Chapter 480: Chapter 480: Get Out
Ashley Shaw looked at the pack of cigarettes pushed in front of her and gave Warren Prescott a peculiar glance.
"Are your memories confused? I don’t smoke."
"I’m not asking you to," Warren pointed to the pack and said, "Do you remember? When you were working part-time at the convenience store, you gave me this pack of cigarettes."
Ashley’s eyelid twitched, and her heart suddenly started to flutter.
What did he mean by that?
After recovering his memory, did his governor and conception vessels also clear, making him realize something was off?
But that shouldn’t be the case. She hadn’t acted off in front of him... nor had she done anything to suggest she could predict the future.
Maybe he just mentioned it casually.
Although Ashley felt as if a thousand waves surged within her, she managed to maintain her composure on the surface.
"I forgot what kind of cigarettes I gave you, maybe it was this one. Why?"
She spoke as calmly as possible while secretly probing.
Warren looked her up and down and said, "It was this pack. After I smoked it, I found it to be very... suitable for me. I’m just curious, how did you know I would enjoy this type of cigarette?"
Ashley repeated, "I don’t remember giving you that pack, maybe because it’s a popular brand, I subconsciously thought you might like it too."
Warren shook his head, "Not many people buy this kind of cigarette."
"...Then maybe I took the wrong one. In any case, I don’t really remember."
Warren gave an "Oh" and said, "You switched from humanities to science a month before the college entrance exam... Although three years ago Veridia relaxed those requirements, allowing students to switch subjects even a day before the exam, switching a month before the test was rare. What were you thinking back then?"
(This story has a slight sci-fi setting, ladies, please do not relate it to reality.)
Ashley now clearly realized that Warren might have found something peculiar.
She tried to stay as composed as possible and said, "I was quite impulsive then... It was a rash decision. Plus, because of my mom, I suddenly wanted to study medicine, and switching subjects suited the related major better."
Warren gave another "Oh" and asked her, "Weren’t you afraid of screwing up the exam by switching subjects at the last minute?"
The hand Ashley had placed on her lap clenched, but her expression remained calm as she said, "I chose the humanities class initially because I liked you a lot back then. My original choice was science. Once I got over you, I switched back. Besides, I didn’t bomb the exam, did I?"
Warren’s lips curled into a smile, his suspicions about Ashley seemed quite certain now.
Ashley appeared calm but never dared to meet his gaze... One’s eyes, after all, cannot lie.
He suddenly mentioned another topic, "You and Ariana have always been close, right? Did you remain as tight in college even after choosing different majors?"
Ashley was struggling to follow his train of thought, but due to her guilty conscience, she continued to play along, "Of course."
"Ariana has a sensitive stomach. Do you still take her to see the doctor frequently?"
Ashley instinctively was about to say "Yes" but realized what he was getting at this time.
Her heart grew more uneasy.
She swallowed and asked directly, "What’s with all this nonsense you’re talking about?"
Warren ignored her question and continued, "Leo was doing well abroad, then suddenly returned home, and shortly after disappeared. Do you know where he went?"
Ashley’s suspicions became more concrete.
Warren must have guessed something or knows something.
But now, she could only act as if she knew nothing, shaking her head, "I don’t know where he went."
Warren said, "Alright, you don’t know. Let me tell you, he received orders from above to research a machine. This machine, it’s said, can use the power of a black hole to allow people to travel to the future or go back to the past."
Ashley’s heart was pounding loudly, but her face remained increasingly calm.
"Really? Isn’t that the plot of a sci-fi movie? Can such a machine really be developed?"
Warren suddenly leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes staring at her meaningfully, and said word by word, "Aren’t you the one who knows best whether it can be developed?"
"Boom—"
Her mind felt like it exploded, shattering all the forced calmness she maintained.
Finally finding her voice, she asked aloud, "What exactly do you mean?"
Warren took back the cigarette pack and casually placed it back in his pocket.
Just as Ashley’s patience was about to collapse, he finally spoke, "I remember everything now."
Ashley instinctively said, "You already said that, you said..."
The next moment, she suddenly lifted her eyelids, staring intently at Warren’s face.
His face clearly belonged to someone of this age, but his eyes seemed to have experienced more years and become completely different.
Gentle, yet... unmistakably sharp.
Her throat felt as if squeezed by an invisible hand, and past life memories, like being recolored and renovated, surged in her mind.
"You..."
The words stuck on her lips, unsure what to say.
Warren broke the silence, changing his wording, "I’ve come back too, wife."
"Boom—"
Her mind felt like it exploded again, this time with an actual painful sensation.
Her eyes inexplicably stung with wave after wave of sourness.
The pain before death, like being smashed to pieces, seemed to return, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
Aware of her abnormal reaction, Warren leaned forward, quickly grabbing her jade-like wrist.
"Are you okay?"
"Don’t touch me!"
She flung Warren’s hand away as if shaking off a cockroach.
She didn’t know how he came back... But the current Warren was not the Warren from a few minutes ago that she believed he was.
This present Warren was the one who caused her immense harm, eventually leading to her death.
There’s no forgiving this Warren, let alone being friends!
Even looking at him made her feel disgusted, unlucky!
In the next second, Ashley stood up directly and started walking out.
Warren panicked immediately.
That feeling of losing her was something he never wanted to experience again, not in this life, the next, or the one after.
He had spent a long time...
After she became a vegetative state, it took him a full two years to finally return to now.
Or rather, return to yesterday.
The cost was enormous, but at this moment, seeing her well in front of him, all the costs were worth it.
"Wife!"
Warren’s legs were long, his steps large, catching up with her in a few strides, blocking her path.
Ashley coldly looked at the person in front of her; clearly, it was him, yet he was not the same anymore.
She let out a cold laugh, not sparing the most venomous words, "If you have any sense of shame, don’t appear in front of me again. I wish you’d die immediately! So, get lost!"
