"Battery percentage is now at zero. Shutting down..."
As the robotic voice disappeared, Xiaoyun finally regained control of his body again. But before he could do anything, several headaches hit him like a tidal wave nonstop.
"Ugh, my head hurt so much... Wait, was that all just a dream?"
As Xiaoyun rubbed the temple to reduce the headache, he soon realized that what he had experienced wasn't just a dream.
Looking down, Xiaoyun could see himself still wearing the same clothes that Songming had before the car crash, with Songming's old phone and wallet in his pocket.
In addition, he could feel his body had grown much older since he had stepped inside the time machine.
"I... I really did time travel back. But why does it feel so distant? Is it because of the dream mode that the other Xiaoyun talked about?"
As Xiaoyun tried to think back to himself as Songming, more and more old memories started becoming more and more difficult to remember.
However, he still could remember most of it faintly, almost as if his brain couldn't handle the memory overload and was only allowing him to pick one memory at a time.
Suddenly, a loud knocking sound appeared from the outside.
"Xiaoyun! Are you okay in there?" Nami urgently yelled as she kept banging on the window.
Xiaoyun quickly tried to click the open button, but it remained shut completely.
"Fuck. There's no energy in this damn door."
With no other option, Xiaoyun started to slide the door to the side with brute force, which worked as it easily slid all the way to the side.
"Wow, brother, you look so different... With this suit and beard, you look so much older and mature."
Nami's face was in shock as Xiaoyun looked as if he was in his late twenties as he stepped out of the time machine.
"What time is it?" Xiaoyun asked as he ignored Nami's comment.
"Um, only a minute has passed. Yeah, only a minute has passed," Nami replied, quickly checking her phone to confirm.
"Only a minute..."
Xiaoyun suddenly felt a surge of mixed feelings. His brain still couldn't believe a single minute.
"So, how was it? What's dad's secret? How long was the trip?" Nami asked curiously.
"There's no secret about dad... I just spent six years in the past." Xiaoyun explained as he opened the metal entrance exit.
"Six years? Why did it take so long?"
"It's complicated. Can I tell you tomorrow instead? I promise I will tell you everything."
Seeing Xiaoyun's eye looking a little lost, Nami nodded in agreement as they walked past the metal entrances.
---
After heading back inside the house, Xiaoyun suddenly had a question pop up in his head.
"Hey Nami, do you hate dad?"
"Dad? I mean, I don't have a memory of him since he disappeared when I was one."
Nami paused for a second, then continued.
"But I hate him for leaving Mom. Not to mention he kidnapping you without saying a word. He really is a douchebag for that."
Seeing Nami insulting Songming, Xiaoyun suddenly felt an urge to argue back. But it quickly disappeared as he realized all the things he had done near the end made no sense to an outside person.
"If he is a douchebag, why do you want to know about him so much?"
"I-I just wanted to know why he left us... Now that I think about it, I wouldn't want him to return to the family after what he had done."
Hearing Nami's response, Xiaoyun's heart dropped for a second, but he could only nod and smile.
"Thank you for your response... I am going back to my room now. Goodnight."
Just as Xiaoyun was about to head up the stairs to his room, a shadowy figure appeared at the top of the staircase.
"Xiaoyun and Nami, why are you guys talking so loud at night——Songming?"
Leyan's brain froze for a second by the staircase as she couldn't believe what was in front of her eyes.
"Leyan I——"
"Songming, you bastard! What took you so long? Where did you go all this year? I miss you so much!"
Leyan excitedly ran up to Xiaoyun, and the two hugged at the bottom of the staircase.
"I miss you too... Sorry——"
Before Xiaoyun could finish talking, Leyan kissed Xiaoyun right on the lips before separating again.
"You forget? No saying sorry." Leyan reminded.
"My bad. I almost forgot about that rule."
As the two embraced, Nami was completely confused by Leyan calling Xiaoyun Songming and even kissing in front of her.
"Wait, Mom, he's Xiaoyun. Why are you calling him Songming?
"Nami! What are you on about? This is your dad, Songming." Leyan explained as she wiped her tears away.
