Fang Li lifted his head from the desk, rubbing his temples wearily, looking around the white laboratory in front of him. The notebook under his elbow made his gaze momentarily distant.

Originally, all of this felt so distant and unfamiliar.

It all started one day when they returned from a trip to the mountains and waters. Xie Huai suddenly said he wished he could see the world, to understand it first hand.

Fang Li thought it made sense. Despite telling Xie Huai a lot about the world, nothing compared to seeing it with one's own eyes.

So Fang Li came up with an idea.

They went to Baihua Island's Lover's Crossing and asked the flower demon to create an illusion.

Unlike the crude illusion created by the three spirit stones before, which could only be viewed like a simple script, this illusion was based on Fang Li's powerful combined immortal soul memory, creating a fully functional, almost real-world illusion that could operate autonomously to some extent.

The flower demon was extremely skilled at dream weaving, and this kind of illusion required its tremendous effort to create. It was not willing to do this thankless task, as creating the simple illusions before was so easy and effortless.

It refused the proposal until it saw Xie Huai produce a million spirit stones.

Xie Huai had booked the entire place.

A million spirit stones! Even if there were 5,000 pairs of lovers every day, it would take the flower demon 66 full days to earn that much spirit stones. In reality, even during the busiest seasons, there might not be so many people... The million spirit stones deal was worth the toil it had endured for half a year.

Now, it only needed to do one deal!

A big client indeed!

The flower demon immediately agreed, promising to create the most perfect illusion ever! If satisfied, there would be more to come!

Thinking of this, Fang Li chuckled.

He reached out and flipped through the notes on the table, which were densely filled with experimental data. At this moment, he was still in graduate school, conducting research and experiments under his advisor. He was so busy every day that he barely had time to eat or sleep.

But where was Xie Huai?

In this world, he had his original identity, but Xie Huai was an unknown variable. He could be anyone in this world, making it difficult to find him amidst the vast sea of people.

However, before entering the illusion, he had told Xie Huai his identity and where his family lived. Xie Huai should be able to find him, right?

Actually, the safest way would be to give Xie Huai his phone number, but... it had been hundreds of years, and he couldn't remember it himself.

Fang Li looked at his phone, staring at the familiar number, and all the memories flooded back into his mind. The value of those million spirit stones, those things he thought he had long forgotten, were actually just hidden away, not disappeared.

Fang Li left the laboratory.

The weather was clear, with a gentle breeze carrying the scent of grass and trees. Students walked by in small groups, feeling a bit sentimental. Suddenly, the phone in Fang Li's pocket rang.

Fang Li stared at it for a few seconds before cautiously answering the call, his voice hoarse, "Mom."

His mother's voice came through, "Li Li, are you coming home for National Day?"

The familiar words made Fang Li silent, lost in thought.

His mother knew Fang Li had been busy lately. Seeing him silent, she thought there might be a chance, so she suggested, "If you're free, why don't I come over to see you. It's National Day, and we can treat it like a family outing..."

Suddenly, Fang Li spoke up, "I'll be home for National Day."

His mother was pleasantly surprised, "Really?"

Fang Li's voice softened, "Yeah."

Fang's mother said, "That's great! Mom will prepare your favourite dishes and is waiting for you to come back."

Fang Li chatted with his mom for a few moments before hanging up the phone. He grabbed the notes scattered in the laboratory, returned to his dorm, grabbed his ID card, and left.

Fang Li directly bought the nearest high-speed train ticket and waited for about half an hour before smoothly boarding the train home.

It had been two hundred years since he had last been home. Exactly two hundred years.

Sitting on the high-speed train, Fang Li glanced at the scenery outside the window for a while before closing his eyes to rest.

Perhaps due to extreme fatigue, he fell asleep after a while, drifting off into a daze. It seemed like he heard Xie Huai's name...

Fang Li's head gradually woke up, and he heard the voices of girls behind him.

"It's Xie Huai! He's so handsome!"

"Xie Huai's latest movie is about to be released. Let's watch it together."

"Sure, let's do that."

It wasn't just a fantasy of his dreaming imagination...

Fang Li remained silent for a moment, then took out his phone and started to search for Xie Huai on Baidu.

Soon, he found Xie Huai's Baidu Baike page.

Fang Li looked at the familiar, cold and handsome face on the webpage. Xie Huai was dressed in casual Western clothing, his expression indifferent but captivating.

Xie Huai was a big star.

For some reason...

Fang Li suddenly felt a bit dumbfounded, realizing he should have thought of it earlier.

