Redeeming The Golden Ticket To Life

-Inside the Hu Residency study room-

After expressing their concern Father and Mother Hu left the study room to me.

I have been sitting on the same spot for quite some time now. 'Everything feels surreal to me.'

I feel that I am in a glass city and it is on the verge of shattering to pieces. That box's content seems to weigh more than Mt. Everest at this point.

That box may hold the key to her re-incarnation as well. Like any other sane person, this box is a literal representation of Pandora's Box.

While the Elizabeth within me is ready to blaze through. It is absurdly the emotions of my current identity Bai Chang that keeps me from approaching the box.

All of a sudden, I am wrapped in a warm hug from my back. The familiar smell of lemon and hint of an aftershave calm my nerves down. I was too lost in my thoughts that I failed to notice my surroundings.

"It's alright my Queen. You walk the road you have to. While I will provide the required reinforcements," Qiang said. His voice rings with love and, with a sense of responsibility in my ear.

That warmth provided unsaid courage to me. I stare away at the box, while Qiang continues to hug me. We stayed like that for an unknown amount of time.

Out of nowhere, Qiang kissed me on my cheeks and moved to leave the study room. I hold onto his hands.

(An act, very unlike me.)

"Let's open it together," I said to him.

He paused but didn't make a move, "Are you sure?" He asked.

To which I replied, "I am."

That box has been sitting on the main study table for the whole night. As I am sitting on one side of the table, Qiang moved towards the other side and we sit across each other.

The box is sitting between us.

I take a deep breath and finally open the box.

(My very own rendition of Pandora's Box.)

As I open the box, the first thing that assails my nose is the sharp smell of old paper.

Following which is a plethora of papers. There were all types of papers in them.

There were official documents, research journals, notes and unnecessary cover or junk papers to hide the actual content among them.

The nuances are hidden among the paper trails. Looking at all those papers, I have a gut feeling in me.

'This is most probably the start of a treasure hunt. While within these papers lies the first piece of the puzzle.'

(Because this arrangement, felt oddly familiar to me … )

I automatically comb through the papers …

As I try to sort through the piles of papers; my sense of deja vu strengthens. The more I work through these papers, I find more of these egoistic junk codes; that I as Elizabeth, learned from my Star Time System parents.

(They are the most vivid part of my memory from my childhood of previous life. The first thing my parents taught me as part of the entertainment was treasure hunting through paper trails.)

'The more I get into it, the more I find it identical to the Star Time System.'

'The actual world that I belonged to …'

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Author's heartfelt appreciation to-

@Omotola_Grace; for donating the most amount of PS this week. (It deserves a special mention, Thank you.)

@DragonKnov;@Gideon_Johnson; for your contribution.

@TheIllusionist; @Titania23; @afz; @Prince_nonchalant; @kaikaikaiiiiiiiii; @Darlene_Virginia; Thank you so much, for sticking with the story and dedicatedly supporting it with PS week after week.

@balprisla; Thank you so much for leaving a compulsory comment after every chapter. It seriously makes my day. As well as your support with PS.

@Yebee; I deeply appreciate your active participation with the events organised by the story so far & my promise to you still stands. (You know what I mean… let's keep a lid on it for some time.)

@Shiny_Star5683; I welcome you to the family and deeply appreciate your expressed views. It provides me with the drive to write some more.

You may ask why? Well, we crossed a small milestone this week. We completed 50 chapters of the Bai Chang & Hu Qiang story.

We crossed 50K views over the main story page.

This is my first attempt to write the story that I wanted to read on WN for a long time now. It's been 2 months of commitment.

And I thank you all 168 readers, who have collected the story in their library to read. I may not know you by name or you are my silent readers but I appreciate every one of you for your presence and time that you spend to read the story. It is my motivation to write and I wanna deliver the best story to you all. So hang on with me on this journey…

Thank you

╰(*°▽°*)╯

(For reading through all that emotion.)