Echoes of Time

Chapter 2: This Man, Named Clydesdale

At first, Narnia thought she must have been seeing things wrong. But after rushing to her room to fetch a photo for comparison, she confirmed that it was indeed the same person!

This actor was the kind that left a lasting impression with just a glance. His handsomeness was one thing, but the natural elegance about him was not something commonly seen.

Especially in modern times, it was as rare as a phoenix feather or a qilin horn.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Narnia fixed her gaze on the screen, not wanting to miss any of his scenes.

In the movie, he seemed to play an antagonist, ambiguous between good and evil, making it hard to guess his intentions. Yet, with just a look, one could tell whether what he was about to do was good or bad.

However, his screen time was limited, and as the movie ended, Narnia rewound it, continuing to study his face.

Sometimes, she would even press pause, her eyes locked onto him, not daring to blink, as if she were bewitched.

By the time she was done, the sky had already brightened.

With dark circles under her eyes, Narnia cursed under her breath, "This man, he's something else! How can someone be so good-looking?"

She couldn't believe she had spent the entire night watching a man? And a handsome one who didn't even exist anymore!

This actor, if he were still alive today, would probably be an old man by now, wouldn't he?

Thinking of this, Narnia was taken aback. Why did she use "if"? Did she subconsciously believe he was dead? Or could it be that the deceased in the car was him?

Just as she was pondering this, Narnia suddenly thought of something and quickly checked the credits at the end of the film.

The screen showed the cast of characters, and Narnia carefully watched, only seeing the words "Special Appearance" followed by a name: Clydesdale.

This man's name was Clydesdale.

Narnia's first reaction was to search on her computer, but the results were unexpected...

She typed in the name Clydesdale, but there was no information about this person, only a mix of unrelated things.

Doubting the search, she checked the movie she had just watched, and an even weirder thing happened!

The movie resource was still there, but all of Clydesdale's scenes had been deleted, cut out completely.

Suspecting that she might be running a fever, Narnia touched her forehead, found herself well, and quickly rushed downstairs. Upon inspecting the television, she realized she had been watching a pirated DVD...

"Mount Olympus, what are you doing up so early?"

Just as Mount Olympus, yawning, passed by, he saw her charge over, holding the DVD and questioning him, "Tell me, where did you get this DVD?"Father Olympus stumbled for a moment, attempting a dry laugh as he made a joke of it. "It's from an old friend, I just put it on last night to pass the time."

Narnia eyed him suspiciously. "Then why didn't you turn off the TV after you were done?"

Father Olympus frowned. "Did I? I thought I did."

Putting aside the issue of the forgotten TV, Narnia continued seriously, "Dad, do you know this actor named Clydesdale? I did some research and couldn't find any information about him. He's not even in the official version of the film. It's like someone deliberately erased all traces of him."

Father Olympus remained calm and asked her in return, "Why are you asking about this?"

Narnia massaged her temples in frustration. "Dad, you're the chief. Don't you know about the case my team is working on?"

"I do, but what does that have to do with the actor you're asking about?" he evaded her question.

To avoid further inquiries, Narnia told him about her discovery from last night. After listening, Father Olympus simply replied with an "Oh," followed by "I don't know."

Narnia inwardly accused her father of being sly, intentionally asking just to find out what she was investigating.

Due to the strange nature of the incident, Narnia quickly showered and rushed to the police station without even having breakfast, hoping her colleagues could help her look into it.

However, it seemed it wasn't her day as she was rear-ended at a traffic light.

The impact pushed her car forward, running over the white line.

Holding the steering wheel, Narnia thought, who would dare to hit a criminal investigator's car?

She was about to get out of the car when she caught a glimpse of two burly black men in suits through the rearview mirror, both touching their backsides as they exited the vehicle. Narnia knew this move indicated they were armed.

Narnia narrowed her eyes. Remaining calm, she checked the traffic light. With seven seconds left, she leaned back to get a clear look at their faces through the mirror.

Unfortunately, they were wearing sunglasses, but she memorized their features.

When they approached, attempting to open her car door, Narnia seized the moment, stepped on the accelerator, and drove across the pedestrian crossing, leaving them behind.

In the mirror, she saw them pause in surprise before rushing back to their car to continue the chase.

Narnia was no fool; she knew they were targeting her, not just an accidental collision.

With one hand on the wheel, she called her colleague at the station who was monitoring traffic, asking him to check the license plate of the car that hit her.

After hanging up, she glanced out the window and saw them catching up.

The car window lowered, and the occupants made a g*n gesture at her, signaling her to pull over.

Narnia's brow furrowed. She was certain they wouldn't shoot, but they were clearly looking for trouble.Narnia ignored them and continued driving, but to her surprise, they actually rammed into the side of her car! With a loud "Crash," it seemed as if they were determined to overturn her vehicle.

Clutching the steering wheel, Narnia stepped on the accelerator, overtaking cars in front of her under acceleration. In terms of street racing skills, she had never lost to anyone.

However, as they say, man proposes, God disposes. Narnia never expected that, as she approached an intersection, another car would suddenly burst out from the side, colliding violently with hers!

The tires slipped frantically on the ground, creating a loud, ear-piercing screech —

Squeal —

As her car was sent flying, Narnia cursed, "Dammit!"

The airbags deployed automatically upon impact. The force of the collision was so great that the bag on the passenger seat, whose zipper was undone, emptied its contents.

Including that old photo, which, under the breeze, began to float towards her.

With her forehead cut and bleeding, Narnia struggled to open her eyes and, instinctively, reached out to grab the photo.

But in that very instant, the photo turned to ashes in her hand and vanished!

Narnia was stupefied, but before she could process her astonishment, she was enveloped in darkness…

Some time later, Narnia opened her eyes, feeling groggy.

She saw a white ceiling and thought she was in a hospital, so she closed her eyes again.

But then, she heard familiar voices speaking, not too loud, as if coming from outside the room.

Narnia furrowed her brows and opened her eyes again, suddenly feeling something was off. She sat up abruptly, feeling her body all over.

There were no injuries! No pain!

"Odd, didn't I get into a car accident?" Narnia checked herself and found she was still in the clothes she had worn when she left home. Her phone was still in her pocket, but she was not injured, and she was in a completely unfamiliar place.

Cautiously, Narnia got out of bed and glanced at the window. It was pitch black outside. Was it already night? Totally confused, she walked out.

Upon noticing someone outside, she immediately dodged back.

With her back to the wall, Narnia held her breath, warily observing the situation outside.

Then, she heard that familiar voice ask, "Is it Mount Olympus?"

Narnia was taken aback. Who was Mount Olympus? And why did that voice sound so familiar?

After some thought, it dawned on her! It was the voice she had heard all night last night, the one called "Clydesdale"!

At that moment, Narnia cautiously peeked out and saw a man in a white shirt sitting on the sofa in a living room with a European style, holding a white cat in his arms.

Seeing this, Narnia was flabbergasted. Was she so crazy about the man that she was dreaming about him?