A night of panic, a night of tension, a night of swirling thoughts, a night to recharge and gather strength.
The next day, as the sun leapt out of the east and daylight flooded the sky, Kensington L. Orland finally made up his mind after a night of silence. He led everyone to form the "Retrace the School Days" squad, determined to help them understand Sophia's past as a student. And the first stop was Orland's Old Manor. With Yang and Dreamy guarding him, even though the whole world was searching for Orland, the old professor still returned to his old home as calmly as ever.
Inside the old manor, the professor took off his battered ceremonial suit, rummaged through his wardrobe, and found a set of old clothes, faded from countless washes. These clothes had definitely seen years of use. He gave them a shake—no dust at all—ironed them out, and they looked as crisp as new. When Orland finished changing and walked out of the dressing room, it was as if everyone was suddenly staring at a classic British scholar from the seventies or eighties.
Gentlemanly, refined, but with a streak of academic madness and obsession running deep.
“Not bad, right?” Orland twisted his waist and glanced around. “Looks like I’ve kept my figure—was worried I wouldn’t be able to button this up.” Then he scratched his head and chuckled, “But sadly, I’ve lost too much hair—can’t recreate my old hairstyle.” He turned to Susan Morrow, his expression hopeful: “Madam, what do you think of this outfit?”
“Sloppy. Not impressed,” Susan Morrow replied bluntly. “But, for some reason, it does feel oddly familiar.”
“Familiar’s just right, because this is exactly what I wore back then!” Orland walked over to an old wooden table, whipped off the tightly fitted tablecloth, and fondly patted the tabletop. “It was August 1978. Zade brought her here and made her my student. I was sitting right here, wearing these clothes, when I met Sophia for the first time.”
“1978?” According to the memories of the void, Susan Soo disappeared into the void rift in April 1976, which means Orland met her two years after she went missing. Susan Morrow couldn’t help but ask, “What did she look like then? Was she hurt?”
“No, she wasn’t hurt, but she looked so thin, so frail, like a gust of wind could knock her over.”
Jonathan Black fell silent. In his hazy memories, his mother had always been extremely gaunt and worn out. Who knows what she went through after being sucked into the spatial rift? Jonathan’s mind raced, and he couldn’t help but press, “Professor, what kind of person was she back then?”
What kind of person? The question made the old professor scratch his head. “She... how do I put this... she was complicated, unique. I’ve done research all my life, taught students all my life, and I’ve seen all kinds of scholars—but I’ve never met anyone like her, never. She was pure, chaotic, vacant, transcendent, hollow, and mysterious all at once. She’s someone who’s hard to describe, even harder to understand.”
“Hold on—vacant?” Jill Young couldn’t take it. “Can we negotiate and swap that for ‘adorably clueless’ instead?”
“Sorry if my wording’s off, but it’s really hard to describe her state, because she was almost not human. When it came to things she didn’t care about, she was incredibly slow—almost lacking the intelligence you’d expect from a normal person. Especially in her first year, she was a real handful. But in the areas she was interested in, without a doubt—” Orland said firmly, “the word ‘genius’ doesn’t even come close.”
“That extreme?”
“Not an exaggeration at all. She was like a scientific saint sent down to earth by the will of the cosmos!”
After that, Orland led the group on their journey of discovery. He acted like a tour guide, taking everyone to the places Susan Soo had once visited. The highlight, of course, was the school she attended and where Orland once taught—Cambridge University.
Softly, I leave,
Just as softly as I came.
I gently wave,
Bidding farewell to the clouds in the western sky.
Cambridge University is the real deal—a prestigious old school. Walking here, you can’t help but think of Hogwarts from Harry Potter. The solemn architecture and sprawling courtyards are steeped in history, academia, and art. Even with time pressing, even with all of Britain on lockdown, and countless people hunting for them, everyone slowed down, drifting along the gentle waves beneath Cambridge.
“This was my office back then.” Orland pushed open a door, gazing at the changed room with a sigh. “She didn’t join the class in her first week—instead, she studied here. The reason’s pretty funny: her knowledge level just wasn’t enough for a regular university class. I could tell she hadn’t had much formal education, especially her English. She had to start from scratch.”
Learn English? Dream Monroe glanced instinctively at Yang, whose English skills are famously bad at work. Jill Young just grinned and gave her a big thumbs-up—proud to be an English slacker!
