Three days later.
The rain in the city is incessant, making it dark and damp.
The banquet hall on the top floor of the skyscraper was brightly lit and bustling, with clinking glasses and piano music blending together. It was very luxurious, but it didn't look like an engagement party at all.
Ji Wei, dressed in a sharp suit, sat on the sofa in the corner, her eyes fixed on the doorway. Her left hand occasionally touched the area under her left eye, while her right hand, holding a glass of red wine, gripped the glass slightly with nervousness.
Jiang Fei will be attending tonight.
This is the first time I've seen her since the day I swapped her and Lin Ran's memories.
How is she? Does she ever think of him, and everything they went through afterward? Perhaps... after hearing that she was "engaged," did she feel even a little unhappy?
Too many questions filled his mind, making it difficult for him to think.
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, a door opened at the entrance. Ji Wei looked over almost instantly, and then her gaze froze.
Jiang Fei.
She was wearing a snow-white dress, her fair skin seemed to reflect light under the lamp, her eyebrows and eyes were beautiful and charming, and her arm was tightly linked with Gu Xi beside her.
Ji Wei slowly turned around, glanced at the hand she was holding with someone else, and then looked back at her face. For a moment, she felt as if she had been in another world. She stared at it for a long time before slowly walking towards her.
Jiang Fei naturally noticed the gazes coming from the corner. In fact, from the moment she entered the banquet hall, she had already sensed that this banquet was not like an engagement party, but rather like an ordinary banquet.
She turned her head and immediately met Ji Wei's gaze. She was slightly taken aback, tightened her grip on Gu Xi's hand, and quickly regained her composure.
Gu Xi felt the movement of the arm, turned her head to look at Jiang Fei, and then looked up to see Ji Wei walking towards the two of them, her eyes fixed on Jiang Fei.
Gu Xi frowned almost imperceptibly, her voice low and deep: "Mr. Ji."
Ji Wei suddenly snapped back to reality, finally turning her gaze away from Jiang Fei and looking at Gu Xi: "Mr. Gu," she said, then turned back to Jiang Fei, her voice hoarse and tense, "Jiang Fei."
Jiang Fei lowered his eyes and nodded politely: "Mr. Ji."
Upon hearing the unfamiliar address, Ji Wei's fingertips trembled slightly at her side, a pang of bitterness shot through her heart, and her left eye seemed to sting.
Now, she looks at Gu Xi with the same eyes she used to look at him.
After a long while, Ji Wei finally said slowly, "Long time no see."
Jiang Fei glanced at him and smiled faintly: "Happy engagement."
Ji Wei's throat tightened, and her Adam's apple bobbed.
How could she... so readily wish him a "happy engagement"?
"I have something to tell you."
Jiang Fei paused for a moment, then unconsciously tightened her grip on Gu Xi's hand.
Looking at Ji Wei's expression, Gu Xi knew very well that Ji Wei definitely had feelings for Jiang Fei.
He should have been happy to see it happen. If he had asked, Jiang Fei wouldn't have refused him, even if he had pushed her onto someone else.
However, he inexplicably couldn't bring himself to speak, and finally only said, "Mr. Ji still has other distinguished guests to entertain, so we..."
Before he could finish speaking, a woman appeared on the second floor of the banquet hall. She was dressed in an ordinary dress, her eyes were red-rimmed and her cheeks were pale. Her tearful eyes made her look even more pitiful.
Lin Ran.
She is looking at him.
Seemingly sensing their gazes, Lin Ran panicked and turned to run away in escape.
Gu Xi stared at Lin Ran's retreating figure, his gaze momentarily unfocused. For some reason, the calmness in his heart exceeded his expectations, and he even inexplicably recalled the kiss from a few days ago that had stirred his heart...
Gu Xi snapped back to reality, realizing what he was thinking. His eyes turned cold; there was no way he would change his mind.
He turned to look at Jiang Fei: "Mr. Ji seems to have something to say..."
“I also happen to have something to say to Mr. Ji,” Jiang Fei interrupted him quickly, then chuckled softly, “so you can go and entertain him yourself.”
Gu Xi frowned. This was exactly what he wanted to say, but his agitation was even greater at the moment. Yet, he was slightly taken aback when he saw her eyes.
Unlike Lin Ran, who evoked pity, Jiang Fei's eyes were slightly red, but she still tried her best to smile at him.
