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That night, Chu An Qing had told him she couldn’t sleep, so she had gone to the training room to practice for a while. Then Yellow Finch had come downstairs, seen her, and they chatted. During their conversation, Yellow Finch revealed the secret of the time-space particles to Chu An Qing.

Was that not the whole truth? Was there something more hidden?

Moreover, from the way Chu An Qing spoke, it seemed that Yellow Finch had intentionally asked her to keep something from Lin Xian, doing so with a very serious and stern attitude.

Suddenly, it all made sense to him.

No wonder Chu An Qing was so anxious and scared when she heard Yellow Finch’s voice outside the door, covering her mouth in fear.

And when she tried to sneak out only to find Yellow Finch waiting for her, her hair practically stood on end, like a frightened porcupine.

At that time, Lin Xian thought Chu An Qing’s reaction was a bit too extreme. Even though they were alone in a room together, it wasn’t like they were doing anything inappropriate.

They were innocent, with nothing to hide, so why was she so scared, as if Yellow Finch had caught them in the act?

Now, Lin Xian understood.

He had nothing to hide. But Chu An Qing did; she felt guilty.

Yellow Finch had sternly instructed her not to tell Lin Xian anything, and then caught her chatting with him in his room. No wonder Chu An Qing was terrified; there was more to the story.

“What truth?” Lin Xian sat up straight and asked, “What exactly happened that night?”

Chu An Qing took a sip of her drink through a straw to wet her throat and began to speak slowly.

The other night, she indeed couldn’t sleep, so she went to the training room to practice, which was the truth. But while she was practicing, she suddenly heard a commotion from the washroom next door—clattering sounds, things falling, and intense coughing.

Chu An Qing felt something was wrong, so she hurried over to check.

And what she saw shocked her!

“The scene inside was terrifying!” Chu An Qing recalled with a worried expression. “The shelves in the washroom had collapsed, things were scattered everywhere, and Yellow Finch was lying amidst the mess, kneeling and trembling, coughing violently.”

“I was so scared. I ran to help her up, but she kept pushing me away, not letting me near her. She kept her head down, no matter how much I called her, she wouldn’t let me see her face.”

“I wanted to run out and call for help, get a doctor, but she grabbed me and told me not to call anyone, just to wait there with her. She never lifted her head the whole time. I didn’t know what to do, so I just stayed by her side.”

“Soon, she stopped coughing, her body stopped trembling, and her breathing steadied. She finally looked up at me, smiled, and said she was fine, just felt a bit unwell earlier. I was still shocked, but after checking her over, she seemed fine, except for her disheveled hair and a broken heel.”

“If anything, her eyes seemed a bit darker. They were usually a bright, shining blue, but then they seemed dimmer. But that must have been a trick of the light. Eye color doesn’t change, right? It had to be the lighting in the washroom.”

“Then Yellow Finch stood up and said she had a sudden stomach cramp, like a spasm, which made her fall and knock over the shelves. She asked me to help clean up the washroom and not to bother anyone else, not to let anyone know about this embarrassing moment.”

“That’s when she sternly told me not to tell anyone, especially not you, Lin Xian. She probably thought we were close and didn’t want me to tell you about her getting sick. We cleaned up the washroom, went back to the training room, talked about the time-space particles, and then she left. I went back to the dorm and heard you on the phone. You know the rest.”

Lin Xian listened to Chu An Qing’s story and understood the sequence of events. Most of what Chu An Qing had said before was true; she just left out the part about Yellow Finch collapsing in the washroom.

But why had Yellow Finch insisted on keeping this from him?

Lin Xian couldn’t understand. What was so serious about this incident that Yellow Finch had to make sure he didn’t know? Everyone gets sick sometimes. Even if it’s something serious, people generally don’t hide it so vehemently.

Moreover, what could she be hiding?

Yellow Finch knew she wasn’t ill and didn’t need help, which was why she stopped Chu An Qing from calling for assistance. She didn’t let Chu An Qing see her face, indicating she was hiding something about her appearance at that moment.

And the most crucial detail was the change in her eye color.

VV had also mentioned that Yellow Finch’s bright blue eyes were unnatural. They couldn’t be real; no one has eyes that bright and luminescent.

Reflecting on the other night when Yellow Finch had come to his dorm and in the following days, her eyes had returned to normal brightness.

This made Lin Xian wonder—was Yellow Finch some sort of android that needed to recharge? That seemed far-fetched, even in 2024.

He considered the idea of time-space travelers. If Yellow Finch was from the future, maybe she had some kind of physical issue related to time travel. Perhaps she was experiencing some kind of temporal backlash or elastic recoil from tampering with the timeline.

If this theory was correct, it opened a whole new realm of possibilities. What if altering the timeline beyond certain limits caused greater repercussions? Could it result in paradoxes, or even the forced erasure of individuals by the fabric of time itself?

