Without having given Xia Tong the hug she expected, Qin Cheng apologized, bid her farewell, and headed for the ticket counter.
Since Professor Zhu was too old to endure the turmoil of the plane, Qin Cheng booked train tickets. Since the train ride was at night time, they could sleep during the entire trip until finally arriving in Anhui.
After a short conversation with Professor Zhu, the professor went to sleep first. Qin Cheng, on the other hand, was unable to fall asleep, so he sat in his seat by the window, then took out a book and a pen.
However, no matter what, Qin Cheng couldnât concentrate on reading the book. His mind was still pondering about the words that popped up in his mind a while ago.
That voice was somewhat fuzzy, and before Qin Cheng could even figure out who the owner of the voice was, he was already unable to remember the sound of that voice.
Therefore, Qin Cheng was unable to tell whether that voice belonged to a man or a woman, whether the voice was fast or slow, and much less, knowing what kind of mood that person was feeling when they had said those words.
â Donât fall in love with anyone else. â
For some reason, Qin Chengâs eyes suddenly felt sore and swollen. It was like a thin layer of mist was covering his eyes. Qin Cheng clenched his fists tightly and tried to remember that voice again.
But no matter what, no matter how much he fought against his own memory and the headache he was beginning to feel, he couldnât remember.
The pen in Qin Chengâs hand unconsciously brushed over the book, and it took a long while for Qin Cheng to realize it. Once Qin Cheng became aware, the blank space in the book had been filled with the words floating in his mind.
Qin Chengâs fingertips trembled slightly as he gently touched the page of the book. As if he was touching the person who said those words to him.
Such a thought made Qin Chengâs eyes suddenly turn red. As if a kind of joy, that he had never experienced in the past few months, was overwhelming him inside. However, this joy was mixed with a sense of endless despair.
Qin Cheng read the words under his fingertips and blinked. âDonât fall in love with anyone elseââŚ. thatâs what that person, who he couldnât remember, had said to him.
After the lights of the train went out, Qin Cheng sighed softly: âFine.â
â You told me not to fall in love with anyone elseâŚ. â
â I promise you that, alright? â
Upon arriving in Anhui, Qin Cheng continued feeling somewhat bewildered until he finally settled down in Dangtu. The next day, Qin Cheng followed Professor Zhu to the âMausoleum of the Son of Heavenâ. Before Professor Zhu took Qin Cheng to the Archaeological Team, he asked Qin Cheng if he would prefer to rest for two days before starting work, but Qin Cheng refused and immersed himself head first into the job.
During the day, Qin Cheng would work together with the Archaeological Team, while at night, he helped Professor Zhu write down the materials until late in the evening. Qin Cheng was so busy that he no longer had any free time, so he would end up falling asleep in bed as soon as he arrived at his apartment. In addition to work, Qin Cheng didnât dare to give himself a break, to have free time and allow himself to be idle. All in order not to think.
Upon realizing what Qin Cheng was doing, Professor Zhu gave him a piece of advice: âWhile hard work is indeed good in itself, it is also necessary to rest properly.â Qin Cheng nodded his head, but even then, he didnât change his routine.
As for the dream that used to haunt him, perhaps it was due to how extremely exhausted he had been feeling recently, but Qin Cheng hasnât had âthatâ dream in a long time.
Spring came quickly, and the temperature began to be unpredictable. One day, Qin Cheng got stuck under a sudden Spring rain, and because he didnât take care of himself, he ended up catching a cold. However, Qin Cheng didnât realize he was sick right away. Rather, it wasnât until he began to notice that his head felt heavy and his feet felt light, that it occurred to him that something wasnât right. When he took his temperature, the thermometer revealed that he had a fever of 39°C.
Qin Cheng wasnât the type who normally catches colds, to the point where he can safely say that during his college years he has only caught colds twice, from which he quickly recovered. This time, however, the fever was quite severe, to the point where his temperature would only decrease after several days of rest. Due to the fact that the cold symptoms and cough were quite intense, Qin Cheng had to intermittently take a lot of medicine for an entire month until he finally made a full recovery.
After suffering from illness for more than a month, Qin Cheng realized that his physical condition was nothing like what it used to be. In the past, before he lost his memory, Qin Cheng used to go jogging and play ball after a hard dayâs work. However, since Qin Cheng had been overworked lately, and was in poor health, Qin Cheng simply thought it was natural for his physical condition to have declined so much.
With that in mind, Qin Cheng freed up some time to rest and invited his colleagues from the Archaeology Team to play basketball on a high school court in their spare time.
As soon as the Archaeological Team got to work, time seemed to quickly fly by. Unlike other jobs, where workers count the hours and minutes waiting for the work hours to end, archaeologists get immersed in their work and donât register time. After all, archaeology is an extremely slow and meticulous job, which can take up to several years to come to fruition, meaning that absolutely nothing should be done in a hurry. For this very reason, archaeologists will be willing to work wholeheartedly for months on end, even if they havenât obtained any results in that time. In this field, such things were quite common.
Spring in the south tends to be quite beautiful. Even though the breeze and rain still continued, wild flowers were blooming all over the mountainside, giving it a refreshing and pleasing appearance.
The members of the Archaeological Team had already talked about getting together one day for a spring hike to appreciate the scenery and have a picnic together a few times. However, by the time the archaeological team had completed their task, the blossoms on the trees would have wilted and the green leaves of summer would gradually emerge.
Standing under the sunlight every day, a black shadow formed under Qin Chengâs feet.
Just like that, Qin Cheng realized that in the blink of an eye, mid-summer had arrived.
The graduation ceremony for post-graduate students at University X was scheduled for July 3rd.
The post-graduate studentsâ graduation will not be as pompous as the undergraduatesâ, which tend to be a self-congratulatory youthful farewell ceremony. By this time, post-graduate students would have long since outgrown that youthfulness, therefore losing the passion for such a big ceremony. Post-graduate graduation was more like a gaze into the past, a sigh of appreciation for the gains and losses made since graduating from University, and choosing to go on to post-graduate studies.
Even before the post-graduate graduation ceremony, many of the students were busy looking for jobs, so it was very likely that fewer and fewer people will be able to attend the ceremony. Not to mention the class of Qin Cheng, whose mentor was sentenced to prisonâŚ..
Even then, Qin Cheng still attended anyway. On the one hand, Professor Zhu Jianmin, who took him under his wing, was the Vice Principal of X University who would have to attend regardless, so Qin Cheng thought of accompanying him. On the other hand, two days ago, Zhang Jun contacted Qin Cheng by phone and told him that he would be proposing marriage to He Yalan on the day of the graduation ceremony. For that reason, Zhang Jun asked Qin Cheng and Wu Hai for help to surprise He Yalan.
After nearly four months away from Xiâan, Qin Chengâs mood remained calm upon his return. Throughout this time, Qin Cheng kept away from his conflicting thoughts, yet a certain emptiness still lingered within his heart. In spite of that, Qin Cheng thought that everything was heading in a positive direction in his life.
At the graduation ceremony, Qin Cheng wore a blue graduation gown <sup>1</sup> , listened to the Directorâs speech, and received his post-graduate certificate. Before Qin Cheng could even take off his graduation gown, Zhang Jun and Wu Hai dragged him away.
He Yalan had started working as an accountant in a state-owned enterprise as soon as she graduated from College, so her income was quite good. Zhang Jun, on the other hand, stayed studying alongside her colleagues in post-graduate school and didnât have much of an income. Fortunately, He Yalan never mentioned ending the relationship.
