Chapter 105 It Feels Like Another World
When Wen Chu woke up the next day, she was still holding her phone tightly in her hand.
Her vision gradually cleared, but Wen Chu stared at the white ceiling, her mind still a blur. She frowned, closed her eyes again, and took a moment to sort out her jumbled memories.
There was a knock on the door, and Wen Heng's lazy voice rang out from outside: "Get up and have breakfast! Hurry up and get some exercise, don't sleep in!"
It was the weekend. Wen Chu stepped out of her room and saw a sumptuous breakfast prepared on the dining table downstairs, but unfortunately there were only three sets of bowls and chopsticks.
Wen Chu's eyes held a newfound calmness and an outsider's scrutiny of the current situation.
"What are you doing, so slow? Get down here now!"
"Here he is." Wen Chu looked at Wen Heng, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
She actually survived; it's simply illogical.
The rebirth card didn't work, and her father didn't return. The mission continued, but the acceleration card was automatically activated. The timeline moved to a year later. The only change was that Wen Xue had left, and the world seemed to have returned to normal.
Regaining her memories didn't cause her any sense of loss about her status. After all, whether here or in reality, she was the daughter of the Wen family or the director of Baiyue, and she was satisfied with herself.
But her father is not coming back.
Even the fleeting illusion of happiness has vanished.
She gave a bitter smile.
After calming down for a while, she checked Lu Ming's current level of affection for her—81%, an exceptionally high number.
This surprised her; how did she become so tall?
She hadn't broken through before she "died," but now she has not only broken through, but even surpassed the value at the time of her breakthrough, directly reaching the final stage.
But she clearly didn't do anything during that time.
She sat down opposite Wen Heng, picked up a fried egg, and took a bite.
"What are you thinking about? You seem preoccupied. Are you still thinking about that kid Lu Ming?" Wen Heng narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her.
Yang Lan asked with concern, "Didn't you sleep well last night? What did you do yesterday to come back so late?"
Wen Chu snapped out of her daze and looked at the two people in front of her. Her guilt deepened, so much so that her voice softened: "I didn't sleep well. I had nightmares and kept waking up in the middle of the night."
Although she knew the warmth in front of her was fake, Wen Chu was still moved when she saw how haggard they looked because of her.
It can be difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
"Ask Mom to get you some incense for sleeping," Wen Heng said.
Wen Chu nodded and then asked, "How's the company lately? Is it alright?"
"With your brother around, things are bound to be good. What can possibly go wrong?" Wen Heng said smugly.
Wen Chuchao bowed slightly and said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "You've worked hard."
Wen Heng chuckled: "No, I can't accept that."
"What if, I say..." Wen Chu coughed, "I still have to go back to Baiyue to continue working?"
"What?! You still haven't given up on that guy, have you?!"
It took Wen Chu a lot of persuasion at the dinner table to finally convince her angry older brother.
The main quest continues, and she has to return to Baiyue.
The level of affection is very close; maybe if I complete this, she can go home.
Everything here will be gone. This is happening much faster than she had anticipated.
After dinner, she stepped out of her house, and her phone vibrated again.
Can we have dinner together today?
Wen Chu walked down the stairs, staring at the text message in a daze, as if she had just taken a nap and the situation had returned to before Lu Ming was reset.
She had anticipated what would happen when she woke up; it would probably still be chaotic, and she would have to keep forcing herself to be nice to the other person as if nothing had happened. She just hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
Lu Ming actually did so many things that were unlike him in order to pursue her.
She couldn't help but purse her lips, unable to describe her feelings. Should she feel "overwhelmed with gratitude"?
This world is ridiculous.
As she was wondering whether to go back, she caught a glimpse of a figure standing at the door.
Lu Ming changed into a light blue plaid shirt, which made him look much more vibrant. He leaned against the car, looking down at his phone, seemingly waiting for her reply.
The man's features softened, his previous coldness and harshness gone, much like their best selves.
Wen Chuxin felt a tightness in her chest again. She stared at the person, lost in thought, and hesitated to take a step.
She had secretly wondered if the system had restored Lu Ming's feelings or memories about what had happened before, allowing his favorability rating to rise so quickly. During the two weeks she had lost her memory, his behavior had indeed changed significantly.
But... so what?
Her only goal now is to go home.
Wen Chu suppressed her emotions, put away her phone, and opened the door.
Lu Ming looked up when he heard the noise, and their eyes met briefly in the air for a second.
With just one glance, Lu Ming felt as if his heart had found its home.
The air around him seemed to freeze, and the whole world seemed to consist only of the familiar figure reflected in his eyes.
He couldn't quite put his finger on what was different, but the moment he saw those eyes, Lu Ming felt a bittersweet warmth wash over his chest.
