Memory Fragments

Present at the celestial base, the Minister himself is currently receiving visitors. Upon receiving the news, Song Qinglan turns around and heads towards the base. With his tall stature and long legs, he moves like the wind, traversing the corridor in just a few steps and entering the teleportation chamber. 

"Song, over here!"

"Hey, Song!"

Along the way, everyone greets him, though his demeanor remains unchanged. Yet beneath his imposing exterior, it feels as though a volcano is on the verge of erupting.

Before long, rumors spread throughout the internal network that Song is about to start expelling people officially. A few minutes later, Song Qinglan descends to the underground.

"Welcome, Song Qinglan, welcome back to the celestial realm."

The chamber doors open sideways, and the electronic female voice is as soft as ever, just like before every mission. 

Over a decade ago, the Imperial Scientific Team delved into the mysteries of time travel, leading to the establishment of the Temporal Management Alliance and its various branches worldwide. Despite this, the celestial headquarters remains here, two thousand meters below ground, where thousands of people work tirelessly day and night. The pitch-black underground is perpetually illuminated, and witnessing this scene at any time is truly awe-inspiring.

Exiting the teleportation chamber, Song Qinglan walks for a few more minutes before stopping at a white wall. He lightly presses it and then forcefully pushes open the invisible door.

Bang!

The people inside are all startled and turn to look at him. Standing next to the middle-aged female leader is a person.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, the vast semi-circular luminescent dome serves as a backdrop, resembling the starry sky in the vast universe.

The person by the window is dressed in an ordinary white shirt and plain black trousers, accentuating a slender waist, clean and upright, reminiscent of pines by a snowy lake.

Amidst the dazzling starlight, the person's skin is extremely fair, with a well-defined nose and moist brows and eyes, each feature perfectly proportioned. Particularly striking are the beautifully shaped lips, adding a touch of color to the cold face, bringing it to life in an instant.

Unforgettable at first sight.

Seeing him, Song Qinglan recalls the words spoken by a team member in the training room.

"If you say he lacks combat power, he won't come. If you say he's a decorative pillow, he won't come. If you say our whole team is homophobic, he'll come. We don't know if he's here to confront us head-on or to prove his charm!"

"Didn't even knock!" Minister Wang reproached. "I swear, you're the only one in the entire celestial realm who always ignores the rules!"

Song Qinglan regains his composure, smiling faintly as he strides in.

He shows no sign of self-reflection, casually arching his lips. "I heard there's a new teammate, Minister Wang, you didn't even notify us to welcome him."

With that said, Song Qinglan finally directs his gaze directly at the person. "Consultant Ji."

This address carries a somewhat domineering implication.

Meeting the gaze of Ji Yushi, who hails from Ningcheng, a reporter who has only done B-level missions, he parachuted into the Guardian Team, with the title of Special Advisor.

Song Qinglan's disdain, scrutiny, and severity are all apparent.

Ji Yushi, newly arrived, meets Song Qinglan's gaze without flinching or avoiding, simply maintaining a quiet gaze, as if unaware of the identity of the visitor, not saying a word.

The atmosphere momentarily becomes tense.

Beneath the calm surface, there are turbulent undercurrents.

Minister Wang cannot be unaware of the tension between the two, yet they haven't even met, and his own people have already offended the newcomer. In the end, it's up to those in leadership positions to clean up the mess.

"I brought Consultant Ji to see the base, but I didn't expect you to be so eager," Minister Wang intervened smoothly, making introductions. "Consultant Ji, this is Song Qinglan, the captain of our Seventh Team in the Jiangcheng Branch. He is also the youngest yet most promising captain in our celestial system, having already completed twelve A-level missions at a young age and earning a one-star rating. Let me formally introduce him. He's called Song Qinglan. You two haven't met, have you?"

Ji Yushi was slightly surprised, retracting his gaze and unintentionally repeating those three words, "Song... Qinglan?"

