You on the other side of time

Standing at the door, Si Yang hesitated. He gritted his teeth, knowing he couldn't delay any longer.

He cannot fall; behind him are his elderly parents and his sister who has just escaped death. These are the reasons why he must rebel.

Si Yang raised his hand and gently knocked on the door, afraid that if he knocked too hard, he would startle her while she was fast asleep.

"Yingying, I got you a glass of water."

"Brother, come in." However, to Si Yang's surprise, Si Chuying's voice, though weak, responded to him promptly.

He placed his hand on the doorknob and gently pressed down, and the door slowly opened with a creak.

The room was dimly lit, with the curtains drawn tightly, except for a faint sliver of light that shone through the gaps in the curtains and fell on the desk.

Si Chuying wasn't lying in bed, but sitting in a chair next to her desk, her back to the door, staring blankly at the hourglass on the desk.

The hourglass was made of crystal, a perfectly thin rectangle, filled with purple sand mixed with two golden moon-shaped pieces, and a jar of clear liquid. At this moment, the sand in the upper half was almost gone.

Si Chuying didn't turn around, but simply turned the hourglass upside down, and the fine purple sand on the other end began to slowly fall. Her fingers were so thin they were almost unrecognizable, the knuckles protruding, and there wasn't a trace of flesh on the back of her hand, only bluish veins. In just two weeks, her sister had become this thin; Si Yang's heart clenched.

"Brother, do you remember? This was a gift from Mom. I was so young and didn't understand, I just snatched it from you."

Si Chuying's words were calm, but Si Yang found this calmness terrifying. It was like the calm surface of a lake before a storm; you had no idea what turbulent undercurrents were lurking beneath, or what would happen in the next second.

How could Si Yang not remember? That day, he and Si Chuying argued for most of the day over this hourglass, neither of them willing to give in. It was a coming-of-age gift from his mother, and it held great significance for him; he wouldn't even give it to his sister.

But Si Chuying threw a tantrum, insisting that as the younger sister, her older brother should always give in to her. She even argued that the hourglass was engraved with the words "Moonlight Treasure Box," and that she could use it to reverse time if something bad happened.

He couldn't persuade his sister in the end and had to compromise, "lending" her the hourglass. In his heart, he had already agreed that as long as she liked it, she could keep it.

But he never expected that his sister's casual remark would become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Looking at the hourglass, its surface polished to a gleaming shine from being touched so many times, Si Yang knew that his sister must have prayed countless times to this hourglass, praying that it could change everything.

Si Yang took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "I remember."

"The reason I wanted to take your Moonlight Box was because of 'A Chinese Odyssey.' The Moonlight Box isn't a lucky thing. You see, in 'A Chinese Odyssey,' everyone who touched the Moonlight Box didn't have a happy ending."

Si Chuying finally turned her head slowly, her eyes still empty. Her tone was like a stagnant pool, devoid of any rhythm, as if she were telling a story unrelated to herself in a lifeless tone.

But her words clearly shocked Si Yang. He had always thought that Si Chuying was just playful and domineering in taking his things, and he had never imagined that she had such intentions. Her words were indeed not without reason.

Behind the Moonlight Box in "A Chinese Odyssey," Sun Wukong ultimately loses his beloved, and the demons who fought over the Moonlight Box either die or are injured, none of them having a good ending.

It turns out that this imaginative and sensitive teenage girl just wanted to protect her brother. Because the hourglass was a gift from her mother, she was too embarrassed to express her feelings and could only take it away while bearing the stigma of "bullying her brother."

"You're so silly..." Si Yang wanted to say something more, but his throat felt choked up and he couldn't make a sound.

"You're my brother, and I want you to be well and happy. Actually, I didn't want things to turn out this way. If I'm gone, it will make those people see reality clearly, let you off the hook, and stop Mom and Dad from suffering so much. I think it's worth it." Si Chuying turned her head and glanced at Si Yang. A tiny glimmer of light finally appeared in her eyes—a younger sister's protectiveness towards her older brother.

Si Yang was stunned. He no longer knew how to describe the girl in front of him. The only thing he could do was to carve out a path for her and himself, find evidence, and overturn public opinion.

But he knew all too well that it was incredibly difficult. Once a person's negative image becomes deeply ingrained through word of mouth, overturning it is as difficult as climbing to the heavens.

He took two steps forward, grasped his sister's hand, and said, "Yingying, don't worry, don't do anything foolish again. Your brother will definitely find a way to prevent you from getting hurt again. I will prove that we are not only innocent, but also heroes who saved lives."

Si Chuying didn't speak, but turned her head again and stared blankly at the "Moonlight Box". Her gaze followed the purple sand on it slowly, her face expressionless, as if she hadn't heard him.

After a long while, she nodded gently and spoke slowly and deliberately, "I won't do anything foolish again. I did nothing wrong. I think the only mistake I made was causing all my family members to suffer with me."

"We can't pay for other people's mistakes." Si Yang didn't know if Si Chuying had really thought it through or was just trying to comfort her. But she had said more today than she had in the entire past week.

He recalled that when a person is on the verge of death, their brain goes through a gray-white state, and all things flash before their eyes—sadness, grief, joy, regret, things they most want to go back to in the past, things they most want to make up for. He wondered if Si Chuying, after swallowing a large amount of pills, becoming confused, and having her stomach pumped, had come to understand many things and gained new insights into life.

This is probably what is meant by suddenly becoming enlightened or having a profound realization.

"Well, it's good that you've thought it through. Trust me, I'll be able to resolve our current predicament soon." Si Yang breathed a sigh of relief. He was certain that the landlord was the key to their success. Finding out how single mothers contact each other, their social behaviors, and their daily routines would likely yield significant results.

"Hmm." Si Chuying nodded slightly, not saying anything more, but simply refocusing her attention on the hourglass.

After hesitating for a while, seeing that her emotions were gradually stabilizing, Si Yang finally asked, "By the way, Yingying, could you give me Song Wanxi's phone number? I forgot to save it. I want to ask her something."

"Song Wanxi, who is Song Wanxi?" Si Chuying looked up, her eyes filled with confusion.

"..." This question stumped Si Yang. Normally, when the siblings were bickering, he would definitely retort, "Isn't Song Wanxi your best friend, your idol? What kind of fake besties are you?"

But considering what Si Chuying had just gone through, her mind might not be fully clear yet, so it's not surprising that she forgot something. He had originally asked her with a try-it-and-see attitude, but now, his last glimmer of hope had been completely shattered.

But then I thought, Wen Jinxin has always been Si Chuying's follower, so maybe he left his contact information somewhere?

"It's nothing, it's fine if you don't know me, I was just asking casually." Si Yang paused for a moment, then left the room and went straight back to his own room.

As soon as he entered the room, he took out his phone and dialed Wen Jinxin's number. "Brother Yang, is Yingmei alright?" Before Si Yang could speak, Wen Jinxin's anxious voice came through first.