He still remembered the first time he saw Xie Huai in the Spiritual Immortal Realm. He felt that he was the most handsome person he had ever seen. With filters and makeup, he was more attractive than any celebrity Fang Li had ever seen. Indeed, in this world... Xie Huai had become a star.

After all, with a face like that, he couldn't stay unknown, could he?

But if Xie Huai had such a status, it might not be convenient for him to find Fang Li. Besides, Xie Huai had just arrived in this world, and everything was very unfamiliar to him. He might need some time to adapt.

Now that he knew Xie Huai's identity, he could directly find him. But how could he contact a big star?

Fang Li couldn't help but sink into contemplation.

*

Xie Huai opened his eyes.

He lay on a large bed, facing a clean white wall made of an unknown material. There was a chandelier hanging from the central ceiling, transparent like crystal. In the Spiritual Immortal Realm, this would be extremely expensive. Here, it was used to make a lamp, and the principle of the bright light was unheard of. Was this what Fang Li called 'electricity'?

Although Fang Li had told him a lot about the world before, Xie Huai still found everything around him novel and unheard of.

This was an entirely new world.

Xie Huai got up to look for Fang Li. In this world, it seemed that money and identification cards were needed for travel. This was what Fang Li had mentioned.

Before Xie Huai could continue his search in the room, a young man walked in.

Li Rui looked at him puzzledly. "What are you looking for?"

Xie Huai glanced at him. Although he didn't know his current identity, this person should be his friend.

Xie Huai replied calmly, "My ID card and money."

Li Rui looked even more puzzled. "What do you need them for?"

Xie Huai answered, "They're useful."

Perplexed, Li Rui looked at Xie Huai. "But don't you know where your own ID card and money are?"

Though confused, Li Rui handed over Xie Huai's ID card and money. Thankfully, he was familiar with Xie Huai's house and handed the items to him. "Cash is not used much now; it's mostly mobile payments. Here's some money. You don't usually use it much. Wait... where are you going?!"

Xie Huai said, "Pingyuan City."

Li Rui: ???

What kind of place was that?

After searching on his phone, he found out it was a prefecture-level city in a province, a small place he had never heard of before. What's more, it was very far away. Why did Xie Huai suddenly want to go there?

Wait a minute, Xie Huai didn't even wear sunglasses before leaving. How could this be okay?

You could already imagine what tomorrow's hot topic would be!

Li Rui walked over and grabbed Xie Huai, saying, "You can't just go like this!"

Xie Huai glanced at Li Rui. The urgency and concern in his eyes were quite apparent. He realized his behaviour was indeed inappropriate, so he let Li Rui pull him back.

Since finding Fang Li wasn't an immediate necessity, and if it wasn't possible, he could learn about the situation from Li Rui first.

Xie Huai slowly spoke, "Who are you?"

Li Rui stared blankly at Xie Huai. Ever since he entered the room, he had felt that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Now, looking at Xie Huai's indifferent face, asking calmly who he was...

What was going on? Could Xie Huai suddenly have amnesia?

Oh God, please don't scare me like this!

Trembling, Li Rui said, "I'm Li Rui. Your friend, your brother, your teammate. You don't remember me?"

Xie Huai nodded.

Li Rui was almost scared into fainting. He couldn't understand how Xie Huai, of all people, could suddenly have amnesia. Could he be playing a trick on him?

Li Rui took a deep breath and asked slowly, "Then what do you remember?"

Xie Huai pondered for a moment. He didn't know much about this world, and he figured it was better to let the other person assume he had amnesia rather than risk saying something wrong.

He said, "Tell me about myself. Maybe hearing about it will help me remember."

Li Rui looked at Xie Huai suspiciously. Seeing that Xie Huai didn't seem to be joking, he reluctantly began to tell him about himself.

Xie Huai listened silently.

In this world, he was a big star. Based on his daily activities, it was similar to acting in the Spiritual Immortal Realm's dramas, but here, stars were highly regarded, and no one looked down on them because of something called the internet. Many people in this world knew about it. Once you casually walked down the street, you would cause a sensation.

Xie Huai has always been highly respected and admired in the Spiritual Immortal Realm, so being idolized was not unfamiliar to him. In the Spiritual Immortal Realm, strength was revered, and not many people dared to casually share pictures. However, in this world...

Xie Huai pulled back the curtains and glanced at the huge display on the building opposite. It was his own giant advertisement.

Indeed, this would be quite troublesome. No wonder Li Rui had desperately tried to stop him earlier when he wanted to leave.

Xie Huai furrowed his brows slightly.

