Shrouded Seascape

"Am I sure if he even exists in the first place?" Anna retorted, "If I believe he exists, then he exists. He must be out there somewhere, so keep searching for him."

"Ms. Anna, I'm already doing the best that I can. I've asked my people to treat the search as if we were looking for children to rescue from the hands of human traffickers. We've been looking all over the place, including the newspapers and the Internet.

"Do you know what people are saying about me because of this search that I launched? They're saying that I'm making such a big fuss about that child, as that child is my illegitimate son!"

Anna crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, looking coldly at Wang Jianshe. "Keep searching for him. Once you find him, you'll be with your son again."

Wang Jianshe's face turned extremely ugly. "I can keep searching, but you have to provide more details. I have nothing to work with but a sketch, so how am I supposed to keep looking?"

Instead of responding, Anna put on a mask, and her figure vibrated at a speed imperceptible to the human eye as she melted into the floor.

"Keep looking for him."

"Wait! Hold on!" Wang Jianshe exclaimed, raising his hand.

Anna looked up at Wang Jianshe with half her body stuck in the floor.

Wang Jianshe's face was ugly; he scratched his graying hair with apparent frustration before asking, "Are you sure that he exists?"

"Of course, I'm sure of that. Do you really think that I'm bored enough to play with you by making you find someone who doesn't exist?" Anna asked.

Wang Jianshe steeled his heart, and he seemed to have made a decision as he said, "You know I'm just a businessman. If we were in ancient times, I'd have the lowest social status compared to scholars, farmers, and artisans."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Anna asked, frowning slightly.

"I'm saying that I have some connections with certain people. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? If you demonstrate your power in front of those people, they will definitely help you."

"No, that is not going to happen!" Anna firmly refused. The most important reason she sought out Wang Jianshe was that he was just a businessman.

Anna instantly saw through Wang Jianshe's suggestion, and she believed that it was a wise decision, but things were going to become more and more dangerous for her the higher she went up in the echelons.

It was unknown whether the IMF had close ties with all the nations throughout the world. Moreover, if Wang Jianshe were to get some high-level people involved, there'd be no telling whether one of them was from the IMF or not.

"Keep looking for him even if it means going bankrupt. Everything is going to be fine once you find him. If you can't find him for me, then… find your own son yourself," Anna declared.

On the way home, Anna's head was slightly lowered as she pondered over Wang Jianshe's words.

Could it be that Charles actually doesn't exist here? Anna thought, and her eyes glimmered in confusion. Her determined words earlier were just an act that she had put on to convince Wang Jianshe into continuing the search for Charles.

The truth was that even Anna herself was not sure whether Charles existed here or not. The time period, the environment, and the city all matched, but Charles and his family were missing.

Anna had no idea what was going on. There were too many variables, such as Tobba's conjecture and the wishes from 005. However, Anna's confusion lasted only for a few seconds as her eyes became determined once again.

Perhaps she had been transported into another plane, or she could have unknowingly gotten involved in someone's schemes. Regardless of the truth, Anna had to go back to the Subterranean Sea and reclaim her true power. ℞

***

Lily in a skirt was sitting inside a library at Hope Island University. There was an old, dusty book in her hands.

A pen extended from the side and tapped on the book.

"Look, there are two boys stealing glances at you on our right."

The pen came from Maya. She was the one who introduced the university to Lily upon the latter's first visit. It had been quite a while since then, so the two were friends now.

Lily immersed in her book snapped back to reality. She looked up instinctively and saw two boys hurriedly using the books in their hands to cover their faces.

"Maya, stop messing around," Lily said, sounding dissatisfied. Then, she continued reading the book in her hands.

"Stop reading. It's lunch now," Maya said.

Lily looked up at the wall clock and found it was indeed twelve o'clock. She grabbed her small bag and followed her friend out of the library. Lily attracted many gazes as she walked down the campus trail; her looks were just too outstanding.

In addition, she had a sweet and lovely demeanor, garnering her the favor of the university's male population. In a nutshell, she was the campus belle—the dream lover of the majority of the male students.

Lily had been here for a while now, but she still couldn't get used to that feeling. It was unknown whether it was due to her life as a mouse, but their gazes were making her feel uncomfortable.

"You don't like these two, and you didn't like those people the other day. What exactly is your type?" Maya asked jokingly.

"I don't know, but I don't like them. Mr. Bandages has allowed them to study here for free, but they waste their time on that kind of thing. Hmph! They're problem students!" Lily replied.

She was truly dissatisfied with them, as she felt like the resources that they were wasting here were coming out of her own pocket.

"You can't blame them. You're just too beautiful." Maya chuckled, holding Lily's arm. "Anyway, I noticed that you changed a lot, Lily. Back then, you were like a ten-year-old child. Now, I can see that you've grown up a bit."

"I was just too naive back then," Lily didn't deny Maya's words. "I took things at face value at the time."

Lily couldn't help but feel embarrassed upon being reminded of her childish antics. She justified her actions at the time by saying that her mental age was frozen at ten years old upon becoming a mouse.

Soon, the two arrived at the cafeteria. They went in and got their trays. Food was free for the students of Hope Island University. After all, this university was Hope Island's primary source of talent.

The Governor's Mansion had dedicated a ton of funds to the university, so spending a bit more money to foot the meals of the students wasn't really a big deal.

Maya and Lily sat down at the corner of a dining table with their trays.

"Back then, there was someone who'd help me with everything. I had no reason to think or worry about anything, as I knew that he'd come through and resolve any issues, regardless of how troublesome they were," Lily remarked.

Maya's face shifted slightly, showing a bit of envy. As a child from a poor family, Maya's eyes were opened to the harsh reality of the world a bit too early than those from rich families.

"Lily, have you ever thought about what type of person you want to marry in the future? If the governor were looking for marriage partners, I believe you'd be qualified to marry the governor."

Lily seemed to have thought of something just then, and her face turned slightly red as she replied, "I never really thought about that. For now, I just want to learn and keep learning.

"You were right. Knowledge broadens your horizons and develops your mind. I really need some more development, so I need to make up for it by taking some more lessons. Yes, I feel like I haven't really grown up yet."

"Ah, it must be good to be a child from a rich family. Even your reason for studying sounds so refined," Maya quipped.

Lily bumped her shoulder gently and said, "Hurry up and eat. We have to eat fast, or we'll run out of good seats in the library."

Lily used her fork to roll up the noodles on her plate. Just as she brought the noodles to her mouth, someone tapped the table in front of her.