My girlfriend is from the future!

Platform.

The platform was deserted and desolate.

The old, green train lay quietly on the tracks.

It cannot be said to stop, nor can it be said to wait; it is there, like a huge coffin forgotten at the end of the old days.

"Da da da……"

A series of footsteps sounded, and a woman emerged from the ticket gate at the top and descended the steps.

And so, on this old platform where time seemed to stand still, there were two women.

One of them sat on a waiting bench where the sunlight barely reached her. The light was stingy, only outlining half of her exotic face and a hand holding a train ticket.

Her posture was relaxed, even a little lazy, like a cat taking a nap in the afternoon, exuding a kind of indifferent weariness towards her surroundings.

A faint, indistinct smile played at the corners of her lips. It wasn't joy, but rather a mischievous glint in her eye, a knowing look that hinted at something hidden, a knowing anticipation of the show's unfolding.

The train ticket she was holding between her fingers swayed slightly, unconsciously.

She is waiting.

"Ugh——!"

A sudden, long whistle rang out, and white mist billowed from the locomotive, like the panting of a giant beast.

Wenliang walked through the misty fog, paused, and a breeze rose, causing the hem of her navy blue pleated skirt to flutter gently.

They were no more than ten steps apart.

There was no sound, no movement.

There are only two women, a train struggling to breathe, and in each of their hands a thin ticket that determines who will survive.

The moment of silence between the two, captured by the photographer's deliberately wide-angle panoramic lens, was as beautiful as a slice of an old day.

"Senior, back in the mansion you said you'd follow me, I never expected you to change your mind so quickly?"

Wen Liang was the first to break the silence.

Bai Lingye tilted her head slightly, her gaze meeting briefly before looking away.

The faint smile at the corner of her mouth seemed to have deepened a little, almost imperceptibly.

"How can this be considered a change of heart? If I hadn't taken Director He away beforehand, why would you have come here to settle scores with me? If I hadn't removed his skill to gain his trust and prevent him from secretly targeting me, how would I have had the opportunity to come in and be alone with you?"

She adjusted her posture, making herself more comfortable in that sliver of light. The light and shadow divided her into two halves, one half composed and dignified in the light, the other half concealing all true emotions in the shadows, like an observer who had already seen through the script and drawn a conclusion:
"In short, now it's just the two of us, so we've achieved our goal."

"Is that so? You say you've achieved your goal, but if I were to advise you to stop here..."

Wenliang strolled to the other side of the bench and slowly sat down:

"Would you like me to get on the train?"

That hit the nail on the head, and Bai Lingye fell silent again.

Women often find it amusing to see other women tormenting men.

The above quote is from Gu Long.

But he was only half right. The other half is that, even disregarding the man in the sentence, the two women would still be more interested in each other because—

When a beautiful woman sees another beautiful woman, it's like looking in a mirror; she can't help but glance at her a few more times. But the longer she looks, the more it's like looking in a demon-revealing mirror, and she eventually can't suppress the urge to draw her sword.

"It seems we're both quite competitive."

"I do have a competitive spirit, but I dislike it even more when people lie to me, use me, and then leave."

"Oh, don't make it sound like I've let you down. I'll feel guilty."

"Ugh——!"

The train's whistle blew again, interrupting the two women's argument.

The door of the carriage directly opposite them opened, and a middle-aged man in a railway uniform stepped out, along with Su Xiaotong, who had just disappeared.

Wen Liang smiled slightly, "It seems that now is not the time for the two of us to be alone."

Bai Lingye also looked up and asked, "Xiao Tong? How did you get in?"

Su Xiaotong raised her hand, and the middle-aged NPC raised his hand as well. A clanging sound came from between the two, and it was then clear that the two of them were handcuffed with a pair of handcuffs that had appeared once in the mansion.

The purpose of these handcuffs is to ensure that the person remains in contact with the handcuffs under any circumstances.

"I was outside looking for Brother Que and the others, and I told him about the task at the ticket gate. He said it was too difficult and suggested that the driver take me in through the staff entrance of the train station."

Su Xiaotong spoke with great enthusiasm, while the NPC beside her looked helpless.
"You've been brought in. You can remove it now. Since time on the platform is currently frozen, all your items and skills will be ineffective from now on."

"Huh? I thought I could keep following you and smuggling myself across the border!"

The girl, looking reluctant, took out the key and unlocked the NPC's handcuffs.

The middle-aged driver shook his wrist, glanced at the three girls, and said, "There are two tickets available, and three people want to get on the bus, but everyone knows that in the end, only one person can leave, right?"

