My girlfriend is from the future!

"Butler, you initially said that the Master went out to find his lover. After the meeting, I asked you if the Master was among us, and you gave an affirmative answer. So let me ask you, is she?"

He Tianran pointed to the cool and gentle.

"Yes."

"What about her?"

He then pointed to Bailingye.

"Too."

"what about me?"

He Tianran turned his finger and pointed it at his own nose.

"Same."

The butler answered without hesitation, knowing that his thoughts had been confirmed once again. He Tianran pondered briefly, and their riddle-like exchange left the onlookers puzzled.

"Hey, hey, hey... what's going on here? How come we're all the gym owners now?"

Su Xiaotong opened her eyes wide and asked. Feeling everyone's gazes on her, He Tianran then slowly and methodically explained his reasoning:
"After listening to everyone's experiences, I have a guess: is it possible that we are not a single entity in this scenario, but a part of the owner? Whether it's a memory that has been scattered into six parts, or an inner personality that has split into six parts, we don't need to get hung up on the terminology. In short, that's the idea."

"And what I asked 'Moon' about her skills is because I think the skills we possess might be related to the traits the Gym Leader used to exhibit in his relationships with his lovers, similar to the Seven Deadly Sins—you represent wrath, I represent pride, and so on."

"What you're saying makes some sense."

Bai Lingye agreed with He Tianran's point of view. It was clear that she had understood the probing in his words. Of course, this could also be due to the fact that her skills were too similar to some of the hall master's deeds, which led her to have noticed it early on.

Sui Chulang asked, "Then what about the apocalypse? How do you explain the background of memory obliteration?"

He Tianran replied, "Didn't you find a pocket watch? I guess the curator might have used this watch, which caused a side effect that separated us. Everyone remembers, right? In the end, only one of us could escape this apocalypse. This might mean that time would rewind to a certain stage, such as when the curator met her lover. At that stage, it would be impossible for suspicion or possessiveness to arise. After all, the initial form of love is mostly beautiful. The negative connotations we represent certainly couldn't have existed at that time. So only one of us could escape, which is why this apocalypse happened."

The saying goes, "Make bold speculations, but verify carefully." Although these are only He Tianran's side of the story, the more he talks, the more reasonable everyone feels that his statement makes sense. After all, these statements are based on deductions from details, and since there is already a memory apocalypse, the addition of an internal spiritual differentiation seems even more reasonable.

"Wow, I didn't expect our show to have such an intelligent leader! Last time we just swept through the challenges head-on!"

Luo Que's joke, before He Tianran could even understand what was going on, instantly triggered a reaction from all the veteran guests:

"You have the nerve to say that? Once you were the one leading the car and said you'd tell a lame joke to get the NPCs to let you pass. The NPCs didn't laugh, but we were laughing our heads off."

"Yeah, Brother Que, I'm not trying to be mean, but my appearance fee is really high. It was my first time working with you, and I ended up spending half the episode in jail. The post-production team didn't even know how to cut my part out. Aren't you afraid my fans will cyberbully you..."

"Well, at least you made it to the trending topics. The whole internet was feeling sorry for you back then, Brother Lang."

"Haha, thank you so much."

While everyone was joking and laughing to create a good effect, He Tianran kept smiling on his face, but in his heart he was analyzing his guesses. To others, everything that happened today might just be a scripted arrangement for the show. There is no apocalypse in reality, and there is no such thing as amnesia. But to him, these might all be facts that happened to him.

If the classroom scene reenactment and the contents of the whistleblower letter were merely a warning from the "writer" to the "lead singer" through a gentle and cold tone, then the current development of the entire program is undoubtedly a metaphor surrounding "He Tianran's" own situation.

The "writer" wanted to use this program to say something to the "lead singer," and the latter was clearly aware of this.

"What are you thinking?"

Wen Liang noticed the seriousness in He Tianran's eyes. She could tell that it was not due to the tension and unease caused by the recording. In addition, he had encountered many problems today and seemed to be acting strangely, which made the girl a little worried.

Before he could answer, his previous reasoning seemed to have touched on the key words related to the butler NPC, and he began to actively advance the plot, saying:
"Hearing your discussion, I'm sure you've all experienced a lot in this mansion. But I wonder if you've found your names again?"

