Oh dear, Earthlings are so selfish and frightening.

"She went back first."

Panson glanced at his calm, unruffled face.

Over the years, even though Yichen had never spoken of it, Panson understood. Five years ago, when Xi Yang abruptly vanished without a trace, the pain it caused him was profound. Now she had returned, but did not remember him—the pain could hardly have lessened.

His mother had left when he was six, and within a year, Lin’s father had remarried. That woman eyed him with open hostility. Yichen not only had to hide his illness, but also keep a watchful eye on his stepmother—it was already hard enough. Later, because of Xi Yang, he finally felt the world was a little warmer, but then she disappeared without warning. Now, she was back, but with no memory.

Ah, when would happiness finally come to Yichen?

#

Zhuang Jia wheeled her suitcase toward the boarding gate.

"Miss Zhuang Jia."

She turned her head, puzzled by the call. A middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a suit, eyes narrowed slightly, stood nearby—he seemed vaguely familiar.

She removed her sunglasses, her voice cool and distant. "Are you calling me?"

Xu Hui smiled at her. "It’s true what they say—girls change so much as they grow. Miss Zhuang, you’ve turned out so graceful and beautiful. No wonder Yichen only ever wanted to spend time with you when you were children."

Hearing this, Zhuang Jia realized who he was—Yichen’s stepmother’s brother.

She remembered that this man had never thought much of Yichen.

Her expression grew guarded. "What do you want?"

He must have been secretly observing her for some time if he knew she was at the airport.

She had only been in City A for two days, and neither Yichen nor Panson had contacted her, yet this man already knew of her return.

"Miss Zhuang, could I have a word with you in private?"

"Sorry, I’m about to board," she said, putting her sunglasses back on and preparing to leave.

"Miss Zhuang, you came all this way," Xu Hui hinted, "don’t you think it’s a pity to return empty-handed?"

"I’m here on business," Zhuang Jia’s tone cooled. "The deal is done—there’s no question of returning empty-handed."

She had no intention of engaging further and turned to head to the gate.

"During university, or after graduation, wasn’t there more than one girl Yichen was close with?"

What did he mean?

Did he know about Xi Yang? Or about Yichen’s amnesia?

Throughout university, neither Yichen nor Panson nor she had ever mentioned Xi Yang to his family.

Zhuang Jia remained silent, and Xu Hui smiled with deliberate mystery. "Miss Zhuang, you and Yichen have been close since childhood. Now that you’re back, why not visit TC and catch up with him?"

"Sorry, I have other matters to attend to. I’ll see Yichen another time," Zhuang Jia said, not wasting another word. She pulled her suitcase and strode toward her flight.

It seemed Zhuang Jia was truly devoted to Lin Yichen—even after all these years, she still protected him this fiercely.

#

Little Qi tapped her forehead, realizing she’d been so busy eating that she’d forgotten to mention running into Zhuang Jia.

But then, she wasn’t Xi Yang, so whether she said anything or not didn’t matter.

She tapped her forehead again—she’d forgotten the task Auntie had given her. Truly, greediness is a fault.

Little Qi patted her stomach. "It’s been almost an hour. I’ve digested enough. Time to go to that guy’s company and look for the signal device."

Yichen was about to drive down to the underground garage when suddenly, all the passersby and cars froze in place.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure, bouncing lightly toward the building’s entrance.

What was going on?

He got out of the car immediately and strode toward the building.

But the figure had vanished.

By then, everyone else—the people and cars—were moving as usual.

"Did you just notice anything strange?" he asked a passerby.

The person shook their head in confusion.

Yichen rubbed his brow. Was he hallucinating more and more lately?

Had he just imagined seeing Xi Yang?

He called Fang Li to park his car in the garage and walked into the building.

The company was huge, and Little Qi searched for a long time before finally finding the president’s office.

She slipped inside, glancing around the spacious office. Wow, Lin Yichen’s lair was enormous—bright, stylish, imposing yet minimalist. Yes, it matched his temperament perfectly.

After admiring the office, she began searching.

After a while, she smacked her head—how stupid, why not use her superpowers?

Just then, she sensed footsteps approaching.

That guy must be coming—she had to hide, quickly.

Before hiding, she remembered the mess she’d made and used her powers to return everything to its place.

Yichen’s handsome face looked weary—he hadn’t seen Xi Yang anywhere in the building.

It must have been another hallucination.

He picked up his phone to call Panson, then noticed the documents on his desk weren’t arranged as he’d left them.

He picked them up and glanced through them.

No employee would dare touch anything in the president’s office.

He was certain the documents hadn’t been like this.

A faint sound seemed to reach his ear, and his expression chilled. "Who’s there? Come out."

Little Qi could have kicked herself—after all this time, she still had the hiccups.

Well, since she’d been found, she might as well come out openly.

In any case, with him here, her powers wouldn’t work.

"It’s me."

"Xi Yang?"

Suddenly recalling the scene at the entrance, he asked, "Xi Yang, do you practice witchcraft?"

"……"

Little Qi said bluntly, "I’ll be honest—I’m an alien."

An alien? Yichen’s dark eyes searched her. "Xi Yang, did you have a car accident…" he pointed at his own head, "Did something go wrong here?"

"……"

"I really am an alien," she pressed on. She might as well ask him directly about the signal device. "You saved me after my accident, and I lost my signal device because of it. Now I can’t go home, so please tell me honestly—do you have my signal device…"

"You mean, I saved you after your accident?" he interrupted, puzzled.

"That’s right."

"When I crashed, there wasn’t anyone around," Yichen recalled. "Why didn’t I see you there?"

"You were unconscious and covered in blood. I used my superpowers to save you."

"Superpowers?"

"Yes."

So that explained why he’d walked away from the accident unscathed.

And just now, the frozen people and cars—that was her doing with her superpowers?

But how could Xi Yang have superpowers?

"You have superpowers? Show me one now?"

"……"

"I don’t know why, but whenever you’re around, I can’t use my powers."

Did the accident really leave Xi Yang with a head injury?

"Xi Yang, how about this—come to my research department, let’s run some genetic tests and see…"

"No, no, no," Little Qi hurriedly backed away from him, alarmed. "You’d turn me into a lab rat!"

Didn’t he love Ye Xi Yang? How could he bear to experiment on her?

Could it be he was after the Nobel Prize in biology?

Oh dear, Earthlings are so selfish and scary.

It seemed she’d have to be more careful hiding her identity as an alien.

"Actually, I was just joking with you. I’m an ordinary earthling who grew up eating rice, really."

Yichen had only pretended to believe her to observe her reaction.

Sure enough, when tested, she blurted out the truth.

He’d known her since college, and this claim of being an alien—how could he believe it?

Still, Yichen was now fairly certain that Xi Yang’s head injury from the accident had left its mark.

He couldn’t ask directly about the signal device, and with him here, she couldn’t search for it. She’d have to leave and figure out another plan.