A Pharaoh and Her Beloved Queen: Modern Chapter - Chapter 1

“From a certain perspective, the civilization of ancient Egypt was never truly interrupted or lost. Over more than three thousand years, its artistic characteristics have hardly changed at all…”

Simple geometric lines outlined Ye Zhiqing’s graceful figure without leaving a single detail to the imagination. Her slightly curled long hair fell loosely around her shoulders, and she wore an elegant brocade dress that suited her perfectly. When her eyes lowered, she seemed noble, aloof, and cool; when she smiled faintly, her eyes remained distant, yet they did not lose their warmth.

These two qualities, which should have stood in opposition to each other, blended together in Ye Zhiqing with perfect balance. Every movement, every frown, every smile carried a clear and refined elegance.

For Ye Zhiqing, who had always kept a low profile, the latest program aired last night had clearly stirred up a wave. Hot search topics containing the words “Ye Zhiqing” and “ancient Egypt” quickly climbed into the top three.

On the program, a mysterious Egyptian merchant had suddenly appeared and gifted an exquisite bracelet marked with the Eye of Horus to Ye Zhiqing, the host of CCTV’s niche cultural program and, at the same time, an antique appraiser for Rongbaozhai, the largest auction house.

Indeed, this topic had more than enough gimmick to make countless people’s imaginations run wild.

Her brows furrowed faintly. Ye Zhiqing watched the replay and quickly pressed pause. In the frame, there was only a blurred back view. Why did it feel so familiar?

Her pulse quickened slightly. From beneath her sternum, her heart sent up a familiar, hidden ache, followed by an inexplicable wave of sourness.

She forced her head back, gasping deeply for breath. Ye Zhiqing collapsed limply on the sofa like a fish out of water. Beads of sweat slid from her fair, luminous neck over her delicate collarbone, slowly disappearing into her open collar.

Following the momentum, she closed her eyes and stopped struggling. Ye Zhiqing allowed that heavy sense of loss and that ancient, desolate grief to drown her. For six years, this feeling had always been a nightmare she could not escape. Her thoughts gradually blurred, scattered.

What exactly had she forgotten during the half year she was unconscious?

Inside the dim room, a wisp of elegant, faint fragrance soon began to gather. It clung to the slender, smooth calves beneath the flickering light and shadow, climbed up along a flat, taut waist and abdomen, then continued upward until it poured into her nose.

It seeped from her nose into her lungs and soothed Ye Zhiqing’s deep unease.

A figure suddenly appeared, silently approaching Ye Zhiqing, who had already fallen into a deep sleep.

The dark figure stared at the person on the sofa for a long time without moving. A scorching, greedy, thirsting gaze traveled from top to bottom, over and over again, inspecting, lingering.

From beneath the sternum on the left came a rhythm that had been absent for far too long. Thousands upon thousands of emotions all vanished into that relieved sigh.

The figure bent, leaned down, and sat cautiously on the outer edge of the sofa.

Slowly, the dark figure reached out and touched Ye Zhiqing’s face once. The touch left as soon as it landed, as though she did not dare be certain. Then she repeated the same action several more times.

Her cool fingertip slid from Ye Zhiqing’s forehead to her brows and lashes, inch by inch, devoutly feeling the real warmth beneath her finger.

A joy born from the bottom of her heart, a whisper too low for anyone to hear, spread through the quiet night.

“I found you, Zhiqing.”

A kiss fell gently on Ye Zhiqing’s forehead. This was a foreign country, a foreign everything. Only this person was familiar.

The dark figure sat motionless on the outer side of the sofa, her back slightly curved in Ye Zhiqing’s direction, until the horizon began to pale.

When Ye Zhiqing woke, it was already nearly noon. Lazy sunlight poured down without restraint, warm and very comfortable.

According to her usual biological clock, she should have woken at seven-thirty, but she had not expected to sleep so long this time. Nor did she wake with that intense palpitation she usually felt.