In this situation, it would indeed be inconvenient for him to find Fang Li directly. It might cause trouble for Fang Li, and Li Rui would probably try to stop him as well. His actions wouldn't be cooperative. It was best to take it easy for now, familiarize himself with this world as soon as possible, and then find an opportunity to quietly locate Fang Li.

Li Rui felt anxious as he saw Xie Huai's calm expression. Finally, he said, "Why don't you go to the hospital?"

Xie Huai responded, "Since my current identity is inconvenient, if the hospital were to find out, it would cause gossip. Maybe I just overworked myself filming and need some rest."

Li Rui thought to himself, Overworked? You've lost your memory!

Xie Huai didn't seem willing, and he couldn't force him either!

Just as Li Rui was worrying, Xie Huai calmly said, "I've forgotten many things. Tell me everything I need to know."

After hesitating for a moment, Li Rui handed over his phone. "This is used for contacting people. You can dial my number, and I'll answer. You can also use it to browse the internet, read news, play games, and make purchases. It's my most important possession! Make sure you keep it safe and don't lose it. Call me for anything..."

Xie Huai remarked, "So this is a smartphone."

As Fang Li mentioned, having a smartphone in this world was indispensable.

Li Rui was stunned. Xie Huai didn't remember anything, yet he knew what a smartphone was. Even if he remembered, he didn't recognize himself... Although Xie Huai seemed to have forgotten everything, whenever Li Rui told him something, Xie Huai remained calm, accepted it quickly, and could even recall and deduce other related information.

Who loses their memory like this? Wouldn't they feel worried, scared, and anxious about everything being so confusing?

Li Rui suspected that Xie Huai had indeed lost his memory...

Could Xie Huai be joking?

Regardless, apart from forgetting some things, Xie Huai behaved normally in every aspect, and there were no communication issues.

In this case, there was no hurry to take him to see a doctor.

Following Xie Huai's request, Li Rui reiterated everything that needed attention. Occasionally, if he missed something or noticed it later, Xie Huai would inquire proactively. By the end of the night, Li Rui had drunk several glasses of water and felt parched from speaking so much.

Xie Huai had already become proficient in using the smartphone and television.

He was now studying the smartphone in his hand with apparent interest...

Li Rui felt a bit dazed.

Finally remembering his main task for the day, Li Rui said, "There's a magazine shoot in three days. Don't forget, I'll pick you up then."

Magazine shoots were part of his work. Li Rui had already mentioned it earlier, and Xie Huai nodded to show he understood.

Li Rui breathed a sigh of relief, got up to leave, and muttered to himself as he walked, "You have no idea how popular you are, yet you hate trouble so much. Always keeping your schedule secret, never engaging with fans, it's so difficult for fans to meet you..."

Xie Huai's eyes flickered, and he suddenly said, "No need to keep it a secret."

Li Rui paused, his foot on the ground.

With a staggered step, Li Rui turned back, bewildered, suspecting he had misheard.

Then he saw Xie Huai looking faintly at him and said, "Fan support, that's fine too."

Li Rui: "..."

Xie Huai used to be so low-key! Apart from filming, he only focused on work and didn't participate in anything else, not even variety shows. He didn't even pay attention to his fans... Did he suddenly have a change of heart?!

*

Fang Li got off the bus at the station and walked to the door of his home.

An old residential building stood there, with a gap in the flower bed downstairs where stray cats roamed. The neighbourhood looked clean and tidy. Passing uncles and aunties greeted Fang Li with smiles, "Little Li, you're back."

Fang Li nodded and smiled, "Yeah."

An auntie asked, "Why didn't you come up?"

Fang Li fell silent for a moment, then replied hoarsely, "I was just about to."

The auntie didn't delve deeper and walked away.

Fang Li had never experienced homesickness before. Now he understood what it meant. Even though he could return home once he went upstairs and see his family, he hesitated to take that step.

Just then, light footsteps approached.

A girl with neat short hair and a cat T-shirt rushed over and hugged Fang Li, humming, "Brother, you finally decided to come back!"

Fang Li's eyes softened, "I'm sorry."

Fang Ping had been waiting by the window after hearing from her mother that her brother was coming back. Seeing him return, she happily greeted him and took his hand, leading him upstairs. "I figured you'd be back, Mom's already cooked the food."

Following his sister back home, Fang Li changed into slippers and saw his Dad sitting in the living room watching TV while Mom was cooking in the kitchen.

Dad Fang stood up and smiled, "You're back."

Mom Fang walked out of the kitchen, took off her apron, and said, "Let's eat."

Mom and Dad Fang sat on one side while Fang Li and his sister sat on the other.

