"It's with Shu Yunyi, right?"
Shen Yi's mind raced, instantly deducing the reason behind Cheng Jun's guess.
The scene from that morning still lingered in his mind.
"How did you know about Shu Yunyi?"
Shen Yi pretended to be surprised.
He had to ask this, as from his perspective, he didn't know they had already met.
"Hmph..."
Cheng Jun pursed her lips, her clear, piercing eyes scrutinizing Shen Yi.
"You don't need to know how I found out."
"Were you having dinner with her?"
Shen Yi didn't rush to answer her question. Instead, he opened the door and stepped inside.
"Come in and have a seat."
Cheng Jun moved her feet and followed Shen Yi inside. It wasn't appropriate to talk in the corridor.
She crossed her arms and sat on the sofa, continuing to stare at Shen Yi.
Shen Yi changed his shoes and sat across from her again. He replied:
"It wasn't Shu Yunyi. I had dinner with Fu Nanzhi."
Cheng Jun straightened up, surprised:
"Fu Nanzhi?"
Although it was a question, she believed it was mostly about imagining Germany.
If there was anyone she viewed as a formidable rival, it was definitely Fu Nanzhi.
It wasn't surprising that Shen Yi would accompany her.
"Yes."
Shen Yi wasn't lying. They were cousins, so there was always contact between them.
Cheng Jun decided not to dwell on this and asked about something else she was concerned about.
"Who is Shu Yunyi then?"
Shen Yi instantly felt a headache. He knew this question couldn't be avoided.
They shouldn't have met so early, and the coincidence of running into each other was something he hadn't anticipated at all.
He was now backed into a corner. After thinking for a moment, he answered truthfully:
"Professor Shu is a professor at Jingyuan University and was also my lecturer during my university days."
Cheng Jun nodded in understanding, recalling that she worked at Jingyuan.
"No wonder. You knew each other quite early, huh~"
Then, she sneered inwardly:
'What an unashamed old woman, at her age, she still wants to chase a younger man.'
"Yes, she was very kind to me during university."
Shen Yi subtly laid the groundwork, trying to make Shu Yunyi's appearance seem less abrupt.
Cheng Jun's eyes glinted as she narrowed them, questioning him:
"Why don't you seem surprised that I know about Shu Yunyi?"
Shen Yi's heart skipped a beat. Cheng Jun's keenness was evident. He quickly came up with an explanation:
"Of course, I'm curious. It's just that you didn't want to tell me."
Cheng Jun let out an almost imperceptible sigh and decided to tell him everything.
"She came here to look for you this morning."
"Huh?"
"Not only that, but in her words, you two aren't just simple teacher and student. You're... husband and wife."
Cheng Jun said this with a smirk, teasing:
"I've never heard you mention that before. Where did she come from? You've never been married, yet she insisted you were her husband."
After saying this, she fixed her gaze on Shen Yi's face, as if trying to discern something from it.
Shen Yi was dumbfounded. His mind raced, trying to come up with a plausible excuse.
Cheng Jun watched Shen Yi in silence, then asked another question before he could respond:
"I've noticed a pattern."
"Whether it's Fu Nanzhi, or me, or this newly emerged Shu Yunyi, we all share a common trait."
"We are all very familiar with you, yet strangely, we don't know who you are, where you live, or even what your name is?"
After saying this, she closed her eyes slightly, her interest deepening.
"When I met Fu Nanzhi last time, I didn't think much of it, just thought it was her face blindness. But today, Shu Yunyi was the same. On one hand, she claimed to be your wife, yet on the other, she didn't even know where you lived. Does that make sense?"
"Can you explain this to me?"
Cheng Jun smiled, her ears turning slightly red. She felt a thrill, as if she were very close to the truth.
Meanwhile, Shen Yi's hands and feet felt numb, and sweat seemed to be forming on his forehead.
He opened his mouth, but for a moment, he couldn't come up with a flawless answer. All he could do was struggle pointlessly:
"I..."
Cheng Jun shook her head, interrupting him, and continued with her speculation:
"I don't know their situations, but just based on my own experience, I can figure out the general situation."
"I'm definitely the same as them. And that comfort you gave me back then... it couldn't have been a coincidence."
"You have a secret!"
Cheng Jun's words stabbed into Shen Yi like sharp nails, shaking him deeply.
To have one's deepest secret exposed so suddenly, how could one remain calm?
With a deep sigh, Shen Yi silently extended his finger and tapped lightly on the table.
"Tell me... I'll keep it a secret for you."
"You don't want your secret to be known by others, do you?"
Cheng Jun's eyes sparkled with curiosity. She was too intrigued by this matter, which had been troubling her for a long time.
After prolonged thought and multiple verifications, she had dared to make this bold guess.
After all, the concept of time travel was already quite fantastical. Why not be even more bold with one's assumptions?
Everything originated from that Qixi event.
Back then, Shen Yi didn't know that the experiences in the simulation would synchronize with reality.
Cheng Jun couldn't adapt to the solitude of the apocalyptic world and wept bitterly after drinking. Feeling guilty, Shen Yi comforted her with some words, intending to give her a morale boost. Unexpectedly, it left a seed in her heart.
"Ah..."
Shen Yi sighed again. Cheng Jun was so intelligent that deception would be impossible.
The existence of the simulator was something Shen Yi couldn't reveal. The last time he had exploited a bug, there was a punishment. Now, if he were to suddenly reveal its existence, who knew what kind of trouble it would cause?
Fortunately, she had already experienced 'time travel,' so whatever explanation Shen Yi gave would be easier for her to accept.
After thinking for a moment, Shen Yi concealed the existence of the simulator and said:
"For some unknown reason, I have lucid dreams, incredibly vivid dreams."
"Dreams?"
Cheng Jun pondered this, recalling her awakening at home.
"Yes, dreams. They are inescapable dreams, in which I still play myself, living a complete life as if in reality."
Shen Yi paused and continued:
"My first dream, you've probably guessed, was with Fu Nanzhi."
"Back then, I was working at Tiancheng Corporation and had the chance to interact with her. She was kind, lovely, and innocent. In the dream, we fell in love, got married, lived together, and spent a lifetime together, growing old together."
"It was just an ordinary night, yet in the dream, I lived for fifty-eight years."
"When I woke up, everything in the dream became blurry. At first, I didn't think it was anything special, but later I learned that Fu Nanzhi also had the complete experiences of that dream."
"With such an experience, what would happen if we recognized each other in reality?"
With the exception of not revealing the simulator, Shen Yi basically told the truth, without much concealment.
Cheng Jun's mouth slightly opened, an immense amount of information flashing through her mind.
She remained silent for a long time before murmuring:
"I see. No wonder you rejected me."
"It was because I came too late..."