Chapter 114: Chapter 13: Meeting Sofia Again

Provincial University Library.

Around this time yesterday, Zhang Yan had read *A Brief History of Time* to a critical point, just a hair away from an epiphany. After returning and finding some free time in the afternoon, he had looked up a lot of supplementary materials to help him. He finally managed to push his comprehension of the book to the "Understood" level in one fell swoop.

Now, only one book remained in his reading task, but it was also the most difficult one: *Being and Time*.

He glanced at the seat next to him. It seemed the person who reserved it hadn’t arrived yet, and the guy who had temporarily taken the spot was making the most of the time to memorize vocabulary.

What a nostalgic... Bah, not nostalgic in the slightest!

Zhang Yan downed today’s dose of Concentration Potion and buried his head in the book, forcing himself to chew through the dense text.

One hour later.

Zhang Yan closed *Being and Time*.

"Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?" he wondered. This book was simply too tough a nut to crack, leaving Zhang Yan feeling rather bewildered. In a whole hour, he had only gotten through about half of it, and he was still a million miles away from actually understanding it.

He didn’t know what had gotten into Brother Tongzi. What was the point of reading this kind of book?

"This book is incredibly difficult to read. It seems you’re someone who enjoys challenging yourself, but shouldn’t you consider slowing down your reading pace a bit?"

Hearing this melodious voice, clear as a mountain spring, Zhang Yan knew it had to be Sofia, the mixed-race beauty he had met briefly yesterday.

"I’m just reading it for fun. But what about you, Sofia? You spent a premium early in the morning to buy a seat here at the Provincial Library, just to read these magazines?"

Actually, Zhang Yan had noticed the reading material on the girl’s desk last time, but the timing hadn’t been right, so he hadn’t asked. He recognized this magazine called *Zhike*. It was produced by a small workshop and only sold in Meng City and a few surrounding counties. He even had almost a complete set stashed under his bed back in his hometown.

"Thank you for remembering my name, Aiser."

Sofia greeted him politely, though she didn’t explain why she had come to the library so early just to read this niche magazine.

"Judging by your accent, you sound like a local. Have you been back in the country for long?"

"I actually just returned not long ago. But when I was abroad, my mother always chatted with me in Huaxia at home, so I haven’t forgotten my hometown dialect."

"Hometown? Do you consider this place your hometown?"

"Of course this is my hometown. My father has half Huaxia blood, and my mother is a native of Huaxia. I’ve also lived on this land for over a decade. Naturally, this is my hometown."

"Do you hold Huaxia citizenship?"

Sofia was momentarily left speechless.

Zhang Yan chuckled, packing up his things and preparing to leave.

"Miss Sofia from Germany, I respect a person’s choice of their nationality, but you shouldn’t try to have your cake and eat it too."

Sofia watched Zhang Yan’s retreating back, shaking her head with a helpless, bitter smile.

"He really dislikes me quite a bit," she murmured to herself, "but this feeling is actually quite novel. Growing up, I don’t think I’ve ever been disliked by anyone before.

"It’s just that when I left with my family back then, I wasn’t even an adult yet. Under those circumstances, how could I have had any room to make my own choice?"

But there was no need to explain all this to Zhang Yan.

Sofia opened the somewhat worn magazine and turned to a specific page. There was a serialized short story. It was the story she had been following back when she was in school. The story was actually written quite ordinarily, and she didn’t particularly care about knowing its ending.

Back in junior high, there wasn’t much extra entertainment, so she and her desk-mate would often fight over who got to read this magazine first. She merely wanted to read this little story to recapture a bit of her lost youth—or more accurately, the youth she had spent with him.

"After I left, did you continue reading this story? Just like this..." she whispered.

"Yuyu, having your Uncle Chenglong here to take care of me is enough. You should go back and have fun exploring with Yan."

"Dad, you’re here waiting for surgery. How could I be in the mood to go out and play? Just focus on resting and recovering. In a while, once a liver match is found, you need to go into the operating room in the best possible condition!"

"Sigh, Dad is just worried that you two might drift apart. You’ve just started dating, and this is exactly the time to nurture your relationship. If you spend so much time keeping this old man company, what if some other girl swoops in on Yan while you’re distracted? You’ll be the one crying then."

Chi Xinyue thought to herself that her father’s words had actually already come true, though she had long been prepared for it. She only hoped she could forever occupy a small space in Zhang Yan’s heart. Truly, just a small space would be enough.

"Oh, come on, Dad. Stop worrying about things that aren’t your concern. I think you just have too much free time on your hands. Once you recover, I’ll have to find you a partner."

That single sentence silenced Father Chi completely. Unable to bear raising his voice at his daughter, he could only vent his frustration on his older brother, who was standing to the side, secretly chuckling at his defeat. "Brother, you said you were here to take care of me, but the nurses do everything, and my daughter buys all the supplies. After all this time, you’re just here to enjoy yourself! I think you’re living more comfortably than I am."

"Alright, alright. I’m an eyesore to you, aren’t I? I’ll go downstairs for a stroll."

"Wait for me. I’m going too."

"Dad, let me help you walk, then."

"No need. My body is doing just fine right now. Besides, your Uncle Chenglong is here—let him do some work! The sun is blazing hot outside, and I don’t want my precious daughter getting a tan!"

Watching her father stand up robustly, Chi Xinyue didn’t insist. She knew that the two brothers walking together would be much more comfortable for them than having her, the daughter, around.

Since the arrangements were made through Si Mingcheng’s contacts, Chi Xinyue’s family was staying in a VIP intensive care ward at a highly renowned hospital in Beijing. The ward’s environment was excellent, divided into an inner and outer room, and equipped with a private bathroom.

Chi Chenglong was worried about his younger brother’s illness, so he usually slept in the outer room. However, the conditions here were hardly any worse than a hotel, so he lived quite comfortably and at ease. Chi Xinyue, on the other hand, stayed at the nearest hotel, which was only a five-minute walk back and forth.

She hadn’t taken it upon herself to try and save money, as Zhang Yan had earnestly instructed her before he left to make sure everything was of the best quality. The millions lying quietly in her bank card also gave this small-town girl a sudden boost of confidence and an air of elegance.

But she hadn’t forgotten for a single moment who had brought all of this to her. Thinking of the man who had changed her entire destiny, she revealed a sweet smile, laced with deep longing.

"Senior, I miss you so much..."

Right at that moment, a hand suddenly clamped over Chi Xinyue’s mouth from behind without any warning, while another arm rather roughly locked around her chest in a chokehold. Before she could even struggle, let alone make a sound, she was forcefully dragged into the bathroom.

CLICK. The door was locked.

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