Time in the water seemed to pass very slowly. He Sui’an felt her body being squeezed by the current, as if tied to a large stone. Her chest ached, the pain of being unable to breathe.
There were too many memory fragments, flashing by too quickly. He Sui’an couldn’t catch them all at once. She tried to grasp them with her hands but could only catch handfuls of invisible water, the flow slipping through her fingers.
Just before her consciousness faded, He Sui’an saw that “differently dressed” version of herself again.
She couldn’t tell if it was an illusion or reality.
She was still dressed very neatly.
A light pink T-shirt, with two slender arms exposed, and beneath her shorts, her straight legs casually crossed, completely without any excess flesh.
The girl’s long hair was wet, freshly washed, still emitting the scent of lavender shampoo. It draped over her shoulders, water droplets from the ends soaking the T-shirt, spreading out into darker water stains.
She was reading a book.
The room was small, with a white wooden table placed by the window. On the table were a computer, a few books, a pen that had slid to the edge, and a delicate music box playing soft, light music.
The walls were covered with posters and various stickers. The pink curtains were tied back to let the sunlight in, making it convenient to read and study inside.
Outside the window, the trees were lush and green. The breeze, carrying the fresh scent of leaves, occasionally blew in.
There were several large boxes scattered around the room.
The boxes were filled with books.
Several completed volumes of “Five Years of Gaokao, Three Years of Simulated Exams” were messily piled on top of one box. These were to be packed up and moved to the upstairs storage room after the college entrance exam had ended.
A few days ago, the college entrance exams had just finished. Her classmates were busy comparing answers and planning teacher appreciation banquets, leaving little time to pack things up. Today was the first opportunity.
While organizing her books, the girl found a book given to her by a classmate and was engrossed in reading it.
He Sui’an seemed to be in that space as well, observing this girl who seemed to be herself like an outsider. The room was very quiet, with only the girl’s light breathing and the sound of turning pages.
It was vastly different from the ancient-styled room He Sui’an had lived in during the Great Zhou Dynasty, with countless differences, yet she was very familiar with the room’s layout. Every table and chair was familiar.
In the corner, the wardrobe was open, probably forgotten by the girl when she took out clothes.
The wardrobe was filled with various dresses.
There were many colors and types, mostly short summer dresses.
At the bottom, however, were a few folded ancient-style dresses. One of them was an orange long dress. He Sui’an remembered it; it seemed to be the dress she was wearing on the day she lost her memory.
In the wardrobe, next to the orange long dress, were some colorful hair ribbons.
The girl couldn’t see He Sui’an; only He Sui’an could see her. The girl could touch objects, but He Sui’an couldn’t.
Even if He Sui’an wanted to take a closer look to see if the orange long dress was the one she wore in Weicheng, she couldn’t touch it. She could only see part of it folded and exposed.
The girl continued reading.
She was deeply engrossed, her brow slightly furrowed, as if she had seen something troubling.
He Sui’an stopped looking at the orange dress and turned her attention to the girl. The girl was oblivious to being watched, her slender white fingers turning a page, her eyes never leaving the book.
The content captivated her so much that she didn’t notice anything else.
Seeing the girl constantly reading, He Sui’an’s gaze shifted to the book. The pages were snowy white, the lines of text clearly printed in simplified Chinese characters, not traditional ones.
But before He Sui’an could make out the content, someone knocked on the door.
“Sui Sui.”
The girl closed the book, stood up, and walked over to open the door: “Mom.”
He Sui’an looked up at the visitor.
A woman, who bore some resemblance to He Sui’an, entered the room holding a glass of milk. She was wearing house slippers and panda pajamas, her hair slightly curled and tied in a low ponytail with a hair tie.
The moment He Sui’an saw the woman, she felt an overwhelming urge to approach her, longing deeply to be close. Hearing the girl call her “Mom,” He Sui’an’s lips moved uncontrollably, echoing the call: “Mom.”
But no one could hear her.
Only she could.
The woman glanced at the large cardboard box on the floor and asked the girl if she was planning to move the books to the storage room. The girl took the milk from her, sipped it, and replied, “Yes, I need to move them up.”
He Sui’an’s gaze wandered between them. Finally, she walked up to the woman, raising her hand to caress her face.
She whispered, “Mom?”
Her fingertips passed through the woman’s face. She couldn’t touch her, her hand suspended in the air.
She still couldn’t touch people.
The woman pulled out a tissue, her hand passing through He Sui’an as she wiped the girl’s lips. “You’re a grown-up now, still getting food on your face. People will laugh at you outside.”
The girl smiled, her eyes curving.
When the girl finished her milk, the woman took the empty glass and called out to someone outside the room: “Honey, what are you doing? Come in and help Sui Sui move the boxes of books upstairs.”
Soon after her call, a tall man wearing matching panda pajamas walked into the room. After understanding what needed to be done, he promptly picked up a large box and carried it out.
The girl reminded him, “Dad, be careful. It’s full of books, very heavy.”
He Sui’an watched the man intently.
