She pinched her palm secretly, trying to convince herself—he couldn’t possibly be Li Yuanjing. The world was vast and full of wonders; maybe he just bore a striking resemblance to Li Yuanjing.
"Miss Shen... are you my family?" The man who looked uncannily like Li Yuanjing spoke, his voice hoarse, his gaze carrying the probing authority of soone used to power.
Shen Wei’s heart skipped a beat.
Even his voice sounded the sa!
Shen Wei shook her head. "I’m not your family. Last night, I hit you while you were walking on the mountain road."
Li Yuanjing’s dark eyes scrutinized her coldly. "So, you’re the reckless driver."
Shen Wei’s nerves tightened.
The man before her carried himself with an air of authority, his words laced with pressure—clear signs that he was no ordinary person.
He was undoubtedly soone accustod to making decisions, not so spoiled rich heir with no substance.
Shen Wei’s expression hardened, matching his seriousness. "Yes. I’ve already fulfilled my responsibility by taking you to the hospital and covering the dical expenses. If you want further compensation, my lawyer will handle it."
Li Yuanjing slowly sat up.
Shen Wei stole a glance. Even his height was similar to that man from Qing State!
Pointing at the wound on his forehead, Li Yuanjing said, "I may have lost my mory, but my mind isn’t broken. I’ve been thinking all morning and still can’t recall my origins. There’s nothing on to prove my identity. Considering all factors, I hope Miss Shen will take responsibility. Until my mory returns, I’d appreciate your care."
Shen Wei almost laughed in disbelief.
What era did he think this was? Did he fancy himself an emperor?
But observing Li Yuanjing’s reaction, Shen Wei sighed inwardly. TV dramas were truly deceptive. A clever person remained clever even after amnesia—they didn’t turn into fools.
Look at this man—still sharp despite his mory loss.
Shen Wei pulled out a bank card and placed it on the hospital bed. "There’s money in here, no password. It’s enough for you to find your own way."
With that, she turned and walked away.
...
Shen Wei drove back to the guesthouse. The winding mountain road was jamd, the navigation map glowing dark red with congestion. Traffic police struggled to direct the flow ahead.
Not an inch of movent.
Spring was the season of blooming peach blossoms, and the Longquan Mountain where Shen Wei stayed was a pri spot for admiring them. Tourists flocked in droves this ti of year.
Leaning back in her SUV, Shen Wei tapped her fingers on the steering wheel to the rhythm of a popular song playing—likely a the from so movie. The lody was pleasant, but her thoughts drifted back to Li Yuanjing in the hospital room.
Spend enough ti with soone, and even a stone could grow attached.
Besides, she and Li Yuanjing had spent six or seven decades together. Honestly, she didn’t dislike him.
"Dressed like nobility, wandering a desolate mountain road at night—was he robbed? Or was soone after him?" Shen Wei’s imagination ran wild.
Being hunted down seed unlikely, though.
This was a society governed by law. Openly chasing soone to kill them would land you in jail.
Shen Wei pressed the music button, switching to another track. A tap on her car window made her turn. Outside stood Li Yuanjing.
He knocked again.
Shen Wei ignored him.
But Li Yuanjing seed determined to latch onto her, standing motionless by the car. Rolling down the window, Shen Wei called out to a nearby traffic officer, "Excuse ! This man is trying to scam ! Could you handle this?"
The officer hurried over.
Li Yuanjing’s expression darkened.
Eventually, the traffic eased, and Shen Wei drove off. Li Yuanjing remained detained at the police booth, his gaze both icy and pitiful.
A smirk tugged at Shen Wei’s lips. A flicker of long-lost amusent stirred in her. Nice try, but you’re no match for .
Back at the guesthouse, the holiday crowd had swelled. The scent of tea brewing over a stove mingled with the faint fragrance of peach blossoms—a soothing aroma.
By nightfall, Shen Wei headed downstairs for dinner and spotted Li Yuanjing in the small dining area.
She asked a staff mber and learned that Li Yuanjing had tried to book a room. But without an ID, the staff couldn’t check him in, leaving him stranded in the restaurant.
Shen Wei frowned. "He’s a paying custor. Why turn down easy money?"
The employee replied earnestly, "Manager Shen, governnt regulations require ID verification for lodging. We’re law-abiding citizens—we can’t break the rules."
Shen Wei: "..."
She’d almost forgotten that detail.
As night deepened, guests gradually dispersed, leaving the dining area quiet. Full and satisfied, Shen Wei returned to her loft. Peering out the window, she saw Li Yuanjing sitting alone by the restaurant window—no phone, no ho, like a strikingly handso vagrant.
Outside, the peach blossoms of Longquan Mountain blood brilliantly. Inside, he looked small, helpless, and pitiable.
