After getting in the car and driving out of the village, Lin Shilong said somewhat confusedly, "Mr. Zhou, am I... am I a little confused? Do you remember there were four or five of us when we came?"
Lin Shilong was very puzzled. He remembered that there were four people when they arrived, and they were just talking in the hall. How did they suddenly become five people? And there was an extra beautiful woman who was just as charming as Wei Xiaoyu?
Zhou Xuan smiled wryly and said, "Brother Lin, you're not confused. My friend didn't come with us; he arrived in the car after us and just got here. You were all dozing off at the time, so you probably didn't notice him."
Lin Shilong scratched his head, frowned, and muttered, "Really? Am I too sleepy? Maybe I've been under a lot of stress lately. I keep forgetting things, my memory is terrible. Looks like I need to get some medicine to help."
Fang Dacheng, who was driving, shook his head, looking completely bewildered. He couldn't understand how Fu Ying had suddenly appeared. There was no way he wouldn't have any impression of such a beautiful girl, and he really had no memory of her right now. It must be true that they had just fallen asleep.
Because this concerned the secret of the Nine Dragon Cauldron, Zhou Xuan, Wei Xiaoyu, and Fu Ying remained silent and rode in the car for nearly three hours before finally returning to their hotel in the city.
Lin Shilong, Fang Dacheng, and Zhou Xuan said goodbye before driving away.
In the hotel lobby, Zhou Xuan and Wei Xiaoyu looked at the familiar staff, their hearts filled with emotion. It felt like a dream.
If Fu Ying hadn't been by his side, Zhou Xuan really wouldn't have believed this was true.
It all felt so unreal. Zhou Xuan sighed, but still felt a little relieved. After all, it was good to be back alive. In that desperate situation at the bottom of the skylight cave, if it weren't for this strange Nine Dragon Cauldron, the three of them would have certainly died.
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then checked the time. It was 2:46 PM, not too late, so he went to the front desk and asked the receptionist, "Hello, I'd like to ask if there are any flights back to Beijing right now?"
The receptionist immediately smiled and said, "Please wait a moment, I'll check for you right away," and then picked up the phone to make a call.
After inquiring at the airline ticket counter, he then said to Zhou Xuan, "Hello, there's a flight to Beijing at 4:15 PM today. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Please book three tickets back to Beijing for us right away," Zhou Xuan instructed immediately. Then he asked another receptionist to process the check-out. There was no other luggage in the hotel room; they had already taken anything useful.
After checking out of the hotel, the three of them took a taxi to the airport. They remained silent the whole way. After getting their tickets in the airport terminal, they waited for about an hour before it was time to board.
After boarding the plane, the flight was only two hours long, which was actually a short time, but none of the three of them could sleep. They didn't close their eyes for a moment. When they arrived in Beijing and left the airport, Wei Xiaoyu hailed two taxis. She took one for herself and left the other for Zhou Xuan.
"You guys go back first. I'll explain to Director Fu. You don't need to go."
Wei Xiaoyu looked very pained, but spoke very gently. She could certainly handle things with Fu Yuanshan and told Zhou Xuan and Fu Ying to go home directly.
Although she was extremely upset, Wei Xiaoyu understood that she couldn't change Fu Ying's position in Zhou Xuan's heart. If she hadn't returned, she could have talked to Zhou Xuan in the previous timeline, but now that she was back in the present and in the original time, there was no possibility at all. Pain was useless; she could only act openly and honestly, and Zhou Xuan would still be grateful for her feelings.
Zhou Xuan and Fu Ying got into the car and left the airport separately from Wei Xiaoyu. The driver took the car onto the airport expressway and entered Beijing in forty minutes. It took another twenty minutes to reach Hongcheng Garden.
The taxi followed Zhou Xuan's directions until it stopped in front of the villa. Zhou Xuan paid the fare and then got out of the car with Fu Ying.
In the living room, Jin Xiumei and Aunt Liu were looking at photos. As soon as Zhou Xuan and Fu Ying entered the room, they immediately stood up and angrily said to Zhou Xuan, "You rascal, you're not my son! You go anywhere without saying a word and disappear for days!"
Zhou Xuan could only force a wry smile and call out, "Mom."
Jin Xiumei beckoned to Fu Ying again, her voice softening as she said, "Yingying, come sit with Mom and look at your wedding photos. Aren't they beautiful? The photography studio called, but I couldn't find you. You were there during lunch, so why did you disappear at noon? I had nothing else to do, so I went to the photography studio with Aunt Liu to get the photos. Come, come, look at them with Mom."
