Chapter 81

Faint music drifted in from the distance, sounding quite lively. Yet the atmosphere here in this quiet corner was even more intense.

Ji Ran tilted her head, yielding to this long-awaited kiss.

The surrounding air was completely filled with the cool, refreshing woody scent on his body.

All her anxiety, sadness, and fear vanished without a trace at this moment. Her cheeks were gently cupped by Shen Zhi’s hands as the two sank into a world of their own, entirely forgetting themselves.

It lasted until Ji Ran grew a little breathless and lightly pushed against his chest.

Shen Zhi looked down at the person in his arms, finally letting out a complete smile.

Seeing that he still dared to smile, Ji Ran remembered how he had actually kept her in the dark earlier. She stared at him, “You actually pretended so convincingly with me. Do you have any idea how scared I was?”

Shen Zhi looked at her, his deep gaze seeming as though it would sweep her right in.

In a extremely raspy voice, he said, “In truth, I was even more scared.”

Ji Ran froze.

Shen Zhi smiled bitterly, “Do you know how those memories entered my mind? It was just like a dream. I thought my obsession was too deep, and I was terrified that all of it was fake.”

Ji Ran’s eyes widened. Only now did she realize that Shen Zhi hadn’t personally experienced those events.

Those beautiful memories had simply entered his mind through dreams.

Shen Zhi didn’t know how to explain it to Ji Ran at all. At first, he thought it was because his own obsession with her was too deep as he watched her lying in the hospital bed every day.

Her quiet sleeping face looked as if it would remain that way until the end of time.

No matter how calm he appeared on the surface, he was human, not a god, and had his own uncertainties.

He didn’t know if Ji Ran would ever really wake up.

So when he had the first dream, he thought it was because he was too terrified that Ji Ran would never wake up, and thus had a sweet dream about her.

In that dream, she appeared so suddenly in his life.

She transferred to his school, becoming a presence he could see every time he turned his head.

Then, he finally took the first step, wanting to make this girl his.

From the time he fell in love with her, all the way until she actively responded to him in the end.

Waking up from the dreams every day, Shen Zhi was happy, yet simultaneously plunged into endless despair—because during the daytime, all he saw at the hospital was Ji Ran lying motionless in the hospital bed.

Even back at the company when Ji Ran deliberately picked fights with him and tried to make life difficult for him at every turn…

Back then, she was vibrant. The way she raised a coffee cup to take a satisfied sip, her serious expression with slightly knitted brows when encountering work problems, her eccentric look as she rolled her eyes fiercely when angry with him…

Even the slightest difference would catch his eyes.

Listening to his words, Ji Ran bit her lip slightly and lodged a quiet accusation, “But after I woke up in the hospital, you didn’t even come to see me.”

A helpless smile hung on the corner of Shen Zhi’s lips.

Ji Ran immediately asked, “Then when did you find out that I actually remembered everything?”

Shen Zhi sighed, “When you were in a coma, I worried that you would sleep on forever without waking up. Then when you woke up, I was afraid these memories only existed in my mind, and that you didn’t remember a thing.”

His tone was very soft, but Ji Ran felt deeply distressed listening to it.

She understood what Shen Zhi meant. If all the memories were remembered by him alone, he would be truly pitiable. Left alone on the stage to perform a farce, he wouldn’t even be able to tell anyone what had actually happened.

That was the exact reason why Ji Ran hadn’t confessed to Shen Zhi right away after waking up.

She was afraid that all of it was a phantom of her own making—that memories clearly belonging to two people ended up belonging only to her.

Ji Ran’s nose felt sour, and she said aggrievedly, “I was the same way.”

“After I woke up, I was so scared too, afraid that you wouldn’t remember anything.” Ji Ran looked up at him.

Shen Zhi reached out and gently rubbed the crown of her head, murmuring softly, “Little dummy, how could I not?”

However, the disappointment on Ji Ran’s face didn’t last long. She let out a small hmph and said triumphantly, “Though I had already made up my mind. Even if you didn’t remember me, it wouldn’t matter, because I would just win you back again.”

“So getting drunk was you giving me a chance?” Suddenly, a somewhat strange expression appeared on Shen Zhi’s face.

