Chapter 292: A World Without Me

She watched as Chen Mo wearily closed the case file, pinching the bridge of his nose where a headache was forming. His vacant gaze drifted to the pitch-black night sky outside the window.

There was never supposed to be a place for her in this world, yet her departure had completely twisted the trajectory of his life.

This love and guilt, so heavy it was suffocating, pierced Su Yuqing’s heart with unbearable pain.

She looked again at the floating version of “herself” that appeared from time to time—a phantom with a face full of sorrow and heartache, silently watching over Chen Mo.

In that moment, the gazes of the two “Su Yuqings” seemed to pierce the boundary between illusion and reality, silently conveying the same grief: in this world without her, the boy named Chen Mo had already died along with that storm. All that remained was a shell driven by obsession.

Meanwhile, the observing (real-world) Chen Mo watched as Su Yuqing grieved for the “him” of another world. Seeing her sorrow and hearing her murmured words, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.

How he longed to pull her into his arms right then and there.

However, he was trapped in a third, invisible layer, forced to watch as she grew heartbroken over that despairing phantom. The helplessness, anxiety, and ache of it all nearly tore him apart.

Time continued to flow silently within this desperate tapestry, dragging Chen Mo deeper into the cold mire known as “the past.”

But as they both ached for each other, the feelings in their hearts for one another were also rapidly intensifying.

Through these observations, Chen Mo finally understood how Su Yuqing would feel if she knew he was trapped in the torment of his obsession.

He realized that being unable to let go of his obsession wasn’t just torturing himself; it was torturing Su Yuqing as well.

As time passed in this dreamlike world, his state of mind gradually became clear and enlightened.

In comparison, Su Yuqing felt even more grateful that the real-world Chen Mo had opened the door for her.

Otherwise, her tragedy alone might have become a tragedy for two.

As time fast-forwarded, the day of the storm finally arrived.

The old overhead light in the records room buzzed, its ballast aging. Chen Mo pushed aside a stack of yellowed case files and once again began to carefully examine the folder he had read thousands upon thousands of times.

“Still working on this case, huh?” His colleague, Old Zhang, leaned over to look at the documents Chen Mo was reviewing and shook his head helplessly.

“This case is the whole reason I went to the police academy, the reason I fought tooth and nail to get into the criminal investigation team…” Chen Mo replied without looking up, exhaling a puff of smoke.

RUMBLE. A low thunderclap rolled through the clouds outside. Old Zhang flicked his cigarette ash. “The forensics team went over it three times back then. Didn’t even find a single shoe print pattern…”

CRACK! A sudden clap of thunder outside cut Old Zhang off as a torrential downpour began, hammering wildly against the metal awning.

The (real-world) Chen Mo’s heart stirred as he watched this scene. ‘Isn’t this the day I traveled through time?’

A wave of curiosity washed over him. He wondered what he would see next.

Old Zhang pushed the ashtray closer to the window and continued, “The experts from the provincial department already concluded it was a transient offender, but you insist the killer is local…”

Chen Mo didn’t look up, his hands still arranging all the case-related information he had gathered over years of relentless interviews and investigations.

On the yellowed interview logs, scattered pieces of information were piled together, making it extremely difficult to find the key to solving the case.

RUMBLE!

With the second low rumble of thunder, the downpour seemed to grow even heavier.

Chen Mo subconsciously turned to look out the window. ‘The weather today is just like that day,’ he thought.

The rhythm of the storm beating against the windowpane overlapped with his memory. Shaking his slightly groggy head, Chen Mo stood up, grabbed the uniform jacket draped over the back of his chair, and said, “I’m going to the rooftop for some air.”

The rooftop…

The fire door slammed shut behind him. A strong wind instantly drove rain down his collar, the cold shock bringing a sliver of clarity to his mind.

