TIMO - Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The final court trial was approaching.

As an important representative of Nanke Island, Fu Zhao was a key witness for the final trial.

Shi Nan, as the victim, had been in the hospital due to her physical condition. This final trial was the chance to put Lu Jingmo away, so naturally, she couldn't miss it.

Therefore, they planned to go to RT Planet a day early.

Outside the starship port.

Shi Nan's sleeves were being tugged by several teary-eyed people, making it difficult for her to move an inch.

"Wuwuwu, Sister Shi Nan, you have to come back and see us often, especially the Little Island Master~~ She's so reluctant to see you go." Jiang Wenqing stared eagerly at Shi Nan. "It's not a big deal for me and Ye Er, since we'll be coming to RT Planet in a little while. We'll come find you then."

Shi Nan first glanced at the Little Island Master, who was uncomfortably rubbing her nose, then raised a hand to pat Jiang Wenqing's head. She smiled gently and nodded lightly. "Okay. Remember my contact information. The first thing you two should do when you get to RT Planet is come find me, understand? Before school starts, I'll take you both around RT Planet to have some fun."

As she spoke, she looked at the quiet Ye Er standing to the side. Although he didn't say anything, his burning gaze still revealed the slender youth's reluctance to part.

"Ye Er, if you have any thoughts, you can also contact me anytime."

Ye Er nodded, clutching his bag strap. "I know, Sister Shi Nan. If I need anything, the Island Master and the Little Island Master will support me too."

"Sister Shi Nan~~"

Another drawn-out address. Shi Nan looked over and saw that the other person clutching her sleeve was Kong Weiyan. Kong Weiyan pinched her voice and spoke mischievously, "You must remember to come back and see us on Nanke Island often, and especially remember our Little Island Master, who is still waiting bitterly for you-"

Before she could finish, Fu Zhao covered her mouth, forcing the remaining words back down.

Fu Zhao pulled Kong Weiyan away from Shi Nan's side, her brow furrowed. "Don't talk nonsense..."

She looked at Shi Nan, her throat bobbing. "They're all just spouting nonsense. Don't feel pressured. You don't have to come back to Nanke Island to see me."

"I'll be fine, Shi Nan."

Shi Nan raised an eyebrow, her gaze shifting to Fu Zhao's face. The look that met hers was perfectly frank. She curved her lips into a smile. "I know."

"Alright."

Fu Wanqing pulled Jiang Wenqing and Kong Weiyan apart. Her expression was gentle as she reached out, leaned in, and hugged Shi Nan. She spoke with a smile, "Nannan, I didn't come to greet you when you first arrived on the island. I never thought that this time, I would only be able to see you off."

"Auntie promises that the next time you come to Nanke Island, I will definitely be here to welcome you."

"With Fu Zhao," she added, gently patting Shi Nan's back.

Shi Nan pressed herself against the warm, spring-like embrace. The solid touch filled in a few more of the regrets from her past life. She remembered that one day in her previous life, after Fu Zhao had left, she suddenly heard the news of Fu Wanqing's death.

She had returned the island Fu Zhao gave her to Fu Wanqing. But after Fu Wanqing passed away, she left the island to her again. Even though Fu Wanqing knew clearly that Fu Zhao had died for her, she had never once blamed her.

Later, she accomplished what she set out to do, but was also left with two of her greatest regrets.

This time... perhaps all her regrets could be completely filled.

A warm palm patted her back with a soft, gentle force. Shi Nan returned to her senses and answered softly, "Okay."

Fu Zhao watched the farewell scene before her. She opened her mouth but said nothing, only feeling that the wind at the starship port had suddenly grown stronger, making her eyes feel warm.

She wasn't someone who was accustomed to the emotions of parting.

In many moments of departure, she had always been very decisive and clean-cut, as if she weren't a person who lingered on the past.

But the two partings she regretted most from her past life were, first, dying in Shi Nan's arms without a proper goodbye; and second, dying on RT Planet without bidding farewell to Fu Wanqing, forcing Fu Wanqing to mourn her child.

So this time, watching Shi Nan and Fu Wanqing before her, she was somewhat at a loss for words.

Fu Zhao closed her eyes for a moment, blocking the oncoming wind and hiding the warmth in her eyes. When she opened them again, she met Shi Xinglan's gaze.

"Shouldn't we hug too?" Shi Xinglan pointed at Shi Nan and Fu Wanqing, who had just separated, and walked over with a smile.

Fu Zhao was stunned for a few seconds. After meeting Shi Xinglan's eyes for a moment, the other woman came over and gave her an elder's embrace with open arms. There was a slight space between them, proper yet not distant.

