This feeling was really painful.

It was as if the truth was inches away, visible if only she could reach out and grab it, yet she was always that one or two centimeters short of grasping it!

Finally, she made up her mind, stood up quickly, dressed in a silk nightgown, and opened the door.

Auntie Li just happened to be carrying warm milk and was about to come in when she asked in surprise, "Jiayi, what’s wrong? Where are you going in the middle of the night?"

Auntie Li saw the light still on in her bedroom and knew she couldn’t sleep, so she specially warmed a cup of milk for her to drink.

Jiayi made an excuse, "It’s nothing, I can’t sleep. I’ll take a walk in the garden downstairs. Auntie Li, just leave the milk in my room, I’ll drink it when I come back."

Auntie Li nodded, entered to place the milk, and then left.

Seeing Auntie Li return to the servants’ quarters, Jiayi heaved a sigh of relief, went downstairs to the Huo Family’s garage to find a roll of rope, and then headed upstairs.

Huo Garden’s main house had four floors.

The second floor contained the master bedroom and guest rooms.

The third floor had the bedrooms of the elders. The old man liked quiet, so his room was on the third floor.

The fourth floor was usually vacant, with a large terrace. The old man, when he had nothing else to do, liked to drink tea and view the scenery up there.

Jiayi tiptoed directly to the terrace on the fourth floor. The sky above was a patch of stars, the night breeze gently caressing, which was refreshing and invigorating.

She walked to the edge of the terrace, unfurled the rope, tied it to the terrace railing, wrapped the other end tightly around her arm, then gritted her teeth, slipped off her pink cat plush slippers, climbed onto the railing, and slowly stood up.

The terrace railing was quite high and very narrow, barely wide enough for her to stand on.

The moment she stood up, she felt a little dizzy!

Even though her arm was wrapped with the rope, securing her to the railing so she wouldn’t fall, when she looked down to the ground below, her legs felt weak!

However, even though she was scared, she didn’t want to give up and come down.

It was only when she was high above the ground that she would remember some fragments from before she lost her memory...

Back in St. Mary Hospital in H City, the leading doctor had said that if she could repeat the scenario from just before she lost her memory, she might be able to remember more.

But that man had immediately sternly stopped her, presumably thinking it was absurd and too dangerous.

However, if this really could help her remember more...

Then she should try it!

She tried to steady her mind, closed her eyes, determinedly gripped the rope, and leaned outwards, letting herself hang in mid-air—

The night wind whooshed, cutting past her ears!

Because her eyes were closed, her balance was even more unstable!

She swayed several times and almost toppled forward.

In that falling sensation, her mind flashed brightly, and fragmented scenes passed by—

It looked like a foreign town in a place that wasn’t China.

A handsome young boy was cycling with a girl, speeding along the narrow paths of the town.

The boy looked to be about two or three years older than the girl; both were carrying backpacks, as if they were on their way to school.

It was like a long shot used by directors in movies she acted in, with the scene gradually pulling closer— 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

She could see clearly now!

The young boy was Nie Yixiao, and the little girl was a younger version of herself—

"Brother Yixiao, we are going to be late, pedal faster, or the teacher will make us stand as punishment," the girl said shyly, wrapping her arms around the waist of the boy in front, tightly holding on to the rear seat of the bicycle.

"It’s okay," the boy tilted his head to reassure her.

"Hmph, with your grades so good, always being in the top three in the school, of course, you aren’t afraid of the teacher scolding you. Even if you’re late, your teacher won’t say anything to you," the girl pouted with her tender pink lips.

The youth surrendered helplessly, "...Always so naggy at such a young age, you’ll definitely become a nagging housewife when you grow up. I won’t take you to school anymore, girls are just so noisy."

Even though he said he won’t take her to school again, his tone was filled with indulgence and tenderness.

The girl’s pink fist landed on the youth’s lean back, "You’re the one who’s a nagging housewife!"

Giggles and chatter spilled over the path to school.

...

The scene shifted, and Jiayi was still in shock when another fragment surged forward—

Nie Yixiao clasped her hand, standing in front of a room.

She seemed a few years older than in the previous scenes, closer to how she looked now, with visibly sweet and beautiful features but eyes red and swollen: "Brother Yixiao, I don’t want to go, I don’t want to leave mommy. I’m worried about her..."

Nie Yixiao tightened his grip on her hand, his voice carrying the responsibility of a man: "Jiayi, I will go with you. With Brother Yixiao by your side, aren’t you reassured? Your mom will be fine too."

As he spoke, he even bent down to wipe away her tears.

The boy’s words seemed to calm her heart.

She rubbed her eyes, heeded Nie Yixiao’s comfort, and the tear-stained face slowly settled into calmness.

...

In a flash, she saw herself embracing Nie Yixiao—

"Brother Yixiao, will you stay by my side forever?" It was her thin little face, looking exhausted, and her large, bewildered eyes, filled with uncertainty and mistrust about the future.

Nie Yixiao cupped her face: "I will." He leaned his handsome face down and planted a kiss on the girl’s smooth forehead.

Love in youth, quietly budding.

His tone was firm, bright, and tender, instantly melting the girl’s heart.

In an instant, a flash of white light crossed her mind!

Memories etched in her very bones surged in!

A princess-like room, on the European-style bed, a man and woman were rolling around.

Panting sounds, sweet nothings, echoed through the bedroom.

"Yixiao, I love you, ah..."

"I love you too, baby, you’re fantastic..."

"Yixiao, am I prettier than your little tramp...?" It was the woman’s coquettish voice in a state of affection.

"Of course, you are. Compared to my baby, she’s like a duck that hasn’t grown its wings yet."

...

The bedroom door opened, and Jiayi, who had been called by her sister to deliver pastries, entered both shocked and furious; the expensive tray in her hands clanged to the floor, interrupting the intertwined couple!

She had never imagined that her sister, so dignified in front of others, would be entwined with her childhood sweetheart on the bed like a wanton woman.

"Jiayi..." The young man lifted his robust and mesmerizing body, surprised as he looked at the girl who had burst in.

Chu Xinyu, caught in the act, lazily rose like a sultry mermaid, languorously wrapping her arms around the man’s neck, without any hint of avoidance, even goading:

"Yo, didn’t I tell you to come later, how come you’re here so soon..."

Yet, the woman’s tone and expression clearly portrayed a trap she had set, deliberately allowing her sister to catch her own affair with Nie Yixiao.

"Why! Why would you—"

Jiayi rushed forward, tears bursting forth, flinging herself at Nie Yixiao, and pounding his chest with clenched fists:

"Why would you do this with her! Why! You promised me, didn’t you? You said you came to S Country, to the Chu Family to look after me, but why did you end up with her... She’s my sister—"

The once pure love between childhood friends...

The vow he made to stay by her side for a lifetime...

In that moment, turned to ashes!