Qian Wei woke to the steady, gentle beeping of medical monitoring equipment. Her throat felt dry and hoarse, her head splitting with pain, and her whole body felt like an old machine being switched back on after a long time idle. It took her a moment to regain control of her body; she gently moved her fingers, only to discover someone leaning their head against the side of her bed—apparently, exhausted beyond measure, they had fallen asleep.

Yet even that faint movement of hers was enough to jolt the person awake.

“Qian Wei? You’re awake!” The voice that reached her ears was Lu Xun’s, low and slightly hoarse—clearly he hadn’t slept well the night before. But now that he saw Qian Wei awake, an expression of wild, uncontainable joy broke through his usually inscrutable face, especially in his eyes, which seemed to light up all at once, going from drowsy to sharply alert in an instant.

Qian Wei’s heart had been full of unease, but the moment she heard Lu Xun’s voice, she felt herself relax. She looked at him instinctively. “Lu Xun…”

But looking more closely, Qian Wei got a shock. Though his eyes were bright, Lu Xun’s face looked terrible—his pale face bore two deep, heavy dark circles under his eyes. He was dressed formally, but his usually impeccable collar was crooked, his tie loosened and hanging carelessly around his neck—something that simply never happened to the normally image-conscious Lu Xun. But what shocked Qian Wei most of all was—

“Lu Xun? How long was I unconscious after falling into that pit? Did I really lose several years? You, you’re…” Qian Wei stared at him, astonished. “Why do you look so much older all of a sudden?”

The moment those words left her mouth, Lu Xun’s expression immediately darkened.

Qian Wei quickly tried to fix it. “No, no, I don’t mean old—I mean haggard! Haggard! I get it, you were obviously worried about me, but you’ve gotten pretty seriously run-down. At first glance, your face looks like it belongs to someone twenty-seven or twenty-eight. But it’s fine, don’t worry, once I’m out of the hospital I’ll buy you some face masks to take care of yourself with. Men need to take care of themselves too, you know!”

Unfortunately, her concern didn’t earn her any approval. Far from thanking her, Lu Xun’s face showed astonishment mixed with a hint of panic. He paused, then finally composed his expression and chose his words carefully. “Qian Wei, I am twenty-eight.”

Qian Wei: ???

Lu Xun’s eyes were complicated. “You were only unconscious for a week. It’s fine—you just woke up, you might still be a bit disoriented. I’ve already called the doctor over.”

Qian Wei was starting to panic now. She’d assumed that when she woke up, she’d still be in the world of her nineteen-year-old self, but no matter how she looked at the situation in front of her, something was clearly wrong. Sitting across from her was unmistakably the twenty-eight-year-old Lu Xun.

Her heart filled with unease, she tested the waters. “You live at An Lan Villa Estate, right?”

Lu Xun blinked. “I did, but I moved out and got my own place several years ago. My parents live there now.”

If the matter of An Lan Villa Estate was real, did Lu Xun remember anything from what had happened when she was nineteen? Had it actually happened? Or had everything at nineteen been nothing more than her alone traveling to some parallel timeline? Or perhaps even just a dream she’d had while unconscious?

“A-Heng, why do you think, in this drama, no one ever cherishes the girl who’s too strong?”

Qian Wei thought it over, then decided to grit her teeth and recite that overwrought line from the play. If Lu Xun remembered it, then hearing this line would tell him it was a secret code between them from when she was nineteen.

But across from her, Lu Xun just kept looking at her with the same unreadable, complicated expression. “You fell into the pit while on the job—it counts as a workplace injury. I’ll take full responsibility. You don’t need to worry about the treatment costs.”

Refusing to give up, Qian Wei tried another line. “Crazy, mad, and smashing straight into walls, all for your sake?”

Lu Xun pressed his lips together. “I’ve approved your leave request from last time.”

Qian Wei still wasn’t giving up. “The whole package, overnight, eight-eight-eight?”

Lu Xun’s expression had already turned rather unpleasant, but he held himself back, saying coldly, “I’ve agreed to let you join the Gaoke Electromechanical acquisition case.”

Qian Wei thought, it looked like her worst fear had been confirmed after all… but she made one last, desperate attempt. “Male escort with the killer hip action, five thousand a night?”

