56
Ning Zhitao had been hearing someone calling her lately.
The voice seemed to come from far away, yet also felt right beside her.
She would turn her chubby, fair face, unable to pinpoint the direction, so she could only prick up her round little ears and listen hard.
However, as a little kid, being called by adults was a very normal thing.
For example, Mom liked to call her Taotao in a sweeter and softer voice than usual. Dad would call out her full name when she went too far doing parkour around the house. Grandpa would stand outside the kindergarten fence and ask what time little Ning Zhitao had PE class. And Teacher Youzi would playfully squawk and howl, calling her Little Grape.
All these calls were very warm, so Ning Zhitao responded to the distant voice with equal enthusiasm.
"I'm here!"
No matter who called her, she was always there.
Recently, she had eavesdropped on her parents' conversations. Dad was "preparing for the wedding," and Mom was "preparing a spare tire." Although she did not know exactly what this meant, it did not stop her from being just as busy as her parents—
Busy welcoming her absolute favorite season!
After Children's Day on June 1st, summer arrived.
She was actually a child who easily got too hot, but she loved summer the most. She loved the sunny beach and watermelon slushies, and she loved staying home with her parents, enjoying the air conditioning and watching TV.
Before the summer vacation, their kindergarten's final assignment was to write an essay describing the era in the eyes of children.
Because when school started again, they would be in the senior class, with half a foot already through the threshold of elementary school. They were practically adults.
After handing in her essay, Zhang Sijie lay on the desk and asked her, "Taotao, what did you write about?"
Around them, some children wrote that this was an era of rapid change, an era of exploding technological advancement. Some of the more mature children even wrote that this was an era of intense competitive pressure.
Ning Zhitao did not think that much. She actually did not know what era she was in. It felt like something much further away than the present, but with the language capacity of a human cub, she could not seem to describe it.
In the past, when the children introduced their birthdays, everyone would only state the month and the day, comparing who was older and who was younger. Whenever this happened, Ning Zhitao would fall into a tangled mess of counting on her fingers.
Going by the month, she was older than Sijie. But going by the year, how was she supposed to calculate that?
But whatever, it didn't matter!
As long as she could be by her parents' side, that was all that mattered.
There was one more physical education class this afternoon, and then they would be on summer vacation!
Zhang Sijie's mother was going to take her to her grandparents' house to escape the summer heat for a month, so the two besties would have to wait until school started to see each other again. Ning Zhitao was already starting to miss her good friend!
Once school started again, would they both have grown a little taller? Ning Zhitao was almost five years old. What would five-year-old her look like?
The last class before the summer vacation was very relaxed. The children were divided into different groups to play Eagle Catches the Chicks. Zhang Sijie looked reluctantly in Taotao's direction, gritting her teeth and telling herself to be strong, otherwise she wouldn't see her for a whole summer.
Several groups of children played in different areas. Taotao's group was behind the playground equipment, very close to the kindergarten fence.
She was still fully engrossed in the game. A child's life was just this simple: go to kindergarten, play games, eat and drink milk, and wait for Mom and Dad to take them home. So Ning Zhitao quickly got into the zone, huffing and puffing as she ran back and forth at the end of the line.
From the corner of her eye, she felt someone watching her. At first, she thought it was Grandpa, but when the person got closer, she suddenly realized something was wrong.
How did this person climb over the fence and get in?
Grandpa couldn't possibly be this agile.
Ning Zhitao turned around and saw a strange adult who looked somewhat familiar.
While looking around, the person reached out a hand accurately toward Ning Zhitao, a greedy look in his eyes.
He had thought it would take some effort, but he hadn't expected this little brat to be so easy to find. He could recognize her at a glance; she looked exactly like her mother did when she was little.
Ning Zhitao astutely sensed that something was wrong and immediately opened her mouth to call for the teacher.
"Don't yell, child. I'm your grandpa, your mother's father," Wang Xuebing crouched down and squeezed out an amiable smile.
Wang Xuebing had been locked up inside for several months. He didn't know what had happened on the outside, nor did he know why that celebrity had bailed him out. The other party only had one demand: to make Ning Ye and her rich man experience some pain too.
