Ji Yushi asked, “Why did you suddenly come to Ning City?”

“It wasn’t really sudden,” Song Qinglan replied. “I’ve been away for a month, so I’m here to visit my grandfather.”

Ji Yushi asked when Song Qinglan would arrive and offered, “I’m out right now, so I can pick you up from the station.”

The information about “Wang Xiaoqian” was very important to Ji Yushi at this point. Without thinking much, he was already willing to meet up with Song Qinglan.

In reality, Song Qinglan had been driving his sports car at top speed and had already arrived in Ning City hours ago. After hanging up with Ji Yushi in the morning, he realized they’d both pulled an all-nighter, and Ji Yushi might still be resting. With that in mind, he had resisted the urge to see Ji Yushi immediately and visited his grandfather’s house instead.

He had just received the information on Wang Xiaoqian, skimmed through it, and sent a message to Ji Yushi.

He hadn’t expected Ji Yushi to call him directly.

Not wanting to sound too eager, Song Qinglan casually lied, saying he was still on the road.

When Ji Yushi asked about his arrival, Song Qinglan glanced at the time and covered for himself: “I’ll be there around eight.”

Ji Yushi started his car. “Then wait for me in the lounge. I’ll be there soon.”

After the call ended, Song Qinglan quickly tidied up and left his grandfather’s house, speeding off toward Ning City North Station.

He arrived just before eight, parked, and headed toward the station’s lounge.

The station was bustling with people, and the lounge was crowded as well.

Song Qinglan scanned the area, not seeing Ji Yushi yet. Relieved that he had arrived first, a heavy feeling of unease settled over him again. He silently cursed at himself.

When had he started doing such foolish things, lying to himself?

Was it really necessary?

In his twenty-six years, Song Qinglan had never experienced something like this—being so restless and anxious about someone else’s emotional state that he needed to see them in person to be reassured.

He had noticed that Ji Yushi’s mental state wasn’t right.

He wasn’t sure if people with hyperthymesia tended to overthink, but Ji Yushi’s mention of “Minister Wang,” his calm demeanor after meeting Minister Qi, and his talk of the “brain in a vat” theory were all very negative. It wasn’t how someone who had just escaped danger and returned to the real world should behave.

For some reason, the image of Ji Yushi taking out his pill box and swallowing medication kept flashing in Song Qinglan’s mind.

At the park management office, in the bookstore, outside the hospital… Ji Yushi’s confusion about his memories had always been managed and clarified through those pills.

The fragile look on Ji Yushi’s face, his trembling eyelashes, and his unconscious murmurs in the space capsule when they were first pulled into the rift all stood in stark contrast to the logical, intelligent person Ji Yushi normally appeared to be.

No matter how perfect Ji Yushi’s psychological evaluation report was, there was a saying: “The harder something is, the easier it is to break.” Once a person’s mind reached its limit, it could completely collapse.

Logically, after the temporary assignment ended and Ji Yushi returned to Ning City, they wouldn’t have much contact beyond the mission report.

Whether Ji Yushi was mentally well or not, someone would naturally take care of it. From what Song Qinglan could see, Ji Yushi wasn’t lacking in people who cared.

But Song Qinglan couldn’t help wondering.

Since it’s possible to be involved in several relationships at once, does that mean none of them are serious?

Would those people really care about Ji Yushi?

“Captain Song.”

Song Qinglan had only been sitting for a few minutes when he heard Ji Yushi’s clear voice in front of him.

He looked up and saw Ji Yushi’s face.

It had only been two days since they last saw each other, so Ji Yushi hadn’t changed much.

He was wearing a simple white t-shirt, similar to the one Song Qinglan had found for him on PU-31, but Ji Yushi somehow made it look effortlessly graceful. Just standing in the public lounge, he drew the attention of others.

What caught Song Qinglan’s attention, though, were the faint dark circles under Ji Yushi’s eyes.

Song Qinglan stood up and casually said, “You got here fast.”

If he had driven any slower, he would have arrived after Ji Yushi.

Ji Yushi said, “I was already on the road when I called you, so I came straight here.”

The two of them walked out together.

Ning City’s summer night was noisy, with heatwaves and the sound of cicadas in the air.

A large black SUV was parked in the lot, and Song Qinglan was surprised. He hadn’t expected someone as neat and fresh as Ji Yushi to drive such a bold, rugged vehicle.

Song Qinglan unlocked his phone and handed the information to Ji Yushi. “Take a look while I drive.”

That was the best arrangement, and Ji Yushi had no objections. “Alright.”

As the car merged into traffic, with the neon lights of Ning City flashing by, Ji Yushi quietly read the information.

Wang Xiaoqian, female, 52 years old, was a former professor of quantum physics at Capital University. The file listed some of her papers, theories, and teaching achievements, stating she was from the capital. However, as Song Qinglan mentioned, the information was incomplete. There were no photos, and there was no mention of any work related to Sky Vault.

Ji Yushi searched Capital University online, but Wang Xiaoqian was no longer listed in the faculty directory.

“I have some connections,” Song Qinglan said. “With the name you gave me, I found several women with the same name. I eliminated those with age and professional differences, and this professor is the closest match. If, as you say, Wang Xiaoqian was a director at the Jiangcheng Branch, this professor of quantum physics is the most likely candidate.”

Ji Yushi nodded. In this era, information security was highly regulated, and all databases were encrypted, so finding this much was already impressive.

What surprised him was that even though Song Qinglan had no memory of the “Minister Wang” Ji Yushi mentioned, he had still gone to such great lengths to investigate.

