Crying While Filling the Pit I Dug - Chapter 113

Han Chuan’s mother turned to her, her expression curious. “Little girl, what’s the matter?”

“Are you Han Chuan’s mother?” Song Miaomiao asked. “I’ve seen you before. Han Chuan and I were in the same high school. Do you know which university he’s been admitted to now?”

With a smile, Han Chuan’s mother nodded. “So you’re one of Xiao Chuan’s alumni. He’s been admitted to D University. And what’s your name?”

“I’m Song Miaomiao,” she replied. “Which major is he taking?”

“He’s in the Department of Mathematics,” Han Chuan’s mother answered.

Curiosity sparked, Song Miaomiao pressed on, “Auntie, did your family ever raise a kitten before?”

Han Chuan’s mother looked puzzled. “A kitten? No, our family has never had one.”

It was startling that even memories of the cat had vanished. The bottle of perfume from the Demon Management Bureau truly worked. Song Miaomiao wondered if it would also erase Han Chuan’s previous dreams about her.

Song Miaomiao felt a pang of bitterness. “Okay, Auntie, thank you, bye.”

“Miaomiao, come to our house when you have time,” Han Chuan’s mother invited warmly.

“Okay,” Song Miaomiao replied.

After learning which university Han Chuan attended, Song Miaomiao took an overnight bus ride to University D. She found a small hotel near the campus gate, where she stayed for the night before arriving at University D early the next morning.

University campuses often had less stringent security than high school gates, with entrance machines sometimes serving as mere decoration. Sneaking in was relatively easy. 

Song Miaomiao found a few classmates and asked around until she reached the dormitory area for freshmen in the Department of Mathematics. The dormitory supervisor assumed she wanted to post a small advertisement and shooed her away from a distance.

After a long wait, Song Miaomiao, sitting under a tree, finally spotted Han Chuan and a group of boys entering the dormitory, basketballs in hand. He didn’t notice her. Despite a tinge of bitterness, Song Miaomiao shrugged it off. The future was long, and now that she knew he was here, she was prepared for the long run.

Feeling a bit hungry, she wandered around the business district and stumbled upon a milk tea store close to Han Chuan’s dormitory building. It seemed like a good spot to establish herself.

Without student status at D University, she couldn’t rely on chance encounters there every day without becoming an unemployed homeless person, could she? The store was small, less than ten square meters. Song Miaomiao invested almost all her savings—money from her brother and points exchanged with the system—into purchasing it.

Renaming the store “Tiger Milk Tea”, she kept the decoration unchanged due to budget constraints. On its opening day, Song Miaomiao hung a banner and quietly opened for business.

As noon approached, Song Miaomiao wiped tables, lost in thought as she picked up a cup of black tea, envisioning one day promoting her store near Han Chuan’s dormitory.

“Boss, I’d like plain milk tea, no sugar,” a familiar voice said, snapping her back to reality.

Han Chuan stood by the cashier’s desk, tears welling in his eyes as he gazed at her, unblinking. “My family used to have a cat,” he said softly, “she was as cute as you.”

He remembered! Song Miaomiao’s heart leaped with joy.

With a trembling hand, she accidentally dropped the teacup, spilling its contents all over her.

Han Chuan rushed to her side, grabbing paper towels from the counter to help wipe her wet apron and sleeves.

Tears streamed down Song Miaomiao’s face. “You haven’t forgotten, you still remember me.”

Han Chuan reached out, gently caressing her face and wiping away her tears. His voice choked with emotion, “Miaomiao, you’re finally back.”

Just then, a male student entered the milk tea store and ordered, “Miss, a cup of milk tea, please.”

Song Miaomiao turned to him, her expression apologetic. “I’m sorry, classmate, but we won’t be open for business today.”

The student grumbled, “What’s going on? You’re not doing business on your opening day?”

“I’m sorry,” Song Miaomiao repeated softly.

Once the student left, she pulled down the store’s shutter door. As soon as it closed, she threw herself into Han Chuan’s arms.

The two embraced in silence for a while before Han Chuan spoke again. “After your brother changed back to his original form that day, you suddenly disappeared. I asked around, but no one remembered you. The memories of you and your brother in our class became blank. Even the teacher and my mother don’t remember. But I knew you would come back to find me. I waited for over a year, and finally, we’re together again.”

“That day, my brother frightened the humans into unconsciousness because of his original form, causing public security chaos and violating demon management regulations. We were captured by the Demon Management Bureau. They erased everyone’s memory. I thought you wouldn’t remember me anymore. After I got out of the Demon Management Bureau, I wanted to start over from the beginning. In order to create a little contact with you, I came here to rent a place to sell milk tea,” Song Miaomiao explained.

Han Chuan hugged her tightly again. “It’s good that you’re back.”

Song Miaomiao sobbed, “I thought you had forgotten me too, but I didn’t expect you to remember everything about me. What happened that day? Didn’t you smell the bottle of memory-erasing perfume?”

“What perfume that erases memories?” Han Chuan looked puzzled. “That day, after your brother returned to his original form, I saw the grill fall down. Tang Xin was next to the grill, and a flame burned her clothes, so I went to Sunset Lake to carry a bucket of water to extinguish the sparks on her clothes. But when I was fetching water, I slipped on the moss-covered stone and fell into the water. I can swim, you know, but that day the lake’s water plants entangled my feet. I held my breath and untangled the plants underwater. Then I surfaced. You and your brother were gone. The barbecue grill was upright, and Tang Xin was eating barbecue, her clothes clean as new. Everyone was happily grilling as if nothing had happened.”

Song Miaomiao suddenly realized, “So that’s how it is. You were underwater, so you didn’t smell it. The people from the Demon Management Bureau appeared that day and spread a bottle of perfume that can erase memories in the air. Anyone who smells the perfume will lose their memories about the demons. You were holding your breath underwater, which cut off the air, so…”

Han Chuan sighed, “It’s God’s will, and God doesn’t want us to separate. If you come out now, will the people from the Demon Management Bureau come to arrest you?”

Song Miaomiao teased him slyly, “Would you like to kiss me and try?”

Han Chuan blushed again, saying, “I want to kiss you, but…”

Before he finished speaking, Song Miaomiao raised her head and blocked his mouth.

Han Chuan closed his eyes, deepening the kiss, and tightening his arms around her, fearing she might turn into a cat again.

Song Miaomiao pushed him away gently. “Relax your grip, it hurts,” she said softly.

Surprised, Han Chuan remarked, “You haven’t changed!”

With a smile, Song Miaomiao reassured him, “I’m a real human now.”

“Really?” Han Chuan’s smile widened, and he leaned in to kiss her again.

　　…

As they had lived side by side in this world for decades, the two finally held hands and spent their last moment together, falling into a deep sleep.

With her eyes closed, the white-haired Song Miaomiao heard the voice of the system again, [Author Miaomiao, congratulations on completing all the tasks. The Lujiang codeword machine has automatically and completely recorded the content of each story world. Now execute the return command, and you will be transferred back to the original world.]