Wen Chu was wearing a simple sleeveless high-necked white dress, her neck was long and slender, and her gaze towards him was no longer as irritable and impatient as it had been a few days ago, but was mostly filled with calmness, but within that calmness there was a unique tenacity and composure that belonged to her.
Lu Ming lowered his hand holding the phone, trying to suppress the surging emotions in his heart. He took a few steps toward Wen Chu with trepidation, but stopped just before he got close.
For the past year, he needed to look at her every night to fall asleep, but now, he had the illusion of a long-awaited reunion.
Wen Chu didn't look at him, but she walked towards him. As she got closer, Lu Ming's Adam's apple bobbed. He wanted to speak when she reached him, but he found that the woman had no intention of stopping to talk. She walked straight past him to the parking space next to her.
Lu Ming quickly followed and asked, "Can we have lunch together?"
"No way," Wen Chu blurted out in refusal.
Lu Ming's gaze flickered as he looked her over, as if trying to confirm something: "Then how can we do it?"
The man's deep, gentle voice reached her ears, and Wen Chu's heart skipped a beat as a familiar feeling washed over her.
She silently gripped the keys in her hand and said calmly, "Weren't you going to pursue me? That's your business. I have plans with someone else now, so I'm leaving."
"Who did you meet up with?" Lu Ming couldn't help but ask.
Wen Chu pushed him aside, opened the car door, glanced at him, and said, "You don't want to know."
Ever since Qi Siyan learned that she had woken up the day before yesterday, she had been wanting to see her. Her phone was practically flooded with text messages from the two men.
Wen Chu saw the screen full of apologies from the other party before she jumped off the building, and also asked her brother what Qi Siyan had done during the year she was in a coma.
Wen Heng said that the other party would come to see her every now and then, and had put a lot of effort into her awakening treatment, but because Lu Ming was watching her too closely, he could not stay for long and had to leave.
Only the two of them knew what happened between her and Qi Siyan that night, and Wen Heng still had a good impression of Qi Siyan.
Wen Chu used another opportunity to check the favorability rating and found that the other party's current favorability rating towards her was 63%.
After a year, this much is still left, which Wen Chu feels is a lot.
At least, this person still had some genuine feelings for her, and she wasn't completely misjudging him, mistaking an enemy for a friend.
If the whole thing was just about getting her, forming a marriage alliance with the Wen family, and maximizing business profits, then that would be the most pathetic and disappointing thing for her.
Given this level of favorability, Wen Chu hesitated for a moment and felt it necessary to settle things face-to-face.
When she arrived at the agreed-upon restaurant, Qi Siyan was already waiting in the private room.
The waiter pushed open the door, and a man in a white casual suit came into view. He was still as noble and elegant as ever, dressed like a young nobleman, just like when Wen Chu first met him at the banquet.
He was still wearing those sapphire earrings.
Qi Siyan turned to look at her, seeing her standing unharmed before him, his eyes trembled with intense emotion, his voice strained: "Wen Chu..."
"You're really awake."
Wen Chu sat down opposite him and nodded slightly: "Mm".
"Great. I owe you an apology, and now I finally have the chance to say it."
"I was really drunk that night... and I was so angry that..."
Qi Siyan wanted to explain, but Wen Chu interrupted him, "It's all in the past, no need to talk about it."
“No, this is very important to me. For the past year, I’ve been thinking about whether my actions were partly my fault in your decision to take your own life…”
"Of course I have," Wen Chu said mercilessly. "You have betrayed my trust in you."
It also contributed to the overall loss of control of the situation.
Qi Siyan clenched her hands: "I'm so sorry... It's so good that you woke up, otherwise I would have lived with guilt for the rest of my life..."
Looking at the person in front of her, Wen Chu didn't feel much hatred, but rather helplessness and regret.
What a pity for this friend.
She hadn't forgotten the look in the man's eyes when he told her he hoped she would always be happy on the rooftop of the club, nor the comfort and strength he brought her when she was sad, appearing by her side more than once.
In any case, everything in this world is fake, and she doesn't need to waste her emotions on people.
That should be the end of it.
"You don't need to blame yourself anymore. After all, it wasn't all because of you. You're sitting here perfectly fine now, so let's forget about what happened before. It's a new beginning."
"Then... can we still—"
Qi Siyan paused, suppressed her original words, and carefully changed them to: "Can we still be friends?"
"Do you really just want to be friends with me?"
Qi Siyan fell silent.
"If you could give me another chance—"
Before he could finish speaking, Wen Chu silently shook her head.
Qi Siyan's words got stuck in her throat.
After a long pause, a bitter smile appeared on his lips as he nodded knowingly and said, "I understand."
Wen Chu nodded with her chin, her tone becoming more relaxed: "Let's eat. I've heard this place has really good swimming crabs."
