Yu Xi booked two different types of rooms. One was inside the hotel, located on the second floor for easy access and as a precaution against typhoons. However, the current location at Luyuan Peak, situated in the mid-northern part of the peninsula and far from the sea, meant that even if a typhoon made landfall, it wouldn’t reach this area in the short term.
The other room was the vacation cottage she had researched online. It also belonged to the hotel chain but was located within the scenic area, some distance away from the main hotel. Although the staff were puzzled as to why only two people needed two suites, they didn’t ask questions—wealthy individuals often have peculiar habits.
This season was typically the hotel’s peak tourist period, attracting domestic travelers to Lushan Peninsula for vacations. Activities ranged from hiking and adventure to taking cable cars up the mountain to watch the sunrise or relaxing in a scenic vacation cottage for a few quiet days.
However, since June this year, the hotel’s occupancy rate had dropped significantly. Even during the current peak season, the rate was only 30%, and that was after heavy discounts and promotions.
Among those drawn in by the discounts was Qu Yichen’s family. They had a good financial situation and valued creating family traditions, taking vacations together every holiday. This year, they had initially planned to go to the beach, but since Blue City was just an hour’s drive from the coast, they felt there was nothing new to experience. Instead, they noticed discounted luxury suites at Luyuan Scenic Resort and decided to spend a few days there.
Surprisingly, Qu Yichen, who usually looked forward to holidays, showed little interest this time. He even expressed a strong desire to stay home, claiming it was the safest option. He cited dangers like man-eating sharks and tsunamis at the beach, landslides and mudslides in the mountains, and risks of getting lost or falling while hiking. His paranoid behavior left his parents exasperated.
His parents dismissed his concerns and stuck to their plans, having already arranged with other parents in their social circle to go hiking together. They believed it was essential for the kids to relax before diving into the intense preparation for their final high school year.
Seeing no way to stop his parents’ plans, Qu Yichen spent an entire night drafting a shopping list. The next day, he secretly skipped half a day of school, using his savings from over a decade to buy a large stockpile of supplies. He purchased survival backpacks, outdoor gear, canned food, instant noodles, self-heating meals, and military rations. What he couldn’t carry, he arranged to have delivered to their home.
That day coincided with the last day of the school sports meet, with only two events left in the morning, followed by awards and speeches before dismissal at noon. Qu Yichen’s parents planned to leave after lunch to avoid traffic but returned home to find that their son had skipped school and brought home a pile of supplies. He insisted they load everything into the car, even suggesting tying things to the roof if the trunk wasn’t enough.
Qu Yichen’s father scolded him thoroughly, but his mother, feeling sorry for her son, defended him. She reasoned that teenagers are like this during puberty. Since he spent his allowance on practical items, they might as well take them along—after all, they were just food and supplies.
After meeting up with other parents and classmates at the agreed-upon location, the group set off together for Lushan. The Qu family’s car, overloaded with supplies, drew laughs from everyone else. While the other students teased him for over-preparing, Qu Yichen began doubting himself, wondering if he had been overly paranoid.
By the time they arrived at the Lushan Scenic Resort in the evening, he felt even more out of place. Although the area was elevated, its flat terrain housed numerous hotels and shops, making it seem like anything you might need could be easily purchased. While other families arrived with just a suitcase or two, exuding casual elegance, the Qu family unloaded what looked like survival gear for an impending apocalypse. They had so much to carry that they had to hire hotel staff to use a luggage cart for two trips to get everything to their suite.
This only added to Qu Yichen’s frustration, especially when his classmates couldn’t stop laughing. His mood remained sour until after dinner, when the group went out for a stroll through the nearby shopping district. On the way back, they unexpectedly ran into Yu Zhenzhen. In that instant, Qu Yichen’s spirits soared.
Yu Zhenzhen, however, was in no mood for distractions. Over the past two days, her mind had been filled with questions, especially after witnessing a small thunderstorm at a rest stop. All she wanted now was to get answers from her mother, Yu Xi. Even bumping into Qu Yichen couldn’t distract her, and she found his chatter irritating.
