Already quite irritated, Yan Yunning’s annoyance only deepened when she saw Xuan Yanyu calling her. Without hesitation, she pressed the button and ended the call.

Two seconds later, the call came in again. Yan Yunning gritted her teeth and answered, “What important matter do you have?”

Hearing Yan Yunning’s utterly impatient tone, the man on the other end of the line felt as though his heart had been yanked out of his chest. He let out a soft laugh and said lightly, “Reminding you not to forget to give me a reasonable explanation tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

“Why were you avoiding me yesterday?” Xuan Yanyu immediately pressed further.

Yan Yunning listened to the man’s deep, muffled voice through the receiver. The corners of her lips curved into a half-smile. “You’ve misunderstood. I wasn’t avoiding you. Is that all? If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”

“Who was that?” He Qingxia asked curiously.

“No one important.” Having ended the call, Yan Yunning’s gaze drifted to Shiyao’s profile, then swept briefly to Ye Jian sitting across from her. She curved her lips in a mocking smile. She was like a joke.

A novel is just a novel — it’s fiction. This moment was reality. Xuan Yanyu not only had no memory of her, he was also showing concern for Shiyao at every turn.

Ha. It was because of Shiyao that he’d been in that accident in the first place. If her guess was right, this inexplicable transmigration into the book had also been caused by Xuan Yanyu’s car accident.

He had forgotten. Yet she remained trapped in the depths of a love so extreme it consumed her entirely. Back then, Fafa had even asked her whether she wanted to choose to forget. She had refused point-blank — she was unwilling, and she had no desire to forget.

Looking back now, how painfully ironic it all was. Her chest felt as though a gaping hole had been torn through it, one that would never heal. Every night since her return, she had slept fitfully between waking and dreams.

In those dreams, Xuan Yanyu was always there. He blamed her for leaving him behind. He resented her for being heartless and not coming to see him.

In the end, he wept and begged her to come back and look at him.

He also said he had had a dream — in that dream, their baby hadn’t met with an accident. After she went home, she came back, and they had another adorable little baby. A pity, though, that there was no soft, sweet-scented daughter.

Then the scene shifted, and she saw the man holding the rice paper she had left behind, tearfully upset, muttering accusations that she was heartless.

But the reality was that he was the one who had pushed her away first.

“Don’t go yet — you still haven’t paid Ningning back.” He Qingxia’s voice pulled Yan Yunning back to the present.

Shiyao bit her lip, tears beginning to fall. “I don’t owe you anything. She was hospitalized and her brother came to visit me — who asks for that money back after visiting someone in the hospital?”

How utterly shameless.

He Qingxia paused for a brief second. Regardless of whether it was right or wrong to ask for visiting money back, she stepped in front of Shiyao and blocked her path. “Ningning said her brother doesn’t even have enough to eat. You have to return it.”

“Miss He.” Ye Jian stepped in front of Shiyao, his expression darkening.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Gu Jingye pulled He Qingxia behind him, shielding her.

He Qingxia looked up at the man standing before her, and her heart skipped a beat.

“Mr. Gu, protecting Miss Shi is my job. I hope you can understand that.” Ye Jian’s smile was faint.

Gu Jingye clenched his fist. He understood exactly what the unspoken meaning was.

Protecting Shiyao was his duty as a bodyguard, and he was Xuan Yanyu’s bodyguard — which indirectly meant that if anyone wanted to lay a hand on Shiyao, they had better first think about Xuan Yanyu.

“Let’s go.” Shiyao’s voice was soft and thin as she cast a sideways glance at Yan Yunning and the other two as though they were clowns putting on a show.

“Wait.” Yan Yunning stepped forward two paces, coming to stand beside Gu Jingye. She looked toward the young woman sheltering behind Ye Jian, her voice cool and clear. “Miss Shi, I will get that money back one way or another. If you won’t pay, then we’ll all just stay here and wait it out today.”

“Ye Jian.” Shiyao tugged ever so slightly at the corner of Ye Jian’s sleeve.