“They’ll send over more detailed information later,” Song Qinglan added. “You can verify if it’s her.”

As he spoke, Song Qinglan glanced at Ji Yushi and froze for a moment.

There was a distinct red mark on Ji Yushi’s neck.

Song Qinglan had seen this type of mark before.

Whenever Li Chun returned to the team after some fun during his vacation, he often came back with these kinds of marks.

Song Qinglan had planned to ignore it.

But the stark contrast between Ji Yushi’s pale skin and the red mark kept drawing his attention.

He clenched his teeth and said, “Consultant Ji, pay attention to your neck.”

Confused, Ji Yushi opened the sun visor and checked the small mirror. “I forgot to close the window last night.”

No wonder he had been scratching his neck all day. He had been bitten by a mosquito.

Song Qinglan remained silent for a while.

Ji Yushi wasn’t particularly skilled at reading people’s emotions or navigating relationships. He was already deeply touched that Song Qinglan had gone out of his way to find the information for him.

Pulling his gaze back, Ji Yushi asked, “You said on the phone that you also noticed something different. What was it?”

“During the Ouroboros mission, it was the woman who rushed out onto the street that made me realize we were in a time loop.”

They passed through a traffic light intersection, and Song Qinglan turned the wheel smoothly. Bold, proud, and commanding—he was the one who truly suited this car.

“At first, I didn’t remember anything. At most, I had a sense of déjà vu. But when I realized that things had already happened once before, memories from the previous loop suddenly surfaced. This is something I’m familiar with. I told you before, when Zhou Mingxuan and I were in the military participating in the Time Witness program, we underwent memory enhancement training. It’s similar to a key to unlocking memories, like a subconscious trigger. So, unlike Tang Le and the others, we could remember more of what had happened during the loops.”

After explaining this, Song Qinglan’s brow furrowed, his sharp face looking even more tense. “Before I looked into Wang Xiaoqian’s file, I had no recollection of her name. But as I read some of her theories, I suddenly had a vague memory of having debated those ideas with someone. I remember being convinced. But in my current memory, the person I debated with was Minister Qi.”

Ji Yushi froze. “Two sets of memories?”

Song Qinglan had two sets of memories too?

“One memory is vague, while the other is very clear,” Song Qinglan said. “But I don’t believe we’re still in some sort of illusion. I think this is reality. It’s just… perhaps it’s not the same reality we originally came from.”

Ji Yushi had just left the Ji family home, and Professor Ji’s words were still weighing heavily on his mind.

Hearing Song Qinglan say this, he couldn’t help but ask, “So you also think we’re in a parallel world?”

Song Qinglan remained calm, not reacting to the word “also.”

He continued driving steadily. “If this is a parallel world, then where are the other versions of us? Where did they go?”

That question hit

 Ji Yushi like a punch to the chest, leaving him speechless.

This very question had stumped Ji Yushi’s thinking. Combined with his confused memories, and the short time since they were intercepted and brought back to reality, Ji Yushi’s mental state had become worse than it had been during the Ouroboros mission.

He was overwhelmed.

Song Qinglan said, “Your ‘brain in a vat’ theory got me thinking about all of this. I wondered—did we enter a parallel world, or was this always our original world, and we just retained the memories of a different one? Or… did we experience some kind of side effect from time travel, and the double memories are just signs that we’ve lost our minds?”

Am I the butterfly, or am I Zhuang Zhou?

How does one distinguish between the most real version of reality?

“Finally, I came to a conclusion,” Song Qinglan said. “The answer is actually simple.”

Before Ji Yushi knew it, they had arrived at his apartment building.

He had assumed Song Qinglan would drop him off and then head to his grandfather’s house, meaning Ji Yushi would have technically “seen him off.”

But it seemed like Song Qinglan hadn’t understood that, and Ji Yushi might still have to drive him back out later.

For now, Ji Yushi didn’t care about that.

Because Song Qinglan said to him, “The key to solving this puzzle lies with you. I’m not talking about the report we’ll submit to the higher-ups. I mean your memories. If you can unravel everything from when you came to Jiangcheng, through Ouroboros, Chaos, and up until we were intercepted and brought here, from the perspective of your other set of memories, we’ll be able to find the truth.”

The streetlight illuminated Ji Yushi’s calm face, but inside, his heart was racing. “My other memory? What if I make a mistake?”

“In overlapping memories, anyone could make a mistake—but not you. Whether this is a parallel world or some side effect of time travel, Consultant Ji, your memory is the key to distinguishing between realities,” Song Qinglan said. “I trust you.”

There was a brief silence in the car.

Song Qinglan cleared his throat and said, “Go on upstairs. I’ll call a cab back to my grandfather’s place.”

He still had to retrieve his car from the station later.

But Ji Yushi asked, “Captain Song, can you stay until tomorrow?”

Song Qinglan almost choked. “What?”

Was Ji Yushi inviting him upstairs for the night?

It certainly wasn’t that kind of overnight stay, but still… A straight guy and a gay guy spending the night together? That seemed a bit inappropriate.

Realizing Song Qinglan’s hesitation, Ji Yushi remembered that Song Qinglan had some kind of PTSD about gay people getting too close. He might have misunderstood. Ji Yushi loosened his seatbelt, and the red mark on his neck peeked out from under his collar. “What I meant was—”

“Alright,” Song Qinglan interrupted, already stepping out of the car. “The sooner, the better. If necessary, we can even video call Zhou Mingxuan and the others tonight to see how they’re doing.”

Looking up at the building, Song Qinglan squinted. “Who’s home?”

Ji Yushi let out a sigh of relief. “Just a cat.”