At this, Lu Xun’s face went completely dark. “Qian Wei, have you ever heard the expression ‘know when to stop while you’re ahead’?”

“…”

At this point, Qian Wei felt utterly hopeless. Standing before her was, without a doubt, her ice-cold twenty-eight-year-old boss—no substitute, the genuine article.

Even though her heart was tangled up in complicated disappointment and sadness, Qian Wei immediately pulled herself together. She glanced around the hospital room. “So, this VIP room?”

“I’ve rented out the whole thing.”

“And the construction company that didn’t put up warning signs and got me pushed into that pit?”

“I’ve already gathered the materials and filed a lawsuit. They’ve currently proposed a settlement of five hundred thousand, but I haven’t agreed to it. I’m going to keep pursuing the lawsuit.”

Qian Wei rubbed her chin. “Five hundred thousand isn’t actually bad, though… why don’t we just grudgingly accept it? After all, going through litigation, first instance, appeal—by the time I actually get the money, it could be a year from now.”

“Qian Wei, show a little ambition.” Lu Xun’s tone left no room for argument. He turned his head aside. “A company that disregards public safety like that—even if they offered ten million, I wouldn’t agree to a settlement.”

That was definitely Lu Xun’s style, through and through…

But before Qian Wei could say anything more, a swarm of doctors suddenly burst into the room in a flurry of activity. Various medical staff proceeded to run Qian Wei through all sorts of tests, and after fussing over her for a good half a day, the oldest doctor, apparently leading the team, finally spoke up with something like a conclusion.

“All her vital signs are normal, but since she landed head-first when she fell, there may be some minor damage to the brain, which could cause some confusion in her memory—that’s normal too, and should resolve with recovery. After all, her language function and so on haven’t been affected. Once she’s discharged, she should rest quietly at home and be monitored for a while; if anything comes up, seek medical attention promptly.” He smiled at Lu Xun. “This treatment plan of ours was very successful this time. It’s just that afterward, there might possibly be…”

Lu Xun stood up, cutting the doctor off. “Dr. Zhu, let’s talk outside.”

No sooner had Lu Xun stepped out than Qian Chuan came bursting in.

“Qian Wei! You’re finally awake!” Qian Chuan’s eyes were even a little red. “Do you have any idea how much you scared me? Mom and Dad nearly collapsed from worry. They wouldn’t leave your side no matter what, insisting on staying until you woke up. I was worried their health couldn’t take it, so I basically forced them home last night to get settled. Now that you’re awake, I’ll go bring them over to see you soon.”

Qian Wei studied Qian Chuan closely. At twenty-eight, he’d developed the air of a mature man, no longer the scatterbrained, silly kid he’d once been. After spending so long abroad, there was a certain gentlemanly polish to his manner now, no longer impulsive. Because of the time difference and the demands of work, contact between Qian Wei and him had grown sparse ever since he’d gone abroad. But seeing him again now, Qian Wei realized that blood ties never truly changed—no matter how much the world shifted or time passed, Qian Chuan was still Qian Chuan.

She smiled at him. “I’m fine. But what about you—dropping everything and flying over here, won’t your company in the States fall apart without you? You’re barely past the hardest part of getting started. Don’t worry about me—go on back if there’s something urgent over there.”

After settling in the U.S., Qian Chuan had founded a sports photography company, covering sporting events and specializing in visual marketing for sports. He’d already signed on around ten full-time photographers and designers, in addition to partnering with a large number of talented freelance photographers on the market.

Qian Chuan shook his head. “No, I’m not going back. This time I’m planning to relocate the whole company to China.” His demeanor suddenly seemed to revert to that of the bashful young man he’d once been. “Going through this whole ordeal with you made me realize something—no matter how important a career is, it doesn’t compare to family. Mom and Dad are getting older, and you’ve been fighting your battles all alone. As the only man left in the family, I should step up and take responsibility, take care of both of you.” He scratched his head. “And besides, I’ve done some research—the domestic sports and entertainment market has huge room to grow right now, and not many people are in the space yet. There’s a real chance for me to be one of the first to make a real go of it in this field here.”

“Qian Wei!”

No sooner had Qian Chuan finished speaking than Liu Shiyun’s familiar loud voice came booming in—her voice arriving before she did.