After so thought, Shen Wei conceded that since she’d hit him first, she couldn’t entirely shirk responsibility.
She called the front desk.
Soon, a staff mber politely escorted Li Yuanjing inside. Using the card Shen Wei had given him, he paid triple the usual rate and settled into a comfortable room.
...
...
Though she knew this man who resembled Li Yuanjing couldn’t possibly be the one she knew, Shen Wei still tossed and turned that night.
She barely slept until dawn.
By noon, she dragged herself downstairs, yawning, and gulped down a handful of pills with water.
"Why are you taking so much dicine?" A puzzled voice ca from behind.
Shen Wei nearly flung the pills at his face.
He was like a ghost!
Swallowing the pills, she glanced at Li Yuanjing. His expensive shirt and watch were gone, replaced by a gaudy tourist tee from a mountain souvenir shop.
The cheap, garish clothes sohow looked like high fashion on him.
Shen Wei shrugged. "Just a minor illness. These are supplents."
At lunch, Li Yuanjing shadowed her, sitting across the table.
He studied her intently before declaring, "You know ."
His mory might be gone, but not his judgnt.
This shrewd, beautiful woman definitely recognized him—she just had her reasons for not admitting it.
Shen Wei bit into a stead bun, eyeing that achingly familiar face. Half-joking, she said, "Actually, you used to be an emperor."
Li Yuanjing’s eyelid twitched. "The Qing dynasty fell ages ago. If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable."
Him? An emperor?
She could’ve co up with a better story.
Shen Wei pressed her lips together, her gaze lingering on his youthful features. After decades of seeing Li Yuanjing wrinkled with age, his sudden return to handso vitality felt jarring.
She stole another glance.
Li Yuanjing noted her subtle reactions, further convinced she knew him.
Shen Wei picked up another bun. "Anyway, you can stay. I won’t kick you out. Once you rember who you are, you’re free to leave."
Li Yuanjing mused, "What if my mory never cos back—"
Shen Wei smirked. "Then I’ll dig a hole and bury you as fertilizer for the flowers."
The stead dumplings were fragrant, handmade, and Shen Wei devoured six in one go. After the al, following Dr. Fang's advice, she exercised, breathed in the fresh mountain air, and rested to recuperate.
In the afternoon, Shen Wei worked in the lush green courtyard, opening her laptop to review company files sent by Huo Ze.
On the screen, a ssage from Huo Ze popped up—
[Huo Ze]: "Little Yuan told you hit soone with your car, and they’re trying to extort you! Do you need a lawyer?"
[Shen Wei]: "Minor issue. Already handled. No lawyer needed."
The young girl managing the hostay brought Shen Wei a pot of floral tea. Shen Wei took a few sips, her gaze drifting subtly toward Li Yuanjing nearby.
Li Yuanjing was also seated on a rattan chair, holding a newly bought phone, his expression focused as he stared at the screen.
His profile was strikingly handso.
He didn’t look like he was scrolling mindlessly—more like reviewing imperial morials.
Shen Wei couldn’t help but set down her teacup, reminded of how Li Yuanjing used to handle state affairs. Annoyed, she tapped her forehead, as if trying to erase the mory.
But mories couldn’t be deleted.
Whether Shen Wei loved Li Yuanjing or not, the two had genuinely spent sixty or seventy years together.
Ti was long enough to turn dripping water into ice, or wear away stone.
Shen Wei discreetly pricked up her ears, trying to catch what Li Yuanjing was watching. Faintly, she heard a cold, robotic voice from his phone—
["Now pay attention, this man is called Xiao Shuai..."]
Shen Wei silently closed her eyes.
He was watching TikTok...
She simply couldn’t reconcile the emperor of Qing State with TikTok.
anwhile, Huo Ze sent several more ssages in the chat window. Shen Wei picked up her phone and snapped a photo of Li Yuanjing.
[Shen Wei]: "Look into this man’s background."
[Huo Ze]: "Got it! Wow, this guy’s really good-looking. By the way, sis, a huge celebrity showed up at the company today! He asked for you. Maybe he wants to be our spokesperson? But we’re a tech company—we don’t need one, so I turned him down."
[Huo Ze]: "He also wanted to know where you were. I said you were traveling and I had no idea. Heh, clever, right? No leaks from ."
Shen Wei had no interest in the entertainnt industry, so she left it at that and returned to reading industry reports.
Li Yuanjing, however, quietly slipped over and lood above her. "You just took a photo of ."
Shen Wei didn’t even look up. "Yes."
No attempt to hide it.
Li Yuanjing’s lips parted, but no words ca out for a long mont. Staring at the delicate curve of Shen Wei’s profile, he wondered if this woman might have a crush on him.
