In the end, she entered the room but couldn't find her phone. After rummaging through the entire bed, she discovered it stuck between the headboard and the mattress. To her surprise, it was her own father calling, "Dad?"
"After so long, you must still be asleep," he teased.
Hai Baihe smiled cheerfully, "No way, I woke up early."
"Then it must be inconvenient to answer," Hai Youyu concluded. "Just remember to come back for dinner tonight. We have delicious salmon."
There's nothing in the world that can't be solved by eating fish. If there is, then bring another one!
Hai Baihe replied excitedly, "I promise to be home on time!"
In the time it took for their conversation, Liang Xiao had already finished breakfast and washed the pots and pans. He saw her coming out, wiped his hands, and bid her farewell, "I have to go now."
"Goodbye." Hai Baihe waved her hand. "Let's make plans for another day."
Liang Xiao kissed her cheek, "Give me a call if you miss me."
"Sure, I'll bother you whether I'm free or not," she giggled mischievously, "before you disappear."
"Don't keep me waiting too long." He lowered his head, gazing into her eyes. "I'll miss you."
Hai Baihe sweetly smiled, "But I already miss you now."
Liang Xiao chuckled, wanting to say something, but feeling that his words couldn't match her sweet confession. In the end, he simply said, "Let me know when you're free."
"Okay."
As Liang Xiao left, Hai Baihe could finally sit down and carefully recall the two incidents. Without exception, she experienced dizziness when she traveled through time and felt the same upon returning. It was like a premonition, but why did she have these sensations? Was it related to her ability to retain memories? She didn't know.
Strange creatures appeared during both time travels. Once it was zombies, and this time... what was this thing called? Hmm, since it appeared underground, let's call it an "earth spirit" for now.
Does that mean encountering monsters is inevitable every time? Zombies are one thing, but where did these earth spirits come from?
Furthermore, if the first time she returned to the real world was due to uncovering the truth behind the zombie outbreak, the second time was completely inexplicable. Just a minute after she climbed to the surface, about to be attacked by earth spirits, everything suddenly ended.
No warning, no clues. It just abruptly stopped, completely different from the decryption game she had speculated about during the first incident.
Speaking of which, what is going on? Is it a figment of her imagination? Impossible. It had already been proven that this couldn't be something she imagined. Then why didn't anyone else have any memories?
Could it be... she was the chosen one?
She couldn't figure it out.
Hai Baihe wanted to push this matter aside, but it had already happened twice. She couldn't deceive herself like before. However, no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't find any clues.
Does that mean she'll inexplicably enter that world again next time and be chased by monsters?
Ugh, shouldn't there be a system or a main deity to explain the world at a time like this? Why doesn't she have any hints?
"Ugh! So annoying!" Hai Baihe paced around the house, deciding to go back home and eat fish.
When she was about to leave, she originally carried a small chain bag, but she didn't feel at ease and changed to a backpack,
stuffing it with chocolates and drinks.
She drove out of the garage, realizing that she probably wouldn't consider taking the subway for a long time.
When Hai Youyu returned home from work, he found Hai Baihe already back. He called out while changing his slippers, "Hey, honey, you're back?"
No one responded. He went upstairs and pushed the door open. Sure enough, she was sitting cross-legged, wearing headphones, and playing games.
Hai Youyu put the freshly squeezed fruit juice he brought on the table heavily, "Vitamin replenishment!"
"Thanks, Dad!" Hai Baihe inserted the straw into the cup with a snap, took a big sip, and continued staring at the computer screen.
Hai Youyu silently comforted himself, thankful that his daughter was beautiful and wouldn't have trouble finding a man. Otherwise, he'd really worry about going bald from anxiety!
Not long after he went downstairs, their neighbor, Aunt Zheng, came to borrow soy sauce. They now lived in resettlement housing, which was related to the scope of the demolition. When the demolition happened, both their ancestral home and their current house were within the demolition zone. The ancestral home received the highest compensation since it was spacious yet dilapidated, amounting to millions. However, their current home was only around 70-80 square meters, so Hai Youyu didn't ask for any money and exchanged it for a set of resettlement housing near the market.
