Chapter 77

Chapter 77

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"A true medical miracle, you have no idea. Everyone was in tears, and then you showed signs of waking up. Thank goodness you're alright; you scared me to death, sniffle sniffle..."

On a spring morning, the flowers by the window had soft pink petals. As the door opened, a gentle cool breeze greeted them.

Birds sang melodically among the trees, and sunlight filtered through the layers of branches and leaves, shining on the woman listening to her companion's words, casting a shimmering glow around her.

After hearing Yu Nian's words, Ye Chengxing smiled warmly and said, "It wasn't that serious, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine now, right?"

As she spoke, she subconsciously reached out to ruffle the girl's hair but stopped mid-air, realizing what she was doing.

Ye Chengxing subtly withdrew her hand. "Let's go; it's time for rounds."

Yu Nian, having just finished crying, nearly started tearing up again at Ye Chengxing's soothing tone.

She bit her lip and took a deep breath. "Sis, let me tidy myself up, I'll be quick!"

Hearing how Yu Nian addressed her, Ye Chengxing paused for a moment before responding, "No problem, we still have time."

As she looked at her own hand, a hint of confusion crossed her face.

She didn't usually have the habit of touching others' heads, and more importantly, such an action was quite intimate in social situations. She typically maintained physical distance with others. Why did she suddenly develop this habit?

In the short moment of contemplation, Yu Nian had already tidied herself up and returned to Ye Chengxing's side. "Sis, I'm all set."

"Good," Ye Chengxing replied, her voice carrying a subtle hesitation as she continued, "But let's not use that term anymore."

She felt that the term should be used by someone else... but she couldn't remember who exactly.

Yu Nian blinked, assuming Ye Chengxing wanted her to be more professional during rounds. She chuckled and responded, "Sure thing, Doctor Ye, got it, Doctor Ye~"

Rounds began shortly after.

As Yu Nian watched Ye Chengxing interact with patients with warmth and patience, she couldn't help but look away.

Not only the patients, but even the intern doctors like her who worked closely with Ye Chengxing admired her greatly.

To be honest, Yu Nian hadn't been too keen on being arranged to intern at the hospital by her family, but who would have thought that the senior doctor assigned to mentor her would be so amazing? Just seeing her every day made Yu Nian feel elated, even if tears involuntarily welled up in her eyes.

Cool yet warm, chaste yet alluring, with a slender waist and long legs, beautiful features, and a high-achieving postgraduate student with an impeccable resume...

This was a perfect match, she was completely smitten. .jpg

After completing rounds with the intern doctors, Ye Chengxing glanced at her watch. Noticing that Yu Nian had moved closer to her, the girl asked in a barely audible voice, "I have something I've been curious about... do you have a girlfriend?"

Yu Nian wasn't sure about Ye Chengxing's sexual orientation and hadn't intended to ask this question, but her nervousness caused her to blurt it out.

However, Ye Chengxing didn't find anything amiss and answered naturally and smoothly, "I do have a girlfriend."

Upon hearing this, Yu Nian felt a pang of disappointment but also found it unsurprising.

She consoled herself internally, thinking that someone as outstanding as Ye Chengxing would naturally have a girlfriend.

Still, she couldn't help but blush and feel her heart race. The scent of Ye Chengxing's perfume was intoxicating, almost like the aroma of oolong tea.

With this thought, she expressed her admiration aloud.

Ye Chengxing's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, but inside, she felt even more perplexed.

...She hadn't sprayed any perfume.

And why did she instinctively answer that she had a girlfriend?

******

Ye Chengxing felt like she had forgotten something incredibly important.

Her instincts told her it was significant, but she couldn't recall what it was, as if someone wanted her to forget this memory. Her recollections were shrouded in a thick fog that she couldn't dispel, always just out of reach.

Waking up from her dream once again, Ye Chengxing reached for her phone beside the bed.

According to the date displayed, it had been ten days since she woke up from her coma.

Everything seemed normal since her awakening: friends visiting, family showing concern, everyone urging her to take care of her health and not overexert herself.

But... this was the ninth time she had this exact same dream.

