"With a... woman?"
A woman!
Zhu Hanhang's expression immediately turned to one of shock, crossing her arms protectively over her chest. "It's not me, is it, big sister?"
While she really liked Su Luowei as a lunch buddy, it wasn't that kind of like!
Su Luowei sighed helplessly. "No, it's not you."
"Oh, good." Zhu Hanhang let out a long sigh of relief. "But then, who did you dream about marrying? Wait! Why would you dream about marrying a woman?"
As expected! She had a feeling all along! Su Luowei must be into women.
Zhu Hanhang rubbed her chin, looking at Su Luowei thoughtfully, and the more she looked, the more her theory seemed to make sense.
Su Luowei was beautiful, highly educated, and extremely capable at work. She had no shortage of admirers in the company. Every now and then, when people came from other branches for work, they would be stunned by her beauty.
But in all her years at the company, she hadn't dated anyone. Zhu Hanhang had never even seen Su Luowei chat with a man for longer than necessary. She always maintained a cold and professional demeanor, even with those who showed interest in her.
At first, Zhu Hanhang thought Su Luowei had a boyfriend, which was why she wasn't interested in any of her colleagues. But as their friendship grew, she learned that Su Luowei was single.
That's when Zhu Hanhang began to wonder if maybe Su Luowei just didn't like men.
As a respectful friend who knew her boundaries, Zhu Hanhang never pried into Su Luowei's private life, even though she was curious. After all, it was personal business.
Besides, it was the modern era—love shouldn't be limited by gender.
"I don't know either. And I've never seen that person before," Su Luowei said, frowning in frustration.
She rarely dreamed, and even when she did, the dreams were vague and easily forgotten upon waking. She had never dreamed of something so vivid.
But last night's dream was different. In the dream, Su Luowei clearly saw the person, touched her hand, felt her warmth, and even heard the woman softly call her "senior sister"
Ever since she woke up, she'd had a lingering sense of loss, as if she had forgotten something very important. This was why she couldn't stop thinking about it and had confided in Zhu Hanhang.
Zhu Hanhang's eyes twinkled with curiosity as she asked, "Was it a celebrity? Now that I think of it, I once had a phase where I kept dreaming that I was dating someone—specifically, the actress Cen Xixue."
"Cen Xixue? Who's that?"
Su Luowei didn't follow celebrities and couldn't match many names to faces. She only knew a few older, well-known figures.
"You don't know Cen Xixue, the famous actress? That one." Zhu Hanhang pointed out the window. Following her finger, Su Luowei saw a massive billboard.
Their company's cafeteria was on the third floor, and just outside the large windows, the façade of the shopping mall opposite displayed various advertising posters. The largest and most eye-catching one featured a woman's exquisite profile.
In the ad, the woman was turned slightly to the side, showcasing her delicate jawline, with her hand lazily supporting her chin as she gazed into the distance. Her elegant earrings, slender wrists, and beautifully curved neck were adorned with luxurious jewelry.
The actress was indeed stunning, and the jewelry was opulent, but Su Luowei only glanced briefly before looking away. "No, that's not her."
Seeing the disappointment on Zhu Hanhang's face, Su Luowei added, "But the jewelry she's wearing is quite beautiful."
"Huh? That's such a weird focus." Zhu Hanhang glanced at the brand on the billboard—Stardust. It reminded her of some gossip she'd read while scrolling through social media on the subway. "That's a new designer brand. Word is, the owner has close ties with Cen Xixue, which is why she's the spokesperson."
She shrugged. "But the lives of the upper class are too far from ours. Let's talk about something more practical."
By "practical," Zhu Hanhang meant inviting Su Luowei over to her place after work for a tarot reading.
Back when they were students, tarot cards were all the rage among the girls, but Su Luowei, a staunch atheist, had never been interested. She was still skeptical about how accurate tarot could really be.
Zhu Hanhang was confident. "I'm great at tarot. I'm never wrong. I'll help you figure out if the person in your dream is your destined one. If she is, you better go find her quickly, so you don't waste time on the wrong path."
Zhu Hanhang's plan was wonderful, but unfortunately, life had other ideas. By the time she shut down her computer at 10:30 that night, she was barely holding on.
"Working this late again? Don't we corporate drones deserve better?" She slumped over her desk, groaning, and glanced at Su Luowei across from her, hoping for some commiseration. But Su Luowei was still absorbed in her work, oblivious to everything else.
"That's it, I'm going home. We'll do the tarot reading over the weekend."
Su Luowei flashed an "OK" sign and urged, "Go get some rest."
"Don't work too late. Stay safe on your way home!"
As the office gradually emptied, the clock in the corner of the screen ticked to 12:00 midnight. Only then did Su Luowei finally finish sorting through her files and send them to Sister Xia.
The file upload would take three minutes, and the progress bar crept along like a snail. Su Luowei removed her non-prescription glasses and set them aside. The glow from her monitor reflected off the lenses, concealing a dark silhouette.
The office was empty. Even Sister Xia, who loved working overtime, had already left. Su Luowei pressed the power button and stretched to loosen her stiff shoulders. Just as the computer screen went black, she saw someone sitting in the chair behind her.
It wasn't unusual for someone to be working late. After all, the strategy department often held review meetings starting at 10 p.m. So when Su Luowei slowly turned around, she didn't feel any fear—she hadn't even considered the possibility of a ghost.
After all, the resentment of today's overworked employees probably outweighed that of any spirit. If there were a ghost, it would likely steer clear of her.
