ISBH - Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Past and Present
By the time they finished the movie, it was already six in the afternoon.
Han Tian did not even know when she had fallen asleep.
Her nose felt a little itchy.
Han Tian opened her eyes to find herself sleeping on Mo Sang's lap, while Mo Sang sat on the sofa with lowered eyes, looking at a mobile phone.
At some point Mo Sang had drawn back the curtains, and the orange yellow sunset streaming through the window lattice gilded her whole figure with a golden glow. She had clearly woken not long before, the corners of her eyes still a little red, her whole bearing languid, which made her look even more like a little fox spirit that could steal a person's soul...
Han Tian blinked, and for a moment she suspected she was having an erotic dream.
Yet she was a pure mom fan, so how could there be such a captivating Cub in an erotic dream?
...
"Mom fan? Cub?"
As if sensing what she was thinking, Mo Sang suddenly burst out laughing!
Han Tian looked closely and only then realized that what Mo Sang held was her own mobile phone, and Mo Sang was reading her Weibo with great interest...
?!
So everything in that alt account she used to cheer and post fan flattery while waiting every day for Mo Sang to notice her, all of it... had been seen by Mo Sang?!
...
"Cub's legs, the spring river by the Rhine, Cub's lips..."
"Pfft..."
Burning with shame, Han Tian wished she could die on the spot and quickly reached out to cover Mo Sang's lips!
"You're awake?" Mo Sang blinked, looking rather pleased. She glanced down at Han Tian and slowly closed the mobile phone, her voice slipping through the gaps between fingers, a little hoarse. "Did I wake you? Do you want to sleep a little longer?"
"No," Han Tian said, a little angry, her eyes round. "I have to go to the Research Institute later!"
After a moment, she still could not hold back. "How could you go through my mobile phone without asking?"
...
The moment the words left her mouth, Han Tian sensed trouble.
"I'm sorry, Sister."
Mo Sang slowly lowered her head, her bright eyes visibly filling with tears. Despite her bewitching face, she looked perfectly natural playing the pitiful little white flower.
"Sister, you're so busy," Mo Sang said, her voice a little choked. "We finally had time to be together, and you were still on your mobile phone. You looked so absorbed in Weibo before, so I got curious..."
"Sister, please don't hate me, all right? I will never dare again..." The little white flower's eyes shimmered with tears as she wept softly.
Looking at Mo Sang like this, Han Tian felt completely undone!
Even though she knew Mo Sang might be doing it on purpose, once Mo Sang wore that expression, Han Tian felt she had no strength to resist her!
How hateful! Why did Mo Sang have to be so beautiful!
"Don't do this again..." Han Tian coughed dryly, glared at Mo Sang, and said flatly. "If there's a next time..."
Yet even after thinking for a long time, Han Tian could not come up with what would happen next time.
There was a good chance that as soon as Mo Sang made that face and cried a little, she would start giving in again...
Han Tian finally realized that Mo Sang seemed born to be the bane of her existence!
...
"Thank you, Sister." Mo Sang sobbed softly and leaned over to nuzzle Han Tian's cheek. "I just learned that Sister is my mom fan..."
"I'm so happy... Sister finally switched fandoms and no longer thinks about that woman all day."
"Sister, don't worry. I'll definitely shine even brighter than her from now on!"
...
?!
With the strong logical mind honed by years of research, Han Tian almost immediately grasped the situation. Most likely the person Han Tian, the supposed ex-girlfriend, loved was also a star, so Mo Sang now thought Han Tian being her fan meant she had switched fandoms...
This was utterly melodramatic! Han Tian had never imagined being welcomed by her new favorite for switching fandoms, when Professor Han had only engaged in fan worship once in her entire life!
...
"I'm sorry, Sister." Perhaps seeing Han Tian's distress, Mo Sang glanced at her carefully. "I was just too happy. If Sister doesn't want to mention that woman, I won't mention her..."
"Sister, will you stay with me from now on? You said on Weibo that you'd always walk the flower path with me..."
Leaning against Han Tian's shoulder, Mo Sang said softly. "I'll definitely work harder from now on and not disappoint Sister..."
In that instant, the feigned grievance faded from Mo Sang's eyes, replaced by a glimmer of hope, and she finally overlapped with the radiant girl in Han Tian's memory.
