Chen Yiting patted Caleb on the shoulder: "Because he feels that there’s no possibility between him and the person in his heart."

Xiao saw Rowan clutching her bag tightly and assumed it was heavy.

He reached out to take the bag.

"If you have someone you like, you have to pursue them hard, just like I am."

Caleb’s heart felt as bitter as if he had swallowed wormwood.

After a long while, his pained voice could be heard: " 'No possibility' means we will never see each other again."

Rowan was speechless for a moment: "I’m sorry."

She had just seen those exact words on an online forum yesterday.

Never seeing each other again—that could only mean they were separated by life and death.

Caleb paused and said nothing more: "We have work to do. We're going."

Caleb turned and left.

Chen Yiting chased after him, asking in confusion: "Captain, what did you mean by that just now?"

"Ms. Rowan is in Riverside, and you’re in Riverside, why would you never see each other again?"

He looked back, his gaze landing not far away.

Xiao was gently opening the passenger door, shielding the roof with his hand, carefully helping Rowan into the car.

He watched Rowan’s back in silence for a long time.

Then he finally said: "She has her new life now, and I should disappear from her life."

"Never seeing each other again might be the best ending for us."

He could watch her happiness from the sidelines.

For him, that was enough.

...

Time flew by, spring turned to autumn, and when the cold wind began to blow, it was deep winter.

Rowan and Caleb truly never saw each other again.

It was just that every day after work, Caleb would drive his car opposite Rowan’s flower shop.

He guarded her as she finished work.

He followed her from a distance, watching her head home.

Occasionally, she would buy oden at a convenience store or eat spicy malatang at the shop around the corner.

As time went on, her gaze seemed to drift toward him from time to time, and he thought she had discovered him.

So he went less often.

Caleb thought they would always be parallel lines that never crossed.

Until this day.

He went to the Longming Temple on the outskirts of the city to pray as usual, but at the temple gate, he saw two familiar figures.

It was Rowan and Xiao.

Xiao also saw Caleb.

His shoulders were straight like pines, his features sharp and fierce, and his first impression was of a "rogue handsome."

But every time he looked into those eyes, it felt as if there were a layer of hazy fog—one look, and it seemed as if one could fall into darkness.

Xiao couldn't help but exclaim: "I didn't expect a police officer like him to believe in these things."

An older woman nearby laughed and joined in: "Captain Caleb? He comes every Sunday, without fail."

"To make it for the early incense, he comes up the mountain before dawn. No matter how far or cold, he’s never missed it. His heart is very sincere."

"He even comes when it snows. Every time he climbs up, his face is covered in frostbite, and his hands are raw, but he still insists on coming. He says only then can the gods see his sincerity."

"I don't know what he's praying for..."

Xiao turned his head.

Seeing Rowan staring in Caleb’s direction, unblinking, he asked softly: "What’s wrong? You look a bit sad."

Rowan lowered her eyes, raised a hand to rub the corner of her eye, her voice flat: "It's nothing, the wind blew in my eyes."

Xiao didn't ask further and walked up to greet him: "Captain, what a coincidence."

Caleb turned, his expression calm and unruffled, merely nodding faintly: "Praying for the safety of my family."

"What about you two? What are you praying for?"

Xiao was just about to speak when the woman chuckled and cut in: "A man and a woman come to the temple—what else could they be praying for? Naturally, for their marriage to go smoothly and to reach a happy fruition."

Just as she finished, rain the size of beans suddenly poured down.

In an instant, it became a torrential downpour.

Chapter 19

The mountain road was muddy and difficult to traverse; it was impossible to head down the mountain.

The three of them were led by a monk to a side chamber to take shelter from the rain. The warmth in the room was faint, leaving only the sound of rain tapping against the window lattice.

The group chatted aimlessly about recent events.

Rowan reached into her bag, pulled out a medicine bottle, tipped a few white pills into her palm, and swallowed them with some warm water.

Caleb’s gaze locked onto the bottle instantly. His fingertips trembled slightly, but he finally managed to ask, "What kind of medicine is that?"

Rowan explained, "I had a bout of gastroenteritis a while back; it never quite went away."

Caleb’s Adam’s apple bobbed: "Was it because you were drinking so much while running the nightclub?"

Rowan lowered her eyes, her fingertips tracing the edge of the medicine bottle.

"No."

"I went through a period of extreme poverty while I was abroad, often eating only one steamed bun a day. Later, the pain led to stomach issues, but I never had the money to treat it. It kept dragging on until it turned into gastroenteritis."

She spoke with light, airy detachment, as if she were talking about someone else.

"Now, if I don't take my medicine on time, my stomach aches."

Caleb looked at her calm profile, his heart feeling as if it were being tightly squeezed by a hand.

How had she survived those days?

How much suffering must she have endured?

Heartache and guilt spread through his entire body. He shouldn't have been at odds with her; he shouldn't have said those cruel things.

However, just then.

A monk handed two slips of paper to Xiao.

"Benefactor, these are the horoscopes you requested. You two are a match made in heaven; you are very well-suited."

Horoscopes?

Horoscopes were usually only checked when the wedding date was near.

Caleb’s entire body stiffened, though he forced his tone to sound casual: "Preparing to get married?"

Xiao took the slips and, after thanking the master, turned back to look at Caleb, nodding with a smile.

"Yes, we're getting married after the New Year. I’ll be sure to invite you for a drink then, Captain."

Caleb glanced at Rowan.

He had always wondered what kind of man would be worthy of marrying her.

He thought, he couldn't be shorter than him—he was 1.85 meters tall, so anyone marrying her should be at least 1.90 meters.

He couldn't be poorer than him—he had deep family roots, so a net worth of tens of millions would be the minimum.

He couldn't be uglier than him—he had to be at least as handsome as Takeshi Kaneshiro.

She didn't like to cook but loved home-cooked meals, so he had to be a great cook; she had no sense of direction, so he had to be patient enough to stay by her side.

She was sensitive and prone to crying, so he had to keep a constant watch on her emotions, never letting her feel lonely or sad.

Back then, he thought that finding such a perfect man was incredibly difficult, so it would be better if he were the one by her side.

He thought that whenever she stopped liking Ezra, he would tell her:

"It seems that the only person who can stay by your side is me."

But now.

She was truly going to get married.

Caleb curled the corners of his mouth, but there was no hint of a smile in his eyes. Every word was heavy and raspy: "Congratulations."

He didn't know how much time had passed, but the rain gradually stopped.

Caleb was the first to stand up: "I have things to do, I'll be going first."

His back, framed by the lingering mist after the rain, looked exceptionally lonely.

Xiao watched him leave, then turned his head to look at Rowan. His tone deepened: "Thank you for accompanying me to check the horoscopes for me and my girlfriend."

Rowan smiled, her tone indifferent: "It's no problem, we're all friends."

Xiao was silent for a moment, his voice carrying a touch of urgency: "Rowan, if there is someone you love in your heart, why do you keep living with regret and missing out?"

Rowan jerked her head up, a flash of astonishment crossing her eyes.

"The onlooker sees more clearly," Xiao said, looking at her with a serious expression. "I can feel that there is someone in your heart. You have trapped yourself in a prison, refusing to let yourself walk out and refusing to let anyone else walk in."

"Rowan, some things left in the heart for too long... truly become regrets."