ASPWL Ch95: Restarting Time

The day before New Year’s Eve, a heavy snowfall blanketed everything.

When L1 woke up, he found a vast white world outside. Even his favorite lounge chair had accumulated a thick layer of snow.

At that moment, Qin Yao was standing on the balcony, sweeping the snow. Hearing sounds from inside, he slid open the glass door and smiled at L1. “Looks like today, it’s warm milk indoors for you.”

Instead of reaching for the milk right away, L1 stepped outside to help Qin Yao clear the snow off the lounge chair.

As they worked, L1 couldn’t resist crafting a small snowman.

Qin Yao’s gaze had shifted over at some point, landing on the snowman in L1’s hands. He chuckled softly. “How about making a bigger one?”

L1 nodded eagerly. “Okay.”

So, together, they built a large snowman, carefully placing it in a corner shielded from the sunlight.

Qin Yao brought out a scarf and other decorations, and before long, a snowman nearly identical to last year’s appeared before them.

L1 was delighted with their creation. He circled it, occasionally grabbing some snow to fill in any uneven spots.

Leaning back, Qin Yao watched L1 with a gentle smile.

Suddenly, Qin Yao asked, “It seems you haven’t grown at all this year, have you?”

L1 turned, explaining, “My body doesn’t grow naturally.”

Qin Yao’s brows furrowed slightly before he let out a resigned smile.

L1 was puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

After a year of living with humans, he’d learned to interpret most human expressions and body language, but not all of it.

For instance, L1 couldn’t quite decipher the complex, somewhat regretful smile Qin Yao now wore.

Qin Yao replied, “I just feel a little unaccomplished.”

L1 tilted his head. “Huh?”

“Think about it,” Qin Yao crouched down in front of him, gazing directly into L1’s eyes. “I’ve been giving you milk for over a year, taking care of you seriously, yet you haven’t grown at all.”

L1 wanted to explain that he was a system—he wasn’t meant to grow taller or bigger. His growth was purely in data and upgrades.

But as he was about to say it, he swallowed the words.

After a year together, L1 had learned that some things he said could come off as deflating.

So he thought for a moment and replied earnestly, “I can grow too.”

Qin Yao was surprised. “Oh?”

Taking advantage of Qin Yao’s brief confusion, L1 quickly redeemed a Growth Potion from the Points Store.

System bodies obtained from the Points Store were designed not to grow naturally. The five-year redemption rule had caused many systems to feel stagnant.

To prevent a wave of system complaints, the Points Store had introduced complementary Growth and Rejuvenation Potions.

In just a blink, L1 had completed the redemption, and before Qin Yao could react, he downed the Growth Potion.

Qin Yao’s eyes widened slightly. “What did you just drink…”

Before he could finish, the small five-year-old figure before him began to grow.

In a matter of seconds, L1 had reached a height of around 1.8 meters.

Seeing his newfound elevated perspective, L1 felt a bit out of place. He glanced down to confirm that his clothes had also grown with him, which put him at ease. He then looked down at Qin Yao.

Qin Yao remained crouched, looking slightly upward, his deep eyes fixed intently on L1’s face.

L1, thrilled by his reaction, smiled and asked, “How do I look? Still handsome even when I’m grown up?”

Slowly, Qin Yao stood up.

Only then did L1 realize that Qin Yao was still a bit taller than him. Not that it mattered—L1 had never cared much about height. He looked up at Qin Yao with a grin, awaiting his response.

But he waited a long time without an answer. Instead, he gradually noticed that Qin Yao’s eyes were turning red.

The young man’s gaze, always gentle and often carrying a hint of a smile, now brimmed with unshed tears, a hint of other complex emotions mingling there.

L1 couldn’t understand and asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

Qin Yao just stood there silently, then after a long pause, shook his head and murmured something.

L1 didn’t catch it. “What?”

As Qin Yao turned his head away, L1 seemed to see a tear slipping down.

“What’s wrong, Qin Yao?” L1 asked. “Aren’t you happy that I’ve grown up?”

