Resplendent Times

Chapter 100

“Congratulations! You have completed the branch mission【Overload】. Mission rating: None. Mission points: None. You will now be redirected to the time coordinate: 1456.06.25 15:30:00.”

“Please wait.”

“Connection successful.”

An hour after they left, two silver-white capsules appeared on the transmission platform.

The people in the command centre who have been paying close attention to the data being reported back on their screens quickly entered a busy state as they prepared for their return.

A capsule door opened. Song Qinglan got out first. Surrounded by staff who were checking on him, he passed over the nutrient solution in his hand to a staff.

The other capsule door also opened, and Ji Yushi came out.

He was similarly surrounded by staff.

Chief Wang had already returned to the command centre. Together with the commander-in-chief, they watched them through the glass window.

When she saw Song Qinglan, Chief Wang’s expression was very complicated, as if something had shocked her. The commander-in-chief on the side was still saying something to her but she seemed to be having some difficulty registering all this information.

A distant memory returned.

While being checked on by the staff and given some time to register the change in environment, Song Qinglan soon remembered what he had done before he left —– Publicly coming out.

Although it had been many days for him, but for the people in this original time and space, it was only one hour ago. This was news that had shocked the entire third command centre and even Chief Wang. As of now, that news probably hadn’t reached the rest of the Tianqiong network.

Song Qinglan sat on the steps with his sleeves rolled up waiting for his blood pressure to be checked.

Seeing that Chief Wang was still looking at him, he raised his other free hand to salute the still dumbfounded Chief Wang and then revealed a lazy grin.

The meaning of it was: That’s right, it is exactly what you’re thinking. Not only did I bend, I also captured an excellent and very fine partner.

It was a blessing.

That arrogant look was the same expression Song Qinglan had when he managed to stand out during the training camp and became the first new captain with a medal.

“Advisor Ji—–”

Someone exclaimed.

Song Qinglan expression changed. He immediately waved away the staff and strode over towards the crowd.

Everyone gave way.

He saw Ji Yushi sitting with his back against the raised part of the platform with his eyes lightly closed, arms resting on his knees and his dark, silky hair scattered loosely over his forehead. He was in a completely relaxed state. The staff checking his pulse was about to reach over to check his eyes.

“Don’t move.” Song Qinglan stopped him.

Everyone was puzzled.

Song Qinglan bent down and quietly watched Ji Yushi for a few seconds before saying, “Don’t disturb him.”

He had returned back to 1439 to address something that had been weighing heavily on his mind for many years and was forced to accept a truth that was difficult to accept and even died once.

After that, he went back to the Ouroboros mission in 1470 and, in repeated cycles over and over again, he did his best to reunite with Song Qinglan who was in another cycle.

The mission that had already been completed by them before was simple and they were able to reach the 100th floor and find the control room without much difficulty. Ji Yushi however was reborn again and again as Song Qinglan advanced towards his destined deaths and he also needed to ensure that they complete the mission together before the paradox occurred.

Ji Yushi was very tired. This wasn’t a psychological kind, but a physical kind.

For all these years, he had never rested like this before but the moment he walked out of the capsule, he fell asleep right before everyone’s eyes.

The people dispersed again. Chief Wang and the commander-in-chief stepped onto the transmission platform.

Chief Wang asked nervously, “What’s wrong?”

Song Qinglan looked back. His dark eyes contained gentleness and warmth she had never seen before, “Asleep.”

“Then he should still wake up first. The Inspectors are still waiting for your reports.” The commander-in-chief said, “Xiao Ji’s situation is special, and this time is also an exception so once you’re done with the report, you can rest as you like.”

Song Qinglan understood this.

As a squad leader, it was commonplace for him to find himself delayed by three or four hours after returning before he could truly rest. He was already very used to this.

But he looked at Ji Yushi and stood up, “You’re right, his situation is indeed very special. After experiencing so much, even Ironman would be tired. I will do the report first. After he wakes up, you can question him however you like.”

Song Qinglan wore a black combat uniform. The same was true for Ji Yushi.

They were wearing something completely different when they left. Chief Wang found it strange but after talking to the two, that feeling of strangeness disappeared without a trace. It was as if they were actually dressed like this before setting off.

Without history being changed, this change in time and space had patched up everyone’s memories.

Except for the two who had experienced the new time anchor, no one remembered these differences.

The commander-in-chief frowned. He seemed a little hesitant over this request.

Chief Wang had already made her decision, “Alright then.”As a leader and also as a mother, Chief Wang showed 120% charisma.

After making the decision, no one else around them refuted it, including the usually by-the-book commander-in-chief. In front of everyone, Song Qinglan picked him up and brought him over to the lounge in the seventh squad training ground.

*

Ji Yushi didn’t sleep very long. He only slept from afternoon to night.

