Back in the car, Chu Luyu waited for a long time. When Jiang Hezhou showed no sign of returning, she curled up in the passenger seat and fell asleep.
The night temperature was very low, but before he left, Jiang Hezhou had adjusted the car’s air conditioning to the perfect setting—neither too hot nor too cold. Wrapped in his coat, Chu Luyu slept relatively soundly.
Still, it wasn’t as comfortable as her own bed at home.
She dozed for about two or three hours before stirring in her sleep and gradually waking up.
Outside, the sky showed signs of turning light. The distant horizon was a deep ink-blue, and a hazy, murky dawn light had begun to spread around them.
A breakfast bag sat in the driver’s seat—a clear plastic bag containing two boiled eggs, a cup of soy milk, and a few steamed buns.
System Cuihua: [Sweetie, you’re awake!]
Chu Luyu’s brain was still booting up, her reactions slower than usual. It took her two or three seconds to respond: [How long did I sleep?]
System Cuihua: [Not long—about two or three hours.]
Chu Luyu: [Is the male lead still busy? Did he bring this breakfast?]
System Cuihua: [No, another officer brought it over. He probably left instructions, and when that officer saw you were still asleep, he quietly set the breakfast aside.]
After chatting with Cuihua for a bit more and fully waking up, Chu Luyu slowly ate her breakfast.
Still groggy from just waking up, her appetite hadn’t fully kicked in. After drinking the soy milk, she only ate one boiled egg and was full, so she stopped.
The sky outside had brightened a few more degrees compared to before. Getting bored sitting in the car alone, Chu Luyu decided to go find Jiang Hezhou.
A few officers still stood within the cordoned-off area, though the body seemed to have already been taken away, and there were fewer people than in the early morning hours.
She scanned the area but didn’t see Jiang Hezhou. She asked the system: [Cuihua, where’s the male lead?]
System Cuihua: [Uh…]
Hearing the hesitation in its voice, Chu Luyu felt a sense of impending doom.
Chu Luyu: [Don’t tell me there’s some damned task in this kind of atmosphere!]
System Cuihua: [No, no, nothing like that. It’s just… the female lead is here. Look over by that big tree—they’re both over there.]
Chu Luyu froze for a moment, then instinctively looked in the direction the system indicated—
In the faint morning light, two figures—one tall, one short—stood silhouetted against the pale dawn. They faced each other, and from a distance, the two figures looked remarkably well-matched.
Chu Luyu’s steps immediately halted. She could clearly feel something sinking inside her, and her chest felt as if it were stuffed with cotton—not painful, not itchy, but achingly heavy and suffocating.
She asked the system: [Is the female lead coming here part of the original plot too?]
System Cuihua: [No, no. In the original plot, the male and female leads don’t meet until the main story officially begins—when the female lead goes to the male lead’s house to apply for a nanny position. So seeing her here now, and with the male lead, is just as puzzling to me.]
Seeing her low spirits, the system tentatively asked: [Sweetie, are you feeling a bit upset seeing the male and female leads together?]
Chu Luyu instinctively wanted to deny it, as she always had, but the words wouldn’t come out.
She realized she couldn’t lie anymore.
With a resigned sigh, she replied: [Fine, I am a bit upset. I don’t know why, but the feelings inside me right now… I can’t control them.]
System Cuihua: [Oh dear, that’s totally normal, sweetie! You’re a normal person, and you’ve been through a normal man-woman relationship with the male lead. Even the way you two interact is more intimate than most couples. It’s only natural that you’d develop some complicated feelings during this time! Don’t blame yourself!]
Chu Luyu still felt miserable. She hung her head and walked back, her whole demeanor deflated: [But I’ve always known he belongs to the female lead. I knew from the start I shouldn’t have any extra feelings for him, yet I still ended up feeling things I shouldn’t.]
System Cuihua: [What do you mean ‘shouldn’t’? If you take a step back—just because we know the script and know how things will unfold, we try to hold ourselves back from the start. But if you weren’t a transmigrator and truly existed in this world, as the fiancée living with and building a relationship with your own future husband—and he’s such an outstanding person—then developing feelings for him, liking him, wanting to possess him—that’s the most natural thing in the world! If we’re talking about who’s in the right at this point in time, you are the male lead’s legitimate partner. So sweetie, don’t put any moral pressure on yourself over the tasks. You haven’t done anything wrong.]
Cuihua’s words gave Chu Luyu some comfort, but her spirits still couldn’t lift. She returned to the car and leaned back in the passenger seat, saying nothing more.
Meanwhile, Jiang Hezhou and Meng Wantian were still standing by the tree. He looked at the person before him, and for the first time, a hint of uncharacteristic impatience—almost rude—flashed across his face.
“So what exactly is it that you needed to tell me in private?”
Meng Wantian had taken a taxi here. Not knowing the exact location, she’d wandered around the area for a while before finally finding the crime scene.
Her breath still uneven, she looked up at the man before her.