However, when she saw that the "ghost" was staring straight at her, not moving an inch, Su Luowei still didn't panic. Nor did she feel fear. She simply lowered her gaze, pretending she hadn't seen anything, and began walking past as calmly as possible.
Her heels clicked rhythmically on the floor as she quickened her pace. Once she'd dashed into the elevator and the doors finally closed, confirming that the "ghost" hadn't followed her, she collapsed against the elevator wall, exhaling a long breath.
It was as if she'd seen a ghost.
No, she had seen a ghost.
And now that she thought about it, that ghost looked familiar.
Even after she got home, Su Luowei was still shaken. She poured herself half a glass of cold water from the fridge and downed it in one gulp. The chill hit her throat and sank into her stomach, making her shiver.
At that moment, she realized—the ghost she had seen looked exactly like the woman from her dream the night before.
At the same time, Su Luowei became keenly aware that there was someone else in her home.
Her apartment was an 80-square-meter, two-bedroom unit. One room served as her bedroom, the other as her study. The living and dining areas were open-plan, and though the space was small, it was bright and organized.
She loved this little apartment; it was her only refuge in the city. She had nearly drained her savings to pay for the down payment.
So, when she closed the fridge and saw the woman in black sitting on her couch, her first instinct wasn't to flee. Instead, she marched up to the woman and asked, "Who are you, and why are you in my home?"
The woman glanced at the cat pillow on the couch, then at the cuckoo clock on the wall, before sweeping her eyes over the cozy but small living room. Finally, she locked eyes with Su Luowei.
After Meng Shuying had successfully passed her celestial tribulation in the Endless Sea, she had activated the teleportation array to send herself to Shifang Paradise. There, she had expected to find Su Luowei, but instead, she had been greeted by Hongdou and Yunu.
Years ago, when Meng Shuying and her companions had fallen into the seal at Danyang Alliance, Hongdou and Yunu had been pushed out by the seal's power. After searching for them in vain, the two had quietly returned to Shifang Paradise.
Yunu was Su Luowei's spiritual beast, connected to her in both mind and heart. Su Luowei had left her behind in Shifang Paradise specifically to await Meng Shuying's return. As soon as Meng arrived, Yunu would inform her.
The three of them had left Shifang Paradise together, only to discover that Su Luowei had entered her own celestial tribulation the previous day. Her tribulation was completely different from Meng Shuying's. After plucking a transparent lily of the valley, Su Luowei had entered a mysterious state, her five senses sealed off, unable to perceive anything from the outside world.
It had already been a full day and night since her tribulation had begun, and the storm clouds in the sky had yet to disperse. Su Luowei remained still, not moving a muscle.
No one knew how long her tribulation would last, and they dared not touch her. Even Wen Miaomiao had been at a loss, anxiously pacing but unable to help.
It wasn't until Meng Shuying arrived that they finally had a sense of direction.
In her previous life, Meng Shuying had refined Su Luowei's divine bone, and in this life, the two had formed a Dao partner bond. Their connection was deeper than anyone could imagine.
After discussing with Wen Miaomiao, Meng Shuying decided to accompany her senior through the tribulation. Following the link of their Dao contract, she had arrived in this place.
Upon entering this world, Meng Shuying immediately realized that everything here was an illusion, much like the time she had ascended to Ask Immortal Terrace. Everything she saw and felt was false. To succeed, she had to break through this illusion.
But as she delved deeper, she found that breaking the illusion was far more complicated than she had anticipated.
The illusion was tied to reality, and the world she now found herself in—the people and things she encountered—were clearly different from the world she came from.
The roads here were wide, smooth, and connected in all directions. The buildings were tall and imposing, stretching into the sky. Flying and driving machines filled the air and ground, though they didn't seem like any magical devices she had ever encountered. In fact, they didn't give off any spiritual energy at all.
The people here wore clothes unlike anything she had ever seen. Not a single person wore robes—everywhere she looked, both men and women were dressed in strange garments, making her black Daoist robe stand out as peculiar.
Having traveled across both the human and demon realms in her search for her master, Meng Shuying considered herself well-traveled. She was certain that neither realm had a place like this.
That's when she realized she had stumbled upon hersenior sister's deepest secret.
Everyone has their own secrets—she did, and so did her senior sister.
Before regaining her past life's memories, Meng Shuying had thought her senior sister's secret was that of a soul transfer.
She had known for a long time that someone else's soul had taken over the body. After all, the change in how her senior sister treated her had been too stark to ignore. But since Su Luowei never spoke of it, Meng Shuying had pretended not to notice.
After regaining her memories, Meng Shuying had realized that the soul inhabiting that body belonged to her former master, the Ten Directions Dweller. She had felt both relief and curiosity about where her master's soul had resided before entering the body.
Now she understood. During those years when her senior sister had been absent, she had been in a completely foreign world.
To help her senior sister pass this trial, Meng Shuying had to guide her out of the illusion.
Su Luowei stood with her hands behind her back, appearing calm. "Miss, I don't think we know each other."
In truth, her heart was racing, and she was pinching her fingers behind her back to keep her voice from trembling.
"We do know each other. You are my senior sister."
The woman stood up, and Su Luowei realized she was slightly taller than her. She had to look up to meet her gaze.
Now that they were closer, Su Luowei could see that this woman was very beautiful. Not in a way that stunned at first glance, but in a quiet, composed way, as if she had been polished by countless years. Just standing there, she exuded a sense of peace and stability that made Su Luowei want to lower her guard.
"And you are also my Dao partner," the woman added, her eyes never leaving Su Luowei's as she spoke each word deliberately.