The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

Xu Nian rubbed his drunken head, raised his eyes, and looked at the woman in front of him.

Here, he was a stranger in a strange land, and even his former neighbors did not recognize him.

How come anyone knows my name?

She looks somewhat familiar.

Xu Nian narrowed her eyes and began searching her mind.

The woman's face largely overlapped with a figure from my memory.

"Wen...Wen Yao?"

Ten years have passed, and Wen Yao's face has lost its youthful innocence; she is no longer the naive little girl she once was.

Her eyes were deep and clear, like a bottomless spring, each drop of water like a story recorded along the way.

Wrapped in a fur coat, every gesture she made exuded maturity and intellect.

Only a faint trace of childlike innocence can be seen in his brows.

No wonder Xu Nian didn't recognize her at first glance.

She has transformed from a naive young girl into a sophisticated young woman; her transformation is remarkable.

Wen Yao sat down opposite Xu Nian, a happy expression on her face.

"You're out? Wasn't there supposed to be two more years? Why didn't you contact us?"

"He behaved well in prison and his sentence was reduced."

As her drunkenness subsided, Xu Nian realized what she had just said and gradually frowned.

How did you know I went in?

He remembered clearly that ten years ago, he had not told Wen Yao where he was going.

Before parting, Wen Yao looked at him with hatred in her eyes.

"I've known for a long time."

Wen Yao recalled, assuming a thoughtful expression.

"The night after you left, Xi Bao was sent abroad for treatment and returned to China six months later after recovering."

"At first, we all thought it was a miracle."

"But the more I thought about it, the more something seemed off. How could such a coincidence happen in this world?"

"Afterwards, Qi Yu found out that the medical institution that treated Xi Bao charged more than one million euros, which is ten million yuan."

"Given your unusual behavior and sudden loss of contact, we all had our suspicions."

"A year later, we saw the judgment notice about you on the China Judgments Online website. We learned that you took the blame for someone else and went to prison to raise money for Xibao's medical treatment. You almost became a death row inmate."

"Back then, I even thought you had really changed your mind."

Xu Nian gave a bitter smile to herself.

Despite all the effort put into putting on this show, in the end, it still failed to fool anyone.

"Come back with me, Brother Xu Nian, Xi Bao... misses you so much."

Xu Nian shook her head.

"I'm not going back."

Why?

"Xu Xi has changed. She now terrifies me, and the things she does are more and more horrific."

"Have you seen her?"

Wen Yao was slightly taken aback.

Xu Nian nodded, her face growing increasingly gloomy.

Now that Xu Xi knows the truth about what happened back then, why did he still try to murder Zhou Xiaoman?

Her ruthless methods sent chills down Xu Nian's spine.

Seeing his reaction, Wen Yao seemed to understand something.

She sighed softly.

There's a reason why Xi Bao has become like this.

"The way you behaved at your wedding back then made us all furious."

"We later learned that you were worried that if Xi Bao knew the truth, she would feel guilty about her new life."

"But you know, a wedding is the most important thing in a girl's life, especially with the person she loves so much."

"After returning from abroad, she went crazy and developed severe bipolar disorder. She would laugh and cry at the same time, lock herself in her room every day, and frequently cut her wrists, overdose on sleeping pills, and attempt suicide."

"Not only that, the huge amount of illegal online loans you owed back then, the debt collectors followed the trail and found her. Seeing that she had no money to repay, they tried to kidnap her and sell her to pay off the debts time and time again."

"In that desperate situation, she developed dissociative identity disorder, and another personality emerged within her."

"Dual personality?"

Xu Nian said in astonishment.

He had seen similar content in short videos and had some understanding of it.

"Yes."

Wen Yao nodded.

"That personality calls itself Xu Xi, the 'Xi' in 'extinguish,' and is cold-hearted and ruthless, completely opposite to the gentle Xi Bao from before."

"Whenever Xi Bao has a depressive episode, or when she is cornered by debt collectors, that personality will appear to protect her and help her through the crisis."

"But... gradually, Xu Xi appeared more and more often, until in recent years, he completely took over Xi Bao's body."

"The Xi Bao you saw must be her other personality."

Xu Nian fell into deep thought.

If Wen Yao is right, is he the culprit who turned Xu Xi into what she is now?

What she thought was a safe move back then not only failed to make Xu Xi accept her new life with peace of mind, but also led to a series of crazy actions.

"Come back with me, Brother Xu Nian. Although Xi Bao has changed, whether she was the same person before or the person she is now, she has always loved you deeply."

Wen Yao gazed at Xu Nian with a sincere expression.

"After learning the truth, Xi Bao dropped out of school and started her own business."

"She named it after you, 'Longing,' and has used it as the company's brand ever since."

"At the beginning, the business was very difficult. We faced suppression from competitors and things went wrong. Our cash flow was cut off at one point, and we almost couldn't turn things around."

Even though it was so difficult, she used the first money she earned to pay off all your debts.

"Later, the company overcame the difficulties and, under Xi Bao's leadership, grew larger and larger. Those who had helped her received generous rewards."

"I'm here on a business trip because Xibao wants to build a factory here and gradually develop Taoxian City into the group's second headquarters city."

She said, "This is the place where you were born and raised. I want to build up your hometown so that everyone here can live a good life."

"How did she know this was my hometown?"

Xu Nian felt a chill run down her spine.

Even he himself only realized where he came from when he saw the familiar scenery with his own eyes.

How could Xu Xi possibly know?

Wen Yao answered without hesitation.

"The ID number, the first 6 digits represent the area code. People born in the same place will have the same first 6 digits."

"Xi Bao can recite your ID number backwards. Finding out where you're from is just a matter of a search on the internet."

Xu Nian's lips twitched.

This was the first time he had learned this little-known fact.

However, he still couldn't let go of the resentment in his heart.

Xu Xi's love for him is not a reason for her to take someone's life under that pretext.

Moreover, Zhou Xiaoman not only helped her, but also helped her.

Having learned the truth, why take such extreme actions?

"I will not go back."

Xu Nian closed her eyes and said firmly.

"Let bygones be bygones."

"I will not accept being around a murderer."

"I cannot tolerate, much less forgive, those who use any means to achieve their goals."

"murderer?"

Wen Yao was stunned for a moment, her big eyes blinking, filled with doubt and confusion.

"You mean, Xi Bao is a murderer?"

Xu Nian nodded.

"Is there...some misunderstanding?"

Wen Yao asked, puzzled.

"I've been by her side all these years, starting our business together, and I've never seen her do anything out of line."

"Even if she was sabotaged by other competitors, she would resolve the issue through business means or hand it over to the police."

"In this respect, Xi Bao and Xu Xi are the same, except that Xi Bao will sometimes be soft-hearted and forgive other people's mistakes, while Xu Xi will never let go of anyone who has ulterior motives."

"But she admitted it herself!"

Xu Nian said in despair.

"She killed Zhou Xiaoman and sent her to meet the sharks!"

"Just because Zhou Xiaoman acted in that play with me back then."

"But she knew it was just an act, so why did she do it?"

"Sister Xiaoman? Shark?"

A barely suppressed smile suddenly appeared on Wen Yao's face.

A strange look appeared in her eyes as she looked at Xu Nian.

She took her phone out of her bag and made a call.

"Mr. Xu, it's been a long time. How have you been?"