She could see his mood clearly, but she didn’t lose heart. Biting her lip, she stepped forward.
“Teacher Jiang.” She instinctively grabbed his arm. “This case—”
Before she could finish, Jiang Hezhou reflexively shook off his arm, pulling it away from her grip.
He was wearing a spare coat he’d kept in the car. Now, the sleeve was clearly creased from where she’d grabbed it. The impatience on his face deepened, and he didn’t even seem willing to give her the chance to finish her sentence.
“Are you here to talk about something related to this case?” Jiang Hezhou’s voice was cold, his eyes behind his glasses devoid of warmth. “If it’s about the case, you should report it to the lead investigator in charge.”
Meng Wantian was stunned. She watched her own hand hang frozen in midair where he’d brushed it away. Before she could react, Jiang Hezhou called out to another officer nearby.
“Captain Zhou, this student says she has case-related information to share. Could you have someone take a statement from her?”
After giving his instructions, Jiang Hezhou turned to leave.
Meng Wantian snapped out of her daze and grabbed at him again.
“Teacher Jiang, won’t you stay with me?”
Jiang Hezhou frowned, glancing down at the corner of his clothes where she’d tugged. Sensing the cold detachment in his expression, the girl finally let go, looking a bit sheepish.
Jiang Hezhou replied, his voice cool: “I’m just a forensic pathologist. Taking statements isn’t my responsibility.”
With that, he turned and walked away without a moment’s hesitation.
Back in the car, Chu Luyu had been chatting with the system for a while longer, and her mood had mostly recovered.
Chu Luyu: [Cuihua, I think you’re right. If we’re really talking about who’s in the right, I am the male lead’s fiancée right now. Any feelings I develop for him are normal. Even if I know he belongs to someone else in the future, at least in this moment, I don’t need to feel morally guilty for having feelings for him.]
System Cuihua: [Hey! That’s the spirit, sweetie! Life’s too short to waste on internal conflict. Besides, you really haven’t done anything wrong this time! I may always remind you not to fall for the male lead, but that’s only because I’m worried you might get hurt. As for everything else… who gives a damn!]
Chu Luyu felt a little more empowered: [Cuihua, wuwuwu, thank you. I’m so glad I’ve had you with me since I came to this world.]
System Cuihua: [Hehe, it’s only right. You’re my host after all! We Northeast systems are fiercely protective of our own! No matter what, the whole world could be wrong, but my host never is!]
While the two were chatting, neither noticed Jiang Hezhou approaching from a distance.
By the time he opened the driver’s side door, Chu Luyu finally realized he was there.
A bit surprised, she sat up straight and looked over. “Aren’t you…”
She’d been about to ask if he wasn’t still talking to the female lead, but she caught herself halfway and quickly shut her mouth.
Her peripheral vision caught that the coat he’d been wearing earlier was gone, so she asked instead: “Where’s your coat?”
Jiang Hezhou paused, his voice flat. “Threw it away.”
“Threw it away?” Chu Luyu’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why?”
“Because it got dirty.”
Jiang Hezhou didn’t want to say more. The coat had been touched by that female student and now carried her scent.
He remembered that he’d once smelled another man’s cologne on Chu Luyu, and he didn’t want her to get the wrong idea if she caught any scent on him.
Their relationship was stable now, and he didn’t want unnecessary misunderstandings caused by anyone else. He also wouldn’t allow any accidents to jeopardize their relationship because of outsiders.
With that thought, Jiang Hezhou looked at the girl: “Why did you come over and then leave just now?”
Surprise flickered in Chu Luyu’s eyes. “You saw me?”
“I didn’t see you at first. But I caught your back in my peripheral vision. By the time I wanted to call out, you’d already gotten back in the car.”
“Oh…” A wave of guilt swept over Chu Luyu for no reason. She dropped her gaze, avoiding his eyes. “I saw you talking to someone and thought you were still busy. I didn’t want to interrupt your work on the case.”
Jiang Hezhou patiently explained: “That girl is a student from Zhouhua. I don’t know why she suddenly showed up, claiming to have information about the case. But I handed her over to the team for follow-up. I’m not involved anymore.”
Huh?
The male and female leads had met, and… that was it?
Still, beyond her surprise, Chu Luyu caught some key points.
She asked the system: [Cuihua, what’s going on? Did the female lead provide clues about this case in the original plot too?]
System Cuihua: [I don’t know. Logically, she shouldn’t have appeared here at all. And she doesn’t seem like someone who’d have clues about this case. I have no idea what’s happening all of a sudden.]
While they were puzzling over it, Jiang Hezhou seemed to remember something and spoke to Chu Luyu again: “Actually, we made a major breakthrough on the case yesterday. And we have you to thank for it.”
Chu Luyu’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at him. “Me?”
“Yes. If you hadn’t pointed out how detailed the eyewitness’s description was, we wouldn’t have had any doubts. The team took him back to the station for questioning, and he confessed pretty quickly. He said he never actually saw any killer—he’s just a deadbeat from a nearby village, always loafing around with no real job. Someone had paid him to give false testimony and mislead our investigation.”