Ji Ran’s cheeks turned slightly red. Even if she had that intention, there was no way she would admit it right now. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to hold her head up in front of him in the future. But seeing the look on the man’s face opposite her, he then showed a smile of regret.

Shen Zhi said indifferently, “My apologies, I didn’t seize the chance in time.”

Ji Ran glared at him instantly and said fiercely, “Who said I was giving you a chance? If you want a chance, go line up!”

Yet hearing these words, Shen Zhi didn’t get angry at all. He actually turned back to take a serious look and smiled, “There can only be one person in this line, and that’s me.”

“Why are you so domineering? Let me tell you, without an ounce of exaggeration, the people who like me form a line from here all the way to our company’s entrance.”

Ji Ran felt that no matter what, one could lose a fight but never lose face.

However, Shen Zhi turned solemn in the very next second. His gaze darkened slightly, and he said softly, “Ranran, if you haven’t agreed to it, I won’t recklessly engage in a physical relationship with you. You got drunk in front of me last night because you trusted me. I just didn’t want to break that trust between us.”

Ji Ran looked down at the tips of her shoes. She didn’t want to lift her head, not wanting Shen Zhi to discover her tear-filled eyes.

It was a bit embarrassing.

Yet time and time again, she was moved by the man in front of her. He was a mature man; how could he not have restless thoughts in his heart? But out of respect for her, he did this to protect her.

Finally, she reached out to hug Shen Zhi in front of her.

“Shen Zhi.” Ji Ran’s cheek rested against his chest as she whispered, “If at first I didn’t know why I was sent back to seventeen, now I know. It was Heaven giving me another chance to know you and fall in love with you all over again.”

This was a gift from time.

Shen Zhi lowered his head and kissed her lips once more. This time, the two completely opened their hearts to each other, holding nothing back.

His fingers rested gently on her neck, lightly stroking her smooth, delicate skin. The slightly rough texture of his fingertips felt like lighting a fire against her skin.

Suddenly, two people walked over. Upon catching sight of the couple kissing passionately in the dark, they let out a soft gasp.

Hearing the commotion, Ji Ran felt a bit shy and wanted to push him away. Unexpectedly, Shen Zhi raised his head slightly, held Ji Ran halfway in his arms, and used his own body to block her from view.

As a result, the passersby only saw the man’s tall, broad back.

Along with the woman’s slender, straight legs.

Ji Ran said indistinctly, “Shen Zhi, there are people.”

A low laugh escaped Shen Zhi’s nose, and he whispered, “How about we go somewhere else to continue?”

Paired with the completely unhidden reaction from a certain part of his body, Ji Ran was somewhat stunned.

Ji Ran, “…”

Men really are dogs.

When Shen Zhi dropped Ji Ran off downstairs, Ji Ran was preparing to get out of the car. Unexpectedly, Shen Zhi brought the car to a stop and turned to look at her, “Leaving just like that?”

“What else do you want to do?” Ji Ran looked at him.

Shen Zhi let out a subtle laugh. Ji Ran smiled and leaned back against the passenger seat, tilting her head to look at him, “How about we chat a bit longer?”

Shen Zhi naturally agreed with Ji Ran’s proposal.

However, in the next second, he leaned over, his palm pinching her chin as he lightly bit her lip. If he hadn’t been driving along the way, he would have been unable to hold back long ago.

As summer was approaching, faint cicada chirps echoed from the large trees not far outside the car.

What was clearly a noisy sound gradually drifted far and near at this moment, slowly turning blurry.

Ji Ran placed her palms on his shoulders as their warm breaths intertwined. Even though the air conditioner was running inside the car, it still couldn’t douse the rising temperature of the atmosphere.

It wasn’t until Ji Ran was released while gasping lightly that Shen Zhi lowered his gaze to linger on her lips for a moment, letting out a low laugh, “You don’t know how to switch breaths?”

Ji Ran hadn’t even evened out her breathing yet. She cast a glare at him and asked somewhat pettily, “You’re speaking as if you have a lot of experience.”

“Men don’t need to learn.” Shen Zhi leaned closer and closer, his breath invading her nose and earlobes. Slowly, his lips approached her ear, and Ji Ran instinctively shrank her shoulder.

Yet Shen Zhi merely chuckled and didn’t actually kiss her.