What Han Tian loved most was Mo Sang looking like this, full of hope, like a hollow star, a little naive yet naturally mysterious and alluring.
Han Tian lowered her head. Mo Sang was so sweet and spoiled like this, nearly invincible when acting cute, and Han Tian had no idea how she had grown into such a creature...
Before Mo Sang, the discipline Han Tian had always prided herself on nearly collapsed completely.
After all this turmoil, Han Tian had realized she simply could not refuse any request from Mo Sang.
Especially when Mo Sang looked at her with those eyes, the fox spirits of ancient times probably had that very look...
"I will always stay with you," Han Tian said softly.
She knew full well that Mo Sang meant those words for her ex-girlfriend, and that Mo Sang might dislike or even distance herself after recovering.
But this was Han Tian's own promise. Since she had said she would send Mo Sang along the flower path, she would accompany Mo Sang all the way forward.
Learning that Han Tian had been her fan all these years seemed to delight Mo Sang greatly. Mo Sang caused no more trouble afterward, and after they had dinner together, she leaned against the doorway and reluctantly watched Han Tian drive away.
In the rearview mirror, Han Tian watched Mo Sang's figure, the sunlight stretching her shadow long. Bathed in the sunset, the girl looked gentle and radiant...
She belonged in the sunlight, radiant and beautiful.
Han Tian breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt a sense of loss. She had always focused on research, her circle was simple, and she had always been indifferent in matters of feeling. Only the process of fan worship had ever brought her joy, and these past few days were the first time she had felt such complicated emotions. In this lifetime, was this likely the only time she would ever be this close to Mo Sang?
It really felt like a dream!
Next came getting Mo Sang to a doctor.
On the road, Han Tian called Li Ai, but Li Ai did not pick up.
As soon as she reached the Research Institute, Han Tian switched into work mode and threw herself completely into her work.
Five years earlier, Han Tian had returned to the country because she saw a long sealed file. What was written there concerned time travel, as the author believed that a certain medium could link two spacetimes and send a person back to the past, and he had conducted many experiments in that direction.
The file sparked great interest in Han Tian, but by the time she saw it, the author had already passed away.
After returning, Han Tian collected a great deal of material about that author.
That author had never received systematic training in scientific theory, yet he was extraordinarily gifted in this area. While he lived, hardly anyone understood him, and everyone thought he was a madman.
Building on that author's foundation, Han Tian used her own learning to further refine the experiments.
Recently they had reached a stage where results could come at any moment, and Han Tian wished she could watch over her research every second.
When she next emerged from the laboratory, it was already the morning of the second day.
Han Tian kept a small office at the Research Institute, and when she did not go home she usually rested there.
Shang Yan had gone downstairs to buy breakfast for Han Tian, so only now did Han Tian have a chance to open her mobile phone.
On the mobile phone were three missed calls from Li Ai, plus another call from five minutes earlier labeled "Girlfriend".
Han Tian felt dizzy and could not figure out when she had ever saved someone under such a name.
She opened her message history out of habit.
Perhaps because she could not reach Han Tian by phone, Li Ai had sent a text instead. "I'm very sorry, Miss Han. I have to go abroad on short notice to handle an urgent company matter. Mo Sang will be here shooting commercials these next few days, so I must trouble you to look after her. We can discuss the doctor visit after I return..."
?!!
Could Cub's condition be delayed like this? That damned Manager!
Han Tian immediately called Li Ai back.
Yet no one answered, and Han Tian guessed Li Ai was already on the plane.
Listening to the beeping on the line, Han Tian felt her heart sink to the bottom, along with an inexplicable panic...
Then did she still have to pretend to be Mo Sang's ex-girlfriend these next few days?
At that moment, the number labeled "Girlfriend" called again. Han Tian frowned and answered without thinking.
"Sister, you finally answered..." On the line was a voice Han Tian knew very well, and Mo Sang sounded a little elated. "Sister, are you done? I'm still waiting for you at the old place."
"The old place?"
Han Tian froze, then immediately stripped off her lab coat and took the elevator down to the underground parking garage.
In the garage sat an inconspicuous Volkswagen, its headlights blinking as Han Tian came down, just like the blinking eyes of a certain top star pretending to be innocent.
