CHAPTER 77

"It's truly a medical miracle, you know. Everyone was crying their hearts out, and then you showed signs of opening your eyes again. Thank goodness you're okay! You scared me, wuwuwu..."

On a spring morning, the pale pink petals of the flowers placed by the window gently swayed. As the door opened, a cool breeze filled the room.

Birdsong resonated among the flowering trees, and sunlight streamed through the layered branches and leaves, casting a flickering halo on the woman listening to the person beside her speaking.

After Yu Nian finished speaking, Ye Chengxing smiled and replied in a gentle tone, "It wasn't anything serious, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine now, right?"

As she spoke, she subconsciously wanted to raise her hand to ruffle the girl's hair, but as her hand lifted, she suddenly stopped midway.

Ye Chengxing calmly withdrew her hand and said, "Let's go, it's time for rounds."

Yu Nian had just finished crying and was almost fooled by her soothing tone into having teary eyes again.

She bit her lip and took a deep breath, "Sister, wait for me to freshen up a bit, I'll be ready soon!"

Upon hearing her address, Ye Chengxing paused for two seconds before responding with an "Hmm," saying, "No rush, we still have time."

After saying that, she looked at her own hand, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

She wasn't accustomed to touching other people's heads, especially since this behavior seemed intimate in social situations. She had always maintained a certain physical distance from others, so why did she suddenly develop this habit?

During this brief moment of contemplation, Yu Nian had already tidied herself up and returned to her side, saying, "Sister, I'm ready."

"Good," Ye Chengxing replied, with a subtle pause in her tone when she spoke again, "But for now, let's not call me 'sister'."

She had a feeling that this title should be used by someone else... but she couldn't remember exactly who.

Yu Nian blinked, thinking that Ye Chengxing wanted her to be more serious for rounds, and cheerfully responded, "Okay, Dr. Ye, understood, Dr. Ye~"

Soon, they began their rounds.

As Yu Nian watched the woman's figure and listened to her gentle and patient voice with the patients, she couldn't help but divert her gaze.

It wasn't just the patients who liked her, even the interns who accompanied Ye Chengxing were fond of her.

To be honest, Yu Nian wasn't initially willing to come to the hospital for her internship, as it was arranged by her family. But who could have imagined that her supervising doctor would be such a stunning beauty? Just seeing her every day made Yu Nian's mood soar, and tears would uncontrollably well up from the depths of her heart.

Cold yet gentle, restrained yet intriguing, slender waist and long legs, not to mention her beautiful eyes and features. She was also a highly accomplished graduate student with an impeccable resume...

What kind of targeted attack was this? She was completely smitten with her.jpg

After finishing the rounds with a few intern doctors, Ye Chengxing lowered her gaze and glanced at her wristwatch. Seeing that Yu Nian was closer to her, the girl asked in a soft voice, "I have something I'm really curious about... Do you have a girlfriend?"

She wasn't sure about Ye Chengxing's sexual orientation, and she hadn't intended to ask that question. But due to nervousness, she blurted out her thoughts.

Ye Chengxing, however, didn't sense anything amiss and responded naturally and smoothly, "I have a girlfriend."

Upon hearing this, Yu Nian felt a sense of disappointment, but she understood.

She consoled herself, thinking, Of course, someone so outstanding would have a girlfriend. It's only natural.

However, she couldn't help but feel her face blush and her heart race. Why did Ye Chengxing's perfume smell so good? It was reminiscent of... the fragrance of oolong tea?

As this thought crossed her mind, she couldn't help but express it.

Ye Chengxing heard her words, and while her facial expression remained unchanged, she felt even more perplexed deep down.

...She didn't wear perfume.

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

.......

Ye Chengxing felt like she had forgotten something very important.

Her instincts told her it was crucial, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember what specific thing she had forgotten. It was as if someone was trying to make her forget that memory. It was shrouded in an impenetrable mist, on the verge of recollection but always just out of reach.

Waking up once again from the dream, Ye Chengxing reached for her phone by the bedside.

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

In the days following her awakening, everything seemed normal—friends' condolences, family's concern—everyone reminded her to take care of her health and not overexert herself.

But...this was also the ninth time she had this dream.

The dream was exactly the same. She had dreamt of this scene nine times in a row.

A snowstorm filled the sky, and a girl in a bl0od-stained wedding dress held a large bouquet of white roses in her arms.

