“Caixuan, why are you calling me ‘Mother’? You’ve never called me that before,” Ya Ping said, worried, as she observed her daughter’s strange behavior but couldn’t pinpoint what was off.
“Mom,” Xu Caitong lowered her head, confused herself about her own state.
“Alright, Caixuan, there’s a crowd of neighbors downstairs who’ve come to see you. They heard you’re back. Haven’t you changed clothes yet? Go change and come down quickly.” Xu Caitong nodded, turned back into her room, and sat on the bed. She was indeed back home, but she hadn’t adjusted to reality yet. She was happy to see her parents again, but beneath the happiness, a faint sorrow welled up.
“Caixuan, Caixuan,” Ya Ping called out several times from downstairs with no response. She asked Lin Ma to go up and invite the young lady down. Lin Ma opened Caitong’s door, where Caitong sat dazed on the bed, still in her old clothes. Lin Ma approached gently, calling out a few times before Caitong slowly lifted her head, staring blankly at Lin Ma.
“Miss, Madam is calling you downstairs.”
“Oh,” Xu Caitong jumped off the bed, “I’ll come down after changing.”
As she spoke, she went to her wardrobe to find clothes. She picked out a light blue suit and went to the bathroom to change. As she undressed, she touched the necklace Liu Bugun had given her, tears falling as she caressed the pearls. Why did she have to come back? When she wanted to return, she couldn’t, and now when she didn’t want to, she was forced back.
“Miss, are you ready?” Lin Ma knocked on the door.
Xu Caitong wiped away her tears, quickly dressed, and took down the hairpins, letting her hair fall loose. With a forced smile, she went downstairs. Many neighbors were there, including Mr. and Mrs. Liang and their son, whom she had met earlier on the road. Ya Ping’s family was in the jewelry wholesale business, and after the Cultural Revolution, their confiscated property was returned by the government. Ya Ping was their only child, and after marrying Xu Guang, he took over the family business, allowing her parents to live leisurely. Thus, their neighbors were all wealthy or influential.
“Caixuan, you’re back?”
“Caixuan is really back,” the neighbors said, crowding around her with questions.
A young man in his twenties, Binghui Liang, the son of Mr. Liang, sat on the sofa, giving her a shy smile.
“Caixuan, you’ve lost weight,” Mrs. Liang said, examining her.
“Caixuan, where have you been these past six months? Do you know how hard your parents looked for you?” another neighbor, Mrs. He, asked.
“Yes, Caixuan, Mr. Liang said you came back wearing ancient clothes. Were you filming?” Mrs. Liang inquired further.
“No,” Xu Caitong said, standing in the middle of the living room. She found the questions bothersome, but she knew she had to entertain her well-meaning visitors. “I doubt you’d believe me if I told you.”
“What happened, Caixuan?” Xu Guang asked, having not yet had the chance to ask his daughter where she had been for the past six months due to the influx of neighbors.
“Dad, I was lost in a time tunnel, in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period,” Caitong revealed, and everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Caixuan, are you mentally disturbed to say such things?” Mrs. He shook her head in reproach.
“Are you making up such a big lie because you didn’t want to come home?” Xu Caitong gave a cold laugh, ignoring her.
“No!” Binghui Liang stood up. “I’ve heard of time tunnels. Someone accidentally flew into one and came back two hours later than they should have.”
“Really?” Everyone was astounded and started asking Caitong about her adventures in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Caitong remained silent, ignoring their questions, her mind drifting back to the ancient man she left behind, her mind wandering.
“Dad, Mom, I’m very tired, I’d like to go up and rest,” Caitong said, a deep sense of loss in her eyes. Xu Guang and Ya Ping, seeing her exhaustion, nodded for her to go back to her room. Caitong returned to her room under the curious gaze of the neighbors, shutting the door with a “bang.” The living room erupted into a heated debate about whether time tunnels really existed. Xu Guang believed his daughter; she had indeed been lost in a time tunnel, even though he didn’t understand what that meant. His daughter was always well-behaved, albeit independent and not overly reliant on family, but young people should have ideals and be impulsive.
Caitong retreated to her room, sitting by the window, chin in hand, staring blankly at the sky. She felt listless, a strange worry creeping over her. Alas, the joy of reunion was tinged with the pain of separation! The black horse! She remembered and wondered what her father had done with it.
“Dad,” Xu Caitong called out loudly from her room.
“Yes?” Xu Guang responded loudly, hearing his daughter’s call.
“What about that black horse? What did you do with it?”
