If we add up the time spent in this new world and the other world, Shang Shujue and Song Yanqing have known each other for twenty-three years, five months, and three days.
From the initial protectiveness and fleeting glimpse upon first meeting, to the self-righteousness fueled by adolescent rebellion, and finally to the fierce confrontation after graduation and entering the entertainment industry.
Finally, after his accidental death and his rebirth into this world, the sweetness and happiness they experienced together took them a long time to come.
It seems like he and Song Yanqing are always just a little bit short, always just a tiny bit short. If it weren't for the fact that he was bound to the Nuomi system, and if it weren't for the fact that he needed to balance cause and effect in the early stages, he and Song Yanqing probably would never have had a future.
Perhaps Shang Shujue's worries were too great, and her obsession with finding out why the once spirited Song Yanqing had suddenly become so dejected was too deep.
He ran around in this bubble world for a long time, and finally saw those blue and red bubbles intertwined again. He couldn't wait to touch them, and the next second he was inside one.
After a brief moment of dizziness, what appeared before Shang Shujue was still Song Yanqing's home. However, this time, the place was no longer dark and gloomy with the curtains drawn, but bright, lively, and clean.
Song Yanqing stood at the island counter in the open kitchen, preparing ingredients. He rolled up his shirt sleeves, his long fingers displaying elegance and composure in his movements. He lowered his head, a slight smile playing on his lips, as if he were smiling, yet also as if he were not.
Shang Shujue hovered in mid-air, silently watching him for a long time before finally turning her gaze to herself, who was sitting on the living room sofa playing on her phone.
The clothes he was wearing were the ones he wore on the day of the car accident. That day, Song Yanqing invited him to his home, saying it was to fulfill a promise he made after losing a bet. He cooked for Song Yanqing himself, and then he came to his house.
While sitting on the sofa playing on his phone, he suddenly received a call from his agent, who told him that there was an urgent job that required him to fly there for work.
His break time ended just like that. He had originally planned to have dinner with Song Yanqing and then talk to him about the plot of the movie they were about to film together.
As a result, all of these plans fell through that day. He and Song Yanqing didn't get to say anything, and they even had a big fight because of the last-minute change of plans.
After that argument, he got into a car accident. Was Song Yanqing feeling guilty and remorseful at that time? That's why his house was so messy afterward, and why he became so despondent...
Or rather, Song Yanqing had fallen in love with him much earlier than he knew, and had even secretly loved him for a very long time, so long that it could no longer be hidden...
Shang Shujue's distant, long-forgotten memories seemed to be unlocked by a key at this moment. He thought about those chaotic memories and watched as he answered his agent's call on the sofa and then told Song Yanqing the news.
Song Yanqing, who was processing ingredients, paused, looked up at him, and the smile that occasionally appeared on her face faded slightly. "Are you leaving now?"
"Yes, it's a last-minute notice. My assistant has already bought the plane tickets. I need to go back and pack my bags before heading to the airport. I won't be able to have this meal today."
Shang Shujue watched her past self from the side, her face showing regret, but she pretended not to care and not to care, only thinking that her past self was ridiculously naive.
But back then, he truly couldn't learn to be honest, and Song Yanqing at that time was also proud and unyielding.
"Can't I postpone it anymore? We agreed to eat here today, why did you have to leave in such a hurry? Don't you want to live under the same roof as me?"
Song Yanqing's tone was a bit harsh, sounding fierce, but his emotions were more aggrieved. However, he was too stubborn to hear it at the time and took it as a provocation.
"Why should I cancel my work to have this meal with you? Is this meal that important? What difference does it make when we eat it? Why does it have to be today?"
"Besides, don't you know in your heart whether I want to live under the same roof as you? I can't be bothered to argue with you. I'm leaving."
He stubbornly left those words behind and turned to leave, but Song Yanqing, whose emotions had been stirred up, stepped forward first and grabbed his hand, his tone cold and hard.
"Any other time is fine, but you have to cancel your work today. I don't care what your attitude is, you have to eat this meal with me today!"
"Are you crazy? Let go of me! I'm not eating today, so stop wasting my time! Do you know how important this temporary job is?!"
" Shang Shujue!"
"What are you doing? Song Yanqing, aren't you fierce?! Trying to see who can shout the loudest?!"
The two glared at each other in the living room, started arguing for no apparent reason, and then fell silent for no apparent reason, but their heaving chests still betrayed their anger.
After an unknown amount of time, Song Yanqing seemed tired. He loosened his grip, his eyes lowered. "Fine, you can go now. I won't force you anymore."
Shang Shujue was emotional at the time and thought that Song Yanqing said this because he refused to eat the meal he had ordered and was going to cut off all contact with him, making them strangers afterward. Heartbroken, he pushed Song Yanqing away, saying, "This is inexplicable."
Then he left, and after walking out of that door, he never came back. Shang Shujue didn't follow his perspective; he was still hovering in the living room, watching Song Yanqing stand there stunned for a long time before sitting down on the sofa with red eyes.
His phone rang; it was Song Yanqing's mother calling. He paused, composed himself, and answered. Before he could speak, his mother's voice came through the phone.
"My darling son, the moms have already prepared the confession scene! When are you bringing Xiao Jue over? He finally gets a day off, we can't waste that time..."
Shang Shujue couldn't hear what his mother said next. He stood there, stunned, and before he could come to his senses, the scene changed.
When the image became clear again, what appeared was him lying on the ground, his body mangled and bloody. Song Yanqing rushed into the crowd like a madman, threw himself at his corpse, and cried uncontrollably, disregarding his own image and the comments of others.
" A-Jue... I was wrong... I shouldn't have yelled at you, I shouldn't have let you go... I'm sorry, it's all my fault... Please don't leave me... A-Jue-- "
The scene shifts abruptly again, returning to the chaotic, messy living room, but Song Yanqing doesn't succumb to his drunken stupor.
He carefully tidied himself up, cleaned the entire house, then put on his best clothes, a mask, and a backpack before heading out.
Shang Shujue followed him to the underground parking lot, watched him drive to a flower shop, buy a bouquet of brightly blooming red camellias, then go to a shopping mall to buy cherries and grapes, and finally to a cake shop to buy a cream cake...