CHAPTER 672: CHAPTER 616: GRAND FINALE (PART SIX)

He finally saw her in his dream. Mr. Qian wept even more violently; it was truly a strange thing. He had thought of his daughter countless times, yet this child, always demanding his debts, had never appeared in his dreams. Now that he finally saw her in a dream, Mr. Qian didn’t dare to move, not even to blink his eyes.

He was afraid that if he woke up from the dream, everything would disappear.

Unexpectedly, Xinghua walked forward, her face red with shyness, and said, "Dad, why did you drive Brother Tianliang away?"

His daughter spoke so clearly; the dream felt incredibly lifelike, almost like reality.

Just as Mr. Qian was about to step forward to take a closer look at his daughter, the next moment, it seemed as though something pushed him aside, and he was shocked to see another version of himself standing in the yard.

That was him when he was younger, dressed in a washed-out cadres uniform with a pen clipped to it.

Just as Mr. Qian was about to speak, he found he couldn’t move, couldn’t open his mouth, nor step forward. He watched as his younger self laughed joyously, pointed at Chen Tianliang standing at the doorway, and then, with a stern face, said, "Why are you still standing at the door? You probably didn’t eat breakfast this morning. Hurry inside and have some food..."

Mr. Qian then saw the young Chen Tianliang standing still as if pondering something. After a moment, as if realizing something, his expression turned into one of relief and reassurance, yet mixed with indescribable complexity and guilt.

Then he stepped forward, briskly responding, "I love the steamed vegetable buns my aunt makes the most."

He lifted the canvas bag he was carrying, "I’m not just freeloading; I brought five pounds of pork too..."

Vice Director Qian glared at him, "Hurry up and come inside. Just some pork and you’re showing off?"

Chen Tianliang chuckled.

Mr. Qian noticed, from the moment he saw this young man, the smile on his face never ceased. But when he saw his daughter Xinghua, he suddenly stopped smiling, then his eyes reddened, and tears streamed down from a grown man’s eyes.

He then heard young Chen Tianliang’s voice choke up, "Xinghua, I’ve seen you again, which is wonderful..."

Mr. Qian only felt a sour ache in his chest; the scene before his eyes stung him, and he involuntarily closed his eyes. But when he opened them again, he saw a different scene.

It was no longer his yard, but a house built with blue bricks and clean tiles.

He saw his daughter Xinghua taking down clothes hung on a rope, and then he saw Chen Tianliang holding a male child, about more than ten months old. He followed his daughter closely, holding the child, and after Xinghua had folded all the clothes, he took out a stack of money from his pocket with one hand, while holding the child with the other, and dutifully handed it over to his daughter.

It seemed like Xinghua was checking if he kept any personal savings hidden, as she searched his pockets, the child giggled between the two.

Mr. Qian thought the child was really cute, with a round face and chubby cheeks. He couldn’t help but step forward; he wanted to get closer, he too wanted to hold him, his great-grandson.

Suddenly, his foot slipped, everything before him went dark, and when Mr. Qian opened his eyes, he sat up abruptly.

The sun was already out, shining through the gaps in the curtains and into the bedroom.

He was lying on a soft big bed surrounded by familiar décor, very elegantly furnished; it was the apartment where he lived, also one of the first residential buildings built in Xiaxi Town.

With centralized heating and water supply, it wasn’t much different from the city.

Wearing pajamas, he touched his face and found it wet with tears.

The next moment, the bedroom door was pushed open, and his early-rising partner hurried in and stood by his bed with a complex expression, "Mr. Qian, I just received a phone call... It said that Tianliang went to Jiudao Ridge for a survey yesterday afternoon and fell into a collapsed pit... He’s gone."

Mr. Qian stared blankly at his partner.

He touched his face again, and tears involuntarily flowed once more.

Seeing him like this, Mr. Qian’s partner also turned away, starting to wipe her tears.

And as she cried, she too remembered their daughter Xinghua and couldn’t help but cry out loud.

Mr. Qian removed his hand from his face and stood up in front of his partner.

Reaching out, he took her hand, his voice choked, "Don’t cry, don’t be sad, Tianliang was a good boy. He’s gone back, gone back to marry our daughter, and they even have a chubby, round-faced little boy. The two of them are living very happily..."

By the end, Mr. Qian’s voice was exceptionally firm.

Holding his partner’s hand, warm and strong.

For some reason, Mr. Qian’s partner suddenly believed his words without a doubt.

The couple wiped their tears, their faces bearing a relieved smile.

