Rong Qian had been very busy these past few days — busy getting Shen Yi’s identification documents sorted out.

From what she gathered, getting Shen Yi over from Hong Kong had taken considerable effort from Yao Na and Zong Yutang. Naturally, when the two of them first laid eyes on Shen Yi, they were so shocked they thought they were seeing a ghost.

Once everything on that end was arranged, Shen Yi had wasted no time coming to find Rong Qian. And just like that, Rong Qian suddenly had a boyfriend with an “unknown background.”

She hadn’t made any grand announcements about it. Her plan was to get Shen Yi’s identity and other matters in order first before bringing him home to meet her mother.

As for Rong Xiwen — Rong Qian arranged for the two of them to meet the very same day. After all, getting the identification documents sorted would require her father’s help.

After two days of running around, Shen Yi’s documentation was complete.

As for employment, Rong Qian thought it over and settled on listing him as an investor — overseeing investment ventures, doing essentially nothing except waiting for returns.

There was still a driver’s license to get and other odds and ends to deal with, but those could wait. All in all, those two days had Rong Qian run ragged, while Shen Yi drifted through it all at complete ease.

Shen Yi had no particular awareness of his own appearance. He had no idea how many stares and gasps of admiration followed him every time he stepped out with Rong Qian. And meanwhile, a certain someone remained entirely oblivious, strolling leisurely through the streets, leaving Rong Qian to play both girlfriend and personal manager — positioning herself to intercept people who tried to take photos of him.

In this day and age, it was far too easy for a striking-looking person to go viral. The last thing Rong Qian wanted was for Shen Yi to be swallowed up by the short-video frenzy — even if every single comment was going to be about how handsome he was.

Of course, some people weren’t willing to be deterred by Rong Qian’s intervention. One person shoved her out of the way so forcefully that she nearly fell.

The Shen Yi who had been wearing a perfectly composed expression one moment changed in an instant. The softness vanished from his face. His lips pressed into a flat line, and his cold, sweeping gaze moved over the crowd. Under the pressure of his effortlessly commanding presence, everyone fell immediately silent, not daring to make another move.

Shen Yi carried an aura — the kind of innate, commanding quality that ordinary people simply didn’t possess — powerful enough that even journalists were reluctant to approach him uninvited, let alone these passersby who had been drawn in by his looks.

After that, Shen Yi wrapped an arm around Rong Qian’s waist and steered her away, the very image of someone asserting undisputed claim.

Shen Yi also went to visit Xu Zhiwei. The moment Xu Zhiwei saw Shen Yi, the shock was so great that his blood pressure spiked on the spot. Rong Qian was half-convinced Shen Yi had done it on purpose — the man was elderly and really couldn’t afford to be startled like that.

Rong Qian also took Shen Yi on a flight to Beijing, to the university, to visit Lu Xuan and Chen Shiyi.

The two professors, upon seeing Shen Yi, were moved to tears of overwhelming joy. They threw their arms around him and couldn’t bring themselves to let go.

Rong Qian watched from the side, her heart full. Who could ever have imagined that Shen Yi would come back alive — and in a form this young?

After spending a few days helping Shen Yi adjust to the rhythms of modern life, Rong Qian brought him home to meet her parents.

Rong Xiwen had always known about Shen Yi, and had long since made his peace with the fact that his daughter would one day marry him. But he had never breathed a word of this to Rong Qian’s mother, who remained entirely in the dark.

So when Rong Qian walked through the front door pulling a man behind her and announced, “Mom, this is my boyfriend — I’m going to marry him,” her mother nearly grabbed the broom and chased her out of the house.

Rong Qian’s mother assumed this was another one of her daughter’s schemes — a hired stand-in boyfriend to get out of a blind date. It was only after repeated confirmation that this really was her daughter’s actual boyfriend, and that she was absolutely not joking, that Rong Qian’s mother took things seriously.

Rong Qian had assumed that after all this time, her mother would be overjoyed to finally see her married off. Instead, her mother put on an unusually solemn expression and promptly shooed Rong Qian out of the room — announcing that she and her father needed to have a proper talk with him alone.

So Rong Qian crouched outside by the front door and waited, until Shen Yi came out to get her.

