61 Memories

The winter in the capital city was rather cold. The northwest wind blew her hair, and the tip of her nose was a little red.

“Tong Pei, thank you,” she said in a low voice.

The moment she woke up on the bridge, she seemed to have returned to a moment in her previous life when she had been also lying in the front passenger seat of Tong Pei’s car.

That was the first time she had been driven out of the house by Guo Lin. It was also New Year’s Eve.

Although the winter in Haicheng wasn’t as cold as in Beijing, she had only been wearing a thin sweater and a pair of slippers.

At that time, she had collapsed on the side of the road, tired and hungry. It was Tong Pei who had passed by and found her.

She still remembered that in the cold wind, Tong Pei, who was wearing a windbreaker, had squatted down and put his hand under her nose to test if she was breathing.

She had struggled to open her eyes and used the last of her strength to grab Tong Pei’s hand. That pair of hands was very big and warm. She had resisted the urge to put her cold face against his for warmth and tried her best to open her mouth.

“Save me, save me.”

Then, her consciousness had gradually faded away. She only remembered being wrapped in a windbreaker and placed in the front passenger seat.

That was the first time in her life that she had ever felt warmth from someone other than her adoptive father.

When they got into the car, Tong Pei had turned on all the heating and ordered his assistant to buy clothes, a hot water bottle, and some warm food.

When she woke up again, the car was driving on a highway in Haicheng, and the lights of thousands of houses slowly spread out with the car’s speed.

Guo Miao’s eyes reddened as she looked at the skyscrapers outside the overpass and the scattered cars shuttling back and forth.

“What’s wrong?” At that time, Tong Pei’s voice had also been very gentle.

“I don’t seem to be able to have anything.” This was what she had replied back then.

Family, friends, even a peaceful life was a luxury for Guo Miao at that time.

Hot tears rolled down her face. She had turned her face away, unwilling to let a stranger see her fragile side.

“Humans came into this world without anything,” Tong Pei had said slowly.

Later on, she would repeatedly ponder the meaning of this sentence at countless moments.

In her first life, she didn’t understand the meaning of this sentence and was eventually framed and imprisoned.

When she had woken up in the slums of the Empire, she suddenly understood the meaning of Tong Pei’s words.

She remembered that every moment she clenched her teeth and overcame her difficulties, she would think of the person who had saved her on New Year’s Eve in Haicheng.

Even now, she still couldn’t forget those words or Tong Pei’s bright eyes in the reflection of the lights and fireworks.

The phone suddenly rang, interrupting Guo Miao’s train of thought. She realized that she had been standing at the hotel lobby for a whole 15 minutes.

She picked up the phone and heard Lin Chao’s voice on the other end.

“Boss Mindy, Happy Christmas Eve. Why didn’t you tell me that you were coming to the capital? I just received the news and found out that you were coming.”

These two days happened to be Beijing University’s exam week. Li You and Lin Chao were busy with the exam day and night. They didn’t finish the last paper until this morning.

After the exam, the two of them had gone back to the dormitory and immediately fell asleep. Guo Miao just happened to send a message in the morning when they were sleeping, so they missed it.

“It’s alright. There’s still a long time before the oral examination. We still have time.” Guo Miao had specially reserved a long time for preparation.

“Then, let’s meet at Beijing University tomorrow afternoon. Li You should still be asleep. I’ll talk to him later.”

The two of them quickly agreed on a time and Guo Miao went back to the hotel to sleep.

That night, she slept very well.

The next morning, Guo Miao walked around Beijing and soaked in the festive atmosphere before coming to Beijing University.

Lin Chao and Li You seemed to have had a good rest and were in high spirits.

The three of them went to the study together. Guo Miao had already prepared her speech in advance. As soon as the three of them sat down, Guo Miao took out the PowerPoint slides and the speech she had prepared.

Lin Chao and Li You weren’t prepared yet and were dumbfounded when they saw the script Guo Miao took out.

The content of the speech was detailed, and it clearly explained the uses and prospects of their inventions.