"No, he's Xiaoyun. It can't be my dad. He was just with me earlier——"
"Nami, it's a long story. Just hold on, okay? I'll explain everything to everyone tomorrow."
As Xiaoyun tried to make Nami stop bringing it up again, Leyan suddenly noticed something about Xiaoyun.
"Wait, honey, how have you haven't aged at all?"
Leyan asked as Xiaoyun's face was still the same as the day he left, despite it being years ago.
"Babe, can you wake Yueyue and Yuqi up? I want to tell you all something."
---
Everyone was awake now, in the middle of the night, as all four of them sat on the sofa, with Xiaoyun directly across from them.
"This is going to be a long story. I need you guys to stay silent the whole time and listen to the whole thing first, okay?"
All four of them nodded.
"This might be weird to see me like this... But I am indeed Xiaoyun. I just lived six years in the past after using a time machine."
"What? What are you talking about, honey? What time machine?" Leyan asked in confusion, as the other two were just as confused.
However, the two were more confused by how old Xiaoyun looked.
"Just listen to me. A Xiaoyun from another universe gave me a time machine to travel back twenty years. It's in our basement, and Nami can prove it."
Nami nodded as the other three looked surprised that there was a basement for the house.
"So when I got back in time, I was stranded on the beach, barely remembering anything at all. I looked around and saw a highway. I immediately got on the highway and started walking. But then got hit by a car."
The three got a little worried, except for Leyan, who felt the story sounded familiar.
"When I woke up, I was already in the hospital. I had no memories or records, so it meant the authorities couldn't find anything about me.
After my body recovered, I got adopted by an old man whose grandson was driving the car when it crashed into me... This is where I got the name Songming."
Leyan finally recognizes the story as she remembers it from the night story that Xiaoyun told her before.
"Then I sponsored to go to university. That's when I met you guys' mom... Leyan."
All of them sat in silence as their brain still couldn't wrap around the logic, except Leyan.
"What? This can't be true. This is ridiculous. There's no such thing as a time machine. Songming, this isn't funny.."
Leyan tried to stand up, but Xiaoyun pushed her back down onto the sofa.
"Babe, sit down. It will all make sense when I finish my story. Please."
Leyan stopped trying to get up after realizing Songming was fully serious.
"So I had the happiest time when I was dating Leyan until the old man died, and I had to graduate early."
"I started working in the Songjia company that the old man owned as majority holder... Yuqi, you can prove that the company was originally a public company that turned private after a massive scandal, right? Is the list of CEO Songming to Songyi back to me?"
"Y-you are right. The company records show a short period when it was private, and before it went private, the CEO changed twice of the same name."
Yuqi was shocked at the accuracy of the information. At the same time, she suddenly realized something but didn't dare to say it yet.
"I broke up with Leyan after I was worried that someone was going to hurt her if I continued with my plan of monopolizing the market.
The plan worked, and I was able to avoid most of the trouble. But I lost contact with Leyan. Until I got stabbed one day and went to the hospital. This is when I met with Leyan again.
Our relationship quickly heated up, and we decided to marry. After the marriage, Leyan eventually got pregnant and gave birth to... Yuqi."
Xiaoyun looked down in shame as if he was afraid to look Yuqi in the eye. But Yuqi didn't notice it at all, as her mind was thinking of something else.
"Two years later, it was Yueyue and myself——"
"Was that why you were so weird when I gave birth to them?"
Leyan interrupted Xiaoyun as she suddenly remembered back to the things that Wuli told her after Songming's alleged death.
"Yes. I was scared of our son or myself... But Lili punched some senses into me, and I thought all the memories of me having sex with you as your son were fake and just imagination of some sort.
I was starting to assume I was just hallucinating, so I ignored everything and returned to a happy life with Leyan, Yuqi, and the twins running around the house.
During this time, the company went public, and Leyan got pregnant again. This time, it was Nami... We now had four kids living happily until I got into another car accident, and the memory of being Xiaoyun started flooding into my head."
"The time machine also reminded me that time was running out. I realized I had to do something, or else I was going to die... At least that's what happened to the other Xiaoyun, who tried a different outcome."