Han Tian opened the car door.
Almost as soon as she got in, a certain little vixen leaned over and stamped her cheek with a kiss.
"Sister, I made porridge for you. I got up at five to make it..." The reproach on the tip of Han Tian's tongue was pressed back by Mo Sang's eager tone, as if seeking praise, and the smile on Mo Sang's face seemed brighter than spring light. "Sister, will you try some?"
The sweet chestnut porridge soothed a stomach wearied by a whole night of work. Han Tian studied Mo Sang's look that day, long hair dyed black, white shirt and jeans...
That was how Mo Sang had dressed at nineteen.
Something flickered through her mind.
Mo Sang tilted her head and watched Han Tian finish eating, then carefully wiped the lip print from Han Tian's face bit by bit with a tissue. "I will always be good from now on, Sister. May I keep coming to see you?"
"No," Han Tian said, badly startled. "Mo Sang, remember that you're a star!"
That face of Mo Sang's was far too famous. If she were recognized, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"But I only want to be Sister's star..." The smile on Mo Sang's face slowly dimmed, her expression utterly serious. "Sister, in your heart, other things will always matter more..."
"I'm afraid Sister will abandon me again without a word..."
...
Here it comes again!
That humble, pleading look made Han Tian feel as if needles pierced her heart.
For a moment, Han Tian even wished she were that ex-girlfriend, so she could tell Mo Sang firmly. "She doesn't like seeing Mo Sang so humble. She doesn't need Mo Sang to pretend to be anything else. Mo Sang being herself is what she loves most..."
But she was not Mo Sang's ex-girlfriend. She was only one among Mo Sang's countless fans.
"Mo Sang," Han Tian said, looking away and forcing herself to harden her heart. "If you get recognized, it'll cause trouble for both you and me."
In the end she could not harden her heart completely, and Han Tian bit her lower lip. "I'll try to find time to call you every day..."
...
A moment of silence.
Han Tian could not help glancing back at Mo Sang.
She had thought that with Mo Sang's clinginess, Mo Sang would likely refuse, yet Mo Sang looked deeply at her and said yes in a low voice.
"Sister, you said it. You must call me every day."
Mo Sang raised her eyes and gazed at Han Tian with a heavy stare, for the first time not hiding the vulnerability and obsession in them. "If you disappear again, I'll really go mad."
The experiments grew busier by the day.
Perhaps because the emotion in Mo Sang's eyes was too compelling, Han Tian made time to call Mo Sang every day, and though Mo Sang should have been an extremely busy star, she always managed to answer Han Tian's call at once.
At the same time, Mo Sang's long inactive Weibo suddenly began posting selfies.
The first day brought a photo in a sleeveless dress and sun hat. "The year I turned eighteen, you left me. I was like a demon locked in a bottle. I prayed to heaven that as long as you came back, I'd agree to anything..."
This caused an uproar.
Fan groups were all guessing what had happened to Mo Sang. She had suddenly sung love songs at her concert, and the captions looked hazy and suggestive...
Could Mo Sang really have someone?
...
The second day brought a photo in a white shirt and jeans. "The year I turned nineteen, I wanted to become better. I couldn't find you, so I could only let you see me."
The third day brought a photo of Mo Sang at twenty. "I'm already twenty. Why haven't you come back yet?"
The fourth day was Mo Sang at twenty-one. "I think I hate you a little now. Did you ever even exist?"
The fifth day was Mo Sang at twenty-two. "I don't want to think of you anymore, yet you appear in my dreams every day..."
...
The fan groups were nearly exploding with arguments.
Some suspected Mo Sang had really fallen in love and was merely softening the blow for her fans. Others thought Mo Sang was warming up for a new movie or a new song...
Watching these updates, Han Tian trembled with fear. She was the one who had urged Mo Sang to post more on Weibo and communicate with her fans, yet she had never expected Mo Sang to post such things, and she did not dare join the discussion in the fan groups. Only later did Han Tian discover that Mo Sang had changed her Weibo name to "Mo Sang's Favorite Girlfriend" and had cunningly used up all the allowed name changes, so Han Tian could not change it back...
Han Tian feared that speaking up would get her attacked by the friends in the fan worship group...
Meanwhile Han Tian's experiments had reached a critical stage.