Lin Xian realized he was getting too speculative. He refocused on the immediate issue. Yellow Finch had warned Chu An Qing to keep this secret, not for any superficial reasons but perhaps because there was something inherently dangerous or important about her condition.

“Do you have any other details?” Lin Xian asked.

Chu An Qing shook her head. “Nothing else. After cleaning the washroom, Yellow Finch threw away her broken high heels and put on flat shoes from the training room.”

Lin Xian muttered, “That explains why we didn’t hear her high heels when she came to my room that night. If she’d been wearing her high heels, we would’ve heard her approach long before she knocked on the door.”

Things were beginning to make sense now.

“Maybe Yellow Finch didn’t want us to worry,” Lin Xian said. “She’s older than us, more experienced, and as the commander, she probably didn’t want to seem weak. But you shouldn’t worry too much; she’s incredibly capable.”

Lin Xian looked at Chu An Qing, puzzled. “But why did you think of her when you heard this song?”

“Because Yellow Finch seems so lonely,” Chu An Qing said. “Haven’t you noticed? She’s always alone, like she doesn’t belong to this world, with no place to call home.”

“Think about it. We don’t even know if Yellow Finch is her real name. We don’t know her age, though she looks like she’s in her thirties. Has she ever mentioned a husband or children? Her phone never rings, no calls, no messages. She doesn’t seem to have any family or friends.”

“She always appears reliable and capable in front of us, but that doesn’t change her loneliness. It’s like she’s not from this world, with no family or friends, just like a wandering breeze. Doesn’t that make you curious why she’s helping us so much?”

Lin Xian was stunned. He had never thought about it this way. He had always seen Yellow Finch as a mysterious figure guiding him but never questioned why she was so invested in helping him.

His smartwatch beeped, indicating it was 10:30 PM.

“It’s time to head back,” Lin Xian said, showing Chu An Qing the time. “The car’s waiting outside.”

“Already? Why doesn’t Yellow Finch let us stay out to celebrate the New Year?” Chu An Qing complained.

“Probably for safety,” Lin Xian said, standing up. “Let’s go. The car’s waiting.”

An hour later, the white-plated black sedan drove into the confidential astronaut training base, unmarked on any map. Lin Xian and Chu An Qing got out of the car, finding Yellow Finch standing regally at the entrance, arms crossed.

“An Qing, your dad sent some things to the space agency. Since this mission is classified, he couldn’t know you were here, so a colleague brought them over. They’re at your dorm door,” Yellow Finch said.

“Wow, what is it?” Chu An Qing was thrilled. Receiving a package from her family on New Year’s Eve was exciting. She waved to Lin Xian. “I’m heading back to see what it is. If there’s something good, I’ll share with everyone!”

With that, she skipped away, and the sedan turned and left, leaving Lin Xian alone with Yellow Finch.

Usually, Lin Xian would have some playful banter with Yellow Finch about curfews or riddles, but after hearing Chu An Qing’s words, he was at a loss for what to say.

“You’re just in time,” Yellow Finch said, checking her watch. It was 23:59:34 on February 9, 2024.

“You really cut it close,” Lin Xian said, spreading his hands. “The traffic was terrible. I got in the car at 10:30, like you said. Anyway, we’re not kids. What’s the big deal if we’re a bit late? I was with Chu An Qing; nothing would have happened.”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Fireworks exploded in the distance, welcoming the New Year. The sound of firecrackers echoed, indicating the start of a new year.

Lin Xian’s phone beeped with a new WeChat notification from Zhao Ying Jun. As he opened the message, Yellow Finch spoke.

“Happy New Year,” her voice echoed in sync with Zhao Ying Jun’s message: ?Happy New Year.?

It was like watching a movie with subtitles, receiving New Year wishes from both women simultaneously.

“Thank you, Happy New Year to you too,” Lin Xian replied.

Yellow Finch smiled, putting her hands in her coat pockets and walking into the building with the click of her high heels.

“That’s it?” Lin Xian chuckled, typing a reply to Zhao Ying Jun: “Thank you, Happy New Year to you too.”

Back in his dorm, Lin Xian felt exhausted from the day’s activities. Shopping with Chu An Qing was more tiring than training. After washing up, he checked the time—00:27.

“Time to sleep,” he muttered, falling asleep almost instantly.

…

…

A dry, hot summer breeze brushed his face. He had felt cold before sleeping, but now it was like August’s heat, a stark contrast.

Opening his eyes, he was again surrounded by dozens of armed soldiers, just like in countless previous dreams. The captain stepped forward, brandishing an electronic arrest warrant.

“Lin Xian! You are under arrest for crimes against humanity, endangering Earth, and disrupting the time-space continuum!”

Lin Xian laughed, looking up at the sky, his eyes widening in shock.

For the first time, the previously empty sky was filled with dozens of huge airship balloons, floating like an invading fleet, brightly lit and slowly moving.

Each giant airship bore a shining advertisement: “The Best Time Capsule in the World! Celebrating Time Bank’s 600th Anniversary!”