"Boss, boss?"
The faint calling seemed to drift from the horizon, slowly seeping into Zhou Wang’s ears.
His consciousness felt heavy, as if he were a drowning man slowly struggling his way up from the depths. Zhou Wang had no idea how much effort it took before he finally saw the light above the surface of the water.
At last, with a gasp of breath he broke free, and the calling became clear, with a slight warmth lingering near his ear.
Zhou Wang was tense at first, but as soon as he felt his body, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He raised his hand, pulled off the blindfold from his face, and turned to see Miao Ying squatting by the bedside, watching him with worry in her eyes.
For a moment, that face became a blur, overlapping with the memory of a pretty face with blonde hair and blue eyes, but as Zhou Wang blinked, everything came back into focus, revealing Miao Ying’s spirited, oval face so close.
Zhou Wang instinctively reached out his hand and wrapped it around her shoulder.
The tangible sensation of contact seemed to anchor Zhou Wang, with sensation rapidly returning to his whole body.
Miao Ying might have sensed the oddity in Zhou Wang’s emotions, but she didn’t resist his actions. Instead, she leaned closer, making it easier for Zhou Wang to encircle her with his palm. She asked softly, "Boss, are you alright?"
"I’m fine..."
Feeling the firmness in his palm and confirming he was indeed back to reality, Zhou Wang finally felt at ease.
Just now, with the system’s prompt that the [Time Gear] had stopped turning, Zhou Wang had several instances of feeling he might not make it back...
That subtle feeling brought about a delayed sense of fear for Zhou Wang, now realizing the potential "life danger" the system warned of. At the time, it might not have seemed too terrifying, like waking abruptly from a nightmare, but reflecting back a while later, it left him with a creeping sense of dread.
"How long did I sleep?"
Zhou Wang reached out his other hand to gently rub his temples and asked simultaneously.
"Over two hours. In another half hour, the plane will land. I’ve been calling you for a long time, but you didn’t wake up..."
"Over two hours, huh?"
Zhou Wang pondered for a moment. When the [Time Gear] loaded, Zhou Wang felt as if he had really experienced a lengthy passage of time, yet in reality, only two hours had passed, which was rather fascinating.
It’s not just the time that’s fascinating, but also how those Memory Fragments integrated into his mind.
In any case, upon waking now, Zhou Wang felt as if he had truly lived through those events, with memories about everyone being so vivid: the top-performing secretary from a prestigious family, the meticulous Chinese housekeeper, the highly-paid professional bodyguard...
If he remembered correctly, during the final attack incident, the bodyguard named Crimea seemed to have perished.
Afterward, he supposedly agreed to the proposal of someone named Wang Ruixi and began preparing to return to the country, while simultaneously erasing his presence at Cloud Trust.
Judging just from this [Memory Fragment], a lot still puzzled Zhou Wang.
But Zhou Wang now vaguely understood why [Kilan’s Time Gear] had a number. This might imply there was more than one [Gear] storing "forgotten time".
Besides the [Gear] numbered 006, there might be a 001, a 002... Perhaps only after turning all the [Gears] could everything be pieced together.
However, the [Time Gear] numbered 006 had already provided Zhou Wang with a wealth of information.
Compared to the sudden influx of memories in his mind, there were so many things Zhou Wang wanted to verify, but considering he was on a plane, it wasn’t convenient. So, he had to suppress his inner restlessness.
While Zhou Wang stayed silent, Miao Ying dared not move. However, her cheeks quietly flushed because Zhou Wang’s hand, unbeknownst to him, had slid to her waist, making her a bit breathless.
Zhou Wang, returning to his senses, realized he might have been holding Miao Ying too tightly, quickly released her, and sat up.
"Let’s go, step outside."
Miao Ying intended to help Zhou Wang, but Zhou Wang stopped her, "I’m really fine."
When the two left the back cabin and returned to the passenger cabin, not only did Jiang Yisen and Cui Yeqing give them ambiguous looks, but Yun Lan also seemed to have said something to Yun Rou, causing Yun Rou to glare at her but unable to suppress a smile as she lowered her head.
Zhou Wang roughly understood the source of their peculiar glances. After all, Miao Ying had been in the back cabin with him for quite a long time, and now coming out with her head lowered and not daring to meet anyone’s gaze, it was easy for people to misunderstand.
But obviously, Zhou Wang didn’t care about that. He just sat down on the sofa, poured himself a glass of champagne from the table, and took a sip. Just as he was about to reach for the cigarette on the table, Cui Yeqing had already approached, offering a cigarette to Zhou Wang and lighting it for him.
"I wonder what brings Mr. Zhou to Beidou. Is it convenient to share?"
"My girlfriend is studying there."
Zhou Wang knew Cui Yeqing was just looking for a topic, and he didn’t hide it, replying with a faint smile.
Cui Yeqing was momentarily taken aback, mainly because at the moment Zhou Wang spoke, he suddenly noticed a subtle change in Zhou Wang’s demeanor.
This feeling was hard to describe, but as someone naturally sensitive in such matters, Cui Yeqing still caught it. Despite only being gone for over two hours, Zhou Wang seemed to have become... more elusive.