âTell me, with such a nice girl, that if I donât hurry to marry her, I might just lose her, would you ask me; âWhat are you waiting forâ?â
Qin Cheng, who was driving the car, glanced at Zhang Jun sideways and said: âThen why didnât you propose to her earlier? Itâs not like postgraduate students canât get married, isnât it?â
âTsk, tsk. You wouldnât understand. I still have a lot of worries.â
âWhat are you worried about? Are you afraid that sheâll get pregnant?â Wu Hai, who was sitting in the back seat, choked when he heard Qin Chengâs question.
âN-no!â Zhang Jun became somewhat serious. âYalan has a good job and is a very beautiful woman, so anyone would fall in love with her. Even someone better than me.â
âDid she tell you that?â Qin Cheng turned a corner and continued: âOr is it your own inferiority complex kicking in?â
Zhang Jun touched his nose in embarrassment: âShe didnât tell me, but itâs something I can guess for myselfâŚ. Cough , I still have a bit of an inferiority complex because I have no income and canât give her anything. Iâm afraid sheâll regret being with meâŚâŚ But Iâm also afraid of not progressing in the future. That she will regret being with the wrong person and suffer because of it.â
It was hard for the young man to admit such a thing, and it was even the first time for Qin Cheng and Wu Hai to hear Zhang Jun talk about his worries, so it was beyond obvious that He Yalan had no idea whatsoever.
After the car remained silent for a while, Qin Cheng opened his mouth and said: âBut you treat her well and love her deeply. If she can see that, then she will always be there for you.â
Wu Hai reached out his hand, patted Zhang Junâs shoulder and nodded: âGo for it. Now that youâve graduated, you can sign up with a good companyâŚ.â
Zhang Jun smiled and nodded his head.
The company office where He Yalan works was in the city center, located in the busiest area of the city. There, standing at the entrance, were three tall young men still dressed in their long graduation gowns with their caps on top of their heads. They looked extremely eye-catching.
At 5:00 p.m., when the sun was just setting in the west, He Yalan walked out of work through the front door accompanied by her colleagues, who were laughing and talking around her. Without warning, a large bouquet of roses appeared in front of He Yalanâs eyes. The man holding the roses didnât even wait for He Yalan to come out of her surprise, when he had already knelt before her. Zhang Jun took out a diamond ring from his pocket and said aloud: âHe Yalan, I, Zhang Jun, want to support you for the rest of our lives! Marry me!â
In an instant, tears fell uncontrollably down He Yalanâs cheeks. He Yalan didnât even notice the people shouting and cheering in happiness around her. She simply threw herself into the arms of the man who had just proposed to her, incessantly nodding her head. She agreed. Even that time when He Yalan traveled to her hometown with Zhang Jun and he carried her on his back to cross the old stream, where they climbed the mountain together for half a day just to pick wild fruit, He Yalan had already decided that she would marry him.
Zhang Junâs marriage proposal was a success, so Qin Cheng and Wu Hai left as soon as they finished eating dinner, not wanting to bother the newly engaged couple.
Since neither of their families were from Xiâan, Zhang Jun intended to arrange for Qin Cheng and Wu Hai to stay at his house, but the two men had already booked a hotel before they came. Besides, neither of them wanted to disturb the couple. Therefore, after dinner, Qin Cheng and Wu Hai went their separate ways.
Qin Chengâs hotel was near the University, but it was a bit far from where they had gone to eat. So he had to take a 30-minute bus ride to get back to the hotel.
As it was late at night, there were many people traveling by bus and there was hardly any place to sit. Casually looking around, Qin Cheng noticed that there were many students, probably university students, who were traveling back from the center of the city.
When the bus stopped at a bus stop, there werenât many people getting off. Instead, a lot of people got on board. Due to this, Qin Cheng retreated to the back of the bus as the flow of people increased. In the midst of all this, Qin Cheng accidentally stepped on the foot of a person next to him. Qin Cheng hurried to turn his head and apologize.
