You Are the One Who Stirs Fate

Wait...

Fang Qi stared blankly at the call screen on his phone.

Gu Xi, she...

What did she mean?

His parents?

Why would she suddenly mention his parents?

An Lian's death today...

Was it connected to his parents' deaths back then?

...Huh?

Fang Qi's pupils were shaking.

...There's a connection.

There's a connection!

Car accidents!

Both were car accidents!

His parents died in a car accident back then!

Lin Xiaoyou's father, Lin Zhouyuan, also died in that same accident!

And now An Lian, another car accident!

Two in a row, both car accidents!

What did Gu Xi just say?

—Just like your parents back then.

"...!!"

Could it be...!

He shot up from the sofa, staring straight at the phone screen!

Just like his parents back then...?

What exactly happened with his parents' deaths back then...

He didn't know. Because he had lost his memory.

That memory was sealed away, and now all he had in his head were the scattered notes from that yellowed journal.

He hadn't even...

Finished reading that journal.

But Lin Xiaoyou had just told him something!

The first time they met, she had taken the initiative to talk to him, and he pulled her into a corner and said...

"I tried to save them."

"Again and again. Again and again."

"But in the end, what was meant to happen still happened."

...Ha.

Fang Qi slowly sank back onto the sofa.

Haha...

His body felt stiff.

He rested his elbows on his knees, a hand covering his forehead, staring blankly at the wooden floor patterns under the coffee table.

...Again and again, huh.

What did that mean—again and again?

Reset.

He had speculated about it back then.

The version of himself before the amnesia must have used the reset ability to try saving his parents!

Reliving it over and over!

But...

Failing over and over.

In the end, his parents still died.

Then, he went to that genius girl who could solve calculus at eight years old, begged her to help him forget everything.

And now Gu Xi was telling him... An Lian's situation was the same as his parents' back then?

That means...

Fang Qi's pupils slowly dilated...!

An Lian was also like this?

No matter how many times he reset, she would...

Definitely die...?

Was that what she meant?

Like back then, no matter how many times he reset, his parents were doomed to die?

This woman his mother almost adopted, the sister he had just sworn to invite to his wedding—would she meet the same fate?

He pressed his hand tightly against his forehead.

Under his palm, his browbone throbbed.

Was he really some kind of curse?

Every family member he had in this world—father, mother, and now this sister—why did they all end up the same way?

Then...

He instinctively turned to look beside him.

What about his wife?

In his slightly blurred vision, that crimson glow was blinking rapidly!

The silver-haired girl frowned slightly.

The flicker of blue in her amber pupils had not yet awakened.

Her fingers were still gently tugging at Fang Qi's sleeve.

She didn't speak.

She knew her master needed to think right now.

But she wasn't idle either!

She was thinking too!

Her crimson eyes were running at full capacity!

The red light illuminated the faintly bulging veins on the back of his hand.

Fang Qi stared at her, stunned...

Then he let out a faint sigh of relief.

...It's impossible.

How could it be his wife?

Liguang's original core was incredibly powerful!

She had some kind of authority!

She was...!

"...Fang Qi? Say something."

Gu Xi's cautious voice came through the phone.

"You won't give up, right...?"

She tried to keep her tone light, but her breath trembled.

"An Lian is your...!"

—An Lian is your sister.

Fang Qi knew that was what she wanted to say.

She was right.

Yeah.

She was his sister.

The girl who, at twelve, had said with her own mouth, "I want to protect Xiao Qi."

The woman he had once yanked by the hair and forced into a situation that led to her being shot by a sniper, yet who still came to him voluntarily to tell him everything.

And also that same, foolish sister from the last timeline—sitting in his house, writing on a sticky note with trembling fingers, "This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

...How could he possibly give up?

Impossible!

He took a deep breath!

Just a moment ago, he had thought to himself that he wanted An Lian to attend his wedding!

He wanted her to sit in the audience as his sister, watching him and Liguang exchange vows!

What was so hard about saving her?

It was just a few more resets!

Figure out the situation, find the problem, and then save her!

What was there to fear?

He gripped Liguang's small hand tightly!

That slightly cool little hand immediately squeezed back!

Palm against palm, the warmth of her skin transferred to him.

His wife was still here with him!

What difference did it make whether he had to reset or not?

As long as he was with his wife!

At worst, they could get married a few more times!

Get married every single day!

"...Hah."

Fang Qi steadied his emotions, then raised the phone to his ear again.

"...Don't worry."

His voice had returned to being calm, and he spoke softly:

"I won't give up for sure. I..."

"Liguang is the same as her master."

Liguang suddenly said quietly.

Hmm?

Fang Qi tilted his head slightly toward her.

The silver-haired girl's expression was really serious, full of sincerity!

"As long as her master doesn't give up, Liguang won't give up either. So..."

Her crimson eyes flickered gently.

"Please believe in her master."

Fang Qi blinked in mild surprise.

Oh...?

His wife had never interrupted him during a phone call before.

Back then, no matter how wild she was, she still pretended to be respectful at times like this.

But now...

Not only did she interrupt, but she also spoke on his behalf?

—Please believe in her master.

Ha.

Haha!

Wonderful!

He immediately reached out and gave her soft cheek a firm squeeze!

Liguang's little mouth was pulled open as she blinked at him.

Fang Qi laughed and tugged her cheek again.

Yeah.

Now she was his wife!

She was his true partner, walking side by side with him!

Of course, she had the right to interrupt, to speak on his behalf!

She had the right to say to anyone, at any time, "Please believe in her master"!

What a great wife!