The three girls remained silent, simply watching him with smiles.

Being stared at so intently by three beautiful women at the same time, the middle-aged NPC was more flustered than they were, but he maintained his composure on the surface and continued:
“Well… now that everyone has passed through the ticket gates and arrived at the platform, the tickets are no longer important, because I will take you wherever you want to go. However, due to the time stoppage, I cannot depart, so I need to…” He pointed to the large clock on the top floor of the train station, “to use the clock to determine the flow of time. When the clock strikes three times, I will set off. Do you all remember the name tags that the production team asked you to write at the beginning? You can exchange them freely before the clock strikes three times.”

If the NPCs hadn't brought it up, most people probably would have forgotten that during the preliminary interviews for this episode, they did write down a name. If both parties wrote down each other's names, there would be a special task.

Su Xiaotong pressed on, "Ah, I remember now, but what does that name tag have to do with us getting on the bus?"

"If two people choose each other, and one rings the bell while the other is on the platform, or if both are on the platform after the bell has rung, then this pair will be the first to board the train and survive together. This is the highest priority and the only outcome where they can both survive. The second priority is if someone writes your name down and is willing to ring the bell for you and give up their time. Their time will be added to yours. If no one meets the first condition, then the last person to board the train will be determined by the amount of time they have available."

"Boom-"

Just as the NPC finished explaining the rules, the first bell rang suddenly. The three girls present all felt a jolt in their hearts. They were all very nervous. If the driver was right, the outcome should be decided after the first bell rang.

The three girls looked at each other, and finally fixed their gaze on the driver, who shook his head after confirming with the wireless earpiece hanging on his ear.

"The people who rang the bell this time did not form a group. Finally, I want to remind you one last time that you can exchange the name tags you have now. There won't be many more opportunities."

……

……

At the same time, on the rooftop of the train station.

The clock tower on the rooftop was built very high, with a hanging bell suspended in mid-air. The long rope controlling the striking of the bell hung down. After He Tianran finished pulling it, he walked out of the cramped clock tower. The large hanging bell had obviously not been used for a long time, and pulling it covered him in dust.

He shook the dust off his clothes and head and said to Sui Chulang and Luo Que outside, "The train needs to be pulled three times before it can leave. Who will do the last two? This bell is a bit dirty and will collect dust. Be careful later."

"How about we buy another ticket, discuss it beforehand, and go inside the platform to take a look?"

"Now, a ticket costs at least two hours. If you cheat, someone has to risk having two hours deducted for you. Do you think anyone here would still be willing to do that for you?"

He Tianran made a joke, and Luo Que immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, propped her chin up with her hand, and said plaintively:

"Oh dear, I think Xiaotong will definitely not choose me. I've wasted my time."

"Can't we exchange our brand-name items?"

"I don't think either Teacher Bai or Teacher Wen would choose me."

Everyone found it amusing. Before He Tianran pulled the clock, the photography PD had already explained the relevant rules to them, so changing name tags wasn't just something the people on the platform could do; the people on the clock tower could do it too.

"So who do you think they will each choose?" Sui Chulang asked.

“I think…” Luo Que looked at Sui Chulang and He Tianran in front of him and made a logical and reasoned prediction: “I think Su Xiaotong and Teacher Wen will choose Brother Sui. Su Xiaotong is your fangirl, so she will definitely choose you. And Wen Liang and you just finished filming ‘Wild in My Heart’, right? You two should give us some after-sales support, shouldn’t you?”

The photographer standing to the side was secretly laughing his head off. He didn't dare to say anything about Su Xiaotong, but based on that explosive scene at the mansion, even if Wen Liang and He Tianran didn't choose each other, one of them definitely chose the other.

"My brother, you mustn't say such things."

Sui Chulang quickly stopped, not because he was resented for being so blunt in revealing the true nature of idols frequently collaborating to promote their work, but mainly because the hottest topic online right now was that Gu Qiaoman was being maliciously suppressed by the production team and that the production company was deliberately giving Wen Liang a higher billing.

This matter was only recently suppressed. Considering the impact, Wen Liang did not participate in much of the promotional work in the later stages of the broadcast. But no matter how much the fans on the Internet argue, "Wild in My Heart" is still the most popular and outstanding drama series of the main actors in recent years.

"What about Lingye?"

He Tianran was also curious, but Luo Que glared at him and said, "She would choose Teacher Wen Liang? Wasn't it obvious when you were at the Western-style mansion? How exciting!"

