Chapter 107

Chapter 107

Countless fragments of memories converged into a river of time, flowing from the past and future into the present, ultimately merging into one.

Wen's mind was still hazy; it was flooded with far more information than it could handle.

Besides his memories of falling in love with Wen Jueqian, there were also memories that did not belong to this timeline.

Those memories were so vivid, as if they had happened just seconds ago.

They made his heart burn with pain.

It felt as though he was still kneeling in that pure white camellia grove, Wen Jueqian lying serenely in his arms, those misty silver-gray eyes never to open again.

A tear slowly slid from the corner of Wen Yanxu's eye.

Wen Jueqian was the first to wake up. Looking at Wen Yanxu still unconscious beside him, he reached out, his fingertips gently checking Wen Yanxu's breath. Only after confirming that his breathing remained steady did he let out a small sigh of relief.

"99, why hasn't Axu woken up yet?"

The small glowing orb hovered beside him, its light seeming especially soft in the darkness of the consciousness space—a void empty save for the three of them. "The sheer amount of information from Wen Yanxu's memory recovery is too much; his brain needs time to process it."

Wen Jueqian adjusted his position, shifting to a kneeling posture, then gently placed Wen Yanxu's head on his lap.

He looked down and gently ran his fingers through Wen Yanxu's hair, his fingertips lightly brushing across his forehead. Wen Jueqian cupped his cheek to make Wen Yanxu more comfortable.

Wen Jueqian asked, unable to hide his anxiety, "Is he really okay?"

The small glowing orb, after being questioned over and over, was a little miffed: "Qianqian, please trust my scans."

Wen Jueqian pressed his lips together apologetically: "It's not that I don't trust you. It's just... when you care too much, you get flustered."

At the last moment, just as the memory seal barrier was about to be completely destroyed, it suddenly fought back, trapping Wen Yanxu's consciousness inside, making him lose himself in the illusion.

Wen Jueqian still felt a wave of lingering fear.

Although he hadn't hesitated to enter that illusion to find Wen Yanxu and had successfully brought him back, for some reason, Wen Yanxu still hadn't woken up.

Wen Jueqian could only keep asking 99 about his condition to ease his anxiety.

Suddenly, a warm drop of liquid landed on Wen Jueqian's hand.

He looked down and met a pair of deeply sorrowful eyes.

Wen Yanxu had already opened his eyes at some point.

In those ice-blue eyes surged a profound grief Wen Jueqian had never seen.

The grief was intense and heavy, as if they had been parted by life and death.

When Wen Yanxu opened his eyes, all he could see was darkness, and Wen Jueqian, faintly glowing.

In that instant, the first thing he felt was despair—the timeline restart had failed, both he and Wen Jueqian were dead, and only their souls were left, drifting in the void.

But Wen Yanxu then thought, if this was their ending, then so be it.

Even if they had failed, even if all their struggles had been in vain, even if the world had turned to nothingness, as long as they were still together, their souls could cling to each other.

Wen Yanxu reached out instinctively, wanting to touch Wen Jueqian's soul.

Perhaps once they were just souls, they could finally become one.

But Wen Yanxu's fingertips touched something warm, alive, and real.

He could actually feel Wen Jueqian.

Wen Yanxu's hand started trembling uncontrollably, and more tears welled in his eyes.

Wen Jueqian was startled by his reaction; he'd never seen Wen Yanxu like this.

Why was Axu so upset?

"Qianqian, is that you?" Wen Yanxu's voice was hoarse and shaky.

Wen Jueqian took Wen Yanxu's trembling hand and pressed it to his cheek, gently rubbing against it like a kitten asking for attention, letting the real touch and warmth answer him.

"Axu, what happened?" Wen Jueqian's heart ached seeing Wen Yanxu like this. He suspected Wen Yanxu had gone through something else in the illusion.

After waking Wen Yanxu's consciousness in the illusion, Wen Jueqian had used himself as an anchor and left that chaos behind first.

Had Wen Yanxu experienced another illusion before leaving?

Wen Yanxu didn't answer. After confirming that the Wen Jueqian before him was still alive, he suddenly sat up and pulled him forcefully into his embrace.

