Chapter 29: Echoes of the Past, Whispers of the Future

Su Qingyao, seated in the bathtub, suddenly sneezed.

‘Eliminating all other possibilities, it could only be Senior Lu Zhichuan,’ she thought.

Su Qingyao rested her head on the tub’s edge, gazing absently at her hair floating on the water’s surface. If she had any embarrassing past incidents, one immediately came to mind.

It was likely the first time she ever met Senior Lu Zhichuan.

She had been swept up by a group of delinquents, committing a disciplinary infraction on campus, only to be pushed out as the scapegoat by everyone afterwards.

Standing on the other side, observing the teacher’s relentless lecture, had been Lu Zhichuan.

****

In Su Qingyao’s memory, the details remained surprisingly clear.

At that time, terrified half to death by the teacher’s threat of expulsion, Su Qingyao sat disoriented in the corridor outside the office.

That utterly bright and oblivious “sunshine boy” then approached her without a hint of tact.

“Hey, I think we’ve met at a club meeting, haven’t we?”

Lu Zhichuan said with a smile, completely disregarding Su Qingyao’s emotional state—or perhaps, he was confident that a timid “sheep-like” youth wouldn’t offer any resistance.

“Where are those friends from your club?”

****

In short, under someone’s self-recommendation, Su Qingyao was practically guided step-by-step to gather evidence and collect testimonies. Ultimately, using fabricated evidence of “campus bullying,” those students were instead sent off for a period of suspension and reflection.

By the time the delinquents returned to trouble Su Qingyao, she had already connected with the largest “clique” in her class, becoming an acolyte to their core member, Lu Zhichuan.

And so, the matter was dropped.

“Well, I’ll be,”

Su Qingyao recalled those long-dusted memories. Yet, they surfaced with unexpected vividness, showing no signs of fading, as if they were brand new.

“So, that guy Lu Zhichuan actually had such a youthful and bright side to him?”

Su Qingyao felt a touch of surprise.

Her face, submerged beneath the water, was flushed pink from the hot bath, and she was still mischievously blowing bubbles.

‘What a peculiar period that was,’ she mused.

Su Qingyao’s thoughts drifted, rising and falling within the warm embrace of the water. With her mind completely clear, a wave of pure happiness washed over her.

Ever since the young woman realized that…

…in the present, after the apocalypse had ended, hot water and bathtubs were readily available. No longer forced to rely on magical cleansing, Su Qingyao had quickly fallen in love with bathing.

Whenever she had free time, she would immerse herself in the bathtub, undoubtedly as a cherished hobby rather than a mere need for cleanliness.

Only when the alarm on her phone, placed in a dry spot, began to ring, did Su Qingyao reluctantly rise from the bathtub.

With a soft “splash,” her slender figure emerged, sending a cascade of water droplets flying. Her graceful movements imbued the splashing water with an almost artistic quality.

Su Qingyao herself, however, was accustomed to it. After years of such immersion, gazing at her own reflection in the mirror was far less stimulating than seeing Senior Lu Zhichuan’s abs.

‘Wait a moment.’

‘What had she just seen?’

Su Qingyao’s mind suddenly froze.

‘Wasn’t that when she had just learned to transform and helped Lu Zhichuan heal his wounds?’

‘Why, then, did remembering it now fill her with a hint of… shyness?’

The slow-witted young woman’s last vestiges of male psychology let out a dying wail.

Since her revival and the loss of her transformation ability, the current Su Qingyao, with her two distinct mental states, seemed to be plummeting at light speed in one particular direction.

Su Qingyao silently dried herself off.

Just then, the gentle chime of the doorbell echoed from the entryway, signaling that Lu Zhichuan and Su Muxue had arrived home.

The young woman, now in her loungewear and holding her damp, long hair, emerged from the bathroom just as Lu Zhichuan entered through the entryway, their eyes meeting.

