Ji Xingmi hadn't expected these things to all fall upon her. Just as she was about to try and persuade him, she noticed something amiss with Feng Changze and became wary.
"It's me! It's all me! I missed the time we could have known each other! It shouldn't be like this! I clearly could have lived a good life in this lifetime, loved you properly, and been with you. Why? Why did everything change?" Feng Changze began to grow agitated, his eyes turning red, his appearance somewhat terrifying.
"Feng Changze? Calm down. Could it be that who you met wasn't me?"
"It was you! How could it not be you! The small gestures you made when playing the pipa were identical, and you both knew medicine. I wouldn't mistake you. I've longed for you for two lifetimes. How could I possibly mistake you!" As Feng Changze spoke, he disregarded his wounds, stood up, and slowly approached Ji Xingmi.
Ji Xingmi frowned, watching the approaching figure. She also stood up and retreated, her hand extended in front of her. Her other hand had already retrieved a gun from her space but was quickly replaced by silver needles.
"Feng Changze, listen to me. That couldn't have been me. Because I also just arrived..." She paused, unsure how to explain this. She suddenly realized that if she could time travel, Feng Changze's rebirth might not be so unbelievable. Furthermore, if she had followed her original plan, she might have indeed returned here through the college entrance examination and wouldn't have gotten engaged to Gu Jingyi. Was time in disarray? Or had she also time-traveled twice? Ji Xingmi's thoughts were very chaotic, but it was clearly not the time to ponder this.
While Ji Xingmi was contemplating this, Feng Changze suddenly lunged forward, tackling her to the ground. Feng Changze seemed to be under some sort of control, attempting to tear at Ji Xingmi's clothes.
"Feng Changze, wake up!"
"How can I wake up? You're about to become someone else's!" Feng Changze had lost all reason. A voice in his mind was telling him he had to have her, or he would lose his chance.
Ji Xingmi struggled, realizing the meaning behind Zhao Rui's—no, Zhao Chen's—words. She was the grand gift Zhao Chen had given to Gu Jingyi; he wanted Gu Jingyi to regret and be heartbroken. She was Gu Jingyi's weakness; destroying her would destroy Gu Jingyi. No, this absolutely couldn't happen!
"Wake up!" Ji Xingmi slapped Feng Changze across the face. Feng Changze briefly regained clarity. "I... what is this..." But he soon lost it again. Ji Xingmi's movements were swift. At this moment, she inserted silver needles into Feng Changze's acupoints. Feng Changze fell unconscious, collapsing onto Ji Xingmi. Ji Xingmi, panting, pushed him aside and slowly sat up, leaning against the wall to catch her breath.
Should she consider learning a few moves later? Otherwise, when suppressed, she wouldn't even be able to administer needles. What surprised her the most was that Feng Changze was the one who had been reborn. She wasn't sure if the person he encountered before was her, or a version of her from another timeline.
Ji Xingmi found a corner to sit down again, waiting for dawn. Had Zhao Chen calculated that Gu Jingyi was due to return and planned all of this? So, he didn't care about the Zhao family, didn't care about himself, and only wanted to ruin Gu Jingyi? What kind of tangled love and hate was this? Ji Xingmi couldn't understand, but she quickly put the matter aside. She couldn't comprehend the thoughts of a madman. The only thing she could think of was that Gu Jingyi should be back soon. He should be able to find her. She missed him a little.
Ji Xingmi touched the red string on her hand, gazing into the distant darkness, then leaned against the mountain wall to rest and regain her strength.
With Ji Xingmi's needles in him, Feng Changze did not wake up even after dawn. She had checked him yesterday and hadn't found anything wrong. He seemed like his emotions had suddenly been amplified, and he couldn't control himself. It was better to let him sleep for now! She wasn't confident she could subdue him again.
Ji Xingmi climbed to the outside of the cave, trying to see into the distance or if there was a mountain path. But besides dense forest, she saw nothing. After this night, Ji Xingmi speculated about Zhao Rui's situation. She couldn't stay here forever. What if Gu Jingyi was already searching for her with his men? In such a vast forest, it would be impossible to find them.
Ji Xingmi climbed a tall tree and sat on a branch. Even from this height, she could only see trees. She took out her gun from her space and fired a shot into the sky, then another minute later.
Then Ji Xingmi put the gun away. This was her only weapon, and she had to conserve it. If the people who found her weren't her own, she would need it for protection.
As soon as dawn broke, Gu Jingyi urged his Uncle Gu to set off. He hadn't slept all night, staying awake with his eyes open, waiting for daybreak. Now that it was light, he naturally had to go look for her. After a whole night, no one knew what she might have encountered outside. What if she ran into wild beasts?