The afternoon had passed its quiet lull. Vendors were setting up their stalls, children's laughter carried across the park, couples strolled with their dogs, and others lingered beneath the harsh blaze of the sun. By the time Yuexin slowed her steps, the streets had fully awakened.
"GRRRRROOOOWL"
Her stomach growled loudly. "Huhh... I'm feeling so hungry. ... Twelve... twelve..." she murmured as she scanned the area. Then...
"There!! Block 12. Unit C."
The building stood modestly compared to the hotel— eight floors, clean exterior, slightly older design but well-maintained.
Yuexin exhaled. "…Finally."
She stepped inside the building. The hallway smelled faintly of cleaning solution. The lights were steady. No hidden surveillance vibe. No overly polite receptionist watching keeping an eye on her.
She took the stairs since there was not elevator. "…I like this place already."
She stopped in front of the door with plate no. 404. She just stood there for a second. Then she raised her hand and tapped the keypad.
0417 0622. A soft beep came out from the keypad, then the lock clicked open.
Yuexin blinked. "…He didn't change it. That's either very convenient or very irresponsible." Then she pushed the door open.
The room was quiet, clean and exactly how she remembered—or rather, how she would remember. The furniture was simple but complete. It had a couch, a dinning table, a study room, a bedroom and some cactus. Everything was in place.
"…Okay," she said slowly, stepping inside. "Looks like no one's home."
She closed the door behind her and walked further in, checking each space quickly.
"Bedroom empty, kitchen unused and balcony empty too." She claimed. She then returned to the center of the room, hands on her hips and nodded.
"Confirmed, I have successfully broken into my own future apartment."
She dropped onto the couch and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
"…If I remember correctly…" She frowned slightly. "He wasn't even in the country around this time. Ahh… right." She sat up. "… around May ." Her fingers tapped lightly against her knee as she recalled it. —He left for Averon."
Averon is a neighboring country of Zhenhai, close enough for travel but far enough to lose contact.
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "For that research thing…what was it called again…"
...
"Interlinked Systems Study? ...Anyway it's quite a coincidence! Brother had to be away from home at the right time.
Yuexin sat up properly now, her expression more focused. "Alright! Now it's time to plan what I'm going to do next.
"First," she said, raising a finger, "I should definitely stay low and make less trouble since I am not from this time line. If the authorities find out that I'm not from this time line, then they will definitely won't leave me untouched. Second… figure out how to go back to my own time line in the year 4032. Third, ...I should try to avoid people from the ARB and those people from the hotel.
While Yuexin was analyzing her situation, some where else, somewhere far.
In Winter Cherry Hotel. He Chen had found out about her disappearance when he sent someone to check on her.
The staff forced the lock, the master key sliding in with a dull click. Inside, the air was stale. One of them lay bound in the bedroom, rope cutting deep into skin. "Call it in," the man barked into his radio.
He Chen didn't move. His brows tightened, voice low. "…Is she there?"
"No."
The revolving door spun. Minye stepped through, her smile bright, too bright. "Morning, He Chen. How's my guest? Slept well?"
A bead of sweat traced his neck. His reply was smooth, practiced. "She went for a walk."
"A walk? Where?"
He Chen's tone sharpened. "She tied up your staff. Changed clothes. Walked out as one of them."
Minye's smile fractured. Fury lit her eyes. "And you let her slip away?"
She strode toward the elevator, heels striking the marble. He Chen gestured silently to the desk clerk, then followed.
"Check every camera. Streets, malls, alleys. Send men. Find her!" Minye's voice cut through the lobby. "HQ will laugh when they hear Xu Minye's top agent lost her."
He Chen's lips curved faintly, amusement flickering beneath the calm. "Director Minye, don't trouble yourself," he murmured. "I'll find her. Without fail. But tell me—who is she? Why does she matter?"
Minye halted, her anger cooling to something unreadable. "You'll know soon enough."
