smiled slightly, "Even if we managed to escape this time, you will eventually face such a day in the future if you continue down this path. I merely expedited the process."After some time, Li Kun fin...Chapter 1: A Letter from Tang Wu

As the plane climbed to a high altitude, one could see Xiahai City shrinking into a patchwork of golden lights below. The areas where light was dense were naturally the more bustling parts of the city at night; however, most parts of the city remained dimly lit. Su Cen believed that the completion of Star Ocean Square had elevated the hardware standards of Xiahai City to another level, making it a strong contender to be included in the second batch of national tourist cities this year.

In the future, Xiahai City would become one of six cities to pass national inspection and enter the list of tourist cities. The timeline had now been subtly altered.

Su Cen recalled his first time leaving this city was when he boarded a northbound train after being accepted into university. Back then in Southwestern Province, trains were still green-skinned carriages with narrow seats; air-conditioned cars and EMUs were unimaginable luxuries in the inland area. A single electric fan on every six pounds of luggage space would have been considered quite decent.

Back then, after struggling to be admitted into a second-tier university, he left amidst everyone's farewell gazes as the locomotive roared forward. Tears welled up when his uncle Zeng Quanming said to him before departure: "A true man aims for all directions."

Now, Zhen Quanming had similarly told him this sentence at the airport, but everything was different.

He had never looked down on his hometown from such a great height. This place where he had spent over ten years and carried all his dreams. Now, as he gazed upon it with more maturity and stability, he realized what he should grasp firmly and hold onto tightly. Such understanding would have been the nostalgic reminiscence of an already thirty-something self in the future, but now at just seventeen, everything seemed ready to start anew; anything regrettable or helpless could be changed by his own hands.

Inside the plane, there were only noises during flight time. It was very quiet with dim lighting. Zhen He sat in the innermost seat of a row of three and gazed out through the window at an expanse of dark blackness. His mother had long since lost her initial excitement on board and now leaned against the chair, dozing off. Beside him, his father was going over materials he carried with him, preparing for tomorrow's first day back at headquarters.

Su Cen held a letter in his hand. This letter was something he had seen when leaving school; Xue Yiyang spotted it among the pile of letters on the school corridor before Su Cen left and rushed to deliver it to him without even attending two afternoon classes, panting as he knocked on their door and handed over the letter. From his eyes, Su Cen could tell that this letter was no ordinary one.

The envelope simply read in elegant handwriting: "To Su Cen, Grade 10 Class 5, Xiahai City No. 1 High School," without a sender's address or name. Upon seeing the envelope, however, Su Cen's heart involuntarily quickened its pace. The familiar and graceful penmanship resembled the refined elegance of the person who wrote it.

Su Cen never thought that such an ancient communication method would so easily stir him up in this way when viewed from a future perspective.

The letter paper was pale purple, drawn out from brown paper along with a delicate calendar. Its scent made Su Cen momentarily daze as if he were back half a year ago, experiencing the days filled with this fragrance once more. The letter had an earthy scent of dried yellow grass that effortlessly evoked his memories of Tang Wu's body fragrance, yet upon reflection, he couldn't recall exactly what it smelled like, perhaps lost in some deep memory crevice.

At 10,000 feet above sea level, pulling out the letter and unfolding it revealed neat handwriting. The infrasound waves of flight gave Su Cen a surreal feeling as though he was still in his future self at nearly thirty reading a ten-year-old Tang Wu's letter to him, this overlapping sense of time making him deeply immerse in this momentary daze.

Su Cen:

Please forgive my silence for the past six months. Much has happened during that period; I've been wanting to write you a letter or call your home but halfway through, I would hang up.

Perhaps it was lacking in courage.

I have been contemplating whether I should write this letter or even consider writing one. When I think about the day I might reach out to you, it is when I truly muster up the courage to let go of many things.

I remember you once said that you wanted to become a superhero, wearing golden armor and riding on rainbow-colored clouds. Then driving a Maybach or Porsche, appearing heroically in front of me.

At each stage of life, we have our beautiful dreams. Even if these dreams are unrealistic, they at least prove there was once a wonderful memory and an irresponsible future fantasy.

Pardon my initial discouragement because the future you described is too beautiful, too dazzling, like sunlight that blinds one's vision.

That's why I felt heartache in thought and sorrow in action.

I once told you that even if the future you painted was just a dream, laced with toxic delusions of grandeur, I would choose to indulge in it rather than wake up.

But as I have realized many times after suddenly waking up at midnight, staring at the ceiling with disappointment, I know. It is merely a dream.

Xiahai, or you,

Now, I realize that it's time for me to wake up.

I have not let go, which is why I lack the courage to contact you.

Because you, far away in Xiahai, are so unrealistic. No matter how much I stretch out my hand, I can't reach you.

