Li Weiyi opened her eyes to see a sky washed clean and blue. The sunlight was glaring, and she used the back of her hand to shield her eyes.

Her heart felt utterly hollow.

But she was the kind of person who, once she had cried and thought things through, would become suddenly clear-minded and no longer dwell on troubles.

Otherwise, how could one keep moving forward in life?

She glanced at Zhang Jingchan beside her. His expression was calm, as if he were immersed in the act of driving. He seemed completely oblivious to the small rustling movements she made after waking up.

Li Weiyi then noticed the bloodstain at the corner of his mouth and asked softly, “That… does it still hurt?”

He remained silent for a few seconds before responding with a brief “Mm.”

Li Weiyi looked at the scenery outside the car window. “We’re in Xiang City? I slept for quite a while. What are we doing next?”

Zhang Jingchan kept his eyes on the road ahead, only casting her a brief sidelong glance. Her forthright and calm demeanor, however, took on a different meaning in Zhang Jingchan’s eyes.

Just moments ago, she had been crying bitterly in her dreams over another man, and now she was probably pretending and putting on a front before him.

Zhang Jingchan felt as if the area around his heart had been viciously bitten by this woman, yet she remained utterly unaware and wouldn’t let go.

His ten fingers slowly gripped the steering wheel even tighter, the knuckles on the back of his hands protruding.

“I’ll take you back first. What’s the address?”

Li Weiyi was stunned. “Why would I go back alone?”

He looked ahead. “I’ll handle what comes next by myself.”

Li Weiyi paused, then said, “What gives you the right to not let me go?”

Zhang Jingchan rested one arm on the car door, driving with one hand, and answered, “Because if you stay with me even one moment longer, I won’t let you go.”

Li Weiyi couldn’t utter a single word.

After that, the two remained silent all the way until they reached the building where Li Weiyi now lived.

Zhang Jingchan unlocked the door but didn’t move or speak.

Li Weiyi hung her head, pushed open the car door, and set one foot on the ground. Then she turned back. “Zhang Jingchan, can’t you separate personal matters from business? I’d be another helping hand if I came along.”

Zhang Jingchan lowered his head, turned off the engine, and leaned back neither too heavily nor too lightly. “I indeed can’t separate them as clearly as you do.”

Li Weiyi: “…”

She stood outside the car while he sat inside. Both remained silent for a while before she said, “Zhang Jingchan, can you please not talk to me like this?”

He raised his head and looked into the distance. “I don’t mean anything else by it. Since you see us as partners who can go our separate ways once things are done, there’s really no need for me to bring you along all the time for things I can handle alone.”

Li Weiyi: “That’s not how I see you.”

Zhang Jingchan turned to look at her, as if wanting to ask something, but ultimately remained silent.

Li Weiyi walked two steps toward the residential complex but couldn’t help turning back. She ran back with large strides and said, “You really don’t need to be angry. The person Xu Yi likes isn’t me—it’s the Li Weiyi of this spacetime. Those words he said were meant for her, not for me.”

Zhang Jingchan rested one hand on the steering wheel and turned his head to look at her. “What about you? Can you distinguish yourself from her?”

Li Weiyi paused before answering, “I’m clear about what I’m doing.”

Zhang Jingchan tilted his head with a smile—a very indifferent and calm smile. “We’re all adults. I’m not being impulsive, nor am I angry. I can sense that you have feelings for me. It’s just that those feelings aren’t strong enough for you to make up your mind to be with me. After Xu Yi appeared, those slight feelings became even less comparable to your years of shared history.”

Li Weiyi reflexively wanted to deny it, but didn’t know how to define her current relationship with Zhang Jingchan. Her hesitation, in Zhang Jingchan’s eyes, made his heart grow even colder. He raised his hand to start the car, gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands and looking straight ahead. Li Weiyi instinctively took a step back. He paused, then looked at her again with such a direct gaze that it made Li Weiyi’s heart skip a beat.

“In this lifetime, if I absolutely had to have you, Xu Yi couldn’t do anything about it. But Li Weiyi, I think that would be meaningless.” He spoke evenly and calmly. “If you really can’t bear to leave him, then we… should just forget it.”

Li Weiyi’s mind went blank, and he had already driven away with a press of the accelerator.

For the next four days, Li Weiyi stayed at her sister’s house. She didn’t want to face Xu Yi alone. However, Xu Yi didn’t come looking for her either.

Every evening at 9:30, Zhang Jingchan would come to pick her up on time, and the two would wait at the intersection where the car accident had occurred until midnight. They rarely spoke. Zhang Jingchan was always busy with company matters, bringing his laptop or making phone calls. He finally seemed like a young CEO of a publicly listed company—authoritative, calm, composed, constantly assessing situations and maneuvering strategically.

Thus Li Weiyi understood that as long as Zhang Jingchan was willing, with just one turn, he could be very, very far from her.

Li Weiyi found it rather boring, so she also brought her sketchpad and kept drawing during the tedious waiting periods—drawing that fateful intersection, the hazy and scattered lights, and sometimes the various aspects of human life on the road.

Once, Zhang Jingchan suddenly turned to look at her drawing, which startled her into immediately covering it with her hand. He glanced at her but said nothing.

During this time, Li Weiyi sent Xu Yi a text message that she had drafted for a long time.

“Xu Yi, I’ve carefully considered and thought it through. We’re not suitable for each other, and I don’t like you anymore. Let’s break up. I’m very sorry.”

Xu Yi didn’t reply until more than half a day later: “Don’t be foolish. I’m quite busy these days. I’ll come pick you up this weekend.”

Li Weiyi: “This is a serious decision I’ve made—I want to break up with you.”

Xu Yi: “Every word I said to you was also serious.”

After that, Li Weiyi sent several more messages, all of which sank without a trace.

One evening, Li Weiyi was scrolling through her social media feed when she saw a post from Xu Yi’s secretary with a photo. It turned out he really had been busy these past few days, successfully negotiating a strategic partnership with a famous European-American brand. The accompanying image was from the celebratory banquet of both parties, with splendor everywhere and elegantly dressed people. Li Weiyi stared at the photo—everyone was beaming with smiles, except the big boss himself, who stood in the center surrounded by others, holding a wine glass, refined and courteous but with a silent expression.

Li Weiyi looked at it for a while and sighed.

As coincidence would have it, the secretary sent her a message: “Weiyi, I’m taking the liberty to ask—please don’t mind—but have you and the boss been arguing lately?”

Li Weiyi didn’t want to go into detail with her: “We’re okay.”

“But the boss has been acting strange lately, like a workaholic, working until midnight every day. We’re all scared to death. Everyone’s guessing that you two had a fight, because every time you’ve argued in the past, he’s been like this. But this time seems really serious.”

“You know, the boss worked too hard when he was young and developed stomach problems, and his cervical spine isn’t good either. Could you please talk to him about it?”

“Actually, we all envy you. To be honest, in this job, I’ve met quite a few wealthy bosses, but only Boss Xu is the most upright and proper. All these years, you’ve been the only one by his side. There’s no man better than him. Everyone in our company is hoping to attend your wedding banquet soon.”

…