Chapter 722: Change

Yes — the current An Mingyu didn't belong to this world.

But she hadn't discovered this herself. Zhen Xin had told her.

She didn't know when Zhen Xin had seen through her identity. Perhaps from the very start. Perhaps mid-conversation. But one thing was certain: it was only after An Mingyu had recounted the cause and effect of the Time trial that Zhen Xin recognized she wasn't this world's An Mingyu — and used the tangerine peel to... delicately deliver the answer.

The reason was simple: Zhen Xin never tested An Mingyu. Only An Mingyu ever tested Zhen Xin — to make sure the other wasn't Zhen Yi.

Yet today, this bewildering, out-of-nowhere test had stunned An Mingyu on the spot!

Think about it: under what circumstances would Zhen Xin test a best friend who'd entered her museum via poker card and come begging for help?

Before this Time trial, An Mingyu couldn't think of a single answer.

But the previous trial had been about identity — and that forced her suspicions in this direction!

Zhen Xin had absolutely noticed the differences between her and the original An Mingyu. That was why she'd dropped the hint.

She knew the other was Zhen Xin. Absolutely Zhen Xin. But she deliberately misidentified her as Zhen Yi, right to her face.

And Zhen Xin played along. She even impersonated her own sister — all so the escape route An Mingyu had offered could work, granting them both a sliver of comfort.

Because neither An Mingyu nor Zhen Xin wanted to shatter this friendship that should have been whole. Even though An Mingyu was no longer this world's An Mingyu, at least for now — when Zhen Xin couldn't be sure whether there was any chance of getting the original one back — neither of them wanted to end this bond, closer than blood, so... muddled and incomplete.

But for An Mingyu, the blow was devastating.

Everything had been correct. The initial Rainbow Orchid color had been right. So how could it have—

Wait!

The Rainbow Orchid color!

When had she first seen the red orchids?

Obviously — when she and Cheng Shi left the inn on the first separate exploration.

True: the very first glance after leaving the inn had confirmed the world's anchor-point.

But... what if someone had already changed before that confirmation!?

An Mingyu remembered: at the trial's very beginning, there had been an hour mark — right after their descent!

But what baffled her was that at that moment, she'd clearly "seen" the Doctor. So why would—

'Oh no.'

At this realization, the die slipped from her hand.

Because she'd suddenly recognized something: her "seeing" wasn't the same as everyone else's!

At the trial's start, she had indeed "seen" the Doctor. But the problem was — she remembered the Doctor had his back to her. So her "field of vision" contained the Doctor, but the Doctor's field of vision didn't contain her!

If Time's rules were strict enough to require true "line of sight," then at that hour mark — the moment she was watching the Doctor's back — both players in that room might have already become Time discrepancies.

So it wasn't just her — the Doctor didn't belong to this world either!

The Blind One went numb. She recalled the Doctor's final behavior — his confident confirmation of his own identity. Looking back now: had that Doctor used a truth to tell a lie?

Had he truly been unaware that the discrepancy had already happened to him? Or had he deliberately planned to leave his original world through this trial?

But why would he?

Of course — Cheng Shi had said he was a slice. He was 0221's slice!

So the Doctor who'd fallen into the discrepancy with her had known all along he was a slice — and used this trial to cross into another world?

A world more favorable to his identity — or one that freed him from his old identity's trap!?

'Well played, Truth believer. Well played, shadow-stalking assassin.'

'You actually found a gap in Time's all-encompassing shadow.'

But why had she herself never changed afterward?

The answer was simple: because after that, she'd been with Cheng Shi the entire time. That meticulous Fate Weaver had anchored her existence by keeping her in his line of sight at every hour mark.

"..."

After piecing it all together, An Mingyu fell silent. She had to consider her own situation. Thinking it through, she once again produced the Remembrance Needle.

Until Lao Deng was dealt with, this couldn't be used. But now...

That Fate Weaver who'd walked beside her through the trial had seemingly become the only person she could trust in this world.

So this item — meant to make her forget him — should she still use it?

Moreover, if he learned her true identity... would he still trust her?

An Mingyu slumped across her desk, expression grave, and sank into deep thought.

...

Meanwhile, back at the museum.

The instant the Blind One left, the "Zhen Yi" who'd been playfully chasing and teasing her drained every smile from her face. She retracted her outstretched hands, stood frozen in place, head bowed, biting her lip so hard it drew blood.

One drop. Two drops. Three drops...

Tears and blood fell in alternation, spattering against the floor and breaking into unblending droplets — water beads and blood spheres rolling away in every direction.

They rolled farther and farther apart. Just like the distance between Zhen Xin and An Mingyu. Never to close again.

Zhen Xin cried. This was the second time in her life. But she composed herself as quickly as the Blind One had — wiped her tears, cleaned the blood, fetched a cloth, and scrubbed every stain from the floor until it was spotless.

Yet she differed from the current Blind One in one crucial way: the instant she'd seen through the other's identity, this brilliant former Deceit Chosen had already guessed why this world's An Mingyu hadn't come back!

She tossed the cloth aside and hugged her knees on the floor — a posture practiced enough to break hearts.

She stared at the reflection on the polished floor — another blurred version of herself — and murmured softly, just like the Blind One:

"Who are you?

Are you me too?

Then your luck is really good.

Oh — sorry. I know things are hard for you right now. But what I mean is, at least Ming Yu found out. That's why she chose to help you.

Right, Ming Yu? Only when you see another me suffering would you set aside the me who's here... and go help her instead..."

Zhen Xin bit her lip again. She reached down and touched the cold face of that other self on the floor.

"So cold.

She's wonderful. I don't know if You sent her back to comfort me, but she really is wonderful. Better than I imagined.

Have you met her? Probably not.

Her story didn't include you. But I've gotten to know her. Let me tell you about her, Ming Yu.

She's... warm. So much warmer than you, you cold little thing..."