102

Qiao Chen opened his eyes. He looked around the familiar yet unfamiliar room. Qiao Chen dlowly came back to his senses and looked over to his side. However, he didn't see the man who should have been lying there bedside him.

'Not here anymore? Then does that mean that it's all over now?'

"Thanks for all the hard work. Your job of jumping through space and time ends here." Officer Foley said from the beside. He had been standing there to wait for Qiao Chen to wake up.

Qiao Chen sat up and stretched his shoulders as he asked, "What about him? Did he wake up?"

"The High General hasn't woken up yet, but his mental strength has completely recovered. He should be going through the final treatment right now. It shouldn't take long before he wakes up."

"He… Will he remember once he wakes up? That space and time stuff I mean. He should remember those things too, right?" Qiao Chen asked quietly. He couldn't find the words to describe his how he felt right now. It wouldn't be fair if he had to remember all those things from all those lifetimes while Aunan didn't remember a single thing from their past lives. All sorts of negative thoughts raced in his mind.

"This might not be necessarily correct. I personally think that it's very unlikely that the Imperial General will recall his memories from those other planes." Foley stated.

"Can I see him?" Qiao Chen asked.

"I regret to inform you that the High General is currently undergoing emergency treatment. Maybe he will come see you after he wakes up." Officer Foley replied curtly.

"Really?" Qiao Chen felt a bit disappointed. He knew that if Aunan recalled all those memories from before, then he would definitely come find him. 'However… if he didn't remember anything then…'

"We've wired the money directly into your account. Thank you for all your efforts to rescue the High General. Your nation thanks you." Foley stretched his hand out towards Qiao Chen.

"…." Qiao Chen shook hands with Officer Foley.

—

Qiao Chen left the base. He didn't feel like he had just woken up from a dream or a long sleep. Each and every single one of those lives he experienced were all very real to him. They were his past lives and memories, and each and every one of those experiences were ingrained into his memories.

Soon, Qiao Chen reached his home. It felt emptier than remembered. He plopped down on the living room sofa and stared out absentmindedly. His mind wandered and he started to remember bits and pieces of his previous lives with Aunan. First, it was quite slow, but like rain on a spring morning, more and more memories began to pour into his thoughts.

Qiao Chen suddenly stood up and paced the room back and forth. He was very frustrated. It felt like there was something he was looking for, but he couldn't remember what it was. Qiao Chen began to walk through every single room in his home. He walked in a full circle and came back to the living room. Realizing something, his tense nerves seemed to abruptly relax.

Qiao Chen looked around his living room. It felt like he just woke up from a big dream. He thought that his behavior just now looked like he was going crazy. Qiao Chen chided himself. 'Why was I so worried and anxious just now?'

'There wasn't anything I should be afraid of. Aunan would remember those things if he remembered them. If he didn't, then he didn't. We both lived our lives to the fullest in each and every single one of those worlds. In fact, we hadn't even started anything in this lifetime anyways. There is nothing I should be regretful of.' Qiao Chen convinced himself of this.

'We loved each other for many years already. There is a limit to everything even if- that's enough. We had loved each other enough already.'

'Besides that point, I was the one who had to go look for him in all those lifetimes. He should be the one who came running after me in this lifetime anyways- But what if he didn't remember anything from the last lives…Well then forget about it Qiao Chen. No one ever said that life was supposed to be perfect. A life with regrets should be a perfectly fine life.' Qiao Chen had an internal struggle for a while before he finally forced himself to settle down again.

Qiao Chen felt a bit hungry and went to the kitchen to get some food. He knew that this lifetime still had its advantages. It would be a bit lonely living by himself, but the plus side was that he didn't have to deal with any back stabbers, people scheming against him, or any of those dog blood dramas in his life anymore. It seemed that it wasn't so bad to be an orphan, a relative nobody…

Qiao Chen returned the hospital for work the next day. He wasn't used to it at the beginning. Even though it should have been just a few months since he had been back, Qiao Chen personally felt like thousands of years had passed.

Qiao Chen knew that Foley had already transferred the money to his account. He already checked and knew that he'd be able to spend his entire life in luxury and leisure. However, he still wanted to wait until Aunan woke up before doing anything. There was still that piece of his heart that hoped that Aunan would remember all their lives together. Since he had all the time in the world, Qiao Chen didn't mind spending some of it to make sure that Aunan would be able to find him once he woke up. Therefore, Qiao Chen maintained the current situation with an expectation.

—-

A patient was in need of emergency medical treatment on Qiao Chen's first day back. The patient's injuries were quite severe, so the operation was quite complicated. In the middle of the procedure, Qiao Chen offhandely thought that it would have been much better if he could have used the system to help him. The second Qiao Chen finished that thought, the system kicked on. Qiao Chen froze in shock.

"Dr. Qiao. Dr. Qiao." The nurse beside him called out. They saw that he was stunned and asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"

Qiao Chen came back to his senses and indicated that he was fine. They continued on with the operation.

