Li Na stood frozen in her illusionary state, a heavy silence hanging in the air like a veil between her and the world. The horrific scene of Shen Yun Tian's death in the second lifeâhis blood soaking the floor, the other Li Na's limp body collapsing beside himâstill reverberated in her chest. Her heart pounded with the weight of helplessness, but now, she could only watch as time began to rewind once again.
The world blurred, shifting like the turning pages of a book until the mist cleared, revealing Shen Yun Tian's third life. This time, his face was younger, his eyes filled not with obsession, but with the resigned pain of someone who had accepted the inevitable. His lips were pressed into a thin line as he walked the familiar path to her family's door.
Li Na's chest tightened, the knot in her throat nearly choking her as she watched the subtle tremor in his hands while he approached her parents. It was in that small, barely noticeable quiver where his heartbreak lay. His voice, though calm, carried the edge of a man who had accepted his own destruction, laced with the kind of sorrow that words could never properly express.
"Mr. and Mrs. Xie, I... I've come to request the dissolution of our engagement," Shen Yun Tian said, his gaze remaining glued to the floor as though meeting their eyes would shatter what little composure he had left.
Li Na's father blinked, disbelief crossing his face. "But why? You both were promised to each other since childhood."
The words echoed like a cruel reminder of the bond that should have tied them together. Shen Yun Tian's lips parted slightly, but he hesitated, swallowing the raw emotion that threatened to choke him. His eyes, now distant and hollow, seemed to retreat further into the depths of his suffering, as though each breath was a battle to stay whole.
"It's for the best," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, but carrying the weight of a love too painful to bear. "I believe it would bring her more happiness... to be free of me."
Each syllable seemed to tear through him, a cruel wound that would never heal. Li Na could see the way his hands shook at his sides, clenched tight in an attempt to keep himself together. His words were a lie, a hollow promise to himself that by letting her go, he could somehow save her, but all it did was seal his own agony.
His words were sharp, filled with meaning Li Na's parents would never understand. His heart broke as he spoke, and the silence that followed felt like a final breath shared between two lives that could never meet again.
"If you insist," her father finally said, reluctant but swayed by Shen Yun Tian's conviction.
Shen Yun Tian bowed his head slightly in respect before turning away, his footsteps slow and deliberate as he left. But Li Na saw the fleeting glance he cast over his shoulder, his gaze lingering on the window where the young other Li Na once smiled as a child, waiting for him to return.
That smile was gone now, and with it, the future he once dreamed of.
In this life, Shen Yun Tian had made a drastic choice. Instead of stepping forward, instead of claiming the engagement that had bound them together in other lifetimes, he let go. He stayed back, quietly, invisibly watching from a distance as her life unfolded without him while keeping on supporting and guarding her. It was a painful sacrifice, but one he believed would be the best for them.
The days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and Shen Yun Tian kept his distance. He no longer visited the Li household. He no longer waited by the gardens where the other Li Na used to play. But from afar, he watched over her, his heart tethered to a promise that no longer existed.
Every moment, his chest constricted with a longing that only deepened as time passed. Li Na saw it in his faceâthe quiet ache in his eyes as he watched the other Li Na laugh and move on with her life, unaware of the man who loved her from the shadows.
In this life, Ru Feng entered her world. Li Na's heart twisted as she watched Shen Yun Tian ensure that everything was perfect for her, even if it meant handing her over to another man.
He met Ru Feng once, under the cloak of twilight in a quiet corner of the city. The dim light of a nearby lamppost cast long shadows across the alley, as if the darkness itself sought to swallow the torment etched into Shen Yun Tian's face. His expression was impassive, a mask of calm that concealed the tempest raging within, but his voiceâhis voice betrayed him. It trembled, just slightly, weighted by the unbearable burden of unspoken suffering that clawed at his chest.
"Take care of her," he said, his tone a measured attempt to maintain control, but the way his hands clenched into fists at his sides told another story. His body was a battlefield, fighting the desperate urge to break down, to scream that this was wrong, but he stood tall, resigned to his fate. "Give her the life she deserves."
Ru Feng, oblivious to the storm brewing behind Shen Yun Tian's eyes, only nodded with a smug grin, his smirk cutting through the already frayed edges of Shen Yun Tian's restraint. "Of course, she'll be happy with me."
