Yu Xinqiao swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

He always found Xu Yanhuan to be contradictory. While studying, he was both a top student and a fighter. He had a cold and indifferent personality, yet he attracted worldly desires. He always managed to disappoint people and then give them a glimmer of hope.

For example, at this moment, he claimed to be waiting for permission, but in reality, he had already targeted his prey. Like a leopard poised to pounce, he would rush out as soon as the cage door opened, capturing his prey effortlessly.

No one could escape the traps he set, and no one could resist his allure.

Except for Yu Xinqiao, who was eighteen years old and had just experienced that night.

The initial excitement and restlessness were diluted by intense heartache. Yu Xinqiao turned his face away, his neck curling, even though what lay before him was treatment he had never experienced before.

When did Xu Yanhuan, as remembered, ever show such patience in accommodating someone?

Yu Xinqiao felt that he had become contradictory as well. On one hand, he wanted to become the twenty-four-year-old Yu Xinqiao, but on the other hand, he wondered what the eighteen-year-old Yu Xinqiao would mean if he surrendered to temptation without remorse.

Sensing the other’s rejection, the warmth in Xu Yanhuan’s eyes gradually faded.

His hands retreated from the edge of the table, as if he wanted to touch Yu Xinqiao’s head, but his arm hung in mid-air and then returned.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Yu Xinqiao detected a sense of resignation in his expression.

“Go to sleep,” Xu Yanhuan said softly. “I won’t force you.”

Late at night, Yu Xinqiao lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, recalling what had happened to him as if it were “last year.” He thought to himself, “I was the one forcing you, weren’t I?”

Even after being rejected like that, I still couldn’t resist seeking you out, wanting to get closer to you. What was that derogatory term again?

Miserable wretch..

Yes, I am a miserable wretch..

Yu Xinqiao rarely self-deprecated, but in this moment, he berated himself to stay clear-headed.

Until he figured out “why he got married,” he couldn’t allow himself to indulge.

Indulge… Does kissing count as indulgence?

Aside from cold words and sarcasm, the eighteen-year-old Yu Xinqiao had experienced the touch of lips that couldn’t be considered a kiss.

As he was about to fall asleep, Yu Xinqiao unconsciously furrowed his brow, seemingly reliving the pain of that moment.

The next day was sunny and suitable for going out.

Having changed clothes and stepped out of his room, Yu Xinqiao saw Xu Yanhuan tidying up the bedding in the living room.

In his urgent situation last night, he had placed the cat in the guest room, occupying Xu Yanhuan’s room. Yu Xinqiao offered to give him the master bedroom, but he declined, taking a blanket and bed sheets from the master bedroom’s closet and making do on the couch for the night.

Breakfast was also prepared by Xu Yanhuan.

Yu Xinqiao chewed on a sandwich and took a sip of hot milk, looking at Xu Yanhuan, who sat across from him with a slightly weary but handsome face. Suddenly, he felt like he was bullying someone.

However, the red rash on his body had mostly subsided, indicating that the “isolation” had been effective.

“I’ll sleep on the couch tonight,” Yu Xinqiao said

“You have to work during the day, and sleep quality is essential.”

Xu Yanhuan paused for a moment, neither agreeing nor denying, but said, “It’s not because of that.”

“It’s not because of sleeping on the couch that I can’t sleep well.”

Even though Xu Yanhuan had changed a lot compared to six years ago, there was one thing that remained unchanged—whenever he was away from work, he entered a low-energy mode. Yu Xinqiao often wondered if it was because he didn’t like to talk or if he was too succinct in his words, making it difficult for people to understand him and befriend him.

“Then what is it because of?” Yu Xinqiao asked. “Is the heating in the living room too low?”

This time, Xu Yanhuan simply didn’t answer but lifted his eyelids and looked at Yu Xinqiao.

His heart skipped a beat as fragments of last night in front of the sink rushed into his mind.

Although Xu Yanhuan was someone hard to understand, luckily Yu Xinqiao had undergone “special training” and could decipher some implicit meanings.

