Feng Qingyi rubbed her forehead, "Let's talk about the future later. It's getting late, shall we rest early tonight?"
Qin Yuchuan looked at the darkening sky outside, "Alright. Do you want to stay here tonight or go back?"
"Let's go back! Your bed isn't comfortable at all," Feng Qingyi said.
Back at the villa, Qin Yuchuan suddenly asked, "When are your parents free? I'd like to bring my mother to meet them."
"... So soon?" Feng Qingyi was stunned for a moment.
Qin Yuchuan gave her a quick peck on the lips, "Has Qingqing already forgotten what she just promised me?"
Feng Qingyi pressed herself on top of him, "What did I promise you?"
"What do you think?" Qin Yuchuan asked.
Feng Qingyi initiated a kiss, her small hand restlessly tugging at Qin Yuchuan's clothes.
Qin Yuchuan grasped Feng Qingyi's hand, "Qingqing, do you know what you're doing?"
"Taking off your clothes!"
Qin Yuchuan flipped their positions, pinning Feng Qingyi beneath him, "Is Qingqing in such a hurry?"
Hearing this, Feng Qingyi bit Qin Yuchuan's lip, then pushed him away and wrapped herself in the blanket.
Qin Yuchuan touched his bitten lip, "Are you angry?"
Feng Qingyi closed her eyes, not wanting to talk to him.
Qin Yuchuan pulled at the blanket helplessly, "Qingqing, I'm entirely yours, so you don't need to worry or rush. After we're married, everything will be perfect."
Hearing his words, Feng Qingyi reluctantly shared some of the blanket, "I'm going to sleep now, don't disturb me."
...
At the General's Mansion, since Qin Yuchuan's return, visitors had been coming in droves.
Shangguan Yi and Xu Liyan were sitting in the main hall waiting for Qin Yuchuan.
"Shangguan, when Yuchuan arrives, don't bring up Shen Lanyan again. Yuchuan has his own thoughts, and if you insist, it will only damage your relationship," Xu Liyan said.
Shangguan Yi dismissively replied, "Alright, I got it. I don't know what spell that woman has cast on all of you."
Qin Yuchuan entered the main hall, and both Xu Liyan and Shangguan Yi stood up.
Qin Yuchuan said, "Sit down. What brings you both here today?"
Xu Liyan replied, "We knew you were back, but we've been busy lately. Now that we have time, we came to see you. I happened to meet Shangguan on the way, so we came together."
Qin Yuchuan sat down in a chair, "Mm-hmm."
"Yuchuan, have you set a date for your wedding with Miss Feng?" Xu Liyan asked after a moment of silence.
Qin Yuchuan said, "Next month. I'll send you an invitation when it's time."
"Then I'll be looking forward to drinking at your wedding," Xu Liyan said.
Shangguan Yi spoke with a sarcastic tone, "She's just an ill-mannered, fickle woman. I don't know what you all see in her."
"Slandering others behind their backs is not the behavior of a gentleman," Qin Yuchuan said coldly, not intending to be polite. Qingqing might not take these things to heart, but he didn't want her to be slandered or insulted.
Shangguan Yi continued, "Lanyan has liked you since childhood. She's remained unmarried waiting for your return. How can you be so heartless towards her?"
"That's none of my concern. If you feel so sorry for her, why don't you marry her yourself? That would solve everything," Qin Yuchuan said casually.
Shangguan Yi looked at the unfamiliar Qin Yuchuan, "Did that woman say something to you?"
"The 'woman' you're referring to will soon be my wife. If you dislike her so much, you're naturally not welcome in our mansion," Qin Yuchuan said leisurely.
Shangguan Yi stood up, "If that's the case, I have nothing more to say. Farewell!"
After Shangguan Yi left, Xu Liyan spoke, "Shangguan has been close to Shen Lanyan since childhood. What he said today was because of Shen Lanyan. You shouldn't take it to heart."
"Those who follow different paths cannot make plans together. You don't need to mediate. Even without Qingqing, he and I are not on the same path," Qin Yuchuan said.
The two then chatted about the current political situation before having lunch together. Xu Liyan left afterward.
...
After a week of work, Feng Qingyi finally had time to go to Guanyuan Temple with Qin Yuchuan.
To avoid riding in a carriage, Feng Qingyi decided to teleport directly from the villa.
At Guanyuan Temple, Guang'an had been waiting under the ginkgo tree since early morning, with Qian Jue standing beside him.
"They're here," Guang'an said.
Qian Jue replied, "If they're here, why don't you go greet them? What's the use of telling me?"
Guang'an said, "You go bring them to the basement. I'll go there first."
"Alright, you go ahead! I'll go see where those two are now," Qian Jue walked towards the temple gate.
Feng Qingyi followed Qin Yuchuan through the temple gates. They hadn't walked far when they met Qian Jue.
"Qian Jue, why are you here?" Feng Qingyi asked.