A sky filled with snow, a girl in a bloodstained wedding dress holding a large bouquet of white roses.

Though the girl wasn't crying, Ye Chengxing felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow upon seeing this scene.

Even after waking up, she still felt a lingering ache in her heart.

The girl was someone very important to her.

But why couldn't she remember who she was?

The inexplicable scent of oolong tea, the newly developed habit, the term that made her pause, and the spontaneous declaration of "I have a girlfriend."

There seemed to be a gaping void in her heart.

Without realizing it, Ye Chengxing found that tears had fallen down her cheeks.

She touched her neck, sensing that something was missing there.

She didn't usually wear jewelry, but now she felt like she should have a necklace, a ring.

She remembered owning a cat, but similarly, the cat was nowhere to be found now.

The LED lights in the washroom were bright as Ye Chengxing cupped some cold water and splashed it onto her face.

Though the scene in the dream was the same, it wasn't entirely identical.

Most notably, during the first time she had this dream, she could only stand still and watch from afar. But in this recent dream, she was able to walk towards the other person, albeit not very quickly. At this rate, she might be able to touch the girl in her dreams after just two more instances.

This was indeed just a dream, yet she felt inexplicably that it wasn't a simple one.

She yearned to embrace the girl in her dreams.

Ye Chengxing carefully dried her face, contemplating whether she should try sleeping again later. In any case, she had taken a long leave.

"…Is this an unexpected awakening of your innate ability?"

At that moment, a strange voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

Ye Chengxing looked up to find a small light orb floating before her.

The little orb emitted a snowy white glow, circling around her curiously.

Logically, this sight should have been quite shocking, a surreal scene that shouldn't exist in reality. Yet, at that moment, Ye Chengxing didn't feel particularly surprised.

It was as if she had experienced even more astonishing events, leaving her unfazed by this situation, calmly asking back, "What is an innate ability?"

The little orb seemed taken aback by her calmness, halting its circling motion.

"You're pretty composed, aren't you? Actually, I came here to fix a bug. Your independent world is supposed to be a regular modern world, labeled as [Urban][Modern] with no other tags. However, it turns out this isn't just a simple bug. Not only have you awakened your own innate ability, but it's also a type of travel ability. You'd be perfect for our Temporal-Spatial Bureau."

The orb excitedly chattered on, then cleared its throat. "Hey, seriously, would you be interested in working for our Temporal-Spatial Bureau?"

As if afraid Ye Chengxing would decline, the light orb began introducing various employee benefits, adding, "Although you've already awakened your abilities, if you want to go to another world right away, you'll need to wait a bit longer. But if you become an employee of the Temporal-Spatial Bureau, we can issue you a pass allowing you to freely travel between worlds. So, how about it? Consider it?"

The little orb worriedly offered numerous benefits before Ye Chengxing could respond.

Ye Chengxing listened to the light orb.

She wasn't particularly interested in the employee benefits mentioned, but what truly resonated with her was the prospect of freely traveling between worlds.

Everything happening now was quite unrealistic—a mysterious light orb of unknown intentions. She had no reason to trust it, yet a peculiar intuition told her that everything it said was true.

"I've lost a part of my memory," Ye Chengxing spoke after a long pause, not responding directly to the orb's offer. "Can you help me recover it?"

The little orb paused in its excitement upon hearing her words.

"That's a bit difficult. Someone used the system's wish contract to make you forget, though you haven't completely forgotten and even awakened your abilities… I can't help you restore that memory, but you'll gradually remember once you reach that world."

Ye Chengxing pondered over the light orb's words for a moment.

"Bring out the employee agreement. I'll sign it."

******

The light orb introduced itself, stating that it was one of the main systems working at the Temporal-Spatial Bureau's headquarters, with the code name 999.

After signing the agreement with the Temporal-Spatial Bureau, 999 took Ye Chengxing to the headquarters to process her employee identification and issued her a pass as promised.

With this employee pass from the Temporal-Spatial Bureau, she wouldn't only be able to travel between small worlds herself but could also bring someone along if she wished.

Ye Chengxing looked at the little orb leading the way in front of her.

She had indeed heard 999's self-introduction, but when 999 mentioned its code name, another number—001—suddenly surfaced in her mind.