“You’re finally awake!” Liu Shiyun burst through the door, set down a bouquet of flowers, her expression full of emotion; if it weren’t for concern over Qian Wei’s condition, she looked ready to sweep her into a hug. “I knew you’d wake up. You’ve always had a bit of that lucky idiot’s charm about you. But you know what, you really scared the hell out of us—especially Lu Xun. Probably terrified this workplace injury of yours would take you away for good, and feeling responsible as both your classmate and your boss, he didn’t take on a single new case this entire week—handed off everything he already had to other people—and just stayed by your side the whole time. I just saw him outside talking to the doctor and gave him a wave; his expression looked composed enough, but his hands were trembling slightly. If you hadn’t woken up soon, I honestly think he might’ve dropped dead from the stress.”

Qian Wei’s heart gave a small, unsteady flutter. “He just stayed by my side the whole week I was unconscious, barely sleeping at all?”

Liu Shiyun nodded. “Yeah.” As she spoke, she picked up a paring knife. “Let me peel you an apple.”

Qian Wei’s thoughts began racing again. She thought, even though Lu Xun had no idea about everything she’d experienced at nineteen—whether it was a dream or a parallel world—was there some possibility that all of it had happened for a reason, that some higher power had granted her that experience as a kind of revelation? That maybe, deep down, Lu Xun really did have some feelings for her after all?

Unaware of the winding thoughts running through Qian Wei’s head, Liu Shiyun, while peeling the apple, suddenly seemed to remember something and grew indignant. “Speaking of which, I had the worst luck today. On the drive over, there was this idiot in front of me—totally could’ve made it through the green light, but he was crawling along so slowly that by the time I got to the intersection following him, it had already turned red. And of course it was some guy, driving a Hummer, and the license plate even had some ’13B’ in it, an absolute clown. Drove like he had some kind of bladder problem, dribbling along. Oh, and get this—he was also headed to this hospital. He was probably here to get his prostate checked, hahahahaha!”

“Who are you calling a prostate case!” Qian Chuan, who had stayed silent until now, couldn’t take it anymore. He glared at Liu Shiyun. “I just got back to the country—A City’s had so much road construction these past few years I barely recognize the place anymore. Of course I was driving slow. Don’t go around slandering people!”

Liu Shiyun looked him over and suddenly realized. “So you’re that idiot prostate guy!” She turned to Qian Wei, puzzled. “Qian Wei, who is this guy? He looks oddly familiar.”

Qian Chuan was beyond furious now, completely abandoning the gentlemanly, composed image he’d been maintaining a moment ago. “Get your facts straight—what prostate case? My prostate is perfectly fine!”

“…” Qian Wei thought to herself, even though what happened in her dream hadn’t actually occurred, Qian Chuan and Liu Shiyun—who barely knew each other and hadn’t seen each other in years—really had ended up in exactly this kind of head-on collision the moment they crossed paths…

Overwhelmed by their bickering, Qian Wei covered her ears. “Quiet down, quiet down, this is a hospital, you can’t make this much noise, mind your surroundings!” She glanced at Liu Shiyun. “By the way, where’s my phone?”

Liu Shiyun shot Qian Chuan a glare, then pulled Qian Wei’s phone out of a drawer and handed it to her, before immediately going right back to bickering with Qian Chuan.

Qian Wei paid them no more attention. There was only one thing on her mind—what had been in the text message Lu Xun sent her right before she fell into the pit. Lu Xun had always preferred calling over texting, and Qian Wei couldn’t shake the feeling that there had to be something significant in that message. She’d fallen into the pit precisely because she’d been looking down at her phone to read that text, and had gone on to experience everything at nineteen—could it be that the content of that message was, in some cosmic way, the key to unlocking the whole mystery?

Maybe… maybe it was some awkward, roundabout confession from Lu Xun? Maybe, deep down, after all this time together, Lu Xun actually had come to feel something for her too?

Her heart a tangled mess of overwhelming anticipation and anxiety, Qian Wei unlocked her phone with trembling hands.

“Did you look over the legal aid case yet?”

Those nine words appeared before Qian Wei’s eyes. She could practically hear the sound of flames roaring up inside her.

Screw you, Lu Xun!

Qian Wei thought furiously, I fell into a goddamn construction pit just to check this text message?!

I need to hold it together. Murdering your boss is illegal.