Movie? What movie?
Tang Xiao asked for details and soon learned that a documentary from years ago was now being remade into a new biographical film—about him, of course.
A century had passed, and many details of past events could now be disclosed to the public, including the growth of the legendary scientist Tang Xiao, the war both worlds had faced, and more. Before leaving Earth, Tang Xiao had participated in an extensive interview, where he truthfully recounted the entire process.
However, when the original documentary was released, Tang Xiao couldn’t bring himself to watch it. Not only did he avoid watching it, but he also joined a classified project and used the opportunity to block all access to anything related to it.
Don’t ask why—just shame. Even Jun Tesi, he had tricked into not watching it.
But now… this newly remade biographical film…
Tang Xiao looked conflicted. “Did they really say that? Did they leave a message in the film?”
“That, I don’t know.” The principal shrugged. “You’ll have to watch and find out.”
It seemed like there was no other choice.
Tang Xiao took a long time to mentally prepare himself before stepping into the cinema with Jun Tesi.
The theater was plastered with posters, the largest of which prominently featured an actor who bore an uncanny resemblance to Tang Xiao, dressed in a white lab coat, looking directly at the camera.
Hiss…
Tang Xiao tried to console himself. It was just a biographical film, not actually his face on the big screen. He could just treat it as watching someone else’s story.
“Xiaoxiao, look, is this me?” Jun Tesi asked with great interest, pointing at a digitally generated creature on a poster. And indeed, it looked exactly like the one from Tang Xiao’s memories.
“Shhh…” Tang Xiao tugged at his mask, motioning for him to keep his voice down.
The theater was packed. Tang Xiao could only hope that most of these young people weren’t actually here for the documentary-style biopic and had just come for the blockbuster action film showing later.
Yes, that had to be it!
Five minutes later, Tang Xiao sat in the fully occupied screening hall, his face filled with despair. He muttered, “This doesn’t make sense… Biographical films like this are usually boring, more like documentaries. Why are so many people here…?”
“Xiaoxiao, this movie seems to be pretty popular,” Jun Tesi remarked while scrolling through reviews. “The ratings online are really high. Look—‘A film that balances both artistic depth and commercial appeal. If this were just an original script, it would be too unrealistic. But the fact that it’s real makes it all the more compelling.’”
Tang Xiao quickly leaned over to check the review site. It was the top-rated review, with countless likes and agreements. The film’s rating was hovering around 9.5.
If this were just any other movie, Tang Xiao might have looked forward to the experience. But the fact that it was his documentary made him feel extremely uneasy.
But it was too late for regrets now. The theater had gone completely dark—the movie had begun.
A male actor with strikingly similar features to Tang Xiao appeared on the screen. Then, the introduction rolled.
A university student, majoring in biology—a field considered a dead end at the time—felt hopeless about his future. He immersed himself in gaming, considered switching majors, argued with his family, moved out on his own, and barely had any presence on campus.
In just a few brief scenes, the film had vividly captured Tang Xiao’s past situation.
“…It wasn’t that bad.” Tang Xiao muttered, covering half his face with one hand. “I was actually pretty happy back then… Okay, maybe I was a bit lost.”
“Well, it’s a movie. There’s bound to be some dramatization,” Jun Tesi whispered to comfort him.
The movie’s volume was high, but a nearby viewer still caught some of their conversation and turned to glance at them—only to see both were wearing masks.
Huh? Wearing masks in a movie theater? What kind of move was that?
As the plot progressed, the protagonist entered a game. Tang Xiao knew—this was where the story truly began.
What followed was a sequence he remembered all too well. He arrived at Third Eye, where he saw…
So beautiful—
While all the other researchers looked at the creature locked in the lab with fear and disgust, only one person remained standing in place, eyes slightly widened, filled with genuine admiration.
Their eyes met, reflecting each other in their gaze.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh!
Tang Xiao suddenly remembered—the documentary filmmakers had interviewed him about his thoughts and emotions. They had also asked for permission to make his relationship with Jun Tesi public.
Tang Xiao had a partner, but the public had never known their true identity. At the time, the authorities had chosen to keep it a secret for them. But now, so much time had passed, both parallel worlds had gone their separate ways, and an entire generation had changed. Whether it remained a secret or not no longer seemed to matter, so they had asked for his approval.