Qin Yao replied, “I’m very happy.”

It was precisely because he was so happy that he couldn’t stop himself from crying.

He had prepared himself to spend a lifetime without ever seeing another system.

Yet at this moment, he realized he had already been reunited with one.

L1 wanted to ask more questions, but Qin Yao had already gone inside.

After a moment, he returned with a cup of warm oat milk for L1.

L1 took the milk, studying Qin Yao’s expression, and asked, “What happened just now?”

L1 didn’t quite believe Qin Yao’s words. If he was truly happy, why would he cry?

Looking into L1’s curious, clear eyes, Qin Yao thought for a moment before saying, “You know there are many types of tears, right?”

L1 blinked. “So you were crying because you were happy?”

Qin Yao nodded.

L1’s smile widened instantly. “You’re really that happy just because I grew up?”

“Of course,” Qin Yao replied, his gaze lingering almost indulgently on L1’s face.

He had never thought to connect this once-clueless system with the one who had carried him home eighteen years ago.

That was why he’d cried from joy.

Qin Yao asked, “Yaoyao, do you have a name besides L1 or Yaoyao?”

L1 took a sip of milk and shook his head. “No.”

Qin Yao thought for a moment and said, “Why not choose one for yourself?”

L1 asked, “How would I do that? I don’t know how to pick a name for myself. Maybe you could help me think of one?”

Qin Yao looked at L1 for a while before suggesting, “How about Yaoyao? It sounds like Yaoyao, but…”

“But what?” L1 asked.

Qin Yao hesitated, thinking the name was too intimate. He selfishly didn’t want anyone else calling him Yaoyao.

So he said, “Let’s add another character before Yaoyao. Your name is L1, and the ‘L’ sounds like ‘Le’ in Chinese. How about Leyao?”

L1 repeated the name twice to himself and then beamed. “Sure, I think Leyao sounds wonderful.”

Watching his smile, Qin Yao felt genuinely happy too.

He silently wished that his Leyao would live a life full of happiness and freedom.

…

The next day, L1 paid a visit to the Huo family.

Seeing the suddenly “grown-up” L1, the family was initially surprised but quickly accepted him.

Mama Huo even complimented him, saying he was more handsome than the three Huo brothers.

Huo Yan and Huo Ze were noticeably dissatisfied, both chiming in unison to tell their mother not to praise one at the expense of the others, claiming they, too, had feelings.

Amused, L1 sat on the couch, laughing at their banter.

The Lunar New Year passed in a blur of laughter and conversation with the family.

As the cold winter departed, spring and summer rolled in.

But this year, the warmth of spring didn’t bring the same sense of relaxation as it had last year.

L1 still lived at Qin Yao’s place, but his time there was decreasing as he spent more time outside.

L1 watched as Yu Bai signed a contract with Qin Yao, joining his most promising project as the male lead.

He saw He Shi and Su Rui have an argument, and after breaking up with He Shi, Su Rui found out she was pregnant.

Without much hesitation, Su Rui reached out to Huo Yan.

Gradually, Huo Yan and Su Rui grew closer, started dating, and not long after, Huo Yan was taken out drinking until he was thoroughly drunk and escorted to a hotel by Su Rui.

Following that, Huo Yan brought Su Rui home and, to be with her, stood against his entire family.

L1 saw that Mama Huo’s cousin had stolen her wedding ring, and the ring later reappeared with a distant cousin of Papa Huo, whom he hadn’t contacted in years.

This led to a major argument between Mama and Papa Huo, the most intense one in their decades-long marriage.

Meanwhile, Qin Yao’s new variety show faced issues as well.

During the first recording session, a scandal involving one of the artists erupted.

Qin Yao was so busy during that time he barely had a moment to rest. One day, L1 waited at home all day for him, and it wasn’t until eleven at night that Qin Yao rushed back.

“Did you wait too long?” Qin Yao apologized the moment he stepped in. “Sorry, Yaoyao, I’ve been swamped lately. