When Wei Yun caught sight of the sudden rotation of the star disk on the copper pendant, amidst the tinkling sound, the star disk disappeared, a swirling mist gathered on the surface of the copper pendant, like the eerie sky reflected in a mirror, for a moment, all the dense fog gradually dispersed, and in that clear mirror surface, he unexpectedly caught sight of a girl’s face.
For a moment, two people separated by different dimensions stared at each other, both equally astonished.
Wei Yun was the first to recover.
Recalling that the copper pendant could not only send messages but even transmit sound, it wasn’t surprising that it could now create a hologram that made them seem to be facing each other in reality.
The image of her reflected on the copper pendant was so vivid, but it slightly dazzled Wei Yun, reminding him of the silently standing girl he had seen before on paper.
Seeing her eyes widen and remain motionless, unable to utter a single word, Wei Yun’s eyes softened with a trace of a smile as he gently called her name.
How difficult it was, yet she finally noticed the subtleties.
Her reaction at that moment was particularly amusing.
It seemed like a long time before he saw her respond through the hologram on the copper pendant.
She moved her lips, “You…”
But still, she couldn’t articulate a complete sentence.
Following that, Wei Yun heard a noise, and at the same time, the hologram darkened, turning completely black.
It turned out that Xie Tao had accidentally failed to hold onto her phone, causing the screen to hit the desk suddenly.
Then, Wei Yun heard a series of giggles and even the sound of her possibly tripping over something, followed by an exclamation.
Holding the copper pendant, Wei Yun waited for a while before he saw the hologram on the badge regain a clear image.
“I thought with your wooden head, it would take you some time to notice.” Wei Yun saw her rubbing her eyes, still in a daze of shock, he slightly curled his lips and spoke.
His tone was somewhat cold, a stark contrast to the gentle undertone when he first called her name.
Xie Tao seemed to confirm several times, even pinching her cheeks to make sure she wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating.
She stared at the young man in brocade clothes on her phone screen for a long while, then pursed her lips tentatively and asked, “Are you… an actor?”
Wei Yun didn’t quite understand what she meant by “actor,” so he furrowed his brows.
Seeing the young man with a beautiful demeanor frown, Xie Tao was momentarily distracted, almost forgetting to breathe again.
“Like, the kind that acts in TV dramas?” She stuttered unconsciously.
But the young man just glanced at her, remaining silent.
“Not… not so?” She said sheepishly.
Xie Tao remembered the mysterious deliveries, his tone of voice when he spoke to her, his habits, and his interests that seemed far removed from those of modern society’s youth… And now, through the phone screen, she saw him dressed in ancient robes, with a hairstyle from ancient times, all of which seemed entirely unrelated to modern society.
With her eyes wide, she had a bold idea.
As she hesitated, unsure how to express herself, she then heard his clear voice from the phone: “As you see, I am not from the same world as you.”
His voice was calm and steady, yet it stated a fact to her.
After hearing his words, Xie Tao took a long while to react, finally finding her voice again:
“Not… the same world?”
Her mind was in turmoil, she could hardly believe it.
In that instant, many things flashed through her mind, as if a long time had passed before she looked up again, towards Wei Yun on the phone screen.
Xie Tao could not describe how shocked she was at this moment.
The world, it wasn’t the only one.
And time and space, do different dimensions really exist?
These distant and boundless topics were suddenly so real and clear before her, her heart was in turmoil, beyond words.
From the appearance of Xie Lan, to the mysterious tavern that appeared before her eyes, to hearing about the seemingly ordinary middle-aged man in the tavern—Old Xi, who turned out to be a fairy who had lived for over a thousand years… One after another, these events beyond her imagination were so vividly presented before her.
The world is vast and mysterious, the universe encompasses everything.
That was a level of mystery beyond her imagination.
Because of those mysterious deliveries and various inexplicable events, Xie Tao thought, perhaps Wei Yun, too, harbored many secrets she could not imagine.
Thus, she had many speculations.
But never did she think that between him and her, there were two entirely different dimensions.
That day, Xie Tao finally uncovered his secret.
But this truth had already exceeded her imagination.
It took her several days to finally accept this fact.
Almost every night, she couldn’t help but video call Wei Yun, then stare at him for a while, followed by exclaiming in disbelief.
Every day, Wei Yun, harassed on time by the copper pendant: “……”
As if a new world’s door had suddenly opened, Xie Tao was full of curiosity about him and his world.
She always had many questions for him.
At first, Wei Yun would patiently answer a few, but it eventually became like this:
She asked, “Wei Yun, Wei Yun, what did ancient people like you usually eat?”
He answered, “Edible things.”
She asked, “Then what did you all drink?”
He answered, “Water.”
Even such a choked response did not diminish Xie Tao’s strong curiosity. She would still repeatedly ask him many odd and peculiar questions.
Even though his answers became less and less heartfelt.
