Chapter 218: That One Question
Xie Rong’s hand froze against her cheek.
For a moment, he simply stared at Wang Gege, as though he needed to make sure he had heard her correctly.
"Your... ’One Question To The World’?"
Wang Gege nodded slowly, "Mm."
She had almost forgotten about it. But this question was too important to ignore any longer, and she felt that now might be the right time to finally use it.
After everything they had discovered, perhaps this was the one chance she had to obtain an answer that neither Mini nor Gemi could provide.
"Are you sure you want to use it now?" Xie Rong asked again, just to make sure. "After all, we could still save it for something really important—"
"This is important!"
Wang Gege immediately interrupted him, her voice firm.
Xie Rong blinked.
She looked at him seriously, her hands tightening around his sleeve.
"How could it not be important?" she asked. "We don’t even know why we ended up here in the first place, and now we have found out that our souls were swapped, the timeline might have changed, and even the Gemini system won’t help us clear everything about this world."
She took a deep breath. "If I don’t use it now, when will I?"
"I’m... just saying..." Xie Rong was baffled. He really didn’t mean to stop her from using it, yet somehow, his words had made her react as though he had opposed the idea entirely.
He looked at her for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
"This husband only wanted you to think about it carefully. After all, you only have one chance to ask the world a question."
Wang Gege’s expression softened slightly. "I know."
"But if you have already decided..." Xie Rong gently squeezed her hand. "Then this husband won’t stop you."
Wang Gege nodded, but her expression soon became serious again. "Then I need to think carefully about what I should ask."
Xie Rong nodded in agreement.
"Mm. One question."
Wang Gege fell silent for a few seconds, her brows slowly furrowing.
"One question that can answer all of this..." she murmured.
Then, as though suddenly thinking of something, she looked up at Xie Rong. "Husband... is there any trick that would let one question answer several things?"
Xie Rong froze for a second. Then he couldn’t help but chuckle.
He reached over and lightly tapped her nose. "Do you want to trick the system?"
Wang Gege’s eyes immediately lit up. "Can I?"
Xie Rong’s smile widened slightly. "That depends on how clever Furen’s question is."
Wang Gege immediately sat up straighter, her eyes shining with renewed determination. "Then we have to think of a way!"
Xie Rong couldn’t help but smile at her expression. "This husband said it depends on how clever the question is. This husband didn’t say there was actually a trick."
"But there has to be one!" Wang Gege insisted. "If the system says I can ask one question, it should at least be possible to make that one question useful for more than one thing."
Xie Rong thought about it for a moment before nodding slightly, "Perhaps."
Wang Gege’s eyes brightened even more. "Husband, help me think!"
He sighed, but there was a faint smile on his lips. "Then instead of asking separate questions such as ’Why were our souls swapped?’ or ’Why did the timeline change?’ you could ask about the reason behind everything."
Wang Gege blinked, "The reason behind everything?"
"Mm." Xie Rong gently tapped her forehead. "If all these events are connected, then perhaps the answer to their root cause will naturally explain the other matters."
Wang Gege’s expression slowly became thoughtful. "So instead of asking several questions..." She raised one finger. "I ask one question that forces the world to explain the connection between them?"
"Exactly." Her eyes immediately lit up. "Then..."
She began mumbling to herself, already trying to construct the perfect question. "Why did our souls swap... why did the timeline change... why did Shen Taotao come here... why did we return..."
Xie Rong listened quietly as she continued adding one mystery after another. After a moment, he suddenly reached out and gently covered her mouth with his hand. "Furen."
"Mm?" Her eyebrows slightly arched.
"You are trying to put the entire history of two worlds into one question." Xie Rong smiled.
Wang Gege pulled his hand away and frowned. "Of course! I only have one chance!"
Xie Rong laughed softly. "Then perhaps this husband should help you make it shorter."
Wang Gege nodded seriously. "Okay. Help me."
Xie Rong’s expression became thoughtful as he looked at her. "Ask the world what caused everything that led us to this point."
