It turned out that this was the reason for her sudden emotional downturn. I put my hand on her shoulder and said, "It will end. When we reach that terminal point in time, everything will return to normal. Who knows, when you mention this period of time to Zhuang Yu, she might even envy your bizarre experience."

  Tan Jiao smiled and said, "That girl is really jealous to the point of death." She looked up at me, her words producing a chill that floated around our faces. She asked, "Yu, will you be disappointed? I feel like it's always been you leading us forward."

  I took a deep breath and said, "Sometimes I get really tired too. In this process, I want to get something so badly. I don't know if my efforts will pay off. Many things are aimless, and I don't know if there's an end in sight. But we only have one road ahead of us, and we must keep moving forward."

  She nodded, but her eyes shone like stars: "Ah Yu, you mustn't feel discouraged. You are extraordinary in my heart. After going through so much hardship, now you still want to stay in the Chen family and save these people's lives. I actually... didn't used to be as selfless as you, but I'm willing to be with you and do these things together. We can't choose the path ahead of us, but we'll try our best to make it more meaningful."

  A warm tranquility settled in my heart. She didn't say anything else, the surroundings were quiet, with only the two of us standing under the tree, occasionally snowflakes falling from the branches above, landing within my line of sight. My hand was still on her shoulder, she lifted her slender neck and looked at me. I don't know if she would close her eyes again to wait, but I asked myself, could I really leave her now? Leave such a wonderful woman?

  "Ah-choo——" Tan Jiao let out a loud sneeze, then immediately covered her face in embarrassment. I laughed and released my grip on her shoulder, pulling out a tissue from my pocket for her. She took it without looking at me, rolling her eyes.

  "It's cold here, let's go inside."

  She wiped it clean, sniffled her nose and said: "No, I was in a bad mood just now. I want to stand here for a while."

  I said: "Okay, I'll have another cigarette." Just as I lowered my head to light the cigarette, I heard her soft voice say: "But Ah Yu, it's so cold here."

  I raised my eyes and looked at her, she also turned her head to look at me, sparkling bright eyes, like a soft little animal. And my throat was a bit dry.

  This woman is formidable when she gets tough, really hard to deal with.

  I had a cigarette in my mouth and was about to take off my jacket, but I saw her fingers clasped on my arm: "Don't take it off, you'll get cold too."

  Time seemed to freeze at this moment, and before I could react, her head had gently leaned against my chest, nestled between the open sides of my jacket.

  Neither of us moved.

  After a while, I raised my hand and gently wrapped it around her waist.

  "Is it still cold?" I asked softly.

  She kept her head down, not revealing a bit, and said in a low voice: "It's fine, it's not cold at all here."

  ……

  This was our second day at the Chen's and the night before the fire.

  Everything is normal during the day and we also take precautions against fires very carefully. But if a mountain fire occurs unexpectedly, we must be more prepared to prevent it.

  And in my chest, the heartbeat that was constantly disrupted by that woman. After the chaos, it seemed as if something was constantly melting in my heart. What emotions were constantly rising and falling.

  Tonight, I still didn't sleep well. This is actually not normal for me. Because recently, my nightmares have been getting fewer and farther between, the empty space in my chest hasn't been filled, but I've gradually gotten used to its existence.

  I had another dream where I was trapped in some kind of tight binding and restraint. Something, layer by layer, wrapped around me, pressing me into the darkness. My whole body was covered in cold sweat, my breathing was difficult, and everything around me was sticky and wet. I even felt like something was approaching me.

  ……

  I suddenly opened my eyes and saw the empty ceiling. Everything in my dream was shrouded in a dark chaos, disappearing without a trace.

  I sat up, picked up the cup on the bedside table and took a sip of water. I raised my head to see the open window and outside it, the dark mountains crouched like beasts in ambush.

  Suddenly, it felt like a chill ran through my heart.

  Before going to bed, I clearly closed the window and locked it.

  That dream didn't come out of thin air. Someone sneaked into my room for two consecutive nights and stayed by my side.