Last time, the two of them had exchanged phone numbers, but now that they were starting over, they hadn’t met yet, so their phones definitely wouldn’t have each other’s numbers. She felt somewhat annoyed—she should have memorized his number back then.

Right now she was eager to see her sister who had returned from the dead, her fresh-out-of-the-oven brother-in-law and niece.

So… if he was anxious, he could come find her. She had a small reputation online; with a little effort he could find her. Otherwise, it would seem like she was the anxious one—with this subtle feeling, Li Weiyi temporarily set Zhang Jingchan aside.

Only, what exactly had she forgotten? Or rather, what hadn’t she remembered yet? Why did she always feel something was off?

Li Weiyi took the bus to her sister’s place. This route felt like she’d walked it countless times, yet also like it was the first time—the feeling was truly novel. When she reached the stop, she walked a few steps toward her sister’s new home in her memory, then suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She hadn’t expected her sister’s new home to be so close to the university she once attended.

Yet it felt as distant as something from a previous life.

Li Weiyi unconsciously walked toward the school gate, gazing at the incredibly familiar buildings inside and the flowing streams of people, standing there for a long time.

Until a familiar voice sounded behind her: “Excuse me, hello…”

Li Weiyi’s back stiffened. She turned around to see the long-absent Xie Zhilu standing before her. He looked much the same as in the previous life—simple black down jacket and jeans, yet somehow wearing them with an intellectual and elegant young man’s temperament. His eyes were clear and bright, his nose bridge high and straight, his lips slightly pursed. Only this time, his face was red.

Li Weiyi was stunned. She carefully searched her memory, certain that in this life, she had never known this unlucky boyfriend.

Behind Xie Zhilu stood two more boys, both looking shocked and ready to watch the excitement.

Xie Zhilu quickly composed himself. His eyes were too bright, overlapping with a certain scene in Li Weiyi’s distant memory. He said: “Don’t be afraid. I just saw you standing here… and really wanted to meet you. My name is Xie Zhilu, from Economics and Management. And you?”

Li Weiyi’s eyes widened.

Xie Zhilu smiled and asked again: “What year are you in? I don’t mean anything by it, I just… want your WeChat.”

One of the boys beside him said: “Junior, we’re really not bad people. Xie Zhilu is so famous at school, haven’t you heard of him? Seven years of undergrad and graduate school, and he’s never had a girlfriend. This is his first time asking a girl for her WeChat. Just give it to him.”

The other said: “Yeah, yeah, he just got into the civil service—he’s the most outstanding graduate of our year. Beautiful lady, adding him won’t be a loss, hahaha!”

Xie Zhilu’s face remained lightly flushed, but he didn’t deny their words, only gazed at Li Weiyi full of expectation and confidence.

Li Weiyi locked eyes with him.

Under the warm winter sunlight at the bustling school gate, she was delicate and fresh as an early lotus bloom, her eyes curved with beauty, pure and flawless—an encounter he had never imagined. And once Xie Zhilu encountered her, he knew he had to seize this chance.

Li Weiyi suddenly smiled.

Xie Zhilu’s heart leaped with joy. He stepped forward and pulled out his phone.

Li Weiyi’s smile grew wider and wider, until finally she laughed out loud with a “haha,” her gaze at Xie Zhilu both hateful and mocking.

Xie Zhilu’s heart dropped with a thud. He suddenly had an ominous premonition, though he didn’t know what was wrong—he just knew something was wrong.

“Get lost.” Li Weiyi spat out the words. “Scumbag. I never want to see you again in this lifetime.”

Having lived twenty-five years, the only girl he’d ever fallen for at first sight turned and walked away without a trace of reluctance. Xie Zhilu stood frozen in place. The two male classmates beside him were extremely embarrassed and said: “Why is this girl so arrogant? If she doesn’t want to meet someone, fine, but why curse at people? Ah… Zhilu, what’s wrong with you…”

The two looked at Xie Zhilu’s face, exchanging glances with each other.

Xie Zhilu kept watching her retreating back. He raised his hand to wipe his face and found it covered with tears. He lowered his head, not understanding what was wrong with him.

——

Li Weiyi hummed a tune as she walked through her sister’s door. Zhong Yi opened it—he was still as tall and upright as eight years ago, though his features now carried traces of weathering, his contours harder and more substantial.

Li Weiyi simultaneously remembered that in this life, because Father Zhong had received excellent care, he’d basically recovered from his stroke. He could run and jump, chasing after a group of aunties doing square dancing every day. Father Zhong and Mother Li took turns coming to Xiangcheng to help the couple watch the children.

Li Weiyi frowned again. What exactly was wrong?

Li Weiyi was delighted to see her little niece and held her without letting go. Mother Li came out of the kitchen, saw her younger daughter’s appearance, and smiled: “If you like children so much, hurry up and find a boyfriend to have one—give An’an a companion.”

Li Weiyi shrugged. What having children—in this life, she didn’t even have a boyfriend right now.

The family sat around the table in lively cheer, most of the dishes being ones Li Weiyi loved to eat. She knew that over these years, not only her sister and mother, but her brother-in-law had also doted on her like a real younger sister. Her heart ached, but her face smiled even more brilliantly.

Mother Li asked a few questions about Li Weiyi’s work, but kept circling back to the boyfriend topic, even asking Li Xiaoyi and Zhong Yi to keep an eye out for outstanding young men. Li Weiyi’s head hurt listening to it, and she hurriedly stopped her: “Mom, I’ll meet boys on my own. I’m only twenty-five—what arranged dates?”

Li Xiaoyi sided with their mother: “With your job, cooped up at home all day, where will you have chances to meet boys?”

Zhang Jingchan’s image in a suit with a frosty face suddenly popped into Li Weiyi’s mind. Ugh—why was she thinking of him? How could she possibly date someone like him? Just thinking about it was scary.

Li Weiyi immediately changed the subject. While picking up a chopstick of beef brisket, she asked: “Mom, where’s Dad? Why didn’t he come to Xiangcheng with you?”

The dinner table suddenly fell silent.

Mother Li froze, showing a sorrowful expression. Zhong Yi frowned at Li Weiyi. Li Xiaoyi asked softly: “Weiyi, what did you just say?”

Li Weiyi lowered her head to shovel rice into her mouth, saying: “Dad! Where is he? Why didn’t he come to Xiangcheng? Where did he go? Why… why in my memories, for so many years… has there been no trace of him?”

Mother Li covered her face and went into the bedroom. Li Xiaoyi’s eyes reddened. Zhong Yi let out a long sigh. Li Xiaoyi asked: “What’s wrong with you today? Dad’s matter… have you forgotten?”

Li Weiyi raised her head, her face already covered in tears. Her gaze swept over her sister, brother-in-law, and niece, then looked around the room, saying: “Sister, do you know? I’m so afraid all of this is just a dream. I’m afraid you’ve already jumped to your death, afraid brother-in-law wasn’t able to be with you, afraid Mom and Dad were in so much pain they wanted to die…”

Zhong Yi and Li Xiaoyi looked at each other.

Li Weiyi continued crying and said: “But I also hope this is just a dream. That way, Dad wouldn’t have gone missing. It was me who changed history, it was me who affected him…”

She remembered now.

That hidden segment of new memory that her subconscious had never dared face—

More than a month after her last time travel, Father went out one evening and never came back. The police turned Chenshi upside down but found no trace of him.

Her father had been missing for eight years.