Unbeknownst to Qiao Qingyu, she had finally waited for He Xiuyu to return home. By that time, Chaoxuan had already gone to school, and Qiao Qingyu hadn’t gone to work as she was waiting for He Xiuyu.

After entering the study, Qiao Qingyu didn’t speak, but in a thought, He Xiuyu looked in surprise, wondering what was happening as he saw the Space Laboratory.

But he didn’t have time to ask why because he had more important things to do.

He took out the Space Device, watched another Space Laboratory floating in the void, and pulled Qiao Qingyu’s hand, specifically her index finger, then pressed it on a protruding part of the Space Device.

Qiao Qingyu felt a sting in her finger, followed by an electronic tone, "Fingerprint verification successful, Space Device activated, Seed Laboratory 001 at your service..."

Qiao Qingyu suddenly understood, so up to now, the termination of the time loop they both wanted to accomplish had succeeded.

Now, no matter how many parallel spaces, no matter how many parallel worlds, there was only one "Space Device" left.

When He Xiuyu’s hands opened again, they were empty.

The two "Space Devices" merged perfectly into one, forming a more complete "Space Laboratory."

There were no changes inside, except for the outside; the energy had become a source to power the operation of the "Space Device."

No more spacetime rifts, nor spacetime passages, and time would never turn back.

He Xiuyu finally completely relaxed as he held Qiao Qingyu’s hand.

The "Space Device" loop that had always troubled him had finally stopped, and some of the formerly bewildering issues now had explanations.

However, there were still many contradictions and unresolved questions, but scientifically speaking, the unknown always holds endless mysteries which were no longer significant.

After hearing about her experiences in the grassland from Qiao Qingyu, He Xiuyu fell into thought. He thought, this once again explained the origin of the "Space Device," meaning Chen Tianliang had returned to the past, then immediately went to find Xinghua, and thereafter sought out He Xiuyu at the research base to tell him about an extremely energy-rich "Energy Mine" at Jiudao Ridge.

This energy could twist time and space.

So after the distortion of space-time had ended, at the bottom of a collapsed pit, another "Space Device" appeared in his hands, but in the form of a seed.

At that moment, an electronic sound required verification of Qiao Qingyu’s fingerprint in his mind.

Then the final program could be completed.

After listening, Qiao Qingyu’s eyes sparkled, "I understand why Chen Tianliang was so urgent to find you; it’s because he knew only by finding you could he return to the past, so he kept in touch with you, so he would say, ’Thank you for giving him this opportunity,’ it’s still a loop."

He Xiuyu nodded with a meaningful smile, "Yes, you’re right, but actually, the person who should be most grateful is you!"

Qiao Qingyu met his gaze, then snuggled into his arms; for a moment, the room was tranquil, with only their figures bathed in the sunlight filtering through the window.

Jiudao Ridge still called for an exploration team, but they returned empty-handed. They placed warning signs to remind herdsmen to be cautious of a potential collapse. However, the mutated barley grass bore fruit, all data indicated that the quality of the mutated barley grass was twice as high as the unmutated.

But that was it.

Thus, the mutated field was cordoned off, and not far two tents were pitched, waiting for autumn to collect the seeds at the earliest opportunity.

This should be the second generation of barley grass.

Subsequently, the second-generation barley grass was gradually promoted.

With the mutated barley grass seeds, the success rate of desert control reached an unprecedented level.

The environment of the Northwest was completely improved, and transportation also developed significantly.

Huaxia entered into a prosperous and powerful era.

He Xiuyu and Qiao Qingyu visited Jiudao Ridge again.

The hills were clad in green, with green barley grass everywhere and wildflowers scattered like stars among the grass.

In the distance, the poplars had formed a forest, shielding from the storms of the great desert.

The collapsed pit now contained water, forming a small to medium-sized lake.

As they approached, small animals drinking from the lake scattered in alarm due to their presence.

The lake water was clear, the breeze gentle, shimmering with light.

Several dozen waterbirds flew past, their crisp calls shattering the tranquility.

He Xiuyu and Qiao Qingyu stood hand in hand by the lake, in the distance they seemed to see the TV towers and signal towers of Tenghai Research Base.

He Xiuyu looked down at Qiao Qingyu nestled beside him, and she was looking up at him too.

Both smiled.

Their fingers intertwined, hearts close together.

The gentle mountain breeze brushed their cheeks, their future still so vast.

Holding hands, growing old together.

What a fortune, to love you when you also love me!

— The End