附近人100块钱上门

He had just left the campfire, his face still feeling tight and dry from the heat, and his body warm. But as soon as he read that line, a sudden chill ran through him.

Gao Wen.

It felt like Gao Wen had predicted everything.

According to his notes, after he put this notebook in the safe, he planned to enter a hibernation pod, waking up in 10 years to make sure his memories stayed intact.

No one knew exactly why he chose such a short time to hibernate. Maybe he was avoiding something… or perhaps he was waiting for something.

Whatever the reason, Gao Wen’s original plan was clear: he’d wake up with all his memories, like Zhao Ying Jun in the Third Dream, and return to the Time Bank to open his safe and get this notebook. If everything went smoothly, 10 years later, he’d come back, get the notebook, and pass on this crucial information.

But clearly, something had gone wrong.

Lin Xian guessed two things might have happened to Gao Wen:

Either Gao Wen’s hibernation lasted too long, or something went wrong during it, causing him to lose all his memories. If that happened, he would forget about the safe with the aluminum alloy and never come to retrieve the notebook. But Lin Xian thought this was unlikely. Someone as smart as Gao Wen wouldn’t make such a simple mistake.

So, Lin Xian leaned toward the second possibility…

Gao Wen was killed. Knowing he might be murdered, he left this message inside the notebook as a sort of farewell note, predicting his own death.

“That’s quite interesting,” CC said, studying Gao Wen’s handwriting. “This notebook’s owner, Gao Wen, clearly knew he’d be killed, so he left this note as a precaution.”

“So, he put it in the safe, just in case,” Lin Xian nodded in agreement. “I think the same. Maybe he chose to enter the hibernation pod to escape being killed… But from what happened, it looks like he failed. Someone likely murdered him.”

“We should keep reading. If Gao Wen really predicted his death, maybe he left more information about the killer,” Lin Xian suggested.

With hope, Lin Xian turned to the next page. Gao Wen’s notes continued, like a follow-up to his earlier message:

For your safety, I won’t explain too much to avoid getting you into the same trouble as me.

I only hope that after reading this notebook, you will publish the research results in the attached pages.

Rest assured, my death has nothing to do with this research. I was targeted by the killer because of another math problem I was working on.

So, don’t worry that releasing the research will get you killed. It represents a groundbreaking theoretical breakthrough.

I believe that releasing these results could change the world, correct many mistakes, save lives, and provide more possibilities for the future…

No matter what time period you’re in or how you came across this notebook, remember—

It’s not too late for anything.

Lin Xian read the page twice and finally understood what Gao Wen meant.

First, Gao Wen knew exactly why he was being targeted—it was because of his research on a math problem. And since the safe’s code was set to “00000042,” it became obvious:

Professor Gao Wen in the Fifth Dream also researched the Universal Constant!

No doubt about it. In previous dreams, Big Cat Face’s father was either assassinated or taken away after finding the Universal Constant 42. Ji Lin’s parents, also mathematicians, were shot at 00:42, likely because of their work related to the Universal Constant. Now, we have a third case—Gao Wen.

The brilliant Gao Wen didn’t falter, even after Professor Xu Yun published the hibernation fluid 200 years early. Instead, he thrived by diving into another area of research.

From these short notes, it was clear that Professor Gao Wen had made breakthroughs in at least two fields. One was the Universal Constant; he calculated it as 42, but this also led to his death. The other breakthrough was the research attached at the end of the notebook. Gao Wen hoped someone would publish it to change the world and save lives.

As the inventor of the hibernation pod fluid, Lin Xian didn’t doubt Gao Wen’s ability. If he could invent something that changed the world once, he could certainly do it again.

Unfortunately, before he could publish his second breakthrough, Gao Wen was targeted and killed because of his research on the Universal Constant 42.

Who killed him?

Lin Xian had his suspicions from the start. Even if it wasn’t a member of the Genius Club, it was certainly connected to someone there. But there was no need to think too deeply about it now. Once he joined the club, he would find out the truth.

Second, Gao Wen seemed to have considered the possibility of his own unexpected death, as well as the chance that someone might eventually find his notebook. He gambled that one day, someone would find it and publish the attached research. Worried that they might be scared off, he made sure to emphasize that publishing it wouldn’t get them killed. Clearly, Gao Wen had great confidence in his work, believing it would never be too late to release it.

