The ultimatum was delivered from the other end of the phone, and then the call ended. All the lively commotion came to an abrupt halt, leaving only the faint sounds of intertwined breathing.

If traveling back ten years was already incredible enough, the news, even more difficult to believe, was waking up to return to the present world, only to suddenly discover that you and your former casual partner turned boyfriend had overnight become fiancés.

Could anything be more dramatic than this?

What else had happened in between?

…

Sang Ru stared blankly at Zhou Tingzhao, only to find that the other protagonist of this marriage news was similarly staring at her.

Originally, when she heard she was getting married, Sang Ru was already too shocked to think, and her first reaction was to look at him. Zhou Tingzhao’s expression was so grave it seemed like he wanted to devour her.

Now, learning that the so-called “husband” was himself, his tightly knitted brows relaxed, and his expression became as surprised as hers, followed by increasingly complex emotions—confusion, and also… happiness?

Sang Ru moved her lips, about to say something, when a stabbing pain suddenly erupted in her mind. She raised her hand to hold her head as everything before her eyes blurred. Through the haze, she saw Zhou Tingzhao similarly clutching his forehead in discomfort.

A more violent pain assailed her, and Sang Ru instinctively bit her lip, unable to suppress the slight sound of pain that escaped her mouth.

Suddenly, her vision darkened as Zhou Tingzhao moved closer.

He seemed extremely uncomfortable as well, his brow furrowed deeply, yet he still raised his hand to massage her head, asking hoarsely, “Are you getting a headache too?”

“Mm…”

Sang Ru answered weakly, then couldn’t speak anymore because something was surfacing in her mind, wave after wave.

She saw countless fragmented, scattered images. They were all disorganized, temporarily unable to connect, like a memory card loading, but with a jumbled input of information.

Fine, dense pain spread through her mind. Sang Ru instinctively wanted to stop these invading pieces of information, but found it impossible to halt them. They seemed naturally meant to be part of her; the pain was most intense when they first entered, but once they penetrated her subconscious, they seemed to merge with it, gradually becoming docile.

Sang Ru helplessly received this information one-way, and by the time she noticed the pain slowly disappearing, her forehead was already beaded with sweat.

Her brain seemed to process the input information autonomously. Sang Ru gradually calmed down, but her whole body began to feel numb.

They were memories.

These invaders into her mind, those fragmentary images assembling themselves, formed segments of experiences she had never lived through before.

For the moment, she couldn’t fully receive everything, but the most important message her brain conveyed to her was—she and Zhou Tingzhao had been in love for ten years.

…

This was too much to digest. Sang Ru was momentarily speechless, her heart pounding violently in her chest. She looked up at the person who dominated most of these new memories, only to find him similarly gazing at her, with what looked like a storm brewing in his eyes.

Zhou Tingzhao’s chest was also heaving dramatically. He must be experiencing the same thing. Sang Ru finally asked, “You also… have those memories now?”

“Yes.” His voice was deep, his emotions unreadable.

Sang Ru didn’t know what to say. She licked her dry lips and said, “We went back, and it created a butterfly effect?”

Zhou Tingzhao’s gaze seemed glued to her, not shifting an inch: “It seems so, for now.”

This was too fast. Sang Ru was prepared to date him, but no one had forewarned her to be ready for marriage, too. Sang Ru remained silent, quietly browsing through the new scenes in her mind.

“Are you unhappy?” She was recalling those fragments when she suddenly heard Zhou Tingzhao ask.

“No,” Sang Ru paused for a few seconds, then said, “Don’t you think it’s too fast?”

Zhou Tingzhao raised his eyebrows slightly. Unlike his usual teasing manner, this time he seemed subtly displeased.

Sang Ru added, “I mean, we just woke up and we’re getting married, but strictly speaking, we’ve only been dating for one day.”

Zhou Tingzhao stared at her for a long moment, then suddenly said, “Strictly speaking, we fell in love ten years ago.”

Sang Ru: …

Put that way, there was nothing wrong with his statement. Their relationship did indeed begin ten years ago, established by her own decision.

Sang Ru realized she had been led into his logic, then heard Zhou Tingzhao continue, “We started dating in our third year of high school, had our first embrace, first kiss, went to the same university, had our first time making love…”

“Stop!” Sang Ru immediately interrupted him when she heard this, muttering, “Who asked you to recite all that?”

Zhou Tingzhao suddenly pulled her into his embrace and said softly, “We traveled through time to get this chance. Don’t say you don’t want to marry me.”

“I…”

“We can be in love for a lifetime, but I want to marry you. No time is more appropriate than ‘now’.”

Such a naked confession of love made Sang Ru’s face heat up. After a moment, she pushed him lightly and said, “Hurry up and get up. They’re waiting for me to try on wedding dresses.”

–