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66.∞

The next day, Pei Yu entered the interrogation room to confront Pei Wei. At Pei Wei’s strong request, the surveillance equipment was removed.

“The man you fell in love with back then—was it my dad?” Pei Yu got straight to the point.

After days of detention, her complexion was pale, but she still spoke with a fighting spirit, as if holding an unbeatable trump card. “Yes.”

Pei Yu’s fingers silently dug into the table. “Do you realize—you two are siblings! Biological siblings!”

“I know. So what?” Pei Wei’s eyes gleamed with an unreadable expression, both shadowed and elusive. “Your grandmother passed away early, and our grandfather was always busy with work, never caring about us. I was raised by my brother. He took care of my clothing, daily life, behavior, studies, and work—he was in charge of everything! We were supposed to be the closest people to each other, and we should have always remained that way!”

Her emotions grew intense. “It was your mother who interfered between us. If it weren’t for her, my brother wouldn’t have distanced himself from me, always criticizing and scolding me. You have no idea how gentle he used to be with me!”

Pei Yu remembered this vividly. From his earliest memories, his father and aunt always had two types of interactions—arguing or resorting to family discipline.

He once believed their relationship was terrible, but as he grew older, he realized that his father’s strictness toward her stemmed from deep care.

“You misunderstood. Dad saw you only as his sister.”

“Yes, and after you were born, I brainwashed myself into believing that if I loved you, treated you well, and saw you as my own child, he would realize how wrong he was to fall for your mother.” Pei Wei laughed wildly. “And what happened? He credited all my efforts from those years to your mother instead.”

“My brother is too cruel.”

Pei Yu found it absurd. “So you took all my money, staged your disappearance, and kept my dad imprisoned for all these years?”

“No, of course not.” Pei Wei suddenly smirked, as if recalling something amusing. “Weren’t you all curious about the equipment in my secret chamber?”

Pei Yu stayed serious. “Don’t change the subject. The police will figure it out.”

“Figure it out? Ha!” Pei Wei laughed freely. “With your brains? How could you possibly decipher technology from decades ahead? By the time I’m long gone, you’ll probably still be studying what material it’s made of.”

Pei Yu caught a key phrase. “What do you mean?”

“Good nephew, shall we make a deal?” Pei Wei leaned back, her long black-and-gold nails tapping on the table. “That equipment may not be in my hands now, but destroying it would only take the flick of a finger. And you need to understand—when this timeline ends, so will your dreams.”

“Explain yourself.”

“Those high-tech instruments—I imported them from the future through time travel. I experimented for years and only recently made progress. I’m just a step away from success. But do you know what I saw the last time I went back in time?” Pei Wei smiled at him.

She spoke cryptically, but the mention of time travel was identical to what Chen Shuoyin had been obsessing over for months.

Pei Yu fell silent, unwilling to acknowledge her words.

She continued, “Chen Shuoyin—she was supposed to die back in high school.”

“In a way, I gave her another chance at life. But life and death can’t coexist. If she lives, you must die. My dear nephew, every time you died, I felt really sorry for you.”

The interrogation room was eerily silent. Pei Yu trembled uncontrollably, as if struck by electricity.

Just two days ago, Chen Shuoyin had told him she dreamt of her own death.

The eerie coincidence forced Pei Yu to consider the possibility that Pei Wei was telling the truth.

“You must think I’m crazy,” Pei Wei curled her finger smugly. “It doesn’t matter. Whether she lives or not is up to you. If I destroy the equipment and restart everything, your suffering will be over immediately. Once my experiment succeeds and I return to the beginning, Pei Yu—you might not even exist in this world. And Chen Shuoyin’s life or death would truly have nothing to do with you.”

Her eyes shone with excitement, as if she had already reached her victorious conclusion. “What should I do? I’m actually a little reluctant to lose you. But soon, my brother and I will have a new child. I’ll raise him even better than you.”

Pei Yu looked at her with disgust. “Pei Wei… Do you really think you’re a god, that you can control other people’s fate?”

“I am,” Pei Wei spread her hands. “The Pei family has had the ability to travel through time for a thousand years. Though it was lost, records mention attempts to alter history. The success rate was never confirmed. But I, by sheer luck, have become one of those who can cross time. I am the chosen one.”

“Fine. Let’s assume you’re telling the truth.” Pei Yu clenched his fists weakly. “But Shuoyin—she didn’t do anything wrong. Why did you drag her into this?”

“You’re stupid. I did it for you. She hurt you so much—I was standing up for you.” Pei Wei leaned down, gripping his shoulder. “You already know how she originally died in high school. And every time, you died because you chose to save someone who was meant to die. The moment you did that, fate rewrote itself, making you the replacement sacrifice.”

Pei Yu didn’t believe a word of it. “You’re making this up to trick me into helping you escape. Your story is full of holes.”

“If you were the only one manipulating time travel, why did Shuoyin also tell me that she experienced multiple jumps? If fate is set and cannot be changed, why do you believe that by resetting everything, my dad would love you and marry you? That’s never going to happen.”

Pei Wei seemed unfazed by his questions, even smiling. “You really are my brother’s child—smart and logical. You’re right; original timelines don’t change. But all I need is for my brother to love me first. If he later reunites with Zhou Jing, so be it. As long as he loves me, I don’t mind if he loves another woman too. But tell me—are you saying Chen Shuoyin has also been time traveling?”

“You’re trying to trick me?”

Pei Yu scoffed coldly. “You’re insane. If my dad were a morally corrupt man, he would have given in to your twisted obsession long ago instead of becoming a broken shell.”

“Shut up!” His words struck a nerve. Pei Wei grabbed his throat. “Tell me—why can she travel too?”

Pei Yu didn’t resist, letting her choke him, his veins bulging. His eyes were bloodshot. “If you want answers, cooperate with the police and confess everything.”

“You’re threatening me.” Pei Wei let go, pacing the interrogation room anxiously. “Impossible. Without the equipment, she shouldn’t have been able to travel. One timeline cannot allow two travelers.”

Suddenly, realization dawned on her. “So that’s how it is.”

She turned back with her arms crossed. “I’ll give you one last chance. If you don’t want her to die, get me out of here. If those idiots mess with my equipment and destroy it, I can’t guarantee your precious Chen Shuoyin will still be alive.”

“Three… two…”

Pei Yu’s face darkened. He gritted his teeth and looked up. “Fine.”

The interrogation room door opened.

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