Wen Jueqian was squeezed so tightly he could barely breathe, but he didn't struggle.

Because Wen Yanxu's state right now broke his heart. The man who was always composed, calm, and self-possessed was trembling subtly all over, his heartbeat racing.

Wen Jueqian gently returned the embrace, patiently soothing him, mimicking what Wen Yanxu had done in the past.

It was a long time before Wen Yanxu recovered from that extreme emotion.

His grip loosened somewhat, but he still held onto Wen Jueqian.

"Axu?" Wen Jueqian tested tentatively.

"I'm fine. It's just been too long since I last saw you."

Wen Jueqian was a bit puzzled: "We see each other every day."

To help Wen Yanxu shift his focus, he deliberately complained: "It's because you've been too cold to me, not even willing to look at me properly."

Wen Yanxu temporarily pulled back from the embrace, his gaze fixed on Wen Jueqian, tracing his features inch by inch.

A deep sense of guilt surged in Wen Yanxu's heart. His Qianqian, during the time he had forgotten, had been carrying the pressure alone, trying to find him, to protect him.

"I'm sorry, Qianqian." He said sincerely, "I've kept you waiting."

Wen Jueqian's restless heart finally found its place in this moment.

He said nothing, throwing himself into Wen Yanxu's arms, deeply breathing in the reassuring warmth and scent.

This was a long-awaited embrace, one wholly devoted to each other.

They greedily savored each other's presence, wishing only that this moment could last forever.

99 waited patiently for a while.

Watching the two tightly embracing, it knew the young couple had just gone through a life-and-death trial and needed time to be together.

However, their time within the consciousness space was limited, and there was still much information to exchange.

Eventually, 99 reluctantly cut them off.

"Sorry to interrupt, but can we get down to business first?"

Wen Yanxu looked at the small glowing orb that had suddenly appeared and instinctively shielded Wen Jueqian behind him, going into a defensive stance.

99 let out an annoyed huff: "Don't worry, Qianqian is my host. No need to worry about me hurting him."

Wen Yanxu gazed at the small orb, and memories from his past life started flooding back.

He remembered that in the last timeline, he'd put all his hopes on 99, even betting his life on it.

Luckily, the gamble paid off.

Redemption System 99 had successfully rebooted the timeline, resetting everything to before the tragedy.

99 had been in the new timeline for a while, but for some reason, the past-life memories that should've synced over only just now showed up.

The little orb also acted like it had no clue who he was.

But Wen Yanxu figured it didn't matter, as long as Wen Jueqian was alive and safe.

The ending of the last timeline had been too painful. It was better Wen Jueqian knew nothing—he'd carry all the pain and despair alone.

He pretended to see 99 for the first time, arching an eyebrow: "What's this? A lightbulb?"

99's light flickered hard as it huffed loudly: "I'm not a lightbulb! I'm the Redemption System from a higher dimension!"

Wen Jueqian stepped out from behind Wen Yanxu and extended his hand. The little orb obediently landed in his palm and nuzzled affectionately against his fingers.

"Axu, let me introduce you. This is the Redemption System 99. It's thanks to it that you got your memories back."

Wen Jueqian gave 99 a gentle poke, like showing it was harmless. "Don't worry, it's here to help us."

Wen Yanxu reached out to take the little orb from Wen Jueqian's hand.

99 shrank deeper into Wen Jueqian's palm and huffed at him: "I'm bound to Qianqian as my host, and I'm sticking with him forever. You won't be able to get rid of me." Then it pressed closer to Wen Jueqian's palm, like it was staking its claim.

Wen Jueqian smiled and started telling the story of how he and 99 first met.

From the first time he met the little orb, to how it worked with him to change fate, to how it helped him piece back Wen Yanxu's sealed memories step by step.

Finally, Wen Jueqian summarized: "99 comes from a bigger world in a higher dimension—basically, an employee of a company there. By helping people in small worlds fulfill wishes or change destinies, they shift the original path of fate and get World Essence as an energy reward."