She didn't know why these three digits came to her mind.

Ye Chengxing silently repeated "001" in her heart and casually asked, "Little Nine, how are your system code names arranged?"

999 explained upon hearing her question, "Well, simply put, the higher the code number, the stronger the ability. Our code names aren't fixed and change according to our strength."

"A system with the lowest code, like 001, usually manages only one small world. Systems with a bit more capability can handle multiple small worlds. However, for a system with a code like 001, changes in their code happen quite frequently compared to those higher up."

Ye Chengxing paused before asking again, "For example, is my world also managed by a system?"

999 shook its head. "Not exactly. Your world is an independent existence. We manage problematic worlds that cannot exist independently. For independent worlds, we only intervene when bugs appear. Our role is to ensure the stable operation of these worlds, existing outside of all of them."

As 999 finished speaking, it led her to a massive light screen.

It instructed her to place her hand on the screen and think about the world or entity she wanted to visit.

Ye Chengxing had no idea what kind of world she wanted to visit. She placed her hand on the screen and thought about the girl who appeared in her dreams. With a flicker of her thoughts, the screen displayed the number of that small world.

999 was slightly astonished upon seeing this world. "I remember this small world was about to disappear, but it hasn't vanished yet? Code 001 did well this time; maybe its code will change soon."

After this remark, 999 explained how to enter the small world. Since Ye Chengxing already had an employee pass, she could enter the small world whenever she wished.

Without hesitation, Ye Chengxing glanced at the number on the light screen and immediately opened a passage into that small world.

******

Flying cars soared through the sky, while extravagant buildings towered high.

High-altitude electric tracks streaked across the horizon, leaving trails of dazzling silver light.

Ye Chengxing observed this world.

…This world must be where the girl in her dreams resided.

It shared some similarities with her own world but contained many dissimilar elements.

Yet, despite the unfamiliar environment, she felt a vague sense of familiarity, as if she had once lived in this world.

Ye Chengxing touched her clothes. Entering this small world as an employee of the Temporal-Spatial Bureau, not only did information about this world automatically appear in her mind, but her pockets also contained items useful within this world.

She took them out and examined them, realizing she knew exactly what they were, even the uniquely shaped mobile phone.

Ye Chengxing can now confirm that she has forgotten a segment of her memories.

It was as if she should remember the girl from her dreams and the interactions they had, but in reality, no matter how hard she tried, she could not recall anything.

Moreover, she could sense that this person was important to her, someone she must never forget.

She has indeed arrived in the world where this person resides.

However, this world is vast, and she cannot remember any information related to this individual.

...Where should she start looking?

Ye Chengxing aimlessly wandered along the street. After a few steps, she paused.

She lifted her gaze, focusing on the dynamic advertisement screen in the city center.

The woman appearing on the screen was the same girl from her dreams, though visibly more mature and alluring than how Ye Chengxing remembered. She resembled a captivating rose hidden in the dim shadows, beautiful like a blood-stained blade, dangerously exquisite.

Her lingering did not seem out of place, as people around her occasionally stopped, captivated by the figure on the screen.

From their conversations, Ye Chengxing picked up a name—Li Jia.

Just hearing it mentioned, she immediately recognized the characters for the name.

Ye Chengxing took out her phone, noticing a shop named Risheng Milk Tea Shop nearby. She decided to buy a random cup of milk tea and sit for a while, using her phone to search for information about Li Jia.

With that thought, she entered the Risheng Milk Tea Shop.

Ye Chengxing glanced at the menu and said, "A cup of Cheese Taro Milk Tea, please."

As she spoke, she made the payment with star coins.

Ye Chengxing did not have any recollection of drinking Cheese Taro Milk Tea herself, but after numerous occurrences, she was almost getting used to subconsciously saying things without clear memories.

"Sure, one Cheese Taro Milk Tea..." The woman in charge of the ordering system, with long pink hair, looked up after noting down the order.

Upon seeing Ye Chengxing standing before her, Fu Tao was taken aback, blurting out, "Holy shit!"

Her tongue seemed to tie into a knot. "B-b-boss?"

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