"Hmm." Finally, he nodded slightly.
Jiang Fei slowly withdrew his hand from Gu Xi's arm and looked at Ji Wei: "Mr. Ji, please."
Ji Wei gazed at her intently for a moment, then turned and walked away.
He stopped only after entering a room in the corner, turned around and looked at the woman behind him. His gaze was fixed on her slightly red eyes. After a long while, he reached out to gently touch her eye sockets.
Jiang Fei quickly took two steps back: "Mr. Ji, why don't you just say what's on your mind?"
Ji Wei's hand froze in mid-air. It took her a while to react, but she only said it again: "Long time no see."
Jiang Fei was silent for a moment: "I don't think there's any need for us to meet again, Mr. Ji."
Ji Wei's face turned pale: "What?"
Jiang Fei lowered her head and didn't look at him: "The misunderstandings before only happened because my memories and Miss Lin's memories were swapped. Now that they've been restored... there's no need for us to meet again..."
"And what happened together after that?" Ji Wei interrupted her.
Even though their memories were altered, the things they experienced together afterward were all real.
Jiang Fei paused for a moment, then quickly gave a self-deprecating laugh: "Just as Mr. Ji said to me in the lab, if I didn't have Miss Lin's memories in my mind, you wouldn't have allowed me to get close to you, would you? Those experiences were only because I possessed Miss Lin's memories."
Ji Wei listened to her words in a daze.
Before the memory reversal experiment, she asked him: Is it because she has Lin Ran's memories that he is so kind to her?
He said yes.
Now, those words feel like a knife stuck in his heart.
"And what about the eyes?" Ji Wei murmured.
"Hmm?" Jiang Fei asked in a low voice, then realized, "I'm just lucky with the prosthetic eye..."
“It’s not a prosthetic eye,” Ji Wei walked up to her, her emotions slightly agitated. “It’s this eye, Jiang Fei, this eye that looks exactly like yours.”
"How much longer do you plan to keep this from me?" Ji Wei's eyes reddened as she spoke.
Jiang Fei stood there, staring straight at Ji Wei's left eye, when a tear unexpectedly fell from her own left eye.
Ji Wei stared at the tear, feeling his left eye gradually sting and his face grow increasingly pale. He reached out to wipe it away, but Jiang Fei suddenly said calmly, "So you knew..."
Ji Wei stood frozen in place.
Jiang Fei chuckled and slowly took out a neatly folded check from her handbag: "Mr. Ji, this check is the one you gave me back then. You said it was something you owed me, and that once it's returned, we're even."
"This amount of money is huge; it's enough to buy one of my eyes."
After saying that, she turned to leave.
A flurry of footsteps sounded behind her, and Ji Wei blocked her way: "Jiang Fei..."
Jiang Fei paused in her steps: "Mr. Ji, today is your engagement day."
“No,” Ji Wei said hoarsely, “Jiang Fei, today isn’t any special day, it’s just… I wanted to see you. It’s not that we’re even, it’s that I owe you…”
"I no longer have any memory of Miss Lin."
"I don't care about your memory..."
“I don’t want to stay here, I don’t want to stay by your side,” Jiang Fei said calmly.
Ji Wei froze, her eyes somewhat blank, and after a long while, she murmured, "Is it because of Gu Xi?"
Jiang Fei lowered her eyes slightly, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
Ji Wei stared at her in a daze. He knew that this was the kind of reaction she would have when she was told the truth.
She reacted the same way when people teased him and her back then.
"I'm leaving now," Jiang Fei said softly, but as she reached the door, Ji Wei's voice came from behind her, "What about Gu Xi?"
Jiang Fei paused.
“Jiang Fei, Gu Xi’s feelings for you are not genuine at all,” Ji Wei walked up behind her, her voice hoarse. “He’s just using you.”
"Please don't go looking for him, okay?"
“We start over, just like we did in that tin shack, with no one else but us.”
"Even if you hate me, it's okay. The only person I want to marry is..."
“Mr. Ji.” Jiang Fei interrupted him, remained silent for a while, and finally opened the door and walked out without saying a word.
But the moment he stepped out the door, the expression on his face vanished, and he raised his eyebrows slightly.
Hopefully, Gu Xi won't disappoint her.
On the other side.