Ji Ran suddenly remembered something. Tonight she had been in a state of intense emotional turmoil, so much so that she only remembered to ask such an important question now.

She looked at Shen Zhi and asked softly, “Do you still remember the very last sentence you said to me on the motorcycle?”

Ranran, I am Yuan Jing.

Shen Zhi suddenly pulled back a distance. Just as Ji Ran was feeling bewildered, he reached out and patted his thigh, “Sit over here first, and then I’ll tell you.”

Ji Ran, “…”

Just as a smirk played on the corner of Shen Zhi’s lips, the girl beside him suddenly bent down, took off her high heels, and raised her long legs, actually stepping straight over the space in the middle to sit on his lap.

Wrapping her arms gently around Shen Zhi’s shoulders, she stared straight at him, “Alright, now you can tell me.”

Shen Zhi burst out laughing. Ji Ran seemed to always be like this; once she set her mind on something, she would do it.

This girl had a fire inside her.

He looked at Ji Ran silently for a long time before speaking, “I am Yuan Jing.”

Hearing him say this sentence once again, Ji Ran still felt exceptionally astonished and incredulous. Yuan Jing—a name she had hidden deep in her heart for many years.

In truth, her memory of Xiao Jing’s appearance had long grown blurry; otherwise, she wouldn’t have failed to recognize Shen Zhi.

Because the Xiao Jing in her memory was thin and small, and a bit stubborn. When he didn’t speak, he would purse his lips and sit quietly on the curb.

That Xiao Jing was the Xiao Jing in her impression.

She couldn’t imagine what Xiao Jing would look like grown up, let alone imagine that such a delicate, sensitive boy would become the later Shen Zhi. Now that the two were linked together, Ji Ran’s heart felt as if giant waves were crashing inside, unable to calm down for a long time.

“Why aren’t you speaking?” Shen Zhi looked at her, pursing his lips without saying a word.

Ji Ran looked at him and didn’t speak right away either. Finally, she said in a small voice, “I’m just thinking that fate is really amazing. You’re actually Xiao Jing.”

The man she loved was actually the little boy she had liked for the very first time in her childhood.

Shen Zhi let out a soft laugh, “Is it because I didn’t grow up to be as good-looking as when I was little?”

Ji Ran was slightly taken aback, not quite understanding why he suddenly brought this up, until she remembered going with Shen Zhi to the Children’s Palace from her childhood.

What had she said back then?

Right, she had a good friend when she was little who was a boy, and he was extraordinarily good-looking.

Ji Ran suddenly wanted to cover her face. She wondered why this jealousy-monster was so calm that day—so she had actually praised him right in front of his face?

Ji Ran felt this man was truly quite wicked.

She shot Shen Zhi a glare and said fiercely, “So you were feeling pretty pleased with yourself back then, weren’t you?”

Shen Zhi actually dared to nod, laughing softly, “You also said you liked me the most.”

Just as he reached the last word of this sentence, Ji Ran suddenly reached out and clamped her hand over his mouth, wanting to execute this person on the spot.

Yet Ji Ran felt even more emotional depth. She had never been someone who believed in fate.

Now, after everything, she was brought to believe that fate truly existed in this world.

She had thought Yuan Jing had long become a person in her memories, someone she would never see again, someone who, if brought up, would sound like what she said when chatting with Shen Zhi: Once upon a time, there was a little boy…

A boy from the past.

Now he appeared vividly before her, no longer just a person in memory, but the most important man in her life.

Shen Zhi looked at her and said in a low voice, “In truth, when I heard you say that day that the person who left without telling you anything didn’t care about you at all, I wanted to tell you… it wasn’t like that.”

Back then, when Shen Jiming went to Jiangdu, on the day Shen Zhi agreed to go with him, he ran to that Children’s Palace again.

But that day wasn’t a weekend.

Ji Ran didn’t come for classes. Even though he paced back and forth at the entrance for a long time, he couldn’t see Ji Ran. Shen Jiming was in a hurry to bring him back to B City, so he left without waiting for the weekend.

When he returned to Jiangdu during the New Year, he went to that Children’s Palace at the very first opportunity.

However, Ji Ran was no longer taking classes there by then.

“So you went back to look for me later, didn’t you?” Ji Ran looked at him with a soft smile.