For example, at this moment, Xu Yanhuan was looking straight at him, and the implication couldn’t be clearer—it was because of Yu Xinqiao.

Yu Xinqiao felt even more guilty.

Who was Xu Yanhuan? He was the school grass of Xun Cheng No. 2 High School, a heartthrob who received love letters every day. Now, in addition to that, he was a top law school graduate and a rising star in the legal industry, with his profile and photo still on the website of Star Law Firm.

Such a person had always been the one rejecting others. Who would have thought that one day he would be the one rejected?

The one rejecting him was a shameless pursuer who, through some means unknown to him, had “voluntarily” married him and was now living in his house, occupying his master bedroom—a patient with amnesia.

Yu Xinqiao, debuffed all over, fell into the initial cycle of questioning again—what did he marry me for? It’s not for the house or money, so could it be for my looks?

But I didn’t even let him kiss me.

With a thousand thoughts running through his mind, just as he was pondering whether the twenty-four-year-old Yu Xinqiao had frequently kissed him, the elevator descended to the basement, and they arrived in front of a car.

Xu Yanhuan handed over a car key. “Drive my car.”

Yu Xinqiao blinked in confusion. “Ah?”

Xu Yanhuan looked at another brightly colored sports car beside him. “Your car can only fit two people.”

Yu Xinqiao: “…” How did I forget about that?

Yesterday, he had promised his parents to take them to the airport today, and while having breakfast, Yu Xinqiao had already looked up the route on the navigation app.

Xu Yanhuan’s car was an SUV worth around two hundred thousand yuan, with comfortable seats and simple interior, completely different from Yu Xinqiao’s car.

There was only one peculiar thing—it had a sticker on the passenger side window that read “This seat is taken.” The symbol next to the text was a grinning curly-haired puppy, which seemed very mismatched with the car.

“What’s this for?”

Xu Yanhuan said, “You put it there.”

Yu Xinqiao: “…” The twenty-four-year-old me surprised the eighteen-year-old me again.

He handed his sports car key to Xu Yanhuan, who didn’t take it. “I’ll take the bus.”

Yu Xinqiao, who had only taken the bus twice in his life, suggested, “During rush hour, the bus can be crowded. It’s better to take a taxi.”

For some reason, this remark seemed to please Xu Yanhuan, whose face had carried a hint of gloominess since morning, and he finally relaxed a bit.

“Okay,” he agreed.

Moving the car out of the parking space, Yu Xinqiao rolled down the car window and awkwardly said to Xu Yanhuan standing beside him, “Then I’ll go first.”

This scene was too much like a wife seeing off her husband to work.

Unfortunately, Xu Yanhuan is not an ordinary “housewife,” and he wouldn’t say something as ordinary as “Take care and come home early.”

He bowed slightly and looked at Yu Xinqiao through the car window.

“Say goodbye to your parents properly,” he paused for a moment, then added, “Stop crying.”

On the way, Yu Xinqiao couldn’t help but start pondering when did he notice that I was crying?

Yesterday, after hanging up the phone, I wiped away my tears before leaving.

So, is it because I cried that he wanted to kiss me? Is he afraid I’ll complain to my parents about how he treats me?

Based on the conversation he overheard in the hospital ward last time, Yu Xinqiao speculated that Xu Yanhuan seemed somewhat afraid of his parents. His gaze fell on the rearview mirror, where Yu Hanzhang and Yao Qiongying were sitting in the backseat, one reading a book and the other typing on the keyboard. They both had serious expressions, and they did seem difficult to get along with.

Mrs. Yao, who was constantly busy with work, was the first to notice her son’s gaze. She closed her laptop and said, “It wasn’t convenient to ask yesterday on the phone, but how are you and Xiao Xu doing lately?”

Yu Xinqiao squeezed the steering wheel and hesitated, “Uh, it’s just like before.”

“Still can’t remember anything?”

“Mm.”

