Fu Changrong, however, was more interested in astronomy and spaceflight, so he changed his research focus as well.
Two years later, the two of them were rehired by the university. The place they went to most often was the mall where the accident had happened. Rumor had it they went once a week, and every time they went they had to ride that same elevator, back and forth several times, year after year without change.
"This dating style is novel, sure, but it’s really unfriendly to us science-and-engineering people. You don’t know—last month I was chasing a junior, and she asked me if I’d also be taking her to ride the mall elevator like this in the future. Can’t those professors pick a different place to fall in love?"
Their friends, teachers, and classmates all automatically assumed the two of them were together.
After all, they’d bought apartments right across from each other; they commuted together, studied together, regularly huddled up to whisper to each other, and even the aura they had when they were together felt different from other people. If that’s not being together, then what is?
Only the two of them knew they were just friends, just conspiring about how to get home.
As for going home, Zhao Hezhen never doubted it. She felt that since she’d managed to come here, she’d definitely be able to go back.
But as Fu Changrong’s research deepened, the two of them started to doubt whether they could return.
A lot of things were still just at the conjecture stage, and even for certain discoveries, there was currently no technology capable of piercing through two spacetime continua.
And besides, how were their souls supposed to separate from their bodies?
Only when they got to the stage of implementation did they realize there was a whole Da Shan lying in front of them, unmovable and for the moment impossible to cross.
It wasn’t just Zhao Hezhen; even Fu Changrong felt a kind of cold, numbed despair.
The two of them, always disciplined and diligent, finally buckled under the crushing pressure and decided to mess around for a while. "I heard alcohol can ease sorrow—once you’re drunk, your heart won’t hurt as much."
Zhao Hezhen had never drunk before and wanted to give it a try.
After a moment’s hesitation, Fu Changrong said, "Then let’s try." He had never been drunk either.
Neither of them had alcohol at home, and Fu Changrong was too lazy to go out, so he took out his phone and directly called a delivery runner.
Even though it was her first time drinking, Zhao Hezhen’s tolerance was better than Fu Changrong’s. She downed a whole bottle; Fu Changrong was already holding his head, lost in thought, while she only had flushed cheeks and eyes that still shone bright—she looked very energetic.
She poured herself another glass. Seeing his glass still full, she didn’t push him. She clinked his glass on her own and said, "Come on, tell me, does the wine in Great Jin taste better, or the wine now?"
Fu Changrong mumbled back, "Neither tastes good."
Zhao Hezhen slapped his arm hard. "Scholars love wine—how can you not? You’ve got so many sorrows; you’re exactly the type who should love wine, aren’t you? How can you not know that?"
Fu Changrong’s arm hurt from the slaps. He raised his head to look at her and confirmed, "You’re drunk too."
"I’m not drunk, I’m perfectly clearheaded. You’re the one who’s drunk." Zhao Hezhen stood up. "I’ve got sour plum drink at my place; I’ll get you some to sober you up."
She went to the fridge to get the sour plum drink, calling back to Fu Changrong as she moved, "Watch me—see if I’m walking super straight?"
Fu Changrong stared at her blankly and nodded. She handed him the sour plum drink, grinning foolishly. "So I’m not drunk, right?"
Fu Changrong took the drink and started sipping, grumbling inwardly. Her steps were straight, yes, but the fact she could even ask something like that made it clear she was drunk.
Zhao Hezhen banged her leg against a chair; it hurt so much that she couldn’t help kicking it in return, tears streaming down her face. "Even a chair leg bullies me. Do I look that easy to push around?"
Fu Changrong hurriedly handed her tissues and moved to check her leg, but he’d only taken two steps when his vision went blurry and he collapsed straight to the floor.
Seeing this, Zhao Hezhen started laughing again and simply sat cross-legged on the floor herself. "Your alcohol tolerance is terrible. My grandfather loves to drink—how are you supposed to come to my house to propose marriage with a tolerance like that and get past my grandfather?"
Fu Changrong froze, pressed a hand to his forehead, and looked at her. "What did you just say?"
Completely oblivious, Zhao Hezhen waved her hand. "Forget it, you don’t need to worry. You’re Grandfather’s personally chosen candidate. Even if you can’t hold your liquor, even if you don’t drink at all, Grandfather wouldn’t mind."
Though drunk, Fu Changrong’s mind was still working. He tilted his head and thought for a bit; a lot of things that hadn’t made sense suddenly clicked into place. "Before the incident, our two families were negotiating a match?"
"Yeah," Zhao Hezhen said. "What did you think—they targeted my younger brother in such a rush for what reason? Isn’t it because our two families were about to become in-laws?"
In more than two years here, Zhao Hezhen had never mentioned this. They were no longer in that world, and Fu Changrong himself hadn’t known, so what was the point of bringing it up?
But tonight, Zhao Hezhen’s heart was thrown wide open. She held nothing back, including the dirty scheming within the Zhao Family.
After realizing they couldn’t go back, everything from that world suddenly turned into bygone dust, even a previous life.

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