After her dramatic cousin stopped acting up, the aloof doctor got anxious.

She paused, then said, "Eat slowly, you still have a long way to go to work."

As Shen Ru chewed her noodles, a silent unease crept over her.

Shen Ruo is truly a hardworking little bee.

In addition to taking over her live streaming room at night, he also found a 9-to-5 job during the day.

Shen Ruo put down her fork, picked up the milk next to her, took a sip, and said, "Satisfied."

I'm going to work.

Li Hehua nodded. "Be careful on the road."

After finishing the last bite of noodles, Shen Ruo went back to her room to change her clothes, picked up her bag, and went out.

As she walked to the door to change her shoes, she glanced back and saw Li Hehua still sitting at the dining table, holding a glass of unfinished warm water, her gaze fixed on the table, lost in thought.

Shen Ruo didn't think much of it, opened the door and went out.

After the door closed, Li Hehua sat at the small dining table and didn't move for a long time.

She looked at the empty plate opposite her, then glanced at the untouched salad bowl, and slowly gripped the glass tightly with her fingers.

She taught her how to make that pasta, and that salad was one of her favorite dishes.

But today my daughter said she didn't like it.

Li Hehua closed her eyes.

Did she come back and switch her daughter with someone else?

……

Qi Wenshen returned to Xinghe Bay. He stood in the entrance hall without turning on the lights.

Moonlight streamed in through the French windows, bathing everything in a cool blue hue.

He saw the pink plush slippers in the entryway.

She always does this: she kicks the door open after entering, and the room ends up crooked and wobbly.

The ceramic lucky cat on the shoe cabinet was something she insisted on buying during one of her shopping trips.

She said that if she placed the cat at the door, it would greet her when she came home every day, but she accidentally knocked off a piece of the cat's ear.

He changed his shoes and went inside. The cushions on the sofa still had the indented shape from where she had nestled, clearly from when she habitually lay on her side while scrolling through her phone.

There was a mug on the coffee table with a half-circle of dried coffee stains at the bottom. She didn't add sugar to her coffee, but she added a lot of milk, leaving faint milk stains on the inside of the mug.

Qi Wenshen stood in the center of the living room, his gaze sweeping from the sofa to the coffee table, then from the coffee table to the bar counter, and finally landing on the potted green ivy that she had almost killed by the French windows.

The faint scent of her shampoo still lingered in the air.

He stood there for a long time, and the composure he had maintained for several days began to crack from the edge.

The crack widened, revealing the churning, chaotic things beneath.

His breathing became rapid, and his heart beat faster and faster, heavier and heavier, until it felt like it was about to burst out of his ribs.

He suddenly squatted down and sat on the carpet.

She used to love walking barefoot on it, saying that the furry texture felt like walking on grass.

He sat on it now, his palms pressing against the downy fur, which felt cool to the touch.

He raised his hand and pressed it against his forehead, his palm against his burning skin, but he couldn't suppress the irritation that welled up from the bottom of his heart.

Qi Wenshen thought he could hold on, that he could talk and laugh in front of Wei Jing, that he could remain calm in the hospital, and that he could subtly extract information from this imposter.

But he couldn't hold on any longer.

He returned here, to this space filled with her presence, only to find himself already riddled with wounds.

"Ruoruo... on what grounds?"

The sound was squeezed out from between his teeth.

"What gives you the right...?"

He slammed his fist into the ground, the pain in his joints arriving belatedly.

"Why did you disappear without a trace after stealing my heart...?"

The dark green carpet was soft; it was her choice.

They say green is good for your eyes, and you can relax when you get home after surgery.

relax?

He doesn't even dare to close his eyes now.

When I close my eyes, all I see is her.

He thought death was the end.

But it turns out that wasn't the case.

What's more cruel than death is that she is alive, yet no longer herself.

"Where...should I look for you?"

He murmured.

We must find her.

This thought, like a poison ivy, grew wildly in the veins, coiled around the heart, and pierced the bone marrow.

She stole his heart, so she has to take responsibility and give it back.

Qi Wenshen got up from the ground and staggered toward the study.

The computer screen lit up, and the cold light made him squint.

He opened his browser and typed in the search box.

Soul swap.

Through.

Parallel world portal, ...

The page redirects to a screen full of metaphysical bloggers, paranormal forums, and science fiction novels.

He clicked on the page with the most followers.

The first one is called Master Xuan Kong.

The profile picture is of an old man with a sage-like appearance.

The description mentions ancestral feng shui, spiritual communication, and relationship recovery.

Qi Wenshen sent a direct private message: 【How do I resolve the soul swap issue?】

The other party replied instantly: "[My lord, this matter requires a consultation of your birth charts. First, please request a love lock talisman, 888 yuan, free shipping via SF Express.]"

Qi Wenshen: "..."

Click on the second one, "Purple Star Saintess," with three million followers.

In the video, she's wearing Hanfu (traditional Han Chinese clothing), with beauty filters maxed out, and her voice is sickeningly sweet, "Babies, today I'll teach you a little trick to attract love! First, we need to invite a pink crystal fox spirit..."

Qi Wenshen scrolled directly to the comments section.

Someone asked: "Sister, is the soul-swapping thing real?"

A: [Of course it's true, but the baby needs to first open their third eye bracelet to see the other soul. The link is below.]

He slammed the notebook shut.

They're all just empty talkers, swindlers who pretend to be something they're not.

Not a single word was about soul swapping, and not a single blogger truly understood what he was asking.

They only know how to sell lucky charms to desperate people and how to squeeze the last drop of profit from other people's suffering.

Qi Wenshen reopened the computer, his eyes bloodshot.

He doesn't believe in superstitions.

He was a PhD, a surgeon, and a materialist who believed in anatomy and pathology.

At this moment, they are like drowning people grasping at straws, frantically trying to salvage themselves in the vast and ethereal ocean of the internet.

The third blogger is a legitimate successor of the Maoshan lineage.

The homepage is full of videos about talismans, with eerie background music.

Qi Wenshen sent a private message: 【Do you know how to return a soul to its rightful place?】

The other party replied: "Brother, in your case, we need to first investigate your karmic connections across three lifetimes. Please provide the birth dates and times of both parties. We also need a 'Resurrection Lamp'; please inquire for pricing details."

Fourth, quantum Buddhism researchers—their names sound sophisticated, but their content is just a jumble of pseudo-scientific jargon.

The essence of the soul is a quantum entangled state, which can achieve cross-dimensional resonance through meditation...

Qi Wenshen sneered.

quantum?

He had read Nature and Science, and he knew that quantum mechanics wasn't used in this way.

But he still asked in the comments section: "[How exactly do I do it?]"

A: [Purchase this course for 1999 yuan. Guaranteed to teach and learn; money-back guarantee if ineffective.]

the fifth.

sixth.

The seventh one...

He clicked mechanically, like a machine out of control.

Browse.

shut down.

Click again.

Three o'clock in the morning.

He leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling.

There was nothing there.

Science can't explain it, and metaphysics is all a hoax.

Qi Wenshen, with countless resources and connections, couldn't even find a way to find her.

My phone suddenly vibrated.

He grabbed it abruptly; it was Wei Jing: "Old Qi, I've managed to keep things under control with the dean, but you have a maximum of one month. After one month, regardless of whether you've found them or not, you must come back."