Lin Ran hid in a corner, her figure thin and delicate.
This so-called dinner party was not an "engagement party" at all; otherwise, as one of the main characters, she wouldn't have been notified only in the afternoon.
She knew very well that this dinner was just an excuse for Ji Wei to see Jiang Fei, just like that day when she patted his shoulder from behind and he turned around and called her "Jiang Fei" with surprise and panic in his eyes.
Footsteps sounded behind me.
Lin Ran quickly wiped her eyes, turned around and was slightly stunned when she saw the person following behind her. After a while, she murmured, "Gu Xi..." her tone was tinged with grievance.
For the first time since her memories returned, she called his name calmly.
Gu Xi looked at Lin Ran's snow-white dress, her eyes flickering slightly.
He remembered that Jiang Fei was also wearing a white dress today.
"What are you doing following me?" Lin Ran asked softly, looking down.
Gu Xi snapped out of her daze and, after a long while, took out a snow-white handkerchief and handed it to her.
Lin Ran looked at the handkerchief, just like back at Gu's, when he would always wipe her face clean whenever she got it dirty... Her grievances deepened, and for just this second, she didn't want to think about it anymore.
Thinking of this, Lin Ran did not take the handkerchief. Instead, she stepped forward and hugged Gu Xi tightly, burying her face in his chest and crying silently.
Gu Xi's body stiffened from the sudden embrace. It wasn't that she hadn't been embraced before, but this time she felt... something was different.
For example, a faint sense of rejection rose in his heart, and... the way Jiang Fei embraced and kissed him.
It's just an illusion.
He told himself that it was only because Jiang Fei knew his secret that he didn't have to worry about his strange metallic skeleton being discovered.
Gu Xi reached out and embraced the woman in his arms: "Are you still going to marry him?"
Lin Ran's delicate shoulders trembled.
She didn't want to stay with someone who didn't love her at all, and she... didn't even know if she loved Ji Wei anymore.
They've all changed.
"Remember the Gu family?" Gu Xi asked again.
Lin Ran stopped abruptly, frozen in his arms.
The instant she heard those words, she knew clearly that her heart had been moved.
The time she spent at the Gu family was the time when she felt most cherished.
"Don't joke around, it was Miss Jiang who stayed with you the whole time," Lin Ran said softly, getting up from his embrace.
Gu Xi's expression tightened slightly upon hearing the words "Miss Jiang," but she was also annoyed by her own overreaction: "If you come back, she will no longer be of any use to me."
He spoke in a low voice, but with each word he uttered, his heart sank heavily, until he finished speaking and felt empty inside.
Lin Ran looked up, her tear-filled eyes staring straight at the man in front of her.
Everyone wants to be favored, and she was no exception: "I need to think about it..." she murmured.
Just then, a very light footstep sound came from the side.
Gu Xi's eyes narrowed, and she turned her head almost immediately: "Who?" Her voice was filled with inexplicable panic.
However, the corner was empty; there was no one there, only a woman running towards him from a distance, her white dress catching up to him like a wisp of smoke.
Jiang Fei.
Her expression remained normal, though her complexion was slightly pale.
She looked up at him and said, "Let's go back. I don't want to stay here anymore."
Gu Xi looked at her probingly, a sense of unease creeping into her heart.
Did she hear that just now?
"Gu Xi?" Jiang Fei pursed her lips, stepped forward and gently tugged at his sleeve, then gave a big smile. "Let's go back."
Gu Xi snapped out of her daze, looking at the hand Lin Ran was holding, her fingertips twitching slightly. After a long while, she nodded, and then, as if remembering something, she turned to look at the spot where Lin Ran had been standing, which was now empty.
A light drizzle was still falling outside, and the night was gloomy.
Inside the moving black sedan, Gu Xi glanced at the woman beside her for what seemed like the hundredth time.
Jiang Fei was unusually quiet. She sat there, staring straight out the window, her eyes looking blank and sad. Even though he was right next to her, she seemed all alone.
Gu Xi unconsciously shifted her position.
Jiang Fei snapped back to reality, turned her head to look at him, and smiled with her eyes crinkling: "Gu Xi." Her voice was slightly drawn out, with a hint of softness.
Gu Xi's heart skipped a beat, but his deep eyes still couldn't hide his scrutiny as he stared at her: "Don't you have anything to say?"