CC finished reading the note and softly commented, “This Gao Wen person, he must have been a scientist, right? He seems very confident in his research.”

Lin Xian nodded. “I trust him too. He’s very impressive. His research has never let anyone down.”

He glanced at his wristwatch.

00:40.

Only two minutes left until the familiar white light would destroy the dream world and wake him up in 2024.

The notebook was thick. Copying it into the real world would take at least ten days to two weeks, and there was no way he could finish today. With these two minutes, he could only look at the title to know what kind of research it was.

CC noticed Lin Xian checking his watch and understood. 00:42 was almost here.

With a sigh, she said, “It seems Gao Wen was a bit too optimistic. According to what you said, the world is about to end soon… Whatever research Gao Wen left behind, there’s just no time to deal with it now.”

“He wrote that if the research were published, it could change the world, correct mistakes, and save lives. Unfortunately, he probably thought this notebook would be discovered within decades, maybe 100 or 200 years at most.”

“If it were discovered in 2300 or 2350, when humanity’s tech level was advanced, it might’ve been possible,” she continued. “But even if we publish it now, it’s too late. I’m still curious, though—what kind of research could make Gao Wen so confident? Scientists usually don’t talk in such definite terms.”

Listening to CC’s analysis, Lin Xian thought she had a point.

“Stop guessing. Let’s just take a look.”

As the white light of 00:42 was about to appear, Lin Xian didn’t have time to think much. Under CC’s watchful eyes, he turned to the next page.

On it, only one bold line stood out:

“Theory of Time-Space Travel and Design of a Time-Space Travel Machine.”

“What?” Lin Xian and CC gasped in unison, completely taken aback. Gao Wen’s research was this advanced—this fantastical?

“This is…” Lin Xian’s expression grew serious. He quickly grasped the gravity of the situation.

Yellow Finch, Fake Yu Xi, Real Yu Xi—they were all time travelers from the future! He had already guessed that if people could travel back from the future, then there must be a time machine or some high-tech device like that!

But he never imagined…

The theory of time-space travel originated with Professor Gao Wen!

There was no time to think more. The dream was almost over. Lin Xian quickly flipped through the sealed pages to catch more information. Most of the theories and formulas were incomprehensible, filled with symbols and English words he couldn’t understand.

As the second hand on his watch moved up, Lin Xian finally found a page full of words. A sentence was circled in red:

I speculate there should exist a type of energy particle capable of time-space travel. Using the energy it contains, one could cross through a time-space rift and send time travelers to specific, limited points in time. However, currently, there is no way to prove the existence of these energy particles. Therefore, the time-space travel theory is still missing its final piece.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Just as Lin Xian finished reading the note, a blinding white light instantly washed away the colors of the world.

Everything turned white. Then, it all faded into darkness.

In his bedroom corner, Lin Xian opened his eyes and shot up from his bed.

“Time-space particles!” he said with certainty. “The last piece missing from Gao Wen’s time-space travel theory… it’s the ‘time-space particles’!”

He rubbed his eyes, slipped on his slippers, and went to the bathroom to wash his face and wake up.

He looked up, staring at his reflection, his face dripping with water.

He woke up quickly. It was still 00:42. The minute hadn’t ended yet. But ever since he got the invitation to the Genius Club, the strange phenomenon in the mirror hadn’t happened again, not even once.

Professor Gao Wen. He never disappoints.

Lin Xian hadn’t expected much from Gao Wen’s so-called research. He thought it might be something like the hibernation pod fluid—something he could replicate in 2024, have the Rhine Company develop and sell, and use it to expand his influence and power.

If Elon Musk could become the world’s richest man, why couldn’t he?

Not that being the richest mattered; Lin Xian just wanted his own power and enough strength to back his actions when he joined the Genius Club.

But he never expected this!

Professor Gao Wen gave him a game-changer—a surprise!

A time-space machine!

If this could really be built, Lin Xian couldn’t even imagine how the world would change…

There was no doubt. Yellow Finch’s timeline, Fake Yu Xi’s timeline, and Real Yu Xi’s timeline must have time-space machines. The Fourth Dream must also have them; otherwise, that mysterious old man, possibly Copernicus, wouldn’t have sent Lin Yu Xi to 2024 to arrest him.

