This...

Everyone guessed that Ding Yao’s mind had likely been destroyed by the indiscriminate Spiritual Ability attack from moments ago.

Remembering the arrogant claims he’d made earlier, they couldn’t help but find his current drooling state deeply ironic.

Haozi stared at Ding Yao’s repulsive state and had a sudden thought. "Wait a minute. Didn’t this asshole say he could reform or something after he died?"

Qiangzi didn’t get it. "Yeah, so what?"

Duan Qianyu, however, already understood what Haozi was getting at. She smiled. "So... as long as he stays in this state and never dies, he’ll never get the chance to be reborn!"

Qiangzi’s eyes lit up. "Heh, I like that!"

Fighting back his revulsion, he patted Ding Yao’s cheek. "Consider it a gift from us, letting you keep on living. You’re actually more carefree now than you ever were before."

But Duan Qianyu’s gaze fell on Li Xingye, who had been silent the whole time, and a worried expression crossed her face. "It’s just... the people from Dawn Base might be a little tougher to deal with than we thought."

Cheng Peng hauled up the now-untied Ding Yao and headed for the door. "Let’s let the boss get some rest. We can talk about everything else later."

Soon, they had all left.

After a long moment, Li Xingye finally processed the vast and chaotic flood of information in his mind, letting out a soft sigh. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Are you feeling any better?" Chi Wan’s worried voice asked.

Li Xingye froze. He hadn’t realized Chi Wan had been quietly waiting with him the entire time, not saying a word.

A warmth spread through his chest. He entered his pocket dimension and, just as he expected, saw Chi Wan curled up on a plush sofa in the room he had tidied up earlier. She was clearly exhausted but was still forcing herself to stay awake, her face etched with concern.

Li Xingye had seemed to be in pain, so Chi Wan hadn’t felt right about going to sleep. Unsure of his condition and not wanting to disturb him, she could only stay curled up in the pocket dimension, quietly keeping him company.

Li Xingye knelt on one knee, pulling Chi Wan into a tight embrace. He buried his face in the crook of her neck as if drawing strength from her very presence.

His voice was muffled. "Wanwan, I saw them. Those so-called futures Ding Yao talked about."

Whether it was because Li Xingye had absorbed Ding Yao’s superpower, or because some strange resonance occurred during the Spiritual Ability’s rampage, the scenes Ding Yao had described flooded into Li Xingye’s mind all at once. That’s what had caused him so much pain earlier.

Chi Wan was so sleepy that her reaction was a little slow. She blinked as she heard his words, gradually processing what he was saying. "But... those futures aren’t necessarily real, you know?"

She ruffled Li Xingye’s hair and said slowly, "If Ding Yao’s so-called ability to ’foresee’ the future was so amazing, then why did he never see me? I doubt he ever saw his own current fate in any of those so-called futures, either.

"Brother Xingye, from the moment we met, any preset timelines—past or future—became meaningless. Ding Yao has no say in what your future holds."

Li Xingye placed a soft kiss on the side of her neck, then lifted his head and smiled. "Wanwan’s right."

Chi Wan mumbled indistinctly, "These people... spending all their brainpower on infighting at a time like this."

Li Xingye gently pinched Chi Wan’s cheek and agreed in a deadpan voice, "Tell me about it. So clueless. Okay, Wanwan, everything here is taken care of. You should get some sleep. Don’t you have class in the morning?"

Chi Wan covered her face. "Don’t remind me of something so painful! Ahhh!"

Li Xingye stood up, leaned over, and kissed her forehead. "Need a wake-up call?"

A mischievous grin spread across Chi Wan’s face. "No need~ Lili will wake me up~"

Li Xingye: ...

He felt a sense of resignation about Chi Wan’s insistence on calling the mechanical puppy Lili. Still, he wasn’t as uncomfortable about it as he had been when he first learned that the puppy was a gift from Xiahou Yu.

*

A few relatively peaceful days passed after that.

While they waited for Professor Zhang to return, the first few weeks of the semester were still light on coursework. So, that weekend, Chi Wan went with Mr. Xu Sr. to attend an orchid exhibition.

The exhibition was held in Beijing City and was quite large-scale. It was said to be hosted by one of the organizations that set the standards for orchid grading.

Chi Wan felt no pressure; she was simply going to broaden her horizons.

What she hadn’t expected was that Mr. Xu Sr.’s standing in the orchid community was even higher than she’d imagined. With him as her guide, most people were friendly toward her, even though she was quite young compared to the master growers present.

Mr. Xu Sr.’s enthusiastic praise and high regard for Chi Wan in particular prompted many people to exchange business cards with her, suggesting they get together to chat sometime.

Chi Wan accepted each card gracefully, and her poised demeanor—neither servile nor overbearing—earned her a great deal of goodwill.

Mr. Xu Sr. himself was something of a focal point at the exhibition. Although he hadn’t brought the still-developing Ghost Orchid, a curious crowd gathered to look at the photos and videos he had of it.

Watching the delicate yet vibrant Ghost Orchid seedling on the video feed, many people could hardly contain their excitement.

Although Mr. Xu Sr. repeatedly stated that the Ghost Orchid seedling had only been successfully cultivated thanks to Chi Wan, everyone privately believed he was just trying to boost her standing and didn’t take his words at face value.

Mr. Xu Sr. wasn’t worried, though. He had faith in Chi Wan’s skills; it was only a matter of time before she was fully accepted by the community.

While Mr. Xu Sr. caught up with an old friend he rarely saw, Chi Wan took the opportunity to wander through the exhibition on her own, admiring the gorgeous orchid hybrids.

Her stroll was interrupted when a refined, scholarly-looking middle-aged man with a kind and appreciative smile stepped in her path. "Miss Chi, you truly are more than meets the eye. Not only are you beautiful, but you also possess such incredible skill with orchids and have even won the favor of Mr. Xu. It’s truly admirable."

Chi Wan frowned. Although the man was doing his best to appear gentle, there was something about his gaze... it felt vaguely insulting.

And for some reason, she felt he looked familiar.

Seeing that Chi Wan seemed wary of him, the man smiled again. "No need to be nervous, Miss Chi. Meeting you today has been a delightful surprise. Shall we speak somewhere more private?"

Just as the man turned, Chi Wan saw his profile. In a flash, she finally realized where the feeling of familiarity came from—she had seen a photograph of this man!

It was in the very stack of investigation files Zhou Huai’an had given her!

This man... was Song Baihan?!

’What does he want with me?’

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Baihan turned and headed for a corner of the exhibition hall, acting completely certain that Chi Wan would follow him.

And he was right. Genuinely curious about his motives, Chi Wan slowly followed.

In the corner, display panels had been used to partition off a small area. A table and chairs had been placed inside, as if prepared in advance to receive a guest.

After they were both seated, Song Baihan’s first words were, "I know what you want to do. As it happens, I want the same thing."