“Yes…” He Tiandou said with emotion, “To oppose you, I recreated the duel between Lü Bu and Xiang Yu, but after their first encounter, I knew that Lü Bu was no match for Xiang Yu. To fulfill my promise, I calculated Yu Ji’s future life, but discovered that she hadn’t been reincarnated into the present. What intrigued me was that a girl could mistake Xiang Yu for Yu Ji. At that time, my red potion was almost successfully researched, and on a whim, I gave Zhang Bing the blue potion, thinking that if I made a mistake, it would still be within my control. But an unexpected thing happened; she was actually Yu Ji, and even possessed the memories from that time. Although I knew there was a hidden story, I only fully understood the whole story today—Zhang Bing, why can’t I calculate who you were in your past life based on your birth date?”
Zhang Bing smiled slightly and said, "The year I finished high school, I changed my household registration in order to apply for an art college."
us:"……"
Li Shishi said, "Since you know about this, then Kongkong'er must also know it. After he betrayed you, he used this to blackmail Zhang Bing, forcing her to submit, and then he drugged our wine."
We all looked at Zhang Bing, who said sadly, "Yes. He said he would expose my identity if I didn't help him, but he promised he would only take the things and not harm anyone, so I had no choice but to agree. Your Majesty—" Zhang Bing gazed at Xiang Yu and said, "I know you won't forgive me now no matter what I say, but I did all this so I could be with you as Yu Ji. I know your time is running out..."
Liu Bang said, "Kongkong'er was unwilling to mention Zhang Bing before leaving because he knew that Zhang Bing did not really intend to harm us, and he also felt guilty towards Zhang Bing."
Zhang Bing looked at Liu Bang and said, "I should thank Brother Liu..."
Liu Bang quickly waved his hand and said, "Don't say such things again. I didn't kill Yu Ji."
Zhang Bingyan said, "It's not that. It was your words that woke me up. Just now you said, 'You two are all lovey-dovey every day, yet you're ignoring the life and death of your king at this critical moment.' I've thought about it too. If it were the real Yu Ji, she would have encouraged the king to seize the initiative on the battlefield just now. But I was just blindly infatuated with the king's so-called magnanimity. This time, even though Yu Ji wasn't there, I lost again. In terms of genuine concern for the king, I'm not as good as her."
Mulan sighed, "That's the difference between love and worship. You're just as worried about your king, it's just that you're looking at it from a different angle."
Zhang Bing glanced gratefully at Hua Mulan, no longer lingering on Xiang Yu. She asked He Tiandou, "Mr. He, do you still have that kind of red medicine?"
Somewhat absentmindedly, He Tiandou took out another red pill and placed it on the table. Zhang Bing resolutely took it in his hand, then suddenly turned to Xiang Yu and shouted, "Your Majesty, don't hate me too much!"
Xiang Yu suddenly pushed aside the table and chairs blocking his way, grabbed Zhang Bing, and pulled her into his arms, whispering, "How could I hate you—Xiao Huan, thank you for loving me."
Zhang Bing finally burst into tears in Xiang Yu's arms. Years of grievances and resentment were finally released at this moment. She murmured, "Your words are enough, Your Majesty."
Xiang Yu gently patted her shoulder and said, "I owe you for two lifetimes, this one and the last. Whether we are destined to be together or not, I will definitely repay you in the next life."
Zhang Bing smiled faintly and slowly left Xiang Yu's embrace. She clutched the pill, her hand trembling uncontrollably. Suddenly, she brightened up and said, "Actually, I'm still very lucky, at least I've experienced it. Thank you all, and I'm sorry to you all. I want to apologize to Xiaoyu—I have to go. Like Kongkong'er said, living with this kind of heart is too painful." Then, Zhang Bing popped the pill into her mouth and smiled sweetly, "I've discovered I'm much better off than him; at least I won't have to go back to being 13 when I wake up."
Zhang Bing made a joke at the end, then lay down next to Baozi and fell asleep.