After waking up, he went to give his report and his thoughts were clear, but as soon as he returned to Song Qinglan’s car, he fell back into a dark and sweet dream and continued to sleep.

After the two returned from 1439, the higher-ups had planned on immediately assigning them with missions to complete but through their reports, it was revealed that there was actually a lot more to Sheng Yun’s ‘suicide’ incident and many highly confidential files will need to be investigated again. As a result, after completing the preliminary discussions, the superiors decided to give them extra time off.

In other worlds, they would not carry out new missions until this matter was completely dealt with.

It would be a long process.

The Tianqiong seventh squad was finally granted a proper long vacation.

On the way back, Song Qinglan received a call from Ji Minyue, “Teacher Ji.”

“Cap Song?” Ji Minyue was taken aback, “Where’s Ji Yushi?”

Song Qinglan answered the other party’s phone as if it was very natural. The male voice travelling through the phone also carried some fondness, “He’s still asleep. I didn’t wake him up.”

Ji Minyue: “………”

Why was he always forgetting the fact that his younger brother now had someone with him?

The sports car followed the roads. Jiang City at night was still very lively.

The night breeze sent hot air into the car. Fearing that it would make Ji Yushi uncomfortable, Song Qinglan only left a small gap in the window, minimising the noises coming in from outside.

Ji Yushi slept in the front passenger seat. The seat was leaned back quite far.

With neon lights coming in through the car windows, his profile in the colourful but dim lights looked like a painting.

“How was it?” Ji Minyue seemed to be unsure of what to ask. He was afraid of the outcome being far outside of their expectations and even more afraid of Ji Yushi being unable to take it, “What did you see that year? Did you catch the murderer?”

The lights turned red.

Song Qinglan held one of Ji Yushi’s hands, his thumb gently caressing the back of it, “He’s fine. When he wakes up, I will get him to call you back…..He might go home for a visit.”

The Ji family had played a very important role in Ji Yushi’s life.

After waking up, the most likely thing Ji Yushi would do first would be visiting the Ji residence. He had the obligation and need to tell his family everything that had been troubling him over the past seventeen years and everything that happened in 1439.

When Song Qinglan said that, Ji Minyue realised that things probably weren’t as simple as they thought.

Even if he wanted to know the truth now, when he heard that Ji Yushi was fine, he was reassured. Ji Minyue just said another few words before hanging up.

“Song Qinglan.” Ji Yushi woke up, “Was it my brother?”

He opened his pair of beautiful eyes and was lying on the black car seat in a rather lazy and relaxed manner.

Song Qinglan could hardly remove his eyes.

The quiet car, the noisy city. It reminded Ji Yushi that he was finally back.

Song Qinglan: “It was Teacher Ji. He wanted to ask how you were and was reassured when he heard that you’re with me.”

Ji Yushi maintained the same position as when he was asleep, “So he wouldn’t be reassured if I wasn’t with you?”

The lights turned green.

Song Qinglan let go of Ji Yushi’s hand and moved his hand back onto the steering wheel, “Who said that? I think you’re quite relaxed, to even fall asleep so courageously. Not afraid that I would do something to you?”

“Will you?” Ji Yushi blinked a few times, “You have been secretly watching me for so long, but I’ve never seen you take action.”

He was talking about the things Song Qinglan did after he left the world in 1439.

After returning to Ouroboros, the two had constantly been rushing around. In order to make the cycles overlap, they had to appear again and again before each other before the paradox occurred and they didn’t have any time to talk about these things.

Those cycles, those intricate connections that existed before the two even knew about it, had given them something that felt like a destined fate.

Ji Yushi said, “The pervert I mentioned staring at me at the bar, that was you, wasn’t it?”

Song Qinglan’s long and slender fingers tapped at the wheel. From Ji Yushi’s perspective, he could only see his firm jawline. He heard him chuckle, “Damn, you even remember that? I sat there for many days and only saw you once.”

Song Qinglan had been following Ji Yushi for a long time.

At that time, Ji Yushi was twenty years old, still a university student who liked to go around alone.

But perhaps it was because his attitude towards his sexual orientation was too calm or perhaps because his social circle was lacking, he thought of going to a gay bar to see what people of the same sexual orientation were doing.

That night, the theme was a masquerade party, so they all wore masks.

Ji Yushi sat in the corner, ordered a glass of wine and rejected three men who came over to strike up a conversation, before leaving the bar having gained nothing.

Song Qinglan stood on the other side of the dance floor for a long time.

Through the crowd of people dancing and partying, he greedily watched Ji Yushi for over forty minutes.

That was also the longest time he was able to see Ji Yushi during his traverses. Who would have thought that he was the ‘pervert’ in Ji Yushi’s memory?

Ji Yushi quickly choked up. He forced the dampness in his eyes back, “Because I only went there once. Are you stupid?”

“I am.” Song Qinglan found it funny. He looked back at him and said meaningfully, “When I went back, I was caught by your father.”