"Hmm?" Jiang Fei tilted her head, then squinted and said, "No."
Gu Xi pursed her lips, about to say something, when she suddenly saw Jiang Fei straighten up and look out the window, his eyes sparkling like starlight: "Stop the car."
The vehicle came to a smooth stop on the side of the road.
Jiang Fei pointed out the window and looked at Gu Xi with delight: "I didn't expect to pass by here," she said, taking his wrist. "This is the place I wanted to take you to last time."
Gu Xi followed her gaze and saw that the narrow alley was filled with simple blue and red signs arranged haphazardly, which contrasted sharply with the high-tech feel of the holographic images in the distance.
“Let’s go take a look,” Jiang Fei said, shaking his hand. “Okay?”
Gu Xi watched her movements, then looked into her eyes, and nodded in agreement almost unconsciously.
Jiang Fei's eyes brightened even more. She took his hand, accepted the umbrella handed to her by a staff member, and walked towards the alley entrance. Gu Xi followed behind her, walking briskly.
But as she reached the alley entrance, a gust of cold wind blew her umbrella inside out, causing Jiang Fei to stumble violently.
Gu Xi quickly reached out to support her arm.
Jiang Fei turned to him and smiled brightly: "Let's run."
Just as Gu Xi was puzzled, Jiang Fei suddenly threw the umbrella aside, letting the rain soak the two of them, and then she took his hand and ran into the alley.
Gu Xi was pulled along by her as they ran together in the rain, and he unconsciously turned to look at her.
Her white dress stood out against the dark, murky night, like the most beautiful light in the place.
The shabby alley was already filled with rainwater. Gu Xi frowned, but froze when she saw Jiang Fei step into the sewage without hesitation, splashing up big water droplets. Her heart seemed to be filled little by little.
Being by her side, it felt like I didn't have to think about anything, I could just keep running forward.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Fei stopped in a corner. The hem of her white dress was stained gray by the rain, her long hair was wet and draped behind her, and she was breathing heavily. Her eyes were slightly red, as if they had been washed with water... but it was hard to tell whether it was rain or tears.
Gu Xi looked at her, but the moment she looked over, he quickly looked away, glanced around, and then frowned slightly.
This place... feels strangely familiar.
“I first saw you here two years ago,” Jiang Fei smiled and said softly, “I was huddled up there when you walked up to me with an umbrella and reached out your hand to me. You were very beautiful.”
Gu Xi was stunned and turned to look at Jiang Fei, whose eyes were full of reminiscence.
He didn't actually remember these memories, which she found so wonderful, very clearly; in fact, they were... unfamiliar to him.
All he remembered was that at that time, he only wanted to use her body, which had the same constitution as Lin Ran, to replace his memories.
“I want you to see the place where I grew up,” Jiang Fei squeezed his hand and led him inside, but paused when she saw the tin shack not far away, turned her head and smiled apologetically, “It might be a bit rudimentary.”
Gu Xi looked at her.
Jiang Fei tonight... is a bit strange. She's smiling, but it makes people uneasy.
The tin shack was still the same as when she left.
Jiang Fei led Gu Xi into the house: "Before I met you, I always lived here alone."
Gu Xi looked at the simple house that could be seen at a glance and didn't say anything.
"This is where I cook, where I wash up, and where I rest," Jiang Fei introduced each place, giving him a slight smile after each one. Then, as if remembering something, she added, "By the way, your body doesn't seem to be able to stay too damp. Are you in pain again?"
As she spoke, she reached out and rolled up his sleeve.
The area where the metal met the flesh indeed had a deep purple hue.
Jiang Fei hurriedly went to the bathroom to get a dry towel: "Take off your coat first, I'll help you wipe your back..."
Gu Xi watched her busy figure. Actually... it was just a little pain, nothing compared to the pain she had suffered before.
But seeing the concern in her eyes, he actually took off his suit jacket.
Tonight, he and she were both behaving very strangely.
Jiang Fei carefully wiped the metal skeleton on his back. Looking at the metal embedded in the flesh and the perfectly textured back, she couldn't help but reach out and stroke the skeleton.
Gu Xi's back stiffened, her muscles tensed, and the atmosphere suddenly became ambiguous.
Jiang Fei quickly withdrew her hand, saying, "Sorry." Then she sat down at the other end of the sofa.