Li Shishi was already sobbing uncontrollably, and Hua Mulan also silently shed tears. Everyone else was deeply moved. I was also quite shaken. I wiped my wet eyes and said, "I thought of something very serious. What if Zhang Bing wakes up and shouts 'molestation'? She should take the medicine home."
Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Same Land, The Same Dream
After a while, when the effects of the medicine had worn off, Xiang Yu picked up Zhang Bing and said to us, "I'll take her to school."
I asked worriedly, "Are you able to drive now?"
"It's alright. Like you said, we can't let her wake up thinking she's been assaulted." Xiang Yu smiled at us and said, "I'll have to trouble you to take care of her in the future. Especially you, Xiao Qiang, if she has any difficulties, please do your best to help."
After going through countless hardships to find Yu Ji, it turned out to be a fake. We all thought that Xiang Yu was on the verge of collapse, or at least extremely depressed, but Xiang Yu's expression actually looked somewhat relaxed.
I quickly replied, "Of course."
Xiang Yu turned to He Tiandou and asked, "After she woke up, did she really not remember me at all?"
He Tiandou nodded and said, "Yes. At most, she can only remember that your name is Xiang Yu, and that you were a small business owner with whom she had an ambiguous relationship. But because she has completely forgotten her past life, she will no longer like you, and may even find it absurd."
Xiang Yu smiled and said, "That would be best."
He Tiandou also noticed that something was wrong with Xiang Yu and said to him, "I've already checked, Yu Ji has been reincarnated into..."
Xiang Yu waved his hand and said, "Don't tell me, I know where she is."
He Tiandou asked in surprise, "How did you know?"
Xiang Yu said no more and carried Zhang Bing out.
Li Shishi looked at Xiang Yu's retreating figure and said, "Brother Xiang's words are strange."
Wu Sangui said, "You think he wouldn't commit suicide?"
Everyone turned their attention to Liu Bang. If anyone truly understood Xiang Yu, aside from the unseen concubine Yu Ji, it would probably be him. Liu Bang stroked his chin and said, "Probably not." Our hearts settled... but then Liu Bang added, "Who knows?"
We: "Go to hell!"
At this moment, Baozi slowly woke up, glanced at us groggily, and said, "This liquor is really strong today. My hands and feet are all weak after drinking it. Qiangzi, where did you buy it? Let's go there again next time." She suddenly noticed He Tiandou and laughed, "Oh, you're here too?" Although she didn't know who He Tiandou was, she had seen him before as a neighbor.
He Tiandou greeted her, saying, "Well, I should go now. You guys continue eating."
"Don't go, let's eat together." Seeing the old man had already reached the door, Baozi had no choice but to see him out. When he returned, he scratched his head and said, "Something feels off. Little Zhao's here too?"
She glanced at the clock on the wall and exclaimed, "No way! I've been sleeping for two hours? You've been eating all this time?"
Looking at the bewildered faces of the steamed buns, we truly understood that "ignorance is bliss." So much had happened in those two hours.
While tidying up the table, Baozi said, "Did Big Guy go deliver Zhang Bing?"
I took her hand and said, "We can clean up tomorrow. Let's go to sleep tonight. Xiao Zhao and Ke Zi will sleep in the same room."
After we finished settling them in, Xiang Yu still hadn't returned. Hua Mulan checked her watch and said, "If we had turned back after dropping them off, Brother Xiang should be back by now."
I was a little worried, so I made a call to Xiang Yu's phone. The phone rang abruptly from the corner of the sofa. Xiang Yu didn't have his phone with him at all!
We looked at each other, and Li Shishi said cautiously, "He...maybe he just wants to be alone for a while."
Mulan whispered, "I have a bad feeling... I feel like I'll never see him again."
I was taken aback by their comments: "Is it really that serious?"
As it turned out, Xiang Yu really didn't come back that night. Except for Baozi, none of us slept soundly.
The next morning around 9 a.m., I was woken up by a phone call. Liu Laoliu was shouting on the other end: "Xiaoqiang, come to the bar quickly. You have a new customer."