The best-looking parts of twenty-five-year-old Brian Carter, aside from his eyes, were his hands—long and fair, even more beautiful than hers. Now, they were gone.

Alice Grant felt stifled, wanting to say something, but the two of them had already reached a platform by the roadside. Brian Carter tapped on the control panel of the stop sign, and immediately an empty car pulled up. He opened the passenger door and let Alice Grant in, then sat in the driver’s seat himself and drove off.

Alice Grant kept quiet, observing this car from forty years in the future. The general shape hadn’t changed, but many details were different; it seemed to have a preset route and could drive automatically. The car had changed, people had changed, even the roads and buildings outside had changed.

She saw unfamiliar buildings outside. All the roads and buildings were neatly planned, not quite the same as the Haishi she remembered—or rather, was this even Haishi anymore? It wasn’t until she saw a towering high-rise in the distance, once a landmark of Haishi, that she was finally sure: she was still in Haishi.

The car stopped at a residential complex, where all the buildings were three-story houses, each with its own small yard. The landscaping was excellent, with tall trees lining the roads and almost every yard filled with flowers and plants.

“We’re here. This is the place.” Brian Carter, who hadn’t spoken the whole way, brought her to the front of one of the houses.

Alice Grant watched as the empty car drove off by itself, then turned to look at the house in front of her. Brian Carter walked to the door, which opened automatically with a click.

After they got married, they lived in Huatianshe Complex on Guangnan Road, Building 2, Unit 502—not here. She didn’t know when he had moved to this place.

Walking into the house, Alice Grant glanced at the shoe rack, then at the coat hooks by the door, and let out a slow breath. There were only men’s belongings—no sign of anything for women or children—so Brian Carter probably didn’t have a wife at home now. All the way here, Alice Grant had been wondering: if she walked in and saw an old lady, should she call her “little sister” or “granny,” or just throw the first punch and figure it out later.

Honestly, her temper wasn’t great, and she was genuinely worried that if she got annoyed, she might beat up an old person and end up breaking Brian Carter’s old bones.

“Have a seat and rest. I’ll get you some water.” Brian Carter handed her a pair of slippers to change into, greeting her very politely and in a friendly manner.

Putting herself in the old man’s shoes, Alice Grant thought that he probably felt like a distant younger relative who hadn’t visited in ages had suddenly come to stay—he couldn’t not play host, but couldn’t feel close either, and there was a certain awkwardness. Indeed, given their previous relationship and the current situation, it was just too awkward.

Alice Grant was so annoyed she could fly. If it were before, she would have just dragged him over to the sofa to “have a talk.” But now, rationally, she felt she had no reason to lose her temper. After all, neither of them could control this time-travel thing, and in the end, Brian Carter hadn’t done anything wrong. For him, not having seen her in forty years, this distant attitude was perfectly normal.

But for Alice Grant, this morning, when Brian Carter got up, he’d still been blushing and awkwardly saying he’d come home early tonight, looking at her with eyes as clear and soft as water. But now? Aside from that first glance, this old man hadn’t looked her in the eye once.

Seeing him about to walk away, Alice Grant called out to stop him. Brian Carter turned his head, and Alice Grant handed over the plastic bag she was carrying, saying, “You said you wanted mandarin fish this morning, so I bought two.”

Brian Carter was stunned for a moment, seeming a bit dazed by her words. The calm he’d maintained all the way finally cracked a little. But he quickly turned his head, lowered his eyes, took off his glasses and wiped them, put them back on, and then reached out to take the plastic bag from Alice Grant. “Oh, okay.” He smiled—a gentle, polite smile.

Alice Grant couldn’t hold back anymore. She strode forward and gave the old man a hard slap on the butt, startling him so much he had to steady himself on the cabinet. Only then did Alice Grant feel a bit better, and she clattered off in her slippers, heading straight for the sofa and sprawling out on it.

Brian Carter stood there with the plastic bag for a while, then followed her in. He glanced at the living room, saw Alice Grant lying naturally on the sofa, and only then went to the kitchen to put down the bag.

A moment later, he brought a glass of water and set it in front of Alice Grant. Alice Grant had already drunk plenty of water earlier and didn’t really want any more, but seeing Brian Carter wipe his hands and sit silently on the opposite sofa, staring at the glass, she still got up, picked it up, and took a sip.

It was sweet—he’d added honey. The two of them had lived together for over a year, and adding honey to water was Alice Grant’s habit. Brian Carter didn’t like tea or soft drinks; he usually only drank plain water, which was odd for someone so young. She wondered if he still had that quirk now.

“You…” Alice Grant looked at the old man across from her, hesitated, and managed to say a single word, but then didn’t know what else to say. Maybe there were too many things she wanted to ask, and she didn’t know where to start. Frustrated, she ruffled her hair, lay back down on the sofa, and kicked a cushion.