"I can at least inquire about the general situation of my acquaintances, right?" Jiang Ye raised his voice. "I'm carrying out commissions from many good friends!"
"That's not allowed, husband," Old Cen blinked and smiled.
"Knowing too much does you no good," Old Jiang's tone was practically indifferent, as if addressing an unwelcome distant relative. "Besides, it's all predetermined. You'll experience it slowly."
"Please, just give me a little spoiler! I finally made this trip, and you're just sending me away like this?" Jiang Ye was about to go mad, pointing at Old Jiang. "Damn it, I'm you!"
"Eat your vegetables, eat your vegetables. To entertain you, I started planting them a week ago. Everything on the table is what I grew myself," Old Cen picked up chopsticks and stuffed them into Jiang Ye's hand, trying to calm him.
"When you reach my age, you'll understand why I did this," Old Jiang remained unmoved. "You're still too young."
Jiang Ye was furious.
After dinner, Old Jiang went upstairs to his study to work. His loud voice could be heard on the phone, his tone extremely impatient, and his temper quite volatile.
"I'll take you upstairs to rest. I've prepared a room for you," Old Cen said, reaching out to hold Jiang Ye's hand.
Jiang Ye followed her upstairs to the room at the end of the corridor. This room had been empty and bare twenty years ago. Now, it contained a large bed and a massage bed.
As soon as they entered, Old Cen closed the door and locked it securely.
Jiang Ye froze.
"Lie down on the massage bed," Old Cen said, her face blushing. "Let me give you a taste of my new massage technique. Old Jiang has been very irritable and short-tempered lately. After I give him this massage, he becomes incredibly relaxed, docile like a kitten."
Jiang Ye obediently followed his wife's instructions and lay down on the massage bed.
"Can you secretly give me a spoiler?" Jiang Ye asked.
"No, husband, really not," Old Cen opened a bottle of essential oil. "You can stay home for a day, sleep, and eat a meal, then go back. Even though we haven't told you much, you can guess a lot from what you see, can't you?"
"I can guess that at least this year has been smooth for us, because you're in a good mood," Jiang Ye said. "Jiang Ye Star hasn't faced any catastrophic disaster, the city has expanded more than tenfold, and our hard power is incomparable to what it was twenty years ago."
"That's right, so this trip was still fruitful for you," Old Cen said. "We've really been through a lot in these twenty years. As for you, just experience it slowly with the me from twenty years ago. If there are too many spoilers, life truly loses its meaning. Most importantly, what you've experienced, Old Jiang also experienced back then. What you encounter here is all inevitable."
"Destiny is no longer ethereal. Entering the time gate allows one to witness a tangible destiny," Jiang Ye sighed.
"Because this is the time gate," Old Cen said. "If you were to travel through time by other means, change would be possible."
"This is truly chilling," Jiang Ye thought of something, his face etched with worry.
"I'll help you relax immediately," Old Cen smiled faintly.
...
A day later.
Space City. Jiang Ye stepped out of the time gate and returned to twenty years ago.
He wasn't allowed to leave immediately. Instead, he was escorted to the medical bay by guards for a full body disinfection, to prevent any germs from the future, and then a physical examination. A young nurse used a device resembling a thermometer, scanning his entire body. She claimed it was to detect pseudo-temporal particles.
Jiang Ye had never heard of pseudo-temporal particles. As he left the medical bay and picked up his phone to search for it, he received a call from Cen Yemeng.
"Hello? You're back safely, right? How is the future?" Cen Yemeng asked anxiously as soon as she answered.
"Not bad. I met you and me from twenty years later. We both had surgery and became nineteen years old again," Jiang Ye said. "But I couldn't get almost any other information. Those two from the future kept it secret from me, which really angered me."
"You didn't even ask about our son?" Cen Yemeng's tone was astonished.
"No, neither of them would say."
"That's too much!" Cen Yemeng was shocked.
The couple talked on the phone for a long time.
Jiang Ye mentioned the future Old Cen giving him a massage, and Cen Yemeng's reaction was jealousy, complaining that Jiang Ye was not adhering to marital fidelity. Jiang Ye was speechless, wondering why someone would be jealous of their future self.
After a brief stay of over ten hours in Space City, Jiang Ye contacted his ship and quickly returned to Jiang Ye Star.
A crowd of acquaintances and friends were already waiting at the Commander's Mansion, eager to hear news from the future.
But Jiang Ye disappointed them, as he hadn't managed to find out anything.
The only person with news was Su Yueming.
After all other acquaintances and friends had left, Jiang Ye and Su Yueming talked privately in the living room.
"I can only give you two pieces of information," Jiang Ye said. "First, twenty years later, you are still my direct secretary, but no longer my only direct secretary."
Su Yueming showed a look of relief.
As long as she was still Jiang Ye's secretary, she was reassured.
"Second, you have eight children," Jiang Ye said.
Su Yueming's eyes widened. "How many?"
"Eight," Jiang Ye raised his right hand, forming the number eight.
"How is that possible?" Su Yueming's face showed panic. "I absolutely don't want children! The thought of what happens after giving birth gives me a headache! And to have eight in just twenty years, averaging one every two years, wouldn't I be worked to death?"
"That's what the you from twenty years later told me personally, and judging by her expression, she didn't seem to be lying. She really had that many," Jiang Ye said. "When I asked the future you who your husband was, you didn't say, claiming you wanted to leave the anticipation and mystery of romance for the younger you, so you could experience life."
Su Yueming's expression was one of extreme shock.
She couldn't comprehend what had happened in the next twenty years that would lead her, someone who always feared children, to have eight offspring in one go.
"I don't think you need to be too afraid," Jiang Ye said. "With your status and position, there couldn't be any terrible husband forcing you to have so many children. If you were willing to have eight, it must be because you like children. People change. Some parents initially longed for children, but after having them, they find them annoying. Some parents feared having children, but upon accidentally having one, they discover the child is not so bad."
Su Yueming received a sliver of comfort and nodded.
However, her overall expression remained one of lingering shock.
As she left the Commander's Mansion, she nearly stumbled at the doorway.
Jiang Ye shook his head and chuckled. The news from the future had truly terrified the young woman.
That night, Jiang Ye rushed to the Macroeconomic Building for a meeting with Feng Zhi Shuang. Before the meeting began, he suddenly received a message from Su Yueming on his phone.
"Sir, did the future me say if those eight children are still alive? Are they healthy?"
Jiang Ye looked at the message, his expression suddenly changing.
Su Yueming's question implied a very dark and terrifying speculation.
"No, she didn't. Don't overthink it, it's probably not what you're thinking," Jiang Ye typed in reply.