Die, Replay, Repeat

Chapter 36: I See The Future

"Wait, what!?" Shen Lingxue's eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you for real? Fang Xiu can actually see into the future?"

Li Wenhao nodded thoughtfully. "Our equipment is top-notch. Remember, Fang Xiu and Zhao Hao were just regular guys until recently. So, the chances they figured out we were spying on them are slim. That means they weren't just pretending on the phone. And Fang Xiu mentioned something else."

He took a deep breath, looking even more serious.

"Well, what did he say?" Shen Lingxue pressed.

"He said he's expecting visitors soon."

"Visitors? You don't think he means..."

The two of them looked at each other, their faces clearly showing they both had the same shocking revelation.

Li Wenhao slowly shared his thoughts. "Considering Fang Xiu doesn't have many friends, and since he's an orphan with no family popping by, I think he's talking about us."

Shen Lingxue was quiet for a moment, lost in thought.

Then she whispered, "Is it even possible for someone to see the future? And if it's real, someone like Fang Xiu shouldn't have such a powerful ability."

Li Wenhao nodded. "Right. Usually, the better the power, the bigger the catch. Remember that guy who could teleport? As a first-tier psychic, he could only teleport about ten cm for one time. And after that, he'd be super tired and need an hour to rest. That's like, slower than a snail. He'd have to be way stronger to be really good at teleporting. If Fang Xiu can see the future, and he's still pretty new at this, he might only get glimpses of seconds ahead. But he knew we were coming. How long has it been since he made that call?"

"We should be careful," Shen Lingxue warned. "It might just be a lucky guess, or someone might've tipped him off."

Li Wenhao had a sudden idea. "What if we just don't go today? Wouldn't that prove his prediction wrong?"

Shen Lingxue looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "Our job is to scope out Fang Xiu and Zhao Hao. Are you going to bail just because of one call? What would you tell Director Wang? What if this is some sort of trap from Fang Xiu? Do you really want to be the joke of the office?"

"If Fang Xiu really has this power to see the future, think about how game-changing he'd be in the Investigation Bureau," Shen Lingxue added.

Li Wenhao chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, I was just thinking out loud. I wonder if his power was the real deal. Of course, we're gonna meet him."

"Let's move." Shen Lingxue said, swinging open the car door. The wind played with her hair, making some strands stick to her face. "I need to see for myself if this future-seeing thing is legit."

They both got out and headed to Fang Xiu's place. When they got to his door on the fifth floor, they noticed it was already open just a little. They looked at each other, unsure if Fang Xiu was expecting them or had just forgotten to close his door.

Walking in, they found a tall, calm-looking dude brewing tea. It was Fang Xiu. And get this: three tea cups were set out. One for Fang Xiu, and the other two waiting for the guests. The cups had steam coming out of them.

Shen Lingxue and Li Wenhao were shocked. Was Fang Xiu really seeing the future, or did he have secret cameras or something?

Then Fang Xiu broke the silence. "Miss Shen, Mr. Li, grab a seat."

Their jaws dropped even further. They had never met Fang Xiu. Plus, they worked in a top-secret job, so there was no way a random guy like Fang Xiu would know their names.

Trying to stay calm, Shen Lingxue took a seat and gave Fang Xiu a hard stare. "Who told you our names? And how'd you know we'd show up?"

Without missing a beat and ignoring her hard stare, Fang Xiu just said, "I see the future."

Fang Xiu's bold statement made Shen Lingxue and Li Wenhao's eyes go wide with amazement.

Even though Shen Lingxue was taken aback, she wasn't buying it entirely. "So, you say you can see the future? Prove it."

"You both work for the Investigation Bureau. You're here to look into the incident at Willow Hill Specter Zone and also to see if Zhao Hao and I have any special skills worth joining your team," Fang Xiu said calmly.

"Come on, Mr. Fang. Just because you know that doesn't mean you see the future. Anyone who knows about the Bureau could guess that," Li Wenhao said, unconvinced.

Without taking his eyes off Li Wenhao, Fang Xiu spoke, "You have feelings for Shen Lingxue, don't you? You even wrote her a letter. It's in the pocket of your jacket. It says, 'Lingxue, if you're reading this, I might be gone. There's something I've wanted to tell you for so long'"

"Hey, stop right there!" Li Wenhao cut Fang Xiu off, his face beet-red.

Shen Lingxue looked at him, shocked.

Trying to clear things up, Li Wenhao said, "Look, Shen, he's just making stuff up. I never wrote a letter like that. I mean"

"It's okay," Shen Lingxue tried to make him feel better. "I've gotten a lot of letters from guys before. It's not a big deal. But saying you'd only tell me after something bad might happen to you on the job? Didn't see that one coming. Either way, this 'us' is not happening."

Li Wenhao got even more embarrassed. "I was just"

"Well, do you have the letter? Let me see," Shen Lingxue asked.

"I... uh..."

"Just hand it over. I want to see if Fang Xiu was right."

Li Wenhao, looking defeated, took out an envelope from his jacket. Shen Lingxue grabbed it, quickly reading the first few lines. Her eyes widened even more. The letter's content was exactly what Fang Xiu had said.

She returned the letter to Li Wenhao and then looked right at Fang Xiu. "Li Wenhao isn't the type to show this letter around. But knowing what's in it doesn't mean you see the future. After all, he wrote that in the past."