One day, Xie Tao began her routine questioning:
“Wei Yun, Wei Yun, what dynasty is it where you are from?”
“The Great Zhou Dynasty.”
What is the Great Zhou Dynasty?
Xie Tao searched online but could not find a shred of information about the Great Zhou Dynasty.
But how could this be?
She had even found the “Zhi Lun” before…
No matter how much Xie Tao searched, the Great Zhou Dynasty mentioned by Wei Yun seemed to have never existed in the flow of history.
She couldn’t even find a bit of useful information.
If Wei Yun really lived in a past era, then why did the dynasty he lived in not leave any trace in the historical records?
Xie Tao had also discussed these questions with Wei Yun.
Since the “Zhi Lun”, Wei Yun had been guessing what kind of world Xie Tao’s world was. If these two worlds were truly unrelated, then why would the “Zhi Lun”, written hundreds of years ago by the Jin Dynasty scholar Ying Sinan after spending half his lifetime, be circulating in her world?
Wei Yun had not yet fathomed the mysteries behind this.
After nightfall, fighting off sleep, Xie Tao asked Wei Yun to show her his surroundings.
Wei Yun had no choice but to comply.
He walked around the room holding a copper pendant.
“Wow, you have so many books…” Xie Tao saw behind him several wooden bookshelves, nearly two meters tall, filled with various books and even many differently styled antiques.
“You should go to sleep.” Wei Yun lowered his eyes, glanced at her wrapped in the blanket, and said lightly.
Holding her phone, Xie Tao seemed a bit reluctant, “But I still want to see what it’s like outside… Can you show me?”
“….”
In the end, Wei Yun did not refuse.
In the quiet of the night, Wei Yun, holding the copper pendant that emitted a faint golden glow, opened the door, stepped down the steps, and walked into the courtyard.
The guards stood outside the main courtyard’s gate, not entering unless called.
Wei Jing, who usually stood by Wei Yun’s side, had been told not to stay by his side at night since Xie Tao began frequently communicating with him in this way.
Thus, at this moment, the large courtyard was empty except for him.
Through the phone screen, Xie Tao saw a typical ancient residence, with winding corridors, bamboo and rocks, flowers and tree shadows, and even a lotus pond next to a pavilion.
“Your house is so big, Wei Yun!!”
Xie Tao felt as if her sleepiness had run away, her eyes wide open.
Remembering that box of gold ingots, Xie Tao increasingly felt that he looked like someone whose family owned a mine…
When her gaze returned to the screen, Xie Tao saw behind Wei Yun the lanterns at the corners of the corridor behind him twinkling with dim yellow light, and above that, the night sky draped with stars like dangling starlight from the roof beams.
“There are so many stars where you are…” she suddenly said.
It was the same night, but to Xie Tao’s eyes, it held a vastly different view.
Accustomed to the neon lights, accustomed to skies obscured by tall buildings, it had been a long time since Xie Tao had seen such a star-filled sky, twinkling endlessly.
And the silvery moonlight scattered down, casting shadows of silver grains on the ground, its clear light like frost, softly illuminating his figure, brushing across his profile, resting on his shoulders.
Xie Tao could almost see the small shadow cast when he lowered his eyelashes, and the night wind came, wrapping around his dark, thick hair strands fluttering, his clothes slightly lifting.
At that moment, Xie Tao distinctly felt her heart in her chest start to race uncontrollably, like beating drums, without any warning.
Two people, separated by the barriers of time and space, silently gazing at the sky, in this night scattered with starlight.
It was a rare tranquility.
For Wei Yun, it was even more a rare moment of peace.
Thus, his eyes and eyebrows softened inexplicably at this moment.
“You have to get up early tomorrow.”
After a long while, he softly said, “Go to sleep.”
But these simple words carried an indescribable tenderness, like the gentle spring water, stirring the heartstrings.
“Mm…”
Xie Tao’s gaze lingered on his face, vaguely responding, clutching the blanket tightly. Just as she was about to press the hang-up button, she didn’t know what came over her, her mind heated up:
“There’s something I must say…”
Wei Yun looked at her, “What?”
Xie Tao clutched the blanket tighter, and before she even spoke, her face had already begun to turn red and hot.
Finally, she closed her eyes, mustered the courage, and blurted out:
“You’re really good-looking!”
Then she opened her eyes, not daring to look at his expression on the screen, and directly hung up the video call.
In such a quiet night, Xie Tao’s cheeks burned red, as if holding a hot potato, quickly throwing her phone to the side, and after staring blankly at the ceiling for a while, she wrapped herself entirely in the blanket.
Ah!!!
Meanwhile, standing alone in the courtyard, Wei Yun looked at the copper amulet in his hand that had returned to normal, as if he could still hear her soft, delicate voice echoing in his ears.
She was so straightforward.
Wei Yun’s ears felt slightly warm.