As the warm hug enveloped her, her fingertips tightened. She hesitated for a few seconds before finally raising her hands to return the embrace.

She rarely hugged elders, because she always felt that if she couldn't meet their expectations, the hug would be very stressful.

In all her memories, the only hug from a female Beta was from Gu Shubai. But Gu Shubai's hugs were always accompanied by pressure, not like this. Although she and Shi Xinglan didn't speak, there was no pressure or awkwardness between them.

She no longer felt that she would be unable to meet the other's expectations.

"I know that agreeing to let Nannan do this was also a very difficult decision for you. But you're amazing, surprisingly so. I didn't expect you to be so unreservedly supportive."

"In any case, you've handled it much better than I did back then."

Shi Xinglan patted her back and spoke softly in her ear. There was a hint of bitterness in her voice, as if she were speaking to Fu Zhao, and also to herself.

"It's been hard on you, Fu Zhao."

Fu Zhao listened quietly, her gaze wavering slightly. She now understood why Shi Xinglan had suddenly hugged her. It was because, in a way, she and Shi Xinglan were in the same position.

She didn't know if Shi Xinglan's first reaction had been to object or to support when Shi Nan's Omega mother decided to go to the Omega Rescue Center, because the interstellar environment decades ago was much harsher than it was now.

But she knew that she wasn't as unreservedly supportive as she appeared on the surface.

More than anything, she was reluctant to let her go.

But she couldn't let even a hint of her reluctance show, lest it influence Shi Nan's decision.

Clearly, Shi Xinglan had seen through this little thought of hers, which was why she had said, "It's been hard on you." This was a phrase she had never once heard from Gu Shubai, but now she had heard it from Shi Xinglan, whom she had only known for a few days.

She is very lucky in this life, Fu Zhao thought.

Fu Zhao rarely rode in starships.

Especially after returning from another world that had no starships, she hadn't ridden in one at all.

So for a moment, she was a bit unused to it. The speed was too fast, the altitude too high. The moment it took off, the feeling of weightlessness was so strong that it almost made her dizzy.

"What's wrong?"

A soft and gentle voice sounded by her ear, its tone deliberately lightened, carrying a hint of softness. "Are you scared?"

"I'm not scared." Fu Zhao bit the tip of her tongue, clearing her head a little, and shook her head. "I'm just not used to it. It's been a long time since I've been on a starship."

"I see..."

Shi Nan replied softly in her ear. Then, a warm, soft touch spread across her palm as slender, gentle fingers slipped between hers in a very natural motion.

Their fingers intertwined, palms pressed together.

Fu Zhao stared at her own palm, then her gaze shifted from their clasped hands to Shi Nan. Shi Nan was also looking at her, and she even raised their joined hands, her tone tinged with a casual laziness. "I'm scared."

"So I need to feel your presence to not be scared."

"I'm really not scared."

Fu Zhao tried to move her fingertips, but they were squeezed tightly the next second. Then her eyes met Shi Xinglan's, who was looking over from diagonally in front of them. Shi Xinglan pursed her lips. A little flustered, Fu Zhao immediately made her movements more discreet, placing their clasped hands on her lap.

"I already said I'm scared."

There was a hint of grievance in Shi Nan's voice. She lowered her lashes and bit her bottom lip. "Can't you just go along with me?"

"..." Fu Zhao was silent for a moment, at a loss for words. The dizziness she felt was growing stronger. She simply closed her eyes, ignoring Shi Xinglan's predatory gaze, and asked softly, "...How much longer is this going to take?"

"About two hours."

Shi Nan's voice seemed to drift closer, soft and gentle in her ear, easing her light-headedness a little.

Then, soft fingertips patted her head. She followed the force and leaned onto a soft shoulder. She could feel silky strands of hair brushing against the soft flesh of her neck. It was a little ticklish, but also somewhat comfortable.

As the distance between them closed, a faint, elegant fragrance reached her nose. It was probably the scent of her hair.

But it was enough. Her stiff, tense upper body relaxed, and her dizzy head found a solid place to rest.

"Sleep for a while. I'll wake you up later."

The voice in her ear grew softer again, drifting a little farther away, hazy.

Fu Zhao obediently leaned on Shi Nan's shoulder like that. After a while, her eyelids grew heavy, and her consciousness gradually faded as she fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes again, Fu Zhao was already on RT Planet.

Strangely, even though her feet were on solid ground, the dizziness in her head hadn't lessened. In fact, a familiar sense of discomfort welled up in her chest, a pain rising from the depths of her heart, just like when Shi Nan had first arrived on the island.

