Seeing Sang Ning, Hu Zhi’s irritation quickly dissipated, replaced by a radiant smile. She walked up, grabbed Sang Ning’s hand, and after feeling her up and down, furrowed her brows: "Why did you lose so much weight after being away for a while? Wait here, I’ll make sothing delicious for you!"
Sang Ning was a little hungry, but she could endure it until breakfast the next day. Not wanting to trouble Hu Zhi, she replied, "Mom, no need, it’s the middle of the night, too much hassle."
But Hu Zhi didn’t think it was a hassle—she was already wide awake. She rolled up her sleeves and headed to the kitchen, saying, "It’s no hassle, no hassle at all. A daughter wanting to eat is never a hassle, no matter the ti. Just wait, Mom’ll make you so noodles."
Hu Zhi was full of energy. Sang Ning tried pulling her back several tis but couldn’t stop her, so she let her head into the kitchen.
Sang Youming wasn’t idle either. He quickly packed up his live-streaming equipnt, tidied up the living room, and prepared a plate of fruit for Sang Ning.
Being treated so attentively, Sang Ning felt a bit overwheld, but an undeniable warmth seeped into her heart, dissolving all her exhaustion in an instant.
Hu Zhi worked quickly. In less than fifteen minutes, she brought out a bowl of instant noodles, filled to the brim. On top were two fried eggs, as if worried her daughter wouldn’t eat enough.
Sitting at the dining table, Sang Ning asked, before picking up her chopsticks, "Dad, Mom, has anything happened at ho recently?"
"Ha, what could possibly happen?" Sang Youming imdiately answered, "Your mom and I are doing great with our live streams, and that rascal Sang Chuan is behaving at school, not causing us any trouble. Life is looking more and more promising!"
His eyes were full of hope for life, completely oblivious to the worry lurking in his daughter’s gaze.
Sang Ning exhaled in relief. Apparently, the ti-space vortex had not affected them. She picked up so noodles with her chopsticks and put them in her mouth, though her expression showed a trace of unease.
Having not seen her in a while, Sang Youming was like a wind-up chatterbox, talking non-stop. Sang Ning didn’t want to dampen his mood; she ate her noodles while smiling to show her engagent, though the smile on her face was sowhat forced.
Hu Zhi, more perceptive than Sang Youming, quickly sensed Sang Ning’s unusual deanor. Her face grew serious as she furrowed her brows and asked, "Darling, be honest with Mom. Did you break up with Xiao Li?"
With a mouthful of noodles still un-swallowed, Sang Ning almost spat them out. She managed to swallow them down forcefully, then widened her eyes, looking at Hu Zhi: "Mom, how could you ask that?"
Hu Zhi took Sang Ning’s lack of denial as confirmation. Her expression changed instantly as she began to curse angrily, "I knew it! That rascal ca to a while back, said he was going on a long trip and might be out of touch for a while. I asked him why he didn’t tell his girlfriend directly and instead told the girlfriend’s mom. He said you were recording a show and worried it’d distract you from work, asking to wait until you ca back to inform you. At the ti, I didn’t think much of it, but your lost-and-distracted look today—it’s got to be that little bastard who did sothing heartless!"
Hearing this, Sang Youming was also fuming. He slamd the dining table with a force loud enough to shake the floor, and his booming voice erupted, "Why didn’t that punk co to with this? Is he tired of living? Daring to bully MY daughter! I’ll go rip his skin off this instant!"
He stood up with a murderous intent, and Sang Ning quickly got up to pull him back into his chair, saying, "Dad, there’s nothing going on, don’t get so worked up!"
Hu Zhi crossed her arms, raised her chin slightly, and fud, "Darling, don’t be scared. Your combat power is so high! When your dad catches that scumbag, you can beat him to your heart’s content—beat him to death, even! If it cos to that, your dad and I will shield you; we have to vent this hatred!"
It wasn’t easy to calm down two people with hot tempers. After much effort, Sang Ning finally convinced them that nothing had happened between her and Li Juezhou.
Hu Zhi and Sang Youming, still a bit doubtful, worried about their daughter’s ntal state. After Sang Ning finished her noodles, they accompanied her for a while longer in conversation. Only when they were sure she wasn’t upset or dejected did they relax and let her go to bed.
Well-fed and cleaned up, in bed but unable to sleep, Sang Ning called Li Juezhou once more, only to hear the sa ringtone indicating he was out of service.
Sang Ning’s heart skipped a beat as a bold idea popped into her head: Could Li Juezhou have been affected by the ti-space vortex, just like her?
She lay in bed, montarily at a loss. If it were true, where should she go to find him?
[I’m very worried about you. If you see this ssage, please call back as soon as possible.]
Heart restless, she sent a text ssage to Li Juezhou before placing her phone down by the bedside and forcing herself to close her eyes and sleep.
Worry would not solve any problems; it would only add unnecessary self-inflicted harm and exhaustion. At the very least, until the situation was resolved, she had to keep her body in relatively good condition.
Lightly dozing for a few hours, Sang Ning woke up just after dawn the next day, got ready, and headed out. Today was the day to confirm her eligibility for the graduate exam’s second round of interviews at Zijin Research Institute. The procedures weren’t complicated, but she had to handle them personally.
Once the confirmation was completed, she received a call from her agent, who inford her that post-production for *Female Grandmaster* had been working overti and the film was already completed. The release date had been pushed forward to the near future, and she was expected to join the main creative team for the roadshow and premiere events in the coming days.
Sang Ning checked her schedule; it didn’t conflict with her graduate interviews, so she agreed. She let the agent arrange the details of the events and inform her once the venue and ti were finalized.
Later that day, news ca from Song Shiye. Before returning to school, he visited ho briefly and found the old note buried in a diary at the bottom of a chest.
To save ti, he took a photo of the note and sent it to her, saying he’d bring the actual paper during the next recording session.
The photo clearly showed age marks on the note. What was once pristine white had turned yellowed, and the black ink had faded considerably. Yet the handwriting remained unmistakably clear; Sang Ning didn’t need the original to confirm it was her own handwriting, ruling out any forgery by Song Shiye.
Sang Ning felt utterly perplexed. What did the phrase "Reincarnation End" an? What was the role she played in this novel-world? If reincarnation truly existed, where would it end? Would it end this ti?
Eager to complete the fan-growth mission, Sang Ning contacted Tang Yuanmao about entering the lab. He told her the lab had run into so issues recently, but by the ti her second interviews were over, it should be back to normal functioning.
There was nothing else to do but wait.
Finishing all her tasks, she called for a car and headed straight to the library, intending to review literature related to ti-space research. She had barely settled into a seat when Wei Lan called her.
During the earlier variety show recordings, everyone exchanged contact information. Sang Ning was curious—since the next program recording hadn’t started yet, why was Wei Lan calling her privately? Could sothing urgent have happened?
Confused, she answered, and Wei Lan’s voice, trembling with panic and almost in tears, ca through: "Sang Ning, sothing’s wrong. My son is missing!"
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