TIMO - Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Fu Zhao spent five days, worked over twenty hours of overtime, and completed seven days' worth of work.

In exchange, she got these three days to accompany Shi Nan on RT Planet.

Perhaps during these three days, Shi Nan would need to go to her company. Shi Nan might have many things to do and wouldn't have time to be with her all day. It was even possible that Fu Zhao would spend most of her time alone on RT Planet-just as Shi Nan had done a few days ago.

But she still chose to do it.

Even if the time they spent together wouldn't be long, she just wanted to do it. And after making this decision, the sense of joy in her heart grew stronger.

Perhaps it was because, on RT Planet, she knew Shi Nan would come back at the end of the day.

The waiting during the day would become filled with anticipation for the arrival of night.

She liked this kind of anticipation.

But Shi Nan might not like it.

Fu Zhao recalled Shi Nan's previous attitude about her coming to RT Planet. She hadn't exactly relented, but it was better than before.

The starship took off on time, and a sense of weightlessness washed over her.

She, however, let out a sigh of relief. She placed the various bottles and jars she had prepared for this "long journey" on the table, her tone as relaxed as if she were making casual conversation. "Medicine for acclimatization, soothing medication for before my susceptibility period, inhibitors, I brought a lot..."

"Oh, right, and isolation patches."

She pointed to the few patches on the back of her neck, but when she saw Shi Nan's direct gaze, her voice trailed off. "There are many more in my bag, but I'm too lazy to take them out."

Shi Nan didn't rush to speak. She followed Fu Zhao's gesture, glancing at the items on the table before her gaze shifted back to Fu Zhao's face. She watched her quietly, her tone nonchalant,

"You didn't bring the most important thing."

"What?" Fu Zhao asked subconsciously. Her hand slipped into her pocket, and only after feeling the two rings in the small cloth pouch did her furrowed brow relax. Her tone softened. "I should have brought everything."

Shi Nan propped her chin on her hand and looked at her, raising an eyebrow thoughtfully. Her voice was languid. "Didn't you forget the book?"

"What book?"

Fu Zhao blurted it out and immediately regretted it, because she already knew which book Shi Nan was asking about. When Shi Nan looked up at her, a faint smile gracing the corners of her eyes, Fu Zhao's cheeks grew hot. She coughed lightly to cover her embarrassment,

"Anyway, we've already come this far. You can't possibly make me go back right after we land on RT Planet."

Taking advantage of the fact that the starship had already taken off, she decided to be shameless.

"Mm, I won't." Shi Nan didn't argue. She just cleared her throat, an eyebrow slightly raised. "But I can get angry. I can ignore you when we get there. I can stay at the company every day..."

She stopped halfway through her sentence.

Because when those clean, pure amber eyes stared at her, they were simply too soft. They were sparkling, sincere, and innocent, making her heart soften, making it impossible for her to resist.

So, she gave up on the idea of teasing Fu Zhao and spoke directly,

"But I won't."

Fu Zhao got the answer she wanted and retracted her pleading gaze. Her tone became leisurely. "I know you won't."

"Mhm~~" Shi Nan didn't deny it. She smiled at her, a strand of hair tucked behind her ear falling loose, framing the smooth lines of her face, charming and soft. "Because I have other methods."

This time, before Fu Zhao could ask, she spoke first. Her fingertips tapped lightly on the tabletop, her deliberately softened tone carrying a faint smile,

"A method I won't tell you about."

Fu Zhao unconsciously raised a hand to touch the back of her neck. Remembering the scene from last night, her breathing became erratic. She swallowed. "No matter what you say, I won't go back early."

She continued to act tough.

But the next second, she felt a soft touch on her head, followed by a gentle force that guided her to lean lightly against Shi Nan's shoulder.

"Silly~~"

A soft call came from above her, the voice as gentle as the wind. "Are you feeling dizzy?"

Fu Zhao was stunned for a few seconds, then her body relaxed. Feeling the warmth against her cheek, she spoke softly, "I'm not dizzy."

"I took the medicine to prevent motion sickness, as the doctor prescribed."

"That's good."

Following the soft, gentle voice, warm fingertips brushed over her brow, swept through her hair, and grazed past her ear.

It was comfortable and pleasant, making her feel like a puppy being petted.

She cleared her throat and said softly, "I thought you were going to scold me, I even thought you'd be angry..."

"Why would I scold you? Why would I get angry?" Shi Nan's voice came from above, tinged with more gentleness. "I don't want to waste the time we have alone on such useless things."

"After all, you exchanged so much overtime for this."

"It's too precious. I can't bear to waste it."

Fu Zhao relaxed completely. The fatigue from the past few days found a place to rest. She gently closed her eyelids. "Then, in the future, can situations like this happen often?"

"No."

The refusal was soft. Then, slightly warm fingertips cupped her cheek, holding half her face. "Because you have to give me a chance to do things like this too."

"You can't possibly take all these opportunities for yourself."

The soft, gentle voice drifted down from above. Fu Zhao could only smile. Shi Nan hadn't blamed her or scolded her; she had used the word "opportunity" to define her actions.

This was a good thing.

Fu Zhao's heart settled. The palm cupping her cheek patted her gently, and the languid voice sounded again. "Alright, if you're sleepy, go ahead and sleep for a while. I'll read a book. I'll wake you when we arrive."