“I think Ms. Lingye will choose me, because this is what she told me from the beginning. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have kept in touch secretly after we parted ways at the mansion.”

Sui Chulang made a solemn vow.

"So you chose her too?"

He Tianran added a sentence, and the other person nodded:
"Of course, it's her first time participating in our program, so I'll definitely show my support."

"Then why don't you ring the bell and you'll know?"

"……OK!"

A word of encouragement made Sui Chulang hesitate for a moment, but he still nodded.

In fact, in terms of his "dependency" skills, he is more suitable than Bai Lingye to enter the platform and take the train to escape. However, the girls all said they would choose him from the beginning and were willing to partner with him. They even offered suggestions along the way. Even if Sui Chulang didn't care about his idol image, in this situation, out of a man's sense of responsibility, he should take care of the female comrades first.

Besides, this is just recording a TV show; it's not like we're really going to risk our lives.

"Boom-"

The bell at the train station rang again. When Sui Chulang came out looking disheveled and stared intently at the cameraman, the cameraman shook his head with a smile. The top male star instantly deflated like a punctured balloon and slumped down.

"Hahahaha, you got fooled by a woman, didn't you, Brother Sui? The way you walked in just now, you looked so handsome and confident!"

"Hey, Sparrow, I don't believe you for a second! I didn't even run into one with a two-thirds chance!"

Not content with his self-destructive behavior, Sui Chulang stormed up to the cameraman, grabbed the camera with both hands, and vented his frustration:

"Dear viewers, although I played the shrewd and resourceful Su Jingche in 'Wild in My Heart,' please don't generalize the character's intelligence to the actor. The thing I have in common with him is that he can't understand women in the play, and I can't handle them in real life either!"

……

……

Platform.

"Just one more call left. Haven't we made any of our choices yet?"

Wenliang, standing at the edge of the tracks, turned her gaze away from the clock tower.

"I chose Luo Que. Anyone want her? I'll trade with her!"

Su Xiaotong held up the name tag with a face full of shame and indignation. The clock had already rung twice, and given that man's ridiculous nature, the girl was certain that he would never dare to ring the clock one last time.

Seeing that Wen Liang and Bai Lingye remained silent, but instead cast a knowing, teasing glance at her, she wished she could disappear into a hole in the ground.

"I bet Director He has already rang the bell, and you didn't choose him?"

"It's him, but he doesn't have much time, so he probably won't be the first to knock. I bet he'll knock the third time. As for you, senior, Teacher Sui has been with you from beginning to end, never leaving you. So you didn't choose him in the first place."

"Oh... I didn't know that when I did the interview. I wrote that it was Director He."

As the sun gradually set in the west, Bai Lingye's figure had completely disappeared into the shadows, while Wen Liang, standing by the tracks, turned her head, and the setting sun traced a hazy golden line along the contours of her cheek.

"Senior, since we've both chosen the same person, why don't we switch?"

"...Since everyone knows it's the same person, what's the point of changing it?"

"It's necessary..."

Wen Liang walked towards her, took out the name tag she had written on earlier (it had been folded several times, so the name inside was no longer legible), and handed it to Bai Lingye from a superior position, continuing:

"What liars fear most is running into honest people. At a time like this, senior, you wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

"..."

"..."

The two leading ladies of the company remained frozen in this position for a few seconds. Even the usually oblivious Su Xiaotong could sense the tension in the air. She couldn't help but swallow hard and tried to mediate:
"Is it possible... that the first two taps were both done by Brother Sparrow? But he didn't choose me, and neither did you guys choose him? Pfft~"

After saying that, Su Xiaotong laughed to herself, but then she thought that if it were really true, she would be furious.

The two women, seemingly oblivious, remained silent for a few seconds. Seeing that the other woman made no move, Wen Liang smiled coolly:

"It seems that you're determined to stick with it to the end."

She tried to pull her hand back, but was immediately grabbed by Bailingye.

"I'll switch with you, but in the end, it's still unknown who lied."

She took Wenliang's name tag and then stuffed her own name tag into the other person's hand.

"Boom-thump-thump-"

Just as the two finished exchanging name tags, the bells above began to chime continuously. The driver, who had climbed into the front of the train, seemed to respond by blasting two loudspeakers, "woo-woo-woo." Then, the station's public address system, which hadn't been used all afternoon, emitted a crackling sound. A few seconds later, the platform loudspeakers finally announced the name of the first, and possibly last, contestant to be eliminated:

"He Tianran, OUT! He Tianran—OUT!!" (End of Chapter)