“Zhenzhen, are you staying at this hotel? What a coincidence—we’re just next door!” Qu Yichen said excitedly. His voice faltered as he noticed Yu Xi nearby, lowering into a nervous tone. “Uh, Yu… Teacher Yu.”
“Yes, what a coincidence,” Yu Xi replied with a nod, opening the car’s trunk to retrieve two travel bags she had transferred from the Star House storage mid-trip. The rest of the packed food and supplies had already been stored in the Star House before they hit the highway.
“Why are you so surprised?” Yu Zhenzhen said, unimpressed by Qu Yichen’s overly tense demeanor. “Did you think I’d come here alone?”
“C-can I come find you tomorrow?” he asked hesitantly.
“No need. You’re with so many people; it’ll be noisy,” she replied bluntly. Yu Zhenzhen had never particularly liked Qu Yichen. She had only been nice to him before to irritate Yu Xi intentionally. But now that her mother had become a reborn individual with special abilities, her curiosity about her mother’s secrets far outweighed any lingering grudges.
“Then what if I come alone tomorrow?” Qu Yichen persisted. “Oh, by the way, I’ve started reading stockpiling novels too! I even brought a ton of supplies with me this time.”
This caught Yu Xi’s attention, and she turned to glance at him briefly.
“We’ll see. Anyway, don’t follow us now. If the others see you, it’ll get noisy, and I don’t want anyone knowing I’m staying here,” Yu Zhenzhen said, dismissing him with a wave before lowering the brim of her baseball cap and hurrying after Yu Xi.
Yu Xi, having retrieved the keys to their two rooms, led Yu Zhenzhen through the hotel’s internal passage to their vacation cottage within the scenic area. These cottages cost twice as much as hotel suites due to their larger size—they were standalone two-story buildings—and the included unlimited access to the scenic area with the room card.
The earlier thunderstorm had delayed their trip at the rest stop, and by the time they finally checked into the cottage, it was around 10:30 PM. The two-story cottage had an area of 50-60 square meters per floor. The ground floor featured a living room with a dining table, an open kitchen, and a bathroom with a shower. Upstairs were two bedrooms, a shared bathroom, and a connected balcony. The exterior was decorated with raw wood, giving it a rustic appearance, but the steel-reinforced concrete foundation ensured solid safety—an essential feature for a vacation home in the mountains.
The two luggage bags were just for appearances, containing almost nothing. But when Yu Zhenzhen drew the curtains and turned back, she found that the bags were now filled with her daily essentials and a change of clothes.
Having seen this kind of thing several times now, Yu Zhenzhen was no longer as shocked as before, when her heart would pound nervously at the inexplicable. She simply accepted it as the new normal.
At Yu Xi’s suggestion, Yu Zhenzhen went upstairs to shower in the bathroom there, while Yu Xi used the one downstairs. By the time Yu Zhenzhen came back downstairs in fresh clothes, Yu Xi was already seated on the living room sofa.
“Ask away,” Yu Xi said, as if reading her thoughts.
Yu Zhenzhen originally wanted to feign indifference, maybe throw in a few haughty “hmphs” to act like she wasn’t interested. But the truth was she was
very
interested—curious to the point where she wished she had eight mouths to bombard her mother with all her questions at once.
“Are you really my mom, Yu Xi?”
Yu Xi nodded. According to the rules of this world, before her arrival, this body only had a mechanical consciousness, much like a robot programmed to manage household tasks in her absence. After she “returned,” she inherited everything about this body, including its memories. So, yes, she could indeed claim to be Yu Zhenzhen’s biological mother.
“How did you come back to life?”
“Because I died a month from now. This world is about to encounter some catastrophic events. I died as a result of those events and then returned to a time before they happened.”
With that, Yu Xi exhaled deeply. It seemed as long as she avoided directly mentioning the apocalypse, she could share other details.
“What’s going to happen over this month?”
“I can’t explain everything right now. What I can say is that it’s dangerous—very dangerous. I took you out of school to avoid that danger. But even the airport had new problems, which you’ve probably noticed in the form of time behaving strangely. That’s why I brought you here instead.”
As Yu Xi spoke, she turned on the TV and flipped to a news channel. “I can’t tell you everything yet, but you might find some clues in the news. For now, we’ll stay here for a couple of days. If you need anything—food, clothes, supplies—just let me know.”