Who knows if there’s a time-space machine in the Fifth Dream… We haven’t heard Old Man Wei Sheng Jin mention it. Plus, Mars’ technology is only at the level of New Donghai City in the Second Dream. With that level, it’s impossible to create a time-space machine.

So why does the Fourth Dream have a time-space machine, but not the Fifth Dream?

At first, Lin Xian thought it was because of the super disaster in 2400 that caused human technology to regress and stall. But now…

He realized he might have been thinking too simply. The reason why there was no time-space machine in the Fifth Dream could be because of Professor Gao Wen’s untimely death, which prevented the theory and technology from being released to the world in time. As a result, human civilization missed this crucial technological breakthrough.

Lin Xian nodded to his reflection.

“Where humanity’s technology goes, which path it takes—these choices depend on those geniuses who lead beyond their eras.”

“Who knows? If Watt hadn’t existed, would a usable steam engine have ever appeared… or would humanity have skipped that stage and jumped directly to the internal combustion engine era?”

“It’s the same with Tesla’s AC power challenging Edison’s DC. If Tesla hadn’t existed, even though Edison’s DC was destined to be replaced, who’s to say it would definitely be by AC? It might have been a more advanced technology.”

Suddenly, an idea struck Lin Xian.

Earth’s resources are limited. Raw materials, energy, and talent—everything is finite.

These limited resources aren’t enough to support humanity developing in multiple technological directions at the same time. Due to conflicts over resources and talent, humanity’s future might be forced to choose only one direction to advance.

Like Elon Musk’s Mars colonization plan.

Lin Xian immediately thought of this. According to Old Man Wei Sheng Jin, before 2400, no one on Earth supported Elon Musk’s Mars colonization plan. Earthlings didn’t want to live on Mars, and naturally, Earth’s talent and scientists didn’t want to go either.

Perhaps this was a crossroads for human civilization: continue to develop Earth or immigrate to Mars and start an interstellar journey.

Obviously, these two directions conflicted. Limited resources and talent wouldn’t allow for both to develop simultaneously. One had to be chosen over the other.

Under normal circumstances, Elon Musk’s Mars colonization plan was bound to fail. A planet without a sufficient population couldn’t develop, no matter what. At that time, Mars had poor natural and living conditions. The biggest problem was the lack of people. By 2024, many countries were already aware of the importance of a population dividend—without people, you have nothing.

People didn’t want to leave Earth for Mars, and Elon Musk couldn’t just kidnap Earthlings. So, according to the normal course, Elon Musk’s Mars colonization plan might not even make a splash in a few decades and would go bankrupt.

But then, in 2400, a coincidence occurred. A super disaster swept the globe, killing billions and turning Earth into a hellscape where people could no longer live. Suddenly, Mars, which had been relatively underdeveloped, became the only option for humans to continue their species and avoid disaster.

Using this opportunity, humanity abandoned Earth and moved to Mars. Even a hundred years later, when Earth’s environment had fully recovered, it was so underdeveloped and low-tech that no one wanted to return from Mars, especially since space transport between Earth and Mars was limited to once every two years.

With all these obstacles, no one wanted to leave Mars and return to Earth. That’s how Elon Musk’s Mars colonization succeeded.

But at what cost? Was abandoning Earth the price for confining humans to Mars?

Lin Xian wasn’t sure. But he believed Professor Gao Wen would be a key figure in shaping humanity’s future.

“No matter what, I’ll visit Liu Feng’s lab tomorrow and discuss this,” he said, picking up his phone to check it. There were no messages or calls from Liu Feng, which was strange.

Since he had bought the Microsoft YaHei font copyright for Time Bank, the font on Safe 1277 had changed. Since that time shift happened, shouldn’t Liu Feng’s space clock also show some change in value? Even a small one would make sense.

Yet there was no word from Liu Feng. Was he asleep, not noticing the clock change?

“Whatever, I’ll just go to his lab tomorrow to find out,” Lin Xian said. He opened his packed fridge, made a quick late-night snack to fill his stomach, and returned to his bedroom.

He texted his driver, Xiao Li, asking him to pick him up at the apartment complex the next morning and take him to Rhine Lab at Donghai University.

After that, he placed his phone on the nightstand, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep.

…

The next morning, in a luxurious villa on the outskirts of Donghai City.

Zhao Ying Jun got out of her Alphard van, walked through the garden of a single-family villa, and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Coming!” Yan Mei opened the door from the inside and smiled when she saw Zhao Ying Jun. “Sweetie, why’d you suddenly think of visiting us?”