Wang Gege’s eyes widened slightly. She repeated his words under her breath.
"Everything that led us to this point..."
Then her expression slowly changed. "Will it work?"
She slightly pouted, clearly unconvinced. "Why does it sound so unclear...?"
Xie Rong chuckled softly, "Because Furen is trying to make one question do the work of ten questions."
"But I only have one chance!" Wang Gege complained.
"I know." He gently pinched her cheek before continuing, "That’s why the wording matters. If you ask too vaguely, the world might only give you a vague answer."
Wang Gege’s pout deepened. "Then what should I ask?"
Xie Rong fell silent for a moment, thinking carefully. "Perhaps you should ask what caused our souls to be swapped, the timeline to change, and the two of us to end up in this world together."
Wang Gege blinked.
"That sounds more specific."
"Mm." Xie Rong nodded. "And because you are asking for the cause, the answer should explain how those events are connected."
Wang Gege’s eyes slowly brightened, "So instead of asking what happened one by one, I ask for the reason behind all of them?"
"Exactly." Xie Rong bobbed his head.
She nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly frowned again.
"But what if Mini decides to be annoying and only answers one part?"
Xie Rong tilted his head slightly, looking curious.
"Does Mini always annoy you?"
"No..." Wang Gege hesitated. "Just... hmm. Since Mini is still just a system, who knows what is behind all those codes and rules? It keeps saying only one question can be answered, and since it is called ’One Question To The World’ in the first place..."
She trailed off, still looking troubled.
Xie Rong watched her for a moment before leaning slightly closer, his lips pursing as he waited for her answer.
"Then... What is bothering Furen the most at this moment?"
Wang Gege blinked.
Xie Rong continued calmly, "Think carefully and ask that one. At least if we cannot get every answer, we should make sure we get the answer you need the most."
Wang Gege fell silent.
What was bothering her the most?
The souls?
The timeline?
The reason they had transmigrated?
Or the possibility that everything they had experienced was merely another part of some predetermined fate?
Her fingers slowly tightened around Xie Rong’s sleeve as she gazed at his face. Then, after a long silence, she finally looked up at him. "Husband..."
"Hmm?"
"I think I know what I should ask." Wang Gege pressed her lips together and took a deep breath, her expression becoming determined.
"Mini..."
A familiar golden spark suddenly flickered in the room.
Mini appeared in front of them, its tiny body floating happily in the air. "Host! What can Mini help with this time?"
Wang Gege inhaled deeply, "I want to use my reward... One Question To The World."
Mini blinked, "Sure, Host... ask away."
Wang Gege’s fingers tightened around Xie Rong’s sleeve. She had already decided what she wanted to know.
"Why did Xie Rong arrive in this world one year before me despite transmigrating later, and how is his arrival connected to the fate of the original Xie Rong, who was supposed to die on the battlefield?"
The moment her words fell, the room suddenly became silent.
Even Mini stopped blinking.
"Host..." Mini slowly raised its cute little finger. "That is two questions..."
"How are those two questions?" Wang Gege frowned, clearly unsatisfied with Mini’s answer.
Mini raised its finger a little higher, "When Host connected two sentences with an ’and,’ it didn’t mean two questions suddenly became one..."
Wang Gege’s lips twitched, "But they are related..."
"Related questions are still separate questions." Mini blinked its eyes innocently.
"I didn’t know you could be this petty, Mini..." She pressed her lips together in irritation.
Mini’s little body froze for a moment. "Mini is not being petty, Host..."
"Then what are you being?" She let go of Xie Rong’s sleeve and stepped forward
"Following the rules." Mini answered.
Wang Gege stared at the tiny golden bee in silence.
For some reason, she suddenly felt like arguing with her own system was becoming more difficult than dealing with the mysteries of two worlds.
She took a few moments of silence before ending up muttering a question, "Then, my final question would be... When is the exact time... Ethan Xu transmigrated to this ancient world?"
"Furen!"