CHAPTER 363: 348 THE BEAUTY OF SANGSANG (PART 2)

"Dad!" Sangsang wiped away her tears and spoke firmly, "I’ll go, I’ll go find her for you, okay? Where is she?"

Xu’s father instantly fell silent. After struggling for a moment, he lost all strength and sank powerless onto the bed. "Sangsang, the key is in my bag. Take the key, go to my lab, and in the right-hand third drawer under the experiment table, there’s a wooden box. Drink what’s inside the box, and focus—focus really hard. You must think carefully... April 12, 1982, Sunday, the A University Library..."

Sangsang solemnly locked the date in her memory: "April 12, 1982, Sunday, A University Library..."

"Take this photograph. Remember, it’s April 12, 1982..." Xu’s father’s voice grew weaker and weaker. "When you meet Youmei, tell her for me... I’ve always been waiting for her, and I’ll find her..."

"Alright, I understand." Sangsang nodded repeatedly, promising him.

After saying this, Xu’s father drifted back into unconsciousness. Sangsang hastily pressed the nurse call button. After the physician’s examination confirmed that her father was no longer in immediate danger, Sangsang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Though her mind swirled with countless doubts about Youmei, Xu Sangsang left the hospital. She resolved to uncover the truth herself and, along the way, find the woman who had preoccupied her father’s thoughts.

Sangsang took the photo and key and returned home, unlocking the door to the laboratory. Sangsang had always felt the lab was shrouded in mystery, and today felt no different. Qingxiu located the third drawer, testing each of the keys until she finally heard a satisfying click. She pulled the drawer open, revealing a wooden box and some documents.

Sangsang opened the wooden box, confirmed its contents, and then took the photo and the box, determined to head to the A University Library. Before leaving, she grabbed her own bag and stuffed it with some snacks and miscellaneous daily necessities.

Since the academic year was about to begin, and Xu’s father was a distinguished professor at A University, Sangsang had accompanied him there many times since she was a child, and the gatekeeper recognized her. Hearing her say she was borrowing books, the gatekeeper made an exception and let her in.

The vast library had few people, the light shifting between bright and dim.

Sangsang stood in the center of the library and opened the wooden box. Inside were two small test tubes filled with a clear liquid. Sangsang wasn’t too confident about drinking an unknown substance. Such things always reminded her of viruses or pathogens—or dangerous substances from those United States movies. But remembering her father’s instructions, Sangsang felt her fear dissipate.

She steeled her nerves, opened the cork stopper, closed her eyes, and tilted her head back, swallowing the liquid in one go.

The taste was strange. She forced herself to swallow it down despite her discomfort. Cold and icy, the liquid sent a chilling sensation through her limbs and bones—it felt as though her blood had frozen solid. The aftertaste lingered in her mouth, bitter and peculiar. She anxiously awaited some form of transformation within herself, but aside from the cold, there was nothing.

Sangsang opened her eyes and stared unwaveringly at the photo in her hand, reciting aloud: "April 12, 1982, Sunday, A University Library..."

After finishing, Tian Sangsang cautiously glanced around her surroundings. Nothing had changed—no signs of movement, no magic. She repeated her words once more, "April 12, 1982—wait, no—it’s actually 1984..." Numbers had never been her strong suit, and suddenly all the digits—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10—began swirling before her eyes, making her dizzy.

Tian Sangsang steadied herself with conviction and spoke again, her voice filled with reverence: "February 14, 1984, Sunday, A University Library."

Gentle as clouds drifting across the sky.

Light and shadow flickered.

The library remained unchanged, still and unmoving.

"Ha." Sangsang glanced at the photo in her hand, tugging the corners of her lips in a wry smile as she mocked herself, "Tian Sangsang, what are you even thinking? Did you really believe this would make you time-travel? Time travel is impossible, you know. Ugh, how could it be. What nonsense. But then why did Dad say 1984? It’s clearly 2012 now, thirty years apart. How could anyone go back thirty years with just a bottle of potion? And then there’s Youmei..."

Sangsang absentmindedly settled into a nearby chair, her gaze resting casually upon the photograph.

The person in the photo suddenly moved.

Tian Sangsang blinked her eyes three times in disbelief, then stared intently at the photo. She watched as the background of the photo shifted slightly. A peculiar sensation surged in her chest. Sangsang leapt to her feet, her body feeling light and buoyant, and she shouted urgently, "1984—no, wait—maybe it’s 1982! Or no, it *must* be 1984... February 14, 1984, Sunday, A University Library!"

"February 14, 1984, Sunday, A University Library!"

A gentle breeze brushed past.

Her hair danced lightly in the air.

The wind grew stronger. In an instant, gusts whipped about fiercely, clouds churned and swirled, the scenery transformed rapidly.

The library vanished.

Everything around her shifted constantly. Buildings raced past Tian Sangsang’s surroundings, different landscapes flashing fleetingly before her eyes.

The sun, moon, and stars—

Celestial bodies turning—

The vast cosmos above her—the stars almost within reach, the sun and moon almost graspable.

Tian Sangsang was both petrified and awed by this extraordinary spectacle. Suddenly, waves roared, crashing thunderously in her ears. Her vision went black, and she felt herself plummeting into an endless abyss, falling... falling... falling without end...

The quiet library held just one young man sitting at a table, absorbed in a book.

His back was straight, a posture seemingly ingrained by years of habit. His clean hands rested near the book’s edges, and the title propped on the table was Zhang Ailing’s *Half a Lifelong Romance*.

Just looking at his elegant and refined silhouette made one desire to step forward for a closer look.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, something fell straight from the air—a "mysterious object" landing directly on the young man’s back. Struck by it, he cried out in pain reflexively, but even amidst the "attack," he instinctively clung tightly to his book. Both man and book tumbled from the chair onto the floor.

The young man climbed to his feet, eyes wide as he stared at the mass before him. Black hair obscured its face, making it an oddly eerie sight. Though he was no coward, the scene raised goosebumps even on the shoulders of such a man.

"She... she actually fell from the sky. Could she be... Nie Xiaoqian?"

"Ouch!" As if on cue, a bag fell perfectly onto his head, eliciting a cry of pain. His dark brows furrowed as he clutched his head with one hand.

Tian Sangsang groggily opened her eyes, her body aching all over. She pushed away the long hair that obstructed her face and began surveying the surroundings.

The same library, yet the scenery had changed. She had safely crossed over; she must have traveled through time. Scanning her eyes around, she finally focused on a man before her. However, she was far too exhilarated at the moment to pay attention to his facial features. Crawling over to him, she blinked her phoenix-like eyes and asked excitedly, "Is it 1984 now?"

"Mm."

"Which month and day in 1984?"

"... February 14th."