Harley motorcycles cruised along Fifth Avenue, the widest in Manhattan.

It was already late at night, and there were few cars on the road, but the surrounding buildings were still brightly lit. It seemed that Manhattan, as the world's capital, had a rich nightlife. Lin Xian breathed out, and it instantly turned into a faint white mist.

This cold wave was indeed fierce, and the temperature had dropped a lot. It might really snow. Lin Xian drove the motorcycle and looked back. The person on the back seat looked at the Manhattan scenery on the roadside, their eyes unable to take it all in.

"Is there any place you particularly want to go?"
"Yes!"

Raising her head, she looked at the highest point of Manhattan in the distance, the skyline that could be seen from anywhere in the city, the tallest man-made building on Earth—the Empire State Building.
"The Empire State Building."

She said softly, "That's the highest point in Manhattan. You can see the entire Manhattan at a glance. I want to go and see it, to see what the center of the world really looks like."
"No problem."

Lin Xian smiled like Aladdin's lamp receiving a command: "We'll go now." He twisted the throttle.

Continuing along Fifth Avenue.

Since the goal was the Empire State Building, there was no need for a map or navigation. Just look up and you could see the majestic Empire State Building standing between heaven and earth.

Especially at night.

For flight safety, the top of the Empire State Building had bright lights, including the dazzling blue light flashing on the antenna at the very top. No one would get lost looking for the Empire State Building because it was always in sight.
"But is it too late for us to go up?"

Holding the wedding dress fluttering in the night wind, she shouted in Lin Xian's ear, "What time is it now... it should be past midnight, right? Will the Empire State Building still let us in?"
"It should be fine."

Lin Xian recalled the casual chat he had on the plane when he went to the US for a competition, "It is said that the observation deck of the Empire State Building is open until 2 am, and the last elevator to the observation deck should be around 1 am. So if we hurry over, we can still buy observation deck tickets."

The Empire State Building has a total of 102 floors, and the elevators are very busy. So, it's not like you can go to the observation deck as soon as you buy a ticket. You have to wait for a special observation elevator like waiting for a train.

It took half an hour.

Lin Xian used all his driving skills and finally arrived at the Empire State Building before 1 am, and checked the notice board at the ticket office...

Sure enough, this tradition hadn't changed over the years.

The last elevator to the observation deck was indeed at 1:15 am. He turned his head to look at the clock and calendar hanging in the lobby. October 30, 1952, 00:50. "Great, we're in time."

He turned back and smiled at her: "Luckily I drove fast. Sorry, I messed up your hair."
"Oh, so what if it's messed up."

She smiled slightly, refreshingly: "Anyway, it's already messy. It's not like it's for others to see, as long as we're happy."

Lin Xian looked around.

He thought that wearing a wedding dress would attract a lot of attention.

But, unexpectedly.

In the free United States, maybe everyone is already used to this kind of thing. Not many people cast deliberate glances. At most, they glanced and then looked away, completely unmoved.

Especially now that it was already 1 am, there were not many tourists in the first place, and there were only a few people in the lobby.

Lin Xian and her took the observation deck tickets and walked to the elevator to wait.

The staff member was a white-haired gentleman who suddenly realized when he saw her outfit: "Oh! You're here to take night scene wedding photos, right? You really chose the right place. Few people choose to take wedding photos on the top of the Empire State Building, but believe me, kids, this is definitely the best place to take pictures. You can overlook the whole world!"

He looked at his watch, and the time was exactly 1:15 am. He winked at Lin Xian with a smile: "You're lucky, sir. You two are the only ones on the last elevator tonight. You paid the same price, but you can enjoy the entire Empire State Building observation deck. You've really made a profit."

Ding——

The elevator door opened, and the previous group of visitors came out.

After the elevator was empty.

The staff bowed to Lin Xian and her: "Please come in, you two. I hope you enjoy this hard-won private time."

Entering the elevator.

Inside, there was a woman in uniform, professionally operating the elevator. After greeting them, she pressed the observation deck floor, and the elevator began to accelerate slowly.

This was a fast elevator, very fast, at least faster than any elevator Lin Xian had ever taken.