The curve rising at the corners of her lips revealed Ye Zhiqing’s pleasant mood. She washed up quickly and neatly, ate a simple brunch, tidied herself up, went out, and headed downstairs.

This was a newly developed small villa district in the suburbs. The little houses had been built according to the natural terrain, and French plane trees lined the winding paths. What was worth mentioning was that each home’s layout had been completely customized according to the resident’s wishes.

Aside from the fact that she had only just moved in and was not familiar with the neighbors around her, everything was just right.

With leisurely steps, a gently intoxicating warm breeze, and no particular destination in mind, she wandered idly, freely enjoying this rare peaceful time.

She had long since become perfectly adept at the routine appraisal work at the auction house. As for the program Relics of Civilization, it recorded one episode per month, and now happened to be her free period.

“Meow~ meow meow~~ meow meow meow~~~”

The cat’s call rose and fell with a very distinctive rhythm. Ye Zhiqing followed the sound and looked over.

To be precise, it should have been an Egyptian Mau.

Its body was covered in spotted markings, and between its brows was the iconic scarab pattern. Records of cats like this could be found on murals and papyrus scrolls from the ancient Egyptian era.

For Ye Zhiqing, who had considerable achievements in the study of ancient Egyptian civilization, it was not difficult to recognize.

It was just that the Egyptian Mau was now an extremely rare breed. Ye Zhiqing was very surprised that she could see one merely by coming out for a casual walk. She stood where she was and looked at the cat. Toward everything related to Egypt, Ye Zhiqing had always felt an inexplicable familiarity and fondness.

This cat was, of course, no exception.

One person and one cat stared at each other, big eyes meeting big eyes, for a long time. During this period, Ye Zhiqing had tried to find something to feed it, only to realize that apart from her phone, she had brought nothing with her.

Just as Ye Zhiqing thought the cat would walk away on its own after discovering that she had no food to offer, the cat actually took the initiative to come to Ye Zhiqing’s feet and rubbed against her very affectionately.

Toward fluffy little animals, it was inevitable to feel a few extra traces of tenderness.

Ye Zhiqing naturally crouched down and stroked the cat. Judging from the color of its fur and the bow tie hanging around its neck, it should have an owner. She wondered whether it had gotten lost.

“Little kitty, are you lost? Hm?” Ye Zhiqing’s expression was gentle, very different from the untouchable, high-above-the-rest image most people had of her.

“Ugat.”

A warm, clear voice sounded from behind her, timely and close ahead.

It seemed to be the cat’s name.

The woman wore a simple tracksuit. Her smooth, pure-black hair spilled down like a waterfall. Her features were deeper than those of an Easterner, yet they still carried a lingering elegance like wide sleeves unfurling at leisure. Her posture was perfectly straight. Her appearance was both stunning and comfortable to look at, and the traces of exotic charm revealed in the details made her seem even more mysterious, tempting others to explore.

Especially when she smiled faintly. Her eyes were clearly black, just like Ye Zhiqing’s, yet in a daze, Ye Zhiqing felt as though fragments of gold flashed through them, as if cold, clear starlight had been crushed and scattered inside, making one sink into them without realizing it.

It had been a very long time since Ye Zhiqing had lost her composure like this and stared at someone. Especially when that someone was a woman. By the time she reacted, the roots of her ears had already begun to heat faintly.

Fortunately, the professionalism she had cultivated over the past several years did not allow her to lose her manners and reveal her embarrassment.

“This cat is yours?”

The transition into casual conversation was extremely natural, yet her slightly curled fingers exposed the faint restraint Ye Zhiqing felt at that moment.

This woman, whom she was meeting for the first time, made her feel restrained.

“Mm.”

“She’s very cute.”

“Mm.”

And then…

Although the person across from her had been smiling faintly the entire time, Ye Zhiqing clearly had no idea how to continue the conversation.