His voice was soft, with a pleasant tone, exactly as Song Qinglan expected.

Perhaps these bureaucratic workers all have similar voices.

Minister Wang smiled and said, "Sunrise Qing, Mountain Wind Lan, doesn't it sound like a girl's name?"

Song Qinglan timely interrupted, his expression displeased. "Minister Wang."

Ji Yushi seemed not to notice the teasing tone and quickly relaxed his brows. "Actually, I've seen Captain Song before."

Minister Wang became interested. "Oh? When?"

Ji Yushi's melodious voice continued, "October 14th, three years ago, I attended a seminar organized by the Celestial Realm in the Jiangcheng Branch. You were the lecturer, and Captain Song was also in the classroom. We didn't know each other at the time."

Minister Wang was genuinely surprised this time. "Strange, how could I forget about a young man like you?"

Not to mention Minister Wang, Song Qinglan himself had no recollection of the incident.

Joking aside, who has the time to remember everyone they've met three years ago?

Ji Yushi easily recalled the scene that day, as if it had happened yesterday. "The venue was large, and I was seated towards the back. It's normal for you not to remember. You were wearing a sky-blue suit that day, with a pair of Baroque pearl earrings. Your hair was a bit shorter than it is now, and you accidentally broke a coffee mug during class. You replaced it with an enamel one. Do you remember?"

Minister Wang nodded repeatedly, recalling. "I remember, I remember!"

Ji Yushi continued, "Captain Song was sitting in the ninth position on the left side of the third row, skipping two classes and leaving early in the afternoon."

Upon hearing this, Song Qinglan couldn't help but say, "Are you impressed by me or preparing to file a report?"

Ji Yushi turned his head to look at Song Qinglan, his watery eyes reflecting Song Qinglan's figure. "I just happen to remember everyone present that day."

Song Qinglan almost forgot that one of the rumors about Ji Yushi in the Celestial Realm was his extraordinary memory.

Song Qinglan hinted, "I've heard that people with good memories hold grudges."

Ji Yushi responded calmly, "It depends on the situation."

Minister Wang intervened to defuse the tension. "It's good to have met. Xiao Song, you're a bit hot-tempered, straightforward, and you don't spare any criticism of your team members. You've even made people cry in public. I heard from Minister Lin that Consultant Ji, you're easy to get along with, generous in character. When you're in the team, don't hesitate to criticize him; don't let yourself be wronged."

Ji Yushi wasn't someone who

 put on airs. He replied, "Rest assured, I'll cooperate with anything work-related."

Song Qinglan chuckled lightly, seemingly indifferent. "That's good."

After a few pleasantries, Minister Wang brought up the main topic. "The mission will begin next week. Starting tomorrow, Consultant Ji will follow Xiao Song to familiarize himself with the team members and the working environment. There are many equipment and a specialized simulated combat system in the training area. I heard Consultant Ji was previously in the Imperial Army?"

Song Qinglan raised an eyebrow, somewhat skeptical.

Sure enough, Ji Yushi immediately confirmed his suspicion. "I also worked in the army, but only as a civilian for two months."

His nonchalant attitude made Song Qinglan, who came from a special forces background, want to laugh.

Can someone with such a slender physique really go to the front lines?

Minister Wang nodded. "Although observers don't require high combat capabilities, they can still undergo appropriate training. The Bureau recruited a new batch of trainees this year, and there are professional classes every morning. Consultant Ji can also attend."

*

"He's here!"

"He's coming out!"

"Hurry, did they fight?!"

"Did Minister Wang break another cup?!"

The heads gather around the monitoring panel, and there are also many people poking their heads out in the corridor.

The teleportation chamber doors open, first comes Minister Wang, stepping out in high heels, heading back to the office.

Then comes Song Qinglan, followed by Ji Yushi.

The height difference between the two is almost half a head, one imposing and the other handsome.

