She was still sneaking glances toward the bathroom, yet a sweet, intense emotion spread through her chest.

The sound of water stopped. The person inside took a towel to dry off. Li Weiyi’s heart began pounding wildly—thump thump thump. The bathroom door pushed open from inside. The person’s lower half was wrapped only in a bath towel, his head slightly lowered. His figure was tall and somewhat lean.

Li Weiyi froze, watching as the person reached out to the nearby shelf, picked up a pair of gold wire-rimmed glasses and put them on, then looked toward her.

Thirty-four-year-old Xu Yi seemed hardly changed from eight years ago—still gentle and handsome—except that a sharp, imposing air had been added between his brows. His exposed upper body and legs, though thin, showed clearly defined muscles and taut abs, obviously from regular exercise.

Seeing Li Weiyi, Xu Yi also froze, as if he hadn’t expected her to suddenly run in here. But he only smiled slightly, pulled a black-gray satin men’s robe from nearby and put it on, walked over, very naturally took her hand, then dropped a kiss on her cheek and said, “How come you ran in here? Want to do something?”

The man’s tone was full of indulgence and teasing, infinitely familiar. But Li Weiyi’s mind exploded with a tremendous boom from his touch and kiss—countless memories were triggered and came gushing out. She pushed him away in shock, saying, “Don’t touch me! You… you…”

Xu Yi frowned. One hand grasped her slender nape—as if he’d done this action a thousand times before—his brows full of concern. “Xiaoyi, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?” He reached out to embrace her. Li Weiyi was so frightened cold sweat broke out. She turned and ran.

Xu Yi was completely stunned and quickly pursued her.

Li Weiyi fled in panic. Seeing a room on the left, she rushed straight in and slammed the door shut with a bang, locking it.

“Xiaoyi, Xiaoyi!” Xu Yi knocked on the door, his expression grave, though his tone was as gentle as possible. “What exactly happened? Are you angry with me? Let me in first. Let’s talk it through properly. Don’t hide, okay?”

“No!” Li Weiyi covered her face and shouted loudly. “Don’t come in yet. I need to be alone for a bit! If you come in, I really will get angry.”

Outside fell quiet for a moment. He said, “I’ll give you ten minutes.”

Finally there was no more sound. Li Weiyi sat on the bed with a completely flushed face, dejected. How did things… turn out like this?

Because eight years ago, her and Zhang Jingchan’s appearance had brought Xu Yi into contact with the teenage Li Weiyi. Later, Xu Yi actually fell in love with her. He was nine years older than her! Over all these years, no matter how high or far Xu Yi climbed, he remained constant—he never looked at any other girl besides her. And she, moved by his gentle devotion, had agreed to be with him a year ago!

It was chaos. This time it was truly chaos. The disturbed timeline had given her such an enormous bombshell in return.

She raised her head and looked at her bewildered self in the mirror, staring blankly in a daze.

Zhang Jingchan, where are you? All these years, why have you never appeared?

——

The evening of May 15, 2014.

After finishing a full day’s work, Xu Yi dragged his exhausted body back to his rental apartment—a well-decorated two-bedroom unit where he lived alone. Between his university graduation startup venture and his savings from these years at Fu Ming, he had accumulated two or three million yuan.

But now, it had all been invested in Fu Ming.

Xu Yi heated up a packed meal box in the microwave, then sat by the living room window. He rubbed his forehead, which had been tense all day, lit a cigarette, and gazed at the pitch-black night and the slender crescent moon.

Everyone thought he didn’t smoke. He only smoked when alone.

After slowly taking a few drags, he seemed to see those two clear pools of water before his eyes again. Even with his mind full of Fu Ming matters, he was distracted thinking about it again.

Xu Yi took several drags of his cigarette with his head down, feeling this whole thing was really fucking ridiculous. It wasn’t that he’d never had a girlfriend—pretty and gentle too—and his functions were fine.

So why was he now unable to forget a pair of a boy’s eyes?

Time seemed to return to that late night. He sat at the dining table in the Zhang family villa. That boy—who knew what had come over him these past few days—was lively as a rabbit, always affectionately calling him “Brother Xu Yi” in a gentle, melodious voice. Thinking of this, Xu Yi couldn’t help but smile, then immediately stopped smiling, feeling even more troubled inside.

Then the boy looked at him with those deep, beautiful eyes, bright and shining, filled with joy, dependence, and admiration. These past few days, he kept replaying in his mind what that person had said:

“You are exceptional among men. In the future, you will surely soar upward and achieve great things.”

“I wish you a bright future and that all your aspirations come true.”

It wasn’t that no one had recognized his ambition and talent. It wasn’t that no one had praised his limitless future. But that child’s few words seemed to carry some unique sweetness and purity that struck his heart. Every time he remembered them, his chest felt warm and burning.

Xu Yi stubbed out the cigarette, pressed his forehead with one hand, and smiled self-mockingly, thinking to himself that this time he’d really messed up.

His sexual orientation had always been normal. After years of interaction, the two had never crossed any lines. Strictly speaking, he was actually a generation older.

How could he, in an instant, develop romantic feelings for the only son of his boss who was about to go bankrupt?

Two days later, Xu Yi went to the Zhang family villa to deliver documents. Just as he came out of the study door, he saw the person who made his heart flutter coming downstairs.

Xu Yi’s voice instantly became slightly hoarse. “…Ah Chan.”

The teenage Zhang Jingchan nodded once without stopping, his hurried manner suggesting he had something on his mind. The tall, handsome boy wore top luxury streetwear brands, every strand of his hair radiating youthful hormones.

Xu Yi looked at his tall, solid build and his prominent Adam’s apple, suddenly feeling a wave of physiological revulsion—had he really felt desire for him? Had he actually found him sweet and cute?

Xu Yi, unwilling to give up and feeling somewhat desolate, said again, “What you said to me the other day… I’ve been wanting to say: thank you.”

Zhang Jingchan stopped and glanced at him. His expression was strange as he replied, “…You’re welcome.” Then his steps quickened even more. His face pale, he fled from the villa as if flying.

Xu Yi gazed at his robust, agile figure—like a young calf—and the boy’s consistently cold, rebellious expression. A bizarre thought suddenly arose in his mind—

This clearly wasn’t the Ah Chan from that night.

To be precise, the Ah Chan from those few days, compared to the usual Zhang Jingchan, was vastly different in voice, appearance, smile, manner of speaking, and temperament. The Zhang Jingchan just now—that was the normal one, the young master of the Zhang family he was familiar with.

They were like two different people.

Xu Yi’s lips pressed tightly together. The knuckles of his hand gripping the stair railing turned white.

Split personality? Or spirit possession?

Xu Yi laughed. He’d actually had such a bizarre thought.

However, over the following days, as Xu Yi secretly observed Zhang Jingchan, this bizarre, absurd notion grew stronger.

That child, that person from that night—he, or perhaps actually she? Where had she gone?

Would he ever see her again?