Qian Jue replied, "Guang'an asked me to bring you to him. Follow me."
The two followed Qian Jue through a secret passage in the temple, leading to a dark cellar.
Feng Qingyi gripped Qin Yuchuan's hand tightly, "Where is this place? Why are you bringing us here?"
"Why are you in such a hurry? We're almost there," Qian Jue continued leading the way.
As they exited the cellar, they suddenly found themselves in a bright, verdant cottage.
Sunlight filtered through cracks in the stones, and Guang'an stood in the middle of the cottage.
"You're here!" he said.
Qin Yuchuan bowed, "Greetings, Master."
Guang'an placed the space stone he was holding on the central circular steps.
"The time has come to tell you some things," he began. "The phones you use for time travel contain space stones, which belong to a higher plane of existence."
"They shouldn't exist in this world, but due to some accidents, they were scattered here. You happened to obtain phones containing space stones, enabling cross-time communication."
"Since the space stones don't belong to this world, they cause some hidden dangers. Qian Jue and I came to this world because of the energy fluctuations from the space stones. More uncontrollable events might happen in the future."
"Now, only by merging the four space stones together can everything return to normal. I need to extract the space stones from your phones."
Feng Qingyi asked, "What do you mean by everything returning to normal?"
"Simply put, you'll no longer have the ability to travel through time. You'll have to choose one place to stay. You two should think it over carefully," Qian Jue explained.
Feng Qingyi looked at Qin Yuchuan, "What should we do?"
Guang'an said, "I'll give you a month to consider. Come back to me when you've decided."
"We agree. I'm willing to live with her in her world. Qingyi, let's give him our phones," Qin Yuchuan gave Feng Qingyi a meaningful look.
Feng Qingyi whispered, "But what about your mother? You can't never see her again!"
"I have a plan. Let's give them to him first," Qin Yuchuan whispered in Feng Qingyi's ear.
Feng Qingyi reluctantly handed her phone to Guang'an, and Qin Yuchuan did the same.
Guang'an placed both phones on the circular platform. In an instant, the phones and the previously merged space stone floated in the air.
Then, the space stones from the phones separated and merged with the larger space stone, forming a sphere suspended in mid-air.
The two phones slowly landed back on the stone platform.
Guang'an took the space stone, "Now all the space stones have been gathered. I'll give you a month to consider. This space stone belongs to you during this month. After a month, tell me your decision."
After Qin Yuchuan brought Feng Qingyi back to the villa, she looked at him, "You're not really going to abandon your mother for me, are you? That would be unfilial!"
"Then why don't we bring her over too?" Qin Yuchuan said.
Feng Qingyi replied, "I misjudged you. You didn't even ask for your mother's opinion. Besides, she's lived in that world all her life. She'd definitely feel uncomfortable suddenly coming here."
Qin Yuchuan ruffled Feng Qingyi's hair, "I was just joking with you! Remember the dragon and phoenix jade pendants from the other day?"
"Yes, what about them?" Feng Qingyi asked.
Qin Yuchuan explained, "Those two jade pendants can also take us back and forth, but there's one limitation."
"What limitation?" Feng Qingyi asked eagerly.
Qin Yuchuan: "We can only go from this villa to the General's Mansion, and then back to this villa."
"That's enough. Why didn't you tell Guang'an just now?" Feng Qingyi asked.
Qin Yuchuan: "If I had told him, he would have taken the jade pendant too. What would we do then?"
"...But won't this cause unexpected problems?" Feng Qingyi worried.
Qin Yuchuan said: "I told you before that the space-time teleportation array can be upgraded. It can be upgraded three times in total, and I've only upgraded it twice. A few days ago, I thought we had enough points, so I upgraded it."
"The third level's additional function is the ability to transfer part of the array's power to other objects. The only item that met the requirements was the dragon and phoenix jade pendant, so I transferred it to our pendants. I've already tested it, and there were no issues."
"However, the teleportation locations need to be set. Once set, they're fixed and can't be changed. Other than that, there are no restrictions."
Feng Qingyi: "So you were prepared all along. I thought you really didn't want your mother anymore!"
"Do you have a good relationship with my mother?" Qin Yuchuan asked.
Feng Qingyi: "Mainly because she's very good to me, though it might be because she knows you like me."
"Have you spoken with your parents about finding time to have dinner together and discuss our marriage? I really want to bring you home as my wife soon," Qin Yuchuan asked.
Feng Qingyi: "I did mention it, but they said they won't be free until the end of the month."
"Once they confirm a date, I'll bring my mother to meet them," Qin Yuchuan said.
Feng Qingyi nodded, "Alright, I'll tell them and set a date. As for the wedding, we'll have to wait until after I officially graduate."
"Okay, whatever you say. But this time, don't make me wait too long," Qin Yuchuan said, pinching Feng Qingyi's cheek.
Feng Qingyi poked him back, "I know, I know!"
