130 A Fate Ordained by Heaven

The suggestion from book friend Kchi is excellent. Indeed, the earlier section regarding the law was a bit ill-considered; I will revise it here, as that law does not apply to the media. Regarding the detail of Zhong Yun being a survivor of the Tongguang Star, I will add a supplementary detail: after receiving the news, Liu Yunqi, in her grief, ordered the media to seal off the information specifically to prevent Zhong Yun’s parents from finding out.

Well, this plot arc concludes here; continuing it further would risk stretching the word count unnecessarily. We shall now move into a new storyline. If you find any bugs, please point them out. I will provide explanations or make revisions.

Some readers have suggested that recent chapters are too melodramatic, but I simply did not want to fall into clichés—though it seems some find it hard to accept. Regardless, thank you to the readers who subscribe to this book. With you there, I will work even harder.

The main text begins:

"I... I... I..." Looking into those playful amber eyes, Zhong Yun stammered, the word "you" stuck in his throat, unable to come out.

He was truly too shocked. Even if he had heard that a meteorite was about to strike the planet Wol, he would not have been this stunned.

Was this woman with the amber eyes not the very same Yu Daoqing who had been stranded on that primitive planet after the Tongguang Star disaster?

How could she be here? Zhong Yun felt completely disoriented.

"It is me," Yu Daoqing said in pure Davorian. She sat before the Jialan zither, her upper body turned toward Zhong Yun. Those amber eyes shimmered with curiosity, as if she found his shock quite amusing.

"Surprised to see me, Martian?" She stood up as she spoke, wearing a light, silk robe that perfectly accentuated her slender figure.

Walking gracefully toward Zhong Yun, Yu Daoqing extended a finger as fair and delicate as a spring onion and tapped him lightly on the forehead while he remained in a daze. "Little brat, I didn't think you'd ever see me again."

Stung by her light touch, Zhong Yun finally normalized a bit. He sighed. "The universe really is small."

Yu Daoqing covered her mouth and laughed, walking over to a chair to sit. "Sit down and talk. Don't just stand there like a fool."

Zhong Yun sat stiffly on the sofa. He was bursting with questions. "How did you end up on that planet?"

"And you? How did you end up there?" Yu Daoqing countered.

Zhong Yun’s face stiffened. He recalled what he had told Ou Feng yesterday and couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had made up so many excuses, and now they were all falling apart.

Observing his reactions, Yu Daoqing sensed his hesitation and said softly, "Don't worry. I didn't expose your lies to little Ou."

"Little Ou?" Zhong Yun was a bit surprised. He studied her closely; he hadn't paid attention to her appearance earlier due to his shock. Only now did he realize that she was no less beautiful than Liu Yunqi—she was a devastating, otherworldly beauty.

The first moment he saw her face, Zhong Yun felt a sense of transparency about her. He had never seen such an exquisite face; it was as if she were a perfect masterpiece carved with painstaking effort by the Creator.

Her beauty made Zhong Yun’s heart flutter. Her delicacy was like unique porcelain that would shatter at a touch, making one feel compelled to be careful.

"No matter how I look at it, you can't be over twenty-five. And yet you call Manager Ou 'little Ou'?" Zhong Yun shook his head, seemingly disapproving of her form of address.

Yu Daoqing smiled gently, her amber eyes again glinting with playfulness. "Do you know how old I am?"

"It’s not like you’re seventy or eighty." Zhong Yun wasn't interested in her age; he had a head full of questions he hadn't resolved yet. "I say, you’re a Davorian—why speak some unintelligible foreign language instead of your own mother tongue?"

Speaking of that, Yu Daoqing was also puzzled. "You clearly knew how to speak, so why did you never open your mouth? You made me think you were mute."

Zhong Yun recalled that, indeed, he hadn't uttered a word in front of her, mostly because his mood at the time had been heavy and he had lacked the desire to speak.

"I was just in a bad mood. You spoke so much, why didn't you ever blurt out a word of your native tongue?"

"Who told you that the escape pod you were sitting in didn't have Davorian markings on it?" Yu Daoqing retorted with sound logic. "Davor doesn't send out ships often; who would have thought that both of us were from Davor?"

It was absurd. A feeling of utter ridiculousness rose in Zhong Yun’s heart. Two Davorians stranded on the same primitive planet, yet unaware of each other's origins. In the end, they had communicated via automatic translators. It was truly unbelievable.

"This is really..." Zhong Yun didn't know how to describe it.

"And in the end, you even lied to me and said you were a Martian." Yu Daoqing felt annoyed just thinking about it.

"I didn't lie to you." Zhong Yun spread his hands. "My ship was called the *Mars*."

Yu Daoqing was left speechless.

After a moment of silence, Zhong Yun asked, "How did you find me?"

"Zhang Xiao, the only survivor of the Tongguang Star. You’re on the news every day; it would be hard not to recognize you. And you fixed my zither..." She paused here, her expression becoming serious.

"What’s wrong?" She had been smiling just a moment ago, and her sudden change of mood baffled him.

"I have a question I want to ask you. Can you answer me honestly?" Yu Daoqing stared intently at Zhong Yun.

