Chapter 91: An Electronics Market Excursion and Shifting Fates

Yu Yinlian walked towards her destination—an electronics market—with Tom perched on her head.

Along the way, she encountered many pedestrians, yet none of them seemed to notice Tom’s presence. Yu Yinlian could almost certainly conclude that Tom—or any living creature, for that matter—would also be imbued with unobservable properties upon her touch.

Similarly, she wondered if humans, also living beings, would have unobservable properties affixed to them by her ability.

Yu Yinlian dared not assert this, for despite her prolonged presence in this world, she had yet to intentionally touch anyone.

While eager to unravel the mysteries of her ability, she recoiled from the thought of deliberately touching others.

She feared inadvertently drawing someone else into this world, condemning them to be forgotten by everyone.

A sudden thought struck Yu Yinlian concerning Tom, still perched atop her head.

‘Would Tom also be forgotten by everyone?’

‘She hoped not.’

Reaching up to gently pat Tom’s head, she was met instead with a soft, playful punch from the cat against her hand.

“Hey, Tom, why are you being so stingy?”

“Meow—!”

“I only wanted to pet your head; it’s not like I was trying to twist it off! Why such a dramatic reaction?”

“Meow!”

“Honestly, you’re clinging to my head and still throwing a fit!”

Despite her annoyance, Yu Yinlian, wary of Tom scratching her hair, ultimately refrained from any forceful actions, allowing the cat to remain nestled comfortably.

Before long, Yu Yinlian, with Tom still on her head, arrived at an electronics market.

This was likely Taisugi’s largest hub for electronic products.

She navigated through the myriad storefronts, her gaze scanning for a Bluetooth keyboard suitable for a phone.

Consulting her phone’s timer, she noted that Su Linxi had read a novel for five minutes, followed by a two-minute conversation with Zhong Tian.

This left Yu Yinlian with approximately three minutes before she would have to re-enter reality.

Three minutes would barely suffice.

Yu Yinlian entered numerous shops, yet after a prolonged search, she found no trace of a Bluetooth keyboard for phones.

‘Could it be that the Taisugi electronics market simply didn’t sell them?’

Selecting a store that appeared well-stocked, she stepped back into the real world and inquired of the shop owner, “Hello, do you happen to sell Bluetooth keyboards for mobile phones?”

“Bluetooth keyboard for phones?” The owner mused for a moment before shaking his head. “No, we don’t. You might try walking to your right; they could have them over there.”

“Thank you.”

Without wasting a moment, Yu Yinlian retreated into the unobservable world and proceeded in the direction the owner had indicated.

At last, within a small, unassuming shop, Yu Yinlian discovered a Bluetooth keyboard for mobile phones.

Returning to reality, she retrieved a Bluetooth keyboard from the shelf. “Owner, how much is this Bluetooth keyboard?”

“Seventy.”

The owner replied absently, his eyes glued to the computer screen, seemingly engrossed in a game.

“Seventy? Do you have anything a bit cheaper?”

“No, that’s it.”

Yu Yinlian recalled seeing similar keyboards online for around thirty or forty yuan.

With precisely forty yuan in cash on hand, she had hoped to just barely afford one, but the physical store’s price difference was staggering.

‘While a Bluetooth keyboard wasn’t strictly essential, without it, her typing efficiency would plummet significantly.’

‘Though she could ask Zhong Tian for money, Yu Yinlian was reluctant to continually burden him, feeling she already owed him too much.’

‘Thus, she silently returned the keyboard to the shelf and retreated back into the unobservable world.’

‘Perhaps… she should find time to move her home computer back to the school dorm.’

‘With the utilities cut off at home, the computer was just sitting idle.’

‘It would be better to pack it up and bring it back to school.’

‘Even without internet in the dorm, rendering many functions unusable, she could still write.’

‘She could also transfer files to her phone via a data cable and then send them to Zhong Tian.’

‘Moreover, the computer could serve as emergency funds.’

‘If she ever ran truly low on cash, she could sell it; even as an old machine, it should still fetch a few hundred yuan if it was in working condition.’

‘Hmm…’

‘First, she’d take Tom back to school, then head home to move the computer!’

With her plan solidified, she turned back the way she came, Tom still perched on her head.

****

Su Linxi was diligently taking notes.

Although she had a vague recollection of the course material, so many years had passed that without notes, she might struggle to complete her assignments promptly.

She remembered how, in the past, she frequently copied Zhong Tian’s homework, which led to her exam scores steadily declining.

Eventually, it was Zhong Tian who tutored her, enabling them both to gain admission to the same university.

That period, though arduous, had also been immensely fulfilling and joyful.

She glanced up at the projected screen, jotting down a new point.

As she finished writing, the bell signaling the end of class rang.

The history teacher on the podium, stopwatch in hand, exited the room even faster than the students, without a second’s delay—a characteristic trait of the history teacher.

The classroom erupted in a flurry of activity, students gathering in small groups of two or three, chatting or playfully bickering, creating a lively atmosphere.

This was a scene familiar to Su Linxi, yet this time, she couldn’t rush to Zhong Tian the moment class ended, leap into his arms, and happily chat about everything under the sun, as she once had.

Su Linxi capped her pen and set it aside, observing and listening with an impassive expression—an advantage of sitting at the back, allowing her a clear view of the entire class.

To her right, the two vice class monitors were engaged in conversation.

From their expressions, Su Linxi discerned that Qin Dong and Chen Chenchen were currently dating.

This diverged from her previous life, where they had only officially started their relationship after the college entrance exams.

She recalled that on the day after the college entrance exams, Chen Chenchen had mysteriously invited Zhong Tian out.

Then, under the watchful eyes of Su Linxi, Jiang Nanjin, and others, he had confessed his feelings to Zhong Tian.

“I’m sorry, you’re a good person…”

Unsurprisingly, Zhong Tian had rejected him with the classic ‘nice person’ card.

Su Linxi and Jiang Nanjin, along with a few others nearby, found themselves both amused and pitying him.

‘He had secretly loved Zhong Tian for three years, never realizing until the very end that Zhong Tian was, in fact, a boy.’

Pity aside, Su Linxi actually harbored a slight dislike for Chen Chenchen.

After all, he had strung Qin Dong along for three years, only choosing to be with her after his confession failed.

Su Linxi truly felt that Qin Dong in that previous life had deserved better.

‘She wondered what had prompted Chen Chenchen’s change in temperament in this lifetime.’

Her gaze then shifted to the group of girls seated further ahead.

Among them were her former close friends, Lin Han and Chen Yining.

In her previous life, Chen Yining had always harbored feelings for Lin Han.

The kind of affection that blossomed into love.

Lin Han was somewhat oblivious, and Chen Yining even more so—one a cheerful airhead, the other a stoic airhead.

One remained entirely unaware, while the other consistently failed to convey her feelings clearly.

Consequently, even throughout university, Chen Yining never managed to confess her true feelings to Lin Han.

Later, Lin Han apparently found a boyfriend in college, a fact Chen Yining had confided to Su Linxi via WeChat, becoming despondent for a considerable time afterward.

‘For Chen Yining in that previous life, it must have been a profound regret.’

‘Now, in this lifetime where she hadn’t enrolled, would their paths diverge differently, much like Qin Dong and Chen Chenchen’s?’

Su Linxi felt a flicker of anticipation regarding this.