Some of the neighbors at that time used the compensation money to buy houses elsewhere, but many couldn't afford new houses and had to move into the resettlement housing. Therefore, there were still several decades-old neighboring families around, and visiting each other was a common occurrence.
"Old Hai, my soy sauce is empty. Do you still have some at home?" Aunt Zheng greeted him warmly as she entered.
"Yes, yes, I'll get it for you." Hai Youyu poured half a bowl of soy sauce into a disposable cup for her. Aunt Zheng, well, she was alright, but once she took the soy sauce, she wouldn't return it. Hai Youyu generously let her take it so that his daughter wouldn't be upset if they didn't have soy sauce for the salmon in the evening.
Aunt Zheng took the soy sauce but didn't leave, smiling, she said, "Old Hai, how is that matter we talked about the other day? We've been neighbors for decades. Can I cheat your Baihe? That young man is in the District Public Security Bureau, and his family background is good. Your Baihe won't lose out if she marries him!"
"Xiu Fang, those days are long gone. Nowadays, young people want freedom in love, and I won't interfere with her." Hai Youyu dismissed Aunt Zheng, inwardly complaining: If his daughter were normal, it would be fine, but what if their future child also had a tail? What would happen if the future son-in-law saw it?
Instead of finding someone like Xu Xian, it would be better to not have a man at all. Just have a child. As for marriage, it's just a formality. With so many divorces happening, it doesn't matter.
After having Hai Youyu's skillfully cooked salmon for dinner, Hai Baihe firmly decided to stay home for the next few days.
"Not going out to play?" Hai Youyu asked knowingly.
"No," Hai Baihe mumbled with a mouthful of fish, her pronunciation unclear.
Hai Youyu frowned, "Aren't you afraid of scaring away your boyfriend by eating fish like that?"
Hai Baihe ate fish differently from others. As long as the fish could fit in her mouth, she liked swallowing it whole and
then spitting out the intact fish bones. This time was no exception, and she proudly showed Hai Youyu the fish tail, "See, the skeleton is complete. Not a single bone fell off. Am I amazing?"
Hai Youyu: "..." This brat must have had many boyfriends!
Hai Baihe was unaware of his thoughts and repeated her answer, "I'm not going out. School will start in a few days."
"That's good. There's a typhoon coming tomorrow, so I feel more at ease with you staying home."
Hai Baihe was surprised, "What is there to worry about with me?"
Hai Youyu smirked, "I'm afraid you'll get excited and go swimming in the sea. Then, I won't be able to explain to people how my daughter miraculously escaped death again."
"Daddy, you shouldn't say things like that." Hai Baihe smiled sheepishly. When she was young and immature, there were many typhoon days in Hai City. One day, she saw the turbulent sea and got excited, running out from home to go swimming. She even shouted foolishly, "Let the storm become more intense!" In the end, she was "rescued" by patrolling police officers.
Naturally, Hai Youyu received a scolding.
Hai Youyu snorted, "Keep your tail in check and stay at home these days. Let me know if you want to eat something, and I'll bring it back for you."
"Okay." Staying at home, lazing around and eating until death, sounded delightful to Hai Baihe.
After dinner, the rain started pouring outside. Hai Baihe lay on the bed, one hand hugging her tail, the other holding her phone. She flipped through her WeChat contact list and realized she had two new friends, Di Ya and Liang Xiao.
She recalled that in her other memories, they had added each other on WeChat when they ate crayfish yesterday. Intrigued, she scrolled through their moments.
Their contents were unexpectedly genuine.
Di Ya's moments dated back to last year. She posted a selfie on a train with the caption: "A new journey, a new beginning. Let everything from the past fade away with the wind."
Just this one moment was enough to make people daydream and hinted that this WeChat account was her new one after a suspected breakup, explaining the gap in previous content.