Everything was ready, except for a medium capable of bridging two spacetimes.
That day it rained heavily, and Han Tian was so absorbed in her experiments that she never noticed several missed calls from "Girlfriend" on her mobile phone.
Without that medium, all the experiments stalled, unless another such medium could be found.
Han Tian remembered that the author who wrote the theory of time travel had mentioned that he had once found such a medium.
Out of personal admiration for that author, Han Tian recalled that she kept some of his belongings at home, and perhaps she could find a clue among them.
"Wait a moment, I'll be right back!" Han Tian called to Shang Yan, then ran to the parking garage and was about to drive home when a figure appeared in front of her car.
"Sister, I know you're busy..." Mo Sang was soaked through as if fished from water, her face deathly pale. "Sister, it's good that you're still here..."
...
Before Han Tian could even cry out with wide eyes, Mo Sang had already collapsed in front of her car...
When Li Ai arrived with a private doctor, Han Tian had already taken Mo Sang's temperature.
"She has a slight fever. You two look after her. I'll buy some clothes for her to disguise herself, and you can take her away shortly..." Han Tian glanced at Li Ai and turned to leave the room.
Li Ai had claimed to be abroad, yet after Han Tian called to say Mo Sang had fainted, Li Ai reached Han Tian's home within an hour...
Han Tian was no fool.
Thinking it over, she understood. Li Ai had never gone abroad at all, and the lie had only been to win more time for Mo Sang to be with Han Tian.
Han Tian did not want this to continue. Whatever reasons Li Ai and Mo Sang had, she no longer wanted to be involved.
This stretch of time felt stolen, and now it should end.
If it went on, Han Tian feared she would lose control of her own heart.
Han Tian drove to the nearest clothing store and hurriedly bought several outfits for Mo Sang. Just as she was about to leave, a dress displayed front and center caught her eye, a dress exactly like the one in Mo Sang's painting.
As if possessed, Han Tian changed into that dress.
When she returned home, Mo Sang was already awake.
For once, Mo Sang did not notice Han Tian's arrival.
Her gaze rested on a sculpture in the cabinet in Han Tian's living room, a smiling little girl whose radiant smile filled anyone who saw it with joy.
Although it was not a sculpture by any famous artist, Han Tian loved the feeling hidden within it. Whoever had carved this sculpture clearly held deep love for the little girl.
This was a relic of the author of the time travel theory. After returning, Han Tian had asked someone to look into that author, and when that person went, the author's house had already undergone demolition, and what remained inside had been thrown onto the garbage dump...
Han Tian had kept those things.
Yet Mo Sang stared at this sculpture with utter terror.
Mo Sang found strength from nowhere, shoved aside the doctor and Li Ai, pulled the needle from her hand, ran to the sculpture, seized it, and hurled it to the floor.
No one knew what material the sculpture was made of, but it did not break.
With a rattle, the sculpture rolled to Han Tian's feet.
"Han Tian..."
Mo Sang looked at Han Tian, her eyes suddenly frantic, as if she might burst into tears the next second. "Don't touch this sculpture!"
For the first time, she did not call Han Tian "Sister".
So Mo Sang had already come to her senses?
...
In that instant, Han Tian suddenly felt ridiculous. In vain had she thought to play the ex-girlfriend one last time and say goodbye to Mo Sang. A fake would always be a fake...
Han Tian bent down and, meeting Mo Sang's frightened gaze, slowly picked up the sculpture.
"I still have work. I'll go back to the laboratory first. Make yourselves at home..."
Then let there be no goodbye! From now on, each would go her own way.
Let it be as if nothing had happened.
Han Tian turned and left the room.
Mo Sang behind her seemed still to be shouting something, but Han Tian no longer dared to listen...
Because of this delay, everyone else had already left work by the time she returned to the laboratory.
The lights were off in the laboratory, leaving it dim.
Han Tian walked in and lowered her eyes to the time travel device she was researching. Only this could calm her chaotic heart.
Without warning, a shove came from the corner, making Han Tian slip and fall toward the exposed instrument...
Someone was trying to kill her!
The sharp tip of the instrument seemed right before her eyes!
With strength she did not know she possessed, Han Tian slammed the sculpture in her hand against the sharp tip!
Amid a huge flash of light, the world spun...
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