She smiled.
At this time, only her, Luo Qiu, and You Ye were left. Aunt Ren took a deep breath at this moment. She quietly pulled Luo Qiu to a corner, then looked around mysteriously. She quickly stuffed a card in Boss Luo’s hand. Then, she hurriedly turned around and left, saying that she could go back alone. It didn’t matter if Luo Qiu didn’t come back tonight.
Aunt Ren moved so fast; there was no room for Luo Qiu to speak.
Luo Qiu looked at the card in his hand and turned around. It was a hotel whose name was written on it. This hotel was one of the most expensive in the city. So this card was the key card of the hotel room.
“She’s really willing to pay for it.” Luo Qiu smiled slightly.
With his eyes closed, he could imagine Ren Ziling’s sour face when she paid for the room.
…
Luo Qiu naturally didn’t want to stay in the hotel suite. However, if he didn’t check-in, Ren Ziling would inevitably nag. So he went through the check-in procedure. After entering the room, he went back to the club directly from the hotel suite.
He came to the room on the third floor in the club alone.
The third Golden Silver Card obtained in the Yan Wuyue World was suspended on his palm at this time.
This wasn’t the first time Luo Qiu saw the altar in another form. In the past, he had successfully embedded two Golden Silver Cards in the hidden altar’s second form.
Without any hesitation, Luo Qiu inserted the Golden Silver Card into the pillar extended from the altar. The third Golden Silver Card suddenly brightened and then plunged directly into a groove on the pillar.
When a Golden Silver Card was inserted for the very first time, the second form of altar projected gray-white earth in front of Luo Qiu.
Later, the former boss asked Eric to send over a Golden Silver Card. After Luo Qiu inserted the second card, there was no new change here. However, Luo Qiu progressed through a stage and opened the Border Gate for the club. The boss’s capability was promoted to an incredible level too.
Since the second Golden Silver Card insertion, Luo Qiu had completed a transformation during the Golden Week on that isolated island. It was a spiritual ascent which he couldn’t tell.
When the third Golden Silver Card was inserted, Luo Qiu felt utterly different from before. The altar in front of him seemed to come alive in an instant.
In the past, the communication between him and this altar had always been a kind of communication on the spiritual level, and the feeling that this altar gave off was lifeless. It was as if the altar was a well-designed mechanism. Although Luo Qiu had tried his best to make up for the altar’s voice to make himself feel better, it was still his imagination.
The altar still had no emotional fluctuations, as if it were just an object.
But at this moment, the altar gave off a sense of vigor which amazed Luo Qiu. Luo Qiu was about to decipher it carefully, but the feeling faded suddenly.
It felt like a person had fallen asleep – the person suddenly opened his eyes but just opened it for a moment and fell asleep again deeply.
But, the altar was alive!
“This time, it just lets me confirm that the altar is alive.” Luo Qiu murmured.
Although this discovery was considered to be important, it was far from the final surprise. Luo Qiu shook his head. Just as he was about to restore the altar to its first form, a colossal hourglass gradually appeared in front of Luo Qiu!
This hourglass was also the image projected by the altar’s second form. It appears before the gray earth, and the two were almost in opposition.
Luo Qiu frowned.
This newly projected hourglass was similar to the hourglass that counted his lifespan when he first became the club owner. At that time, the hourglass calculated his remaining lifespan, which was only 30 days back then.
This hourglass still existed, but the timespan went much longer. After an extended period, only the hourglass of his lifespan would drop a speck of small sand reluctantly.
“The hourglass is a time counter.” Luo Qiu pondered for a moment and said to himself, “If I continue to collect the Golden Silver Card, will that allow the sand in the hourglass to flow one day?”
So, when the sand of this hourglass runs out, what will happen?
“It’s time to see the outside world…”
Luo Qiu muttered to himself. The second form of altar also began to disappear gradually.
…
Opening the security door of the house, Subeditor Ren still looked dejected since Luo Qiu won’t be waiting for her in the living room now.
Ren Ziling dropped her hands like zombies, hooked with her feet to close the door. Then, she dragged her hollow body back to the room.
She didn’t change her clothes but just lay directly on the bed.
But she felt as if something hard was against her abdomen. Ren Ziling frowned and rolled sideways reluctantly. She reached out her hand and took out a rectangular box under the quilt.
A note was posted on it: Merry Christmas.
That was Luo Qiu’s handwriting.
Ren Ziling was startled and muttered, “I forgive you, brat. Don’t forget this old lady when you get a wife. But, wait, the shape of this box. I hope nothing weird is in it.”
Ren Ziling shuddered at once and quickly opened the box violently. She revealed a thick, long, cylinder-shaped item—a thermos flask. It was convenient to put in the car’s storage compartment.
Ren Ziling looked at the insulated bottle and suddenly burst into laughter. She just took it as a cheap item and went to sleep slowly.
…
The festive decorations in the club lobby seemed like a waste.
The boss and the maid were not there all night.
Luo Qiu exited from the third floor. When he appeared at the lobby entrance, the maid, sitting still on the chair, opened her eyes and was about to get up.
But Luo Qiu waved his hand at this time, motioning that You Ye didn’t have to stand up.
The maid showed a puzzled look. Luo Qiu didn’t explain. He just looked at the layout around the lobby and said, “It feels a bit wasted.”
You Ye whispered, “If you consider the time zone difference, Christmas Eve hasn’t passed yet.”
“That’s right.” Luo Qiu smiled and suddenly snapped his fingers. The turntable, which was quietly placed in the corner of the lobby, automatically turned on at this time.
A vinyl disc flew into the turntable at this time and then slowly rotated under the stylus, like a black vortex. It was as if the music from the eternally distant time and space began to sound.
It was the song from a fantasy movie about a ring many years ago: “May-It-Be.” [1]
—May it be an evening star
—Shines down upon you
—May it be when darkness falls
—Your heart will be true
“Isn’t “Amazing-Grace” more befitting?” You Ye blinked and asked curiously.
Luo Qiu walked towards her.
Luo Qiu came to You Ye and took her hand gently, “You are my grace.”
Luo Qiu gently kissed the back of You Ye’s hand and then whispered, “May I?”
It was an invitation to a dance.