Qi Siyan smiled and said, "Okay."
Wen Chu didn't want the last meal to be so heavy, so she took the initiative to ask about the little yellow horse at the horse farm.
Upon hearing this, Qi Siyan's expression softened. He tried to clear the gloom from his face and replaced it with a sullen look. He said that he had bought the horse, but it had been a bit temperamental lately and had almost thrown him off its back. Even after being scolded, it still looked defiant.
Wen Chu smiled and said she would like to ride it again if she had the chance in the future.
They quickly returned to their initial relaxed way of getting along.
Qi Siyan, as skillfully as ever, shared with her the new restaurants that had opened nearby and the fun entertainment options that had been available that year. His humor and wit were as captivating as ever, making Wen Chu laugh.
He also talked about the project that was about to come to an end, and some strange situations he encountered at work.
Wen Chu responded to each of them, and the phone on the table kept lighting up.
She glanced at the person and continued chatting as if they were just meeting, discussing artificial intelligence, technology, and future trends with like-minded people. She even gave the other person some advice.
In the end, they actually had a fairly pleasant meal.
As they reached the restaurant entrance, Wen Chu finally lost her temper and typed on her phone, telling the person on the other end to stop sending messages.
Qi Siyan glanced down and couldn't help but complain, "He's still so annoying."
Wen Chu smiled noncommittally.
"Are you sure you're going to choose him?" Qi Siyan asked in a low voice.
But in his heart, he already knew the answer.
Previously, he was jealous of Lu Ming, feeling that the other party was completely unworthy of Wen Chu's firm choice.
But after a year, he realized that his love for Wen Chu was indeed not as strong as Lu Ming's.
He couldn't be as crazy and determined as Lu Ming, who could completely break ties with his family just to see someone, ignore the company's losses, kneel for days and nights in front of the Wen family's old house without regard for his reputation, and search for hope in despair day after day.
In fact, the scene of Wen Chu jumping off the building became his nightmare. He was always terrified and couldn't fall asleep, but in order to alleviate his guilt, he chose to escape.
While everyone believed that Lu Ming's actions were the cause of Wen Chu's suicide, he remained aloof, not daring to tell anyone that he also bore some responsibility.
He dared not visit the unconscious person too often, nor did he dare stay with them for too long.
Only those who have truly experienced it know that constantly facing someone who is bedridden and unable to move is a form of slow torture. Every time you see the other person in a vegetative state, it's like tearing open a wound in your heart, forcing them to delay healing, and forcing them to live under the shadow of intense guilt and self-blame.
He couldn't be like that madman Lu Ming, who announced to the public that the woman was his fiancée without knowing if she would ever wake up, and spend his life guarding someone who was only breathing.
Even if Wen Chu is worthy, he is still very young.
That's where he lost forever.
Wen Chu retorted, "Do I really have to choose between the two of you?"
Even though the woman said that, Qi Siyan could still tell that her attitude towards Lu Ming was different, at least it was very different from her emotions when she was facing him.
Lu Ming could stir her emotions, make her frown, and make her angry, but with him, the woman only had calmness and tolerance to maintain a respectable relationship.
Even though she was unwilling, Qi Siyan knew that this was the only way to stop, and there was no point in continuing.
His throat was a little dry. Before parting, he gave the person a gentle smile: "Wen Chu, I did have the impulse to possess you by any means necessary. It was also because of me that you went through the ordeal of death."
He was referring not only to that impulsive night, but also to what he did behind the scenes.
If he hadn't brought Wen Xue back, perhaps Wen Chu would have been able to be with Lu Ming long ago, and wouldn't have been so heartbroken as to choose to end her life.
"So whatever you think of me now, it's what I deserve, and I accept this outcome. But my blessings for you come from the bottom of my heart. The first time I saw you, I thought you were a wonderful girl, and I truly hope that you can always be happy and that your eyes will always shine with a beautiful light."
"It's a pity, but I'm not the one who can make you happy all the time."
At this point, Wen Chu smiled sincerely: "Thank you, and I hope you are too. I hope you can find someone you truly love and find happiness."
Sunlight streamed over the steps and settled at their feet. The bright afternoon light of early autumn allowed them to clearly see each other's expressions and imprint them deeply in their minds.
Qi Siyan smiled genuinely, though her lips were slightly bitter: "Thank you, I will, after I've completely let you go. Actually, this past year has been a bit difficult for me too."
"Look ahead," Wen Chu said.
She thought to herself, "You'll let me go soon."
"Okay, let's look ahead," Qi Siyan said with a smile.
They parted ways at the fork in the road.
Wen Chu didn't turn around, but silently recited in her heart—
Use the following item: Emotion Elimination Card.
Target audience: Qi Siyan.
The favorability rating decreases by 60%.
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