Su Xiaotong said, "Name? Aren't names given to each other? My name is 'Master'~"

The butler shook his head: "Not this one."

Wen Liang thought for a moment, then remembered that their real names were all in the classroom scene just now, so she took the initiative to speak:
"Is that our original name?"

"Not at all."

With the hints already given and the reasoning from before, the answer is obvious. He Tianran revealed:

"You mean, the first skill we acquired was our name?"

The butler finally nodded and said:

"So, what were the original names of your partners? And what did they mean to you?"

He Tianran analyzed the sentence. He and Wen Liang met at the crossroads of "confession" and "salvation" and chose the former. If his own name or meaning is "lie", then it means that a confession starts with a lie. Thinking about it this way, it is really hard to evaluate their symbiotic partnership.

Then, He Tianran's current situation is completely reversed in terms of the content of that whistleblower letter. When the identities of victim and perpetrator are switched, what does Wen Liang represent in this relationship?

With this question in mind, He Tianran turned his head to look. After being reminded by the butler, everyone fell silent. Wen Liang felt the gaze and seemed to be intentionally avoiding his eyes.

As expected, neither of them told the truth about the skills.

"After the initial encounter and team formation, and then finding some fragments of memories in the mansion, I think everyone has a certain understanding of each other's partners. Now, I have a test of tacit understanding, which is also your last chance to decide on your partners. Those things that your partner has not truly revealed to you or said will be fully revealed in this test. At that time, you can make your choice again."

After the butler finished the process, he clapped his hands, and three maids came into the hall, each leading a group of guests to different rooms on the first floor, where they were then asked to separate.

"What's going on? Shouldn't the compatibility test be done together?"

Wen Liang stood in front of the room to He Tianran's right and asked, puzzled.

The maid actress stood between the two doors and explained:

"No need, this test is separate. You will see the same interactive video in a moment. The direction of the video will change depending on your choices, in order to test your level of understanding and tolerance."

He Tianran understood immediately, "A galgame? You mean an interactive video game with different choices and different endings?"

"No, it refers to the future of the two of you, which has not yet happened, or has already happened."

The maid actress was quite immersed in her role, and the scriptwriter was a seasoned riddle teller. Seeing that she couldn't get any answers, Wen Liang pushed open the door and warned He Tianran:
"Choose carefully, or I'll deal with you when I get out!"

After saying that, she pushed open the door and entered. The man did not hesitate any longer and went into his room.

The room was dark, illuminated only by the light from the projector on the ceiling. Below the projector was a sofa with two buttons, one red and one blue, on either side of the armrest. In a shadowy corner, an observation camera had already been set up, and the cameraman who had been following him also carried in his equipment. After He Tianran sat down on the sofa, the cameraman first filmed him around the room. The director's instructions came through the wireless earpiece; he would ask He Tianran some questions when he made a choice. Being suddenly immersed in this solitary space, without saying a word, and what kind of tacit understanding test was this? He Tianran immediately felt like he was being interrogated, but fortunately, the projection on the wall soon showed something, allowing him to focus his attention.

In the projection, a pink progress bar first appeared in the upper left corner, labeled with the words "Compatibility Value". It was currently full with five bars. Below it were heartbeat numbers with male and female icons, which were obviously real-time data from their wristwatches.

"Heh~ That's pretty good..."

He Tianran muttered something to himself, and as the film officially began, the title appeared on the wall—

Our Ideal Country

The film opens with a classic wedding march playing, and the scene depicts a wedding. The picture quality is poor, resembling a DV recording from the last century, and the filming technique is a pseudo-documentary style, with the camera shaky terribly.

The wedding was held on the lawn outside the manor. As the camera briefly lingered on the wedding poster of the bride and groom, their faces were reflected in He Tianran's suddenly widened pupils...

The faces of these two people are his and... Wen Liang's!
A wedding? Me? And her?
The heart rate in the upper left corner of the projection skyrocketed. He Tianran's heart rate reached 130, while Wen Liang's heart rate jumped to 150 after seeing the same thing, before dropping back to the 140s.

