Jack Young grabbed that hand. His grip was gentle, yet it felt as if he'd poured all his strength into it. The train doors were closing, but he slammed his palm against them—"Bang!"—and the piercing alarm blared through the station. In that moment, passengers stared in shock, attendants shouted, and the train driver came down to see the stuck door, yelling from the other side.
Jack Young roared, "Shut up, all of you!" With a flick of his wrist, countless shards of ice mixed with black ripples tore through the air, smacking everyone around. In an instant, people toppled over, but then froze in place, stiff as boards, their terrified eyes fixed on him. Just like that, he'd immobilized the whole crowd with a single move.
Crack—he casually crushed the alarm device in his hand.
Finally, silence.
He took a deep breath and shouted at the retreating figure, "Stay! You can't leave! I won't let you go!"
She didn't leave.
But she didn't come back, either.
She stood right on the threshold of the train door, her back to Jack Young, silent.
In Jack Young's mind, a voice shouted: Stop hesitating! Just pull her back, take her for yourself! At a time like this, what are you waiting for? Why are you still doubting?
But Jack Young still didn't move. He just stood there, stubbornly holding onto her hand, bracing the train door, clinging to his memories.
No one moved. Everything was still—even the music stopped.
Many people watching grew tense. In their hearts, they silently pleaded: Come on, girl, you’re the key! Don’t mess this up! Whether it works or not, whether it’s life or death, Buddha or demon—it all comes down to your choice!
Jack Young already had unbelievable wealth, power to move mountains and seas. He’d gotten almost everything a man could want—and almost everything a woman could need.
Now, this crucial decision isn’t just his—it’s yours too!
You could just nod your head—go along with it—and you’d have it all!
Or you could stick to the original plan, keep your promise to Maggie Monroe, and take a different path.
Your original intention.
Your choice.
Your soul.
What is it, really?
"Dummy Jack, you came." The girl finally spoke, her voice gentle, filled with energy and warmth. It was just like two years ago, as if it flowed straight out of his memories—Jack Young was instantly so excited his hair practically stood on end. "Yeah, I’m here!"
"Dummy Jack, let me show you something." The tone in her voice shifted ever so slightly, touched by the passage of time.
Jack Young frowned, suddenly anxious, feeling like something was off. "Show me... what?"
"Look at me." The girl twisted her waist and turned her head. In that high-strung, focused moment, the movement felt impossibly slow to Jack Young. He saw the side of her face, glowing softly. He saw her nose, playful and cute. He saw her lips, stubborn and proud. He saw her eyes, bright and gentle. He saw her pale gold hair—and that silly cowlick.
Finally, he saw her full face. He was entranced. He smiled. Yes, this was the girl who haunted his dreams. A voice in his head screamed: Take her away, take her away! Jack Young reached out, touched her cheek, and murmured with a smile, "Finally found you, silly..."
But in the next instant, his hand froze.
Because suddenly, the girl raised her hand, grabbed her pale gold hair, and—pulled it off! It was a wig!
The wild wig slipped off, revealing the quiet black hair underneath. The playful cowlick fell away, showing soft bangs over her forehead. The dazzling glow faded, revealing the lines at the corner of her eyes—traces of time.
The wig slid past her shoulders, elbows, waist, ankles—slid over her whole body—and finally, with a soft "plop," landed on the floor.
The woman with long, straight black hair smiled at Jack Young. Her smile held understanding, relief, and freedom—she'd finally done what she needed to do. This was what she wanted him to see.
Ethan Zhuo once said, sometimes, instead of long-winded lectures, all it takes is a single hint in therapy to turn everything upside down. Jack Young was a smart guy—just one symbol, and he’d get it. That’s his gift: the instinct to see through the world.
And Jack Young—he was completely stunned.
Yeah, from the very moment they met again, he’d already seen it—her hairstyle had changed.
But why was it so shocking now?
His eyes went wide, his breath caught—he stared blankly at the woman in front of him, now twenty-seven years old.
In the world of his heart, everything stopped.
Logic or emotion—both frozen.
Logic or emotion—both holding their breath.
It was like he’d thought a lot, but also like his mind was completely blank.
In silence, waiting for the final moment.
On the rooftop of a nearby building, Splitface grinned wickedly as he pulled back his imaginary slingshot. His crazed face licked its lips, practically trembling with excitement: "This is the ultimate, the best chance! A perfect, heaven-sent opportunity! Just a little push and he'll be doomed forever!"
"No, you're wrong." A voice rang out. Splitface spun around in shock, only to see a suave young man approaching, his reassuring smile putting everyone at ease.
