Your Thoughts Are the Fountain of Memory

At noon, after finishing lunch, Su Cheng and Gu Ruoxue bid farewell to Zhao Feifei and headed back to the hotel to rest in their respective rooms. However, they had to regroup at the entrance by one o’clock—she still had places to go.

At one sharp, the two walked side by side along a broad, tree-lined path. Since it was midday, Gu Ruoxue had changed her outfit. A light, milky-white dress with a delicate ribbon tied at the chest gave her a fragile, almost ethereal appearance. Paired with simple sandals on her dainty feet, her steps produced soft, soothing sounds.

"Biu~ Biu~"

She was simply adorable. If she walked alongside Li Zhaohao, people might mistake them for a pair of angelic sisters.

That said, in certain aspects, Gu Ruoxue was somewhat lacking—a fact Su Cheng silently acknowledged.

At the moment, Gu Ruoxue was wandering down a secluded street behind the school, her expression cool and detached as she searched for something. Eventually, she began skimming along the walls of nearby houses, scrutinizing them as if looking for some kind of mark.

Seeing her like this…

"Are you lost?"

Unable to contain his curiosity, Su Cheng spoke up.

Unexpectedly—

"Yes."

Gu Ruoxue stopped in her tracks, nodding slightly with an uncharacteristically defeated look.

Her honesty was unexpectedly endearing.

Who would’ve thought she had no sense of direction?

"What are you trying to find?" Su Cheng asked eagerly.

"I remember there used to be a small convenience store around here, but I can’t find it now. Did it move?"

Gu Ruoxue frowned slightly, a hint of worry in her eyes.

"A convenience store?"

Su Cheng pretended to think for a moment before suddenly grinning and thumping his chest. "I don’t know where it is either, but leave it to me!"

"You can find it?"

Gu Ruoxue gave him a look of mild disbelief. "There’s a limit to overconfidence."

"Of course! Do you even know who I am?"

Su Cheng nodded emphatically, then abruptly turned around, cupping his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and shouting, "Hey, shopkeeper! I wanna buy something!"

His voice echoed through the alleyway. A few seconds later, an elderly woman opened a wooden window and snapped, "What’s all the racket?!"

Su Cheng turned back triumphantly to Gu Ruoxue, only to find her wearing an expression of sheer astonishment—utterly adorable.

"Aside from disturbing the peace…"

Gu Ruoxue paused, a mischievous smile tugging at her lips before she added, "You really aren’t afraid of someone chasing you out with a broom."

With that, she strode briskly toward the shop, Su Cheng following behind.

Just how small was this convenience store?

There was no sign—just a few square meters of space with the words "Convenience Store" scrawled crookedly on the window in chalk.

No wonder she’d been hugging the walls earlier!

"Grandma Wang."

Gu Ruoxue called out as they reached the window.

Soon, a frail head poked out. The old woman squinted at Gu Ruoxue, failing to recognize her at first. She then put on her reading glasses—still no luck.

Finally, she reached out with wrinkled hands and gently squeezed Gu Ruoxue’s face, who didn’t resist.

After a long moment, the old woman exclaimed, "Little Snow?"

"Yes, Grandma."

"Oh my! You’ve grown into such a fine young lady. You’ve changed so much."

Grandma Wang sighed nostalgically.

"I’ve been studying in Flame City these past few years. I came back for a visit and wanted to see you." Gu Ruoxue replied warmly.

While the two reminisced, Su Cheng noticed the shop was stocked with old-fashioned items—spicy strips for a dime, assorted five-cent snacks, and the like—fitting the store’s humble vibe perfectly.

"Oh, Su Cheng, you’ve grown up too!"

Suddenly, Grandma Wang seemed to recognize him. "Take off that mask and let me get a good look at you."

Though Su Cheng had no memory of this woman, their interaction suggested he and Gu Ruoxue used to frequent this place.

Strangely, Grandma Wang didn’t seem to know he was famous now.

On her table lay last year’s newspaper.

Clearly, she read slowly—the type who needed a magnifying glass to make out the words.

"Hello, Grandma."

Su Cheng obliged, removing his mask.

The old woman promptly cupped his face in her hands, admiring him with a delighted chuckle. "So handsome! Still as dashing as ever."

Su Cheng felt a little flustered. Was this some kind of facial recognition technique?

"You two are here to visit your child, right?"

Grandma Wang’s words hit Su Cheng like a bolt from the blue.

What?!

Child?!

"It’s a cat."

Gu Ruoxue clarified flatly, her expression unreadable—though a flicker of embarrassment flashed in her eyes.

"Oh, I see."

Su Cheng nodded in relief, glad he hadn’t suddenly become a father.

