Zhan Xiaojun looked at her family gathered around her.
The tears she had tried to hold back welled up again.
She was happy.
But also deeply sad.
She wondered what Ning Yecheng would do when he woke up and found her gone.
What would Lin Ya and the others do when they heard of her death?
She had sent them a message before she left.
Telling them some truths.
Including that she wasn't the real Zhan Xiaojun.
This way, they would hopefully move on from their grief quickly.
But what about Ning Yecheng?
What would he do?
Zhan Xiaojun's heart ached.
Perhaps being back with her loved ones made her emotions uncontrollable.
She cried and cried.
Yun Shu gently comforted her.
Using a small spoon, she fed Xiaojun some water.
Xiaojun gradually calmed down.
She checked her pulse again. There were no major issues, just extreme emotional agitation.
"Mother..."
Zhan Xiaojun hugged Yun Shu, unable to stop crying.
Yun Shu noticed something amiss and looked up at Zhan Tianye. They exchanged a glance, but said nothing, nor did they question Zhan Xiaojun. They simply stayed by her side, offering quiet companionship.
The pattering rain outside seemed to mirror Zhan Xiaojun's tears.
She cried for a long time.
She realized she had been crying for too long and was making her family worry.
Then, with a hint of grievance, she said, "I'm hungry."
Perhaps due to not having eaten for a long time, her body was very weak.
Her voice was now frail.
"Hungry? I'll make something! Grandfather's cooking has improved even more lately! Let me show off my skills to my granddaughter." Yun Changfeng rushed out immediately.
Zhan Xiaojun looked at her grandfather, who was bustling about, and a smile broke through her tears. "I really miss Grandpa's cooking."
She really did.
...
Under the dim night sky, the rain that had fallen for several days finally stopped.
Yun Shu and Zhan Tianye sat together in the courtyard.
A pot of hot wine was simmering.
Amidst the rising steam, Yun Shu spoke first, "Something must have happened while Xiaojun was unconscious. She's different from before."
Zhan Tianye agreed, "She is indeed different. While she was half-asleep earlier, she even mentioned watching videos."
"She must have traveled to another world during this time," Yun Shu was now certain.
Zhan Tianye frowned slightly, "Could she have been wronged in that world?"
Yun Shu chuckled helplessly, "You call yourself a doting father, and you truly are. Your daughter grew up under your watchful eye, taught by you personally. Don't you trust her? No matter where she goes, she can adapt quickly and thrive. No one can bully her or make her cry like this. Her current distressed look is more like..."
They exchanged another look.
"Developing romantic feelings?" Zhan Tianye raised an eyebrow.
Yun Shu picked up her wine cup and took a sip. The strong liquor warmed her throat. "Perhaps."
They both looked out into the distance.
A hint of worry appeared in their eyes.
...
In a state between waking and sleeping.
Zhan Xiaojun felt as if she were in utter darkness.
There was no light around her, nothing.
Only an endless darkness.
She reached out to explore.
But she couldn't grasp or touch anything.
Even the ground beneath her feet was black.
She walked and walked.
Unsure how long she had been in this void.
Suddenly, she heard someone calling her.
"Xiaojun!"
Each call of "Xiaojun" made her heart ache intensely.
It was...
Ning Yecheng!
It was him!
Suddenly.
Her foot slipped.
She tried to grab onto anything, but there was nothing.
She kept falling.
Falling down.
She found herself standing before a tombstone.
When she saw her own photograph on the tombstone, she froze for a moment.
She looked around.
This was a cemetery.
"Xiaojun, you're so heartless, just leaving like that."
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind her.
She turned around.
It was Ning Yecheng!
Overjoyed, she rushed towards him, "Ning Yecheng!"
However, the moment she ran towards him, the surroundings changed again.
She saw Ning Yecheng dealing with the Ning family.
The Ning family members hurled insults at him, spewing all sorts of filth.
But he remained unfazed.
On the surface, he seemed like a block of ice, unaffected by their hurtful words.
But she knew that if he hadn't considered their familial ties, he would have dealt with them long ago.
At this moment, she desperately wanted to embrace him.
He looked much more haggard than when she had left.
He seemed even colder than before.
The scene abruptly shifted again.
Ning Yecheng was ill.
He lay in bed, coughing incessantly, as if trying to expel his internal organs.
Liu Ning and Zhou Ye tried to persuade him from the bedside.
"Boss, you should get an IV drip. This strain of flu is very severe. You can't endure it like this," Liu Ning felt weary every time he tried to get the boss to take medicine or get an injection.
Zhou Ye sighed, "Boss, Miss Zhan's documentation mentioned that if a flu lasts for more than seven days, you should seek medical treatment. Are you not even listening to Miss Zhan anymore?"
Ever since Miss Zhan left, mentioning her name had been effective in most situations.
But...
They also knew that while invoking Miss Zhan was useful, it was like twisting a knife in the boss's heart.
The boss would be reminded of Miss Zhan.
Alas!
When Ning Yecheng heard Miss Zhan's name, a warmth entered his cold eyes. "Bring the IV drip over."
Zhan Xiaojun, standing beside him, watched the scene unfold, her heart aching.
She sat on the bed.
She wanted to reach out and feel his forehead temperature.
But her hand passed through nothingness.
She couldn't touch him.
"Ning Yecheng, you must be well. You must take good care of yourself. I truly hope you can be safe and happy." She gazed at him with longing.
How she wished they could be together forever.
As if sensing someone's presence, Ning Yecheng suddenly looked to his side.
However, there was no one there.
Ning Yecheng frowned, pressing his throbbing head. He had thought Zhan Xiaojun was beside him just now.
But, how could that be?
She was gone.
She had been gone for three years.
She had returned to her own world.
Indeed.
She was not from his world.
But, knowing that she was still alive gave him the will to continue living.
Even if everything felt meaningless now.
Zhan Xiaojun leaned in and kissed his cheek.
She knew he couldn't feel it, but she still stayed by his side, accompanying him through the IV drip, through the long night.
When she opened her eyes again.
Everything changed once more.
She was back at the tombstone.
This time, however, she saw Lin Ya and Lin Jing.
Ning Yecheng was also there.
They looked at the photograph on the tombstone, silent for a long time.
After a while, Lin Ya sighed, "Mr. Ning, Xiaojun was so kind and loved you so much. She wouldn't want you to be alone for your entire life. If you meet someone you like, please get married. Don't dwell on Xiaojun anymore."