Chapter 83: Entrusting Memories
The “old-fashioned popcorn machine,” due to its potential danger, was placed in a separate area away from the crowd, and the operator was wearing protective gear.
When Jiang Xue and Xiao Luohan arrived, a new batch of kernels had just been poured into the machine. Many people were watching, mostly adults with children, just to hear the loud bang.
A roaring fire licked the black body of the machine. The elderly woman, wearing thick gloves, added a shovelful of coal to the furnace below, operating the bellows with one hand and rotating the machine with the other.
“When it’s ready, the operator will insert the opening of the machine into a bag, and then you’ll hear the bang you heard earlier,” Jiang Xue whispered to Xiao Luohan. “It’s quite dangerous. Sometimes, if the bottom of the bag isn’t secured properly, the popcorn can even fly several meters away—I saw it once when I was very young.”
Xiao Luohan didn’t ask “Why do it if it’s dangerous.” Just by looking at the number of onlookers, she knew that even though popcorn was usually made in large batches only during certain seasons, this craft was still popular.
It didn’t take long to make a batch of popcorn. Soon, she saw the elderly woman take the machine off the fire, insert it into a cloth bag, then skillfully insert a stick and stir.
Remembering Jiang Xue’s warning, she immediately covered her ears.
“Bang!!”
A sweet fragrance wafted through the air, accompanied by the loud bang, the exclamations of the onlookers, the screams of startled children, and the barking of frightened dogs.
Jiang Xue bought a large bag, and after walking away, she said to Xiao Luohan, “They can only use saccharin to make popcorn with this kind of machine. It’s said that using regular sugar makes it bitter and difficult to clean. Anyway, don’t eat too much.”
Despite saying this, she quickly started eating the popcorn.
Xiao Luohan hesitated for a few seconds, then also took a handful.
It was indeed fragrant and sweet, but perhaps because her taste buds were more sensitive, she could taste a slightly bitter aftertaste.
“I’ll take you to try the popcorn at the movie theater sometime…” Jiang Xue stopped mid-sentence, realizing she hadn’t taken Xiao Luo to a movie yet.
There was no time like the present, so she asked directly, “Why don’t we go today? There’s a movie theater in the large mall nearby.”
Her thoughts jumped quickly, but fortunately, Xiao Luohan was already used to it. Since they were out exploring the new world anyway, and had nothing else planned, they called Sister Cheng and went to the four-story mall near the “New Year’s Goods Festival” street.
“The ‘Shiba Inu’ I gave you was bought here,” Jiang Xue said while waiting for the elevator. “Unfortunately, I only bought the original color one. Do you want the different colored one?”
Xiao Luohan originally wanted to say “One is enough.” She wasn’t obsessed with plushies, and since there were already many in Jiang Xue’s room, spending extra money was unnecessary.
But meeting Jiang Xue’s gaze, she knew what answer Jiang Xue wanted to hear, so she smiled and nodded. “Okay, it would be nice to have a pair, so they won’t be lonely when we sleep.”
The mall was much larger than Xiao Luohan had imagined. As soon as they entered, she felt like she was being swallowed by the sea of people.
It was currently school holidays, and with the “New Year’s Goods Festival,” the streets outside were filled with stalls, so the mall was even more crowded.
She couldn’t help but tighten her grip on Jiang Xue’s hand, afraid of getting lost if she let go.
But Jiang Xue didn’t walk straight ahead. Instead, she stayed close to her, switching hands to hold hers and putting her other arm around Xiao Luohan’s shoulders, gently pulling her closer.
Despite the surrounding noise, Xiao Luohan still heard her voice:
“This way, you can feel at ease.”
On their way to the movie theater, Xiao Luohan didn’t dare look up.
The center of the mall had a large atrium, surrounded by a corridor with transparent glass railings. Looking up for too long made her feel dizzy.
When they reached the escalator, Jiang Xue let go of her, reminding her to hold onto the handrail.
Xiao Luohan did as she was told, and at the same time, tentatively brushed her hand against Jiang Xue’s.
Although Jiang Xue had been prepared to hold her hand again since letting go, she hadn’t expected Xiao Luo to directly brush her palm, and she shivered.
She reacted quickly, catching Xiao Luohan’s hand before she could pull it back and holding it tightly.
Neither turned around when they felt gazes from behind.
Jiang Xue pretended to be nonchalant, but her heart was pounding, afraid that Xiao Luo would suddenly confess, taking advantage of this private moment and the festive atmosphere of the New Year’s mall.
If that really happened, how should she respond?
Lost in thought, she reached the top floor where the movie theater was, almost leading Xiao Luo in the wrong direction. Fortunately, Xiao Luo hadn’t said anything, just quietly following her, as if they were only holding hands to prevent getting lost.
Finally arriving at the movie theater and the ticket vending machines, Jiang Xue realized that she hadn’t thought about what movie to watch with Xiao Luo.
She quickly pulled Xiao Luohan to a soft sofa, opened the ticketing app on her phone, selected today’s date, and handed the phone to Xiao Luohan. “You decide what to watch. We’ll buy tickets for whatever catches your eye.”
While Xiao Luohan carefully browsed the movies, Jiang Xue looked around to distract herself, but she was surrounded by either adults with children or couples.
Although there were also students their age, they were all in small groups of three or five.
Jiang Xue started to regret her impulsive decision. She should have chosen another time and asked Xie Xitong or her older sister to join them!
“This one,” Xiao Luohan said, having quickly made her choice.