Pushing her sunglasses up into her hair, Zhao Ying Jun looked at her mother. “Where’s Qiao Qiao?”

“She’s inside, watching TV with your dad.” Yan Mei pointed to the living room. “Come on in and say hi.”

Zhao Ying Jun followed her mother inside and headed toward the sofa area in the middle of the room.

But as soon as she glanced at the sofa, her blood pressure spiked!

Yan Qiao Qiao, barefoot and lacking any manners, was walking back and forth on the fabric sofa, trampling on the cushions and scarf scattered all over.

And her usually strict father was sitting there like he was trying to please Yan Qiao Qiao, softly calling her name while feeding her carefully peeled orange slices. The slices were peeled perfectly clean, without a single white fiber on them. She couldn’t believe this was the same well-known figure with such patience.

But seeing Yan Qiao Qiao running around barefoot on the sofa, and hearing the loud cartoon playing on the TV, Zhao Ying Jun couldn’t stand it any longer. She felt like her head was about to explode.

“Why are you spoiling her like this?” she asked sternly. “How can you let a child this old run barefoot on the sofa? How is anyone supposed to sit there?”

“What are you yelling about?” Yan Mei scolded back, her voice even louder than Zhao Ying Jun’s. “She’s just a child! No need for so many rules!”

“Is she still a child?” Zhao Ying Jun laughed. “She’s already a teenager. At her age, she should be in middle or even high school.”

“But Qiao Qiao lost her memory,” Yan Mei said, rolling her eyes at Zhao Ying Jun. “She doesn’t remember anything, so what’s wrong with running barefoot on the sofa? Honestly… do you have to be so uptight?”

“If you’re such a clean freak, don’t sit on the sofa. Move a chair and sit over there. Seriously… you come in and start yelling. Who do you take after?”

Zhao Ying Jun took a deep breath through her nose, trying to stay calm. “I know she lost her memory and doesn’t understand things. But it’s because she doesn’t understand that she needs guidance and discipline.”

“If you don’t correct behavior like this, what kind of person will she grow up to be? Won’t she just turn into a spoiled brat?”

Zhao Rui Hai snorted, turning his head. “I think you’re the spoiled brat. Sure, Qiao Qiao’s behavior might be lacking in manners… but can’t you speak more gently? Explain things slowly, talk it out, and communicate with the child?”

“You come in and start scolding. What if you scare her? What if it affects her mental development? How many times have I told you… be patient. Raising a child takes time.”

Then, Zhao Rui Hai turned back with a doting smile on his face. “Come, Qiao Qiao, spit the orange seeds into Grandpa’s hand. You can’t eat those; you have to spit them out.”

Yan Qiao Qiao lowered her head, listened to her grandpa, and spit two small seeds from the orange slice into his palm. Then, he happily threw them into the trash and started peeling another slice.

What? This shocked Zhao Ying Jun.

She had seen spoiled kids before but never like this!

Was this still the strict father she remembered, who would criticize everything and pick faults?

She used to think those viral videos of doting grandparents were just staged, exaggerated skits. But now… the most exaggerated one was in her own home!

A girl at least thirteen or fourteen years old, getting fed peeled oranges and even having the seeds spit into someone’s hand. Were they raising her to be a princess or something?

Zhao Ying Jun let out a deep breath, took a few more, and tried to calm herself.

Yeah, maybe she had overreacted. She’d seen plenty of misbehaving kids before and usually just brushed them off with a smile. She never got this riled up.

She liked to think she had a lot of patience with kids.

But what happened earlier? Why did she get so worked up when she saw Yan Qiao Qiao misbehave? It wasn’t like her to lose control.

Thinking it over, she remembered that even at dinner the other night, she’d felt the same. Usually calm and composed, she’d easily been provoked by Yan Qiao Qiao.

Why was that? Was it really like they say—a kind of “bloodline rebellion,” where parents are most impatient with their own kids and always think other people’s kids are better?

Suddenly, while Zhao Ying Jun was trying to get a grip on her emotions, Yan Qiao Qiao started running around the sofa again. She seemed to have spotted something interesting and ran quickly to the other side of the sofa.

“Whoa, Qiao Qiao, slow down,” Yan Mei rushed over.

But it was too late!