"Let’s hear it." Zhong Yun remained noncommittal, thinking to himself that it depended on what she asked. If she wanted to ask about the *Mars*, then he was sorry.

Yu Daoqing’s sudden appearance had completely shattered his plans and caught him off guard. With someone like her, who had shared the adventure on that primitive planet, no one would believe him no matter what story he spun.

"Are you a descendant of the Jialan?"

Her question caught Zhong Yun off guard. He narrowed his eyes, contemplating her motive. Suddenly, he saw a glimmer of anticipation in her eyes.

"Why do you ask?" Zhong Yun didn't deny it immediately.

Yu Daoqing’s eyes brightened. "I have consulted countless zither masters, and none could fix this instrument of mine. I also know many Jialan descendants, and they were equally helpless. But you fixed it, and I couldn't help but suspect."

Zhong Yun weighed the pros and cons in his heart. Finally, he shrugged. "Actually, I don't know if I am."

"There is a way to verify it," Yu Daoqing said. She had been prepared, taking a pale purple, transparent sphere that resembled crystal from nearby. "Hold out your hand."

Zhong Yun obeyed, extending his left hand, and asked, "What is this?" Suddenly, he felt a sting in his middle finger like a needle prick. He pulled his hand back in a hurry. "What are you doing?"

Yu Daoqing took his drop of blood and dripped it onto the purple crystal sphere. A dazzling purple light erupted from within.

"Indeed." Yu Daoqing wept with joy. She put down the sphere, grabbed Zhong Yun’s hand, and said with extreme agitation, "You really are a descendant of the Jialan."

Zhong Yun looked at the crystal sphere still radiating brilliant purple light, then at Yu Daoqing, who was as excited as if she had found a long-lost relative, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

In his past life, he had been as purely Chinese as one could be, and in this life, he was a native-born Davorian. How had he suddenly become a descendant of the Jialan?

Although he had told Liu Yunqi that he was a descendant of the Jialan, that was merely to add a bit of mystery. The story about the Purple Trace Flower was something he had made up on the spot. His hometown was on Blue Zhan Star, which had nothing whatsoever to do with the planet Wol.

Could one of the Zhong family's ancestors really have been a Jialan? This absurd thought flashed through his mind before he dismissed it. No, if he truly had Jialan blood, Xiao Ling could not possibly have been unaware of it.

Either Xiao Ling was wrong, or Yu Daoqing was. Based on past experience, Xiao Ling had never been wrong.

However, Zhong Yun wasn't foolish enough to correct her, so he just let the misunderstanding ride. It was her own mistake, not his intentional deception.

Her hands were so soft. Relaxing, Zhong Yun sensitively sensed the difference. He had held many women's hands, but only a few had given him such a special feeling.

Clasping her hand back, Zhong Yun looked at her with a complex expression. "Could it be that you, too..."

Nodding vigorously, Yu Daoqing sniffled. "I thought I was the only one. I didn't expect..." She pulled her hand away, wiped the tears that had welled up, flashed a smile, and took a breath. "I was just... too happy..."

Zhong Yun felt the softest part of his heart being struck, and his breathing became uncontrollably ragged. The loneliness and helplessness Yu Daoqing revealed in that moment—the indescribable, solitary feeling of being the only one of her kind in the world—resonated deeply within him.

So, she was just like him. In this country, she had no one else of her kind.

A deep sense of pity welled up in Zhong Yun. Fellow travelers in a strange land, their similar circumstances gave him a sense of kinship, as if meeting one of his own. "I know."

His voice seemed to possess a calming magic. Yu Daoqing calmed down slightly.

"We really are fated," Zhong Yun said suddenly with a smile.

Indeed. Looking back, being able to end up on the same primitive planet after a ship crash in the vast, boundless universe was already incredible. Who would have thought that not only did they come from the same country, but they were also both descendants of a high civilization that had vanished five thousand years ago?

The chain of coincidences felt like a dream.

"This is fate ordained by heaven," Zhong Yun said softly.

Yu Daoqing looked at him, slightly startled, and then she smiled. Indeed, this was fate ordained by heaven.

Neither of them spoke again, quietly enjoying the warmth of the moment, which was so rare for both of them.

In the general manager's office on the 900th floor of the Pearl Building, Ou Feng had just seen off a heavyweight guest and glanced at his computer. "Eh? Why hasn't Zhong Yun left yet?"

Ou Feng was a bit curious. The young mistress never liked to spend time alone with men, so why was she making such an exception for Zhong Yun? It seemed the young mistress and Zhong Yun got along very well.

A certain worry rose inexplicably in his heart, but he shook his head and gave a self-deprecating smile. Two such outstanding men had failed to move the young mistress's heart; Zhong Yun was just a little boy, after all.

Ten years had passed, and the young mistress hadn't changed a bit, Ou Feng thought. Tingjian would probably arrive soon; hearing the news of the young mistress's return, he would likely have no heart for work.

What a pity...

Thinking of his twenty-plus years of unrequited love, and how the young mistress remained indifferent, Ou Feng sighed deeply.

PS: I am desperately begging for monthly tickets. The next chapter might be very late; those of you who have to work, don't wait up.