Which meant…
Tang Xiao stiffly turned to look at Jun Tesi—only to see him staring intently at the screen.
“…Forget it. I changed my mind. Let’s not watch this.” Tang Xiao immediately tried to stand up and leave, only for Jun Tesi to firmly press him back into his seat.
Jun Tesi’s smile was impossible to contain. “No, I want to watch it.”
“You already have all my memories!”
“Ah, but I want to see how you saw me.”
Tang Xiao and Jun Tesi struggled between the two seats for a moment. In the end, under the gazes of those around them, Tang Xiao backed down and sat back in his seat in humiliation.
Wasn’t this public execution?! If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have let them say so much!
Right now, Tang Xiao was drowning in regret. But it was too late—the film was already playing, and in front of so many people, no less.
The movie’s content was not something Tang Xiao could change at will; it continued progressing step by step.
What was said online was quite accurate—if this were an original script, people might doubt its authenticity, dismissing it as an over-the-top popcorn movie.
But this was indeed the magnificent and turbulent life of the scientist named Tang Xiao.
He traveled between two worlds, steadily making a name for himself in the academic field.
He started as a rival with the experimental subject, then became allies. Over time, their relationship eased. The creature’s naivety and actions beyond human comprehension infused what should have been a tense, blood-soaked atmosphere with a strange mix of ambiguity and horror.
The audience was clearly immersed in the film, which only made Tang Xiao feel even more embarrassed, as if his own peculiar tastes were being publicly exposed.
But Jun Tesi looked quite pleased.
Relishing the experience all over again, he leaned in to whisper into Tang Xiao’s ear, “I think I’ve fallen in love with you all over again.”
A hundred years had passed, and memories had been processed and faded over time. But now, revisiting them, he found himself touched in new ways—because, from Tang Xiao’s perspective, he could now more clearly understand what he had been thinking back then.
It was like a love letter sent across a century.
Under Jun Tesi’s gaze, filled with affection, the embarrassed flush on Tang Xiao’s face gradually faded, replaced by a soft pink hue in the dim theater lighting.
It was then that Tang Xiao suddenly noticed—there seemed to be quite a few couples in the audience as well.
Maybe because, although it was a personal biography, the emotional portrayal between him and Jun Tesi was a bit… excessive.
Tang Xiao had no idea that as soon as the movie was released, fan-made content about them had already spread all over the internet.
As the plot deepened, war gradually broke out, and the music grew tense. First-time viewers instinctively tensed up as well. The climax of the film, without a doubt, was Tang Xiao’s orchestrated fake death.
Tang Xiao watched the scene with a blank expression. He had long known how it would end. A hundred years had passed, and he no longer felt anything about it. Yet, at this moment, he heard the soft sobs of young girls in the theater.
Tang Xiao: … Uh, surely it’s not that dramatic?
The film’s emotional manipulation was too effective—not only young girls but even grown men had reddened eyes in the dim lighting. Only the mastermind behind it all sat awkwardly in his seat.
“…Xiaoxiao…” Jun Tesi’s voice carried a hint of grievance. Tang Xiao turned to him helplessly. “It’s been so long already.”
Jun Tesi stared at him without speaking. Then, suddenly, he leaned in, his voice husky. “I want to kiss you here.”
“…Do you think that’s appropriate?”
“Why not? Others have done it just now too.”
Tang Xiao’s ears burned. At this moment, the most intense part of the movie was nearing its end, and everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen. He closed his eyes briefly, his eyelashes trembling. “…Do whatever you want.”
Jun Tesi gently pulled down Tang Xiao’s mask. The young man’s face still bore a faint red mark as Jun Tesi leaned in.
Whatever faint sounds there were, they were completely drowned out by the stirring music of the film. As Jun Tesi listened to the tragic melody and the muffled sobs around them, he kissed the person in his arms.
It was fine—everything was in the past now.
Now, they were heading toward an eternal future.
As the screen’s colors shifted from gray back to light, the person sitting next to Tang Xiao suddenly noticed him sitting up straight again, lowering his head to put his mask back on. For some reason, in that brief moment, he seemed oddly familiar.
The final act, naturally, was the reunion of the two lovers and the resolution of the last lingering threat.
In reality, whether or not to reveal the details about Tang Xiao from Universe 001 to the audience had been a subject of debate among those in charge. So, in the end, the movie did not explicitly show how humanity solved the crisis of world fusion. Instead, it hinted at time and the Mbius loop through subtle visual storytelling.