As she ran, Yan Qiao Qiao bumped into a porcelain vase on a rosewood shelf—one of Zhao Rui Hai’s favorite collectibles.

It was a very precious antique. Though not a national treasure, it was still quite famous in the antique world and held significant artistic value.

But now, it had tilted past 45 degrees!

“Ah!”

“Qiao Qiao, be careful!”

Crash—

The priceless porcelain vase fell to the floor and shattered, sending pieces flying across half the living room…

Zhao Ying Jun clenched her fists. She felt her blood pressure rising again. She had seen naughty kids before, but never like this!

Surely her father couldn’t ignore this, right? She remembered clearly how, as a child, she’d once snuck into his collection room, didn’t break anything, just touched a painting by a famous artist and smudged it a bit. Her father had been furious and hit her hands twice with a ruler, making little Zhao Ying Jun cry.

Since then, she never dared to set foot in his collection room again. Those two strikes with the ruler still left a lasting impression.

Sure enough, Zhao Rui Hai looked shocked!

He quickly rushed forward, scooped up Yan Qiao Qiao, and moved her away from the mess.

Then he looked her over from head to toe. “Are you okay, Qiao Qiao? Did you get hurt?”

Qiao Qiao shook her head. “Grandpa, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t apologize! Look at this kid!” Zhao Rui Hai seemed bewildered that his granddaughter would apologize. “That ugly vase? I’ve wanted to replace it for a while! It wasn’t even that nice, and it was too high up. Wasn’t it bound to fall eventually? What if it hit someone? I should’ve gotten rid of it long ago!”

Then, as if he wasn’t done, he turned back and glared at Zhao Ying Jun.

“This is all your fault. Look at how you scared the kid. She’s all cautious and apologetic because of you!”

Heh. Zhao Ying Jun laughed. “Me?”

She pointed at herself. “I didn’t say a word, and she just started running. You’re really not upset about your precious vase?”

“Don’t say nonsense in front of Qiao Qiao,” Zhao Rui Hai warned. “I never said I cared that much. I’ve been thinking about tossing it for ages. I’ll sweep it up right now. You, keep an eye on Qiao Qiao for a bit. Make sure she doesn’t step on any shards.”

Then he set Qiao Qiao down beside Zhao Ying Jun and began cleaning up the broken vase with Yan Mei. He repeatedly told Qiao Qiao not to run around barefoot.

Zhao Ying Jun was speechless.

She was also learning something new.

She suddenly felt grateful that last time she brought VV to meet Yan Qiao Qiao, VV had gotten lucky.

With grandparents this doting, if VV had dared to yell at Yan Qiao Qiao, they might have had dog stew for dinner that night.

“Ughh…”

She walked over and looked at Yan Qiao Qiao, who was swinging her legs on the sofa. “You may be the youngest in the family, but you’re actually the highest in rank. No one dares to cross you.”

Yan Qiao Qiao looked up at Zhao Ying Jun. “Good morning, sister.”

It seemed that after a day of language lessons, Yan Qiao Qiao could now string together a short sentence. After all, she only lost her memory, not her language skills, so her recovery was quick.

Zhao Ying Jun crouched down, making her eye level with Yan Qiao Qiao on the sofa. They looked at each other.

She still couldn’t believe it…

That this big girl was biologically her daughter!

If someone told her it was her clone, she’d find it easier to accept. But “daughter” was just too shocking.

“Qiao Qiao,” Zhao Ying Jun said, pinching her pigtails with a smile, “do you remember where you’re from?”

Yan Qiao Qiao shook her head. “I don’t remember.”

“Do you remember who your mom is?” Yan Qiao Qiao shook her head again. “I don’t remember.”

“Do you know who your dad is?”

Again, Yan Qiao Qiao shook her head. “What’s a dad?”

Alright, then. Clearly, Yan Qiao Qiao didn’t know what “dad” meant or what kind of relationship it was.

Zhao Ying Jun carefully studied each feature on Yan Qiao Qiao’s face. She could see so many similarities with herself…

Honestly, if she had a daughter right now, she wasn’t sure if she could make one that looked more like her than Yan Qiao Qiao did.

Right in front of her on the sofa was a smaller version of herself.