The words were like knives, each one twisting deeper into Shen Yun Tian's soul. As Ru Feng turned and walked away, Shen Yun Tian's heart followed him, torn away from the only person he had ever loved, piece by painful piece. He watched the other man's retreating form, feeling his world unravel in silence.
He had believedâhopedâthat by not interfering in her life, by letting her go, she might find happiness with someone else. Yet, as her wedding day approached, his heart shattered under the weight of his decision.
The day of the other Li Na's wedding came. Shen Yun Tian stood beneath the tall oak trees, hidden in the shadows as the festivities unfolded. The sound of her laughter as she spoke to Ru Feng reached his ears like the echo of a distant memoryâbittersweet and sharp.
His chest felt hollow, as if the very essence of him had drained away. Li Na, watching him from the distance of her illusionary state, could feel his devastation. Every forced smile on his lips only deepened the fissures in his heart.
As the wedding vows were exchanged, Shen Yun Tian's breath hitched, his vision blurring for a moment. The entire world seemed to collapse around himâhis only world, the one that revolved around her, had ended.
The night of her wedding, Shen Yun Tian stood by the window of his isolated mansion, the cold panes of glass an icy barrier between him and the world he no longer belonged to. The vast expanse of emptiness outside mirrored the hollow ache gnawing at his insides.
His hands gripped the window sill, knuckles turning white as the imagined image of herâLi Na, dressed in white, radiant and smiling in the arms of another manâflooded his mind. His breath came in shallow, ragged gasps, each one tinged with the bitter taste of regret.
"She's happy... she has to be," he whispered to the silence, a desperate mantra, a lie he told himself over and over. But even as the words left his lips, they soured, burning like poison. His heart twisted painfully, the lie crumbling beneath the weight of his grief.
The cold wind outside seemed to mock him, brushing against the window as if to remind him of all the warmth that had slipped through his fingers. He pressed his forehead against the glass, the chill biting into his skin, and felt his world slipping away, piece by agonizing piece.
A deep, hollow ache spread through his chest, a cavernous emptiness that he knew would never be filled. She had been his everything for lifetimes, and now, in this third life, he had nothing. No family, no future, no Li Na.
He had no one to hold, no one to come home to. Only silence greeted him in this mansionâa silence that weighed on his soul, suffocating him in its embrace. And the worst part was that he had done this to himself. He had believed that letting her go would save her, but instead, it had destroyed him.
The world grew dimmer as the night wore on. Shen Yun Tian sat in the dark, alone, the weight of his decision crushing him. He felt as though his heart had been torn from his chest. Every beat was agony, reminding him of the life that he could never have.
And so, in the stillness of his solitude, Shen Yun Tian made a choice. His world had always revolved around her, and now, as he poured the poison into a small glass, it was painfully clear that his world had ended the moment she said "I do" to someone else.
The stillness in the air was suffocating as he brought the glass to his lips, his hand trembling. The poison was bitter as it slid down his throat, a fitting end to the bitterness that had consumed his life. He closed his eyes, a tear slipping down his cheek, and with his last breath, he whispered her name.
"Li Na..."
The silence after his death was deafening. Li Na felt the world around her still as she watched his lifeless body slump forward. Li Na, trapped in this illusionary state, felt her heart clench with overwhelming sorrow. She wanted to scream, to run to him, to stop himâbut she couldn't. She was merely a ghost, watching the man who had loved her more deeply than anyone else die in utter despair.
On the other side, the other Li Na, oblivious, carried on with her life, her fate forever altered by the absence of Shen Yun Tian.
The other Li Na, who had married Ru Feng, was now thrust into a waking nightmare. She didn't know that her happiness was only an illusion, built on deceit and lies. She didn't know that the man who stood by her side on their wedding day would soon abandon her, just as coldly as he had abandoned her family.
Ru Feng had charmed them allâLi Na's parents, in particular. They had seen in him a bright future, someone who could elevate their status, secure their financial wellbeing. But their hopes were cruelly dashed when, only months after the wedding, Ru Feng disappeared. He took everythingâevery last cent of her family's wealth, leaving them in ruin.