Jiang Xue took the phone and looked at the synopsis. It was a dance drama with a time-travel theme, blending ancient and modern elements.
She did enjoy watching dance dramas. The performers were beautiful, the dance movements were skillful, and their expressions conveyed the characters’ emotions very well. It was truly a feast for the eyes.
However, enjoying watching and “understanding” were two different things.
Especially the troupe that produced this particular movie. If she remembered correctly, they were known for their abstract and stream-of-consciousness style of storytelling.
But choosing this movie was also a good thing. At least couples usually wouldn’t come to this kind of dance drama with a “high viewing threshold” to be lovey-dovey.
She and Xiao Luo could watch it openly and comfortably.
They chose their seats, placed the order, got their tickets, and before entering, Jiang Xue thought for a moment and took a picture of the tickets for her older sister, further reinforcing the “legitimacy” of their outing.
【Yu Xue: Watching a movie with Xiao Luo! [picture]】
Jiang Mei, who had just finished a segment of work and was taking a break, frowned when she saw the message, but after opening the picture and seeing the movie title, she relaxed.
The two little girls were just cultivating their artistic appreciation.
But she still sent a message to Xie Xitong.
【Sword: How close are they two recently?】
【XiXi Xixi (Winter Break Version): Mei-jiejie~!】
【XiXi Xixi (Winter Break Version): They’re not dating at all.】
Jiang Mei didn’t believe this answer at all.
A-Xi always spoke in a roundabout way, even saying the opposite of what she meant, especially when talking about her younger sister. After all, A-Xi and her younger sister were very close, and she sometimes had to be wary of Jiang Xue suddenly checking their chat logs.
【Sword: OK.】
【XiXi Xixi (Winter Break Version): Is that all, Mei-jiejie?】
【Sword: [You have received a transfer of 666.00 yuan]】
Suddenly receiving a transfer, Xie Xitong sat up in bed, surprised, and after some thought, decided to complain a little more to Jiang Mei.
After all, she had just been bribed.
【XiXi Xixi (Winter Break Version): Delete this and all the following content after reading?】
【Sword: 1】
【XiXi Xixi (Winter Break Version): They’re really not dating. Even my attempts at matchmaking haven’t worked. They both seem to have their own relationship logic, out of consideration for the other. Anyway, there’s no need to worry about this before the college entrance exam.】
【XiXi Xixi (Winter Break Version): But I always feel that the atmosphere between them is very… dreamy, like there are invisible pink bubbles, but if you ask them directly, they both deny having those feelings.】
【XiXi Xixi (Winter Break Version): To give an inappropriate example, they’re the type who would insist they’re not dating even after kissing, as if they’re playing some new kind of game.】
【Sword: OK, I understand.】
【Sword: …Why are you trying to matchmake them?】
【XiXi Xixi (Winter Break Version): [cat playing dumb.jpg]】
Manually deleting all the messages, Jiang Mei sighed, put down her phone, and looked at the artificial plum blossom branch on her desk.
Princess Zhemei, who had single-handedly facilitated this transtemporal communication… no, this “transtemporal relationship,” what would she think if she knew about the two girls’ current situation?
Perhaps because she was thinking about Princess Zhemei, Jiang Mei actually dreamed of the red-clad female general during her lunch break.
But she was severely injured. Although she was sitting upright on a cushion, only her face was clean. Even her neck was covered in festering wounds, oozing black blood.
“…Backlash from the resentful souls?!” Jiang Mei frowned and immediately went to support her. “Can you still hold on? I’ll wake up and go to the Xie family’s home now, it should still be in time—”
“No need,” Xiao Linghan shook her head with a smile. “The prosperous era I hoped for is no longer a dream. Having interfered with causality, I have to pay the price. It’s only a matter of time. If you save me, those resentful souls, without a ‘sacrifice,’ will lose control, harming the world and breaking the seal of the passage between the two worlds, following my soul to your side.”
“Since this disaster was caused by my own obsession, I should be the one to resolve it.” She explained slowly, black blood starting to trickle from her mouth. “I’m here now… to entrust my memories to you.”
Without giving Jiang Mei a choice, she raised her hand and touched her forehead.
A massive influx of memories flooded Jiang Mei’s consciousness. She struggled to process them, realizing that these weren’t just Xiao Linghan’s memories from her birth until her death, but also the subsequent events and changes in Beiliao.
Perhaps the flow of time in the two worlds was different. Xiao Luo had only been here for less than a month, but a century had passed in the ancient world.
“I’ve compressed and sealed the memories. You can access them through ‘blocks’ and ‘search’,” Xiao Linghan said. After coughing up some black blood, her voice became weaker. “The… soul over there won’t dissipate… the Xie family elder and Uncle Seuss… can still cooperate…”
“If Xiao Luo and Jiang Xue ask, just… use these memories to reassure them on my behalf… decades of lies should be enough…”
“…You don’t even want them to see you one last time?” Jiang Mei asked, her head still throbbing, staring at the gradually dimming light in Xiao Linghan’s eyes.
“Just let them keep their hopes… let them believe that I’m still fulfilling my ‘path’ in the other world…” Xiao Linghan smiled at her one last time. “And I… I have indeed… done it.”
She closed her eyes contentedly, her form suddenly transforming into countless fluttering red butterflies, surrounding Jiang Mei and sending her away from the “mindscape,” which was starting to turn white again.
At that moment, in the movie theater, as the red-clad swordswoman on the big screen walked alone towards the last rays of the setting sun sinking below the horizon, Xiao Luohan suddenly felt a wave of intense sadness wash over her.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