“Do you have one of those spaces, like in novels?” Yu Zhenzhen asked suddenly.
“Yes, I do. I have a space where I can store things. It’s very convenient.”
As Yu Xi spoke, she noticed the pale look on Yu Zhenzhen’s face. Reaching out, she gently touched her daughter’s head. “Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, you won’t be in danger. I know you’re still angry at me for not being there to raise you properly before. But look, I’m back now—from a month in the future—and from now on, I’ll do everything I can to protect you.”
How long would she protect her? How long would she stay? Would she always, always be there?
Yu Zhenzhen almost blurted out these sentimental thoughts, but in the end, she held back. She didn’t want to reveal the vulnerable side of herself. She didn’t want to lower the walls she had built over so many years to protect herself. What if her mother left again after a few days to deal with her own business? Adults were the best at lying, and she wasn’t about to fall for it so easily.
With these thoughts in mind, Yu Zhenzhen remained guarded. Yet when Yu Xi gently asked if she was hungry and wanted some late-night snacks, she couldn’t resist nodding.
It’s just food—it doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven her,
she told herself.
But as she happily ate a bowl of warm, flavorful seafood noodle soup and cradled a cup of refreshing lime tangerine tea, she felt a small warmth growing inside her. She took her tea upstairs and went to bed, her heart just a little softer than before.
That night, the rain continued to drizzle softly, neither heavy nor light, finally stopping just before dawn.
The next day dawned extraordinarily bright and clear, and many visitors headed to the mountaintop to watch the sunrise.
For travelers, the holiday had just begun, and for Qu Yichen’s classmates, it was no different. The previous evening, they had worried that the rain might ruin their plans, but when the rain stopped before dawn and the weather turned beautiful, their spirits soared.
Their plan for the day was to take the cable car up to Luyuan Peak. However, there was a minor letdown—Qu Yichen had declared the night before that he didn’t feel like going anywhere today.
True to his word, while the other families arrived in full groups, only Qu’s parents showed up, apologetically explaining that their son wasn’t feeling well and was resting in his room, so he wouldn’t be joining the group activities. However, they assured everyone that they wouldn’t spoil the fun and would still join the larger group.
Hearing this, the others could guess the real situation. If Qu Yichen were genuinely unwell, his parents wouldn’t have left the room at all—they’d have simply sent a message to bow out of the day’s activities. Judging by their presence, it was clear that Qu Yichen had thrown a tantrum about not wanting to go, and his parents, feeling awkward, had decided to come along anyway.
Still, since his parents were there and mingling cheerfully with the other adults, none of the students said anything. The group, filled with high spirits, eagerly entered the scenic area and lined up at the cable car station.
Scenes like this were happening all across the Lushan Peninsula.
It was a holiday. The weather was perfect. Families were reuniting, and friends were gathering. Some people were heading out to sea, others sunbathing on the beach. Someone was hosting a beachfront wedding, while another group planned a trip to the amusement park. Some were heading for a buffet, others for a hike, and still others cycling along the coastline.
Yesterday’s thunderstorms, accompanied by heavy rain, had been covered in the news, with ers showing damaged houses and injuries caused by the lightning strikes.
News ers, rescue teams, and medical personnel had worked tirelessly through the night. Yet for most of the public, as long as the disaster didn’t affect them directly, it remained a distant event, confined to the news.
They would sigh and express sympathy while watching the news, but as soon as the TV was off, they’d excitedly discuss their holiday plans.
So, when the hurricane surged in from the sea, carrying torrential rain and a thunderous roar, most people were caught off guard.
The sky seemed to darken in an instant. The bright sunlight vanished, and those enjoying the beach stopped talking as the sky grew ominously heavy.
Above the ocean, a massive thundercloud loomed, oppressive and immense, casting its shadow over the sea and land.
They had never seen a thundercloud of this magnitude before—vast, suffocating, and blotting out the sun as it approached.
Author’s Note:
The chaos in fragmented worlds will only grow more unpredictable. The next chapter… someone should appear.
Reading Settings
#1a1a1a
#ef4444
Comments