On the other end of the phone, Gu Xi was silent for a few seconds, then...

She let out a long, trembling sigh.

"...Thank you."

Her voice had also steadied, though it carried a faint, relieved tremble.

"Thank you, Fang Qi."

"...I was just doing what I wanted to do."

Fang Qi said softly.

After calming down a little...

Officer Gu's reaction really made him feel a bit awkward.

To be honest, he wasn't used to Gu Xi talking to him in this tone.

He was more accustomed to the policewoman sister who blushed and shouted "Death before dishonor!" when called his "early love interest."

This kind of soft, almost fragile tone now...

It left him at a loss for how to react!

Gu Xi, you've got to pull yourself together!

So now...

He suddenly stood up!

"...I'll head over right now!"

He also pulled Liguang up from the sofa!

The silver-haired girl rose lightly and stood obediently.

"Mm... Hold on."

Gu Xi suddenly spoke up from the other end of the call.

Judging by her tone, she seemed to be forcing a bitter smile.

"You don't need to come to the scene anymore."

Fang Qi's movements froze.

"The scene has already been cordoned off by our police."

Gu Xi's voice slowly steadied.

"An Lian... her body..."

She hesitated, but still said:

"Has already been taken away by us."

...Huh?

Fang Qi's eyes widened slightly.

That fast?

In the last round, he still had time to make it to the scene!

"Had An Lian already... been gone long this time?"

"Not long."

Gu Xi's voice softened.

"Just a few minutes before I called you."

"But..."

"This time, I was at the scene."

...?

Fang Qi's eyelids twitched.

Gu Xi continued speaking softly:

"To verify my conjecture, I directly led the team to find An Lian, and then..."

She tried to keep her tone steady, but it still trembled slightly.

"I happened to witness it."

Her voice dropped low.

"I saw the entire process."

"From the moment she was hit, to..."

She didn't finish.

But Fang Qi's breath caught.

Gu Xi was right there at the scene. She witnessed the whole thing.

That meant—

"Did you see the perpetrator!" he blurted out.

The hand gripping his phone tightened.

"Is it... still the same truck and the same driver as in that 'dream'?"

In the last round, An Lian had died at the east city crossroads, hit by a truck running a red light!

If this time it was the same truck, the same driver...

Then at least, it would give a direction for pursuit!

Anyway...

No matter what, before this rewind ended, he was going to fucking kill that perpetrator first!

Gu Xi fell silent.

The line was quiet for several seconds.

Fang Qi: "?"

Why wasn't she speaking?

He could hear her breathing, slow and steady.

Then she spoke.

"Fang Qi, this matter..."

"There is no perpetrator."

Her voice suddenly became calm.

"This isn't murder."

"This is an accident."

...Huh?

"...Accident?" Fang Qi repeated the word.

He felt something throbbing at his temple.

...My Officer Sister, are you joking?!

An accident?!

In the last round, An Lian "happened" to get run over by a red-light-running truck at the crossroads after leaving his place!

In this round, An Lian had just walked out the door and was "happily" hit by a car right outside her own apartment building!

Once could be an accident, but twice was also an accident?

He took a deep breath.

"...Gu Xi!" His voice dropped.

"Didn't you just say you would do everything to help me? So why now..."

"Are you telling me this was an accident?"

He slammed his palm on the coffee table!

A sharp crack rang out!

"What do you actually know?"

"Can you just say it?!"

His tone was even aggressive.

He knew Gu Xi might have her own difficulties.

But...

He was really fed up with this mystery woman!

She had just promised to go all out for him!

Seems like it was all empty promises after all!

"Master."

A slightly cool little hand gently covered the back of his hand.

The silver-haired girl looked up slightly at him, her amber eyes shimmering with moisture.

"Don't be angry."

Liguang's voice was soft, her red pupils narrowing slightly.

"Miss Gu might mean..."

"Fang Qi."

Gu Xi suddenly spoke, cutting off Liguang's words.

Her tone suddenly became slightly dazed as it came through the phone.

"Do you believe in fate?"

Fang Qi was stunned.

What was that?

Fate?

The hand holding his phone froze in mid-air.

Gu Xi...

What kind of superstitious nonsense were you talking about?!

"...Fang Qi."

Gu Xi spoke again, her voice very soft.

"Maybe, each of us has a destiny."

Fang Qi: "...?"

"When to be born, what face to be given, what personality to have..."

"What kind of life to live, what hardships to experience, and when and in what manner to die..."

Her voice trembled slightly.

"These..."

"Perhaps they are all predetermined."

She paused.

"Perhaps, they are written into our 'souls'."

Fang Qi's eyes froze.

...Souls.

"An Lian dying at this time, under the wheels of a big truck..."

"Maybe, that's her 'destiny.'"

"Just like..."

Gu Xi's voice slowly deepened.

"Just like your parents back then."

...Huh?

"But, Fang Qi..."

Gu Xi's tone seemed mixed with some strange emotions.

"You're different."

She said softly.

"You're the one who stirs up our 'fates.'"

"Your existence — to all of us —"

"Is a variable."

Fang Qi's fingers tightened slightly.

The surroundings fell silent.

The silver-haired girl beside him gently leaned against him, not speaking.

The person on the other end stayed quiet.

Fang Qi also remained silent.

His eyes stared straight at the white porcelain teacup on the coffee table.

The tea in the cup had gone cold.

The heat at 52 degrees had long dissipated.

It was just a cup of cold green tea now.

His parents.

An Lian.

Car accidents.

Again and again.

He understood.

He probably...

understood what Gu Xi was trying to convey.