What Pierces the Heart?

Unknown History of Time: In the endless expanse of the starry sky, a small, fingernail-sized white light cluster drifts aimlessly towards the depths of the universe. As time flies by and the stars shift, meaningless time passes for thousands, millions, and even billions of years, until... the year 2025 on Earth.

"Experts predict that there will be strong solar flares in the near future, which may have a certain impact on the Earth..."

"Solar flares? That's rare," Bai Xuan Chen listened to the radio while driving his old Buick to work, lost in thought about various troubles. He saw the red light ahead and stepped on the brake.

He was a low-level employee at the Tianli Pharmaceutical Company in Jiangzhou City, which was located in the 50-story Tianli Building at the center of the city. The building served as the headquarters of Tianli Pharmaceutical Group, owned by the well-known entrepreneur Zhang Tianli, which generated billions in profit each year and was a renowned enterprise in Jiangzhou City and even the entire Jiangdong Province.

At over thirty years old, Bai Xuan Chen had short hair that, upon closer inspection, could not be classified as either black with white highlights or white with black undertones. The handsome young man of the past had been carved by time into the appearance of a greasy uncle. "I have to pay the loan again in a few days. Today, I need to quickly finish the proposal at work, and in the afternoon, I have to..."

"Bang!" A soft but piercing sound entered Bai Xuan Chen's ears, pulling him out of his scattered thoughts. He looked up slightly and realized that he had unknowingly released the brake pedal that he had been pressing while waiting at the red light. The car slowly slid and hit the black Porsche in front of him.

While he was lost in thought, the door of the Porsche had already opened, and a pair of slender legs were the first to emerge from the driver's seat. Then, a beautiful young woman in her 20s with a graceful figure and a pretty face, walked towards him with a huff. But when their eyes met, they both trembled. Yes, they were colleagues in the same company and office. The only difference was that this little beauty named Zhang Qihan was the only daughter of the company's owner, Zhang Tianli. Her current job was supposedly a "ground-level exercise," and she had recently been transferred to Bai Xuan Chen's office. As for Bai Xuan Chen, he had truly been struggling at the bottom all along.

At this point, Bai Xuanchen quickly got out of the car and said softly with an apologetic tone, "Qihan, sorry, I was lost in thought just now. Shall we take a photo and move to the side so we don't block the way for others?" The little girl stared at Bai Xuanchen for a while, her eyes turning around a few times, and suddenly smiled and said, "Brother Bai, it's okay. Let's go to the company first." With that, she plunged into the car without looking back, took advantage of the green light, and drove away in a flash. Bai Xuanchen was left standing in the wind, but he didn't think too much and followed her to the company.

As they arrived at the company's parking lot, Zhang Qihan had just gotten out of her car. Despite her usual aloofness, she gave him a slight smile. This gave Bai Xuanchen a bad feeling. Although he had managed to stay single into his thirties on his own merit, his parents had tried to force him to marry several times by going on hunger strikes. However, having seen the cold reality of the world, marriage was a luxury for someone like him who had no money or status. He could imagine the outcome of marrying just for the sake of it: endless arguments and a life plagued by worries about money. He was already exhausted as a single person, so why bother? His current goal was to succeed before considering marriage. As for Zhang Qihan's smile, Bai Xuanchen was not narcissistic enough to think that she was interested in him, and he didn't want to think too deeply about it. So the two of them walked towards the elevator, one after the other.

At that moment, there were only the two of them in the elevator, and the silent atmosphere was filled with an invisible awkwardness. Just as Bai Xuanchen was about to speak to break the oppressive mood, suddenly his heart seemed to be pierced by a tremendous force.