This was also a topic the two hadn’t spoken about.Ji Yushi was already awake, and the way back was still long. Song Qinglan very simply explained to him everything that happened after Sheng Yun appeared.

He spoke of the prototype of the so-called ‘Tianqiong of all eras’. When he spoke about when Sheng Yun said that Ji Yushi’s death wasn’t the final ending, Ji Yushi sat up.

He adjusted the seat, drank some water to clear his mind and thought over those words for a while, “That time and space hijack…..could it have been what we originally thought it was?”

First the seventh squad was hijacked.

Then, in order to rewrite Ji Yushi’s fate, they once again returned to the moment they were hijacked.

Which came first and which came later?

Song Qinglan had also thought about this question before. Ji Yushi’s reaction was something he had expected. He said to Ji Yushi, “A circle going around another circle. A perfect coincidence.”

“No.” Ji Yushi shook his head, “This is not a coincidence, nor did it happen in accordance to the developments.”

Song Qinglan, “What do you mean?”

“We thought that under the operation of the parent system, there would be no distinction between cause and effect, before and after. A sequence of events could be considered as everything happening at the same time.” Ji Yushi explained, “In fact, have you ever thought that it was in fact manipulating us to perfect this cause-and-effect relationship? It needed a starting point and also needed a closed cycle, or it would be unable to remain consistent.”

Song Qinglan followed his thoughts and frowned slightly, “You mean, your death in 1439 was probably also an originally planned event?”

“Yes. My death was the reason behind his motivation to delve deeply into developing a time anchor.” Ji Yushi said, “If I am not wrong, perhaps this was the reason why we could survive in the Super S-level missions. Without a time anchor, completing missions like Ouroboros would be impossible with just us.”

Song Qinglan’s eyebrows were deeply furrowed, “Then Sheng Yun knew…..”

His tone suddenly became colder. The anger contained in it was very obvious.

Ji Yushi grabbed his arm and slowly spoke, “I can understand why he did it.”

It was another red light.

Song Qinglan pushed down on the brakes and turned on the automatic driving mode.

He turned and touched Ji Yushi’s face. He seemed to be almost heartbroken, “He is your father! His most basic responsibility as a father is to care for you and protect you as you grow up, not to make sacrifices for the sake of the world or for the big picture. You are not his pawn! He can’t be regarded as a great man, he’s a madman!”

Ji Yushi said, “If it was me, I might’ve done the same.”

Song Qinglan’s eyes contained even more anger. He gritted his teeth, “I won’t——”

“From the moment humanity came into contact with the secret of time, regardless of whether or not they wanted to, they had already become deeply involved.” Ji Yushi said, “In a broad sense, he was also a chess piece. All his choices and everything he did was predetermined.”

People who engage in science are all madmen.

Those who try to control time were all madmen. Those who try to correct it were also all madmen.

Ji Yushi would always have clearest thought process. He rubbed his face against Song Qinglan’s hand, “Looking at it from another angle, he had rewritten everything.”

That was why a larger time anchor was set up.

This was a blessing amidst all the misfortunes. It was the best a father who had no other choice could do for his child.

Song Qinglan lowered his head. He pressed his forehead against Ji Yushi’s forehead.

At this moment, he hated Sheng Yun and he also hated Ji Yushi’s calmness. He would rather Ji Yushi cry and be upset than hear him make such a rational analysis.

But it was precisely this calmness of Ji Yushi’s that made him so hopelessly attracted. This was the true Ji Yushi.

Song Qinglan was lost for words.

Ji Yushi said, “You can think of it from another angle.”

Song Qinglan snorted coldly.

Ji Yushi just continued, “Think about it. If it weren’t for these things happening, how could I have cats?”

Song Qinglan, “………”

He also made three love rivals.

Ji Yushi kissed the tip of his nose and spoke solemly, “Song Qinglan, thank you for sending the cats to my seventeen-year-old self.”

He stretched out his arms and wrapped it around Song Qinglan’s neck, “Having seen my seventeen-year-old self, what were your thoughts?”

It sounded almost coquettish.

Or to be more accurate, it was a form of temptation.

Song Qinglan knew that Ji Yushi was secretly changing the topic.

But at this moment, he couldn’t help but fall for it. His throat bobbed, “Thoughts?”

In the rainstorm, he actually didn’t see the other person clearly, but he didn’t mention it.

Song Qinglan almost couldn’t hold himself back. All the trials he had experienced in his entire life had not been as difficult as that moment when the seventeen-year-old Ji Yushi called out to him.

He grumbled, “I fucking almost died holding back.”

There was a lot of space in the car.

But at this distance, their lips were almost touching.

They could feel the heat from each other’s breaths.

The moment they were about to touch, Ji Yushi retreated back and asked, “So, Cap Song who lets Ji Minyue feel reassured, where are you taking me now?”

KK has something to say:

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