Wang Xuebing feigned affection. His wealth for the rest of his life depended entirely on this little brat in front of him.
Ning Zhitao suddenly realized. No wonder he looked familiar. Last time, Dad had sent this person to the police station! What grandpa? She had never heard Mom call him dad, so Ning Zhitao didn't believe him at all.
"Teacher Youzi! Teacher—"
Teacher Youzi was in charge of several groups of kids. She never expected that someone would be so audacious as to directly climb into the kindergarten to grab a child. Shocked, she told the other children to stand still and not run around, then she ran over while calling for security.
"Who are you! What are you doing!"
Seeing that things were going south, Wang Xuebing reached out directly to grab Ning Zhitao's arm.
Teacher Youzi's heart went cold. If something really happened to Taotao, not to mention how heartbroken she would be, Taotao's parents would definitely not let this go easily—
"Let go right now! I'm calling the police!"
Just as Wang Xuebing managed to grab Ning Zhitao's sleeve, another figure suddenly darted out from nowhere. The person did not look tall but pounced on Wang Xuebing with great agility.
A slap landed hard on Wang Xuebing's face, accompanied by a torrent of curses: "Are you done? Are you done! You even want to lay hands on a child! Isn't ruining one enough?"
Caught off guard, Wang Xuebing was slapped several times before he reacted, immediately trying to punch and kick the person pinning him down: "Ning Cuizhen, are you out of your fucking mind? You old hag, why are you always following me?!"
By this time, Teacher Youzi had rushed over with the security guards. They saw a scrawny old woman in worn-out clothes pinning down the old man from earlier. Although she acted like a fierce shrew, she had managed to protect the little girl in time.
Teacher Youzi pulled Taotao back. The little girl, not knowing fear, even craned her neck to peek forward, curiously observing this unusually fierce grandma.
These few movements had drained Ning Cuizhen's strength, her face showing the twilight pallor of the end of life. Yet she fiercely pressed her entire body weight onto Wang Xuebing, looking up and pointing at the teacher. "Quickly get this son of a b—"
Before she could finish, she suddenly saw half a small head peeking out from behind the teacher. Dark, grape-like eyes were looking at her curiously. Ning Cuizhen abruptly swallowed the rest of her foul words. Looking a bit uncomfortable, she smoothed out the hem of her clothes and handed the pinned Wang Xuebing over to the security guards.
She turned around to leave.
But at the kindergarten gate, two figures were already rushing over, one after the other.
Seeing the silhouette of the young woman at the front, Ning Cuizhen paused her steps and immediately changed direction, intending to leave through the kindergarten's back door.
From a distance, Ning Ye saw that Taotao was fine, and then she saw Ning Cuizhen, her heart filling with both anxiety and anger.
Bian Xun followed a step behind her; he already knew the whole story from the phone call.
Xu Lanyi was truly insane.
After being publicly humiliated, she was taken to the police station but tested negative for drugs, so she couldn't be jailed. However, her life was completely ruined, and her mindset was utterly twisted. So, while the Xu family was mobilizing their connections, she pulled some strings to visit Wang Xuebing a few times. Finally, on the very last day before the kindergarten's summer vacation, she actually managed to get him released.
Bian Xun put down his phone, his dark eyes turning icy.
Now, she finally had a solid reason to be locked up.
The police station found out very quickly and immediately notified Bian Xun. He and Ning Ye arrived almost at the exact same time, but they hadn't expected someone to beat them to it.
At this moment, Ning Cuizhen looked completely flustered. She tried to push through the crowd to escape, but Teacher Youzi, wanting to thank this heroic auntie, held onto her and wouldn't let her leave.
Ning Ye jogged over. "Stop her!"
This little old lady was truly amazing. For so long, even Wujiang's massive data models couldn't trace her whereabouts, yet she could appear here out of nowhere to protect her child.
Unable to get away, Ning Cuizhen became thoroughly anxious. "Why are you stopping me? I didn't do anything wrong!"
She stomped her feet in anxiety and couldn't help but angrily punch Wang Xuebing's head a few more times. The thuds were muffled, but her skinny arms exerted a tremendous amount of force. It was all this son of a bitch's fault.