Shen Zhi nodded.

Ji Ran was somewhat proud, a smile surfacing on her face as she muttered quietly, “I knew it! You clearly looked like you liked me so much, how could you possibly leave without saying a single word? There must have been a reason.”

Looking at her current smug little expression, Shen Zhi didn’t have the heart to expose her. On that day when she talked about Xiao Jing leaving without telling her anything, she had looked so pathetic, like an abandoned little kitten.

In fact, ever since learning about Shen Zhi’s background, Ji Ran had pretty much understood why Yuan Jing had left without saying goodbye back then.

He was just a child; his destiny was held in the hands of adults.

When his father didn’t want him, he allowed him at such a young age to clean streets and pick up trash alongside his grandmother. When his father needed him, he immediately brought him back home, turning him into the high-and-mighty young master of the Shen family.

Ji Ran was no longer angry about his departure without goodbye; she just felt heartache.

To think she had felt heartache for Xiao Jing since she was little.

And after growing up, she still had to feel heartache for Shen Zhi.

This man seemed forever capable of sparking her protective instincts. Ji Ran reached out to embrace him, saying in a small voice, “No matter what, Xiao Jing, thank you for coming back.”

When Shen Zhi heard her call him by the name Xiao Jing once again, his eyes unexpectedly grew sour.

Even for him, there were times when emotions couldn’t be controlled.

When Ji Ran got out of the car, Shen Zhi followed her out and grabbed her palm. Ji Ran said helplessly, “It’s almost midnight. Hurry up and go home.”

Shen Zhi glanced toward the main gate behind her.

Ji Ran immediately acted like a startled little beast, looking at him alertly, “Do you want to come home with me?”

“Can I?” Shen Zhi didn’t deny it, but instead asked back with a direct smile.

Ji Ran turned her head hesitantly, feeling genuinely indecisive inside. After all, they would get married sooner or later anyway, right? Letting her boyfriend into her home wasn’t completely out of the question, right?

Besides, today wasn’t the first day they knew each other.

Just as Ji Ran was still hesitating, Shen Zhi let out a sigh, reached out, and lightly flicked her forehead, “Go on back. It’s too late tonight.”

An impatient person can’t eat hot tofu. Besides, Shen Zhi had already waited for so many years; one night wouldn’t make a difference.

Ji Ran stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips directly.

Only then did she turn around and leave.

Not far away, a black Mercedes sedan was parked by the roadside. The person sitting in the driver’s seat looked back and asked in a low voice, “Chairman Pei, are we still going in?”

Pei Yuan, sitting in the back, gazed into the distance, sitting quietly.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, a somewhat fatigued voice came from the pitch-black back seat, “Kevin, do you know that man?”

Kevin, sitting in the driver’s seat, said softly, “Chairman Pei, my apologies, I don’t know him.”

“I do.” Pei Yuan reached out and pressed the bridge of her nose, saying softly, “That’s Shen Zhi from Gaotong Securities. I met him before at the Asian Economic Forum. A man under thirty, yet he became a Managing Director at a top investment bank like Gaotong Securities.”

“He’s the person who has always been pressing above Ranran.”

Kevin remained silent. He knew that Pei Yuan didn’t necessarily need an answer from him right now. It was better to stay quiet and let her finish saying what she wanted to say.

Except Pei Yuan suddenly recalled what Ji Ran had said right after being discharged from the hospital.

She had mentioned the topic of dating. In truth, she was already twenty-seven years old; Pei Yuan naturally couldn’t expect her to remain single for the rest of her life.

A few minutes later, Pei Yuan finally said, “Let’s go.”

Kevin nodded and drove the car away.

On Friday, Ji Ran received a phone call from Pei Yuan. The moment she picked up, Pei Yuan said, “Accompany me to dinner tonight.”

“Where to?” Although Ji Ran found it a bit strange, she didn’t ask further.

Pei Yuan’s tone was somewhat cold, appearing not to want to say much, merely stating, “Kevin will send you the address and time in a bit. Don’t be late.”

Ji Ran acknowledged it.

The other side was preparing to hang up, but in the end, Pei Yuan added one more line, “Dress nicely.”

Nice?

Ji Ran couldn’t help but feel curious about who this dinner was with, considering Pei Yuan had never spoken to her like this before.