Photos can be photoshopped, so what about people...?

Soon, the camera zoomed in on the groom, dressed in a tailcoat, surrounded by friends, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts...

Sure enough, the groom's face was indeed He Tianran's, but he definitely wasn't acting in this video. It was added in post-production using AI technology. Some flaws were still noticeable when he made some big expressions, but even so, the two actors' immersion in the role was already at its peak...

After all, a heartbeat doesn't lie.

"Groom, today is truly a joyous occasion! You're about to embark on a new chapter in your life. Are you ready?"

"Sigh, enough of this talk. We've gotten through all these years. If we hadn't prepared for this, you wouldn't be here today."

"That's true... Hey? Look who's that? You... you invited her? You're really bold!"

The camera pans and zooms in, focusing on the slender back of a long-haired woman, then suddenly pans back, pausing on the groom's somewhat surprised and silent face.

At this moment, a choice popped up on the screen—

"You meet your first love at your own wedding. You were deeply in love with each other. What is your choice now?"
Hong: Go up and greet them generously.

Blue: Pretend not to see.

Upon seeing these two options, He Tianran nearly jumped off the sofa, and couldn't help but swear, disregarding whether the production team would censor his voice in post-production:
"Who the hell came up with this plot?! Holding something like this at a wedding?"

The photography PD pretended not to hear and faithfully recorded the moment, though he had a big smile on his face.

Receiving no response, He Tianran touched the fine sweat that had appeared on his forehead. After calming down a bit, he pondered to himself for a while, muttering to himself:

“Go up and say hello openly, it’s better than being timid and hesitant, right? It’s not something shameful, after all, the option says ‘we loved each other deeply,’ right? Yes, be open and honest, that’s what men are like.”

He Tianran seemed to be seeking someone's opinion. Although he was destined to receive no response, he believed that his approach was rational enough, both emotionally and logically. So, after hesitating for a second, he pressed the red button.

After he pressed the red button, the tacit understanding bar displayed on the wall instantly emitted a comical "der~" sound effect and dropped by half a bar.

"No... she'll choose the same option as me? We chose different ones?"

He Tianran asked hurriedly.

"Pretty much, but her options are slightly different. I guess it's about whether she wants to see the groom in the past. You'll have yours later too."

The PD (Producer) is quite eloquent in explaining these rules.

"Oh, actually I can understand. After all, no girl wants to see her husband's first love at her wedding. It's a different perspective, I can understand, I can understand. Lowering the bar by half is reasonable, I accept it."

He Tianran comforted himself with a word. After completing the selection, the video continued. In the scene, the groom picked up his wine glass and walked over. The camera did not capture the girl's face. The process was as He Tianran had imagined, without too many awkward moments. The two chatted casually about the past.

"It's so nice that you could come..."

"We made a promise that if we don't end up marrying each other, we'll still give each other our blessings at the wedding as friends."

"Um...I...um, anyway, thank you."

"Haha, no need to thank me. It's rare to see you so serious today."

"What, was I really that unreliable in your eyes before?"

"Yeah, you always have that weird look on your face..."

……

……

The film enters a brief silence as the two clink glasses, savoring the complex emotions of the moment. Meanwhile, outside the film, He Tianran stares at the groom bearing his own face, listening to the reminiscing lines, one phrase constantly echoing in his mind—

"Yeah, you always have that weird look on your face..."

His heart ached inexplicably.

There seemed to be some emotion welling up inside him, ready to burst forth.

However, the editing in the film was like a knife, cutting away the time he should have had to think, instead raising his pounding heart high once again, as if it would only stop when it suffocated him...

The hem of a wedding dress appears in the frame, and as the camera moves upward inch by inch, it reveals Wen Liang's face.

She appeared before him with a captivating smile on her lips and a faint fire in her eyes.

"Oh, so you're here. You two seem to be having a good chat. Let me introduce you, this is...?"

"Clearly, your bride knows your first love. Her feigned unfamiliarity is a way of wanting an answer from you, an answer about the past. Now, you choose—"

Hong: (responds with a silent, bitter smile)

Lan: Just a friend. (End of Chapter)