Ning Ye finally caught up. Holding Taotao with one hand, she grabbed the hem of her mother's old, faded clothes with the other. "Mom."
Ning Cuizhen stiffened. This kindergarten was very new and beautiful. To be a parent here, her living conditions now must be quite good. Why should she be burdened with parents like her? How embarrassing would that be?
So, she stiffly pretended not to hear and looked at the teacher. "Make sure you lock up this dog... Wang Xuebing securely. Can I go now?"
Ning Ye looked at this stubborn woman with clear, calm almond eyes. By today, she had become someone who could understand both a mother and a child.
Beside her, Ning Zhitao looked up at her mother, then turned to look at the person her mother had called out to.
Acting very much like a little adult, Ning Zhitao stepped forward and called out, "Grandma."
Ning Cuizhen was instantly stunned.
The crisp, childish voice rang out, like a sprinkling of cooling prickly heat powder in the summer. She turned her head somewhat hesitantly and finally looked at Ning Ye and the child beside her.
A little girl, about four or five years old, tilted her head up. Her eyes, like dark grapes, were pure and bright, and she smiled at her, revealing a dimple.
Ning Cuizhen stared blankly for a long time, surprisingly quieting down. Finally, she quietly turned her head away and wiped her eyes.
She seemed to see Ning Ye as a child.
But this "little Ning Ye" had a rosy, plump complexion, showing no signs of having ever suffered. Her parents wouldn't let her suffer, either. She was raised so well, looking exactly like what every parent wished to see—safe, sound, and soft.
Holding her mother's hand, Ning Zhitao smiled and said, "Thank you for protecting me!"
The stubborn little old lady's defenses were easily broken. She clutched her clothes at a loss for what to do.
Bian Xun stood behind Ning Ye and the child, bending down to ask her, "Were you scared just now?"
Ning Zhitao shook her head. "No, Daddy. I remembered that you caught that bad man before, so you can definitely catch him again!"
A smile surfaced in Bian Xun's eyes as he patted her head. "That's right."
He lifted his dark eyes to look at Wang Xuebing.
A man who had never fulfilled his duties as a father should definitely live out the rest of his life in pain.
Ning Zhitao tugged at her mother's hand again and whispered to Ning Ye, "Mommy, what do you want Grandma to do?"
Ning Ye looked down at the child's earnest and lively eyes, her heart melting with tenderness.
A child's existence was like a kitten's soft paw pad, carefully and adorably supporting the heavy world of adults. Just by existing, she had already purified and healed the world into a fairy tale.
Ning Ye wrapped her arm around Taotao's shoulders and whispered to her, "I want Grandma to be protected, too."
Ning Zhitao immediately relayed the decree, "Grandma, you have to listen to my mommy. We want to protect you."
A smile curved on Ning Ye's lips.
With Taotao around, those events that would have otherwise been full of conflict, stiffness, and alienation were haphazardly and casually covered in children's doodles. It was as if they had been stamped with a human cub's seal, and from then on, the world operated according to the rules of a cub.
This was the power of King Taotao.
In the end, Wang Xuebing was personally hauled back to the municipal police bureau by Bian Xun. Arriving at the same time as the CEO's car was Wujiang's legal team. This time, they would not only ensure that Wang Xuebing never came out again, but also make sure that the once-glorious Movie Queen Xu thoroughly ate state-provided meals in prison.
And Ning Cuizhen was finally sent by Ning Ye for a more comprehensive medical examination. The diagnosis was not optimistic, but this stubborn woman was illuminated by Ning Zhitao at the end of her life, unexpectedly finding an unprecedented peace.
Besides that, Ning Zhitao also had to find time to approve Old Master Bian's invitations.
Great-grandpa was already looking forward to it with eager anticipation.
In Ning Zhitao's favorite summer, she finally granted a general amnesty, forgiving the grandpa who had once said her dad wasn't her dad. As long as he didn't treat her mom badly in the future, Ning Zhitao would occasionally visit his house as a guest!