She wasn't crying, but the moment Ye Chengxing saw this image, an immense sadness filled her heart.

Even after waking up, remnants of that palpitation remained.

She was someone important to her.

But why couldn't she remember who she was?

The scent of oolong tea that inexplicably appeared, the subconscious habits that emerged, the address that made her pause, and the words that slipped out, "I have a girlfriend."

It was as if there was a gaping hole in her heart.

As the realization hit, Ye Chengxing discovered that tears had unknowingly rolled down her cheeks.

She gently touched her neck, feeling as if something was missing there.

She didn't usually wear accessories, but now she felt like she should be wearing a necklace, or perhaps a ring.

She still remembered having a cat, but similarly, the cat had also disappeared.

The LED lights in the bathroom were bright. Ye Chengxing cupped her hands and splashed cold water on her face.

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

The most significant difference was that in the first dream, she could only stand still and watch from a distance. But in this dream, she could already walk towards the other person. Although her speed wasn't fast, if this trend continued, she might be able to touch the girl in the dream after two more dreams.

It was indeed just a dream, but she had a strange feeling that it wasn't just an ordinary dream.

She desperately wanted to embrace the girl in the dream.

Ye Chengxing carefully dried her face and thought about taking another nap later to see if the dream would continue. After all, she had taken a long vacation.

"...Did you accidentally awaken a special ability?"

Just then, a voice she didn't recognize sounded in her ears.

Ye Chengxing looked up and discovered a small ball of light in front of her.

The small ball of light emitted a pure white glow, circling around her as if it were curious.

Normally, this scene should be extremely shocking and completely detached from reality, something that shouldn't appear in the real world. However, at this moment, Ye Chengxing didn't feel any shock or surprise.

It was as if she had experienced something even more astounding, to the point where her heart couldn't be stirred by this scene. She calmly responded to the entity, "What is a special ability?"

The little ball of light seemed surprised by her composed demeanor and stopped its spinning motion.

"You're quite calm. Actually, I came to fix a bug because the independent world you're in is an ordinary modern world with tags like ['urban'] and ['modern']. There are no other tags. But it turns out that you're not just a simple bug. Not only have you awakened your own talent, but it's also similar to a time-traveling ability. It's absolutely perfect for working at our Time and Space Bureau!"

The little ball of light excitedly chattered, clearing its throat before continuing, "Hey, I'm serious. Are you interested in working at our Time and Space Bureau?"

Worried that Ye Chengxing might refuse, the little ball of light started its introduction. After listing a bunch of employee benefits, it added, "Although you have almost awakened your ability, if you want to go to another world right now, you'll have to wait a bit longer. However, if you become an employee of the Time and Space Bureau, it's a different story. As a Time and Space Bureau employee, we can issue you a passport that allows you to freely travel between different worlds. So, consider it, what do you think?"

The little ball of light seemed very concerned about her refusal and didn't wait for her to respond before listing numerous benefits.

Ye Chengxing listened to the words of the little ball of light.

She wasn't particularly interested in the employee benefits mentioned earlier, but what truly moved her was the possibility of freely traveling between small worlds.

Everything happening at the moment was quite unreal—a small ball of light appearing out of nowhere, unknown whether it was good or bad. She had no reason to believe the entity, but as she listened to its words, she had a mysterious intuition telling her that everything it said was true.

"I have lost a part of my memory," Ye Chengxing spoke up after a while, not responding to the invitation of the little ball of light, "Can you help me recover that memory?"

The little ball of light paused in excitement upon hearing her words.

"That's a bit difficult. Someone made a wish contract with the system here, causing you to forget that memory, although you haven't completely forgotten it and even awakened an ability... I can't help you recover that memory. However, if you go to that world, you will gradually remember it."

Ye Chengxing contemplated the words of the little ball of light for a moment.

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

.......

The little ball of light introduced itself and said it was one of the main systems working at the headquarters of the Time and Space Bureau, with the codename 999.

After signing the agreement with the Time and Space Bureau, 999 took Ye Chengxing to the headquarters to obtain her employee identification and issued her a passport as instructed.

With this employee passport from the Time and Space Bureau, she could not only travel back and forth in small worlds on her own but also bring someone along if she wished.

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

She had indeed heard the self-introduction of 999 earlier, but as she listened to 999 introduce its codename, another codename—001—suddenly flashed in her mind.

She didn't know why those three numbers came to mind.