The operation was a success, and the patient was rescued. Qiao Chen took off his surgical mask and changed out of the surgical gown. Then he quickly returned to his office.

Qiao Chen attempted to activate the system once more, and it turned on. He frowned and thought, 'What's going on?' The system was something that was only able to exist because of all those machines he was attached to. Furthermore, it took the nation's best of the best technological and scientific personnel to keep it running. A system as strong as the one Qiao Chen had while collecting Aunan's soul wasn't something that could be easily used.

However, here Qiao Chen was not connected to those machines but still able to use the system. ' How is this happening?'

Qiao Chen looked through the system and found that even though a lot of the functions were the same as before, there were programs he couldn't use. With the work of a team of highly skilled scientists and personnel, Qiao Chen was able to freely use the system to the best of his abilities. With Qiao Chen's capability alone, there was only a small number functions he could use.

Qiao Chen sighed aloud. He didn't know if he needed to return to the base and ask them why he was able to use the system or not. However, if he did go to them and they wanted to remove the system from his mind, then wouldn't all his memories be at risk too? The system seemed to be deeply embedded in his brain now. His precious memories from before were all stored in there too.

Qiao Chen took the time to think about it before deciding not to notify the base. They would come find him if they knew that the system was still functional. He was going to take it as a bonus prize if they didn't know about it. The word day ended, and Qiao Chen continued his daily commute as he quietly waited something to happen.

—-

Qiao Chen waited until one of his days off. It was about ten days after he returned from the base. He was already up and eating breakfast as he watched the news. Qiao Chen was stunned for a bit when he saw that familiar face on the screen. He immediately put his food down and walked up to the screen to take a closer look.

The screen played a short clip of Aunan exiting a car and entering the Executive Yuan. The clip was quite short, but looped over and over again, so Qiao Chen was able to get a good look at that man on the screen.

(T/N: The Executive Yuan is the executive branch of government in the Republic of China.)

'Was he really awake?'  Qiao Chen carefully observed the state of the man in the screen. Qiao Chen looked at his face and the pace of his walk and determined that he shouldn't have any problems with his body. Qiao Chen breathed out the breathe he had been holding and relaxed. Qiao Chen calmed down after he confirmed Aunan's health and turned his attention towards listening to what the news channel was reporting on.

According to the new channel, the Imperial General Aunan Auray would be engaged to the prime minister's daughter by the next month. They were set to marry by the end of the year.

'Engaged?' Qiao Chen thought in shock. A deep and dark feeling of loss crept into his heart and expanded. 'Did this mean- he didn't remember.'

Qiao Chen shook his head and scolded his heart, 'Forget about it. Just don't remember it. It doesn't matter whether the outcome was good or bad. Just forget about this and you'll be fine.' His heavy heart had finally fallen.

'It was better this way. It's better to know quickly than to keep hanging on for a possibility.' Qiao Chen convinced himself. He requested a few days off from the hospital, because he wanted some time to plan his next steps.

Qiao Chen determined that he didn't need to stay on the capital planet anymore. When he first came to this world, his dream was to travel the entire universe before he had to go on that mission to jump through time and space and help gather Aunan's soul fragments. However, he ended up living for so many years during all those missions that he had grown so much mentally, so he didn't really think about it anymore. He didn't feel as motivated to explore the universe anymore either since he had already explored and lived in all those worlds now.

Nowadays, Qiao Chen felt like he just wanted to find a good place with a good view and settle down. It'd be better if there was a good man by his side too. That way they could just live out their lives together and enjoy life, but… 'As for finding a new man? As long as I still have these memories, then I don't think that it's possible for me to fall in love with anyone else anymore.'

Qiao Chen used his system to help him find the best place to settle down in. The system quickly found a good island on a slightly remote planet. There was a hotel-styled manor that was already built. The most important part of this is that the island was for sale. Even though Qiao Chen knew that he could buy a home on a bigger island with all the money he had, he thought that a place on a bigger island that could rival the amenities on this one probably couldn't be bought with money alone.

Qiao Chen contacted the seller via the interplanetary web. Then, Qiao Chen paid the first part of the deposit and submitted his resignation immediately to the hospital. Finally, Qiao Chen packed the basics he needed and left the capital planet.

—–

The site manager immediately showed Qiao Chen the island once he arrived.

Even though the island wasn't very big, the environment was excellent. There was both lush vegetation and a great urban design that complimented nature. Furthermore, there were all sorts of machines and equipment that provided the services, facilities, and necessities one could want. Everything was just a phone call away. All you had to do was pay the fees.

The main point on this island was that Qiao Chen really like the houses that were built here. It was in a good, elevated location. Each room had a view of the ocean. There was even an infinity pool. Beside the swimming pool was even more breathtaking scenery. He even had his own private beach.

Qiao Chen happily paid for everything in full. They quickly completed all the procedures and formalities. Qiao Chen was the brand new owner of the manor on this cozy, little island.