Rain slanted down, shattering into tiny beads against the concrete guardrail. Chen Mo took out his cigarette pack, put a filter to his lips, and spun the wheel of his windproof lighter several times. The flame that finally sparked was extinguished by the curtain of rain the moment it touched the tobacco.

Frustrated, he crushed the damp cigarette on a chipped section of the guardrail, where the remains of countless old cigarette butts had accumulated over the years.

CRACK! As lightning split the clouds, he watched a clothesline dance wildly in the wind.

The instant he turned, thunder exploded overhead. In the bright flash of light, Su Yuqing appeared, wearing a drenched white shirt. The wet fabric clung to her collarbones, and the stitching on the second button had come undone by half an inch.

Everything was exactly as it had been on that day…

The next moment, the illusion vanished. Chen Mo looked up at the sky and gave a bitter smile. “It’s been so many years. You always appear before me during thunderstorms. You must be blaming me for not solving your case and getting you justice, right?”

As he sighed bitterly, both the Su Yuqing in the drenched white shirt and the observer Su Yuqing reached out to touch him, their faces filled with heartache.

The instant the three of them made contact, a jade pendant on Su Yuqing’s body suddenly began to glow.

With a CRACK, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, aiming directly for the jade pendant, as if it were striking Chen Mo himself.

The entire space froze as if someone had pressed a pause button. The wind, the rain, the people—everything stopped.

A searing, numbing sensation instantly washed over Chen Mo’s body. Amid a flash of white light, he felt the world spin. When his vision cleared, he was shocked to find himself in an extremely familiar room.

Through a blur, the (real-world) Su Yuqing also realized her surroundings had suddenly changed to Chen Mo’s home.

And the phantom Su Yuqing had vanished at some point.

The doorbell rang again. Chen Mo opened the door, and the scene so familiar to the (real-world) Su Yuqing played out once more.

The familiar opening lines were spoken again.

Hearing her other self speak the words asking to be taken in, the (real-world) Su Yuqing, watching from the side, couldn’t help but tremble. It was those very words that had dragged Chen Mo into the abyss. She was terrified the tragedy would repeat itself. But this time, there was no tragedy. Events unfolded exactly as she remembered.

‘Is this real?’ Chen Mo thought, subconsciously reaching out to touch the girl in front of him.

‘Am I really back?’ As the distinct feeling of a cold, smooth cheek met his palm, Chen Mo’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he let out a choked breath. The knuckle of his index finger gently brushed a raindrop from the girl’s cheekbone.

The clear sensation of her touch, her slight tremble—Chen Mo was certain he was truly facing a living, breathing Su Yuqing.

ACHOO! The mix of his warm palm and the cold air made Su Yuqing suddenly turn her head and sneeze. The tip of her reddened nose bumped against Chen Mo’s hand before he could pull it away.

“S-Sorry!” Su Yuqing scrambled backward, but her foot slipped on the wet floor, and she started to fall.

Chen Mo instinctively wrapped an arm around her lower back to catch her. In her panic, Su Yuqing grabbed his arm, her grip so tight that her nails dug deep into his forearm, drawing tiny beads of blood that pulsed with her rapid breathing.

“I’m sorry, I hurt you,” Su Yuqing apologized again in a panic.

Looking at Su Yuqing, who was like a frightened deer, Chen Mo suddenly pulled her firmly into his arms.

Other than the resounding downpour outside, the world was silent.

In that moment, it felt as if they could hear each other’s heartbeats and breaths.

Although she didn’t know why Chen Mo had suddenly hugged her, Su Yuqing chose not to struggle.

“Thank goodness,” Chen Mo murmured, his voice so low that even Su Yuqing, right there in his arms, couldn’t hear it clearly.

But the (real-world) Su Yuqing, who was observing everything, caught his words perfectly.

At that very moment, she finally understood the reason for all his strange reactions when he had first opened the door and seen her.

(Author’s Note: This chapter includes some recap from previous events, so I’ve made it a bit longer—around 2,400 characters.)