Old Master Bian wept tears of joy, while the old butler beside him shook his head repeatedly.
It was over, it was truly over. The old master would probably end up taking the child's surname in the future.
In short, the entire Bian family's old estate eagerly awaited Taotao's arrival. And those relatives who had once pointed fingers at her in the ancestral hall now had to retreat three feet when they saw Ning Zhitao, letting Taotao pass first.
Ning Zhitao was, of course, still a very polite little friend, but she had said it long ago: she could walk sideways and do whatever she wanted throughout the entire big Bian family house.
This summer, Ning Zhitao mainly accompanied her mom and dad, sometimes visiting her grandma, and sometimes visiting her great-grandpa.
Visiting one after another.
The whole world simply wouldn't turn without her.
She truly was the busiest little kid!
...
Bian Xun was also very busy.
In the intervals of continuing to drive the group's development, he meticulously prepared for the wedding.
Creating a perfect, grand wedding of the century would inevitably require a massive sum of money.
However, the money invested by the group was slow to return. If he wanted his personal private accounts to swell rapidly, he still had to take the old route—
The CEO's lips curled up, ready to find a way to reclaim the more than a hundred billion the world owed him, and at the right time, return to the pinnacle of being the world's richest man—
However, the future black card could no longer be used.
As the timeline of the plot completely reached its end, after the two black cards had merged and swapped for a period of time, one day, it suddenly lost its effectiveness.
Bian Xun looked expressionlessly at the black card for a long time, deep in thought with his dark eyes.
This was a subtle signal that required further investigation.
But one thing was certain.
In this world, the ten-thousand-fold astronomical profit margin would no longer exist.
The CEO coldly closed his eyes.
In this life, he could only rely on his own hard work to become the world's richest man.
Heh.
Having missed out on a path to wealth, he had to make those who caused his losses suffer even more.
After work, Bian Xun took Ning Ye away, saying they were going on a date.
Ning Ye had been feeling especially sleepy lately. Probably because, in the original timeline, she would already be in her late stages of pregnancy, and she was also experiencing some physical changes brought on by her psychological state.
As soon as she got into the car, she leaned back exhaustedly in the passenger seat to rest. Bian Xun drove very slowly and steadily, holding her hand whenever they hit a red light. When Ning Ye finally opened her eyes at their destination—
He had brought her to the police station for a date.
What a psycho!
Bian Xun's lips curled into a smirk. Knowing she had been under a lot of mental stress lately, he had specifically brought her here to help her relax.
After the incident where she let Wang Xuebing escape to harm Taotao, the evidence was irrefutable. Wang Xuebing confessed to everything, and the police quickly handed down Xu Lanyi's criminal punishment. She was sentenced to under five years in prison for the crime of privately releasing a detainee.
Once the news broke, the already ruined Best Actress Xu added another "medal" to her collection, completely becoming a criminal record celebrity.
Now, even the Xu family had abandoned her.
Entering the visitation room, Ning Ye saw what Xu Lanyi had become.
To be honest, if it were only a conflict between her and Xu Lanyi, the other woman's downfall wouldn't mean much to Ning Ye. But she had repeatedly tried to harm Taotao. Seeing her frantic after failing did indeed have a soothing effect.
At this moment, the woman's eyes were manic, glaring fixedly at Ning Ye with undisguised hatred. However, her disheveled hair, her terrible skin condition without makeup, and the stark contrast of their situations separated by the glass, all proclaimed this person's utter defeat.
That lofty Best Actress, the female lead of the plot world, no longer existed.
On the day of her retirement press conference, even though Ning Ye hadn't shown her face or done anything from start to finish, Xu Lanyi was absolutely certain that Ning Ye had planned it all along. She just wanted to send her career plummeting and destroy her life!
And the man she had always desired was standing right beside Ning Ye, holding her arm and helping her slowly sit down on the chair in front of the glass. His movements were careful, his expression focused—a look he had never shown before.
Bian Xun couldn't care less about any of that. The plot was gone; he could live his life however he wanted.
This scene deeply stung Xu Lanyi.
"Why? Why do you get to be so happy?!"
