Yu Yi felt that if she had changed the past, these events would no longer happen, so she had no heart to persuade him. But she couldn’t explain this to Meng Qing, so she simply said, “Guan Yue is principled. He’s not being polite but truly doesn’t want to accept the money. What’s the point of forcing him?”
Meng Qing disagreed: “That’s different. Even if you know he won’t accept, as someone receiving help, one should still offer.”
Yu Yi smiled and said, “Husband is right. I’ll remember.”
Meng Qing scratched his mouth corner: “Wife, I’m not used to you being like this suddenly.”
Yu Yi’s heart tightened, and her smile became somewhat unnatural: “What’s wrong?”
“It seems you used to lecture me more often,” Meng Qing laughed.
Yu Yi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled softly: “That was my mistake. From now on, I will…” When she said “from now on”, her heart ached, and after a brief pause, she continued, “…obey my husband after marriage.”
Meng Qing said: “These words are true.
I hope you’ll correct the bad habit of always going against me.”
Yu Yi curtsied and nodded with a slight smile: “Yes, I remember.”
This night, she was more proactive and passionate than usual, trying her best to please him.
When he lay on top of her, breathing heavily and murmuring, “My dear, you’re amazing today. I’m exhausted,” she couldn’t help but chuckle through her tears. She hugged him tightly, whispering in his ear: “Qing, I love you.”
“I love you too,” he kissed her shoulder and then lay down beside her.
The moon was high, the night deepening, everything falling silent.
Yu Yi quietly got up, turning back to look at Meng Qing. Her gaze lingered on his face—his bold eyebrows, his delicate eyelashes, his straight nose, and thin lips, the smile always hanging at the corner of his mouth…
She looked at him reluctantly, her heart aching as if cut by a knife, hot tears falling rapidly. Goodbye, this farewell is forever, but at least he won’t remember her.
Yu Yi took out Lin Bai’s terminal hidden in the white room, put on a silicone fingerprint cover, and began operating the device.
“What are you doing?”
Yu Yi was startled, looking up to see Meng Qing sitting up in bed. She forced a smile: “I couldn’t sleep, so I’m reading a book.”
Meng Qing’s mouth twitched: “Why are you crying?”
Yu Yi quickly wiped her tears with her sleeve, explaining: “I’m sad for the characters in the book.”
Meng Qing looked suspiciously at the terminal on her arm and said softly: “Something’s not right. You’ve been acting strange since yesterday.” He suddenly reached out to grab her left arm.
Yu Yi quickly stepped back two steps. Meng Qing, sitting on the bed, failed to catch her but had already seen that the terminal’s background was different from the one she usually used. He suddenly understood, staring at her and asking: “Lin Bai’s terminal is actually with you? What exactly are you planning to do?”
Yu Yi looked at him and gave a bleak smile: “Qing, goodbye.” Then she pressed the confirmation key.
Chapter 154: The Changed Past
Seeing Yu Yi’s bleak expression, Meng Qing knew something was wrong. He suddenly leaped from the bed, lunging towards Yu Yi. He had already grabbed her arm, but she disappeared before his eyes, leaving his hand grasping empty air, clenched into a fist.
Meng Qing urgently called Lin Bai: “Lin Bai! Lin Bai!”
Lin Bai, already asleep, was awakened by the vibration and sharp alarm on his arm. He grumbled, then saw it was a highest-level emergency call from Meng Qing and immediately responded: “Meng Qing, what happened?” While asking, he began checking Meng Qing’s space-time coordinates, finding him still at Xiyi Mountain Villa.
Meng Qing, in his urgency, spoke somewhat incoherently: “I want to find Yu Yi. Help me keep this a secret. Absolutely don’t let the bureau know.”
Lin Bai was confused: “What needs to be kept secret? Where did Yu Yi go?” As he spoke, he began locating Yu Yi’s space-time coordinates.
Meng Qing calmed himself down and briefly explained to Lin Bai: “Yu Yi is hiding her terminal. I guess she wants to go back to the past and change the fate of her family being executed. Quickly send me back so I can stop her.”
Lin Bai had also found Yu Yi’s space-time coordinates. Although she didn’t have her own terminal, her brain chip exposed her location. “Okay, I’ll send you over right away, but you must bring her back quickly. Remember, be careful not to change anything in the past. If things get out of hand, I’ll have a hard time covering it up.”
“Nonsense! Hurry up! It’ll be too late if we delay!” Meng Qing was irritable due to his anxiety.
Lin Bai said nothing more. In fact, he was also worried about Yu Yi. He sent Meng Qing to Yu Yi’s side without further explanation.
Yu Yi stood tearfully by a small path in the wilderness. Seeing Meng Qing suddenly appear, she was startled and immediately turned to run.
Meng Qing quickly caught up with her and grabbed her hand, saying helplessly: “Where are you running?
I can have Lin Bai send me wherever you go, so why run?”
These were things Yu Yi would normally have thought of, but her mind was now in complete chaos, unable to rationally consider even the most basic situation. As Meng Qing firmly held her hand, she actually calmed down.
She wiped away her tears and looked at Meng Qing: “You must have guessed what I want to do. I beg you not to stop me.”
Meng Qing held her shoulders and looked at her earnestly: “Don’t do something foolish. Do you know what will happen to you if you change the past?”
“I’ve thought it through clearly. Qing, I know I will disappear…”
“How can you ask me not to stop you? You want me to watch you disappear right in front of me and do nothing?!” Meng Qing shouted.
“Qing, this is no longer just about my own fate. It’s about whether our entire family can be saved. Do you know how many men in our family died? All of them! My father, my elder brother, my younger brother… You know what happened to Yu Xin afterward, but what you don’t know is how my mother cried in private! You’ve seen her aged appearance three years later, but do you know she was once the most renowned noble lady in Longdu City? If I can change all this, how can I not do it?”
“What about me? Don’t you consider my feelings? Don’t you think about how I would feel? After all these years, I’ve finally found someone who makes me feel like I have a home…”
“
Yu Yi hugged him, sobbing softly: “I know, I’ve thought about it. I’m reluctant too. I’ve never regretted entering the courtesan house because it led me to you. Qing, if this change only involved me, I wouldn’t want to change anything. But…”
“You won’t suffer for long. You’ll quickly forget me.”
“I won’t forget,” Meng Qing said stubbornly, holding her tightly, “I absolutely won’t forget.”
Yu Yi looked up at him, tears in her eyes but with a slight smile: “Okay, don’t forget me.”
Meng Qing kissed the tears at her eye’s corner, whispering: “Can you stay with me for three more days?”
Yu Yi shook her head.
“Then one day, not a moment less.”
Yu Yi couldn’t help but cry again: “Do you know why I chose this specific time and place?”
Meng Qing buried his head in her shoulder, choking: “I know. You won’t even stay with me for half a day.”
Yu Yi softly said: “I’m sorry, Qing.”
She looked at the time on her terminal. Soon, Chen Gao would pass through here, meet his father, go boating together, and then encounter Bai Xiu at the dock on their return – the spark that would ignite hatred between father and son. If she wanted to change the subsequent tragedy, instead of trying to warn his father about Chen Gao’s hidden intentions, she might as well ensure these events never happen today!
Meng Qing said nothing, quietly waiting with her behind the reed bushes, his face extremely gloomy.