After having apologized, Qin Cheng turned his gaze forward and held onto the handrail. However, Qin Cheng began to feel that the person next to him was staring at him. That gaze was so intense and direct that even if Qin Cheng wanted to ignore it, he couldnât do so. All Qin Cheng could do was to turn his head and ask that person: âIs something the matter?â
That person was Qu Zhiwen. Actually, Qu Zhiwen kept looking at Qin Cheng because he never thought of meeting him in such a casual way. However, Qu Zhiwen was sure that Qin Cheng wouldnât remember him, since he himself had erased his memoriesâŚ..
âItâs nothing.â Qu Zhiwen shook his head, then slyly looked at Qin Chengâs hand. At that instant, Qu Zhiwenâs eyes trembled slightly and he froze in surprise. On Qin Chengâs hand was his red thread, and the red thread of marriage was trembling. Only when the person meets the person on the other side of his red thread, will the red thread tremble. From the beginning, Qu Zhiwen guessed that the girl named Xia Tong was the one on the other side of Qin Chengâs red thread, even though it wasnât so clear. Even as Su Jingmoâs soul began to fade, Qin Chengâs red thread became a little clearer.
That day, when Su Jingmoâs soul disappeared, the red thread in Qin Chengâs hand looked bright and unparalleled. At that moment, Qu Zhiwen clearly saw that Xia Tong was the person on the other side of Qin Chengâs red thread.
But now, that bright red thread was broken?!
"
"
Qu Zhiwen looked at Qin Cheng in disbelief.
There were so many people in this world, and some of them didnât even have a red thread, while others ended up staying with the wrong red thread. However, even if one got it wrong, they would simply end up divorced and remarried, so the original red thread would never be broken. After all, once a predestined couple has been matched, the red thread can never be torn apart.
Itâs well known to everyone that itâs an odd thing for the red thread to break. In this world, whether itâs an Immortal or a Demon, itâs impossible to change the red thread. Itâs even more impossible to break itâŚ.
Qin Cheng noticed that the person next to him kept looking at him with a strange expression on his face, so he felt a little uncomfortable. Qin Cheng even went so far as to think about getting off the bus and taking the next one.
However, before he could carry out this idea, Qin Chengâs phone rang. It was a call from Professor Zhu.
âHello, Professor Zhu?â
âUm, yeah itâs me. Qin Cheng, could you refund the ticket you booked a few days ago to Anhui?â
âYes, of course I can.â Qin Cheng took a few steps towards the back door of the bus and said: âBut why do you want me to return the tickets so suddenly? Did something happen?â
âI was about to tell you.â Zhu Jianmin paused and said: âI just checked my schedule. After returning the tickets, buy train tickets to Pingyao for the 6th. I was informed that a meeting will be held in Pingyao about a police investigation. The police in Xiâan and Pingyao joined forces and suppressed a group of tomb robbers, arresting some of them. Those people confessed that there is an ancient tomb from around the Wei and Jin Dynasties in Pingyao. At that meeting, we will discuss a plan to take a look at the tomb.â
ââŚ.PingyaoâŚ.â At that moment, the bus stopped at a stop. However, Qin Cheng had been so shocked that he forgot to get off: âAncient tomb?â
At that moment, Qin Cheng vaguely remembered that when he went to see Li Guoxian in prison a year ago, Li Guoxian mentioned PingyaoâŚ..
â If you hadnât caused me trouble in Pingyao, I would have obtainedâŚ.. â
Qin Chengâs heart, which had remained calm for months, began to beat violently.
On the other hand, Qu Zhiwen, who wasnât far from him, looked a bit serious.
Just now, when Qin Cheng mentioned Pingyao, Qu Zhiwen suddenly perceived that Qin Chengâs doom was nearâŚ..
âđđŤâ¨Extra Chapter thanks to the Ko-fi Goalâ¨đŤđâ [1/2]
Ko-fi Goal for Extra Chapters~~ ă˝(oďźžâ˝ďźžo)ă