"Cheng! Cheng!"

Grandma Wang turned and called loudly into the house.

"Cheng?"

Su Cheng blinked in confusion, glancing at Gu Ruoxue.

"It’s an orange cat."

No sooner had she spoken than a plump, round, lazily dignified feline sauntered out with regal grace. Its lofty gaze suggested nothing in the world was worthy of its attention.

"Isn’t this just a tabby cat?!"

Su Cheng gaped before pointing at the creature and blurting, "Also, why does this pig look like a cat?"

Gu Ruoxue, who had also seemed momentarily surprised, opened her mouth as if to explain but stopped herself. In her hesitation, she accidentally bit her own tongue.

Despite the obvious pain, she maintained her composure and calmly said, "He’s just slightly overweight."

"You’re making me redefine the word ‘slightly.’ Just to confirm—do you mean ‘slightly’ as in ‘dangerously’?"

As the two locked eyes in silent debate, Grandma Wang suddenly interjected, "I can’t carry him anymore, and he can’t jump up here. One of you will have to come in and pick him up."

At this, Gu Ruoxue lowered her proud head in defeat, while Su Cheng marched into the shop like a victor and scooped up the "pig."

Though internally, he couldn’t help but think, With skills like this, why didn’t you just raise actual pigs?!

The cat lay perfectly still in Su Cheng’s arms, neither struggling nor kicking—unbelievably docile.

Why?

Because its belly was so round it nearly scraped the ground. Rolling over would’ve counted as excessive exercise for the day.

Holding it felt like handing your child to your grandmother for two weeks and getting back a chubby little dumpling.

Meanwhile, Gu Ruoxue seemed to have forgotten their earlier argument. Her eyes locked onto the cat, and without a word, she reached out with her fair hands, took it into her arms, and began petting it devotedly.

"Xiaoxue, you don't need to send me money anymore. Taking care of Orange doesn’t cost this much—I barely spend any of it each month," Grandma Wang gently advised. "You two young ones are at the stage where you need money the most... I read in the papers that nowadays, getting married requires both a car and a house..."

Grandma Wang’s endless chatter made Su Cheng’s expression grow increasingly awkward.

Gu Ruoxue, too, seemed unable to handle it and quickly interrupted, "Grandma, that’s still a long way off. Thank you for your concern."

Grandma Wang let out a somewhat disappointed sigh.

"What’s the cat’s name?"

Su Cheng, however, was curious. Grandma Wang had referred to the cat as "Orange," so he quietly asked.

Gu Ruoxue looked up at the orange tabby, a soft light flickering deep in her eyes. After enduring Grandma Wang’s relentless questioning, she seemed to have shed her usual aloofness. With a gentle smile, she replied, "Orange Cat."

…………………………………………

After playing with the cat, the two returned to the hotel. But as they opened the door, Gu Ruoxue suddenly informed him: "Meet me at the entrance again at seven tonight. There’s one more place we need to go."

"Thud—"

Back in the hotel room, Su Cheng collapsed onto the bed, his mind a tangled mess. The events at the school and the convenience store had left him utterly overwhelmed—far more than he could process!

And now, after such an emotionally charged day, where on earth were they going tonight?

What else was going to happen?

Judging by today’s two incidents, it seemed that he and Gu Ruoxue had once been deeply in love—nothing like a couple who had broken up.

Which meant one glaring possibility was staring him in the face: he might never have actually broken up with Gu Ruoxue!

Even though he told himself this had nothing to do with him—that he was just an outsider who had somehow crossed into this world—Gu Ruoxue’s behavior baffled him.

After all, if he really had taken over her boyfriend’s body through some bizarre twist of fate, why would she not only save him but also show no resistance? Even resting her head on his shoulder during the flight… All these actions pointed to one conclusion: he had simply lost his memories.

Just like the words he had once said to Li Guanqi:

Love doesn’t disappear.

Because love is a matter between two people.

Even if one forgets, the other still holds onto it.

And right now, Gu Ruoxue was clearly in that exact position.

This realization weighed heavier and heavier on Su Cheng’s heart. Maybe this was also why Li Guanqi was reluctant to make their relationship public—because he and Gu Ruoxue had never actually broken up?

At this moment, Su Cheng was truly at a loss. He had no idea how to handle this situation.

After all, everything was just speculation.

He couldn’t just march over to Gu Ruoxue’s door now and say, "You’re a great woman, but we should break up!"

That would be insane!

Never mind whether his assumptions were correct. If this really was just amnesia, making such a rash decision would be nothing short of cruel to Gu Ruoxue.

Just imagine swapping Gu Ruoxue with Li Guanqi.

