"Master seems a little drunk too... What's that phrase again? Right—'a feast for the eyes'... Hey, hey, no hitting!"
"You little brat. You dare flirt with me? What's that saying? 'Spare the rod for three days and you'll be climbing the roof...'"
...
Time passed quickly, and the dinner came to an end.
Zhu Yuan, Belle, and Seth escorted Hare's House back, while Zane returned with Qingyi.
In the car, Zane glanced at her. Lately, he felt like everything that had happened was being manipulated from behind the scenes.
And Qingyi… was the prime suspect.
But he couldn't figure out her motive—why she would go so far.
As Zane pondered, Qingyi's voice broke through his thoughts.
"Zane, were you just sneaking a peek at me?"
Snapped out of his train of thought, Zane looked at her, calm but visibly exasperated.
"Senior, do I even need to sneak a peek? Could you stop staring at me so much? We're master and disciple, you know..."
"Who's staring at you?"
"No one. Just wandering spirits on the road... Senior, you're holding the three-section staff again. You're in a rush—wait, hold up—"
"Tsk, see? You only behave after a beating."
...
Night fell like ink, the stars hidden behind heavy clouds.
In the courtyard, Qingyi sat silently in her room, focused on the Book of Trajectories in her hands. The part chronicling Zane's arrival into this world had already been fully revealed.
As she slowly turned the pages, familiar fragments emerged once more before her eyes.
"What... should I even do..."
Her eyes flickered with emotion. Though she understood the cause, a solution remained elusive.
Worse, she could feel it—time was running out for her.
She stared at the newest blank page. The book seemed to have reached its limit. Pressing her lips together, she felt a wave of helplessness.
She had done everything she could.
So where was the answer?
Suddenly, a gentle white light shimmered before her eyes. Qingyi looked up—it was the white flower, glowing faintly.
The halo of light drifted down, landing on the Book of Trajectories. As it did, the pages began to turn on their own and stopped on an earlier one.
Qingyi immediately understood the flower was guiding her. She leaned in to look, but frowned slightly.
"This is... Zane as a child..."
She had seen this part several times before and found nothing of value.
Still, following the flower's lead, she focused again.
"When knights defeat evil dragons and save the world... This guy sure was a handful back then."
Just the kind of stuff kids always talk about. Cute, yes—but still nothing useful.
The white light descended once more. The book flipped forward to the most recent page, and Qingyi's gaze fell on it.
It was... a montage of Zane's time in this world.
The Book of Trajectories didn't have many pages. Each one condensed long spans of time into key moments.
But now, following the white light's hint, Qingyi noticed something she hadn't before—something that took up a large portion of the page.
The names of the people at tonight's dinner. Including herself. Including Panta.
Suddenly, it clicked.
"You're trying to tell me... that after he came to this world, we've been a big part of his life? But... what does that change?"
She looked at the white flower, whispering softly.
It didn't seem to provide a solution.
The flower didn't respond, only swayed gently in the still air, as if basking in a breeze.
Thanks to Qingyi's care, it was now far healthier and more vibrant—so close to blooming fully.
She lowered her eyes. For the first time, she felt her own intelligence wasn't enough. A former top agent of the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team—yet she couldn't find answers from a few scattered clues.
What was the flower trying to say?
Her mind was a mess.
Then came a knock on the door, drawing her attention. A light rap, followed by Zane's voice.
"Senior, I think we need to talk."
Qingyi didn't hesitate. She opened the door, letting Zane in, a flicker of guilt rising inside her.
She still hadn't done it.
Zane, unaware of her thoughts, looked at her seriously and got straight to the point.
"Senior, the meeting, Zhu Yuan's confession, Panta going into Hollow Zero, the dinner tonight... all of that was your doing, wasn't it?"
"What exactly are you trying to accomplish?"
Without a clear path forward, he was completely lost.
He didn't want to keep waiting for answers—he wanted to know what Qingyi was doing, and he wanted to help solve it in his own way.
"Zane... I..."
Qingyi hesitated, her eyes flickering away. She was alone in this, and it felt safer to keep it that way—better than giving Zane false hope with truths she didn't understand herself.
"Senior, I don't know why you're hiding this from me."
Zane stepped closer, placing his hands on her shoulders, locking eyes with her.
"But I don't want you carrying this alone. Tell me. Please? No matter what it is—I will help you."
His voice was calm, but firm.
Qingyi said nothing.
Her silence said everything.
Seeing that, Zane swallowed what he wanted to say. The atmosphere between them grew heavy. Qingyi's gaze flickered—she couldn't even look at him.
"Senior... I really just wanted to have a proper talk with you."
His voice carried a trace of hurt. It made her heart jolt.
As he spoke, he let go of her shoulders.
Qingyi's anxiety spiked. She thought he was about to leave.
But instead, his hands gently cupped her face.
Zane made her look at him. Meeting her eyes, he spoke, steady and sincere.
"Master. Since we met—have I ever messed anything up?"
She shook her head.
"Through everything we've faced—have I ever failed? Have you ever seen me come out on the losing side?"
She shook her head again.
"Then why can't I bear this with you?"
Her eyes widened slightly as he continued, his voice soft but resolute.
"Master..."
"Please believe in me."
"No matter what it is."
This time, Qingyi didn't look away.
She looked at Zane, stunned.
And as she slowly came back to herself, those words echoed in her heart.
Believe in Zane... no matter what...
A thought surfaced.
Maybe... an answer wasn't needed at all.
And now she finally understood—why the white light had paused on those two pages.