Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Li Yanchen hugged Lin Wan and rested his chin on her shoulder. He brushed his face against her ear.
âWanwan, I thought Iâd never see you again.â His voice sounded strange.
Lin Wan turned around and wrapped her arms around him. He pulled her close and held her tightly. âWanwan, I saw the other you. She has a boyfriend. He is a lecturer at a university. He is a little younger than me. He is more cultured than me and also handsome.â
âDid you have a nightmare?â she asked. âFor the past two days, you have been acting strange. You laugh, then you cry and call my name.â She pressed her head against his chest.
He leaned down. âI want to be sure that this is really you. I donât know how to prove to you that it wasnât just a dream.â His hands caressed every inch of her skin.
It wasnât until his heartache merged with pleasure that he believed that this Lin Wan was certainly his Wanwan.
The golden rays of the setting sun glittered on the carpet on the balcony. The two hugged each other for a very long time.
âItâs a little cold. Letâs go into the room.â Lin Wan shivered.
Li Yanchen lifted her up and placed her on the sofa inside the room. Then, he made a cup of tea.
âWanwan, I want to tell you something to prove to you that what I saw wasnât just a dream.â Li Yanchenâs face was somber.
âWhat?â asked Lin Wan. Her emotions had ricocheted between sadness and
despair tor the past few days. She felt like something bad was going to happen again. She took a deep breath. âWait⦠just give me a minute. I need to prepare myself. â
âWanwan,â said Li Yanchen. âRelax. Itâs not something bad.â He flicked her forehead softly. âWhy are you so nervous?â
âOh! 1â¦
Lin Wan sat crossed-legged on the sofa to listen to him. Just then, her phone rang.
âHello, Teacher Liu,â said Lin Wan, accepting the call.
âMs. Lin, itâs me!â said Li Zexin.
âXinxin?â
âMs. Lin, I canât come home for dinner today. Itâs the schoolâs sports meet. I forgot to tell you. You all arenât waiting for me, are you?â Only now had Li Zexin remembered to borrow his teacherâs phone to call Lin Wan.
âYour dad and I went on a trip.â Lin Wan and Li Yanchen had only made the decision in the morning. They had bought a ticket in the afternoon and taken off.
âSo, youâre not home? Then why didnât you tell me yesterday?â asked Li Zexin, sounding a little vexed.
âIt was a last-minute decision. I didnât know about it until this morning. We will be back in three days. We will bring you gifts,â said Lin Wan to comfort her second stepson.
âAlright,â said Li Zexin. âI have to go now. Have fun!â He hung up.
âDidnât Xinxin ask about me?â Li Yanchen heard the conversation just slightly, but his son didnât even mention him. âShouldnât he call his guardian if he isnât going to come home? He didnât even call me!â
âYou are jealous, Mr. Li?â Lin Wan teased him. âLook at you!â
âYou guys always gang up to bully me, donât you?â he said.
âI know youâre busy. It must be tiring to take care of your work and the children at the same time. I am just lightening your burden,â said Lin Wan.
âI donât feel burdened at all. On the contrary, Iâm full of energy. Mrs. Li, what do you think I should do with all this energy? â He leaned over her.
Sensing danger approaching, Lin Wan turned away and lay down on the sofa. âI thought you had something you wanted to tell me,â she said. âTell me quickly.
Then we can go and eat. I am starving.â
Li Yanchen composed himself. He had almost forgotten what he was here for.
He straightened his clothes. âI saw her. The other you.â
âI went to your world and saw another Lin Wan,â he said.
âSo, you now believe me when I say I am inside a book?â she asked, after a long pause.
âYes,â he said. âI went to your world when I was unconscious in the hospital. I am not sure if it was real or just in my head.â Li Yanchen had been desperately trying to understand what had happened, but he had no way of verifying it.
âI have a way,â said Lin Wan. âHow about this? You write down the names of the places you visited. I will write down the places I visited while in my own world. We can see if they match.â Lin Wan walked to the desk to get pens and papers.
âYou sit here,â said Lin Wan while handing him a pen and a sheet of paper. âI will sit over there.â They sat a little distance away from each other.
Li Yanchen wrote the names of the places he visited while in the other world: Sucheng Earth Movers, Sucheng University, Sucheng Central Park Station, Yuehai shopping mall, Little Chong Qing, Bus No. 43.
He even drew a rough draft of the district map on the page.
Lin Wan wrote: Sucheng Earth Movers, Little Chong Qing, Yuehai Mall, Huayang Mall, Sucheng University.
âIâm done,â said Li Yanchen. He put the cap back on the pen.
âIâm done too,â said Lin Wan. âIâll count to three. Weâll turn around together and show the list.â
âOne,â counted Lin Wan. âTwo⦠three.â
Both turned to face each other at the same time and placed the papers between them.
The names of the places Li Yanchen had written down were all on Lin Wanâs paper. There were also some places on his paper that Lin Wan had never mentioned to him before.
âItâs true!â The two of them exclaimed at the same time.
âYou really went to my world? Sucheng Earth Movers and Little Chong Qing⦠they are the neighborhood where I used to live! The buildings there all have hui-style architecture.â Lin Wan was both surprised and delighted.
âDoes that mean I have to go back?â asked Lin Wan, a little dismayed.
Li Yanchen folded the two papers together. âI saw Lin Wan. She is doing very well in your world. I told her that you left her a house and a car. Coincidentally, she is living there now. She is helping you pay off your loan⦠her loan.â
Lin Wan was glad to hear that the original owner of her body was in her world and had her own happy life.
âShe doesnât want to come back here anymore,â said Li Yanchen. âShe said there is some kind of system. After completing a mission, there is a choice to stay in that world. She completed her last mission. She wants to stay back and feel the warmth and love she has in her life now. It seems that if the original owner of the body doesnât want to go back to their own world, then the characters would be exchanged forever.â
âShe has a boyfriend. I told you about He Yuqian. He is handsome and cultured. He is a university lecturer. I saw him too. I can tell that he is very good to her. I never saw her this happy before.â
âDid you tell her that the Lin Wan from that world was doing well here?â asked Lin Wan impatiently.
âI did,â said Li Yanchen. âI told her you are doing great. Luckily, you told me about the house and the car. I mentioned the address and the color of the car. Otherwise, she wouldnât have believed me.â Li Yanchen could, finally, believe that parallel worlds existed.
âThe two of you are so different. Two different people in two worlds,â said Li Yanchen. âWanwan, do you think there is another me somewhere in another world?â
âNot everyone jumps to another world,â said Lin Wan. âBut I desperately hope you always remain here with me. Yanchen, tell me more about her.. How is she now? Is she working?â