She gave an awkward smile. Taking advantage of the moment when the cat walked away, she was about to leave.

As she passed in front of the cat’s owner, her heartbeat clearly sped up. Her blood rushed, and her body temperature gradually rose.

It had obviously been a pleasant temperature just now. Why did she suddenly feel hot? Was she nervous because of a woman she did not know?

Unbelievable. Inconceivable.

And yet it was happening so vividly and truly.

“You don’t recognize me.”

It was a calm statement, spoken in an indifferent tone, yet the grief permeating it was so intense it nearly suffocated a person.

Hearing this, Ye Zhiqing stopped the steps she had secretly quickened. There were only the two of them here.

“Should I know you?” Although she did not know why the suppressed sourness in her heart had suddenly surged up, Ye Zhiqing still asked almost instinctively.

The other woman did not answer. She only looked steadily at Ye Zhiqing, the almost hysterical emotions in her eyes quickly settling back into silence.

She turned around, picked up the cat, and left.

Everything was as though nothing had happened at all, just like that Egyptian cat that had suddenly appeared, then suddenly vanished.

Ye Zhiqing only treated it as a small interlude and did not take it to heart, but she no longer had any desire to continue walking. That uncomfortable feeling in the depths of her heart surged up again. She changed direction and prepared to go back and rest.

Ever since she woke after her accident, for a very long time, she had often fallen into inexplicable, intense sorrow, unable to control herself. At its worst, the rhythm of both her life and work had been thrown completely into disorder.

And yet, whether physically or mentally, there had never been any signs of a problem.

Ye Zhiqing had visited practically every famous psychologist in Huaguo, and every result showed that there was nothing wrong. In the end, they had actually attributed it to neurasthenia.

But Ye Zhiqing knew very clearly in her heart that it absolutely was not. She must have forgotten something.

It was as though she were missing a very important segment of memory. From the moment she saw that golden scepter to the moment she woke, what exactly had she forgotten?

Could it be that the Pharaoh’s curse truly existed?

Rubbing her faintly aching temples, Ye Zhiqing sat down in front of her desk and opened her email.

It was an email from the national archaeological research team. Four years ago, after she had suffered an accident and fallen unconscious for half a year, this project had been suspended for unknown reasons. But now, it seemed the project was being prepared for a restart.

Looking at the invitation sent to her, Ye Zhiqing sat before the computer, lost in thought.

She was hesitating over whether she should once again set foot on that mysterious, dazzling land.

Without a doubt, Egypt held an absolute, irreplaceable allure for Ye Zhiqing.

But if she went, would it cause consequences impossible to estimate? After all, the aftereffects from last time had still not faded even now.

After waking from her coma, Ye Zhiqing had gone from being a firm atheist to someone who occasionally studied the Book of Changes and metaphysics. Ever since she woke, all kinds of subtle signs had indicated that she seemed to have experienced certain things unknown to others.

Because of Ye Zhiqing’s strange condition, the people close to her all avoided mentioning the project from four years ago, and even avoided mentioning any person or object related to ancient Egypt.

Just as Ye Zhiqing was deep in thought, the grand and stirring ringtone of her phone suddenly rang out.

“He’s a Pirate.”

She picked up the phone and glanced at the screen. Ye Zhiqing answered immediately.

“Dad.”

Sure enough, it was because of what had happened during yesterday’s recording, when the Egyptian merchant had suddenly appeared and gifted her the bracelet.

“Dad, don’t worry. I’m fine.”

Under Ye Zhiqing’s patient explanation and repeated assurances, Father Ye did not continue pressing her.

Because four years ago, after Ye Zhiqing had fallen unconscious for half a year without any reason while participating in an ancient Egyptian archaeological project, Father Ye, who loved his daughter dearly, had become extremely sensitive toward the topic of ancient Egypt.

Ye Zhiqing seemed to be standing inside a fog, yet she did not have the courage to seek out the answer.