Seeing her like this, Lin Luoxi could only sigh helplessly, and there was not much she could do.
Sally, on the contrary, said, "Don't you have a Taoist temple here? Shall we go and pray there tomorrow? It's said to be very efficacious. Or a Buddhist temple would be fine too."
Lin Luoxi: "...You're not picky at all."
Sally tossed her hair and said, "We'll believe in whoever can protect us."
Lin Luoxi: "..."
She didn't know if Sally had learned the essence of worshiping gods from people in China, or if people all over the world did it this way.
When you encounter problems, you have to consult everyone; as long as one person is helpful, that's enough.
When they have nothing to do, they only believe in themselves and will tell others that it's all superstition.
However, Lin Luoxi thought this was a possible solution.
Even though praying to the gods and Buddhas didn't work, at least we took Xu Qingzhu for a stroll in the mountains.
In winter, there's not much scenery along the way, far less beautiful than in summer.
Coastal cities have their own advantages in both winter and summer.
"How about we go to Yunfeng Mountain tomorrow?" Lin Luoxi said. "A friend of mine went there to pray last year, and she got pregnant this year."
Xu Qingzhu asked in surprise, "Yunfeng Mountain doesn't care about having children, does it? It's not a place where people are blessed with children."
"Sincerity moves mountains," Lin Luoxi said. "He's practically a god, what can't he do?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
Lin Luoxi continued, "Only we mortals are powerless to do anything about it."
Xu Qingzhu was somewhat persuaded. After a moment of silence, she chuckled softly, "That's true."
There was always a hint of bitterness in that smile.
When their lunch break ended, they came out of the coffee shop together.
Sally shielded her eyes with her hand and looked up at the cold sun in the sky.
The sky was azure, not a very clear azure, with a few white clouds floating above it.
There are many companies on this street, and people who have eaten out are gradually returning to their office buildings.
The wind is picking up.
Xu Qingzhu raised her hand and tightened her collar.
Sally said with some regret, "Why hasn't it snowed yet this year?"
“Who knows?” Lin Luoxi said. “The weather forecast says it will snow tonight.”
"Will we still see the kind of snow we had in college?" Sally asked.
Lin Luoxi paused for a moment: "Then you have to rely on God."
Xu Qingzhu remembers the snow that year. The snow was so heavy that it almost reached above a person's calves, and there were people having a snowball fight downstairs in the dormitory.
It was a rare blizzard in Haizhou City, and many people didn't go to work; public transportation was suspended.
It just so happens that it was a Sunday.
She and Bai Weiwei made an appointment to go out and get their hair done. Bai Weiwei wanted to get a perm and dye it brown, and asked her if she wanted to do it too. She spent a long time looking at the options on her phone and finally chose a less noticeable milk tea gray color, which even faded very slowly.
They went to the salon to get their hair done together, while it was snowing outside.
The people in the shop said that it would snow for a whole day and night.
Bai Weiwei even joked, "It can't be the end of the world, can it?"
The snow that time was exceptionally heavy, leaving a deep impression on Xu Qingzhu.
She had just turned 18 at that time. When she was going back to school, Bai Weiwei received a call from her father and went straight home. She walked to school alone.
On her way back, she bought milk tea for a person lying in the snow.
The person lay motionless on the white snow, as if dead.
She walked over and poked him, and the other person muttered, "Get lost."
The person had blue hair and was wearing a black sweater and very thin pants.
Xu Qingzhu, who was wearing a cotton-padded coat, looked cold just looking at her, and she had no idea what kind of performance art the other person was doing.
Xu Qingzhu happened to have two cups of milk tea, one of which she bought for Bai Weiwei, but Bai Weiwei left.
She placed the cup of milk tea on the snow. Upon contact with the heat source, the snow melted rapidly, seemingly creating a cup holder for the milk tea.
Xu Qingzhu's clear voice, tinged with the sound of wind and snow, said, "Have a cup of milk tea to warm yourself up before going home."
After she finished speaking, she got up to leave.
The body that had been lying in the snow suddenly stood up, her face covered in white snow, looking disheveled.
The man asked in a cold voice, "What's your name?"