Yao Qiongying, who was still in work mode, naturally exuded a powerful aura that made people feel pressured. After a moment of contemplation, she said, “Then why not take this opportunity to get a divorce? Honestly, I don’t see much affection between the two of you.”

Yu Xinqiao: “…”

Yu Hanzhang quickly put down his book and interjected, “Who said you’re good at playing matchmaker?”

“If I don’t advise them to separate, should I advise them to stay together?” Yao Qiongying said. “Back in high school, that kid completely mesmerized my son. He wouldn’t even come home and stayed in that place called Xun Cheng for a whole year. And six years later, he suddenly took my son to get a marriage certificate. There must be some ulterior motive.”

“He has no ulterior motive with me,” Yu Xinqiao interrupted. “He bought the house.”

“Whether he has an ulterior motive or not, let’s put that aside for now. Xinqiao, Mom just thinks this timing is right,” Yao Qiongying said. “You’ve suffered enough from that incident. Haven’t you forgotten how you called Mom in tears six years ago?”

Yu Xinqiao fell silent.

His memory coincidentally ended on that day. Could it be a warning from fate, reminding him not to repeat the same mistakes?

But Yu Xinqiao, at the age of twenty-four, had experienced everything and should be more aware of this. So why did he still take the initiative to contact Xu Yanhuan and even facilitate their marriage?

There were too many mysteries waiting for Yu Xinqiao to unravel.

Collecting his thoughts, Yu Xinqiao asked, “Mom, can you tell me about those six years–“

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud bang, and the car was hit from the side, violently veering towards the guardrail. Yu Xinqiao quickly reacted, stepping on the brakes and turning the steering wheel. Once the car came to a stop, he didn’t care about himself and immediately turned his head to look at the two people in the backseat.

Fortunately, his parents were wearing seat belts and were only frightened.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Yu Xinqiao planned to get out of the car to check, but he found that the door was deformed and couldn’t be opened.

On the other side, the car had already skewed the guardrail, and one tire was almost suspended. It was just a matter of a hair’s breadth before it could overturn and fall from the overpass.

Within a month, Yu Xinqiao had encountered two traffic accidents and dealt with the police, making him feel like he could go buy a lottery ticket with his luck.

The police officer seemed to share the same sentiment as he flipped through the accident records and asked, “Both times you were hit, and this time the collision was so severe that the airbags deployed. Think carefully, did you offend someone?”

Yu Xinqiao racked his brain but couldn’t come up with an answer. “I only returned to the country at the end of last year. How could I have made enemies so quickly?”

“What about before you went abroad?”

“Before going abroad, I was just a high school student. Who would hold a grudge against me for six years?”

Just then, another young police officer came out of the interrogation room. “We’ve finished investigating. It’s highly likely that it was a hired hitman. We found chat records on the guy’s phone with the employer, who instructed him to target the license plate and ram it hard, offering him a large sum of money regardless of whether you live or die.”

The police officer taking Yu Xinqiao’s statement wore a “See, I told you so” expression, while Yu Xinqiao opened his mouth in astonishment, unable to utter a word.

When Liang Yi arrived at the police station, Yu Xinqiao was on the phone with Xu Yanhuan, but the call remained connected, and no one picked up despite several attempts.

“What happened? Another car accident?” Liang Yi asked. “Are you okay?”

Yu Xinqiao shook his head and continued dialing Xu Yanhuan’s number with a serious expression.

“And your uncle and aunt?”

“I hailed a taxi to send them away. They should be on the plane by now.”

“With such a big incident, why did you let them leave?” Liang Yi asked.

“They’re fine, and my mom needed to get back to work urgently.”

“Alright… Huh, wasn’t it Xu Yanhuan’s car that got hit? Why isn’t he here?”

“I can’t reach him on his phone.” The blood drained from Yu Xinqiao’s face as he said, “What should I do? I need to tell him that someone wants to harm him.”

Liang Yi didn’t quite understand. “Harm him? Isn’t this just an accident?”

Yu Xinqiao briefly explained what he learned from the police, and Liang Yi exclaimed, “Hiring a hitman?”