Suppose he and Li Guanqi were in a relationship, and one day, he suddenly lost his memory.

While Li Guanqi was desperately trying everything to help him remember, what if, due to a moment of carelessness, he ended up with another woman? And then, out of nowhere, he turned to Li Guanqi and said, "You’re a great woman, but we should break up!"

The sheer absurdity of that scenario made him cringe.

He had no idea what to do.

For now, he could only rely on Gu Ruoxue to uncover the truth. Once his memories returned, he could make a proper decision.

With that thought, Su Cheng rolled over and sat up, walking to the window to gaze into the distance, lost in deep contemplation…

"The library?"

Suddenly, he remembered what Zhao Feifei had mentioned earlier—the library where he and Gu Ruoxue often read together. Maybe he could find some clues there.

Su Cheng left the hotel and headed to the library they had passed earlier.

The library was modest, filled with shelves of books on every subject. Since it was the weekend, the place was bustling, mostly with students quietly doing homework. The occasional murmur of someone reading aloud added a warm, cozy atmosphere.

He scanned the room but saw no sign of any mysterious "black-stockinged bunny-girl senpai." So, he made his way straight to the bookshelves.

The shelves were packed with books—history, literature, philosophy, social psychology, economics… all sorts of genres.

Soon, he found the loan records desk, where an elderly professor sat poring over a book with a magnifying glass.

Just as he was about to pull out his library card to check what books he had borrowed in middle school, he hesitated—what if the records revealed something he wasn’t ready to face?

Then, his sharp eyes caught sight of a QR code on the service counter. He quickly scanned it with his phone.

[XX Library]

It was the library’s official account!

Relieved, he followed the account and clicked on "Services," which led him to a "Micro Service Center." From there, he selected "Borrowing History."

After scanning the barcode on his library card and entering his name, the full list of his borrowed books appeared.

He set the filter to his second year of middle school, and sure enough, every book he had borrowed that year showed up—complete with loan and return dates.

There were about a dozen in total.

But what caught his attention the most was the very last book he had borrowed that year: The World’s Greatest Memory Book!

His pupils shrank, and his hands trembled slightly. Why would an average student borrow a book like this—one completely unrelated to academics?

Moreover, the library’s policy allowed borrowing only two books at a time, with a total value under 100 yuan and a one-month limit. Late returns incurred a fine of 0.10 yuan per book per day.

Yet this book had been returned a whole month late!

And it wasn’t even him who had returned it—someone else had done so in his name.

A chill ran down his spine. His suspicion grew: the original Su Cheng might have known he was going to lose his memory.

That’s why he had borrowed this book.

Cold sweat dripped down Su Cheng’s back. But right now, the most urgent thing was to check if the book itself held any clues.

He immediately searched for the book on his phone and found that it was a collaborative work by over 20 experts, compiling the latest research in memory studies.

After skimming the table of contents and a few excerpts, he closed his phone, took a deep breath, and strode toward the digital catalog station. He typed in the keywords and located the book’s section.

He walked over to the psychology shelves and reached for a dust-covered book that clearly hadn’t been borrowed in ages. After inspecting the front and back covers and finding nothing unusual, he opened it.

The World’s Greatest Memory Book!

Su Cheng took another deep breath and slowly turned to the first page.

But the moment he saw the table of contents, he froze. Disbelieving, he pulled out his phone again to compare it with the online version—only to fumble in his haste, dropping the phone onto the table with a clatter.

There was an extra entry at the end of the table of contents in the book he held! Yet an online search showed no trace of this final item.

The search results listed exactly 107 entries in the table of contents.

But now, this physical copy in his hands contained 108.

At first glance, it could easily be mistaken for part of the original printed contents, but upon closer inspection, it was clearly handwritten. Even more unsettling—someone had lightly marked a checkmark after the last line, appearing like an accidental scratch at first. To him, however, this was unmistakably a response left by another person!

Memories That Last a Lifetime

School Days Remembered

Journeying Through the Depths of Neurons

Dissecting Memory

The Cellular Mechanics of Memory

Memory and Daily Life

Finding Balance in Memory

The Enigma of Sleep

Nourishment for the Brain

………………

The Enemies of Memory

Different Types of Memory

The Three Key Stages of Memory

Memorization for Its Own Sake

Senses and Memory

Autobiographical Memory

Prospective Memory and Metamemory

The Process of Memory

The Role of Focus in Every State

Emotion’s Part to Play

Repressed Memories

The Necessity of Repetition

Selecting and Analyzing Information

From Encoding to Context

Dual Coding

When Memory Betrays Us

Unforgettable Points of Memory

Your Thoughts, the Wellspring of Memory ✔