At this moment, being alive was a form of cruelty to him.

Every breath seemed to turn into an unbearable torture.

It was more than he could bear.

Julian stood up shakily, grabbed his car keys, and drove toward Hong Kong.

He was going to Wanghai; he was going there to be with her.

The speed of the car increased, and the scenery outside the window flew backward.

His vision was already blurred by tears; Claire’s face kept flashing through his mind—her laughter, her tears, and finally, the dead, hollow eyes she looked at him with...

His heart began to throb with dull pain again.

"Claire, I'm sorry. Wait for me; I'm coming to keep you company..."

At a sharp turn, the blinding high beams of a vehicle appeared from the opposite side; a turning truck suddenly pulled out.

He couldn't swerve in time and collided head-on with the truck.

A massive sound of impact rang out, and the world in front of his eyes plunged completely into darkness.

Julian’s consciousness floated in a void of nothingness; there was no feeling, no time—only endless cold.

Just before his consciousness was about to dissipate completely, a cold, aged voice pierced through the dead silence.

"Foolish child, foolish child... to end up with such a result in the end..."

Julian opened his eyes abruptly. At that moment, he was in a dark, gloomy place with vague void beneath his feet. In the distance, a hazy, eerie, fiery-red glow was visible; when he looked closely, he realized they were flowers of the other shore.

Standing before him was an old woman holding a wooden staff, her face covered in wrinkles.

Her eyes were deep, as if she had seen through all the joys and sorrows of the world.

His final memories flooded his mind: the oncoming truck, the violent impact, the sky-high flames...

But at this moment, he couldn't feel a hint of pain.

Was he dead?

"This is the Forget-Me-Not River in the Underworld."

The person before him seemed to see through his thoughts and spoke directly.

"If that girl knew that what she exchanged her life for resulted in such an ending, I wonder if she would think it was worth it."

Julian had not yet reacted.

"What did you just say? Who exchanged whose life? What do you mean?"

Chapter 14

Meng Po sighed, a glimmer of pity flashing in her clouded eyes. "The reason you were able to live this life again was not due to fate, but because Claire exchanged her own lifespan for it."

Julian’s whole body shuddered violently, and his scattered consciousness gathered instantly.

Under his stunned gaze, Meng Po slowly revealed everything.

"In the first life, shortly after you drowned in the sea to save her, she suffered a relapse of depression due to overwhelming grief and died in a car accident after a night of heavy drinking. Her soul arrived here, and I told her that her natural lifespan had not yet ended, and she could still return to the human world. But she refused; she insisted on seeking a glimmer of hope for you. So, I made a deal with her: she exchanged all her remaining lifespan for your rebirth."

"That is why you had a second life. Her death was a destined ending from the moment she made that choice—only by her dying could your life be exchanged."

"But I did not expect that, in the end, you would not survive either."

Every single word was like a thunderbolt, striking Julian viciously.

He stumbled back a few steps, unable to regain his composure for a long time.

So, the reason he was able to be reborn was not because of good luck, nor was it a chance granted by heaven.

It was something Claire had exchanged with her own life.

He finally understood why, no matter what he did, Claire was unwilling to leave him.

Because that was the last time she could be with him.

But what had he done?

His self-righteous plotting, finding Sylvia to act, pushing her away in the cruelest manner, making her endure the pain of betrayal in her final moments, the ridicule of others, and even the fear of being sent to a mental hospital.

It was he who had personally pushed her into the abyss.

"Ah..."

Enormous remorse and guilt, like billions of silver needles, pierced him instantly, leaving him riddled with holes and in unbearable agony.

He knelt on the ground abruptly, kowtowing to Meng Po incessantly, his every sound filled with tears of blood.

"I was wrong. It was all because of my stupidity; I am the one who failed her. I beg you to give me one more chance. I don't need to be alive; I will return my life to her. I beg you to let her come back to life. Since you were able to let me be reborn, you must be able to save her, right? I beg you..."

Meng Po looked at him in his excruciating pain and sighed lightly. "There is a price for defying heaven and changing fate. The last time, she used her own life; if you want to exchange for her life this time, the price is not something you may be able to bear."

"No matter what the price is, I am willing." Julian looked up, light reigniting in his eyes, his voice resolute. "As long as she can live, even if I have to enter the infinite hell, have my soul scattered and never be reincarnated, I am willing."

"Sigh..." Meng Po’s gaze flickered; she sighed helplessly. "Foolish child, the destiny between you and her has long since ended. Actually, heaven gave you hints long ago, but you refused to separate, leading to the outcome where you were parted by life and death. Even if you repeat this many times, you are destined to be unable to be together and will still miss each other again."

"Paying a price you cannot bear may not even lead to the result you want. Is it worth it?"

"It is worth it." Julian didn't hesitate, his gaze resolute. "As long as she can live, as long as she can see the sunshine of this world again, no matter what I become, no matter what our eventual result is, even if the person by her side is no longer me in the end, it is worth it."

Meng Po gazed at him for a long time, eventually letting out a long sigh. "Very well, very well... since that is the case, I will grant you one more chance."

"A deadline of one month. I will let you return to the human world and have her resurrected. If you can be together during this month and move heaven and earth together, giving you a chance to continue your past connection, perhaps you will have a slim chance of survival. But if you cannot stay together after the one-month deadline..."

Meng Po’s voice turned heavy. "The final price is something even I cannot foresee, but it will certainly be something you absolutely cannot bear. Are you sure you are willing?"

"I am willing."

Julian agreed without hesitation.

As long as he could see Claire again, even if it was just a glimmer of hope, even if there were mountains of blades and seas of fire ahead, he would spare nothing.

Meng Po nodded, her wooden staff gently tapping the ground.

After a sense of the world spinning, his consciousness was pulled violently.

The smell of hospital disinfectant entered his nostrils.

Julian opened his eyes abruptly, only to find himself lying in a hospital bed with an IV drip in the back of his hand.

The assistant beside him looked pleasantly surprised as he woke up. "Mr. Julian, you finally woke up..."

Chapter 15

"You have been in a coma for several days. The doctor said your injuries were too severe and it was very likely, very likely that you would never wake up. It’s a good thing you woke up..."

The assistant was still feeling lucky, talking to himself.

Julian’s brain was a chaotic mess; his last memories were still fixed on the violent impact and the sky-high flames.

He wasn't dead.

Was everything in the Underworld and by the Forget-Me-Not River just a dream?

He anxiously grabbed his assistant's hand, asking about Claire's condition. "Where is Claire? Where is she now?"

The assistant's expression stalled for a moment, hesitating before saying, "Mr. Julian, you have forgotten; the madam went abroad to recuperate after that accidental fall into the sea..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Julian, his emotions suddenly spiking.

"She is still alive, isn't she? Is she still alive?"

The assistant was startled by the question, confused. "Yes, the madam has been doing well."

A violent ecstasy surged into Julian’s heart. His eyes grew hot, and tears slid down uncontrollably.

It wasn't a dream.

He had changed the ending.

Claire wasn't dead; she was alive and well.