Ye Jian pressed his lips together. Had he not just seen that video call and that familiar phone number a moment ago, he would certainly have taken Shiyao and left at once. But…

Connecting it to the three times Xuan Yanyu had gone to see Yan Yunning, he made a decisive call and said to Shiyao, “Miss Shi, please return the money to Miss Yan.”

A look of displeasure flashed through Shiyao’s eyes. She fixed her gaze on Yan Yunning and said, “Miss Yan, are you aware of the concept of a gift? And are you aware that a gift cannot be reclaimed? Even if you make the biggest scene possible, I won’t pay, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Yan Yunning raised an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Miss Shi, are you aware that a conditional gift can be revoked? My brother gave you that red envelope because you were Xuan Yanyu’s girlfriend — he gave it on account of Xuan Yanyu. But that is no longer who you are.”

“This is called a conditional gift. The condition has not been fulfilled, so I am fully entitled to take it back.”

“You—” Shiyao tightened her grip around the bag in her hand, her chest rising and falling with barely contained fury.

“Stop wasting time. Pay the money back.” He Qingxia stood between Gu Jingye and Yan Yunning, looking at Shiyao with open contempt.

Shiyao refused to speak. A tense standoff stretched on for quite some time. It was only when she could no longer bear the peculiar stares of the other patrons inside the shop that she, deeply reluctant, scanned the payment code for Yan Yunning. The moment the bank notification of the deduction came through, Shiyao ran out of the shop in tears.

Yan Yunning happily looked at the string of extra zeros now appearing in her small change balance and curved her lips upward. “Let’s go out for a meal again tomorrow — my treat.”

Gu Jingye blinked. “Aren’t you returning it to Jingzhi?”

Yan Yunning cleared her throat. “You talk too much.”

“Oh, so it’s going right back into her own wallet.” Gu Jingye clicked his tongue.

“I told you, you talk too much.” Yan Yunning grabbed He Qingxia and ran out, remembering to call back over her shoulder to remind Gu Jingye to settle the bill.

Gu Jingye stood there in a daze for a moment, then came to his senses and shouted after them, “Yan Yunning, wasn’t this supposed to be your treat?”

“……”

“Fine. Again, once again… I get ripped off.” Gu Jingye resigned himself and went to the register to pay.

“Sir, Miss Yan has already paid.” The staff member smiled pleasantly after checking the account.

Gu Jingye: “……”

Good news: he hadn’t been ripped off this time. Bad news: he’d been played.

——

The following day, at noon.

Yan Yunning had Yan Jingzhi load the gifts she had bought at the mall the day before into the car.

Yan Jingzhi looked at the large and small bags piled on the coffee table, so irritated his teeth ached. “Yan Yunning, when have you ever put this much thought into your three brothers? And here we are, treating you like a treasure.”

Yan Yunning sighed helplessly. “Jingzhi, didn’t we say three o’clock? Keep dawdling like this and we’ll be late.”

Yan Jingzhi pursed his lips. “Fine, fine, let’s go.”

“It’s not like they’ll disappear — they’ll just end up in your hands a little later. I’m not keeping any of Xuan Yanyu’s gifts for myself anyway, and it would embarrass him to accept them. They’ll all be yours in the end.”

Yan Jingzhi remarked slowly, “But what if he does accept them?”

“Impossible.” Yan Yunning was certain.

Xuan Yanyu didn’t accept things from strangers, especially things given by girls. Even in the novel, she had never once seen Xuan Yanyu accept any object from a woman other than herself.

Now that he had no memory of her, there was no way he would accept them.

Yan Jingzhi narrowed his eyes and thought it over. “True enough. Yanyu doesn’t lack for anything, and he hates being bothered. He’s never accepted gifts from girls — afraid of them getting clingy.”

“Miss Yan, Mr. Yan.” The door swung open. Ye Chen and Ye’an grinned broadly as they greeted them.

Yan Jingzhi was somewhat taken aback. “What brings you two to my home?”

Yan Yunning pressed her lips together. Why else — they were afraid she wouldn’t show up. They had come to head her off.

“We’re here to escort Miss Yan.” Ye’an made an inviting gesture.

Yan Yunning frowned as she looked at the custom-made, gold-flecked purple sports coupe parked in front of the aluminum gate, a storm of emotions churning behind her eyes.