Amidst the dim bedroom light, Yue Lu cradled the ChronoKey—a delicate clock necklace—in her trembling palm. Its intricate gears whispered ancient secrets. Could destiny truly be rewritten?
The old woman's cryptic words echoed in her mind: "You'll need this."
But who was she? A seer? A guardian of fractured timelines?
The memory of her parents' deaths clawed at her. Officially, an accident—just like Yu Lu. But something never added up. Twisted metal. Unanswered questions. And now, her sister's demise dismissed as suicide?
The threads of fate were tangled, suffocating her with suspicion.
As moonlight spilled across the floor, she clutched the ChronoKey tighter. It was more than metal. It was a portal. A warning. A choice.
Then her phone rang—Fu Shen.
She rushed to the station, the weight of the necklace against her chest, each step pressing deeper into mystery.
At the police station doors, she pleaded, "My sister wouldn't take her own life."
The officer's reply was ice: "It's suicide. Not murder."
Beside her, Fu Shen took her hand gently.
"Come," he said. "She was my sister too."
But in the car, he took a different road.
To a penthouse.
To secrets.
Inside the glass fortress, he turned to her.
"The USB," he demanded, his tone cutting.
Yue Lusi's blood chilled. "Which USB?"
"The one Yue Lu gave you before she died," he said, stepping closer.
Her breath caught. She'd hidden it. Buried it. Did he know?
He called his bodyguard to search her.
"No USB," the man reported.
Fu Shen's eyes darkened.
"Then get rid of her."
They dragged her, threw her into the sea.
Darkness closed in—cold, merciless.
But as her lungs filled, she reached for the tiny key within the ChronoKey's hidden compartment. She turned it—
-----------------
She gasped awake, coughing, shivering—not in water, but on dry asphalt. The city blared around her. She looked up, disoriented. Neon lights. Cars. Crowds.
"Where... am I?" she whispered.
Beside her, an old woman—calm, wise—watched her.
"You've been here before," she said softly. "Across ages. Where destiny frays."
Before Yue Lusi could speak, a black van screeched to a stop.
A young woman jumped out, breathless.
"Miss Yue! We've been looking everywhere!"
Miss Yue?
Yue Lusi blinked. "Me?"
"Yes," the woman said, ushering her into the van. "We need to get you home."
Inside a lavish villa, Yue Lusi stared at the portraits—one woman, beautiful, regal, unfamiliar... yet familiar.
"You're pushing the company to its limits," the woman—Mira Mu—said. "And now you vanish without a word?"
"I... who are you?" Yue Lusi asked.
"I'm your assistant,Mira Mu. Your best friend."
In a daze, Yue Lusi stumbled to the bathroom. The mirror showed a stranger. Or was it her? The same eyes. But this woman was composed, poised—a different life.
She screamed.
"What's wrong?" Mira Mu knocked.
"Nothing," Yue Lusi whispered, heart thundering. The ChronoKey pulsed beneath her blouse.
She gripped the sink and muttered to herself, "Calm down. Just... go with the flow."
She would pretend. For now.
Yue Xianying had amnesia.
But Yue Lusi knew the truth—somewhere beneath this facade lay the real story. And she would uncover it.
------------------
The morning light filtered through silk curtains, but Yue Lusi's heart felt weighed down by shadows. She sat on the edge of the plush bed, her fingers grazing the ChronoKey, hidden beneath her blouse. Mira Mu had brought her breakfast, talked about a board meeting, the latest viral scandal, and a cosmetic brand launch—but none of it made sense.
"Do I have... any medical appointments today?" Yue Lusi asked suddenly, her voice oddly hopeful.
Mira Mu blinked. "Yes. With Dr.Li Xuanyin. Your personal neurologist—remember? After the accident, he's been helping with your recovery."
Accident?
Yue Lusi nodded slowly, mind spinning. So this version of Yue Xianying had a recent trauma too. Convenient. But it was the name that struck her, Li Xuanyin.
--------------
The clinic was high-end—minimalist, white walls, soft music, and guards stationed outside like it were a presidential suite. She entered the room, nerves humming.
He stood by the window. Tall. Clean-cut in a white coat, yet there was a wildness in his eyes—like he saw beyond surfaces.
Li Xuanyin.
"Miss Yue Xianying," he said calmly, yet his gaze lingered. "Or... should I say Yue Lusi?"
Her blood ran cold.
"I—what did you say?"
He turned slowly, folding his arms. "Strange, isn't it? You walk like Yue Xianying, but your pulse spikes at the wrong memories. Your speech, your reflexes—they aren't hers."
Yue Lusi backed away. "Who... who are you?"
"I've met you before," he said, stepping closer. "In another life. A parallel one. And you died there." He paused. "Or maybe... I did."
She stared at him, unsure whether to flee or collapse.
"I don't know how you crossed into this world," Li Xuanyin murmured, eyes fixed on her necklace, "but you're not alone. Something—or someone—wants you here."
Yue Lusi clutched the ChronoKey. "Are you saying... you remember?"
"I remember enough." He gave a faint smile. "And I know the ChronoKey doesn't just choose anyone."
He handed her a small folder.
"What's this?"
"Your medical file... and hers. The real Yue Xianying. Her DNA doesn't match yours. But no one bothered checking. You appeared just in time—same face, same body. Convenient."
Yue Lusi opened the folder, heart pounding. "So she's... gone?"
"I don't know," he said darkly. "But someone wanted her out of the picture. And if they find out you're not her... you'll be next."
He leaned in. "So here's the real question, Yue Lusi: Why you?"
-----------------
Back at the villa, Yue Lusi sat alone in her room, the jade pendant in one hand and Yue Xianying's diary in the other. The soft hum of the chronokey nestled beneath her blouse reminded her that time was not linear for her—it was a twisted maze of memories, losses, and second chances.
She flipped to a dog-eared page in the diary, one with smeared ink and pressed petals. Yue Xianying had written about a recurring dream—of drowning, of hands reaching out from the abyss, of a man with sad eyes whispering her name: Yue Lusi.
"Did Yue Xianying see me in her dreams too?" Yue Lusi murmured.
She turned toward the pendant, now glowing faintly green under the moonlight seeping through her window. It hadn't done that before. Something had awakened.
Her phone buzzed. A restricted number.
She answered cautiously. "Hello?"
A voice, distorted and low, crackled through. "You're not Yue Xianying. Not really."
Yue Lusi froze. Her eyes darted to the window. No one. "Who is this?"
"You want the USB? Look beneath what you fear most."
The line went dead.
Her pulse raced. Was it a prank? A trap? Or someone who knew—truly knew—who she was?
------------------
The next day, Yue Lusi descended into the villa's basement, long abandoned and cloaked in dust. A metal cabinet bore scratch marks—as if someone had tried to claw their way in or out. She hesitated, then reached into the drawer, brushing past tools and wires. Nothing.
But then her hand hit something hard—a compartment. Hidden.
She pried it open, revealing an envelope. Inside was a photograph—her parents, Yue Xianying's parents, standing with a man she didn't recognize. The back read: 1989. K Project.
The jade pendant began to glow brighter, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Yue Lusi staggered back. What was the K Project? What did her parents know?
Suddenly, a knock echoed through the hallway above.
"Mira ?" she called out.
No reply.
Only silence.
Then a whisper, barely audible: "Find the USB… before he does."