January 13, 2022, 7:00 AM.

“We common folk, tonight we’re truly, truly happy…”

Li Weiyi’s eyes flew open.

Before her was neither the initial small rental room nor her dream apartment. It wasn’t Zhang Jingchan’s home, nor was it Xu Yi’s home.

It was a simply and warmly decorated small two-bedroom apartment, perhaps only sixty-some square meters, its advantage being its brightness and square layout. The room was quiet. Li Weiyi lay fully clothed on the sofa with a blanket covering her. Beside the sofa was an unfinished painting, while seven or eight other completed paintings, paint palettes, painting paper, brushes… were scattered messily throughout the narrow living room.

Li Weiyi got up and walked to the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face. She covered her face with both palms and didn’t move.

At this time, the caregiver should be washing his face, brushing his teeth, and feeding him breakfast—this thought automatically appeared in Li Weiyi’s mind.

She lowered her hands and slowly raised her head, looking at herself in the mirror.

Her appearance had hardly changed, but her face looked thinner than before, and she had grown her hair long. Her eyes and brows habitually appeared calm and serene, as if harboring a trace of sorrow that could never dissolve.

Li Weiyi vigorously rubbed the space between her brows, trying to rub away that bit of sadness.

“Beep beep beep—” A kitchen appliance’s notification sound came from the kitchen. Only then did she notice that a fragrant aroma had already permeated the entire room. She walked into the kitchen and opened the rice cooker. Inside was a small pot of ginseng chicken soup that had been preset to cook the night before.

Staring at the golden, translucent chicken soup, an image emerged in Li Weiyi’s mind—

In a small single hospital room, white curtains fluttered in the wind. He still lay motionless, just as he had day and night for eight years.

And she held a bowl of chicken soup, sitting by the bed, her feet resting on the crossbar of a stool. She scooped up a spoonful, carefully blew on it, brought it to his lips, and said, “Zhang Jingchan, is my soup-making skill getting better and better? Ai, I really am… where would you find a woman as perfect as me? I can’t even believe that in the future you’ll actually get such a good girlfriend as me.”

After saying this, she laughed “puchi” to herself, pushed the spoon slightly into his mouth, and he swallowed on his own. Li Weiyi picked up a tissue, wiped away a tiny bit of soup from the corner of his mouth, stared at his beautiful lip shape for a while, put down the bowl, and like a thief, glanced toward the empty doorway. Then she lowered her head and kissed his mouth.

It was just a shallow kiss, but her movements seemed practiced and skillful—clearly she was a repeat offender.

Afterward, she cupped her chin with one hand, looking at him with a grin, her face slightly flushed. She said, “So handsome—looking at you every day, you have to give me some benefits. Otherwise how can I resist the temptation of all those flowers and grass outside? Zhang Jingchan, oh Zhang Jingchan, wake up quickly. Right now all you have to attract me is your face and figure. But a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship maintained by physical attraction can’t last long, brother!”

Zhang Jingchan on the bed remained silent as always.

…

Things like this had happened countless times in Li Weiyi’s memory. She lowered her head and smiled, took out a thermal lunch box, packed the chicken soup, and carried it to a room.

On the desk was a backpack containing two sets of freshly washed and neatly folded new men’s clothing. They weren’t big brand names, but the fabric was soft and comfortable.

New images flooded into Li Weiyi’s mind—

She walked into an affordable clothing brand store and selected a black thin sweater and an ink-gray jacket. She didn’t know why, but she just felt he would look very good in these two pieces. With her eyes closed, she could imagine how he’d look—fair-skinned and slender, upright and handsome—as if she had seen it with her own eyes somewhere before.

The sales assistant asked with a smile, “Miss, buying clothes for your boyfriend? You have such good taste. These two pieces really show off the figure. What size do you need?”

“This size, 185.”

“Wow, your boyfriend is really tall!”

“Mm… I’m quite satisfied with his height.”

…

Li Weiyi placed the thermal lunch box in another compartment of the backpack. As she looked up, she saw a very old notebook on the desk, its cover already yellowed.

She stared at that notebook for a while, motionless.

Then she pulled out the chair, sat down at the desk, picked up the notebook, and gently opened it.

The first dozen or so diary entries—she had already read them during her last time travel to July 2014. And his handwriting ended in July of that year.

But actually, his diary was supposed to continue, all the way until 2022, before he met her.

If only he hadn’t become a vegetative patient on July 13, 2014.

“July 20, 2014, overcast. I heard Fu Ming’s operations have serious problems. I’m really frustrated that I haven’t graduated from university yet and have no actual management experience. Otherwise, I could show my skills and turn the tide. But over all these years, Lao Zhang has weathered all storms, so this time should be fine too.

Girlfriend, why didn’t you come this month? Will you not come again until 2022?”

—Li Weiyi slowly recited this diary entry that no longer existed.

She finally understood what had happened between her and Zhang Jingchan at exactly midnight on July 13, 2014 in this lifetime:

Their brain waves, or rather their souls, completed an exchange at that moment, but also connected and communicated with each other. That’s why in that instant, she could see Zhang Jingchan’s eight years from his previous life, see all his diary entries, see his experiences, and see his lonely waiting.

He had many more diary entries—2015, 2016, 2017…

Until January 12, 2022, on the eve of their reunion, Zhang Jingchan wrote in his diary:

“When Huicui Tower was first built, I fantasized about pressing you against that large expanse of floor-to-ceiling glass on the top floor and kissing you passionately.

Under your feet would be the business empire I own, and in my arms would be you.

Tomorrow, this dream will come true.”

Li Weiyi laughed out loud, but a tear fell.

No wonder Zhang Jingchan that day insisted she stand before the glass, then forcefully kissed her.

So it was something he from the previous life had thought about for a long time.

Li Weiyi closed the notebook, set it aside, picked up her backpack, and was just about to leave when her phone rang.

It was Li Yunmo calling.

Some memories related to the Li family were triggered. Li Weiyi paused, then answered the phone. “Hello.”

On the other end, Li Yunmo was silent for a few seconds, his breathing clearly audible. “Sister-in-law?”

Li Weiyi smiled. “Mm?”

“Didn’t they say… today would be the possession? Do you have any unusual feelings?”

Li Weiyi smiled gently. She had wanted to tease him a bit more, but remembering his hardships and difficulties in this lifetime, she only said softly, “It’s me. I’ve come back.”

This new timeline paused at the moment of my awakening.

That girl who had accompanied the vegetative Zhang Jingchan for eight years was覆盖 by me.

Li Yunmo was stunned. “You—you… it’s really you? You’ve finally come! Then will Chan-ge also wake up?!”

Li Weiyi was silent for a moment, then said, “If he woke up, the nursing home would call us immediately.”

“…That’s true.” Li Yunmo’s tone dropped a bit. “It’s okay. You’ve come, so he should be soon too! What time are you going over today?”

“I’m going now. What about you?”

“I still have some work to finish. I have to go to the company this morning. I can only ask for leave after I’m done, so I probably won’t be there until the afternoon. Such is the tragedy of a working person. You go first, I’ll come as soon as I can.”