In any case, the world was ultimately restored to peace, and the young scientist Tang Xiao reached the peak of his career.
As the film ended and the theater lights brightened again, the credits began rolling. The audience remained seated in a daze. It took a few seconds before people snapped back to reality and began discussing the movie enthusiastically as they left the theater. Tang Xiao, however, remained in his seat, frowning in thought. Now that the movie was over… what exactly was it that Xiao Bai and the others wanted him to see?
He had been paying close attention the whole time, but he hadn’t noticed any hidden messages in the film’s plot. Or…
A minute or two later, the credits finally ended. Then, suddenly, the screen lit up again, displaying a photograph—
A real-life group photo of scientists.
At the same time, a voiceover played:
“Dr. Xiao, what are your thoughts on Dr. Tang Xiao?”
“A sharp and ambitious young man.”
“At first, I thought he was trying to pull some strings.”
Two similar yet distinct voices sounded in succession. Then, the scene shifted, revealing two different versions of Xiao Bai on screen. They were no longer young—the Xiao Bai in the film had aged, his hair now white, deep wrinkles lining the corners of his eyes.
Tang Xiao knew that these were two versions of Xiao Bai from different worlds. This film had originated from a documentary—a collaboration between the governments of two parallel worlds, filmed before the final separation of their realities.
“But later, I felt immense gratitude. The connections between people are a miracle. And he—he was the greatest miracle I ever encountered.”
A subtitle appeared at the bottom, explaining Xiao Bai’s identity.
Nobel Laureate, Tenured Professor at XX University.
[At the same time, also Dr. Tang Xiao’s mentor.]
“If it weren’t for him, I think many people wouldn’t be able to live as freely as they do now,” Xiao Bai said.
“He is my guiding star.” A similarly elderly man appeared on the screen. His once golden hair had faded to a near-white, but his deep blue eyes remained as bright as when he first met Tang Xiao. “I’ve learned so much by his side,” he continued. “Even now, we are still the best of friends.”
Xiao Bai, Lodge, Feng Shuyun, Aberk…
One by one, familiar faces appeared on the screen. Most of them were no longer around, yet their voices, and their smiles, were forever captured on film.
At that moment, Tang Xiao suddenly understood why they had been so insistent on him watching this movie.
Even if they were gone, the images on the screen would remain. Even if the hard drives were destroyed, the memories of them would continue to live on in people’s hearts.
Until the day Tang Xiao returned from the cold, dark expanse of space.
“Perhaps by the time he sees this, many of us will already have passed,” Xiao Bai looked into the camera, “but given this opportunity, I still want to say— Don’t be afraid. Life, death, sickness, and aging are all part of existence.”
Lodge: “I know how passionate you are about scientific research, how curious you are about the stars. We share that same curiosity.”
Feng Shuyun: “If you ever get tired, it’s okay to come back to Earth once in a while.”
Aberk: “I really envy Dr. Tang Xiao… He gets to witness the future of human technology with his own eyes and explore the mysteries of the universe to his heart’s content.”
“So please… take our research with you—into the future.”
Tang Xiao stared at the massive screen, his tightly wound emotions, the grief he had accumulated, crashing down like a flood, overwhelming his rational mind.
Slowly, he bent forward. His eyes shimmered with unshed tears. Jun Tesi turned to him, gripping his hand tightly, a hint of guilt flickering in his gaze.
He was the one who had insisted on bringing Tang Xiao back, to spend what was essentially an eternity together.
But at this moment, a rare trace of fear surfaced in Jun Tesi’s heart.
Would he… regret it?
His grip tightened. But Tang Xiao suddenly turned and embraced him, his muffled voice filled with warmth. “Thank you, Jun Tesi.”
If Jun Tesi hadn’t stubbornly pulled him back, he might have returned to a version of Earth that no longer bore any trace of his past.
The past was the past.
Humans were meant to look forward, but sometimes, they needed to glance back—to find the courage to keep moving ahead.
“Now, I have a new research topic.” Tang Xiao lifted his head, the corners of his eyes still tinged with red. “How to face immortality… and how to face all the farewells along the way.”
“You’ll study it with me, won’t you?”
Jun Tesi leaned in and embraced him in response. That was his answer.
The road to the future would never be walked alone.
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