Bian Xun had come today just to confirm Xu Lanyi's fate and wait for the natural time of the plot to pass completely. From now on, whether this person lived or died had absolutely nothing to do with them.
"Yes, I was young and ignorant and got involved with a trashy man, but I didn't make Song Ziming do drugs. I'm a victim too!" Xu Lanyi was so resentful she could almost spit blood. She pointed at Ning Ye. "But is she any better? Her father scammed you back then, and she betrayed you too! Don't you care?!"
Ning Ye froze and looked at Bian Xun.
Wang Xuebing scammed him back then? When was that... when they broke up seven years ago?
Bian Xun's dark eyes remained unchanged. He didn't look at Ning Ye, but simply gave a cold scoff. "So what?"
The echo gathered in the enclosed room, the man's voice clear.
"I love her anyway."
Xu Lanyi went mad.
Ning Ye was also stunned.
After saying this, it was as if a certain someone had completely nailed the coffin shut on that plotline from his own perspective. He reservedly helped her up and calmly walked out, but from start to finish, he didn't look into Ning Ye's eyes.
Ning Ye felt a bit like laughing.
Bian Xun had never been a man who was good at sweet talk.
He wasn't great at expressing himself to their child either; he mostly just showed it through his actions.
She knew that.
He was learning. He was looking for the right context and situation to say it out loud, and then pretending to say it casually and naturally.
But she heard him.
Xu Lanyi's defenses completely crumbled. Screams came from behind the glass in the visitation room, sounding like a mix of crying and laughing. She had completely lost her mind.
"But your child time-traveled here! She time-traveled!! She will never be normal—"
"Now that the plot is gone, aren't you afraid she'll time-travel back and disappear?!"
Ning Ye paused, holding onto Bian Xun's arm, and looked through the narrow doorway at Xu Lanyi, who was framed within the glass block.
"No, my child will always be here."
...
That year, Xu Lanyi was thrown into prison. A generation's Best Actress became nothing but a dark history, and all of that no longer had any connection to Ning Ye's life.
The original plot's timeline had also completely come to an end.
During the summer, Taotao was happy every day. As long as she was by her parents' side, she was carefree.
But the black card she had brought with her could no longer be used at all.
Although Ning Ye was certain Taotao would exist, there was always a layer of hidden worry in her heart.
If that black card was seen as a representation of the future timeline, did it losing its effectiveness mean that... the future was disappearing and no longer existed?
The black card was a product from the future, and so was four-year-old Taotao.
Just thinking about this made Ning Ye panic.
Until one day, the black card completely disappeared.
Bian Xun and Ning Ye searched every corner of the house but found no trace of the future black card. Only the present black card remained.
By this time, it was already the ninth month of being "pregnant" with Taotao. Psychologically, Ning Ye felt the weakness and backaches of the late stages of pregnancy, and her emotions became much more sensitive.
In another month, it would be Ning Zhitao's fifth birthday.
And this day was originally supposed to be Taotao's birth date.
One day, while the two of them were preparing for the child's birthday, Ning Ye suddenly realized that the future photo album was no longer updating.
She felt an inexplicable emptiness in her chest. While walking through the living room holding her phone, she nearly tripped, but was steadily caught by Bian Xun, who strode over quickly.
"There are no new photos in the album, Bian Xun."
Every day, Ning Ye would expectantly refresh the photos, wanting to see what Taotao looked like at one, two, and three years old in the future. But now, the link to that album seemed to have grayed out.
Before this, the album had already started mixing in their present photos, just like the blending of the two black cards.
Ning Ye seemed to understand something. She looked up in a panic. "Bian Xun, the timelines have merged... haven't they?"
The original trajectory was the future timeline where Taotao was normally conceived, born, and grew up to be four years old.
And where they were now was the present, under the influence of the plot, where Taotao had time-traveled over and a series of events had occurred.
Now, with the plot ended, these two timelines were beginning to merge front to back, and everything was returning to normal.
What would happen then?
Bian Xun wrapped his arms around her waist, habitually massaging her sore spots. He lowered his eyes for a long time without saying a word.
He had actually already thought of something.
He knew Ning Ye would think of it too.