However, when she arrived at the restaurant entrance in the evening, she saw Kevin waiting for her. She walked over and asked, “Is my mother here already?”

Kevin, who had turned around preparing to lead her inside, ultimately stopped in his tracks.

He looked at Ji Ran and reminded her in a low voice, “Miss Ji, Chairman Pei will not be attending tonight’s dinner.”

“Why?” Ji Ran found it a bit strange. This place was chosen by her, and the request for dinner was made by her, yet when the time came, she wasn’t participating.

Kevin, “This is your blind date dinner.”

Ji Ran, who had been carrying her bag and walking slowly into the restaurant, froze abruptly. She tilted her head to look at Kevin, a cold sneer curving up her lips, “So she arranged a blind date for me without my consent?”

Ji Ran suddenly felt that Pei Yuan seemed to have never changed at all.

Originally, she thought that after going through her car accident, Pei Yuan would truly change somewhat. Yet after only a few days, she was back to bossing her life around again.

Ji Ran remembered what Pei Yuan had once said to her—that she didn’t want to watch her walk down the wrong path.

So now she was guiding her to walk the so-called right path again.

Fortunately, Ji Ran was currently twenty-seven years old, not a twenty-seven-year-old who couldn’t resist at all.

She turned around, preparing to leave. Unexpectedly, Kevin blocked her path, saying apologetically, “Chairman Pei instructed me that I must watch you finish this dinner.”

Ji Ran looked at him calmly, her voice neither loud nor soft, “Kevin, I respect that you’ve worked by my mother’s side for over a dozen years. But you had better not aid a tyrant in doing evil.”

Kevin felt extremely helpless from her description. He advised, “Miss Ji, Chairman Pei is only doing this for your own good.”

For my own good!

Look at this righteous excuse. How many parents interfere in their children’s lives under the banner of “for your own good”, even driving their own children to a dead end in the end?

Ji Ran hadn’t expected that at twenty-seven, she would still have to hear this sentence, this excuse.

“Get out of the way.” Ji Ran’s tone turned bitingly cold.

Right at this moment as they were in a standoff, a voice from behind shouted, “You guys tricked me over here just to force me onto a blind date? Let me tell you, even if a fairy came today, I’m not eating this meal!”

Ji Ran and Kevin turned their heads to look over at the same time.

Then, Ji Ran’s face turned completely shocked upon seeing the other person’s face. Clearly in this restaurant, also being forced into a blind date—could it really be such a coincidence? That person was her blind date partner.

It was just that Ji Ran never expected this person to be Xia Jiangming.

It was actually Xia Jiangming?!

Ji Ran burst into a laugh all at once, the tense hostility from her standoff with Kevin vanishing into thin air in an instant.

She nodded and said, “Fine then, I’ll eat this meal.”

Kevin was somewhat stunned. Naturally, he recognized the person currently clamoring, because a few minutes ago he had witnessed with his own eyes that the other party was also dragged into the restaurant.

It was just that he hadn’t expected Miss Ji, upon hearing such clamoring from the other party, to actually look quite happy?

Ji Ran walked over slowly. Because Pei Yuan had instructed her to dress nicely, she had specifically gone back to change into a white off-the-shoulder long dress. This restaurant was a Western restaurant, with an elegant and romantic atmosphere overall.

Dressing so formally wasn’t particularly strange.

When she sat down in the seat opposite Xia Jiangming, Xia Jiangming, who had been furious and raging just moments ago, suddenly quieted down.

He gave a light cough, feeling a bit awkward, “He… hello.”

Just a moment ago, he had been clamoring that even if a fairy came, he wouldn’t eat this meal. As a result now, he felt that… it seemed quite edible after all.

Looking at Xia Jiangming’s appearance, how could Ji Ran not understand his inner thoughts?

However, for the sake of Xia Jiangming having called her “little sister-in-law” for so long, she felt she couldn’t watch Xia Jiangming stray onto the wrong path.

She said directly, “Hello, I am Ji Ran.”

At this moment, the temper on Xia Jiangming’s face and in his heart was completely gone. He felt his old man was actually quite decent after all—look at this blind date partner he arranged, so pretty he couldn’t bear to blink.