"Ethan Zhuo? How... how did you know I was here?" Splitface was stunned. "I didn’t even know where I’d end up, and you managed to find me?"
Just then, he noticed another beautiful young man had somehow appeared on the rooftop. That boy was standing nearby, shaking his phone dramatically. After checking his fortune, he tapped his forehead and frowned, then snapped at his senior, "Just this once! Next time, you’re on your own! Hurry up and deal with him—I’ve got a feeling something big’s about to happen!"
"Deal with me?" Yuri Omega was dumbfounded for a second, then burst out laughing: "Don’t make me laugh! Ethan Zhuo, that loser, thinks he can take me on?!"
"Yeah, you’re right—I can’t take you down." Ethan Zhuo didn’t get angry at all. Instead, he replied calmly, "But you’re wrong too, because you can’t take him down either."
(This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Click next page to read more awesome content!)
Ethan Zhuo gazed down at the station below, his eyes deep and clear as the ocean: "This isn’t your chance, and you won’t get another. Go ahead, try your little tricks—see if they work." He looked up at Omega, wearing the calm, elite smile of a master therapist, radiating the poise only a true expert could possess.
"Remember—" That confidence outshone any sharp words. He pointed at Omega, his presence burning in Yuri Omega’s mind: "He’s my patient. I am his—psychotherapist."
Omega’s face twisted instantly. He grinned wickedly and aimed his slingshot at Ethan Zhuo.
But Ethan Zhuo didn’t even look at him. He just gazed down at the station, silently thinking: Life coach, Miss Qi has made her choice, her inner demons are gone. And you—don’t let him beat you.
Down at the station, on the platform, Jack Young—who’d been frozen like stone—finally moved.
He looked down at the wig lying on the ground.
Then looked up at the woman in front of him.
He kept looking down and up, back and forth, his thoughts flipping between memory and reality. Suddenly, he clenched his jaw tight. His expression twisted in pain. The fingers gripping the doorframe squeezed so hard he left five dents in the alloy—but even that couldn’t vent his agony.
The pain of a broken dream.
"No... it’s different now..." His stomach cramped, he bent over, his whole body convulsing. From deep in his throat he squeezed out a barely audible groan: "Everything’s... changed..."
It’s different now.
It’s different now.
Everything’s changed.
Suddenly, liquid welled up in his eyes. But what flowed from those black-and-white irises wasn’t clear tears—it was a pitch-black fluid, invisible to others. All the pain and repression he'd bottled up for two years surged out from the deepest part of his inner demons.
He looked at the woman in front of him, shaking his head helplessly. That expression could break anyone’s heart. "It’s different, it’s all different, we can’t go back... we can’t go back anymore—ahhh!"
The moment the wig fell, all the hazy glow and illusions fell away too. His inner world collapsed. The whole frozen lake shattered into whirling, powerful vortices. The black sludge at the core was churned up. Suddenly, he understood—the person he’d been obsessed with wasn’t the one standing before him.
The one he’d clung to—the Daisy Summers of his memory—wasn’t the Qi Xi standing here now.
What he couldn’t let go of was just a memory. And how could you ever find a character from your memories in the real world?
His heart was torn apart, and he clung to the doorframe, unable to straighten up.
He cried, but in a dimension no one else could see.
He suffered, in a place no outsider could feel.
Droplets of black fluid flew through the air, then turned to mist and vanished.
Music began to play again. This time, it was a soothing melody. Someone out there understood his heart.
"Dummy Qi, we should have talked ages ago. It’s a shame we only managed it now." Qi Xi looked at the grieving Jack Young, her heart aching too. She wanted to cry, but she still smiled, speaking with gentle firmness: "Dummy Qi, there’s something I did wrong—really wrong. I owe you a word, and I owe you an apology: I’m sorry."
I’m sorry.
The moment those three words left her lips, Jack Young shuddered violently.
"Dummy Qi, if there’s anything you want to say, just say it." Qi Xi’s expression was complicated. "Today, let’s not hide or endure anymore. Let’s be open, let’s bare our hearts. Admit every thought in your heart, be honest with yourself, with the past, with everything."
Jack finally stopped convulsing. He took a deep breath, straightened up, and looked directly at the woman before him. His eyes were red, but his pupils were starting to return to normal. His emotions were intense, but now that intensity wasn’t dangerous.
A voice still clamored in his heart, but Jack stared at the woman for a long time, and finally spoke. His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn’t drunk water or slept in days. It trembled, but his gaze was steady—he wasn’t hiding or running anymore. He faced himself, let go of pride, and spoke the words buried deepest in his heart.
He spoke very slowly.
"You were once my dream."
"You were once my longing."
"You were once my everything."