Suddenly, Shen Wei paused her typing and lifted her head. "Oh, one more thing."
Li Yuanjing narrowed his dark eyes. "Go on."
Shen Wei pointed to the water tank in the corner. "The pipe’s not working. Go fix it. Don’t say you can’t—if you don’t know how, learn. Figure it out yourself."
Li Yuanjing’s face stiffened.
But in the end, he rolled up his sleeves and went to tinker with the pipe. Raised in privilege, he clearly wasn’t skilled at handiwork. After a while, a loud bang echoed, followed by a spray of water.
He was drenched from head to toe.
Shen Wei chuckled.
Her bright laughter caught Li Yuanjing’s attention, and his gaze flickered. He asked the hostay receptionist for a towel, dried his face and hands, then pulled up a tutorial on his phone and returned to the pipe.
By the ti Shen Wei finished three pages of docunts, Li Yuanjing had fixed the pipe.
...
Li Yuanjing settled into the hostay, and truthfully, Shen Wei was growing accustod to his presence. Life in the mountain retreat wasn’t so different from their days in Qing State’s imperial manor.
Except now, he didn’t share her bed at night.
Huo Ze, after receiving Li Yuanjing’s photo, mobilized his connections and even tapped into big data networks. Strangely, in this era of advanced technology, Li Yuanjing’s origins remained untraceable.
[Huo Ze]: "Sis, I really can’t find anything. Either he’s under national secrecy protection, or his background is powerful enough to erase all traces."
[Shen Wei]: "Keep looking."
[Huo Ze]: "He’s staying at the hostay? Oh no, sis, don’t tell you’re into him? The handsor the man, the more cunning he is—be careful. Soone like is much better: passionate, driven, and never after your looks or money."
[Shen Wei]: "Mm. If you’re bored, go play in the mud."
[Huo Ze]: "QAQ"
Shen Wei closed the chat. Downstairs, the receptionist’s voice called out, "Boss Shen~ There’s a guest here to see you."
Soone looking for her?
A colleague? Or a villager from the foot of the mountain?
Shen Wei descended the stairs and spotted a slender figure leaning against the marble front desk. The woman had a neat bob, a youthful face, and wore a red tank top with jeans that accentuated her slim waist and long legs.
"Shen Wei!"
Li Qingxun turned around joyfully and rushed over, pulling Shen Wei into a tight hug.
Li Qingxun had arrived.
She led Shen Wei to sit on high stools by the courtyard. The hostay was perched atop Longquan Mountain, offering a sweeping view of the distant city and rolling hills.
Taking a sip of beer, Li Qingxun cheerfully said, "I knew you were recuperating, so I ca to see you. You’ve recovered so quickly—impressive as always."
Shen Wei studied Li Qingxun’s face.
Rosy cheeks, full of vitality.
Shen Wei asked, "I’ve been wondering—why did we co back?"
Li Qingxun scratched her head. "Well, it’s advanced physics, but to simplify—think of the ancient versions of us as two dead batteries. Through experintation, we were remotely recharged, allowing us to return. The research has gained national attention, and a new facility is being built. I’ll play for two months before returning to work. Honestly, I might not get another chance like this. I have a feeling a new technological revolution is about to begin—"
Just then, Li Qingxun’s phone buzzed incessantly from her pocket.
She answered, exasperated, speaking to Zhang He'an on the other end: "I’m with Shen Wei—what could possibly happen? Don’t co looking for —fine, fine, handle the lab work for . Oh, and water the plants on the balcony. And pick up the packages."
She hung up and powered off her phone.
Zhang He'an, that scheming fool, called at least three tis a day to check on her, offering endless small talk. Li Qingxun was thoroughly sick of it.
She turned to Shen Wei. "Longquan Mountain is beautiful, with peach blossoms everywhere. Let stay with you for a while."
Shen Wei nodded warmly. "Of course."
As they chatted, it felt as though ti itself had folded. When Li Qingxun learned Shen Wei had lived past eighty in the ancient world, she was stunned.
No wonder Shen Wei’s eyes held such serene detachnt—she had lived long enough for ti to etch its wisdom into her soul.
Li Qingxun was about to inquire about the history of Qing State when the wooden door of the guesthouse creaked open, accompanied by the crisp jingle of bells. A tall, slender figure stepped into the courtyard.
Li Yuanjing had returned.
He carried a plastic bag and placed the takeout snacks in front of Shen Wei. "Miss Shen, I’ve brought the food. Eat it while it’s hot."
Inside the container were steaming hot grilled sweet potato skins, grilled squid, grilled gluten, and trendy chimney bread from the snack street.
Li Yuanjing always addressed Shen Wei as "Miss Shen"—a distant and formal term.