Lin Xian was a little worried and turned to look at her.

He found that she was worthy of being born with the innate Saint Body for Spaceflight.

Under this acceleration and high speed, she was as if nothing was happening, looking calm and calmly arranging her layers of wedding dress.

Even though the elevator was so fast, it still took 10 minutes to rise to the observation deck floor, which showed how tall the world's tallest building was in this era.

When the elevator door opened again, Lin Xian and she were already hundreds of meters above the ground.

The elevator operator got up and respectfully saw them off: "Sir, Madam, we have arrived at the observation deck. Please feel free to visit and pay attention to safety. The observation deck will be closed at 2 am. Please come here at that time to take the elevator back."

She couldn't wait.

She trotted out of the elevator, then walked out of the building, came to the edge of the observation deck, and looked down at everything on the ground—"Wow!"

She opened her eyes wide and couldn't help but exclaim: "This is the center of the world! It's so spectacular!"

Lin Xian walked behind her, facing the cold night wind in the sky, and looked down. This was also the first time he stood at the highest point in Manhattan overlooking this city, even higher than the Aman Hotel when he was with Chu Anqing before, with a more open view. Manhattan in 1952...

It was truly luxurious and noble, full of technological atmosphere and endless wealth.

A group of skyscrapers were dwarfed in front of the Empire State Building. But their lights were connected into a line in the night, woven into a net, and transformed into the brightest crystal lattice on this planet.

"Is it the same as you imagined?"

Lin Xian looked down at her.
"Exactly the same."

Breathing in the white mist, her eyes were reluctant to leave the lights below.

This was the scene she had been looking forward to for a long time. It was the biggest dream of her life.

She, a Brooklyn girl with no support, no parents, and extreme poverty, had finally fulfilled her wish to stand at the highest point in Manhattan in the most beautiful white dress.

The neon lights in front of her gradually became blurred.

Her eyes were getting wet.

"I actually came... I can't believe this is real."
"This is reality."

Lin Xian stepped forward and rubbed her long hair that was messed up by the night wind. He recalled when he and Chu Anqing were standing on the top floor of the Aman Hotel, they were also like this. Except that...

One was summer, and one was winter.

One was 2023, and one was 1952.

One was called Chu Anqing, and one was called [name].

The same thing was...

Lin Xian was still Lin Xian, and both of these girls were millennium tree stumps with a common destiny.

"It's so nice."

She didn't dislike being touched on the head by Lin Xian. Instead, she smiled and looked up at Lin Xian: "Thank you for fulfilling my dream."
"No."

Lin Xian smiled slightly: "This is just the beginning of the dream. It's far from over."

"We have a lot of money now, so I can let you do anything you want. This is your first night in Manhattan. Tomorrow, we can go to more places to play, to the best restaurants, the biggest movie theaters, the most prosperous shopping malls, and... anywhere you want to go."

"Even, like I said, you can stay in Manhattan forever and never have to go back to the old Brooklyn."

Hearing this, [name] shook her head: "It's enough, Lin Xian."
She chuckled: "Really, this is enough for me. You don't need to do anything more for me. I'm already very content."

"You should keep that money for yourself. After all, my dream has been realized, but what about your dream? Your dream hasn't been realized yet."

She jumped off the observation deck railing.

With her hands behind her back, she tilted her head and looked at Lin Xian: "To be honest, I'm very curious. You said that your dream is... to hope that you don't disappoint everyone's expectations, to be able to successfully save everything, and to become a qualified savior."
"Can you tell me why?"

"I can hardly imagine that before today, you were just a homeless person who was not clothed or fed. You couldn't even get enough to eat and were starving on the streets, but why did you have such a great dream of saving the world?"

Lin Xian took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

He lowered his head: "Because, I promised many people and also promised many things."
"But that's not the main reason."

He raised his head: "In the past, I was really just drifting along, being pushed by fate and the situation. I felt like I was forced to be a savior."
"But it's different now. Now I'm proactive. I sincerely want to save everything, reverse the tragedy, and fulfill all my promises."
"You've also seen that I do have some abilities that ordinary people don't have. Then, I should take on some things that others can't do."

