A chill seeped through the door crack, making Xiaoyu instinctively shrink her neck. She was just about to complain to Dongfang Mingyue about the cold outside when she noticed something amiss with the girlâs expressionâDongfang Mingyueâs eyes were downcast, long lashes casting faint shadows below. Her fingers were unconsciously clutching the dining spoon, turning her fingertips white.
"Miss, whatâs wrong?" Xiaoyu leaned closer and asked softly.
Dongfang Mingyueâs voice was low, almost a whisper: "Two months ago... I dreamt of this man."
"Huh?" Xiaoyuâs eyes widened instantly, quickly asking, "What happened in the dream? Did something bad happen?"
Dongfang Mingyueâs eyes darkened, and she nodded lightly: "In the dream, his flying device malfunctioned midway, plummeting from the sky and crushing a passing young man. He didnât survive either."
"Then I must hurry and tell him! Tell him not to use that flying device!" Xiaoyu said, getting up and grabbing her coat as she dashed for the door.
Dongfang Mingyue instinctively raised her hand to stop her, but Xiaoyu had already rushed out like the wind. She could only lower her hand powerlessly, murmuring in a voice only she could hear: "Itâs useless... Fate cannot be changed. Those who try to intervene only make the outcome worse."
Outside the shop, Xiaoyu hurriedly caught up with the man, grabbing his arm and pointing to the personal flying device parked by the roadside, speaking rapidly: "Sir, wait a moment! Iâm a flying device engineer, and I just heard a strange noise coming from your flight device. It must be an engine problem! If you use it now, it might crash mid-flight!"
The man suspiciously eyed the young girl in front of himâthe shopâs door was shut tight, so how had she heard the unusual noise from the flying device? "Young lady, youâre not lying to me, are you? Your hearing is a bit too sharp, isnât it?"
"Iâm not lying! Iâm also a Spiritualist!" Xiaoyu was flustered, quickly raising her hand to reveal a gentle white light blossoming in her palm.
Seeing Xiaoyu really was a Spiritualist, the manâs doubt vanished instantlyâa Spiritualist wouldnât deceive an ordinary person for no reason.
He quickly thanked her: "Oh, thank you so much, young lady! Iâll leave the device here and wait for the insurance company to fix it!"
"No problem!" Xiaoyu waved her hand and asked, "How will you get home then? Your wife and children are waiting for breakfast."
The man shook the takeout box in his hand, smiling as he said, "The kids at home are in a hurry; Iâll just call for an unmanned flying device."
He soon ordered one on a ride-hailing app, and within minutes, an old black unmanned flying device landed by the roadside, its fuselage showing signs of worn paint, clearly an old model used for many years.
"Thank you again, young lady! Goodbye!" The man got on the flying device, waving back at Xiaoyu.
"Goodbye!" Xiaoyu smiled and waved back, turning around to skip her way back into the shop.
But as soon as she sat down, she noticed Dongfang Mingyueâs expression had worsenedâthe girlâs gaze was filled with helplessness, struggle, and a hint of unknowable sorrow, like a lake shrouded in mist, heavy enough to unsettle oneâs heart.
"Miss, why are you still unhappy? Weâve prevented that man from using the faulty flying device, nothing will happen!" Xiaoyu tugged at Dongfang Mingyueâs sleeve, trying to comfort her.
Just as Dongfang Mingyue was about to say something, a loud "boom" erupted from outside, like something heavy crashing to ground, causing the glasses in the shop to tremble slightly.
The two exchanged a glance, immediately getting up and rushing out. Following the sound, they saw a few hundred meters away in the open field, a black flying device was smoldering, its body deformed from the crash, the surrounding snow melted by the explosive heat wave.
Dongfang Mingyue and Xiaoyu rushed over, joining the crowd that had gathered.
Among the crowd, two strong men acted firstâthey were Spiritualists, working together to pull the unconscious man from the flying device, then lifting the deformed fuselage aside.
Beneath the fuselage, the scene was so tragic Xiaoyu instantly covered her mouthâa woman lay in the snow, protectively hovering over two young children, clearly having used her body as a final shield when the flying device fell.
But flesh and blood could not withstand the collision with steel. The woman and the two children were lifeless, their small bodies appearing particularly fragile in the snow.
Xiaoyuâs limbs went icy cold, her face pale as paper, tears streaming uncontrollablyâshe had meant to save lives, how did it come to this?
Dongfang Mingyue stood still, staring at the blood-stained snow with a gaze full of complex emotionsâregret, desolation, and a hint of near-helpless despair.
She had long known that once the wheel of fate turned, it would not deviate from its course for anyoneâs intervention. It would only return to its original track in a more cruel manner.