Regarding Rong Qian’s question, Lu Xuan and Chen Shiyi exchanged a glance, both wearing expressions of guilt and regret.

Lu Xuan said, “Rong Qian, regarding this matter, we’re very sorry.”

“What do you mean?” Rong Qian didn’t understand. Could it be that her warning hadn’t had any effect at all?

As it turned out, Rong Qian had guessed correctly.

The reason Lu Xuan and Chen Shiyi felt guilty was that after they graduated, they had returned to China—and back then, it was Shen Yi who had bought their plane tickets home.

At the time, Lu Xuan hadn’t understood why Shen Yi was so eager to get them to leave. It was only later that he realized Shen Yi had been afraid of dragging them down with him.

After returning home, Lu Xuan and Chen Shiyi had focused on their careers. Back then, staying in touch with a friend far away overseas wasn’t as convenient as it is now with mobile phones.

Moreover, Shen Yi hadn’t stayed in any one fixed place for long afterward, and over time, they lost contact.

What they knew about Shen Yi’s movements and news came from the media and newspapers, but what the media said was half true and half false—something to take with a grain of salt.

Later still, they had taken part in a major project, and once the project started, they had no way of contacting the outside world.

So by the time they wanted to find out how Shen Yi was doing, they were told that he had gone missing at sea.

Actually, at that point, Lu Xuan and Chen Shiyi had remembered what Rong Qian had told them back then.

But as time went on, over more than a decade, they had forgotten about it again.

Lu Xuan apologized to Rong Qian: “I’m sorry, it’s our fault for not paying enough attention. If we had been more careful back then, maybe nothing would have happened to Shen Yi.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Some things may have been destined long ago. Besides, if you had given up your own careers and the contributions you’ve made to the country for Shen Yi’s sake, wouldn’t that make me a sinner for all eternity?”

Rong Qian had hoped to change history, yet she was also relieved that history hadn’t changed because of her.

Moreover, through this test, Rong Qian had also discovered something—that changing history was a terrifying thing.

If Lu Xuan and Chen Shiyi had listened to her back then, dropped their careers, and gone to stay by Shen Yi’s side, the trajectory of their entire lives would have been altered.

They wouldn’t have become physicists, nor would they have become professors.

Rong Qian simply couldn’t bear the weight of such a consequence.

At this point, Lu Xuan remembered something else. He asked her, “I remember you told us to find out the truth behind Shen Yi’s disappearance, because it concerned your safety. Can you tell us now what that’s all about?”

Before answering his question, Rong Qian asked him in return, “Do you know how I traveled back in time?”

Lu Xuan shook his head. Rong Qian told him, “It’s a photo from the past. Whenever I face a life-or-death moment, the photo turns to ash and carries me back to the era when Shen Yi was still alive.”

Lu Xuan was stunned. “You mean, by the time we saw you, you had already been in a life-or-death situation?”

“Just about two hours ago. If I hadn’t traveled back, this part of my skull would already be cracked open right now.” Rong Qian casually pointed to a spot on the back of her head.

Both Lu Xuan and Chen Shiyi were stunned. And here she was saying it so casually—just listening to it made their hearts pound with fright!

Rong Qian didn’t hide anything from them either, telling them everything that had happened during this period that needed to be told.

After hearing all this, Chen Shiyi murmured under her breath without thinking, “If Shen Yi knew about this, how heartbroken would he be…”

“Hmm? What did you say?” Rong Qian hadn’t heard clearly.

Chen Shiyi quickly shook her head. “Nothing.”

Though Chen Shiyi said it was nothing, inside she was actually quite worried.

Rong Qian had hidden something this big from him. When Shen Yi found out one day that every single time Rong Qian could only come see him at the brink of life and death, how distressed would he be?

At this point, Lu Xuan suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh right, I’ve collected some newspapers related to Shen Yi. I don’t know if they’ll be useful—would you like to take a look?”

“Of course I would!”

This was a new discovery. Newspapers printed all sorts of news, big and small, and regardless of whether the content was true or false, she needed to know about it.

The newspapers Lu Xuan had collected filled an entire box. These newspapers could no longer be found anywhere now—fortunately he had kept them.

Rong Qian casually picked up the newspaper on top and looked it over. She found that Shen Yi’s name was mentioned in the entertainment section, but there was no photo of Shen Yi—instead, there was an attached photo of a man being interviewed by the media.

Rong Qian asked who this man was. Lu Xuan glanced at it and said, “I remember, this person is Shen Yi’s manager, named Xu Mo.”

“Xu Mo?” Rong Qian looked over the content carefully, then asked him, “Do you know if this Xu Mo is still alive? And where is he now?”

Lu Xuan thought about it for a moment before saying, “I remember he seemed to have gone back to his hometown, but where his hometown is, I’m not sure either.”

“It’s fine, that’s not a big problem. I’ll check it as soon as I get back to the station.” It was getting late, and Rong Qian didn’t have time to look at much more, so she put the newspapers back into the box.

“Oh right, do you have any photos of me?” Rong Qian suddenly thought of this—if she had a photo, she could travel back again.

Lu Xuan shook his head regretfully. “No. And as far as we remember, we never saw you again afterward.”

“Alright, I understand. I’ll take these newspapers with me. When I get back, I want to go find Xu Zhiwei again and ask him about some more details.” Rong Qian sealed the box with tape, picked up the heavy carton, and turned to leave.

Lu Xuan hurriedly asked her, “Is there anything you need help with?”

“Eating well, staying healthy—that’s the biggest help you can give me.” Rong Qian said with a smile.

Lu Xuan was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help laughing. She really hadn’t changed at all.

“Oh right, you named your grandson Lu Huaiyi—does that mean it’s in memory of Shen Yi?” Rong Qian remembered to ask as she was about to leave.

Lu Xuan nodded. “Yes.”

“He’s a lot like you.” Rong Qian said this, then turned and walked away with a smile.

Lu Xuan blinked. A lot alike? Did she mean in personality? He asked Chen Shiyi, “Are we really that alike?”

“Mm, very alike!” Chen Shiyi laughed secretly to herself.

As Rong Qian came down the stairs, she immediately saw Zhang Hao and Lu Huaiyi tugging at each other.

The moment Lu Huaiyi saw Rong Qian, he immediately shook Zhang Hao off and hurried over to her, asking nervously, “Did my grandfather do something? Why did you need to talk to my grandfather?”

“What are you so nervous about? Do you suspect your grandfather of breaking the law or something?” Rong Qian threw the question back at him.

Hearing this, Lu Huaiyi also felt that he had overreacted. He said, somewhat lacking confidence, “Then… then why did you need to talk to my grandfather? And you even took the newspapers he’s kept hidden for so many years.”

“You’ve seen these newspapers?”

Lu Huaiyi said with a proud look, “Of course! I saw them when I was a kid. I even figured out that all these newspapers have something in common!”

“What do they have in common?” Rong Qian asked, though she already knew the answer.

Lu Huaiyi looked left and right, then leaned in close to Rong Qian’s ear and whispered, “Every one of those newspapers is connected to a man named Shen Yi!”

As he said this, worried that Rong Qian might not know who this Shen Yi was, Lu Huaiyi added, “This Shen Yi is the genius young man I mentioned to you before—he mysteriously disappeared later!”

“Do you know why he disappeared?” Rong Qian asked him, looking perfectly composed.

Lu Huaiyi gave her a mysterious smile. “Of course I know. Didn’t I just say it? I’ve read all these newspapers—the truth behind Shen Yi’s disappearance is right there in them!”