CHAPTER 20

Seven Years Later

In City A, within an ordinary old residential building, a particularly melodious cry of “Wah~” echoed through the air.

Wen Yang, wearing striped pajamas and a pair of slippers, held a trash bag in one hand and a phone in the other. She glanced around—left, right, up, down—and after a long pause, the excitement in her heart finally settled.

Wen Yang: 006, so this is seven years later.

System: Yes, Host. Tomorrow, you will meet the female lead.

Wen Yang murmured, “Just one last step before I can return.”

She sat down on the worn-out sofa, awaiting the radiant moment that tomorrow would bring. Yesterday, today—it had all jumped forward in an instant. Seven years had passed in the blink of an eye, and she now possessed the memories of a routine life spanning those years. It was as if time had been fast-forwarded—transferring schools, taking college entrance exams, attending university, graduating, renting an apartment, working—all of it completed in less than a day.

The memories felt both full and light at the same time, like trivial details that didn’t quite hold weight. It was a strange sensation.

Wen Yang: 006, how old am I now?

System: 24 years old.

Wen Yang unlocked her phone. Everything inside felt familiar, yet…

Wen Yang: Where’s the phone Xu Yi gave me?

System: It’s… in your room’s drawer.

Wen Yang walked into the bedroom. The only drawer was on the wooden cabinet beside the bed. She pulled it open, rummaged through layers of small trinkets, and finally found a still-pristine black phone.

It hadn’t been used in seven years. She wasn’t sure if it would even turn on. Pressing the power button, she watched as a white logo bloomed onto the screen—just the default system wallpaper. The date displayed: April 8, 2029.

Wen Yang used her fingerprint to unlock it. The phone was empty, containing only the factory-installed apps.

Wen Yang: It’s been wiped.

System: Yes.

The system, fed up with Xu Yi repeatedly disrupting its storyline tasks, had taken the chance to retaliate—manually wiping the phone’s contents.

Wen Yang nodded. She felt an inexplicable sense of emptiness and placed the phone back into the drawer.

System: Host, are you upset?

Wen Yang: I said goodbye yesterday. Feeling sad about it today seems a little late.

System (correcting her): It was seven years ago.

Wen Yang: I know.

The system softened. But… you haven’t left yet. I can still restore it.

Wen Yang: There’s nothing worth seeing.

The system desperately wanted to yell, You won’t be leaving tomorrow!

But it was too much of a coward. If it could delay being scolded by even a day, it would.

---

The next day, Wen Yang took the bus to work. The bus was filled with all sorts of people—office workers, students, the elderly. She didn’t feel the stress of someone who had spent years working to make a living. Her mental age was still stuck in that carefree seventeen-to-eighteen-year-old stage, leisurely enjoying the ride.

Those seven years of memories weren’t important to her. After all, when she returned, she would relive them—just in a much easier, more relaxed way.

Upon arriving at the office building, she took the elevator to the 17th floor. The office was mostly empty when she sat down at her desk.

A few minutes later, more people arrived. The sound of flipping documents and lively gossip filled the air. The boss hadn’t shown up yet, so everyone took the chance to slack off.

At 8:30, the boss finally arrived. Instead of reprimanding the noise, he simply smiled and said, “Let’s get to work.”

The office atmosphere was lively but well-organized. Tasks were clearly divided, and occasionally, soft laughter could be heard.

A young colleague swiveled her chair and leaned toward Wen Yang. “Wen Yang-jie, why are you slacking off today?”

“I’m in a good mood,” Wen Yang replied, her fingers lazily tapping the keyboard—one keystroke every few seconds.

“What’s the good news? Tell me!”

“I’m meeting an old friend for lunch.”

“Guy or girl?”

The girl was a bit of a gossip, her fluttering eyelashes reminding Wen Yang of Xiao Yan.

“A girl. Very pretty.” Wen Yang picked up her phone and searched for Qi Chen.

“How pretty?”

The girl thought Wen Yang was already stunning. Anyone Wen Yang called “pretty” must be a goddess of the same caliber.

“Hmm…” Wen Yang pondered. “Like a novel’s female lead—the kind of beauty you’d notice in an instant.”

The girl clung to Wen Yang’s arm, shaking it. “Do you have a photo? I wanna see!”

“No.” Wen Yang tapped on the topmost news article.

Qi Chen—Chairman of Guli Group, 25 years old, married.

Wife (name undisclosed), daughter of the former chairman of Linhua Holdings.

She didn’t bother reading further. That was enough.

At noon, Wen Yang headed to the department store near her office and went straight to the third-floor maternity section—planning to stage an “accidental” encounter.

She stood outside a maternity store, occasionally lifting her head just enough for Xiao Yan to notice her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure pushing a baby stroller. Wen Yang subtly adjusted her posture, feigning nonchalance as she raised her head once more—locking eyes with the approaching person.

“Wen Yang?”

Wen Yang looked at Xiao Yan and called her name in return. “Xiao Yan.”

One was outwardly expressive, the other more reserved. Xiao Yan’s excitement came from unexpectedly reuniting after years apart. Wen Yang’s excitement? From knowing this absurd story was finally coming to an end.

“What are you doing here? You…” Xiao Yan glanced down at Wen Yang’s stomach, her eyes filled with disbelief.

“I’m just browsing.”

Xiao Yan suggested, “Let’s find a place to sit and catch up?”

“Sure.”

Xiao Yan handed the stroller to a nearby attendant. Wen Yang glanced inside—at the peacefully sleeping baby.

In the café, soft music played in the background. Since it wasn’t quite lunchtime, there weren’t many patrons.

Xiao Yan, still nursing, avoided coffee and let Wen Yang order instead.

