Chapter 20

Rowan slowly pulled her gaze back and smiled frankly: "Some things have passed, and I’ve turned the page. I am very satisfied with my life now."

"Xiao, one shouldn't just settle. It’s not that I’m trapped in the past because I’m not dating."

"It’s just that I really haven't met anyone who makes my heart skip a beat."

That day, Xiao watched Rowan’s back for a long, long time.

Only then did he post a single sentence on his social media:

[Once you have someone in your heart, you will never be moved by anyone else again.]

So, no matter how hard he tried, it was useless.

He was very rational—rational enough to know that although the person he loved was her, he still had to marry someone he didn't love for the sake of a family alliance.

Most things in this world do not end perfectly.

And since he could not obtain love, he could only pursue wealth.

He smiled bitterly.

...

In the evening.

June sent a message: "Ms. Rowan, I’ve been dumped. Can you come to the Black Mist Bar to drink with me?"

She had sent a selfie; her eyes in the photo were red.

Rowan went.

It wasn't safe for a girl like June to be at a bar alone.

As soon as she sat down, June hugged her shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably.

"He’s a police officer; I understand that. But am I so unimportant to him? He only cares about cases, cases, cases. My parents flew three thousand kilometers just to see him for once, and he just left whenever he wanted."

"Ms. Rowan, do you think Li Qingze doesn't love me?"

"Ms. Rowan, I’m going to tell him we’re breaking up today!"

"Why can't good girls like us be happy?"

Rowan patted her shoulder and comforted her: "Li Qingze’s profession dictates that he can never balance family and life."

"So if you really want to be with him, you’re destined to make compromises."

"June, Li Qingze is sincere toward you. True sincerity is rare in this world; I hope you can follow your heart."

June looked up, dried her tears, and suddenly said very seriously:

"Follow my heart? Ms. Rowan, can you follow your own heart?"

"How much Caleb likes you, I’ve seen it all. I heard from Li Qingze that every time he goes to the temple, he prays for only one thing: for you to be safe and happy for the rest of your life."

"Every time, he watches over you from across the street until the middle of the night."

"He is intentionally keeping his distance because he doesn't want you to remember the past."

She added, her eyes red and voice choked: "Ms. Rowan, if you followed your heart, you should tell him you haven't lost your memory."

"Maybe then, there would be other possibilities for you two."

Rowan froze.

She was inexplicably reminded of the sentence about never seeing the person she loved again.

The person he was talking about must have been Claire.

She thought that the reason he treated her so well was merely out of guilt and pity.

There were no other feelings involved.

Rowan said softly: "There won't be any other possibilities for us."

June was speechless.

Rowan set down her wine glass and looked up, and under the neon lights, she saw Caleb standing there, his expression cold and distant.

Should she explain?

Rowan gripped her glass tightly, waiting for his angry questioning.

However, the scene she anticipated did not occur.

Caleb simply moved his gaze away from her face with a cold, heavy expression.

Then, those hawk-like eyes locked onto a target, and he sprinted forward.

Almost simultaneously, she heard the sound of a wine bottle smashing against a head, followed by someone screaming in agony.

Someone was shouting frantically: "Run! Grab your weapons, the cops are here!"

Then, countless plainclothes officers swarmed out from all sides.

Caleb charged into the crowd, and within seconds, his figure was lost to sight.

Chapter 21

June exhaled in relief: "It’s so noisy here, the Captain shouldn't have heard, right?"

Rowan downed a glass of wine: "Mm."

After they returned that day, June didn't mention Caleb in front of her again.

It seemed they needed that thin membrane of air between them. As long as it remained, they could coexist safely, interacting like casual acquaintances, exchanging the occasional pleasantry.

Rowan’s life continued as usual.

The flower shop was so busy that she barely had time to think about anything else.

In her spare time, she would occasionally go shopping with June. June and Li Qingze were preparing for their wedding, which, barring any accidents, would take place in a month.

Life was so peaceful, as if nothing had ever happened.

Or perhaps.

Rowan was pretending—pretending that nothing had happened, pretending that she was already healed, pretending that she was living a good life.

February 9th.

Rowan accompanied June to try on wedding dresses. June came out of the fitting room, wearing a strapless pale green dress, looking like a playful little fairy.

"Ms. Rowan, what do you think? Is this one okay?"

Rowan walked over to smooth out the hair scattered over her collarbone.

"Mm, it looks beautiful."

But Li Qingze was late.

A moment later, Rowan received a call from Li Qingze.

Li Qingze’s voice was low and anxious: "Something happened to the Captain..."

"The Captain fell from the fifth floor during an operation to catch a criminal. He is now in critical condition."

Rowan felt as if she had been throttled by the throat.

When she rushed to the hospital, she saw Li Qingze waiting anxiously outside the door.

Rowan asked: "How is he?"

Li Qingze expected Rowan to have red-rimmed eyes or to be weeping uncontrollably, but he hadn't expected her to be so calm.

Li Qingze paused and said: "Multiple organ failure; he’s been moved to the ICU."

"The doctor said he’s not out of danger yet..."

Li Qingze looked at her, opening his mouth to ask if she still had the Captain in her heart.

But he didn't know how to ask. Instead, it was the female colleague behind him, Chen Yiting, who couldn't hold back anymore.

Her eyes were red, and she suppressed the tremor in her voice, speaking urgently.

"Ms. Rowan, that day at the bar, the Captain and I were right behind you. We heard that you hadn't lost your memory."

"The Captain didn't say a word that day; he sat in the car for an entire day. I asked him, knowing that you remembered everything, why choose to miss out until the very end?"

"Do you know what he said?"

Her lips trembled as she looked toward the ICU.

"The Captain said, someone who has made a mistake has no right to ask for forgiveness."

"But, Ms. Rowan, from the Captain's perspective, his brother had died, and everyone was saying you had abandoned the car to save yourself. Yet, when he learned you dropped out of school and left, he still sent you messages. He had been looking for you for a long time. All he wanted was for you to tell him yourself that you hadn't done those things."

"But this answer—he waited ten years for it."

"Ms. Rowan, I’m just afraid..."

"Afraid that if something happens to the Captain, he’ll have regrets because he didn't see you one last time."

"So I beg you, even if you’re just pretending to care, I beg you to stay by his side, just for these next few days..."

Li Qingze, a strong man, couldn't hold it back either, burying his face in his hands and weeping.

"Ms. Rowan..."

"The Captain has suffered for these ten years, too—suffered enough that he had to take heavy sleeping pills every night just to fall asleep..."

"He didn't really hate you. The reason he treated you that way was that he was trying to force you to explain why you disappeared for ten years."

"This time, the Captain really... might not make it..."

Rowan finally spoke: "Which ward is he in?"

Chapter 22

When Rowan went in for a visit.

The nurse had just finished changing his dressings. His injuries were severe; the wounds on his legs, his arms, and his head were shocking to behold.

It was a sight Rowan didn't dare to look at.

Rowan sat by the hospital bed, watching him quietly.

Stubborn bristles had begun to sprout on his face, his brows were tightly furrowed, and his lips were somewhat cracked.

From time to time, he would let out a faint moan due to the pain.

Rowan stretched out her own fingers, counting them one by one.

From one to three, then from three to four, and when she reached five, her hands wouldn't stop trembling.

Her tears dripped silently onto Caleb’s hand.

How, in just ten short years, had she lost her best friend, lost her parents, and lost her dearest confidante?

Now, Caleb had become like this, too.