After breakfast, Han Yue returned to her room with a thick folder of legal documents tucked under her arm. Her father, Han Jifu, had remained warm and gracious throughout the morning, but she could already sense the subtle weight of expectation behind his kindness.
Not long after, there was a knock on her door.
"Yueyue, it's me," her father's voice came gently.
She opened the door and let him in.
Han Jifu walked in with a fatherly smile. "How are you feeling?"
"A little tired," she replied, her tone light.
"I won't keep you long," he said, sitting on the edge of her desk chair. "I just wanted to talk to you about your shares. Now that you've officially rejoined the family, and you're still so young... there are many people in the business world who are deceptive. I think it might be safest if you transfer your shares to me for now—just temporarily—so no one takes advantage of you."
Han Yue tilted her head slightly, her brows furrowing with confusion. "Transfer them? But didn't the lawyer say they're mine? I thought... I was just supposed to hold onto them?"
Han Jifu chuckled gently. "Of course, they're yours. I just want to help you protect them. Think of it like putting them in a safe."
Her lips parted as if surprised, then she gave a soft, almost sheepish smile. "I see... It's just… everything is still so new. I haven't even read through all the papers yet."
He looked like he wanted to say more but held back. "Alright. Take your time, sweetheart."
After he left, Han Yue sat in silence for a long moment, the warm smile on her face slowly fading. Her fingers brushed over the tiny red mole on her left wrist—the mark of the space jade that had disappeared into her skin the night before.
"Safe?" she murmured. "From who? You?"
She shook her head softly, then rang the bell for the maid. When the maid arrived, Han Yue smiled sweetly. "Can I please get three cups of hot water brought up to my room?"
Once the maid delivered them and left, Han Yue closed the door and summoned the space.
In a blink, she stood once more within the mysterious world.
The dilapidated hut remained in the center, behind it a small warehouse, and to the side, the tiny patch of black soil, only about five centimeters wide. The narrow stream, barely enough to fill a teacup, trickled faintly nearby.
Han Yue carefully placed one cup of hot water on the black soil, one inside the hut, and one inside the warehouse.
"Let's see where time flows… and where it doesn't."
While waiting, she exited the space and began searching through her room for items to put in her space.
Her gaze landed on the letter her grandparents left her, still tucked neatly in its envelope. She placed it carefully into the space. Then she added the inheritance documents the lawyer had given her and, after a moment's hesitation, the low-quality jade Han Jiaojiao had gifted her that morning.
She paused and examined her old jewelry box. Most of it was inexpensive or decorative, but she still tried tossing in a few simple accessories—just in case.
When she re-entered the space a little later, Han Yue quickly checked the water cups.
The cup placed on the black soil was now lukewarm.
The one inside the hut had cooled as well.
But the cup inside the warehouse was still steaming hot, just as it had been when she placed it there.
"Time doesn't pass in the warehouse..." she whispered. "But it does outside."
She turned her attention to the space again and was stunned to notice something else—it had grown. Just slightly. The air felt looser, and the borders of the black soil had expanded by a few centimeters.
She blinked and quickly searched around.
The low-quality jade was gone. Even more surprising, the jade earrings she had tossed in earlier were also missing.
"It absorbed them?" she muttered, kneeling down on the soft earth. "So jade... powers this place?"
Her eyes lit up with realization.
Han Yue was still crouched beside the patch of black soil, deep in thought, when a knock came from the outside world.
"Young Miss," the maid's voice called from outside her door, "Master asked me to remind you about the welcoming party in three days. The staff will begin preparing tomorrow."
The sound snapped Han Yue back to reality.
In the next moment, she quietly reappeared in her bedroom just a faint shift, as though she had never left. She stood up and dusted off her hands, her expression calm and collected.
Her gaze dropped to her wrist where the red mole still lingered like a silent promise.
"A party…" she murmured softly, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "I wonder what gifts they'll bring—"
Her eyes glinted coldly.
"—and what tricks they've prepared."