Wen Yang didn’t want coffee either, but sitting in a café without buying anything felt awkward, so she randomly ordered a cup.

“Are you working now?”

“Yeah, it’s been a year and a half.”

Xiao Yan felt a bit distant from Wen Yang. To her, they hadn’t seen each other in seven years.

But to Wen Yang, it had only been two days.

She had prepared her lines. “I used to like Qi Chen. I was always against you. I’m sorry, Xiao Yan.”

Xiao Yan looked confused, smiling. “What are you talking about? You liked Qi Chen?”

All thanks to Xu Yi’s meddling. Wen Yang brushed past the topic. “It’s nothing. I used to be jealous of you. But I’ve grown up now. I’ve moved on.”

“I never felt like you were against me. As for liking Qi Chen… I wasn’t sure. Sometimes you seemed to, sometimes it just felt like friendship.” Xiao Yan suspected Xu Yi’s failure to win over Wen Yang had something to do with it. “Do you still like him?”

“No.”

Just then, the server arrived with their coffee.

“Thank you,” Wen Yang said.

Xiao Yan studied Wen Yang. Compared to before, she had matured—her beauty more striking, yet her demeanor unchanged.

She suddenly thought of that man who had once spoken about returning. A flicker of sympathy crossed her heart. “Are you married?”

“No.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No.”

“Then, Xu—”

Before she could finish, Xiao Yan’s phone rang. A call from an unknown number. She answered.

Wen Yang watched as Xiao Yan’s expression grew increasingly grim. Finally, she stood up.

“Are you okay?” Wen Yang asked at the right moment.

Whoever was on the other end had finished speaking. Xiao Yan lowered her phone, her face filled with despair, eyes brimming with tears.

Wen Yang knew—Qi Chen was in trouble.

She could leave now.

Xiao Yan turned to her, tear-streaked. “Wen Yang, I need your help with something.”

Wen Yang’s eyelid twitched, a bad premonition creeping in. She swallowed. “What is it?”

“Come with me.”

Xiao Yan held Wen Yang’s hand as they reached the entrance of the café. She picked up the child from the stroller and spoke to Wen Yang without any pretense. “Something happened to Qi Chen. I have to go find him right now. But the environment I’m living in is no longer safe. I hope you can help take care of our child for a while.”

Seeing the hesitation on Wen Yang’s face, she continued, “I’ll leave you a large sum of money. Even if I never return, it will be more than enough for you to live comfortably for a lifetime. Please, help me—I must find Qi Chen.”

Wen Yang felt helpless. This had nothing to do with her. You’re asking the wrong person.

But Xiao Yan had no other choice. With Qi Chen gone, the company was filled with wolves and tigers. She couldn’t trust anyone else with her child.

Except for Wen Yang. In Xiao Yan’s heart, she was someone worth trusting.

“Please,” she begged.

Wen Yang’s firm stance wavered.

Noticing the shift in her expression, Xiao Yan quickly said, “Hold him for a moment. He’s so small and so well-behaved—he doesn’t cry or fuss.”

Wen Yang was forced to take the child into her arms.

“Thank you, Wen Yang. Thank you. I’ll transfer the money for raising him and for your help later.” Xiao Yan took out her phone. “Let’s add each other on WeChat so we can stay in touch.”

Holding the baby, Wen Yang saw how anxious Xiao Yan was and decided to calm her down first. “My phone is in my pocket. Take it out yourself.”

She stretched out her index finger with difficulty. “Here, fingerprint.”

Xiao Yan quickly added her on WeChat, thanked her again, and reluctantly kissed her baby before rushing off. The butler who had come with her followed, and the two of them sprinted away.

System: Warning: Plot error detected!

Wen Yang stood frozen in place, staring at the baby in her arms. What was happening? Just like that, she had been entrusted with a child by someone she hadn’t seen in years and wasn’t even particularly close to?

She had to return the baby to where he belonged. She needed to find Xu Yi and hand him over. Raising a child wasn’t something a villainous supporting character like her should be doing.

She placed the baby back into the stroller. Just as Xiao Yan had said, the child was quiet and well-behaved, raising his tiny hands to play on his own.

Wen Yang: Where is Xu Yi?

—

Wen Yang took Xiao Yan’s child and got into a taxi. The driver struggled to fit the stroller into the trunk, pressing it down with force.

The little one wasn’t shy around strangers. He grabbed Wen Yang’s hair and tugged at it with surprising strength.

The driver, now seated, closed the door gently, careful not to startle the baby.

“To Xinhe Tower,” Wen Yang instructed.

On the ride over, she thought about what she should say when she saw Xu Yi. After all, she had deceived him before. Seven years had passed—had he moved on from the shadows of the past? She wasn’t sure how much she had affected him, but after going over it in her head, she decided to keep the same attitude as before. No need to overthink it—just act normal.

The taxi stopped in front of the towering building. Wen Yang got out, holding the child, while the driver retrieved the stroller for her.

“Thank you,” Wen Yang said.

The driver, a simple and honest-looking man, waved it off. “No problem, no need to be so polite.”

Meanwhile, the system, watching Wen Yang about to meet Xu Yi, shook its virtual head in distress.

What should it do? It had just received some information, and if it told Wen Yang, she would definitely curse it to death.

What to do? What to do? The system was so anxious it felt like its circuits were overheating.

Wen Yang calmly pushed the stroller into the building.

Xu Yi was now a CEO. She couldn’t just see him whenever she wanted.

Wen Yang: What’s Xu Yi’s current phone number?

System: 186…639

Wen Yang sat on the lobby sofa and dialed the number.

The phone rang. A deep, slow ringtone sounded—then it was cut off.

Did he think it was a spam call and hang up? How troublesome.

She sent him a text instead.

Minutes passed. Still no response.