But she instinctively stopped herself from thinking too deeply about it. She was afraid.
After all, this was an unknown situation no one had ever faced before. It was a secret outside of the plot that belonged only to their family of three.
Bian Xun didn't want her emotions to fluctuate too much, so he started watching over her as she fell asleep at night.
In her sleep, her brows were still furrowed, her porcelain-white profile looking uneasy. Bian Xun leaned against the headboard and, under the moonlight, gently kissed her a few times until her delicate brow finally relaxed.
He tucked Ning Ye in, stood up, gently pushed the door open, and walked to the child's room.
He took a deep breath.
As Bian Xun gently pushed the door open, Ning Zhitao groggily woke up. She rubbed her eyes and looked at him. "Daddy?"
Bian Xun slowly walked over and sat on the edge of the child's bed, looking at their soon-to-be five-year-old daughter in the quiet light.
Deep and shallow thoughts rolled through his mind one by one, but in the end, he simply opened his arms.
Ning Zhitao rolled over, habitually rolling right into her father's embrace, and let out a soft, sleepy yawn.
Bian Xun's dark eyes were completely serene in the night. A thousand thoughts weighed on his mind, but he voiced none of them.
In the end, he simply lowered his head and pressed a kiss to the top of the child's hair.
Ning Zhitao was so sleepy she was mumbling, but she giggled with her eyes closed, I know, Daddy. You don't know how to express your love again, do you? So, a goodnight kiss, mwah.
A smile reached the depths of Bian Xun's eyes. Did it get expressed now?
Ning Zhitao nodded, then quickly shook her head, pouting earnestly. But this doesn't count as a present!
Bian Xun pretended not to know, raising an eyebrow. What present?
Ning Zhitao covered her mouth and snickered, rolling over like a little ball back into her blankets. Anyway, it's a present for Taotao's big day!
A whole new year of age!
Even though turning five wasn't particularly special.
She wasn't starting elementary school yet, nor was she becoming an adult.
But it was still her brand new year!
Ning Zhitao fell asleep in pure bliss.
...
Of course, the little girl wasn't wrong. Her mom and dad were indeed preparing for this big day.
During her breaks at work, Ning Ye had carefully picked out five presents for Taotao.
Because she had missed the previous four, she wanted to make up for all of them this time.
When the day before Taotao's birthday finally arrived, she and Bian Xun had already decorated the entire house. This was the happy home Taotao was most familiar with, and the place she and Bian Xun chose to celebrate her birthday for the very first time.
Throughout the day, Ning Ye felt deeply expectant yet restless.
It felt as if something huge was about to happen today.
Waiting like this until night fell, she stayed together with Bian Xun. As midnight drew closer, Ning Ye felt her heartbeat quicken.
At one point, she even felt an inexplicable sorrow, so much so that she wanted to cry.
Ning Ye knew this was probably a hormonal mood swing, but the thought of missing four of their child's birthdays, four Children's Days, four Mother's Days, and four Father's Days filled her with a wave of grief.
Bian Xun lowered his eyes and smiled. Leaning right beside her, the two squeezed onto the sofa, sharing the emotions of the moment. As the moonlight spilled into the living room little by little, Bian Xun took her fingers and lowered his head to gently kiss her fingertips.
He already knew what was going to happen next, but he didn't want to puncture their mutual anticipation.
They were going to wake the child up at midnight to sing her a birthday song, and then take her out for a full day of birthday activities during the day.
Thinking of all this, Ning Ye barely managed to calm down, lifting her gaze to meet Bian Xun's eyes.
However, at that very moment, midnight struck.
The day of Taotao's birth had arrived.
In the water-like moonlight, an invisible bell tolled.
A burst of light suddenly appeared before Ning Ye's eyes. Countless shadows and lights seemed to merge and overlap in the air, turning into mottled fragments. At the boundary between light and dark, Bian Xun's figure blurred for a second.
She quickly widened her eyes, wanting to see him clearly.
She blinked hard, straining to look. In a daze, it felt like a long time had passed, yet also like only a fleeting moment.