Fu Ying hesitated for a moment, then walked over and sat down next to Jin Xiumei to look at the photos.
The wedding photos were stunning. Fu Ying was already incredibly beautiful, and the wedding dress she chose was exceptionally gorgeous. The photography studio also used some advanced techniques, so there wasn't a single flaw.
There were photos of Zhou Xuan and Fu Ying embracing and hugging, and the photos of them were incredibly sweet and affectionate, with Fu Ying's face beaming with happiness.
Jin Xiumei was overjoyed. With her son and daughter-in-law getting married soon and the prospect of having a grandson just around the corner, how could she not be happy? She even forgot her anger towards her son for a moment.
Aunt Liu quickly got up and said, "Xiao Zhou, Yingying, I'll go make you something to eat."
Jin Xiumei smiled and said to Fu Ying, "Yingying, I've been counting down the days, there are only twenty-eight days left until your wedding."
He glanced at Fu Ying again, then reached out and touched her forehead, muttering, "Yingying, are you sick? You seem a bit strange."
Fu Ying paused, then shrank back slightly before replying, "I'm not sick."
Jin Xiumei frowned, stared at Fu Ying for a moment, and said suspiciously, "Yingying, are you hiding something from me? Something's really strange."
Zhou Xuan paused for a moment after hearing Jin Xiumei's words, then quickly grabbed Fu Ying's hand and said to Jin Xiumei, "Mom, you and Yingying have something to talk about, let's go upstairs first."
After saying that, Zhou Xuan pulled Fu Ying and hurriedly went to his room on the third floor. After entering the room, he closed the door tightly and then stared at Fu Ying and asked, "Yingying... are you... the Yingying from before? Are you... the Yingying at the bottom of the skylight hole?"
Fu Ying's face was blank, as if she was deep in thought or lost in thought. After a long while, she finally answered, "I don't know, I don't know what happened, now... what time is it?"
Zhou Xuan pointed to the calendar on the table, clearly showing the page for February 2011.
Needless to say, it must be now in 2011. From the moment Zhou Xuan saw Zhang Jing, Ma Shu and the others, he knew that they had returned. Because it was inconvenient to speak on the way, and after returning, his mother Jin Xiumei noticed that Fu Ying was not right. Zhou Xuan immediately thought that Fu Ying might still be the same Fu Ying at the bottom of the skylight.
Although she returned to her original time, Fu Ying had traveled directly from a year prior, unlike him and Wei Xiaoyu, who had traveled through time.
Zhou Xuan then realized that the Nine Dragon Cauldron's ability was to travel through time and space, replacing his own consciousness in the time he went to, but only his mind would remain; his body would be the same as in that time. Just like today, he came from under the skylight, but Fu Ying, who was originally in the capital, was inexplicably transported to Jiangbei, to Zhang Jing's country villa.
However, Zhou Xuan wasn't sure whether the current Fu Ying was the same one from a year ago or the current one. When he brought Fu Ying back, she didn't object at all and came back with him without saying a word. If it were the Fu Ying from before who didn't know him, it wouldn't matter if she said something, but if she wanted to go with him, she definitely wouldn't agree. That's why Zhou Xuan had such doubts.
Zhou Xuan stared at Fu Ying, his eyes filled with tension and speculation.
Fu Ying bit her lip, remaining silent. This expression immediately made Zhou Xuan understand that this Fu Ying was still the same Fu Ying from the bottom of the skylight hole, the Fu Ying with whom he had no feelings.
Zhou Xuan felt another pang of pain in his heart.
Possessing extraordinary abilities yet unable to resolve his own sorrows, he felt an extreme and indescribable anguish, almost to the point of wanting to pluck out all his hair.
Looking at Zhou Xuan's expression, Fu Ying sighed, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Zhou Xuan, could you take me to see my room?"
Zhou Xuan silently stood up, led Fu Ying to the next room, opened the door, went in, and then looked back at Fu Ying.
Fu Ying stood at the door, her face pale and her body trembling. She leaned against the door, her expression a mixture of wanting to come in and being terrified.
Zhou Xuan felt a pang of pain in his heart and didn't know what to do. Fu Ying's expression showed that she was definitely not the Fu Ying of today, not the Fu Ying who put him first and loved him more than her own life.
Whether Fu Ying stepped in or not, Zhou Xuan didn't want to say anything more. He felt completely powerless and really wanted to smash the Nine Dragon Cauldron to pieces. All of this was caused by the Nine Dragon Cauldron.