Gu Xi looked at her without saying a word.
Jiang Fei casually remarked, "It's a pity there's no piano here..."
Gu Xi paused slightly, then took off her watch and tapped the dial. A beam of projected light shone from the dial, projecting onto a complete holographic piano key on the coffee table.
Jiang Fei exclaimed in surprise, reached out and lightly touched the piano keys, and the sound was exactly the same as that of a piano.
Just then, the yellowish light bulb above flickered, sparked, and went out.
The only light in the room was the blue glow projected from the piano keys.
"The light is broken," Jiang Fei said in a low voice.
Gu Xi remained silent.
Jiang Fei reached out and pressed the keys haphazardly a few times, producing a sudden, abrupt sound. The next second, she abruptly turned her head and asked, "Can you teach me?"
Gu Xi paused for a moment, then turned to meet Jiang Fei's bright gaze, and the feeling of panic returned.
He quickly turned his head, placed his hands on the piano keys, and smoothly played a simple tune.
Jiang Fei tried to imitate him, playing one key at a time, but she couldn't quite get the hang of it.
After what seemed like an eternity, she finally managed to play the piece, albeit haltingly. After playing the last note, she breathed a sigh of relief: "I've learned it!"
Gu Xi looked into her overly bright eyes through the faint blue light and said, "Mm."
Jiang Fei laughed, a quiet laugh, until her eyes seemed to be veiled with tears.
The narrow room was very quiet.
"Gu Xi." Jiang Fei's voice lowered.
Gu Xi looked at her.
“I told you, don’t be all alone anymore,” Jiang Fei’s voice grew softer and softer, so soft that Gu Xi could barely hear her, “Even if you’re not lonely, it has nothing to do with me…”
Gu Xi tilted her head slightly: "What..."
Before he could finish his question, Jiang Fei suddenly stood up and kissed him. It was a very light kiss, carrying her unique sweet scent, which instantly enveloped him.
Gu Xi felt a sudden dizziness in his head. Her deep blue eyes were alluring and captivating. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist, and that fatal allure returned, making him unconsciously immerse himself in it.
However, after an unknown period of time, he suddenly felt everything go black and his brain gradually lost consciousness.
Gu Xi's favorability rating: 70.
...
When Gu Xi woke up again, it was already the next morning.
He was still lying on the sofa in the simple house, with no one around him.
Gu Xi sat up instantly, subconsciously touching her lips. The kiss with Jiang Fei last night felt like a dream.
But the piano keys still projected on the table reminded him that this was not a dream.
There was a noise outside the door, followed by a staff member's voice: "Mr. Gu, you're awake?"
Gu Xi snapped out of her reverie. The clothes she had changed out of yesterday were already folded and placed on the sofa beside her. After getting dressed, Gu Xi opened the door, but frowned slightly when she saw only one staff member standing at the door: "Where is Miss Jiang?"
The staff member hurriedly replied, "Ms. Jiang said she had to go back first."
Go back first?
Gu Xi frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart as she recalled her unusual behavior yesterday: "Where are the people monitoring her?"
"I've been following them."
"Hmm." Gu Xi relaxed slightly, then realized she had lingered here for too long, and her expression turned cold. "Return to the Gu family."
The staff member readily agreed.
When the car stopped downstairs at the Gu family's building, Gu Xi immediately spotted his assistant waiting at the door. Upon seeing him return, the assistant quickly stepped forward and said, "Mr. Gu, Miss Lin has arrived."
Lin Ran?
Gu Xi paused slightly, thinking of what she had said last night about "thinking about it." If she hadn't agreed, she would never have appeared at the Gu Corporation now. Her appearance proved that she had agreed...
But why... do I not feel happy even though I got the result I wanted?
The sound of the video call suddenly came on, bringing Gu Xi back to his senses. He turned his head and saw that it was the person monitoring Jiang Fei who was calling.
"Mr. Gu, it seems that Mr. Ji only officially got engaged today."
Gu Xi's eyes showed a rare look of confusion: "What..."
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly thought of something.
Ji Wei got engaged, but Lin Ran was at the Gu family business.
A photo was immediately transmitted from the other end of the video call.
Gu Xi's body stiffened completely.
In the photo, Ji Wei, dressed in a sharp suit, is standing next to Jiang Fei, who is wearing a white tulle dress.
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