When her vision cleared, she found herself standing in a place that was both familiar and strange, finally locating Bian Xun's figure among the shifting fragments.
It was Bian Xun.
But it didn't look entirely like him.
The tall, straight-backed man was still sitting on the sofa at home. He was thin and pale, wearing loungewear with a watch on his wrist. Several sheets of paper rested on his knees, which he was looking down at.
This wasn't the Bian Xun from just now, was it?
This was...
Ning Ye subconsciously took a few steps closer to him. Bian Xun lifted his eyes, his dark gaze filled with relief, followed by a profound, enduring smile.
Ning Ye finally saw clearly what those sheets of paper on his knees were.
They were the letters written to the future that the teacher had asked adults and children to write at Taotao's kindergarten parent-teacher meeting last year—
To Ning Zhitao five years from now, I hope you are still the same.
Dear baby Ning Zhitao.
No matter where or when we meet, you will always be mom and dad's Little Grape.
No matter what difficulties you encounter.
Your dad will always be very rich.
Ning Ye's eyes suddenly went wide, her almond-shaped eyes reflecting the Bian Xun of this moment.
This face hadn't changed much; it was still handsome and aloof, but his demeanor was vastly different. He was noticeably more mature and steady after several years of real parenting life. The man's eyes carried a quiet stillness as he sat there, waiting in solitude.
This was the Bian Xun from five years in the future...
Ning Ye looked around and realized her surroundings were completely void, like a corner left behind in a time wormhole. Only a corner of their home remained, only the sofa he sat on.
Has the plot ended? Bian Xun's dark eyes gazed at her for a long time, completely unsurprised by any of it.
Ning Ye's lips parted soundlessly as sudden realization struck her.
In their timeline, only she had awakened to the contents of the plot, while Bian Xun had not.
But in the time five years later, Bian Xun was the first to discover the plot—perhaps even the only one.
He had lucidly watched Taotao travel through time.
He had lucidly given her that card.
He had lucidly watched as the future ceased to exist; her, their home, everything was annihilated. The surrounding world gradually collapsed, and only he lucidly maintained his consciousness, gambling that his distant past self and she could break the plot.
To not let Taotao live that kind of life, becoming someone else's twins, never having a home of her own again.
And relying on a few letters and photos, he had endured countless dawns.
Now, having seen her, Bian Xun finally got his wish and slowly folded the letters on his lap.
Ning Ye watched the dark light in his eyes dissipate into the surroundings and suddenly felt an unparalleled panic. But, but if Taotao returns to the normal timeline, everyone's impression of her is already that of a four- or five-year-old child. If she suddenly shrinks, shrinks...
Yes, from the moment the past and future timelines started to merge, she could already guess.
Taotao might return to her original temporal track.
Born normally, growing up normally.
There were no parallel worlds in this universe; from beginning to end, there was only one Taotao at different nodes in time.
But if that happens, her good friends will no longer be her classmates. Her great-grandfather, her grandmother, all the people she knows, what will they think? Will they notice she's growing backward? Will they...
Bian Xun's dark eyes were clear, his deep voice cool yet gentle. Only the parents who personally broke through the plot will remember.
Ning Ye's eyes grew slightly damp, and she pinched her fingertips tight. This massive uncertainty almost swallowed her whole, yet she couldn't grasp the future version of him.
Just then, the watch on Bian Xun's wristbone suddenly chimed.
It stopped entirely at a specific point in time, as if declaring his passing.
Through tear-blurred eyes, Ning Ye looked up and saw the future Bian Xun sighing with a light smile—
From the moment he learned of the plot until everything ended.
He had waited exactly ten thousand hours.
Ning Ye blinked, and in the final moment, she suddenly understood with a mix of tears and laughter where the ten-thousand-fold multiplier across time came from. As it turned out, in the unseen workings of fate, that was the price tag of his time.
Guiding them all the way.
Bian Xun stood up within the light, his figure gradually fading away, yet he looked deeply at Ning Ye and suddenly smiled.
"Does the 'me' right now still not know how to say nice things?"
Mean, sharp-tongued, profit-driven, greedy, shrewd—all of these were the reasons he was able to break through the plot.