Xu Qingzhu turned around and saw that the other person's face was covered in snow. Not only that, but his sweater and pants were also covered in snow, almost blending into the world, which looked somewhat funny.
As a teenager, she didn't know how to hide her emotions; she laughed whenever she found something funny.
After laughing, he said, "Xu Qingzhu."
"You must live a good life," Xu Qingzhu said.
That was one of the rare times she struck up a conversation with a stranger.
Xu Qingzhu has a particularly deep memory of this.
Because that person looked like he wanted to die that day.
That heavy snowfall happened shortly after they started university, and Haizhou City has never experienced such heavy snowfall again in winter since.
Sally said with some regret, "I want to have a snowball fight."
"How old are you? How childish!" Lin Luoxi complained.
Sally: "..."
Xu Qingzhu continued to listen to their banter.
When she returned to the company, Zhou Yi'an was waiting for her in the office.
Xu Qingzhu asked in surprise, "Didn't you go to lunch?"
"I've been thinking about it for two days," Zhou Yi'an said solemnly, "but I still have to ask you."
"What?" Xu Qingzhu sat in the chair, her hand casually resting on the table.
"When did Liang Shi change?" Zhou Yi'an asked. "Or rather, how long did she remain the same as before?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
"What kind of answer do you want?" Xu Qingzhu asked her in return.
Zhou Yi'an pursed her lips, then threw the question back at her: "What answer are you willing to tell me?"
"What that woman said that day meant Liang Shi was relaying a message to you," Zhou Yi'an said, twirling the decorative ring on her finger. "Where is she now? And where is that other person...?"
Xu Qingzhu knew about this trip from the moment Zhou Yi'an called her that night.
Zhou Yi'an was very clever; she could easily deduce a clue from Sun Chengcheng's words.
Then, he questioned Xu Qingzhu with the result he had obtained through a combination of guesswork and deduction.
Xu Qingzhu paused for two seconds, then could only honestly answer, "I don't know."
Zhou Yi'an: "..."
“We previously suspected that Liang Shi had a split personality,” Xu Qingzhu said. “But we later found that it probably wasn’t. If you really want to know the answer, perhaps only Liang Shi can answer your question.”
Zhou Yi'an lowered her eyes and turned the ring faster.
Xu Qingzhu looked at her, and their eyes met unexpectedly. Suddenly, she asked, "So you liked the original Liang Shi?"
Zhou Yi'an: "..."
Seemingly reluctant to admit that she and Xu Qingzhu liked the same person, that Xu Qingzhu had gotten what she wanted but she hadn't, she answered very softly, almost a low hum, "Mmm."
"Why do you like her?" Xu Qingzhu asked.
Zhou Yi'an: "...Why are there so many whys?"
Zhou Yi'an's tone was harsh, but she had already toned it down somewhat.
This was her demeanor after she had calmed down from her anger. She frowned and asked, "So where has Liang Shi gone now?"
"I don't know," Xu Qingzhu replied again.
It seems a bit weak.
Zhou Yi'an looked up at her, "Then what do you know?"
Xu Qingzhu: "...Do you have to be so sharp-tongued?"
Zhou Yi'an: "..."
The office fell silent.
After a moment, Zhou Yi'an said, "You never know what it's like to find your own kind..."
"Sister!" Su Meiqi's voice came from outside. She knocked on the door and pushed it open, interrupting Zhou Yi'an. As soon as she entered, she went straight to the desk like a gust of wind, staring at Xu Qingzhu with a serious expression and said, "I think I know why Sister Liang is unconscious."
Xu Qingzhu: "Hmm?"
Su Meiqi stared wide-eyed, held up a finger, and said, "She most likely traveled back to her own world!"
"Do you know the concept of parallel universes?" Su Meiqi said, "That's it, otherwise I really can't understand why she would be in a coma for so long when advanced medicine can't explain it."
Su Meiqi frowned and said seriously, "If one day she really doesn't wake up, it's very likely that all our memories will be erased. Or she might die directly, or she might wake up with a different personality, anything is possible!"
She stroked her chin. "Do you think there's a good chance I'll time travel when ten stars align?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
Just as she was having a sweet dream, someone flicked her on the back of the head.
The force was quite strong.