"So you kidnapped yourself and brought it to the orphanage?" Nami curiously asked.
"Yes... If I didn't do that, we would all disappear like the other version of myself in the timeline... I shouldn't have left you guys like this without an explanation, but I just couldn't risk losing all of you."
Xiaoyun suddenly kneeled on the floor right before the four of them.
"I'm sorry—I really am. I know what I did can't be made up. I wasn't there when you guys needed me the most. I deserve every single bit of hate you guys have on me."
The three girls were still in shock, slowly processing the information as they couldn't get over the fact that their recently long-lost brother was also their dad.
None of them stepped up until Leyan got up from the sofa, unable to stand watching Xiaoyun on the ground any longer.
"It's not your fault, honey. Life puts you in a difficult situation and forces you to make the best of a lose-lose situation... I'll always see you as my... husband."
Leyan quietly murmured the last sentence as she supported Xiaoyun up from the ground, signifying her acceptance of his apology.
"Thank you, babe."
Xiaoyun turned his attention to the three, who still had been sitting in silence the whole time.
"Um... If Mom is fine with you, I don't have any objection... But can I call you Xiaoyun?" Nami innocently asked.
"Of course. You can call me whatever you want... You can call me brother, dad, or Mr.Ugly for all you want."
Nami let out a chuckle as Xiaoyun turned his attention to the other, who still hadn't accepted his apology yet.
"I can't call you dad when you are my twin. But it also feels weird calling you brother... Can I keep calling you Xiaoyun as well?" Yueyue requested.
"Of course——"
Before Xiaoyun could finish talking, Yueyue suddenly dragged Xiaoyun to the side.
"Can you keep the thing we did a secret? I-I don't want it to be more awkward."
"I understand, I won't say it."
As the two headed back, Yueyue hugged Xiaoyun as a signal that she accepted Xiaoyun's apology.
Xiaoyun finally turned his attention to Yuqi, who seemed to be thinking of something as she opened her mouth for a millisecond before closing it again.
"Yuqi, I'm sorry I——"
"I love you, Babe. I don't care who you are! Songming or Xiaoyun are the same to me. I couldn't care less if you were my dad or brother. You will always be my husband."
Yuqi suddenly rushes to Xiaoyun and kisses him right on the lips before all three of them.
"What the hell are you two doing!" Leyan asked angrily, unable to process what had happened as she refused to believe the daughter she gave birth to was stealing her husband.
Meanwhile, Yueyue and Nami were trying their hardest to hold in their laughs. as they already knew something was off between Yuqi and Xiaoyun.
"Sorry, Mom, but I love him too, and I am not going to give him up," Yuqi confessed as she held Xiaoyun's right hand.
"Xiaoyun, you better explain yourself."
"I fell in love with Yuqi a few days ago before all this when I went to save her... It's all my fault——"
Before Xiaoyun could finish, Leyan pushed the two to the side as she ran upstairs with tears reappearing on her face.
"I told you this was going to happen. You should have been honest from the beginning. Now it's biting you in the back. Good luck fixing your love triangle, Xiaoyun."
Nami finally let out her laugh before running upstairs back to her room.
"Mom and your older sister... This is straight out of some manga plot. This is the perfect plot I needed...
That is exactly what I am going to draw about. Wait, where do I fit in this?" Yueyue murmured to herself as she walked upstairs back to her room.
"Darling, I——"
"Just go to mom now! She deserves somebody to love her after all these years... She has been alone for too long."
Yuqi tried to push Xiaoyun away, but he stood still by the staircase.
"But how about you——"
"Shut up and go to her. Even I can tell she needs you right now. If you don't go now, I'll leave you as well."
As Yuqi threatened Xiaoyun, her face blushed as she said the next part.
"I don't mind sharing you with her... I just don't want to see her sad, okay?"
"Thank you, Qiqi! You're the best!"
Xiaoyun excitedly hugged Qiqi for a short second before running upstairs to Leyan's room.
"Dummy... Why did I agree to share him like that? When did I become so caring for Mom?" Yuqi murmured as she heard the closing door sound coming from upstairs.