In a restaurant downstairs of the company building.
Two women sat facing each other.
Under normal circumstances, they should have had endless things to talk about. Now, however, they both remained silent, seemingly waiting for the other to break the ice.
Soon, the dishes arrived.
It was Cheng Jun who broke the silence first.
"Help yourself, Sister Nan."
After saying this, she simply started eating. An apocalypse-induced habit. She abhorred wasting food.
Fu Nanzhi picked up her bowl obediently, but she wasn't in the mood, and put down her chopsticks after a few bites.
Taking a sip of water, she wears a satisfied expression and said,
"Jun, you changed a lot. You even seem much more elegant than before."
This remark gave Cheng Jun mixed feelings. She stiffly stopped her chopsticks in movement for a moment, then replied in a low voice,
"Is that so? Even you noticed."
After a pause, she continued with a wistful expression on her face,
"One often believes they will grow up slowly. But in truth, growing up can be swift and ephemeral."
"So swift that perhaps ... it might happen overnight."
Having experienced a similar growth, Fu Nanzhi agreed empathetically,
"Indeed."
The two had been childhood playmates. Fu Nanzhi was a year older, and hence a grade higher than Cheng Jun.
During adolescence, Fu Nanzhi underwent a significant change in personality, and it was then that their interactions dwindled. They bumped into each other occasionally during family gatherings.
Later on, Fu Nanzhi stayed in the country attending college, while Cheng Jun went abroad.
Separated by the coast and busy with their respective lives, their communication nearly ceased.
A reunion under such circumstances should have been warm and cordial, not this odd, stifling silence.
The clattering of bowls and chopsticks masked their internal turmoils.
Cheng Jun was generally more forthright, so after some thought, she decided to be upfront and asked,
"Sister Nan, do you know a Shen Yi?"
Fu Nanzhi nodded assertively,
"Of course, I do."
"What kind of person is he?"
While asking, Cheng Jun couldn't help but covertly study Fu Nanzhi's expression.
At the mention of Shen Yi, Fu Nanzhi burst into delighted laughter before she even spoke. Her eyes softened, and a bewitching smile spread across her face.
"He acts like an adult on the outside, but inside he's a child who never grows up."
These words accurately depicted Shen Yi's personality, as if they were commenting on a former spouse.
Cheng Jun observed from the sidelines, feeling a bitter-sweetness she couldn't explain. Fu Nanzhi's mental state seemed genuinely unfeigned.
Whenever Shen Yi was brought up, Fu Nanzhi would light up. She would be radiant, like a blossoming flower, showing no reservations.
"Could it be that he's already with someone else in reality? And still he treated me the same way in the apocalyptic world..."
A lump formed in her throat that she had to force down.
Just then, she noticed a document on the corner of the table and a realization dawned upon her.
Sister Nan didn't even know that Shen Yi had quit his job. She was no better off than Cheng Jun. There must be some misunderstanding.
Pretending to wipe her mouth with a napkin to hide her emotions, she asked nonchalantly,
"So, Sister Nan, what is your relationship with him?"
Fu Nanzhi instinctively blurted out,
"He is my old...old friend."
She gently patted her chest once the words had left her mouth. She was relieved she hadn't spilled the beans.
Cheng Jun was skeptical of the term 'old friend'.
"Why should you need his file if he's just your friend?"
"Oh, you mean that…"
“Actually, Shen Yi has a solid foundation in Law and self-studied a ton of legal knowledge. I happen to be working in legal affairs, so I thought I'd recommend him to Uncle Cheng.”
Fu Nanzhi rarely lies, but this one she puts forth without a blush or a stutter.
Following up, she voices a question that has long been festering in her heart,
“And how did you come to know him, Cheng Jun?"
"Me? Well...."
“I...I...he saved my life.”
Caught unprepared, Cheng Jun worried that telling the truth might make her appear delusional.