Shen Wei handed him a bill. "For your trouble."
Li Yuanjing took the money without another word.
anwhile, Li Qingxun beside them was utterly stunned. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, her finger trembling as she pointed at Li Yuanjing. "The Emperor of Qing State? Wha—how are you here? Am I... am I dreaming?"
Li Yuanjing, the emperor of Qing State!
The living, breathing Li Yuanjing!
She began pinching her own thigh.
Li Yuanjing narrowed his dark eyes. "You know ?"
Li Qingxun raised her voice. "Aren’t you the emperor of Qing State?"
Li Yuanjing: "..."
Li Yuanjing massaged his temples and turned to Shen Wei. "Miss Shen, your friend might need to get her head checked."
Shen Wei silently started eating the delicious snacks.
Later, when a bench in the backyard broke, Li Yuanjing picked up a screwdriver to fix it. Li Qingxun rushed to Shen Wei. "Shen Wei, tell I’m not dreaming, right? How is he here? He shouldn’t be here! Did the neutrino gravity from the experint pull him in too?"
Shen Wei picked up a grilled sweet potato skin. "He just looks like him."
She then told Li Qingxun about how she had accidentally hit Li Yuanjing with her car.
Li Qingxun clicked her tongue. "Shen Wei, statistically speaking, there’s no such thing as pure coincidence. Every coincidence is carefully orchestrated!"
Shen Wei paused mid-bite.
She tapped her fingers on the table. Even without Li Qingxun’s reminder, Shen Wei had already felt that her encounter with Li Yuanjing was too uncanny.
Among billions of people in the world, why had she been the one to run into him?
Shen Wei glanced toward the backyard. Li Yuanjing’s back was turned to her, his gray sleeves rolled up to reveal strong, well-defined arms. He crouched slightly, screwdriver in hand, repairing the broken wooden bench.
Shen Wei took another bite of the grilled sweet potato skin, lost in thought.
...
By late afternoon, as dusk approached, the small dining area of the guesthouse was quiet.
Li Qingxun narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Li Yuanjing, who sat across from her. No matter how she looked at him, he was identical to the Qing State emperor she rembered.
She cleared her throat deliberately. "Stop pretending. I know it’s you."
Li Yuanjing frowned slightly. "You know ?"
Li Qingxun thought, Still acting?
She took a bite of a green jujube and continued probing. "Shen Wei isn’t here, so there’s no need to play dumb or feign amnesia. A car accident might cause mory disruption, but it wouldn’t erase everything. Your acting is impeccable—no wonder you were an emperor. You’ve got more tricks up your sleeve than a honeycomb has holes."
The restaurant was empty on a weekday, leaving just the two of them.
Li Yuanjing took a sip of mineral water. "You’re testing ? But I genuinely don’t rember."
Li Qingxun stroked her chin.
Tch, this guy is unshakable...
She gritted her teeth and switched tactics. "You have no ID. Shen Wei only took you in out of kindness. I’m not so soft-hearted. Tomorrow, I’ll make sure she sends you to the police station."
Li Yuanjing drank calmly, entirely unfazed by her threat.
Just then, a loud crash echoed from outside. Monts later, the restaurant curtain fluttered as the shop assistant urgently called for Li Yuanjing. "Hey, co quick! Boss Shen got hurt—you need to drive her to the hospital!"
Li Yuanjing bolted outside.
Li Qingxun paled. "How did she get hurt?"
The assistant explained, "A truck was delivering beer and drinks. While unloading, Boss Shen passed by and got hit by a falling crate—it looks pretty bad."
At the entrance, green beer cans and drinks were scattered everywhere.
Shen Wei lay unconscious on the ground, while the delivery worker panicked, sweating profusely. Li Yuanjing rushed forward, bending down to scoop her up. "Weiwei! Weiwei! Wake up!"
Shen Wei remained unresponsive, her face deathly pale.
The assistant frantically handed Li Yuanjing the car keys. "Drive her to the town hospital—fast! Try to get there in an hour!"
The truck driver interjected, "The road downhill collapsed. Repair crews are working on it, but no one can go up or down. It won’t be fixed until tomorrow morning."
The assistant panicked. "Then what do we do? There’s only a pharmacy up here, no clinic!"
If Shen Wei didn’t receive imdiate dical attention, the consequences could be dire.
Li Yuanjing pulled out his phone and made a call, his voice icy. "Dispatch a helicopter. Now."
Li Qingxun, who had just caught up, skidded to a halt. "Huh? A helicopter? Dude, are you serious?"
Then, the "unconscious" Shen Wei slowly opened her eyes. Under Li Yuanjing’s stunned gaze, she leisurely tugged at his sleeve. "Well, well. So you do rember."
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