“Yes.” Unable to wait any longer, Yu Xinqiao asked Liang Yi, “Where did you park your car? Can you please take me to the Xingchen Law Firm?”

“Sure, calm down first. I’ll take you there.”

On the way, Yu Xinqiao continued calling Xu Yanhuan’s phone, but it eventually ran out of battery and shut down.

“Don’t worry too much.” Seeing Yu Xinqiao’s anxious and pale face, Liang Yi hurriedly reassured him, “Since the hitman failed this time, they won’t act in the short term. They’re also afraid of exposing themselves.”

That made sense. Yu Xinqiao took a deep breath, trying hard to stay calm.

As Liang Yi drove, he replayed the whole incident in his mind and couldn’t help but wonder, “But if someone wanted to harm him, why were you the one driving today? I remember you’ve never driven his car before, right?”

“My car only has two seats. I probably never drove his car before.”

“The police said the culprit targeted the license plate number. Isn’t it a bit too coincidental that you happened to be driving his car today, and the culprit struck at that exact moment?

 Is it possible that Xu Yanhuan knew he would be targeted today and intentionally let you…”

Yu Xinqiao immediately denied, “That’s impossible. He’s not that kind of person.”

“What kind of person?” Liang Yi countered, “Don’t forget, you two were apart for six years, and six years is enough to change a person.”

“Moreover, before you separated, not only were you not a couple, but you also had an ugly falling out. Do you think three or four months of marriage is enough to bury the hatchet and establish a deep trust? By the way, you two had a shotgun wedding.”

Yu Xinqiao fell silent. This question was a bit beyond the scope of an eighteen-year-old’s understanding.

“Maybe it’s just a coincidence,” Yu Xinqiao said after some thought. “If he knew someone would target him today, why didn’t he directly report it to the police?”

“Coincidences don’t happen that often. How long has it been since your last car accident? Do you know that most people can go their whole lives without experiencing a single car accident? And both of yours were quite severe!”

Liang Yi slammed the steering wheel in frustration. He was completely shocked by the possibility. “Why didn’t he report it directly? Yeah, why didn’t he?… Did you show him the will you made?”

Yu Xinqiao was momentarily stunned. “…I don’t remember.”

All of this was part of the memories he had lost. If it weren’t for Xing Lu contacting him, he wouldn’t even know he had a will.

Liang Yi sighed in relief. “Knowing your inability to keep things to yourself, you probably showed it to him.”

“…”

“I don’t want to think the worst of him, but as your friend, I have to consider all possibilities and suggest that you verify this possibility first.”

The building where Xingchen Law Firm was located was just ahead. Liang Yi lightly pressed the brakes and parked the car by the roadside.

He turned his head and looked at Yu Xinqiao with a grave tone that he had never used before. “Whether it was a coincidence or a trap, don’t forget, you almost lost your life today while trying to protect him.”

However, Yu Xinqiao couldn’t find Xu Yanhuan at the law firm. His colleague said that he had gone out.

He couldn’t reach him on the phone either. So Yu Xinqiao had no choice but to return home first.

No one was home either. He didn’t like being in a place that was overly quiet, so he turned on the TV. A news segment was playing—a woman died in a traffic accident, and her husband received an insurance compensation of over one million yuan. The woman’s parents suspected that something was amiss and conducted a thorough investigation, only to discover that the insurance policies were all purchased less than a month before the accident.

As Yu Xinqiao watched the television, seeing the two elderly people tearfully escorting their former son-in-law to the police station, saying, “He married our daughter just for the money,” he felt bewildered.

His intuition told him that Xu Yanhuan wasn’t that kind of person. But this reminded him of the question that had been bothering him—why did Xu Yanhuan marry him?

What was the motive?

It couldn’t possibly be because he fell in love with me, right? He didn’t respond to my pursuit for a whole year, and suddenly after a shotgun wedding, he’s deeply in love?

That possibility should be the first one to be ruled out.

Yu Xinqiao chuckled, laughing at his stubborn and ridiculous pride.