“I’m Xia Jiangming.” Xia Jiangming extended his hand, wanting to shake hands with her.

Ji Ran rested her chin on her palm, looking at him with a light smile, “I know you. You’re Shen Zhi’s high school classmate, right?”

Over the past few days, Ji Ran had figured it out: No. 4 High School existed, and those classmates in her memory existed as well. The only variable was herself.

Although it was a pity that Wen Qianxia, Xia Jiangming, and the others no longer remembered her, in just a few short days, she had first met Wen Qianxia, and now bumped into Xia Jiangming at a so-called blind date dinner.

Upon hearing Shen Zhi’s name, Xia Jiangming’s eyes widened instantly, and he asked instinctively, “You know Brother Zhi?”

Ji Ran nodded, “I’m also from Gaotong Securities.”

Xia Jiangming realized at once and smiled, “So you’re Brother Zhi’s colleague! Let me tell you, your Director Shen and I have been classmates since high school.”

Ji Ran laughed.

Sure enough, Xia Jiangming was still the same Xia Jiangming.

Talkative.

“Is that so? Was our Director Shen like this back in high school as well?” Ji Ran asked, appearing gossipy.

Seeing that they had a common topic, Xia Jiangming immediately said, “Of course! Your Director Shen was our school’s heartthrob back in high school. The girls who liked him were even more than those in your investment bank!”

The reason Shen Zhi was so famous in the investment banking circle, besides his outstanding abilities, was that handsome face of his.

He had even been on the Weibo trending searches before.

When his photo appeared, the top comment underneath was: From now on, the domineering CEOs in novels finally have a face.

“What about Director Shen? Does he have someone he likes?” Ji Ran asked with a smile.

In truth, she just wanted to know about him—those times she hadn’t truly taken part in.

Xia Jiangming looked at her, his expression suddenly turning strange. After all, he wasn’t truly stupid; this girl was on a blind date with him, yet everything she asked about was Shen Zhi.

He asked cautiously, “Why are you so interested in Brother Zhi’s matters?”

“Director Shen is, after all, the male god of all the girls in our company. It’s normal for me to be interested, right?” Ji Ran didn’t shy away, saying with a smile, “It couldn’t be that your relationship isn’t actually that good, right?”

Xia Jiangming felt he could endure other things, but saying his relationship with Shen Zhi wasn’t good…

He couldn’t endure that.

Even knowing that this girl might be deliberately provoking him, he still couldn’t hold back from spilling the beans, “How could I not know? When he pursued a girl for the first time, I was the one who gave him ideas!”

Ji Ran’s heart thudded, a feeling she couldn’t describe welling up.

He actually pursued someone else?

Xia Jiangming found it especially hilarious when bringing this up, saying, “Originally he didn’t tell me, but I stumbled upon it accidentally. So I asked him if he was too embarrassed to pursue her, and it turned out he really was! Can you imagine a person like your Director Shen having someone he didn’t dare pursue?”

Couldn’t imagine it.

Ji Ran was getting a bit angry.

How could he like someone else besides her?

Yet Xia Jiangming opposite her didn’t notice the abnormality in her expression at all, saying with a laugh, “But do you know how he pursued her in the end?”

“If you don’t say it, how would I know?” Ji Ran’s tone had already turned cold.

However, Xia Jiangming was right in the middle of his excitement and said gigglingly, “The girl he liked studied Sudoku. You know Sudoku, right? She participated in competitions! So, he specifically created a Sudoku puzzle himself and mailed it to that girl.”

“I was originally thinking, what normal girl would reply to such a weird letter? As a result, half a month later, that girl really mailed the letter back! Not only did she finish solving that puzzle, but she even created another one for him!”

It was rare for Xia Jiangming to find someone to vent about this matter to. Think about it: a normal high school student having a pen pal wasn’t strange.

Back when they were in high school, pen pals were actually quite popular.

It was just that he had never seen such a bizarre method of communication—you make a Sudoku puzzle and I return a Sudoku puzzle, back and forth, quite lively.

When he finished speaking, he discovered Ji Ran opposite him hadn’t said a single word, her whole body appearing to tremble slightly.

“When did he write the letters?”

When?

Xia Jiangming really had to think carefully about this question. After all, ten years had passed, and it was far too long ago. In the end, he said somewhat uncertainly, “Seemed to be around sophomore year of high school?”