Then Orland sighed again. “But you know, this girl probably had the lowest entry level in Cambridge’s history, yet just two years later, she became the real Dr. Sophia. Her thesis—worth its weight in gold. Her projects—world-shaking. Even now, top scholars are joining the projects she started, pouring their energy into the path she paved. Every tiny breakthrough gets locked up tight by any country able to participate, classified as a national secret. To me, her project was the grandest scientific expedition of the late twentieth century!”
“That amazing?” Jill Young perked up. “With a project that big, we must’ve heard of it, right?”
“Of course you have.” Orland said, bursting with pride and emotion. “It’s the Human Genome Project.”
“The Human Genome Project?!” Jonathan Black was stunned, his eyes wide and voice raised. “That major scientific endeavor, called the ‘moon landing of life sciences,’ was—my mom’s project?!” Jonathan wasn’t usually one for dramatics, but this was beyond dramatic.
“That’s right, she led it.” Orland beamed with pride. “To be precise, the Human Genome Project was just one part of a much grander, more incredible plan she devised. Its role is like the map Columbus drew before setting sail—just one step in the ‘prep work.’ The real epic adventure was still ahead of her.”
Hiss—at this, Jill Young couldn’t help but draw a dramatic breath.
“It was the winter of 1985, a day of swirling snow. She came to see me and mentioned her ideas. She didn’t share much, just spoke casually, but even the little I could grasp was enough to scare me. I knew she’d already reached a place I couldn’t touch, seen a world I couldn’t imagine. I couldn’t understand her perspective, but I was sure her future was spectacular. It’s just a shame...” Orland paused, shook his head, and let out a long sigh, then rallied: “Come on, let me show you around.”
“Alright, let’s go.” Susan Morrow gazed out at the Cambridge campus, a faint sense of familiarity flickering in her eyes. “I want to really see the places where she lived and studied.”
Thanks to the Zade Family’s interference, Susan Soo left no traceable records at Cambridge University. No matter how thoroughly you searched the archives, you wouldn’t find a single transcript with her name, nor a single photo of her. But no matter how powerful the Zade Family was, or how meticulously they wiped things clean, there’s one thing they couldn’t erase: people’s memories of her.
“This is the library where she spent ages. She went through almost every book in here.”
“This was her dorm. She even had a roommate, though apparently they weren’t all that close.”
“This was the corridor she always walked through on her way to and from class. She never wasted time on student activities—her days were just point A to point B.”
“Back then, the riverside was all grass, and these trees weren’t so tall—just a little grove. She liked to sit here quietly and read.”
Orland spent the whole morning guiding everyone through one memory spot after another. With a casual gesture, he could tell a story or share an anecdote about each place. The old professor’s memories just kept coming, and he couldn’t stop talking—while Jill Young’s expression grew more and more odd.
Suddenly, she interrupted Orland’s reminiscence. “Hold up—how do you know all this stuff?”
The old professor froze, his expression shifting. “What are you talking about? I don’t get it.”
“Oh, come on, drop the act!” Jill Young pulled a face. “You know her roommate situation, her favorite foods, where she sat, which routes she took, where she read—how do you know all that? Sure, maybe you just happened to see some of it, but the riverside and the grove? That’s just weird, man! If you recreate the scene, it’s like some creepy old dude stalking a pretty girl. Professor, you sure were invested in your student, huh~~”
“I—I didn’t!”
“Ha! You sneaky old perv, stalking pretty girls and still trying to deny it? Take a look in the mirror—guilty as charged!” Jill Young slapped Orland’s shoulder, grinning wickedly. “Thinking about my aunt, huh? You’ve got guts! Spill it—any flirty moments with her? Any wild behavior? Aren’t Westerners supposed to be open-minded? Did you ever trick her into watching goldfish or licking lollipops when she was all clueless? Fess up, you old rascal!”
“Watching goldfish, licking lollipops?!” Jonathan Black just about lost it, grabbing Orland by the collar. “Tell me—did you or didn’t you?!”
“No, no, really, I didn’t!” Orland struggled, but his bravado was thin. After a long moment of soul-searching, he muttered under his breath, “I mean, maybe I thought about it... Besides, I don’t even have a wife...”
“Thinking about it is bad enough, not having a wife is no excuse! Shame on you—my aunt was underage back then, underage! Four years minimum, death penalty at the max, you know!”
While Jill Young and the others were joking around, Dream Monroe walked over to Susan Morrow and quietly asked, “What’s wrong, Auntie? Did something come to mind?”
“A little.” Susan Morrow reached out and touched the big tree beside her. On the trunk, there was a familiar mark. Her fingertip traced the scar, and Susan Morrow said with certainty, “I think this time will be easier than last time.”