."Back in the apartment, Yuexin was looking around the rooms for something useful. She went from the living room to the washroom then to the bedroom. But to her surprise she found nothing useful except for one extra tooth brush, some clothes of her brother which she could wear and some money worth only a single bread, which she found them lying on the study table. She let out a soft sigh. "3 Fai! Just 3 Fai. What can I possibly buy from it. " Then she went toward the wardrobe to search it. But that's when she found it.
She hadn't meant to search this far. The inside of the wardrobe was neat and tidy. The clothes were arranged in such a way that it she was barely able to push her hand through it. Her fingers brushed along the inner lines of the wardrobe, but something felt… off. A slight hollow sound.
Yuexin paused. "Wait." She tapped it again. Once. Twice. Her brows drew together as she pressed against it, and with a soft shift, a narrow section of the panel slid inward, revealing a concealed compartment.
She blinked. "You're kidding." Leaning closer, she found a small keypad embedded inside. A passcode lock. For a moment, she just stared at it.
"Why is there a hidden compartment here?" she murmured. "…And why did he never tell me?"
The question lingered. Yuexin straightened slowly, her gaze drifting across the room as if the walls themselves might respond. There had to be something—some kind of clue. He was the type to forget very easily.
Her eyes moved from the desk, to the shelves, to the quiet corners of the room, then stopped. Her eyes landed on a bright blue colored book. It rested near the alcove bed, tucked between the shelves that framed it like a small, quiet library carved into the wall.
Yuexin stared at it for a second. "That book seems so out of place."
She walked over slowly and thoughtful, and picked it up. The cover was smooth beneath her fingers. No title. No markings.
"That's quite a strange book," she decided. She flipped it open and a single page caught her attention.
A few lines, written neatly.
Spring departs, yet something stays.
Count the silent, passing days.
Where blue rests close to sleep—
The answer waits, buried deep.
Yuexin read it once. Then again. "What kind of poem is this. Is it a riddle?" She frowned slightly, glancing around.
"Spring departs…" she repeated under her breath. "…Count the days…"
Her fingers tapped lightly against the edge of the book.
"Maybe it's a clue to the passcode. Hmm... what is it? Is it a date?"
Her gaze drifted downward, unfocused, as though her thoughts had slipped into another season. Spring… Day... isn't that a famous song by B— aah what am I even thinking right now.
But her thoughts pulled her eyes back toward the bed. Where blue rests close to sleep. The answer waits, buried deep. The thought came unbidden, a whisper of intuition. She bent low, her movements deliberate, and slid her left hand beneath the frame. Fingers brushed against something solid—wood, smooth and aged.
She drew out a small box, its surface worn with time. The hinges creaked faintly as she opened it, and the air seemed to thicken with memory. Inside lay photographs of her younger self, faces frozen in innocence, and letters she had once written to her brother—birthday wishes scrawled in her own hand.
A sensation stirred in her chest, fragile yet piercing. He kept them… all these time. Her voice trembled with disbelief, softened by a quiet ache.
Among the relics rested a single piece of paper, red as a sealed secret. On it, the words were stark, almost mocking: "The passcode is 0404."
Yuexin's gaze lingered on the scrap of paper, her breath caught between disbelief and a bitter laugh. The numbers stared back at her—0404. A passcode so absurd it felt like mockery. Her lips curled, half in scorn, half in resignation. Isn't this the plate number of the apartment? Of course. If it was him, what else could she expect?
She pressed the paper flat against her palm, the weight of inevitability settling in. Then, with sudden urgency, she rose, her movements sharp against the silence of the room. The wardrobe loomed before her, its surface concealing secrets long denied. Fingers trembling, she traced the keypad and entered the digits.
A sterile beep broke the stillness. Then—click. The sound was small, but it carried the gravity of revelation. The hidden compartment yielded, its lock undone, and the air seemed to shift as if the room itself exhaled.