Shen Yi hadn’t told Rong Qian directly, because he himself wasn’t certain yet whether he could actually pull it off.

And that time, Rong Qian stayed by Shen Yi’s side for two full months.

In those two months, she witnessed many things firsthand, and came to understand deeply just how difficult Shen Yi’s situation truly was.

Xu Mo and Qiao Junche had grown seemingly accustomed to her sudden appearances; neither of them ever asked where she came from.

It was only later that Rong Qian learned why Qiao Junche’s clinic had been shut down — he had been framed. Someone had alleged that he’d caused a patient’s death, and his medical license had been revoked.

On that night when Shen Yi had gone to the clinic, it was precisely to deal with the matter of its forced closure.

Fortunately, Shen Yi later leveraged some connections, and the clinic was eventually allowed to reopen.

The time Rong Qian arrived this visit was February 1987, roughly two weeks after the Lunar New Year.

The events she knew would happen this year had not yet occurred.

She knew that Xie Dong’s father, Xie Yan, would lose his life in the line of duty this year. She knew that Thomas would flee overseas, and that Shen Fongran would be arrested and executed.

As for Shen Yi — in these two months, he made no significant moves. He even gave Rong Qian the impression that the investigation and seizure of his assets had been deliberate on his part.

Shen Yi had been carefully disguising himself as someone weak — an ordinary man who couldn’t stir up any wind or waves, who posed no threat to anyone. He allowed people to scheme against him from the shadows, and at most responded to each move as it came, as though he had already given up fighting back.

Throughout those two months, Shen Yi deliberately stayed close to Rong Qian, as if he knew — this would be the last time they would see each other.

Once, Rong Qian had asked Shen Yi whether he would survive.

His answer, at the time, was a single sentence: “I will survive. I will survive for you.”

Rong Qian could see that Shen Yi had already formed a plan in his mind. She also understood that she had done everything she could. Whatever the future held would depend on the choices Shen Yi made.

Two months after that, Rong Qian finally saw Fu Bozhong, who had just been discharged from the hospital. He had been ill and hospitalized for half a year; he had lost a great deal of weight, and the suit that had once fit him well now hung loose on his frame. He was already quite old, but when he saw Rong Qian, he still gave her his warm, gentle smile and greeted her fondly as Miss Rong.

On the day of Fu Bozhong’s discharge, Shen Yi asked Rong Qian to accompany him to a charity gala. Apparently, Shen Fongran would also be attending.

When she heard it was a charity gala, Rong Qian suddenly remembered — she had once seen a report about it in the newspaper. Because it had happened so close in time to Shen Yi’s accident, she had read that article with particular care.

The report had two headline stories.

The first: Movie Emperor Wei Long had attended accompanied by a mysterious female companion, who had mysteriously vanished after the gala began.

The second: Before the gala concluded, a group of armed men had stormed the venue. A woman with the surname Meng had been shot and killed on the spot.

Previously, Rong Qian’s attention had been focused on the armed group, and she hadn’t paid much mind to the woman surnamed Meng who had died at the scene.

It wasn’t until she arrived at the gala and happened to spot Meng Yuxin that Rong Qian remembered who that woman surnamed Meng actually was.

That Meng Yuxin would die tonight was something Rong Qian had never anticipated. Wasn’t she Shen Fongran’s mother? Could it be that Shen Fongran would even kill his own mother?

“What are you thinking about?”

Each guest had been given a private lounge. Right now, Rong Qian was with Shen Yi in theirs. Seeing that she had come back after a walk through the venue and had been lost in a daze ever since, he spoke up to ask.

Rong Qian looked up at him. With only Fu Bozhong in the room, she felt no need to hold back, and told him what she had read in that newspaper article.

“Noted.” Shen Yi’s reaction was measured — as if he already knew.

Rong Qian asked, “Shen Yi, did you know all along that something would happen tonight?”

“A’Qian, do you know why I agreed to come to this gala?” Shen Yi answered her with a question. Rong Qian shook her head, and Shen Yi told her, “I’m the bait.”

Rong Qian was stunned. The bait?

Shen Yi said, “A’Qian, I think you’ve noticed — most of the guests here tonight are people you don’t recognize.”

“You’re right. Aside from the Yao Zhengxing family, most of them are unfamiliar to me.” Rong Qian had been wondering about that herself, and something about the atmosphere of the whole evening felt off.

Shen Yi said unhurriedly, “And you’ll also notice that most of the guests are foreign businessmen — Americans, predominantly.”

“So the charity is a front, and the real purpose is money laundering?” Rong Qian said, suddenly understanding.

Shen Yi smiled faintly. He lifted his teacup and took a quiet sip, his brow carrying an air of deep, unreadable composure — as if he had already laid out his plans and everything was within his grasp. He said to Rong Qian, “A’Qian, do you know what Shen Fongran is doing right now?”

“What is he doing?” Rong Qian felt she couldn’t keep up with his thinking at all.

Shen Yi lowered his gaze, contemplating the teacup in his hands, and said slowly, “Panicking, fleeing in all directions — and desperately wishing he could cut me into a thousand pieces.”

Rong Qian was taken aback. Shen Yi — what exactly have you been doing behind my back these past months?

Shen Yi had indeed been doing a great deal. Playing the role of an accomplice on the surface while driving a knife in from behind in secret — he had been preparing for this day for a long time.

Before the gala began, Shen Yi said to Rong Qian, “A’Qian, ever since you told me that even bringing Shen Fongran to justice legally might not be enough to finish him, I’ve been wondering — whether I should simply kill him outright and eliminate the threat once and for all.”

Rong Qian said nothing. Her feelings in that moment were complicated.

Seeming to read what she was worried about, Shen Yi smiled. “Don’t worry. The person who pulls the trigger won’t be me.”

Rong Qian was startled. Did that mean the future would be changed tonight?

But Rong Qian didn’t find out the truth until after she returned — that Shen Yi had not changed history at all. He had followed the existing historical path.

The fact that Meng Yuxin was shot and killed was proof of that.

Meng Yuxin had not been hit by a stray bullet — she had died protecting her own son, Shen Fongran.

Shen Fongran laid the blame for Meng Yuxin’s death squarely on Shen Yi’s shoulders. Before he was arrested, he threw Shen Yi a chilling promise:

“Shen Yi, you wait. I will make you pay — I swear it!”

All of this, however, was unknown to Rong Qian, who had danced one dance with Shen Yi that night and then returned to her own time. She had believed that tonight Shen Yi would change the future, and that when she got back, she would find him still alive.

But nothing had changed at all.

Because what Rong Qian didn’t know was that this — this was the correct outcome.