On graduation night, Wei Jie swore to give Xuanqi the world beneath the starlit sky. But fate had other plans.

After an accident, Wei Jie wakes up ten years into the future. His world has crumbled—his home destroyed, his father missing, and the girl he once promised forever is no longer the quiet student by his side.

Xuanqi now rules a billion-dollar empire.

He wears faded jeans; she wears power suits.
He remembers love; she remembers pain.

“You promised forever…” her voice cracks like aged whiskey.
“I’m still that boy, Xuanqi,” he says, clutching her CEO badge with hands calloused by time.

But the decade between them hides more than just memories:
◇ 3,652 secret journal entries of her search for him
◇ Ruthless corporate enemies circling her throne
◇ A life-threatening surgery that could erase their second chance

“You built an empire in the decade I lost.
Let me love you—not as the boy frozen in time,
But as the man who will protect everything you’ve created.”

This is a second-chance romance filled with angst, ambition, and two timelines crashing into one fierce, unforgettable love story.

### **CHAPTER 17: CRIMSON CONTRACT | "Our Betrayal Was the Final Clause"**  


Xu Qi's bullet tore through my heart for the twelfth time.  


The grandfather clock chimed as blood pooled around my knees. Across the penthouse, Xu Qi's Louboutin hovered over the shattered wedding album—**right where our faces should have been**.  


"Clause 13." Her Cartier nail traced the bullet hole in the photo. "One life per breach of contract."  


I coughed ruby droplets onto the Persian rug. **Then time rewound.**  


This time I caught her wrist mid-gunraise. "You forgot, *qiqi*." My thumb pressed the Moonstone pendant between her breasts—**the real contract**. "Your father's signature fades when you lie."  


The System's crimson alert flooded my vision:  


Her Dior lipstick smeared as she laughed. "Prove it"  


#### **💻[ACT 2: DATA SEPULCHER ]**  


The elevator required **a retinal scan and a vial of blood** to descend to B13. The doors opened onto a cathedral of servers, each glowing casket labeled with a year:  


**2018**: My sister's research notes on Xu Corp's time anchors  


**2023**: Security footage of Xu Qi burning documents  


**2025**: A wedding dress with **bullet holes matching my wounds**  


"Father called this our *memory garden*." Xu Qi's blade hovered over a server labeled **YUE/LIN**. The monitors erupted with footage of **my sister swapping Xu Qi's medication**.  


I smashed the glass with my bare hands. "There's always a third option." 


#### **💥[ACT 3: MERGER OF FATES ]**  


The explosion wasn't fire but **shattering timelines**. Xu Qi's Vera Wang gown dissolved as we fell through:  


**Timeline 114**: She shoots me at the altar  


**Timeline 892**: I poison the communion wine  


**Timeline ███**: We **hold hands running toward a private jet**  


The System's final choice burned our palms:  


`[ ] WRITE NEW TERMS → (BLOOD REQUIRED)`  


I slashed our clasped hands with the ceremonial dagger. "**Option three.**" 


#### **🌌[ACT 4: BEYOND THE CONTRACT ]**  


In the **static between seconds**, we discovered:  


1. The System's core was **a snow globe** containing Xu Qi's childhood home  


2. My sister's final message carved everywhere: *"She's the prisoner, not you"*  


3. Our reflections—**my scars on her face**, her tears on my cheeks  


The last whisper before reset: *"Clause 0: Love voids all terms."* 


Chapter 17 - Crimson Contract