Dad…
The woman was about to leave with the man but noticed the wardrobe wasn’t closed properly. She couldn’t help but nag a little, saying that after taking clothes out, the wardrobe should be closed properly to prevent dust from settling on them, which was unhygienic.
The girl nodded repeatedly, “I’ll remember from now on.”
“You…” The woman, feeling the girl was just placating her, pinched the girl’s face in mock annoyance. She then went to close the wardrobe and saw the few sets of ancient-style long dresses, telling the girl to wear them one day.
These dresses were handmade by the woman. This year, she had the idea to open a Hanfu shop and decided to make a few sets for her precious daughter, thinking they would look beautiful on her.
But the daughter never wore them.
They had been there for almost half a year.
The woman closed the wardrobe and pretended to be angry, reminding the girl again to wear them sometime. Otherwise, her efforts would be wasted: “If you don’t wear them soon, I’ll throw them away.”
The girl hugged the woman’s arm and acted spoiled, promising to wear them.
The man, after moving one box of books, went back for another and suddenly remembered something. He turned and said, “We’re going to Xi’an next week. You didn’t forget, did you, Sui Sui?”
The man had short, neat hair and handsome features. The girl’s eyes and eyebrows were very much like his, and He Sui’an thought they were very much like hers, too.
“I remember, Dad.”
The girl replied.
They were planning a trip to Xi’an, to visit the ancient capital Chang’an, known for its historical significance. Many novels and TV shows the girl had seen mentioned this place.
Talking about the trip to Xi’an, the woman had a lot to say to the girl. They sat on the bed and chatted. The man didn’t disturb them. After moving all the boxes, he went to unclog the drain.
He Sui’an hugged her knees and squatted in the corner, looking up at them.
The woman was her mother.
The man was her father.
He Sui’an vaguely remembered. They were her parents, but why was their world so different from hers now? They didn’t seem to live in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
If they didn’t live in the Great Zhou Dynasty, where did they live? He Sui’an felt very confused and at a loss. They couldn’t see her, nor could they hear her speak, so she couldn’t ask anyone.
If she didn’t belong to the Great Zhou Dynasty,
Then where did she belong? Here?
The overwhelming feeling of suffocation from drowning gripped He Sui’an’s throat tightly, dragging her back to reality. The memory scenes abruptly dissipated.
He Sui’an suddenly opened her eyes, seeing only endless water. Her long braid floated in front of her, moving with the water, and the small silver ornament tied at the end came into view.
This small silver ornament reminded He Sui’an of where she was at that moment—the Great Zhou Dynasty.
She struggled to swim upwards.
To find her memories and uncover the truth, she needed to stay alive. She couldn’t die, and besides, He Sui’an didn’t want to die. It was just that the flood of memory fragments had bound her hands and feet, causing her to lose control when she fell into the water.
He Sui’an had a premonition that she would soon remember all her memories. They were somewhere in her mind, sealed away, but the ropes binding them were already broken, and the jar was cracked.
The thought of not wanting to die sustained her, exhausted by the memory fragments, as she swam upwards.
As she swam, she saw light.
A silver light.
He Sui’an surfaced.
Water droplets slid down her face, forming a string before splashing back into the river.
Falling into the river had felt like a long time for He Sui’an, but in reality, only a short while had passed. Before they could dive in, He Sui’an had already pulled herself up, and Shen Jianhe breathed a sigh of relief.
The masked man hadn’t been able to kill them and had left. He was extremely skilled, and in such a short time, Qi Buyan couldn’t counterattack him.
Shen Jianhe’s emotions fluctuated.
He quickly walked to the shore and asked worriedly, “Miss He, are you hurt?”
He Sui’an shook her head.
Qi Buyan stood on the shore, his tall figure motionless, with little expression. He extended his hand towards He Sui’an, his slender wrist bearing many scars, and a butterfly silver chain gleamed in the sunlight.
He didn’t ask if He Sui’an was okay, just quietly watched her swim up alive, seemingly unaffected by the event, calm to the point of being almost heartless.
He Sui’an grasped Qi Buyan’s outstretched hand and climbed onto the shore.
As soon as she got ashore, the surrounding sand and stones were soaked by the water dripping from her clothes, also wetting the hem of Qi Buyan’s dark blue robe. He Sui’an had used so much energy to swim up that she instinctively leaned on him without much thought.
Qi Buyan used his other hand to brush aside the wet hair from He Sui’an’s face, revealing her small, water-scrubbed face. She looked frightened, her once rosy complexion now pale.
Shen Jianhe looked around vigilantly.
He was afraid someone else might appear and attack them suddenly, not daring to relax in the slightest.
He Sui’an sat on the shore, resting slowly.
Her limbs were overexerted, and once she let go of the effort she used to swim up, she couldn’t help but feel weak and unable to walk for a while.
Qi Buyan gently brushed through He Sui’an’s long hair, which had become clumped and sticky from the water. She sniffed and casually wiped the water droplets from her face with the back of her hand, her skin reddened from holding her breath for too long.
Shen Jianhe squatted by the shore, waiting.
It was then that He Sui’an remembered to ask about the masked man. Shen Jianhe told her he had escaped. She felt a sense of pity but also relief that they were safe.
