Time-Traveling Love

Xu Caitong pulled the reins tight, the black horse galloping forward like lightning. Xu Caitong didn’t care about the direction, just wanting to escape, far from the clutches of evil. Not knowing how far she had run, Xu Caitong felt she should stop the horse, calling out several times to slow it down, but the black horse didn’t heed her commands. The horse seemed to pick up speed, and Xu Caitong, terrified, could only cling to the horse’s neck, closing her eyes. She felt the wind rush by her ears, everything around her whizzing past. “Oh, God, who can save me?” She blamed herself for not assessing the situation before urging the horse on; were there people in the grass? Liu Bugun must be frantic looking for her, and she didn’t even know where she was now. If only she had a mobile phone, and he had a pager… At this thought, she couldn’t help but laugh at herself; did she think she was in the 21st century? The black horse continued its wild run, and Xu Caitong, unable to stop it, could only let it take her to an unknown place. Sitting on the horse, she felt like she was riding on clouds. After about two hours of wild running, the horse gradually slowed down and eventually stopped, then walked slowly. Xu Caitong opened her eyes, sat up straight, and looked around. What she saw left her dumbfounded. “Heavens, am I dreaming? Am I… schizophrenic? Mentally… challenged?” High-rises stood tall, with power lines, radio waves, and communication networks crisscrossing. Billboards were everywhere, a scene of a modern city. The place where the horse stood had a row of low but uniquely stylish houses, with trees shading the surroundings. She stood there, stunned. “God, is this all real? Real?” Xu Caitong couldn’t even describe her shock with the phrase ‘stunned’. “Hey, is this the 21st century? Can anyone tell me?” Xu Caitong called out loudly, hoping everything before her wasn’t an illusion. A car approached from across the road, stopped in front of her. Seeing the woman on the horse with no intention of moving, the driver got out after shouting at her. “Hey, aren’t you Miss Xu from next door? Weren’t you missing for half a year? When did you come back? Did you go to film a movie?” The man, about fifty, asked in astonishment seeing Xu Caitong dressed in ancient attire. “Is this really the 21st century? Am I really standing on the ground of the 21st century? You’re not kidding me?” Xu Caitong looked at the man with a dazed expression, still not fully recovered from the shock. Seeing Xu Caitong speaking nonsense, the man quickly pulled out a small mobile phone from his pocket, dialed a number, spoke a few words, then hung up. Soon, another car arrived and stopped behind the horse. The man approached it, and a man and a woman stepped out. Xu Caitong, as if waking from a dream, turned her head, and there were her parents, whom she had longed for day and night. “Mom? Is it really Mom? Am I really back?” Xu Caitong dismounted and rushed into her mother’s embrace. Xu Caitong was overwhelmed with emotions; she had never imagined she could return to the 21st century, to see her parents again. Yaping, Caitong’s mother, hugged her daughter, tears of joy streaming down her face; she had thought her daughter was lost forever when her workplace informed them of her disappearance. “It’s really Caitong, really Caitong.” Xu Guang, seeing his lost and now found daughter, was at a loss for words, having spent half a year searching for her with a substantial reward offered, but to no avail. Now, with his daughter back, how could he not be overjoyed? “Where’s my brother?” Caitong asked, not seeing Haiping. “He’s at school, won’t be back until tonight,” Yaping said. Yaping looked her daughter up and down, puzzled by her ancient costume. “Caitong, where have you been all these months? Why couldn’t we find you? And why are you wearing such strange clothes?” “Mom,” Xu Caitong called softly, overwhelmed with things to say. “What a heartwarming family reunion,” the middle-aged man said, happy for them. “I think you should go home and celebrate properly.” “Oh, we haven’t thanked Mr. Liang yet,” Yaping remembered, having been too excited to thank their neighbor. “Mr. Liang, my husband and I will come to your house another day to express our gratitude.” “Don’t mention it, I’m happy for you that you’ve found your daughter,” Mr. Liang said, returning to his car. Xu Guang had his daughter and wife get in the car, while he led the black horse. Yaping drove with one hand on the wheel, the other holding Caitong’s hand, and soon they were home. “Lin Ma,” Yaping called out as she entered. “Yes,” a woman in her fifties responded, coming out from the kitchen. “The young lady is back, quickly, take her upstairs to change.” “Mom, I can do it myself, no need for Lin Ma,” Xu Caitong said, heading up the stairs. Xu Caitong returned to her room, pushed the door open, and found everything inside unchanged from the day she left home. Slowly, she walked up to the mirror and saw a woman dressed in ancient attire, stunningly beautiful. She touched her own face, not believing that the beauty in the mirror was herself. “Am I dreaming? Is this an illusion from being dazed?” Caitong stared blankly at the mirror, her mind blank. “It’s real, I’ve really come back.” She patted her face to confirm she was indeed standing in her own room. “How can I be back in the modern world? Wasn’t I in the Five Dynasties period over a thousand years ago? How did I return?” She couldn’t figure out what had happened, feeling as if standing on 21st-century soil was unreal. How was he doing? Did he successfully repel the enemy? Xu Caitong sighed deeply. Thinking of Liu Bugun, she turned around to rush out but bumped into Ya Ping who was just coming in. The collision made Ya Ping stagger back, almost falling.