99 floated up and added proudly: "I'm the most humanitarian Redemption System there is, not some random system. Do you know how many systems grab energy through shady tricks like draining host life force, stealing luck, or forcing contracts? But our Redemption System never stoops to those dirty tricks—we help hosts fulfill their wishes in a win-win way."

Wen Yanxu asked, "What does someone have to pay to be bound as a host?"

Wen Jueqian didn't answer right away, but kept his eyes fixed on Wen Yanxu. He was so exceptional—family, ability, looks, character—all top-tier, blessed by fate from birth.

Wen Jueqian: "Not everyone gets chosen. 99 bound with me because of you. Because you're this world's Child of Destiny, favored by luck. Your choices and actions can stir up ripples in fate, which creates World Essence."

He looked at Wen Yanxu with deep affection, happiness spreading in his eyes from the certainty of being loved. "Axu, in a way, it's because you love me that I got this chance to change my fate."

Wen Yanxu saw the bright light in his eyes, and a tangled feeling rose in his chest.

Wen Jueqian didn't know the real reason—didn't know that in the last timeline, he'd traded his life for this chance.

But Wen Jueqian wasn't wrong either: because Wen Yanxu loved him, he'd give everything for the one he loved.

He was relieved to see that even without knowing the whole truth, Wen Jueqian still felt the weight of that love.

He turned to 99 and said seriously, "Thank you for binding with him and helping him change fate."

99 got a little shy: "No need to thank me—Qianqian's the one who gave more."

Wen Yanxu turned back to Wen Jueqian, reaching out to take his hand.

"I'm sorry you had to face all this alone."

"And thank you for holding on until now."

Wen Jueqian shook his head and held his hand back: "It's okay. Even when you lost your memories, I knew you still loved me. From here on, we walk this path together—you can't go falling for anyone else."

Wen Yanxu said without hesitation, "That'll never happen."

Even though Wen Jueqian believed him, he teased on purpose, "Talk is cheap. I'll have to see you prove it."

Wen Yanxu looked Wen Jueqian in the eyes and said seriously, "Past, present, or future, I'll love only you, no matter what."

Wen Jueqian's ears tinged slightly red, but he didn't look away.

99 watched the couple about to get clingy again and sighed inwardly—it seemed it would have to play the spoilsport once more.

"Alright, alright. Once we're out, you can be as lovey-dovey as you want. Let's talk business first."

Wen Jueqian and Wen Yanxu averted their gazes in unison.

99 felt like a child in Wen Jueqian's heart, and being reminded twice by it made him a bit uneasy.

Still, their tightly clasped hands hadn't separated.

Wen Yanxu spoke first: "I believe the 'future' isn't something that actually happened, but rather one of many possibilities."

In what Wen Jueqian had just recounted, Wen Yanxu had secretly compared the events of the "future" with the plot in the script Qiao Yuexun had once sent him. The two were similar but not entirely identical.

He suspected that whether it was Redemption System 99's amnesia or the memories failing to synchronize, it was all connected to Qiao Yuexun.

Wen Yanxu needed to probe Qiao Yuexun to see if he had exploited some loophole to arrive in this new timeline.

Wen Yanxu's expression turned serious as he addressed another enemy: "The laws of nature and the forces behind them are more powerful and dangerous than we imagined. We need to be more covert and have certainty of a one-strike victory before launching an attack on them."

He looked at 99 and asked cautiously, "If Wen Jueqian is attacked by a system, can you ensure his safety?"

99 answered without hesitation: "Of course. When Qiao Yuexun used the True Love System's energy to hypnotize Qianqian before, I was the one who lifted the hypnosis. I can guarantee that Qiao Yuexun will never use system energy to harm Qianqian again. As long as I'm here, any system trying to harm Qianqian through means not of this world—I'll keep him safe."

Wen Yanxu temporarily set his mind at ease. In the previous timeline, it had been his oversight. Now, with an additional system protecting Wen Jueqian, he would never let anyone or any force harm him again.

Taking advantage of the consciousness space's ability to evade the scrutiny of the Heavenly Dao, the three seized this opportunity to begin formulating a plan to simultaneously deal with the two systems attached to Qiao Yuexun and the Creator.