Qiao Jingjing had the same dream for three consecutive days. Every morning, upon waking up, she would relive the dream from the previous night.

The same scene, the same person, saying the same thing to her.

"Are you ready? I've been waiting for you for so long..."

It was a face that looked remarkably like hers. Only in the dream, she was dressed in coarse cloth shorts, her hair was yellow and dry, and her features resembled those of Qiao Jingjing at age 15.

She wanted to ask the other person who they were, but in the dream, she felt as if she was being choked and couldn't make a sound.

The dream was illusory. Having not slept well for three consecutive days, and now with the first light of dawn, Qiao Jingjing felt somewhat dazed, unable to distinguish whether she was dreaming or in reality.

After calming herself down, she patted her cheeks with her slightly cool hands. She got up, went to the living room to drink some water, and once fully awake, went to the dressing room to change into her workout clothes, planning to go for a run around Shuxi Lake across the street.

The early autumn morning was already noticeably cool outdoors. After a quick warm-up, I started jogging along the track. There weren't many people by the lake that morning, only a few elderly men and women walking backwards for exercise. Qiao Jingjing found this both incomprehensible and quite shocking.

Although the walking path and running track are 2 meters away from the lake, there are no guardrails by the lake. I'm really afraid they'll stray off course and fall in.

Just then, a person whose face was obscured walked towards them. They wore a baseball cap pulled low and a mask, and just a second before passing Qiao Jingjing, they suddenly stumbled and looked like they were about to fall.

Without thinking, I instinctively reached out to help him up, asking with concern, "Are you alright?"

The man didn't speak, but shook his head frantically. After using Qiao Jingjing's strength to stand up, he ran away.

Qiao Jingjing, not taking the strange person to heart, decided to go to a nearby breakfast shop to buy some of her favorite breakfast and clear her mind.

I got a takeout order of wontons, rice noodle rolls, and shrimp dumplings. When I got home, I took a quick shower and threw my clothes in the washing machine to hang them to dry before leaving. Before throwing the clothes away, I habitually reached into my pockets…

Huh?

what is this?

How did it get in my pocket? When did it appear?

A barrage of three questions left Qiao Jingjing somewhat bewildered. Recalling her morning's events, only that strange person had been in close contact with her. Could it be her?

The person in the morning was wrapped up very tightly, and I could only see her eyes through the gap in her glasses when I helped her up, so I judged that she was a woman of considerable age.

I picked up the ring and examined it for a long time. Apart from being a bit old, there was nothing wrong with it. The ring setting featured a teardrop-shaped yellow amber piece, and the ring itself was a rustic dark color.

The color and style were very old-fashioned; not many girls would like that. I thought to myself, either this person is trying to scam me, or it just accidentally fell into my pocket.

If it was by accident, I wonder how important this ring is to her. She must be very anxious now that it's lost. I'll hand it over to the nearest police station after breakfast.

Having figured these things out, she stopped paying attention and left them aside. Turning to grab the laundry basket, Qiao Jingjing naturally didn't notice the ring's vibration or the fleeting glint of light.

After finishing breakfast, Qiao Jingjing changed her clothes and went to work. Before leaving, she saw the ring while hanging up the laundry and, as if possessed, picked it up and tried it on her left middle finger.

It looks alright. Luckily, I have fair skin, so wearing this doesn't make my hands look dark.

Then wear it; maybe you'll run into that person again and return it to her.

Upon arriving at the company and sitting down to work, a heated argument erupted from the general manager's office. To be precise, it was a one-sided argument with a very high level of bias.

Everyone couldn't help but peek out and watch the spectacle from their respective workstations.

Qiao Jingjing took her cup to the break room to make coffee to perk herself up. As she passed the general manager's office, someone inside suddenly opened the door and knocked her to the ground, shattering her cup into pieces.

His hand pressed against the shards, and blood flowed freely.

Without arguing with the man, I quickly ran to the break room to find the first-aid kit and took out some band-aids and disposable iodine swabs.

After the wound was treated, I noticed that there was blood on the ring as well. It was a bit dry, so I rinsed it under the tap. I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the color of the amber seems to have darkened again.

Qiao Jingjing was stunned, wondering what was wrong with her today. She hadn't slept well, encountered a strange person in the morning, and now this bad luck had happened at the company.

Ugh, I just want to go home and lie down. I don't want to go to this lousy job even once more. The next second, Qiao-working-class-Jingjing appeared on her own bedroom bed.

Grass is a type of plant!

Qiao Jingjing stared blankly at the ceiling. Her little head was filled with big questions. Was she hallucinating because she wasn't getting enough sleep? Or had some kind deity overheard her wish and granted it to her?

He shook his head and then clenched his fist and tapped his head a few times, warning himself of his childishness.

But there's no scientific explanation for this situation. She really did return home instantly; luckily, she was washing her ring in the bathroom at the time, so no one saw her disappear.

Wait, a ring?

Could it be because of the ring? Lately, besides dreams, this is the only other strange thing that's been appearing.

Looking back now, it seems that person appeared suddenly just to create an opportunity to put something on themselves, and then left after completing their mission.

If the timing of the ring's appearance wasn't a coincidence, then it might be related to a dream. Right now, the most important thing is to get back to the company as quickly as possible. Being absent from work is okay; the important thing is to avoid letting anyone know that I've suddenly disappeared.

How can I return? Since I can come back instantly, I should be able to go back instantly as well.

Then return the information exactly as it came from.

Thinking back to what we said, I think she picked up on the keyword "go home and lie down," so I put her back in her own bed. Thank you so much, that's so thoughtful of you…

Qiao Jingjing silently murmured "Go back".

Sure enough, just as she had guessed, she reappeared where she had been before she disappeared. The faucet was still running, and she was still holding the ring and rinsing it under the water.

Qiao Jingjing, who was inwardly amazed, outwardly pretended to be calm. She finally made it to the end of the workday and rushed home without stopping.

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