Zhou Ying's mistake hurts Liu Che, and Ji Yue is heartbroken to say goodbye to Jian Jun.
The bright morning sun didn't disturb Liu Che's peace. He sat in the shade as usual, listening to the radio. The familiar voice of the host announced the date and time as usual. It was only the "9" in today's date, "29," that reminded Liu Che of that fleeting inspiration.
"Ye Yi and Jiu Ye are the same person. That means Jiu Ye is actually Ye Yi's subconsciously rebranded name. The order was probably reversed first, with Ye Yi becoming Yi Ye. Then, due to the words in the Tao Te Ching, the one was replaced with the related nine, and the leaf was replaced with the homophonic night! If Ye Yi, who wasn't the instigator, was rebranded in this way, then the true murderer would surely be rebranded even more bizarrely! How exactly would they do it?" Puzzled, Liu Che rubbed his solar plexus. Then, shifting his perspective, he searched for answers from his own experience and case studies. "It's now highly likely that Wu Liren is the culprit. Based on this inference, what roles did his parents and brothers, who were closest to him, play? Especially why did he have two brothers—oh, no, three? Three. Thirteen out of ten live, thirteen out of ten die. Thirteen out of ten live and die. These three threes actually derive from one being. Just like the three brothers all share the same mother! Could it be that the three people in this dream are actually one person? There's even a case of this in books!"
Liu Che stood up excitedly at the thought. But then he suddenly remembered that he'd received a call last night from Dongyuan's eye hospital, notifying him to go for a follow-up examination. He'd already booked a flight for tonight, but he hadn't told Xue Jiuyue yet. He wanted to hypnotize her, so he had to hurry!
Qian Jianjun, who was busy until the early hours of last night, only realized that he had left his "love" and the printed letter in "every moment of time" when he won the silent defense battle.
His restless mood left him tossing and turning, completely unable to sleep. After all, an ugly bride still has to meet her parents-in-law; perhaps this was God's will! This self-consolation allowed him to drift off to sleep just as dawn was breaking...
The shallow sleep did not last long. Qian Jianjun simply washed up and ran towards "Inch by Inch of Time" alone.
Despite numerous contingency plans and thorough mental preparation, Qian Jianjun still didn't dare to head straight for his destination. He parked his car on the side of the road and paced back and forth across the wide flowerbeds lining the street, not even daring to glance at the nearby coffee shop. This long-lost tension, this soaring heartbeat, not only made Qian Jianjun uneasy, but also gave him a faint sense of excitement. Because only then did the taste of love truly manifest, in that chaotic fantasy, in that pounding heartbeat, in that dry, hoarse throat...
I don't know if he silently prayed or made a wish as he paced back and forth, but he finally mustered up the courage to embark on the path that led to "Inch by Inch of Time." It was at that moment that Qian Jianjun's eye caught the abrupt appearance of the "heart" on the large French window!
Looking closely, I realized that the large "heart" contained my 128 small "hearts"! Looking even more closely, I realized the frame of the large "heart" was made of the same material as the frame of my "artwork" bag.
Qian Jianjun excitedly retreated to the curb. He needed to prepare both his emotions and his words. He first hid out of sight from the cafe, pumping his fists excitedly and jumping around... he even let out a few low shouts. Then he began to discard all his previous assumptions and rethink his words for Xue Jiuyue.
Everything was ready, and Qian Jianjun walked towards "Inch by Inch of Time" again. Just as he was about to turn into the small intersection, he found Liu Che getting out of the taxi next to him.
Qian Jianjun took the initiative, his voice filled with irrepressible joy as he greeted, "Good morning, Doctor Liu!"
"Good morning, Mr. Qian. Is there any good news so early in the morning?" Liu Che clasped his fists and bowed.
"Yes! To be honest, I confessed to Xiaoyue yesterday. I just wanted to make my presence known, but I never expected that she would agree!"
"Oh? Are you sure?"
Qian Jianjun was still immersed in his own joy, oblivious to Liu Che's panic. He'd been so incredibly excited just now, now that he finally had someone to confide in, he began to ramble on. But his description only rubbed salt in Liu Che's wounds. "Yeah, sure! I folded 128 hearts for her and wrote a letter. If she's willing, I'll show them to her. Don't think this handiwork is worth much, but it took me several days to fold them, and it made my eyes blurry. Luckily, Xiaoyue appreciated my efforts and posted them on the French window..."
Liu Che, feeling desolate in the wind, didn't hear what Qian Jianjun said next. It wasn't until Xue Jiuyue's voice that he reluctantly came back to his senses. "Little, Doctor Liu, good morning... Hello, Mr. Qian. Are you two sure you just want to stand here and chat? Why don't you go in and sit for a while?"
Xue Jiuyue just saw through the floor-to-ceiling window that two people who had only met once were standing here and chatting. Curiosity drove her to come over to find out what was going on.
"Okay, Xiaoyue." Qian Jianjun agreed readily, then suddenly remembered that he had just been busy telling Liu Che about his good news and hadn't asked him why he came. "Doctor Liu, do you have something to talk to Xiaoyue about too?"