But today, Ning Ye's nose tingled slightly. "Your nice words are all hidden, but I can understand them."
She actually knew very well that they were clearly the same person, the person that the current Bian Xun would eventually become.
The mature Bian Xun's dark eyes were like the sea as he looked at her. "I'm afraid 'I' will need a few more years to become mature enough, so I'm telling you on my own behalf—"
"No matter the time, I will always love you."
Ning Ye's eyes instantly turned red. The definition of 'always' hid so much profound meaning; it spanned from their student days many years ago to adulthood, and from this very moment to the future.
He had experienced it all, so he dared to say 'always'.
Ning Ye's eyelashes were wet. "Me too."
...
The light before her eyes completely dissipated, and for a moment, Ning Ye didn't know where she was standing.
It was no longer night. She was still at home, but the room was filled with sunlight, exuding a familiar yet strange feeling.
She was a little dazed and suddenly felt very afraid.
Could something have gone wrong with the timeline fusion?
Was Taotao still there?
Ning Ye subconsciously pushed the door and was about to run out. Just as her feet touched the ground, she suddenly felt a burst of pain in her waist. She stumbled and was just about to run out when a pair of arms reached out from the side, gently lifting her into a bridal carry, and walked toward the children's room at the end of the corridor.
Ning Ye leaned against Bian Xun's shoulder, the undried wetness at the corners of her eyes soaking through the fabric of his shirt.
The self that dissipated in the future had also fused and existed in Bian Xun's mind.
He walked more and more steadily with every step.
Bian Xun steadily carried her to the door of the room. Ning Ye gripped his collar as she was set down, rested her hand on the doorknob, and took a deep breath.
The world was actually still operating normally; the only variable was their daughter.
From the sudden appearance of this Little Grape.
To the time when this Little Grape returned to sprout from the soil.
It turned out that a year had already passed.
They had long grown accustomed to her presence in their lives; they could not lose her, nor were they able to.
Ning Ye couldn't control the urge to cry. The back of her hand was suddenly covered by Bian Xun's palm, and his chest pressed against her back, supporting her.
Their overlapping hands gently pushed open the door—
In the sunlight, a small head in the crib looked over at the sound.
The child's face was much smaller. Her eyebrows and hair hadn't grown out yet, and she had no teeth, but those big, dark grape-like eyes were so familiar, lively and full of attachment, blinking at them as a few soft, sweet syllables tumbled from her lips.
"Ma... ma."
Ning Ye suddenly lost her strength. She wanted to cry, but she knew this was the best ending. The immense and complex emotions made her almost unable to stand, and she fell back into the scorching embrace of the person behind her.
Bian Xun's breath was also scorching hot.
At this moment, their lives had truly settled. They would experience everything they were supposed to experience.
Ning Ye leaned over to look at this true newborn.
As soon as she saw Ning Ye, the infant mini-Taotao reached out her small, soft hand and grasped at the air.
Gently catching Ning Ye's finger.
She was like a little angel descended from heaven. Her arrival had completely spared her mother the pain of childbirth.
She was no longer the child who picked up her mother at the subway station, nor the strange baby who time-traveled. She descended to their side amidst her parents' anticipation.
She had accompanied them for a year in a displaced timeline and finally returned to the time that originally belonged to her.
And the one, two, and three years of their child's life that they missed experiencing, they would eventually learn step by step themselves.
Ning Ye let out a long sigh of relief and turned around. Bian Xun had already lowered his head, his eyes downcast as he kissed her tear-stained eyes.
Thousands of words were understood only by each other.
"New mom," he smiled, his lips curling with a scorching warmth.
"New dad—" Ning Ye also smiled through her tears.
Would Taotao remember that special fourth year?
Perhaps not.
But it didn't matter. The four-year-old summer belonging to Ning Zhitao would happen twice.
And she would always belong to her mommy and daddy.
Little Grape.
(End of Main Text)
Wuwuwu, it's here, the word count exceeded, congratulations to all the aunties for delivering Little Grape.
Tomorrow I want fried rice! Fried rice! Fried rice! Extras will be updated daily!!