"The higher the position, the greater the responsibility. History will not blame the powerless, but it will inevitably blame every incompetent昏君 (hūnjūn, incapable ruler)."

"I never became a savior because I wanted to become a savior, and I never became a savior for the sake of becoming a savior."

After a pause, Lin Xian continued: "The reason is not that complicated at all, and there is no need to consider it that complicated, because…"

His pupils reflected the colorful fluorescent lights on the top of the Empire State Building, and his eyes were firm: "This is my responsibility and also my mission."

[Name] looked at Lin Xian and was silent for a long time.

"Sorry."

She smiled embarrassedly: "I guess I really don't understand."
"It's okay."

Lin Xian also smiled: "This is also a very long journey of the heart. It's a very long story."

She walked forward and looked at Lin Xian's colorful pupils: "But... I believe in you, you will definitely fulfill your wish to save this world and become a true savior."

She reached forward with both hands, pulled up Lin Xian's fingertips, and said softly: "When I was a child, the nanny in the orphanage told us girls that [every girl is an angel who has been left in the mortal world, and every little angel has a wish that will be fulfilled no matter what, and only one]."
"So, the orphanage nanny asked us girls to put our hands together and make a pious wish. She said that this was an opportunity that every girl only had once, and that the wish would definitely be fulfilled as long as it was made, so we had to be pious, cautious, and make the wish carefully."
"At that time, we were all only five or six years old, and everyone began to pray and make pious wishes."

Lin Xian blinked: "What wish did you make at that time? To come to Manhattan?"
However…

[Name] shook her head: "I didn't make any wish."

"I was the only girl who didn't make a wish, because I thought that the wishing opportunity that only came once in a lifetime, and that would definitely be fulfilled, was too precious, and I couldn't bear to waste it."

"I asked the old nanny if this wishing opportunity could be reserved. I wanted to save it for a more important time. She smiled and said it was okay, saying that this wishing opportunity could be kept at any time and would be effective forever."

Lin Xian chuckled: "That sounds like something you'd say to哄小孩 (hǒng xiǎohái, coax a child)."
"Yes."

[Name] did not deny it: "But what if it's true?"
She raised her head: "At least I've kept this wishing opportunity until now. No matter how bitter or tired I've been over the years, I've never been willing to waste this opportunity."

"Even though I wanted to come to Manhattan day and night, I wasn't willing to use this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a wish."

"I always feel that... such a precious opportunity should be used for something more important, more precious, and more meaningful."

Faint little dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.

She smiled at Lin Xian and said softly: "Now, I think it's time."

She took Lin Xian's hand and held it between them.

Then, she put her hands together, sandwiching Lin Xian's wide palm in the middle. She closed her eyes.

Her expression became pious and serious, just like when she prayed in church, even more serious than that. And just at this moment…

Suddenly, a little bit of coldness fell on Lin Xian's face. He raised his head and looked at the sky: "It's snowing."

Hundreds of meters above the ground, snowflakes fell in the night wind. Standing at the highest point in Manhattan, Lin Xian was the first to touch the first falling snowflake.
"Lin Xian, I must apologize to you."

[Name] lowered her head.

Her eyes were still piously closed, like a confession, like a prayer: "That day, you took me to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade to look out at Manhattan. You said you wished I would become the most beautiful princess in all of Manhattan. I said I wished you would become the greatest savior in the world."

"But I'm sorry, you should have really thought so at the time, but I was really joking at the time. I wasn't serious at all. I was just echoing what you said casually."
"But now, I don't think so. I'm serious."

The snow was getting heavier.

The raging night wind caused the snowflakes to gather and swirl around the edge of the observation deck, piecing together behind [name], as if she really grew a pair of pure white and clean wings like an angel.
"Heaven, I want to use the only opportunity I have in my life to make a wish."

Like chanting a spell.

The surrounding swirling snowflakes surrounded the two of them, as if elves were chanting with her, performing the ritual that every girl only had once in her life.

"I hope Lin Xian can overcome everything, save everything, and have everything."

She pressed Lin Xian's palm even tighter, warming the cold: "Become a true savior!"