Mom Fang kept serving dishes and chatted incessantly, "You shouldn't overwork yourself. Every time I call you, you're in the lab. Even during breaks, you rarely come back. You're so young, you shouldn't risk getting sick from exhaustion. Look at the young people nowadays, they either have neck problems or back problems. Their health isn't great. You should exercise more, you know?"

Dad Fang coughed lightly, "It's good for young people to work hard, but you don't have to say too much. But... Xiao Li, you still need to take care of your health."

Fang Li nodded with a smile, "Yeah, I know."

He lowered his eyes.

The taste of the food in the bowl was familiar. It had been a long, long time since he had tasted it.

This memory had always been in his mind.

His sister poked his arm, "When you're not at home, Mom and Dad miss you a lot. You should stay longer this time."

Fang Li smiled, "I'm not leaving."

His sister said, "Yeah, right, you're just fooling me."

Fang Li shook his head helplessly.

After dinner, Dad Fang volunteered to wash the dishes. Fang Li and his Mom sat in the living room chatting. Mom Fang asked about his well-being, and Fang Li patiently answered.

His sister sat on the sofa reading a novel.

Fang Li's peripheral vision glanced over.

At first, this girl always liked to hold her phone and read novels all day long, and he didn't have much time to read. Most of what he knew came from his sister's mouth, because when this girl got excited about something she liked, she liked to drag him into the conversation and could talk endlessly for a long time... If she knew that he had not stepped into a book but was with the protagonist in the book, she would be extremely excited and curious...

Fang Li couldn't help but smile, but after a moment, he slowly put it down, his eyes slightly dimmed.

*

The night grew late.

Mom and Dad Fang had both retired to their room.

Fang Li began to contemplate how to contact Xie Huai.

Since he already knew Xie Huai's identity, he wouldn't just wait for Xie Huai to find him.

In a way, this was his world.

Fang Li turned on his computer and started searching the internet for information about Xie Huai. Suddenly, Fang Ping pushed the door open and walked in. She immediately saw Fang Li's computer screen and exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, Brother, are you into idol chasing now? Oh my god, Xie Huai is really something, he's popular with both men and women. Even my bookish brother knows about him!"

Fang Li: "..."

Just as he was about to say he wasn’t an idol chaser, he suddenly realized, did his sister know Xie Huai?

Right, this girl was a fanatical idol chaser from the start... So he changed the subject: "So, do you know how to meet him?"

Fang Ping looked embarrassed, "Xie Huai doesn't often appear in public, and he keeps his whereabouts secret. He doesn't hold fan meetings or anything like that, so it's not easy to meet him."

Fang Li raised an eyebrow slightly. Was it really that troublesome? But it did fit Xie Huai's personality.

Fang Ping thought to herself, chasing idols online should be enough. Why bother meeting in person? Seeing her brother take an interest in a celebrity, a subject he had previously disregarded, she resolved to assist him in seeking information.

Fang Ping said, "Wait here, Xie Huai is my sister's favourite (NT: sister here is for her friend). Maybe she knows how to meet him."

She started chatting on her phone's messaging app.

After a while, Fang Ping gave Fang Li some good news: "Brother, you're really lucky! Xie Huai had a magazine photoshoot recently, and his studio has actually made the schedule public. There's a fan organization arranging fan support. You can join her!"

Fang Li smiled faintly, "Okay."

Publicizing the schedule... Xie Huai really adapted quickly. This was his way of telling him where to find him.

*

Xie Huai sat in the nanny car, listening to Li Rui's repeated reminders in his ear, telling him about the precautions for the shoot and how to cooperate with the photographer.

Xie Huai nodded in response, indicating there was no need to worry.

Li Rui looked at Xie Huai with complex emotions.

Although Xie Huai seemed very calm and remembered every detail they discussed, which made people feel reassured... For some reason, this made him even more worried!

The car stopped downstairs at the magazine office.

A large group of fans had been waiting there for a long time, shouting excitedly, and many of them held signs with phrases like "We love Huai Huai" written on them.

After becoming proficient in using his phone, Xie Huai had already studied the entertainment industry. He was not surprised by this and opened the car door, scanning the crowd of fans.

Among them was a young man with a clean appearance, gentle and radiant eyes. He smiled at Xie Huai and stood out among the group of girls. He held a large sign with similar words to the other fans, but there was also a big heart drawn in the upper right corner, inside of which was a crossed sword and halberd.

Xie Huai couldn't help but raise his lips and smile.

He knew Fang Li would find him soon.

 

Translator : DarNan