Chapter 20: Space Appears

“Tell me what’s going on between you and Niu Jun. Why is he so concerned about you?” Shen Yanming murmured directly into Bi Qiao’an’s ear while an arm curled securely around her waist.

“Just the class monitor looking after his classmates!” Bi Qiao’an chuckled, recognizing his playful teasing.

Switching topics, she said, “You vanished for two whole months rather than just one week! What exactly happened?”

Shen Yanming’s expression clouded as he explained, “There was an accident that caused a delay.”

Panic flashed in Bi Qiao’an’s eyes. “Accident? What happened? Are you hurt?” She quickly grabbed his left hand, her heart pounding.

Her breath hitched. The ring was gone.

Could the misfortune of losing the ring plague them both? Was her ring safe if his was lost?

As if reading her mind, he reassured her, “It’s here. I’ll explain everything when we get home.”

She mechanically nodded but just could not calm down. She accompanied everyone till eleven-thirty before following Shen Yanming home.

On the way, she recalled that during this time in her previous life, she had drunk quite a bit and was later brought back to the dorm by Xiao Fei. She blacked out that day and only learned about it afterwards from her classmates.

She later asked Xiao Fei if he had seen her ring, and he said no.

Reaching home, Bi Qiao’an practically collapsed onto the couch as exhaustion battled with her sleepiness. Shen Yanming offered a helping hand and guided her towards the bathroom. Inside, she struggled to freshen up as drowsiness seeped into her every movement.

A hint of life returned to Bi Qiao’an’s eyes as she emerged from the bathroom. She quickly pulled Shen Yanming close, her voice laced with concern, “What on earth happened? Why were you so delayed?”

In response, he drew the living room curtains and with a flourish, a bag of potato chips materialized in his right hand.

She covered her mouth in shock. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Exactly,” he confirmed, a smile gracing his lips. Shen Yanming dimmed the living room lights and reached for her hand as he led her forward while silently uttering a single word in his heart, “Enter.”

In an instant, Bi Qiao’an found herself transported from their dim living room to a brightly lit, yet crowded space.

“Brother Yanming, where did this space come from? How big is it?” she exclaimed, her excitement wrestling with her confusion.

Shen Yanming explained, “It’s roughly the size of a mu. ^[1]Mǔ (亩): It corresponds to 1/6 of an acre or 1/15 of a hectare. I accidentally knocked over a crate of red wine in the Southern Province and a shard cut my finger which had the ring on it. The ring disappeared and this space appeared in my mind afterward.”

He gestured towards the ethereal expanse. “There’s no day or night here. It has jade floors and a misty border. I tried walking into the mist but felt an increasing resistance. Perhaps certain conditions are needed to expand the space.”

Turning back to Bi Qiao’an, he continued, “That’s why I was delayed. To maximize storage and utilize the vertical space, I had to buy custom shelves in the South Province. I also visited other cities and secured our supplies in remote warehouses. If the space can be upgraded to hold everything then we’ll store it all inside later. Otherwise, we’ll discreetly transport those goods back and use the external ones first during the doomsday while keeping these as a last resort.”

“Nothing spoils here,” he said with a touch of wonder in his voice. “It’s like a space suspended in time for goods, yet we can enter as a living person! Strange, but incredibly useful.”

Bi Qiao’an’s eyes sparkled. “Brother Yanming, we’re so lucky!”

Shen Yanming grinned. “There’s one more ring. Let’s see if dripping blood on it will create another miracle.”

He strode over to the medical area and retrieved a needle from the first-aid kit. After sterilizing it with alcohol, he gently took Bi Qiao’an’s hand and with a swift prick on her finger which caused her to wince slightly, he drew a bead of blood.

He quickly removed the ring from her neck and held it out for her. The blood vanished upon contact with it, but the ring remained unchanged. He instructed her to touch the wound directly to the ring.

She complied and felt a steady flow of blood trickle from her fingertip being absorbed by the ring. Once the ring was sated, it flew in a mesmerizing display onto her left ring finger and vanished. The wound also miraculously disappeared and left no traces behind.

“What about yours? Is it a space too? And how big?” Shen Yanming inquired with anticipation in his voice.

“Uh, it seems to be about a mu in size as well, but it’s different from yours,” Bi Qiao’an stammered, overwhelmed by the rush of sensations flooding her mind.

She grabbed his hand immediately and silently recited a mental command, “Enter space.” Their surroundings blurred and shifted in the blink of an eye.

This space mirrored Shen Yanming’s in its size and misty ambiance. However, a stark difference separated them– while his boasted a floor of polished jade, Bi Qiao’an’s space showcased fertile, dark soil.

“Qiao’an, this is amazing!” He exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. “We can grow crops here, ensuring we’ll never go hungry again!”

She murmured softly, “No more hunger, that’s true.”

Sensing her subdued mood, he released her and asked gently, “Why are you downcast? Weren’t you just excited about my space?”

Bi Qiao’an felt extremely wronged and her tears welled up uncontrollably. “I was very intoxicated on this day in my previous life. I discovered the ring was missing when I woke up in the dorm the next day. I searched the KTV and found nothing. The cleaning staff said they didn’t pick up anything either.

“I questioned Xiao Fei, who took me back that night, but he claimed he hadn’t seen it.

“I blamed myself so much back then for carelessly losing something so important. I promised Auntie Su to safeguard it closely, yet I lost it just like that.

“Later on, Xiao Fei often brought me food during the harshest time of the apocalypse. I always wondered how he always seemed so well-provisioned while others, like myself, struggled.

“As his status grew, with guards always surrounding him, he still brought me food occasionally. However, that day was my nightmare – after Xiao Fei left, Chen Jin would come to harass me. It was an awful pattern. Looking back now, I think I understand where his status came from. But why did he keep seeking me out?”

“Perhaps guilt or maybe he simply lacked complete control over the space. The latter seems more likely. He most likely assumed since you were the ring’s owner, then you might know something about it. Even if you didn’t, he still deemed it necessary to keep you under his observation. This makes it easier for him to act when the opportunity arises.”

Regardless of the truth behind her previous life, Shen Yanming spared no effort in the most sinister conjecture.

In reality, however, Shen Yanming made quite an accurate speculation.

In Bi Qiao’an’s previous life, as she stumbled back to the dorm in an intoxicated state, her necklace with the ring slipped out and fell unnoticed. Xiao Fei, who was helping her back, didn’t know what bewitchment overcame him to pick up the ring and slip it in his pocket.