The system let out a “Holy shit” in midair, and Chu Luyu looked equally shocked.
“So do you know who paid him to give false testimony? Is that person the killer?”
“We don’t know yet. The man only provided a limited description—the other party was well-disguised when they met, wearing a hat, glasses, and a mask. He could only roughly describe their build and height. We checked the nearby surveillance footage, but coincidentally, the camera at their meeting spot was broken…”
Hearing this, Chu Luyu couldn’t help complaining to the system: [In this day and age, it’s pretty rare for a surveillance camera to conveniently break like that, isn’t it? Is this also part of the plot arrangement?]
System Cuihua: [Most likely. After all, this case is supposed to become a cold case later, and the male lead is meant to feel frustrated in his work because of this plotline.]
Chu Luyu was speechless for a long while. She thought to herself—this really is a short-drama world. As long as the plot moves forward, all other logical details can be overlooked.
But then she thought for a moment and said: [But now the case has already changed. Because of a tiny doubt I had yesterday, the male lead found a bug in the case himself. In the original plot, that eyewitness shouldn’t have been exposed as a fraud, right?]
System Cuihua: [Right… so I’m confused too. I don’t know what’s going on. And the female lead showing up today was also bizarre. If I hadn’t snuck into headquarters and taken something before and can’t go back now, I’d really want to ask the higher-ups about this.]
Chu Luyu fell silent, but in her heart, she secretly thought—if this case really did change, leading to a different outcome…
Would that mean that some plot points—even those related to the male lead—could actually be altered?
·
Meng Wantian was taken back to the municipal bureau by the team members.
Since she was a young woman, the team assigned Yao Meng to interview her alone.
They’d met a few times before in the cafeteria, and from Meng Wantian’s perspective, she’d known Yao Meng in her previous life too, so she wasn’t particularly nervous.
But Yao Meng was not as approachable as before. Having worked at the bureau for over a decade with extensive investigative experience, she now looked at Meng Wantian with a serious, scrutinizing gaze.
“You said earlier that you suspected the eyewitness who provided testimony for this case was a fraud?”
“Yes.”
“Based on what?”
Meng Wantian hesitated, not knowing how to respond. At this moment, she suddenly realized she might have made a foolish move.
She’d rushed over, hoping to get Jiang Hezhou’s attention and maybe help change his fate from the previous life.
But things hadn’t gone as she’d imagined at all.
Jiang Hezhou hadn’t even given her a chance to speak.
And now, facing a professional investigator’s questions, Meng Wantian didn’t know what to say. After a long pause, she answered hesitantly: “What if I said I dreamed it… would you believe me?”
Yao Meng almost laughed in exasperation.
“Student, I’m not joking around right now.”
Meng Wantian bit her lip and insisted: “I’m not joking either. I’ve always had a special constitution—I often dream about things other people don’t know. This really did come from a dream. If you don’t believe me and think I’m connected to the killer, you’re welcome to investigate my whereabouts during the time of the crime.”
Having spent time with Jiang Hezhou in her previous life, she’d naturally picked up some knowledge about criminal investigation procedures. Everyone’s movements could be traced—if someone was involved, there would be signs in their daily activities.
Yao Meng studied her for a few seconds, then without another word, turned and left.
Meng Wantian ended up staying at the bureau for about a day and a night. By the evening of the next day, Yao Meng finally reappeared.
When they met again, she had reverted to her usual amiable demeanor from the cafeteria.
“Student, sorry for keeping you here for the past two days. We’ve verified that you had neither motive nor opportunity to commit the crime. Your classmates and roommates came to give statements on your behalf—they’re all waiting outside for you now. You’re free to go.”
Then, with a hint of curiosity, Yao Meng leaned in and asked quietly: “Although some of the older folks at the bureau have told me about some pretty out-there things, this is the first time I’ve encountered a case like yours. Do you have these kinds of dreams often?”
Meng Wantian had no easy way to explain herself. She could only force a dry laugh and nod.
Yao Meng continued: “Alright. But next time something like this happens, there’s no need to come running all the way here. Because we don’t solve cases based on some vague dreams. This time might’ve just been a coincidence…”
Meng Wantian paused: “So you actually interrogated that eyewitness because of what I said?”
“Huh? No, not at all. Before you even showed up, we’d already questioned him and found out his testimony was false.”
“What?!” Meng Wantian looked genuinely shocked. Then, realizing she might have overreacted, she quickly suppressed her emotions. “I mean… wasn’t that homicide just discovered that day? How did you figure out something was off so quickly?”
“All thanks to your future ‘shimu’—Professor Jiang’s fiancée. That night, she came to help with the suspect sketch. While talking to the eyewitness, she noticed something was wrong. We followed that lead, questioned him, and sure enough, we got something out of him.”
Meng Wantian’s hands clenched uncontrollably. That dark, bitter feeling in her mind began to swell again—
It was her again.
Her again!
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