Xia Jiangming looked at her and asked with some concern, “What’s wrong with you?”

Ji Ran asked in a small voice, saying, “Do you know? There’s a rumor in our investment bank that he has a girl he has always liked, a presence like a ‘white moonlight’. Do you know who that is?”

“It’s this girl!” Xia Jiangming said without hesitation, “Originally, their correspondence was going fine, but later, for some reason, he couldn’t receive that girl’s reply anymore. I thought they had cut ties, but do you know? The last time I went to his house, I actually saw that girl’s letters placed right in his study!”

“I was wondering why he hadn’t dated for so many years—turns out he still had her in his heart.”

“You girls really know how to describe it—white moonlight. Mm, mm, it really is that kind of feeling.”

Suddenly, as he was blabbering on, Ji Ran opposite him stood up. Xia Jiangming was surprised, “Hey, where are you going?”

“My apologies, I can’t continue this meal. Let’s do it next time.” Ji Ran turned and left, unwilling to wait another second.

So he had never liked anyone else; it wasn’t someone else.

It was her.

The girl he wrote letters to was herself!

Only when Xia Jiangming brought it up did Ji Ran remember that for a period during her high school years, she had indeed received a strange letter. There was no other content in the letter, just a hand-drawn Sudoku puzzle.

Back then, she had thought someone was playing a deliberate prank.

Perhaps because her high school life back then was truly too boring—always studying, always competing with others for first place.

Sudoku became her safe haven; she loved Sudoku.

So she replied to that letter, and also picked a Sudoku puzzle to reply back with.

Unexpectedly, they maintained contact just like that, back and forth.

Later, the other party would occasionally write a few sentences, and Ji Ran would reply with a few sentences as well.

She had always felt their friendship was as light as water between gentlemen.

Yet she would never know how much anticipation Shen Zhi held when he wrote those letters to her.

As for why she didn’t continue receiving letters like in her previous life when she returned to seventeen, it was probably because at that time, she happened to transfer to No. 4 High School, and Shen Zhi didn’t need to write letters to contact her anymore.

That was why she didn’t continue receiving letters after her rebirth.

This was also the reason why he knew Sudoku!

At the Children’s Palace, he had watched her learn Sudoku, and she had also told Shen Zhi that Sudoku was her favorite thing.

He must have learned Sudoku just for her!

Suddenly, Ji Ran realized that everything had traces to follow. Time had played a massive joke on her, but in the end, time had cleared away all the mist and doubt for her, letting her see everything clearly.

Ji Ran rushed back to Pei Yuan’s house like crazy.

Ever since Pei Yuan moved to B City for the company’s development, the things from Jiangdu had also been shipped over. Many of her high school things had been brought back as well.

Ignoring the housekeeper’s bewilderment, she rushed frantically into the house’s attic.

She began rummaging desperately through every single box. The housekeeper who followed behind her looked at her frantic appearance and asked in a small voice, “Miss, what are you looking for?”

Ji Ran didn’t answer her, merely keeping her head down to continue searching.

They shouldn’t have been thrown away yet, right?

Those letters—she shouldn’t have thrown them away, right?

When she graduated from high school, she had packed up many of her belongings, and those letters had been kept by her. After all, she felt that when she recalled high school in the future, it wouldn’t just be test paper after test paper.

Back then, she had kept those letters holding merely that thought.

Now, she finally realized she had overlooked something so important to herself.

Finally, just as she was about to despond, a pile of things fell out of a small box she turned over. Then, a few papers that were very obviously letters fell into her sight.

Ji Ran carefully took them in her hands.

Then she opened the first one—this was a letter from the later stage of their correspondence, when he had already begun writing a few paragraphs.

Looking at the familiar handwriting, Ji Ran shed tears instantly.

Because after her rebirth, she sat next to Shen Zhi every day, making her all too familiar with his handwriting.

These letters forgotten in time told Ji Ran once more just how much he loved her.

Ji Ran looked down at the letter in her hand. The moment her tears fell, she felt like laughing again.

She felt she was probably going insane.

Yet she had never expected that fate had played such a huge joke on her.

It turned out she was Shen Zhi’s “dead” white moonlight.