Qian Jianjun's question made Liu Che feel even more like an outsider. "It's okay, Xiaoyue. I came to tell you that I'm flying back to Dongyuan tonight. You guys chat, I'll go back and pack my things first."
"It's so sudden, is there something urgent? Should I take you there?"
"Nothing, just going back to check. Mr. Qian seems to have something to talk to you about. You guys chat, I'm leaving first." With that, Liu Che turned and left. He waved as he walked down the street. Soon, he fumbled to open the door of a parked taxi and dove in like an ostrich trying to hide.
Xue Jiuyue withdrew her doubtful gaze and looked at Qian Jianjun, "Mr. Qian, are you looking for me?"
"Yes, Xiaoyue..." Qian Jianjun began the "acceptance speech" he had just prepared. "I am so happy, so happy! I didn't expect you to agree! This has made me the happiest in the past four months! Don't worry, even though you agree to accept my feelings, it doesn't mean..."
"Mr. Qian, I'm sorry, when did I agree to anything?"
"My love hearts? Those on the French windows...?"
"Mr. Qian, there may be a misunderstanding. Could you please explain it to me in detail?"
"Oh..." Qian Jianjun fell from the clouds in an instant, but his tenacious character supported him to narrate the whole story.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Qian, you misunderstood." Xue Jiuyue immediately understood the whole story. She used the reason Zhou Ying gave her to explain to Qian Jianjun, "Yesterday I said I wanted to set up a love seat in the store. This morning I saw this jar of hearts and thought Keke prepared it for the special seat, so I asked Zhou Ying to display them."
Qian Jianjun was already familiar with the layout of the cafe, so Xue Jiuyue's explanation was flawless, but this was the most heartbreaking thing. Qian Jianjun suppressed his heartache and murmured, "Oh, yes, I'm sorry, Xiaoyue, I, I misunderstood, I thought..."
Liu Che's arrival and departure had been incredibly sudden, and his flustered departure was completely unlike his usual calm demeanor. So, before Qian Jianjun could finish, Xue Jiyue couldn't wait to ask, "Mr. Qian, I saw you and Dr. Liu were having a great conversation just now. Were they talking about this misunderstanding as well?"
"I'm sorry, Xiaoyue. I was so excited just now that I wanted to say something to every tree..."
A biting chill chilled Xue Jiuyue's voice, so cold that water would turn to ice. "So, you told Doctor Liu?"
Qian Jianjun had just fallen from the clouds, and now he was stepped on. He replied woodenly, "Yes..."
Just two words were like a bolt from the blue, pushing Xue Jiuyue completely into the abyss. She watched helplessly as the happiness that was so close to her was slowly closing the door.
In the blink of an eye, Xue Jiuyue's mind raced through many thoughts. Should she reach out to Liu Che to clarify things? But Liu Che hadn't questioned her before leaving. Even if she clarified, how could she explain this? How could she explain the deep connection and genuine emotion she felt? And she hadn't explained Qian Jianjun to Liu Che in detail from beginning to end. Wasn't that a lie? The last time she'd misunderstood Liu Che, she'd deliberately said something to anger him, because Qian Jianjun had invited her shopping. Would Liu Che believe her explanation? Would he forgive her?
The chaotic thoughts ignited a nearly desperate rage that made Xue Jiuyue lose control more than ever before. She interrupted Qian Jianjun again, "Let's end it here, Mr. Qian! I can't play this childish love game with you anymore. I have my own life..."
After saying that, Xue Jiuyue turned around and fled towards the "inches of time" not far away with frivolous steps, leaving Qian Jianjun standing there like a wooden sculpture, even the surrounding sunlight was frozen by him.
As soon as Xue Jiuyue entered the room, she saw Zhou Ying, who was already crying bitterly. She had witnessed everything that had just happened and walked closer under the pretext of taking out the trash. Although she couldn't hear clearly, she guessed the general idea.
"Sister Yue, I was wrong! I thought it was given to me by Keke." Zhou Ying was sad and ashamed. She didn't understand the relationship between Xue Jiuyue and Liu Che.
"It's okay!" Although her voice was trembling with heartache, Xue Jiuyue still didn't want to give Zhou Ying more psychological burden, including the fact that she took the blame for the misunderstanding in front of Qian Jianjun just now.
"Sister Yue, I, I want to resign..."
Even someone as strong as Zhou Ying couldn't withstand the heartache of having their hopes dashed, so how could she be no different? Xue Jiuyue was overwhelmed and didn't know how to comfort Zhou Ying. She could only force herself to make a decision: "Silly girl, it's okay. How about this? You go to the suburban factory first and check the latest data with them."
"Sister Yue, my heart hurts so much, I'm afraid..."
"Listen to me, everything will be fine. Go to the factory first, trust me."
Liu Che, in a state of dismay, let the taxi drive around for a few laps before he could muster up a bit of strength and said, "Sorry, sir, we're going to the airport."
Home is always a place to heal, so Liu Che decided to change his flight ticket.
When Ke Yike arrived at the coffee shop, all the tears disappeared in the shining sunlight, and only the big love heart remained on the glass window to record the previous changes.
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