Back then, she had thought it was the original host's consciousness acting up.

But she hadn't expected this familiar pain to surge up again after she came to RT Planet. Could it be because she had died on RT Planet in her past life, so being here was casting a shadow over her?

Fu Zhao couldn't figure it out. She only had a vague feeling that while the discomfort wasn't severe at first, it worsened the longer she stayed on RT Planet.

By the time they were at Shi Nan's house, she could barely eat dinner. She could only apologize to Shi Xinglan and go to her room to sleep.

She lay on the bed in a daze, constantly feeling like someone was talking in her ear.

She could just barely make out a conversation between the family doctor and Shi Xinglan, with Shi Nan softly adding her own comments, wondering if her recent differentiation meant she was approaching her susceptibility period, and saying that she had seemed unwell on the starship, her tone tinged with self-blame.

"There's nothing wrong. It's not a susceptibility period, just a simple case of not being acclimated to the new environment."

"After she takes some medicine, eats something, and gets a good night's sleep, she should be fine tomorrow."

She heard this and opened her mouth, wanting to say something, to tell Shi Nan not to worry and not to blame herself, but she didn't have the strength to speak. In the end, she could only fall back asleep.

She didn't know how long she had slept.

She felt a wetness at her lips, but the taste that spread into her mouth was bitter and unpleasant.

She snapped her eyes open, her breathing ragged.

The room was a bit stuffy. The dim yellow light of the desk lamp was hazy. Outside the window, the night was soaked in a layer of moonlight that spilled into the room.

Her whole body felt like it was lying in someone's arms, with a soft sensation beneath her.

Fu Zhao raised her eyes and, as expected, met a pair of tea-brown eyes shimmering with moisture. The edges of the pupils glowed with a faint light, veiled by a thin layer of mist. The lowered eyelashes trembled because of her sudden awakening.

Then a teardrop escaped from the corner of an eye, falling and landing on her cheek, scalding hot.

This scene was somewhat familiar.

Fu Zhao came back to her senses from her daze. She raised a hand and gently wiped away the tear that had slid down Shi Nan's cheek with the pad of her finger. Her voice was a little hoarse when she spoke. "I'm fine, don't be scared."

She pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her forehead and back were almost completely covered in a cold sweat, like a layer of moisture that made her clothes stick to her uncomfortably.

RT Planet wasn't as hot as Nanke Island. The wind blowing in from the window even carried a hint of coolness. She shouldn't have been so hot, yet she was sweating all over.

The arms holding her back tightened. Then, the person before her leaned in and buried their face in the crook of her shoulder. Long, slender eyelashes tickled the side of her neck, and soft, fluffy hair fell onto her shoulder.

She was completely enveloped in Shi Nan's embrace.

The hold was very tight.

"As long as you're okay... as long as you're okay."

Her hushed voice carried a suppressed sob, repeating the words over and over in the quiet night.

Some of Fu Zhao's strength returned. She patted Shi Nan's back and said softly, "I'm fine. Didn't the doctor say it's just from not being acclimated? It's a small thing. I'll be fine after taking the medicine."

The strength in Shi Nan's arms loosened a little. Fu Zhao had heard the doctor, which proved she hadn't been unconscious; Shi Nan had just been overly alarmed. She released Fu Zhao, picked up the medicine she had just reheated, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, and brought the spoon to Fu Zhao's lips.

"Then take your medicine."

Before Fu Zhao could react, a spoonful of medicine was put into her mouth. The taste was bitter and the smell was unpleasant, choking her so much that she almost wanted to spit it out the moment it was in her mouth. But after seeing the red rims of Shi Nan's eyes, she immediately swallowed it and then spoke tentatively.

"I think I'm much better after that nap. I'm just a little weak, but not as uncomfortable as before."

"Mm," Shi Nan responded softly, watching her quietly, her hand never stopping its motion of feeding her the medicine. After a good while, the mist in her eyes began to shimmer again. "You're going back to Nanke Island tomorrow."

Fu Zhao paused, tilting her head to refuse the next spoonful of medicine. "Why?"

They had previously planned to take Fu Zhao on a tour of RT Planet after tomorrow's trial and return to Nanke Island a few days later.

Shi Nan brought the spoon closer again, her lips pressed tightly together.

"Since you're not acclimated here, it's better if you go back sooner."

She lowered her lashes, her tone soft. It was as if she were sad, yet also flustered, and more than anything, afraid.

"Don't come to RT Planet again in the future."

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