Crescent Lake was ancient.

It was part of old Nanjing’s moat, making it a very long and narrow body of water—walking around the lake was about three kilometers.

Under the scorching sun, Yan Zhihan walked along the lakeside path with her parasol, holding the package in her arms.

The girl kept pondering to herself.

What was wrong with her, coming to do such an absurd thing?

Little White Sheep had told her to find a secluded spot to prevent others from stealing it, but who besides fishermen would want this thing? Would anyone else mistake it for a thousand-year-old Lingzhi mushroom?

But she couldn’t just throw it into the center of the lake either, since he needed to retrieve it later.

Did he want to retrieve it?

Did boys have such deep emotional attachments to things they’d thrust into?

Sister Yan shook her head.

She gazed at Crescent Lake’s shimming surface. The lake was deep—if she just threw the package into such vast waters, no one would ever find it again. Little White Sheep would painfully lose his beloved girlfriend. So finding a spot both hidden and accessible wasn’t so easy.

Entering through Crescent Lake Park’s main gate, Yan Zhihan first turned right, walking counterclockwise around the lake. The vegetation along Crescent Lake’s shore was lush—the girl walked in the dense tree shade without needing her parasol.

She observed the environment as she walked. Crescent Lake was a park where many people came for walks, so finding a spot on the shore to hide something long-term was difficult. It would have to be hidden underwater—Little White Sheep must have thought the same, hence his waterproofing measures.

But the shoreline waters weren’t suitable either, being too shallow and visible.

Tired from walking, Yan Zhihan climbed up to the lakeside viewing platform and sat down in a chair—Crescent Lake Park had this facility built beside the lotus pond, similar to stadium bleachers, with ten rows of seats from bottom to top, all white plastic chairs with a white sunshade canopy overhead.

She sat down on a chair that had been heated scorching hot by the sun.

Where should she hide this thing?

Yan Zhihan craned her neck, looking around.

Across the lake stood the gray-black ancient city wall. Below it were buildings with red tiles and white walls, some built on the shore, some over the water. Yan Zhihan’s gaze swept back and forth, wondering if she could throw the package onto their roofs—since the roofs were unreachable, how about hiding it beneath their foundations? The girl stared at them for a long while, trying to remember what that place was.

She took out her phone and opened Gaode Maps—it was a restaurant.

Called “Night Shanghai Hotel Banquet Hall.”

Could she hide the package there?

Yan Zhihan slapped her forehead.

Throw the package in the water under that building!

That would be hidden enough, right?

And not far from shore—retrievable if needed.

The action followed thought. The girl carried the package around half of Crescent Lake to the front of the Night Shanghai Hotel Banquet Hall. The building’s entrance opened onto the lakeside path, while its main structure sat on a platform over the water, supported by pillars driven into the lakebed. Yan Zhihan glanced around—the restaurant doors were closed, and all was quiet. Indeed, no one was out at high noon.

She went down the slope to the lake’s edge and peered beneath the restaurant’s foundation. It was dark under there.

A good place to hide things.

Nobody would normally go under there—even cleaners couldn’t get in.

Yan Zhihan made one final check that no one was around, then took a deep breath and, like throwing a shot put, with a “hey!” tossed the package inside.

The package hit the water with a “plop” and quickly sank out of sight.

Sister Yan looked left and right, then pretending to be a casual passerby, opened her parasol, and quickly left the scene.

Back at the city wall’s base, she took out her phone and sent a voice message to Little White Sheep on WeChat:

“I threw it in the water under the platform at Night Shanghai Banquet Hall by Crescent Lake! Third pillar from the inside out! The package is right there!”

Mission accomplished.

That evening.

Bai Yang opened his computer and NetEase Music.

He plugged in headphones, turned both the software and computer volume to maximum, and started playing Wang Feng’s “Life in Full Bloom.”

Wang Feng’s hoarse voice began bellowing “How many times have I fallen on the road—” each note hammering Bai Yang’s eardrums and heart. His head thundered as if two subwoofers were pressed against his ears, sound waves resonating and dancing in his skull—so loud he wouldn’t hear a gong being struck in his room.

Bai Yang quickly removed his headphones—any more would be lethal.

“BG4MSR, BG4MSR miss, you must hear every word I’m about to say clearly, OVER.”

Bai Yang patted his ears, still ringing.

“Alright, I’m listening, OVER.”

“Listen carefully, BG4MSR. I’m about to play the time capsule’s exact location, but only you can hear this information, not me, so I’ll plug my ears.” Bai Yang said, “After it plays, I’ll ask if you heard clearly. If you heard the location, say you heard it clearly, then I’ll delete the location message. If you didn’t hear clearly, say so and I’ll play it again, understand? OVER.”

“Understood, OVER.”

“One thing you must remember—you absolutely cannot reveal the time capsule’s exact location to me.” Bai Yang instructed, “I know the time capsule is in Crescent Lake, so at most you can say it’s in Crescent Lake, but you must never reveal more detailed information, at any time or place, in any situation, understand? OVER.”

“Understood, OVER.”

“Good, are you ready? I’m about to play the time capsule’s exact location, OVER.”

There was silence for a few seconds.

“I’m ready, OVER.”

Bai Yang took out his phone, opened WeChat, and went to Yan Zhihan’s chat.

The voice message was still there. Bai Yang hadn’t opened it.

Bai Yang took a deep breath, put on his headphones, and instantly his head was filled with Wang Feng’s voice.

“I want life in full bloom—! Like flying in the vast sky—!”

Then he gripped the hand mic, turned his phone volume to maximum, brought the hand mic close, and pressed play on the voice message!

Bai Yang couldn’t hear anything. He had become like an empty cavity filled with Wang Feng’s penetrating voice. Amid the throat-straining singing, that crucial information was being transmitted from phone to radio station, then modulated into a twenty-meter shortwave, traveling through twenty-one years of endless time on the empty 14255 frequency, received by another pair of quietly listening ears.

At this moment, throughout history, only Ban Xia besides the universe had heard those words.

Looking back ten thousand years, looking forward ten thousand years, in the whole world only Ban Xia knew all the exact information about the time capsule.

Bai Yang held his phone in one hand, pressing the hand mic with the other.

Wang Feng was still singing, with incredible power.

“I want life in full bloom—!”

“Like standing at the peak of the rainbow—!”

“Like traveling through the brilliant Milky Way, possessing power beyond the ordinary—”