Ye Chengxing silently repeated the numbers 001 in her mind and casually asked, "Little Nine, how are the codenames of your system assigned?"

Upon hearing her question, 999 explained, "Well, in simple terms, the higher the number in the codename, the stronger the ability. Our codenames are not fixed and can change depending on the strength of the abilities."

"001 is the smallest codename, and generally, systems with some abilities can be responsible for multiple small worlds. However, systems with codenames like 001 can only handle one small world. In fact, the higher the codename number in our system, the less likely it is to change, whereas codenames like 001 change frequently."

As Ye Chengxing listened to 999's words, she paused for a moment and asked, "So, are the systems responsible for the world I'm in as well?"

999 shook its head and replied, "No, your world exists independently. We are responsible for worlds that have problems and cannot exist independently. For independent worlds, we might help out when there are bugs or issues, but we don't constantly monitor them. However, whether it's a small world or an independent world, the mission of the Time and Space Bureau is to ensure the stable operation of these worlds. We exist outside of all worlds."

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

It instructed her to place her hand on it and think about the world she wanted to go to or any entities related to that world.

Ye Chengxing didn't actually know what kind of world she wanted to go to. She placed her hand on the screen and thought about the girl she saw in her dreams. With a single thought, the number of that small world appeared on the screen.

Upon seeing the world, 999 was slightly surprised. "I remember this small world was about to disappear, but it hasn't disappeared yet? This time, the system with codename 001 can handle it. Maybe its codename can change."

After expressing its amazement, 999 explained the method to enter the small world. Since Ye Chengxing already had an employee passport, she could enter this small world at any time if she wished.

Ye Chengxing glanced at the number displayed on the screen and without hesitation, she opened a passage directly into that small world.

.......

Flying cars in the sky, bustling and vibrant buildings.

High-level electric tracks cut across the sky, leaving behind dazzling silver lights.

Ye Chengxing observed this world.

...This world should be the one where the girl from her dream resides.

It had some similarities to her own world, but there were many different environments here.

However, facing the surroundings, she felt a vague sense of familiarity, as if she had lived in this world before.

Ye Chengxing touched her clothes, entering this small world with the identity of a Time and Space Bureau employee. Not only did her mind automatically receive information about this small world, but her pockets also automatically contained some items that would be useful in this world.

She took it out and looked at it, realizing that she actually knew what these things were, even when faced with that peculiar-looking phone.

Ye Chengxing was now certain that she had forgotten a part of her memory.

Just like how she felt that she should remember the girl in her dream and any interactions they might have had, but in reality, she couldn't recall anything, no matter how hard she tried.

And she could feel that the girl was an important person to her, someone she couldn't forget.

Now, she had indeed arrived in the world where the girl resided.

However, this world was so vast, and she couldn't remember any information related to the girl.

...Where should she go to find her?

Ye Chengxing aimlessly walked along the street. After a few steps, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She lifted her gaze, and her eyes fell on the dynamic advertisement screen in the center of the city.

The woman appearing on the advertisement screen was the same girl from her dreams, but she looked noticeably more mature and glamorous than she had seen in her dream. Like a dazzling rose hidden under a somber hue, beautiful like a bl0od-stained blade, dangerous yet extraordinarily captivating.

Her momentary pause was not strange, as people around her would occasionally stop and be captivated by the person on the screen.

And from these people, Ye Chengxing caught a name—Li Jia.

However, upon merely hearing those words, her mind immediately connected the dots and recognized the specific characters in those two words.

Ye Chengxing took out her phone and noticed a nearby shop called "Risheng Milk Tea." She planned to go in, buy a random cup of milk tea, sit for a while, and search for information about Li Jia on her phone.

With that in mind, she entered the Risheng Milk Tea shop.

Ye Chengxing glanced at the menu and said, "One cup of Peach Cheese Milk Cap, please. Thank you."

As she spoke, she paid with star coins.

Ye Chengxing didn't actually have any personal memories of drinking Peach Cheese Milk Cap, but after it happened multiple times, she was getting used to occasionally blurting out words without a clear impression of them.

"Alright, one cup of Peach Cheese Milk Cap..." The woman responsible for taking orders had long pink hair. After recording the order, she raised her eyes.

Upon seeing Ye Chengxing standing in front of her, she was first stunned, then blurted out, "Holy sh!t!"Her tongue seemed to get tangled up: "B-b-boss?"

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