Song Qinglan's attitude toward receiving the new teammate is about to overflow the screen, taking advantage of his height and familiar route, he walks quite fast. Ji Yushi, who is as rumored, is very cultured, walking behind Song Qinglan with long strides, neither fast nor slow, just right, not looking cramped at all.

The two of them walk to the training ground without a word, leaving everyone with question marks in their minds.

Is it over just like that?

Did Song Qinglan just accept it?

What about the plan to make a scene at the Jiangcheng Branch, making people pack up and leave dejectedly? Where did it go?

Seeing the two return together, the teammates in the training room are also puzzled. What does this mean?

Song Qinglan stands in an open space in front and claps his hands to call them together. "Come, let me introduce you. This is a colleague borrowed from Ningcheng to help us with this mission, serving as the team's observer, or Special Advisor. Ji Yushi, Consultant Ji."

In front of these male-dominated, tall and muscular guardians, Ji Yushi in a white shirt looks excessively slender.

Like a little white rabbit straying into a lion's den, weak and vulnerable.

But Ji Yushi's expression remains calm, showing no discomfort at all as he greets, "Hello, everyone."

"This is Duan Wen, Zhou Mingxuan, Li Chun, and the twin brothers Tang Le and Tang Qi," Song Qinglan introduces in order, "responsible for control, machinery, logistics, and left and right wings, respectively. There was a previous observer surnamed Yu in the team, and you will be temporarily taking over his work."

The unfamiliar teammates all wear the same uniform. Besides their faces, there's nothing memorable, let alone a pair of identical twins.

But Song Qinglan speaks quickly, whether it's intentional to make things difficult or just to perfunct.

Ji Yushi just nods, unsure if he'll remember.

Without giving him time to catch his breath, Song Qinglan quickly arranges, "Old Duan, you'll hand over your work with the observer. Take him to understand the duties of an observer."

Duan Wen: "Huh? So soon?"

According to common sense, shouldn't they be wandering around together, visiting each department to get familiar with the environment?

Song Qinglan: "Time waits for no one. Don't you feel that the next mission evaluation is coming up fast?"

Duan Wen: "Yes!"

Anyone with eyes can see that Song Qinglan has no intention of giving face to the new Consultant Ji.

Ji Yushi doesn't seem to mind and cooperates well as he walks with Old Duan.

Perhaps he doesn't intend to confront Song Qinglan head-on.

As they walk away, Song Qinglan returns to his usual self, his eyebrows slightly raised. "What are you looking at? Your eyeballs are about to pop out. Look at you, what a spectacle."

"Boss, he's really good-looking!"

"I used to think the word 'beautiful' wasn't suitable for describing men, but now I think it fits quite well."

"We all eat the same things, we're all human, why does he look so much better? I didn't even see a pore on his face just now, his skin is perfect."

The previously beaten-up little eyes and the crew cut, that is, Zhou Mingxuan, also sighed, "Damn, I deluded myself into thinking too much. Someone like him wouldn't even look at me."

"You

 still feel regret?" Song Qinglan kicked him, "Aren't you worried about your family's lineage ending?"

Zhou Mingxuan chuckled.

"Boss, do we really have to keep him?"

"He obviously can't carry or fight, except for being good-looking, he's useless!"

"I thought you'd resist a bit more, this doesn't seem like your style."

Song Qinglan stated his plan directly.

In conclusion: the transfer order has arrived, the person has arrived at the department, it's too late to change. For the next few days, you guys should get used to him. If there's anything, we'll deal with it after we're out. In short, let's avoid any unnecessary trouble. We have one goal: to complete the mission safely!

Everyone responded in unison, "Yes!"

The team members dispersed.

Song Qinglan couldn't help but recall the seminar from three years ago, but he gained nothing. After all, skipping class and leaving early... he's done that too many times.

This person's memory... if you really want to say it, perhaps it can barely be considered a virtue?