‘Senior, you averted your gaze,’

‘You must have been talking ill of me,’

Su Qingyao, whose gaze had been avoided, silently shot a look of subtle resentment his way.

Lu Zhichuan cleared his throat twice, then, raising the takeout bag in his other hand, said earnestly:

“Qingyao, could you warm up the dishes for me?”

Tonight, it was originally Su Qingyao’s turn to cook. However, during a conversation, Lu Zhichuan had a sudden whim to try a new restaurant that had opened near their community.

Su Qingyao, naturally, didn’t mind. After glancing at the menu and seeing nothing she disliked, she let Lu Zhichuan have his way.

“Alright, my dearest Senior Lu Zhichuan~”

It was like the lingering echo of a male lament.

In a moment of self-abandonment, the young woman dragged out a saccharine tremor at the end of her words.

This left Lu Zhichuan stunned and bewildered on the spot.

Lacking experience with women in general, Lu Zhichuan didn’t understand that some anger wasn’t necessarily related to “what he had done.” He merely reflected on whether he had said anything wrong after entering the door.

“Uh… good afternoon?”

He ventured, immediately receiving a disdainful glare from Su Qingyao.

Before Lu Zhichuan could commit another blunder, Su Qingyao composed herself and took the bag, still retaining a hint of warmth, from his hand.

Inside, there was even a soup, at least presentable enough.

As Su Qingyao pulled open the microwave door, she turned her head to look at her small daughter.

Su Muxue, meanwhile, had already changed her shoes during their “greeting” and was now sitting at the dining table, cradling the freshly washed Booboo.

Seeing Su Qingyao look at her, Su Muxue quietly curved her lips, hugged Booboo tightly, and said with a smile:

“Mommy, I was praised by the teacher at school today!”

“Muxue is truly wonderful.”

A hint of joyful fluctuation entered her otherwise calm tone. This was Su Qingyao’s usual manner of speaking.

“What was it for? Why were you praised?”

“It was for the essay we wrote in Chinese class today. The topic was ‘The Person I Want to Be in the Future.'”

‘I see,’ she thought. ‘A very common theme during school days.’

Judging by this, current education seemed quite similar to the “old era.” Su Qingyao, a mother accustomed to divergent thinking, inadvertently lost herself in thought for a moment before casually asking:

“So, what kind of person does Xiaoxue want to be in the future?”

Without hesitation, the answer came naturally.

Su Muxue’s answer was:

“I want to be a savior.”

The quiet girl, seated at the dining table, revealed a pure, heartfelt smile, devoid of even a trace of pretense.

—To become someone like her mother.

That was the unspoken meaning.

Su Qingyao had always assumed that Su Muxue knew her “identity,” likely having heard her story in the Stasis Hall long ago.

‘But then again…’

‘If her own daughter felt this way…’

What could Su Qingyao say? She gently wrapped her arms around Su Muxue’s head from behind, a warm, honey-like smile gracing her lips as she tenderly stroked her daughter’s hair.

“Mm, Mommy believes in you.”

So said the mother who did not wish to become like her own mother.

“I believe in you too,”

…interjected the ignored party, disrupting the warm mother-daughter conversation and reminding everyone present that they were a complete family of three.

Although she hadn’t truly forgotten…

…this did serve as a reminder to Su Qingyao.

“Oh, right, we might have guests over in a bit.”

No sooner had Su Qingyao’s words fallen than a “ding-dong” sound reached her ears.

It wasn’t the doorbell, though; it was the microwave signaling that heating was complete.

Su Qingyao then turned and retrieved the dishes from inside, which were faintly emitting an appetizing aroma.

‘I must admit, Senior Lu Zhichuan’s taste isn’t bad at all,’ Su Qingyao thought.

“Well then, let’s discuss it at the dinner table with Senior.”

The young woman said casually.

Although they had briefly touched upon it during their conversation, the more detailed matters would be better discussed face-to-face between Su Qingyao and Lu Zhichuan.