Hesitating for a moment, she eventually comes up with an explanation. It wasn't really lying, it was indeed the truth.
To her surprise, Fu Nanzhi expresses concern,
“Ah? Were you hurt? Does Uncle Cheng know about this?”
In haste, Cheng Jun reassures her,
“My father doesn't know, you shouldn't tell him either, he would simply worry. It's all past now.”
She then adds,
“I was fine, it's just...Shen Yi saved me. He didn't leave any contact information, so I want to find him and express my gratitude.”
Upon hearing this, Fu Nanzhi comprehends and shows a sign of approval towards Shen Yi. This does indeed sound like something her husband would do.
Thinking, she frowns, he might be just too kind-hearted as many young women in their previous department were constantly asking him for favors.
But saving someone's life is no small thing. It's perfectly reasonable for Cheng Jun to seek him out now.
“Should I help arrange a meeting for you two?”
Fu Nanzhi has been worrying about finding a good reason to get close to Shen Yi and this now seems like a perfect opportunity.
If she can establish contact with Shen Yi first, she feels very confident.
Given her charm, there's no reason he wouldn't be charmed, right?
As quickly as possible, she plans to assert her status, hoping to sever the lingering thoughts of her cousin.
After all, Fu Nanzhi is no fool.
She has heard of things like a hero saving a beauty, the suspension bridge effect, and so on. Cheng Jun's family background and appearance are not inferior to her own. It wouldn't be surprising if there were some unintended consequences.
If she cuts in, there will be nowhere left for her to mourn.
“No, not necessary. I think it would be more solemn if I contact him and express my gratitude.”
Cheng Jun promptly declines, she only wants to see Shen Yi alone – and confirm whether he shares her past experiences as well.
Meeting up with three people, especially when she had fabricated her story just now, she risked being exposed and not knowing how to explain herself.
“Oh, alright.”
Despite feeling a sense of disappointment, Fu Nanzhi simply nods in agreement.
With their meal ended and filled with hidden agendas, they throw each other farewells in the elevator.
One pressing the button for the 11th floor, the other for the 17th - differing roads yet evenly matched.
Concerning the matter of bonding that evening, no one brought it up.
Sitting at her desk, Fu Nanzhi couldn't focus on her work, and opened up Shen Yi's files once again.
Her past life's journey has taken a significant turn, and Fu Nanzhi feels uncertain which butterfly flapping its wings caused this change.
Initially, she planned to follow her previous path slowly, but it seems now her husband might end up belonging to someone else if she isn't careful.
Fu Nanzhi can let many things go, but this is something she would never yield.
“I can't hesitate any longer. I must initiate contact.”
She mulled over in her heart, simultaneously analyzing Shen Yi's personality, considering what approach would make her less obvious.
The archive had his contact number and current residence, finding him was not a difficult task anymore.
"Should I call him. But what do I say, 'I was your wife in a past life'?"
"Or after work, should I wait for him in front of his house? Would that scare him?"
Fu Nanzhi held her face in her hands, pursing her lips in thought.
Meanwhile, Cheng Jun pushed the door and returned to her seat.
She picked up a pen and wrote down an address and a phone number. Her memory was good enough. She only glimpsed at the archives once and noted Shen Yi's contact details.
As she twirled the pen in her slender fingers, she was engrossed in her thoughts.
"Shen Yi never mentioned having a girlfriend, could Nanzhi be in unrequited love?"
She was much smarter than Fu Nanzhi, no matter how well disguised, Cheng Jun could see through the insincerity.
In recent years, when Cheng Jun returned home for holidays, she had never seen Fu Nanzhi treat anyone favorably in their circle, except for Shen Yi.
"Hmm, an old friend…" Cheng Jun muttered, curling her lips.
Suddenly, Cheng Jun's hand came to a halt, slapping the pen on the table. She had made up her mind.
"After work, I'll go find him, making sure Nanzhi doesn't give the game away."
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
