“Grandma, let’s talk another day. She doesn’t know yet that I like her. Give me some time, and I promise I’ll bring her to you.”
“Oh, I understand. So she hasn’t noticed you yet. Then you better chase after her diligently.”
“Then, Grandma, about Aunt Li… you should postpone that for now. Also, tell her not to bring up our family. Since I’m skipping the matchmaking, I don’t want any trouble.”
“You’re right. I’ll go to Aunt Li’s place now and tell her to help that girl find another young man.”
Aunt Li was the matchmaker in this area. Since everyone in this district was from nearby villages, she was quite well-known and had a good reputation. That was why Grandma Su found her to help with Su Sinian’s matchmaking.
And Aunt Li had already seen Su Sinian—tall, handsome, a battalion commander in the army—definitely a prize in her eyes.
Once word got out, the Jiang family’s lady, Zhao Xiaojuan, came looking to see if her daughter returning from the countryside could meet Su Sinian and maybe strike up a relationship.
Grandma Su hurried off toward Aunt Li’s house, as Aunt Li was waiting for her reply.
Seeing his grandmother leave, Su Sinian closed his bedroom door and windows, then took out his military knife. He made a small cut on his thumb, and blood quickly welled up.
He pressed his bloody hand against the jade pendant. Instantly, it glowed, bathing Su Sinian in light. After the white light faded, he was gone from the room.
Dizzy and disoriented, he found himself standing in an unfamiliar place.
Where was this? Could this be the “system space” the little girl had mentioned?
He was standing in a courtyard, similar to those large siheyuan in Jingcheng. A ginkgo tree towered above him, and the ground was carpeted with golden leaves.
From what he could see, several courtyards were connected, forming one large compound, with smaller independent siheyuan inside.
Could this be one of those grand, multi-gated estates? Some for royal families, some for prominent clans.
Excitement surged through Su Sinian as he wandered around. Roughly estimating, this looked like a five-gated estate.
Like the residences of ancient nobles, with pavilions, towers, gardens, rockeries, and flowing streams—it all looked exquisitely beautiful.
Worried that his grandmother might come back, he didn’t know how to leave.
He closed his eyes and mentally commanded himself to exit. Opening his eyes, he was still in the space. He began looking for a way out, hoping to find a door.
After searching for a while with nothing found, he felt discouraged. How had he entered just now? All he had done was press his hand on the pendant.
Looking at his hands, the pendant was gone from both.
Suddenly, he noticed a small dragon-shaped birthmark appearing on the palm of the hand that had touched the pendant, resembling the jade’s color. It was subtle and easy to miss.
Su Sinian tried touching the mark with his other hand while mentally willing himself to exit.
After the familiar dizziness, he reappeared in his room. Now he understood how to travel in and out. But did he have to touch the mark each time?
He tested it, just mentally willing it, and appeared back in the courtyard. Over and over, he practiced entering and exiting a few times.
After he was done, he stopped, unable to contain his excitement. Now that he had this space, did that mean he had an extra layer of protection for future missions?
He was a soldier, a battalion commander. Every mission could be dangerous, and he had worked his way up to his position with blood, sweat, and perseverance.
With this space, he could use it in dangerous situations. The little girl had been right—this really was a miraculous place.
She had also mentioned a trading platform inside the jade pendant.
He didn’t know what it was for—was it for selling things?
For now, the space belonged to him. He would explore it later. Right now, he needed to go out—Grandma would probably be back soon.
Just as he thought, within a few minutes, Grandma Su returned. She looked upset, her face dark, as if something had happened.
Seeing her scowling, Su Sinian couldn’t help asking:
“Grandma, what’s wrong? Was it not smooth with Aunt Li? You seem unhappy.”
Grandma poured herself a glass of water, gulped it down, and finally said:
“It was infuriating! Xiaonian, you don’t know—when I went to Aunt Li’s, that little girl’s mother happened to be there too.”
“I told them you already liked someone. Immediately, her mother yelled at me, saying I wasn’t sincere in using a matchmaker, so I shouldn’t have come.”
“She also said I was wasting their time. Hey, you know, yesterday when they mentioned it, I didn’t promise anything. I only said I’d come back to ask my grandson’s opinion.”
“That shameless woman even called me a liar! How could I be a liar if I never agreed to a match for her daughter?”
“Xiaonian, luckily you already like someone. Otherwise, if you had met this girl, and if she liked you… even if you didn’t like her, you wouldn’t be able to shake off that kind of person.”
“What kind of person? That woman—like a shrew, almost rolling on the ground in a tantrum. I was so angry I immediately told Aunt Li that my grandson wouldn’t do any matchmaking in the future.”
Grandma Su had spoken so much, and Su Sinian quietly poured her another glass of water.
What a close call. Good thing he had heard the little girl’s inner voice. Otherwise, that meddlesome mother would have caused trouble, and he wouldn’t have been able to get out of it.
He decided that tomorrow, he would go to the hospital, find out which family the girl belonged to, and learn her name. Maybe he could talk to her.
See if he could hear her inner voice again. Even though he didn’t believe in superstition, he had a strong feeling that this girl was very important to him. He wanted to know her, learn her name, and ideally find her home address.
Then he could focus on the army for three or four months, or maybe half a year, and when he returned, that Jiang Sisi would probably be married anyway.
Wait—didn’t the little girl mention something else? What was it again…?