Li Na's father sat in the parlor, head bowed in defeat. The once vibrant man now seemed like a shadow of his former self, the weight of financial ruin and betrayal hanging over him like a dark cloud.
"I trusted him..." her father's voice was weak, fragile. "I trusted that man with everything. My business... my family..."
Her mother, who had once stood as a beacon of strength, was now a shell of her former self. "How could he do this to us? How could he betray us so completely?" her voice quivered with disbelief.
Li Na watched them from the doorway, her heart sinking deeper into despair. She could feel their disappointment, their sense of betrayal. And though they hadn't said it outright, she knew they blamed her. She had been the one who had brought Ru Feng into their lives. She had married him. She had believed in him.
Desperation gnawed at her. She couldn't just stand by and let her family fall into ruin. She had to find Ru Feng, to demand answers, to get the money back. She owed it to her parents, to the family that had given her everything.
Weeks passed in a blur of hopelessness as Li Na searched for Ru Feng.
"How had it all fallen apart so quickly? Li Na's hands trembled as she tore through Ru Feng's papers, her breath coming in ragged gasps. He couldn't have left. Not like this. Not after all they had promised. But the truth was staring her in the face, mocking her. Each step through the city in search of him felt like walking through quicksandâthe deeper she went, the harder it became to breathe."
Her once calm and composed demeanor crumbled under the weight of desperation. Each step she took in her search was another stab of betrayal, another reminder that the man she had loved had abandoned her and her family without a second thought.
One night, after a fruitless search, she returned home, only to find her father had collapsed. His heart, weakened by the stress of the mounting debts, had finally given out. He lay in bed, pale and gaunt, barely clinging to life.
"We're running out of time, Li Na," her mother whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears. "We don't have the money. If we don't pay the loan sharks..."
Li Na's heart clenched in her chest. She knew what that meant. The loan sharks had already begun circling, threatening her family. If they didn't pay soon, they would come for everything they had left.
It wasn't long before they did.
The men came to their home, demanding payment. When Li Na told them they had no money, they sneered. "There's always a way to pay," one of them said, his eyes raking over her. "You'll pay us with your life, one way or another."
Fear gripped her heart as they dragged her to the high-end hotel, forcing her into a room with a fate worse than death waiting for her. But she refused to be a pawn any longer. She wouldn't let them take her.
She stumbled out from their hand, her heart racing as she tried to escape, but the loan sharks stood in the doorway, their eyes glinting with malice as they approached.
"There's no escape, girl," one of them sneered, stepping forward.
Her pulse pounded in her ears, drowning out the world as the men advanced, their shadows creeping across the floor like dark tendrils closing in. She cast a desperate glance at the windowâthe dizzying abyss below swirling in a nauseating blur. Each breath was a jagged gasp, as if the very air had turned to shards, cutting through her lungs as she frantically weighed her impossible choices.
There was no escape. If she jumped, it would all be over in an instant. If she stayed... her fate would be far worse. A cold sweat broke out across her skin. 'I'll jump!' she shouted, but even as she said it, her legs wobbled, betraying the lie in her voice.
The men chuckled, unfazed by her threat. "You don't have the guts," one of them said, taking a step closer.
In her panic, the other Li Na lost her balance, her foot slipping on the edge of the sill. Her arms flailed wildly, trying to catch herself, but it was too late.
Li Na screamed in her illusionary state, but her voice was lost in the wind as the other Li Na fell. The world slowed for a brief, agonizing moment before her body hit the ground with a sickening thud.
She had seen it allâeach life more tragic than the last. But this? Watching him crumble beneath the weight of his love, his silent suffering, while the other Li Na remained oblivious... It was unbearable. Li Na pressed her hands to her chest, her heart aching for the man who had sacrificed everything without asking for anything in return. How many more times would she have to watch him break? How many more lives would be lost to this endless cycle of pain?
The world shifted around her, the edges of her vision blurring as the familiar pull of time dragged her forward once more. It was like fallingâan endless descent into darkness. Li Na gripped her chest, the heaviness in her heart growing. She knew what was coming. She knew she would be forced to watch the pain unfold again. But she was powerless to stop it. As the new life began to take shape before her, a tear slipped down her cheek, the weight of all the lives lost crushing her spirit