30th November 2025
Twilight bled through the curtains like fading memories, casting long shadows across the room where silence reigned like a mourning widow. Dust motes danced in the air, suspended between worlds—between what was and what would never be again. On a timeworn couch, Yue Lusi sat alone, her body trembling, her soul caught in a quiet storm.
In her hands, she cradled the unopened letter like a relic of the past, a sacred artifact too fragile to disturb. The envelope had yellowed slightly, the corners curled with age. Yet the ink of Li Xuanyin's name, written in his gentle slant, remained defiantly bold—as if he, too, refused to fade.
It had been exactly one year since his disappearance. One year since she had heard the soft cadence of his voice, full of warmth and mischief. One year since she had seen the glimmer in his eyes that held galaxies of unspoken dreams. Time had been cruel, each day stretching into eternity without him. And now, as promised, the moment had come—to open the letter he had entrusted her with.
Her fingers shook as she broke the seal. The room seemed to exhale, as if it, too, had been holding its breath. The paper unfolded with a delicate rustle, and his handwriting unfurled before her like a slow-burning ache. She read, and the world collapsed.
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My dearest love,
If you are reading this, then time has done what I feared—it has stolen me from you.
I wrote this letter with tears staining the page, knowing I would not be there to dry yours when you read it. Perhaps you are angry, broken, numb. Perhaps you blame the stars, or fate, or even me. But please, don't let your heart harden. Don't let grief turn the memory of us into something bitter.
Remember how we used to walk barefoot along the shoreline, the ocean whispering promises to our feet. How we'd laugh until our stomachs hurt. How your eyes would find mine in a room full of strangers and make me feel seen, truly seen. That was real, Lusi. You were my miracle in a world of fleeting things.
There's so much I didn't say. So many mornings I wanted to tell you how beautiful you looked while you slept, how safe I felt beside you. So many evenings I wanted to thank you—for your kindness, your fire, your relentless love. You healed parts of me I never showed anyone.
But I was never meant to stay. My thread in this world was always frayed, always fleeting. And when the time came to go, I went with your name on my lips.
This letter is not a goodbye. It is my last embrace. My final confession. My eternal vow.
Love doesn't end. It becomes part of the air, the stars, the breath between your sobs. You carry me now. And in that, I live.
Until our paths cross again in another life, in another story.
Forever yours,
Li Xuanyin.
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The ink blurred beneath her tears.Yue Lusi pressed the letter to her chest, her sobs muffled against the paper. Her entire body ached with grief. The silence screamed around her, echoing all the words she still wanted to say. Why did you leave me? Why didn't I save you?
The door creaked open behind her. She didn't turn, didn't need to. Mira stepped in, cradling a newborn swaddled in lavender. The child's eyes blinked up at the world with eerie calmness—eyes that didn't belong to someone so new, so untouched by sorrow.
"You need to stop crying," Mira said gently, her voice heavy. "He's already gone."
"But it hurts so much," Yue Lusi choked, her voice a ghost. "Why is fate so cruel?"
Mira moved closer, her gaze solemn. "Some souls are borrowed from the stars. They don't belong here for long."
Yue Lusi looked down at the baby, who stared back with a knowing expression. It chilled her. "Who is he?"
"A child... and maybe more. We don't always know who returns to us."
Yue Lusi's eyes flicked to the pendant at her throat—the ChronoKey. It pulsed with golden light, as though it, too, grieved. But there was something else beneath the ache. A pull. A purpose.
"I have to try," Yue Lusi whispered. "Li Xuanyin and Yue Lu deserve more than this ending."
"You can't gamble with fate," Mira warned, her voice sharp now. "You think you can bend time without consequence?"
"I'm not gambling," Yue Lusi said, rising to her feet. "I'm rewriting."
With trembling fingers, she activated the ChronoKey. The air around her shimmered, thick with magic and memory. Light erupted, warm and sorrowful. She stepped into it, whispering Li Xuanyin's name like a prayer.
The room vanished.
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Present Time – 2nd March 2021
The public phone booth stood like a forgotten monument in a world that had moved on. Yue Lusi stepped inside, cloaked in black—hoodie, cap, her face hidden from the world. Only the ChronoKey glowed beneath the fabric, its golden rhythm syncing with her pounding heart.
She picked up the receiver, dialing the number she remembered.
"Hello?" Yue Lusi's voice crackled through the line—unsuspecting, innocent.
"Listen carefully," The Woman said, her voice low, frayed with urgency. "You must find evidence of Fu Shen's crimes. Yue Lu's fate hangs in the balance. And Li Xuanyin's life... his life depends on it."
"What—who are you?" Yue Lusi asked, confusion tinged with fear.
"There's no time to explain. Watch your uncle. Watch his son. Watch Fu Shen. Stay near Li Xuanyin. He'll protect you. Don't let him die again."
Silence.
"Who are you?" Yue Lusi asked again, her voice smaller now.
"I am you," The woman said, her voice cracking. "From the future. From the day I buried the man we love."
"But—"
The line cut. Time refused to wait.
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Back in her Villa, Lusi stood frozen, the ChronoKey warm against her ribs. The woman's voice—her voice—echoed in her ears. She touched the pendant and remembered Li Xuanyin's invitation: the 100th day memorial ceremony at the Royal Suite Hotel. She had declined. But now...
Her heart surged with a clarity she hadn't felt in months.
She dialed Li Xuanyin.
"Did you find a female companion for the ceremony?" she asked.
There was a pause. "No. Why?"
"Then I want to go."
"Yue Lusi..." he began, his voice tender with confusion and hope.
"You'll know why when we get there," she whispered.
Another pause. Then, gently, "Okay. I'll support you."
For the first time in months, she smiled through her tears.
In one life, she had lost him. In this one, she would fight to save him.
And far away, in the pocket of time she had left behind, a letter sat open on a couch—its ink still damp with tears, its words a promise waiting to be fulfilled.