“Well?” she asked immediately. “Did Mom agree?”

Shen Yi nodded. “She did.”

“My mother can be very strong-willed — did she give you a hard time? If she did, you should tell me so I can—”

“A’Qian.” The gentleness in his gaze stopped her mid-sentence, and she instantly calmed. Shen Yi patted her on the head and said: “Your mother loves you more than you realize. I made her a vow — that I would never betray you, and would never let you suffer a moment of grievance. She was quite moved. And sad too, in the way mothers are — knowing the daughter she raised is about to leave home. No mother would find that easy.”

“Oh honestly, what’s there to be sad about? I’m not moving to the other side of the world! She can see me whenever she wants!” Rong Qian hurried inside to comfort her mother.

Shen Yi stood at the door, and before long the sound of Rong Qian teasing her mother for crying floated out, followed by her mother chasing her around the room in indignation — and then, very shortly after, the warm, bright sound of the family laughing together.

A wave of warmth spread through Shen Yi. This girl who brought laughter and joy to everyone around her — she would soon be his wife. From then on, she would belong only to him…

Rong Qian didn’t keep up her antics for long before she came sprinting back out, grabbing Shen Yi’s hand and pulling him into a run — declaring, with great dramatic flair, that they were making their escape.

Shen Shuhuai had honored his promise to keep watch over Shen Yi’s home. With that duty fulfilled, it was time for him to return to his own residence.

Rong Qian had always assumed Shen Shuhuai was simply a middle-aged man with time on his hands, keeping house in peaceful idleness — until a driver arrived to collect him and addressed him as Chairman. Rong Qian was left absolutely speechless.

She later came to learn the full story: Shen Yi had returned to mainland China for a period back in 1987. During that time, he had tracked down both the Shen Family and the Yan Family.

After returning, Shen Yi had reclaimed his roots. He revived both families, which had by then fallen into decline and disrepair.

And so Shen Shuhuai came to be the Chairman of the Shen Group.

In that moment, Rong Qian understood for the first time: she had unknowingly fallen in love with a man who was practically an ancestor.

Shen Yi later went to visit Shen Fenran.

Rong Qian had gone along. When Shen Fenran saw Shen Yi, his face drained of color — the picture of sheer disbelief. He kept murmuring that it was impossible. But as Shen Yi turned to leave, Shen Fenran suddenly erupted, his emotions spiraling as he screamed at the top of his lungs: “You tricked me! You tricked me! How dare you trick me!”

Rong Qian didn’t understand — what had Shen Yi tricked him about? But Shen Yi gave her no opportunity to ask Shen Fenran, steering her firmly away from the scene.

She could still hear Shen Fenran’s furious shouts echoing behind them as they walked away.

On the ride back, she asked Shen Yi: “Why did he say you tricked him?”

“‘Tricked’ is perhaps too strong a word. It would be more accurate to say — I used him.”

Rong Qian was even more confused. “Used him to do what?”

“Used him to bring you to my side.” Shen Yi looked at her steadily, the faintest smile on his lips. Rong Qian was about to press further, but Shen Yi simply sealed her words with a kiss — and by the time Rong Qian’s head stopped spinning, the question had slipped entirely from her mind.

In truth, there wasn’t much to it — except that, for Shen Yi, it was something he found difficult to face.

Because long ago, on the deck of that ship, Shen Yi had told Shen Fenran: if he wanted to know the truth of how Rong Qian had traveled through time, he should go and find out for himself. Thirty years hence, Rong Qian would appear — and once he found her, he would naturally discover what had allowed her to cross through time and space.

In other words, the fact that Shen Fenran had come after Rong Qian again and again — the one truly responsible for setting that in motion was Shen Yi himself.

Perhaps Rong Qian wouldn’t hold it against him. But Shen Yi, for his part, had no wish to let her know. Let the past remain in the past.

Shen Yi held Rong Qian’s hand tightly. She was someone he had spent an entire lifetime waiting for — someone he had finally managed to keep by his side. He would never let go of her hand. He would be faithful to her for the rest of his life.

To Rong Qian:

Though I never crossed ten thousand rivers of stars, I count myself fortunate to have met you.

— Shen Yi.

【The End】