Li Weiyi suddenly opened her eyes.

Another unfamiliar room. This room was as large as three of her bedrooms. Opposite her was an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, currently with curtains pulled tightly closed, not leaving a single gap. There was very little furniture in the room, making it appear especially spacious. Li Weiyi felt she could even ride a bicycle in here.

Everything in sight—the furniture and decorations—were extremely refined and high-quality, yet also simple and elegant. Beneath her was an oversized, extremely soft bed with two pillows placed side by side. The sheets were wrinkled beyond recognition.

Li Weiyi sat up. The nightgown with only two thin straps hanging on her shoulders slipped off her shoulder—it looked very silky and easy to remove.

Li Weiyi silently hooked the shoulder straps back onto her shoulders, ignoring the faint kiss marks below her shoulders and above her waistline.

She picked up a coat from the floor and put it on. The master bedroom’s bathroom was empty. She opened the door and went out. To the left of the hallway was a living room twice the size of the bedroom. Li Weiyi conservatively estimated this apartment was around 300 square meters.

The living room also had an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river, with morning light streaming in brilliantly.

The living room was also very simple—a set of warm-toned leather sofas, a super-large TV hanging on the wall, and beside it a long work desk with a stack of documents and a laptop computer.

Near the wall by the floor-to-ceiling window stood an easel with a high stool in front. An unfinished sunrise river landscape painting. Li Weiyi could tell at a glance it was her own painting style.

She returned from the living room, passed the kitchen, and walked further in.

Opposite the master bedroom was a study—more precisely, half study, half art studio. The study was tidy, the studio messy. Li Weiyi smiled with pursed lips.

Further in was a walk-in closet and a guest bathroom.

Further still was another guest bathroom.

The guest bathroom door was open. At a glance, Li Weiyi could see through the frosted glass door that steam was rising in the shower room. A tall man had his back to her, hot water pouring over his head, flowing down his neck and shoulders. Even though it was just a blurry silhouette, she could see broad shoulders and a lean waist, along with firm long legs—a perfect clothes hanger physique.

This scene was so familiar. Li Weiyi swallowed, suddenly feeling afraid and nervous.

What if she opened the door and saw Xu Yi…

What if this time, she hadn’t crossed back to 2022 progressing along a normal timeline, but to one of the previous lives?

Li Weiyi couldn’t wait another moment. She wanted a definitive answer. She wanted to see clearly with one glance.

“Bang”—she pushed open the shower room door.

The man inside suddenly turned his head but didn’t turn his body, looking at her completely naked with a complex gaze.

Li Weiyi: “…”

Zhang Jingchan: “…”

“Bang”—the door was pulled shut again, and Li Weiyi quickly rushed out.

Ten minutes later.

Li Weiyi was fully dressed, sitting on the sofa with a pot of tea brewed in front of her, looking down and drinking very seriously, as if she were a tea connoisseur.

Zhang Jingchan also came out wearing a dress shirt and suit, holding a tie in his hand, his hair still slightly damp. There was only one long sofa in the living room. Li Weiyi kept her head down drinking tea. Zhang Jingchan sat down beside her, his fingers playing with the tie.

Li Weiyi: “You came back too?” She still needed to confirm.

“I woke up half an hour before you.”

“Why are you showering so early in the morning? And not closing the door!” Li Weiyi questioned.

Zhang Jingchan’s fingers stopped playing with the tie. His back slowly leaned against the sofa, his arms draped over it. He said unhurriedly: “I remember last night… after we finished, you went to shower first. I wanted to shower, but you wouldn’t let me—you wanted to sleep in my arms. As a result, I couldn’t hold out and fell asleep. Shouldn’t I wash up this morning?”

Li Weiyi’s entire face burned like fire. She also remembered now—the two of them had been living together for over two years.

“I moved in with you the year I graduated college?” Li Weiyi blurted out.

The corners of Zhang Jingchan’s mouth curved slightly. His eyes were deep-set, and when he smiled genuinely, they looked as beautiful as condensed ink and gathered pearls.

“Sounds like something I could pull off.”

Li Weiyi: “…”

Although, but still, waking up to find themselves cohabiting was ultimately awkward. The two didn’t say much more and went out together.

“The group has an important meeting this morning that I need to attend,” Zhang Jingchan said.

“I remember I have an appointment with the publishing house.”

Zhang Jingchan drove her to the publishing house building. Along the way, neither spoke much—both were organizing and absorbing their gradually awakening memories.

Li Weiyi unbuckled her seatbelt, pushed open the car door, then turned to look at him with a beaming smile: “Everything’s quite good. I’ve remembered it all. Everyone is doing well. I’ll head up now. Thanks for driving me.” One foot stepped onto the ground.

Zhang Jingchan had originally been gripping the steering wheel with both hands. Suddenly he freed one hand, pulled her half-out body back, leaned over, and kissed her deeply.

Li Weiyi’s heart was pounding like a drum.

His scent was different from before, with a hint of fresh aftershave. His warm tongue entangled with hers. Her gaze fell on his straight suit shoulder line, and she could still see a glimpse of white shirt collar.

His technique was far superior to before.

All developed through years of gradual exploration and coordination with her.

Li Weiyi’s hands initially rested on his shoulders. Her right hand fingers slowly moved up, very lightly touching the skin on the side of his neck, then using her thumb and index finger to caress his earlobe with perfect mastery, like a bird holding a pearl.

Zhang Jingchan let out a soft gasp.

The two separated, both staring intensely.

He raised high the hand that had been holding her waist, circled it over the top of her head, and placed it back on the steering wheel. His head tilted slightly to the side, not looking at her but smiling, saying: “Go on.”

Looking perfectly innocent and composed.

Li Weiyi turned and walked away.

——

Today, some of the sharp middle and senior executives at Huicui Group noticed the chairman was somewhat different. Usually, though Zhang Jingchan wasn’t the type to be harsh or demanding, he spoke little but carried weight, commanding respect without anger—everyone was in awe of him.

Today, although he still provided precise and incisive decisions for each project under discussion, at times he seemed somewhat distracted, occasionally even showing a smile at the corners of his mouth, making the responsible person giving the report feel excited and honored.

After 4 PM, the chairman left early.

This was an extremely rare occurrence. Over all these years, except for illness, the chairman had only left early twice.

Once was for his girlfriend’s college graduation ceremony.

The other time, only the secretary knew—the chairman personally drove to pick up his girlfriend to move in with him.

On the way driving to the publishing house, Zhang Jingchan received a call from Li Yunmo: “Brother Chan, you’re not at the company anymore?”

“Just say what you need to say.”

This morning at the company, the two brothers had already touched base. Li Yunmo had confirmed their return. However, there were too many company matters and they hadn’t had time to talk in detail.

“The private room you asked me to reserve is booked. I’ll send the address and room number to your phone in a bit.”

Zhang Jingchan thought it must be a private room he’d asked him to book to take Li Weiyi to celebrate their reunion, so he said: “Thanks.”

When Li Weiyi received Zhang Jingchan’s call, she had just finished a meeting with several editors and artists from the publishing house.

“You’re downstairs?”