Now that I've let go, I will write to you. I'm starting to imagine that when we meet ten years from now and touch your face, maybe I could recall the warmth of our past.

Please don't be sad, okay

I know a Maybach or Porsche means different things to people in different circumstances, don't they

In an era without heroes, what kind of torment and effort does it take for an ordinary person to become a superhero Some platforms are unreachable no matter how hard one tries throughout their life, or even if reached, they're left battered.

Many people smile, but it's because they've accumulated too many tears behind that smile. I remember you in Xiahai City, with your warm and pure smile. I feel obligated to protect such a smile, so please don't carry this undue burden and tears beneath your laughter.

I recall reading Cold Mountain recently. The opening line is something like "Child, what did you come for"

It seems the phrase should be from "When asked about the path to Cold Mountain, the cold mountains don’t answer," so this book would more appropriately be titled 'Cold Mountain'. A far-off home in Cold Mountain represents the ultimate longing of Inman, who embarks on a difficult and long journey back during the American Civil War. Ada's husband, Inman, is her "cold mountain" of loneliness. For some reason, when I think about Inman’s arduous journey to reach his inner 'Cold Mountain', it suddenly brings me to you in another part of time.

I fear that one day, chasing after my footsteps, you will be utterly exhausted and wounded like Inman.

I dread the thought of you losing your pure smiles in your lonely journey through life someday.

You should not bear any burden for yourself; what you need is not chains but skies to freely soar under.

Selfishly, I feel it's time to release your shackles.

If I were by your side, I would have ended things in a certain way as when we parted ways before, but since I'm not there with you, don't overthink it now.

If you receive this letter, you'll notice there's no sender or signature. That’s right, you don’t need to reply.

We have once fantasized recklessly about our future; I even remember holding your hand and feeling how warm it was.

Yet, perhaps what we experienced wasn't merely a simple farewell but also a prolonged period of remembrance in the future.

Farewell, Xiao Can Su who once belonged solely to me.

In the days when you soar high and become a great hero,

I will forever remember my seventeen years, as well as your seventeen years."

Entering night, the cabin window shade is drawn down, curtains are closed. Inside the aircraft, it seems very peaceful. My father beside me appears to have fallen asleep; in a three o'clock direction, an amazed young man has his window open looking outside at the horizon that hints of dawn's light. The cabin still carries some flight noise and high-altitude pressure reactions making my eardrums tingle. After finishing reading the letter, Su Cen turned off the overhead light, hiding his face in the quietness.

Tang Wu, though she didn't write her return address, revealed the location of where she mailed the letter from—the City South Post Office in Gecheng. Although this isn't precise information, it at least gives a rough idea of her general area.

Tang Wu sealed the envelope, seemingly lacking confidence in herself, causing Su Cen to smirk in the shadows.

Or perhaps her precociousness made her realize that life is like an icy mountain that's hard to climb and reach. Even if you manage to pass through it, many are left battered and exhausted, their spirits already drained.

In fact, what she thought was correct—whether in the present or in the future with its highly developed information age where various ideas abound, life isn't as simple as before. In an era without heroes, advanced material civilization has created a significant spiritual void; nowadays, relying solely on faith and personal effort is no longer enough to bridge insurmountable gaps.

In the future, how can one demand that love remain fresh and viable if there's no car or house—or basic material foundation In today's society where strict moral standards change rapidly and a year’s GDP surpasses centuries of past production, sustaining a romantic relationship becomes increasingly challenging.

The world has never been beautiful; everywhere is filled with conflict and struggle. Advanced human societies are no more gentle in their survival of the fittest than lion or leopard prides; if anything, they're even crueler.

For an ordinary person to reach a legendary status indeed requires draining all one's passion and blood, facing numerous insurmountable obstacles and harsh conditions. The thorns and dragons spewing flames make every hero who seeks beauty end up battered and defeated repeatedly, while the princess remains asleep until her face is wrinkled with age.

But a reborn person who understands the reverence for life and grasps the pulse of the times has both shield and spear. Faced with all this, they naturally can proceed boldly forward as in Hunan Satellite TV's program "Bravely Charge Ahead."

The flight continued for another forty minutes, and a sea of stars could be seen outside; some girls cried out.

We've arrived at Gecheng!

Passengers, we will soon land at Slot City Airport. Please follow the crew's instructions to ensure safety precautions.

The parents beside him woke up, and Su Cen put away the letter carefully while thinking that Tang Wu probably didn't expect that several days after writing this letter with a sense of helplessness about life, he would be speeding towards her city at 300 kilometers per hour.

A new chapter has begun. I hope this volume will surpass your expectations and deliver the "爽" (enjoyment) you seek.

Rank dropped,from the grapevine—such as how someone in some class had privately asked about her or that she was seen at the audience seats during a ball game.Xiao Yunchun would also mention these things and descri...