Chapter 353: Chapter 353: He Was Reborn Too
Ashley Shaw was curious about what kind of gift an astronomer would give her, and couldn’t help but ask, "Can I open it?"
"Of course, open it and see. If you don’t like it, I can still change it now."
"Did you prepare a backup or something?"
"Not exactly, but I can take you to buy one later."
Ashley Shaw laughed and opened the wooden box.
Inside, quietly lay a thumb-sized stone made into a pendant, shaped like a star.
Unable to resist, Ashley picked up the pendant to take a look. This stone was unlike any she had seen before; it was matte.
Upon closer inspection, it was covered with tiny holes, almost as if it could breathe.
"What kind of stone is this?" Ashley asked in surprise, "I’ve never seen anything like it."
Xavier Quincy explained to her, "It’s a meteorite."
Ashley suddenly widened her eyes.
"A meteorite? Can I really accept this? Can I show it to others? I won’t get arrested, will I?"
Smiling, Xavier said, "If I can give it to you, you can accept it."
"That’s true, you wouldn’t harm me." Ashley’s gaze was deep, her tone assured.
"Of course. I won’t harm anyone, especially not my own sister."
Xavier paused and asked, "Do you need help putting it on?"
Ashley’s expression showed a slight hint of awkwardness, but she still nodded.
"Sure."
Xavier stood up and took the necklace.
Ashley had her hair in a ponytail today, so there was no need to lift her hair.
Soon, she felt a gentle chill on her neck, followed by a slight weight.
Looking down, she saw the necklace was already around her neck.
The meteorite was a gray matte color, surprisingly attractive when worn.
Xavier returned to his seat, looking at the star-shaped meteorite resting on Ashley’s collarbone, feeling a sense of calm.
"The material inside this meteorite has been tested, and it contains no elements harmful to your health, so you can wear it freely."
Ashley nodded, thinking this meteorite must have its own story, so she asked about it.
Sure enough, Xavier said it was the first time he had gone to a meteorite impact site with the research institute team after going abroad.
This star-shaped meteorite was picked up during that trip.
"But you don’t have to worry, because it’s already been studied and it’s considered ’scrap,’ so personal collection is permitted."
Ashley nodded and said, "Leo, why don’t you give it a name?"
"You’re its owner now, so you should name it."
Ashley thought for a while and said, "How about... ’Alien Relic’?"
"Great name!"
The dishes arrived at that moment.
Ashley had lost her appetite, so after hurriedly taking a couple of bites, she asked about the topic from earlier.
"Leo, you said you had something to tell me; what is it?"
Xavier noticed she hadn’t eaten much and pointed to the Tom Yum soup. "Finish up first. I saw you haven’t had your soup, and don’t you love Tom Yum soup the most?"
"How am I supposed to eat when you’re keeping me in suspense?"
"I’m worried that if I tell you, you won’t be able to eat at all. Be good and eat a little more."
Xavier acted as if he wouldn’t speak unless she ate.
Ashley had no choice but to ladle half a bowl of Tom Yum soup, and after finishing it, she also had a mango sticky rice. Only after she couldn’t stuff herself anymore did she reluctantly ask Xavier, "Can you tell me now? I really can’t eat anymore."
Xavier laughed, "You’re still the same little bird stomach."
"I can’t help it, naturally poor digestion, so I’ve always eaten less."
As she put down her chopsticks, she asked with great curiosity, "What exactly do you have to tell me?"
Seeing she was full, Xavier finally spoke, "Ashley, what I’m about to say, you need to listen carefully and answer my questions honestly."
Ashley inexplicably felt a bit nervous.
Adjusting her posture, she sat up straight and nodded solemnly, "Go ahead."
Xavier moved his lips and suddenly asked, "Ashley, are you... from another world?"
Ashley’s mind seemed to explode with a "boom."
The secret she had been cautiously hiding was suddenly exposed.
Her mind was a tumultuous sea, but her expression didn’t change much, only stiffening momentarily before she smiled, "Leo, you haven’t even had a drink and you’re talking nonsense?"
Feigning relaxation, she was internally panicking.
But then Xavier said, "You don’t have to answer right away. But I can tell you clearly; I’m from another world. Oh no, to be precise, I’m from seven years in the future."
Ashley instantly got goosebumps.
Did she accidentally guess right?
Leo truly came from the past... he was reborn too!
Her hands clutched the bowl tightly to prevent them from shaking visibly.
She only heard Xavier continue, "I don’t know if you’ve ever paid attention to black holes. A black hole is an incredibly dense celestial body with tremendously strong gravity, so strong that within its event horizon, the escape speed exceeds the speed of light..."
Stopping, Xavier switched to language Ashley could understand, "In other words, its gravity can warp space-time."
"So... you used a black hole to time travel here?"
"That’s right."
Ashley didn’t know what to say for a moment.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to speak, but that she had too much to say and didn’t know where to start.
Seeing Ashley’s silence, Xavier continued, "However, this technology, like the black hole itself, is very unstable, and at the time, none of us dared to try it. Then, during that time... I received news of your accident."
"..." Ashley’s heart skipped a beat, tightly clenched with worry.
"What happened to me?" she cautiously asked.
Xavier looked up, his gaze calm, and upon closer inspection, there was a trace of distress.
"A car accident."
Ashley felt all her strength leaving her body.
If she had been half-believing Xavier’s words before, she now fully believed what he was saying.
He was reborn as well.
Oh no, according to Xavier, he came to this time from seven years in the future through an experiment relying on a black hole.
And it wasn’t in a physical form, but spiritual.
In Veridian terms, it was a soul transference.
Xavier continued speaking.
"After your car accident, you became comatose, without any consciousness. I didn’t want you to be part of this experiment, and before your accident, I never considered asking you to join this time-transcending experiment."
"But there was no other way; I couldn’t just watch you lie there wasting away and do nothing."
"So I took a bold step and applied to the authorities. The prerequisite was that I had to join the experiment with you."
"But they didn’t know that their condition was actually a relief to me."
"If successful, at least you wouldn’t come back alone."
"If it failed, we’d disappear from this world together, and I wouldn’t owe you anything..."
"Fortunately... the experiment succeeded. The only thing was, we returned at different times. I came back a week ago, but you returned nearly three months before me."