As for the house, a place that looked like a home, besides being given as compensation, it could also make people lower their guard.

When Xu Yanhuan returned home and saw Yu Xinqiao sitting on the sofa, his gaze unfocused, not knowing where to look, he walked over, squatted in front of him, held his arm, and observed him for a while. After confirming that he wasn’t injured, he felt relieved and said, “Sorry, my client borrowed my phone and made a long call. I didn’t know that you…”

Yu Xinqiao didn’t let him continue, “Do you know that someone wants to harm you?”

Xu Yanhuan was taken aback.

From his expression, he genuinely seemed to be unaware, and his anxious demeanor didn’t seem like an act.

“The insurance company only told me that there was a car accident, and the people in the car were fine,” Xu Yanhuan gradually understood what he meant, “So, you’re saying it wasn’t an accident?”

Yu Xinqiao shook his head.

Suddenly, he felt exhausted. Since losing his memories, he had been like a whirlpool, surrounded by fragments of various memories. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t accurately distinguish what was true and what was false.

The result of holding everything in the palm of his hand was not only the inability to piece together a complete story but also putting himself in a more contradictory situation. On one hand, he believed in his own judgment from years ago and felt ashamed of the emerging doubts. On the other hand, he had to confront the blank six years, and through the vivid memories of being eighteen, he confirmed that Xu Yanhuan had never had feelings for him.

Moreover, if those missing six years were brushed aside, it would be extremely unfair for the twenty-four-year-old Yu Xinqiao.

Yu Xinqiao remained motionless and silent, while Xu Yanhuan looked up at him, furrowing his brows. “Are you scared?”

Yu Xinqiao didn’t answer.

It was as if he didn’t dare to guess in that direction. Xu Yanhuan’s expression turned slightly grave. “Have you regained your memories?”

Yu Xinqiao shook his head very slowly, and then he noticed that Xu Yanhuan let out a barely noticeable sigh of relief.

“Do you… not want me to regain my memories?”

As he asked this question, Yu Xinqiao felt a momentary sense of relief.

Besides the crisis of trust, there were many other significant questions between them. If this car accident was the catalyst, he chose to ignite the fuse and make things clear.

“I haven’t—”

“Don’t lie to me.” Yu Xinqiao looked at Xu Yanhuan and issued a slow and serious warning. “You can’t lie to me.”

Because what’s even more terrifying than not believing is discovering that you’re afraid to believe.

The twenty-four-year-old Yu Xinqiao was both unfamiliar and familiar. He would name his pets after people he liked, move the piano to the place closest to the person he liked, assert his sovereignty by putting stickers on the passenger side of the person’s car, secretly change the person’s WeChat name to a heart, even though the last message he sent to them before his amnesia was, “Let’s just forget about it.”

Why did he still choose to marry him, knowing there was a possibility of repeating the same mistake? It was because of liking, because of the lingering feelings.

They say the one who falls in love first loses. The twenty-four-year-old Yu Xinqiao had long since lost miserably.

So, no matter how he asked, it seemed like he was humiliating himself.

But he had to ask because the eighteen-year-old Yu Xinqiao was already tired. He didn’t want to be surprised by Xu Yanhuan’s casual response, nor did he want to attempt to erase the past just because he heard a simple “I’m sorry.”

Yu Xinqiao closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Xu Yanhuan, do you remember or not that you once said you hated me and never wanted to see me again unless I could give you a lot of money?”

Xu Yanhuan was stunned, both by the sudden mention of his full name and the past Yu Xinqiao referred to.

“Or, let me rephrase it.” Yu Xinqiao took another deep breath. “Do you know that I have a will that states all my personal assets will be given to you after my death?”

Author’s Note:

A point that is easily overlooked: We have a God’s-eye view and know everything, but Yu Xinqiao doesn’t, and he has also lost his memory.

This matter will be explained clearly in the next chapter. After all, Yu Xinqiao’s initial suspicion wasn’t directed at Xu Yanhuan, but at himself.