A flood of memories returned to Shen Yi’s mind. He lay on the sofa, eating a cucumber bite by bite, the sound echoing with a loud CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

On the wall hung the portrait sketches Shen Yi had drawn of Qin Jiao himself. He stared at them for a long moment. After finishing the cucumber and strawberries, Shen Yi immediately went to the desk, took out the paper and pen Qin Jiao kept there, and began to draw.

Qin Jiao slept restlessly. All night, she dreamt of events from her past life. When she opened her eyes to a ray of dawn filtering through a gap in the curtains, she sat bolt upright.

’Crap, Shen Yi is still in the space!’

Xiao Shi had also just woken up. She rubbed her eyes blearily and asked, "Sis, what’s wrong?"

How could Qin Jiao possibly explain that she’d locked Shen Yi in the space overnight? She hurriedly said to her sister, "I just remembered I need to pop into the space. If Mom comes by, cover for me, okay? I’ll be right out."

"Okay, I’ll just say you’re stuck on the toilet."

"Fine."

Qin Jiao went to the bathroom and immediately slipped into the space. The moment she entered, she saw Shen Yi. He was lying on the sofa, one arm draped over his forehead as if to block the light. The space didn’t need lamps; it was perpetually bright, a feature as miraculous as its constant supply of oxygen.

The sofa was only about five feet wide, but Shen Yi was too tall, so his long legs were draped awkwardly over the side. He looked extremely uncomfortable. Qin Jiao found it a bit strange. ’He’s such an idiot,’ she thought. ’Doesn’t he know he can go sleep on the bed in the other room?’

Several sheets of white paper were scattered on the floor, and a large stack sat on the table. Qin Jiao walked over, picked up the scattered pages, and realized they were all pictures of her.

And yet, it wasn’t her.

Because the images were all of events from her past life: there she was, squatting on the ground to pick up shards of glass; there she was, quietly washing clothes by herself; there she was, standing on the balcony, gazing into the distance...

They were all scenes from their past life. And beneath every sketch were the words, "I’m sorry."

A sour feeling stung Qin Jiao’s nose. ’I always thought he was oblivious to all the hardships I suffered. But this is even worse... he knew all along. If he knew, why couldn’t he have just said he was sorry back then?’

"Jiao Jiao, I’m sorry." He hadn’t slept well, having spent the night drawing. He’d only just closed his eyes for a moment when he heard Qin Jiao’s footsteps.

Shen Yi sat up, looking awkward and anxious. He desperately wanted to go over and hug Qin Jiao, but in the end, he didn’t dare.

He swore to himself that if he overstepped his bounds in the slightest, Jiao Jiao would probably kick him out on the spot.

Qin Jiao clutched the sketches, turned her back to him, and said in a calm voice, "Okay, it’s morning. I’ll send you out. You need to go home."

Shen Yi mumbled an affirmation and walked over dejectedly. A tuft of his hair was sticking straight up where he’d been sleeping on it. The sight made Qin Jiao want to laugh, but she forced herself to hold it in.

"For some reason, this bracelet won’t come off," she said. "Come and help me get it off."

Shen Yi was, of course, more than happy for the chance to touch Qin Jiao’s wrist. But he had no intention of actually taking the bracelet off; he would just put on a show of trying.

It had to be said that Shen Yi was actually quite devious in both lifetimes. It was just that his explosive temper in his past life had given him no chance to show it. In this life, he constantly played the part of a gentle sheep in front of Qin Jiao, but he was, in fact, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

He held Qin Jiao’s small hand with one of his and used the other to pull at the bracelet. He was only pretending at first, but then he realized it actually wouldn’t come off.

Shen Yi said, "Why don’t we try soapy water? That’s slicker."

Qin Jiao had already tried soapy water, but she thought, ’Maybe it will work if Shen Yi does it?’ So, she nodded and fetched a basin and a bar of soap from the small adjacent bathroom.