Zhao Ying Jun couldn’t help but recall when Lin Xian took her to the hospital lab to do a DNA test with a stranger’s child. She vaguely remembered that the little girl’s name was Yu Xi, a beautiful name. She was also very cute and well-behaved. But she looked healthier and more energetic than Yan Qiao Qiao, with nicely defined muscles that showed she liked sports.

Yan Qiao Qiao, on the other hand, had thin arms and legs, no muscle at all—she looked weak, like a sheltered young lady who had never seen the sun or exercised.

That girl, Yu Xi… How was she doing now?

Did she find her parents? Was she still with Lin Xian?

Zhao Ying Jun felt curious. In such a short time, a girl named Yu Xi appeared around Lin Xian, and now, a girl named Yan Qiao Qiao was with her. Was there a connection between these two girls?

She picked up her phone and called Lin Xian, quickly getting a answer.

“Lin Xian, you’re up this early?”

“Yeah, I’m heading to Donghai University today, to the Rhine Lab.”

Lin Xian chuckled on the phone. “What’s up? Calling this early?”

Zhao Ying Jun got straight to the point. “I just remembered that a few days ago, you took a girl to the hospital for a DNA test, right? I remember her name was Yu Xi. It turned out to be a misunderstanding… But what happened to that girl? Is she still with you?”

“No, no. I handed her over to the police the next day,” Lin Xian replied naturally. “I told Officer Wang about it. Let the professionals handle it. The police soon found Yu Xi’s parents and sent her home.”

“Really? That’s good,” Zhao Ying Jun said with a smile. “A family reunion is always best.”

“Finding her parents was a relief. After raising a child for so long, losing them for even a few days must have been terrifying for her parents.”

“Definitely,” Lin Xian agreed. “Every child is their parents’ precious gem. They might argue and scold them all the time, but if they ever went missing, no one would be more worried.”

“Alright, that’s all I wanted,” Zhao Ying Jun said as she put down her phone. “I’ll hang up now, Lin Xian.”

She hung up and looked back at Yan Qiao Qiao.

She had thought there might be some connection between Yan Qiao Qiao and Yu Xi, but Lin Xian said the police had already found Yu Xi’s parents. It seemed she was overthinking things.

Speaking of which, she was still curious. Even though Yan Qiao Qiao wasn’t her biological daughter, since she shared a biological mother with her, that meant that as long as she was human, her mother alone couldn’t have produced her.

If she was Yan Qiao Qiao’s biological mother, then…

Who is Yan Qiao Qiao’s biological father?

The moment she thought of this, Zhao Ying Jun frowned in disgust. She was completely innocent, and now she had to think about such inappropriate questions, not even knowing who the father was. It made her feel very uncomfortable.

“Who were you talking to?” Zhao Rui Hai asked as he and Yan Mei finished cleaning up and walked over to Zhao Ying Jun, pointing at her phone.

“Work stuff,” Zhao Ying Jun replied flatly, putting her phone away.

But Yan Qiao Qiao raised a finger and pointed at the pocket where Zhao Ying Jun kept her phone. “Lin Xian.”

Her words were brief and sharp, as always.

“You!” Zhao Ying Jun squinted at Yan Qiao Qiao. “Your ears are sharp, huh? You caught that I said his name twice. Why didn’t you remember anything else I said?”

Yan Qiao Qiao raised her finger again and pointed at Zhao Ying Jun’s phone pocket. “Paternity…”

But before she could finish, Zhao Ying Jun quickly covered her mouth.

“Oh~~~ Lin Xian,” said Zhao Rui Hai, realizing. He clapped his hands and paced in place. “Right, right… I’ve been so focused on Qiao Qiao that I completely forgot about Lin Xian!”

“Ah, you see, I promised to have a meal with Lin Xian to thank him when we came to Donghai. But when we couldn’t make it a few days ago, we just let it go and didn’t think about it again…”

“What must Lin Xian think of us? We’re not being very polite! We’re free tonight… Ying Jun, call Lin Xian again. See if he’s free tonight. If he is, let’s all have dinner together and show him we mean it!”

Zhao Ying Jun thought for a moment. She didn’t have any plans for tonight either. Lin Xian had mentioned before that he regretted missing dinner and told her to let him know if they had time in the future.

Maybe he was waiting for her to ask?

“Alright then,” Zhao Ying Jun said, getting up from the sofa. She took out her phone, called Lin Xian again, and looked at her father.

“If you and Mom are free tonight… let’s make it happen.”