After their confessions were rejected, they regretted it for the rest of their lives.

This is a short passage of text hidden in the most obscure place.

Without close inspection, it's difficult to notice that there are some words engraved on the pure black ring base...

[This is a wedding ring! You fooled me, didn't you?]

【I genuinely want Duan-gege and I to be happy forever.】

[Once you've accepted it, you can't go back on your word!]

【Keep it safe, and don't wear it now. If my family sees it and finds out about our relationship, it'll be a real problem!】

But you must keep it with you at all times and never lose it!

I love you~

【2014.2.14】

"..."

Transcending time and space, a flying arrow slices through fragments of memories and pierces straight into Xia Weichan's heart.

His heart skipped a beat.

The world seemed to stand still, leaving only Xia Weichan's long silence.

Looking at this love confession lying quietly beside the ring,

The crooked and uneven shape suggests that Ke Yuexuan used some tool to carefully carve the base of the box.

Then they would secretly cover themselves with a cloth, waiting to surprise their loved ones.

Unfortunately, this carefully prepared surprise was worn away by time and arrived a year late.

All that remains is a cold, bitter regret.

Staring at this text for a long time,

Xia Weichan gave a wry smile; she wasn't moved by the girl's sweet words.

Instead, it was self-deprecation.

Even though I had vowed to be indifferent to emotions from the start of this playthrough and focus all my energy on completing the system tasks…

But it was by chance that he saw the remnants of the past, which caused his dormant emotions to vaguely resurface in the second playthrough.

Yes,

Of the four playthroughs, Xia Weichan's feelings for Ke Yuexuan were the best and the most memorable.

After all, the girl has a gentle and kind personality, is not pretentious, does not cause trouble, and will even take the initiative to take good care of his daily life.

During those months, Xia Weichan never missed a single breakfast.

Ke Yuexuan doesn't seem to be one of the two characters from the previous and next time loops.

She truly embodies "I like you" in her daily actions...

Thinking about the last month,

Ke Yuexuan kept clinging to him and frequently expressed her desire for the two of them to leave the family together.

No wonder she often asked to negotiate with her family back then to divide the property that belonged to both of them.

However, Duan Rong interpreted her actions as the young girl's desire to prevent her earnings from acting from being divided among her family.

The engraving on the ring base connects all of Ke Yuexuan's actions.

The reason why my confession was rejected in the second playthrough is now revealed...

The girl wanted to elope with him.

Before everything is ready, their relationship must not be made public.

Perhaps... when Ke Yuexuan gave this ring, she had already implicitly acknowledged that the two were lovers, or even engaged.

A profound sense of regret welled up in Xia Weichan's heart—

Doesn't that mean he's just one step away from breaking free from the system, like uncovering the layer of cloth covering the base?

Alright, now Xia Weichan won't be able to sleep tonight.

When Ke Yuexuan received this ring, her development progress had reached 100%!

Just take one more look at this love quote.

Xia Weichan was filled with mixed emotions. He put the ring back in its original place and then stuffed the note on it back in as well.

As the diamond ring box closed, the surging emotions gradually subsided.

"well--"

Xia Weichan sighed.

It's all the fault of this money-losing system. Ke Yuexuan clearly believed that the two of them were in a romantic relationship, but they insisted on clarifying the relationship first.

Ok…

Xia Weichan shook her head.

He also had a big problem, because during that period, he did not confess his feelings, so he did not consider Ke Yuexuan as his lover.

We've gotten ourselves into a dead end where we have to confess our feelings to be considered in a relationship...

"It doesn't matter anymore..."

It's all in the past now.

Water that flows downhill will not flow back up, and excessive emotions will only increase troubles.

Moreover…

There is another reassuring reason.

For a man with a girlfriend to still be hung up on his ex is disrespectful to his current girlfriend.

Thinking this way, Xia Weichan's decision seemed perfectly reasonable.

His emotional intelligence was much lower back then, far less than it is now.

But his emotional intelligence also gradually became clearer over time.

As long as things don't go wrong with Azusa Tachibana this week...

He glanced up at the clock on the wall; he had been upstairs a little longer than expected.

Making others wait too long is very impolite.

He carefully put away the diamond ring box and hurried downstairs.

Because the wait was so long, when they got to the first floor, Ke Yueci even got out of the car and waited for him at the door.

"Sorry, it took me a while to find this."

Looking at the incredibly familiar face of the girl before him,

Xia Weichan unconsciously gripped the diamond ring box tightly, but quickly loosened her grip and placed it in Ke Yueci's hand.

"..."

Ke Yueci didn't reply, lowered her eyes and opened the box.

Looking at the diamond ring inside,

Following the instructions in the small notebook, the girl gently flipped the red cloth holding the diamond ring with her fingers.

Once she confirmed that the item hadn't been switched, she was completely relieved.

It felt like I had finally completed a long-awaited task, and my mood instantly lightened considerably.

After carefully storing the box in her hand, Ke Yueci solemnly said:

"Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

Xia Weichan's expression was much calmer than at the beginning:

"Please accept this, Miss Ke."

"I will definitely keep it safe."

After saying that, before Xia Weichan could speak, Ke Yueci turned and got into the car, rolling down the window and revealing a relieved smile.

"I owe you a favor. Just let me know if you need anything."

"..."

Watching the black sedan gradually disappear into the distance, blending into the night background,

Xia Weichan then looked away.

"Returning it to its rightful owner..."

At least, it wasn't lost...

.........

The city's neon lights shone into the car.

Ke Yueci gently raised her fair, shimmering arm and gazed at the ring on her left ring finger.

Unlike Ke Yuexuan, she had no one she loved, and the value of that wedding ring would never be reflected in her life.

However, being in a high position within the family, this ring did indeed bring her many advantages.

For example, at a social banquet for young people, or when facing a middle-aged wealthy businessman who has unmarried children.

This wedding ring, along with the phrase "I have someone I like," can easily avoid more than half of unproductive social interactions and all attempts to strike up a conversation.

That's why Ke Yueci always wore it on her hand.

Using this body, she has no right to like anyone.

Even the "lover" she had been pretending to be at work, whom Ke Yuexuan didn't allow her to find out more about.

"That's so unfair! They've been asking me to do things all along..."

Ke Yueci's beautiful eyes flickered as she opened the diamond ring box with her right hand and took out a matching men's diamond ring.

It's next to the ring on my ring finger.

The patterns match perfectly.

After all, the initial design considered the effect of interlocking fingers.

"it's beautiful."

Ke Yueci sighed softly.

Back in her bedroom, the girl closed the door, let out a soft sigh, and placed the box in the most conspicuous spot on her bedside table.

Then I took out my small notebook and opened it to the most recent page.

The words were written in red ink, abrupt and glaring—

[Yue Ci, please, no matter what, you have to get that ring back, okay?]

I...hate it being in anyone's hands; it belongs only to him.

"call--"

Ke Yueci sighed, picked up a pen from the table, and gently wrote a line on the back:

It's been retrieved.