Fu Zhao nodded lightly, her breathing slowing. Leaning against Shi Nan's shoulder, she smelled the familiar, light fragrance lingering at the tip of her nose and drowsily drifted off to sleep.

Before her consciousness faded, a thought suddenly popped into her head:

Was there a book on the table just now?

I don't think so.

Then what book is Shi Nan reading?

---

The dream was a recurring one.

She didn't know if it was real or fake, but for countless days and nights, as soon as she closed her eyes and fell asleep, the same scene would appear before her.

Snowflakes filled the sky, dancing and swaying under the hazy night lights. They were light and airy, carrying a chill as they fell.

Flake by flake, the white snow mingled together, landing on her body and on the face of the person before her, who was crying uncontrollably.

She lay in a soft, warm embrace. A metallic-tasting liquid kept welling up from her throat, preventing her from speaking a single word. Her chest heaved violently, uncontrollably, bringing with it heat and pain.

It hurt so much, so much that she could barely breathe.

A warm palm cupped her face, panicked and trembling nonstop.

The person before her was first shocked, then countless tears fell from those helpless, tea-brown eyes, landing on her face with a searing heat, mixing with the blood that gushed from her mouth.

It was Shi Nan.

Shi Nan seemed to be saying something, the tears in her eyes falling uncontrollably like pearls from a broken string.

But Fu Zhao couldn't hear anything.

She could only hear her own ragged breathing, which tugged at her wounds, and the drum-like beat of her heart in her ears, heavy and gradually slowing.

Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. She wanted to close them and rest for a while.

The frequency of her breaths was decreasing, yet in her own ears, it was still as loud as a drum.

She parted her lips, wanting to say something, but before she could get the words out, what came from her throat was a constant surge of hot blood. It was scalding, yet behind her, it was freezing cold.

Filled with a chill.

She was probably lying in the snow.

Is it winter?

Just as she was thinking this, she faintly heard a sigh. Amidst her own heavy breathing, the sound of steady, powerful footsteps approached.

Step by step, they came closer and closer, stopping beside her. Then, it seemed someone crouched down next to her.

She forced her eyes open and saw a blurry figure. A dark red leather trench coat wrapped around a slender waist, long hair flowing in the air. But the snowflakes, also drifting in the air, did not land on this person.

It must be a woman, looking down at her.

Blurry, unable to see the face clearly.

But the voice that came through was crystal clear, reaching the depths of her heart, crisp and sharp,

"Fu Zhao, what is your regret?"

Regret?

What regret would she have?

Fu Zhao's eyes snapped open. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead. The vast expanse of red and the drifting snowflakes instantly vanished from her sight. Before her was the familiar interior of the starship. The warm, soft feeling on her cheek reminded her that she was still leaning on Shi Nan's shoulder.

The ambient noise returned-the rustling of pages turning, the deliberately hushed conversations, the hum of the starship's machinery...

It was clear she had just woken from a dream.

It was this dream again.

But it was different from the countless times she'd had it before. This time, there was a woman in a dark red trench coat.

Even though she'd had the dream countless times, she could never piece together all the memory fragments.

Was this dream the real memory, or were all the previous dreams the real memory?

When was this memory from? Why was it different from before?

How did she die in her past life?

In her past life, was her relationship with Shi Nan really as the fragments of her memory suggested? Could it be that... a part of her memory was also missing?

Once these questions surfaced, they were endless.

More and more doubts, brought on by the dream, left Fu Zhao in a daze.

Until a worried voice came from beside her,

"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

She came back to her senses. The cold sweat on her forehead was gently wiped away, and a warm palm was placed on it.

"Or is it the acclimatization again..." Shi Nan said, her brow furrowing slightly. "Are you dizzy?"

Fu Zhao shook her head lightly. "I'm not dizzy."

"I just had a nightmare," she added. "It's nothing serious."

Shi Nan looked at her, the light in her eyes flickering. "Get a check-up after we arrive. If it's still the acclimatization... then don't come next time."

"Okay."

Fu Zhao nodded, her gaze gentle and affectionate. She suddenly remembered something and softly called Shi Nan's name.

Shi Nan tilted her head to look at her, the light in her tea-brown eyes shimmering slightly. After a moment, she lowered her gaze. "Even if you call me Wifey, you still have to get the check-up first."

Fu Zhao smiled, her eyes looking at Shi Nan frankly,

"I wasn't talking about that."

"Then what were you talking about?" Shi Nan replied nonchalantly, removing her palm from Fu Zhao's forehead. She opened the tablet she had been reading from and searched on the StarNet for "the difference between reactions to nightmares and reactions to acclimatization."

Fu Zhao watched Shi Nan quietly for a moment. She clenched her fists, closed her eyes, and took a light breath to calm herself. When she opened her eyes again, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her voice carried a hint of nervousness and awkwardness,

"I know you might find this strange, and to be honest, I find it strange too. But that nightmare was so real, so real that I feel some regret. So after waking up from it, I've made up my mind to say this often from now on..."

She paused. When Shi Nan's tea-brown eyes, shimmering with a faint light, looked over, her tightly clenched fingers relaxed. Then, an emotion like a roaring tsunami surged forth, destroying all her current restraint and composure.

To prevent her heart from beating too fast and exploding when she said the words, she clutched her chest and, following her heart's desire, softly said,

"I love you."

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