“!” Bai Wu immediately shifted his attention to Xu Lan. He locked his eyes onto Xu Lan in a death stare so intense that it was almost capable of burning a hole.

“Eh, young brother, you may be able to put whatever you like in your mouth, but you have to be careful about what comes out of it. Indeed, I was anxiously rushing home to check on my wife last night. I bumped into Bai Wu just this morning,” Xu Lan answered resentfully while avoiding eye contact Bai Wu.

“Hm? And how did you guys know each other? I sense some bad blood ¹ , perhaps it’s better to sit down and talk about it.” Wang Meng noticed the change in atmosphere and quickly became the peacemaker.

“Hehe, no need. Since you’re all busy, we’ll be leaving.” Xu Lan flashed an awkward smile, turned around and started walking out. Little did he expect that Bai Wu suddenly grabbed his hand, stumbled slightly, and got him to re-enter the room again.

“Keep calm, and explain everything clearly.”

After gnashing his teeth loudly, Bai Wu’s voice finally escaped past his molars. His first reaction was that of disbelief since Xu Lan had been keeping him company in the ward the night before. On second thought, he began to wonder why Xu Lan came to him so late. By that time, it was already in the wee hours of the morning, and furthermore, Xu Lan had had a few drinks.

The atmosphere in the room was both awkward and weird. Wang Meng completely forgot what the exact topic of discussion was. With a shake of the head, Xiao Feng dragged him out of the room. A nice way of describing that action was that they were giving the others some space, but in reality, Wang Meng and Xiao Feng simply did not want to be dragged into the issue.

Bai Wu sat crossed-legged on a chair. Like two rays of light, Bai Wu’s gaze never once shifted away from Xu Lan’s body. Liang Yu, meanwhile, helped Qin Lao sit down, and the three of them waited for Xu Lan to start explaining.

“F*CK! What the hell is all this! You’re making me look like I committed some terrible crime! Didn’t I say that my wife was in the hospital? I should be the one to ask how and why both of you appeared here! Can’t you feel that things are a bit off?”

Xu Lan was in a foul mood. Once he sat down on the sofa, he crossed his legs sloppily.

“Hmph! It’s obvious you were with Bai Wu! The only reason I believed your nonsense was because I’m not empathetic ¹ !” Liang Yu blasted.

“Well, if he’s not with his wife, then who else would he be with? You? It sure is a weird day today. Everyone just seems to turn up here and bark around.”

Bai Wu was roughly able to figure out what Xu Lan was trying to say, but he dreaded the idea of continuously keeping their relationship a secret. He wanted the world to know that Xu Lan was his and that no one could mock his Xu Lan! If only he could do so…

“You!”

“Forget about it! Let’s continue with our business.” Qin Lao grasped his walking stick and struck the shiny floor twice, producing an audible sound. Liang Yu hissed immediately and stared at Bai Wu with pent up anger.

“Just as you were surprised to see us here, it never crossed our minds that we would see you again too. When Xiao Yu told me that he met you, I didn’t believe it. Does this mean that you traveled through the wormhole and came back?” Qin Lao’s leisurely expression was filled with confoundment as he shifted his gaze between Bai Wu and Xu Lan.

“Yes indeed, we came back through the wormhole, but this world isn’t the world that I first met you in…” When it came to the crux, Xu Lan did not beat around the bush. He promptly hurled the entirety of whatever doubts he personally had.

Out of all the people Xu Lan knew, Qin Lao—being someone who specialized in the field of biotechnology—was the only person who could understand the reasons behind the phenomenon. Without holding back, Xu Lan narrated—systemically and in precise detail—whatever he saw, heard, and experienced during the past two days.

“… If what you say is true, then there’s only one explanation.”

“What is it?” Xu Lan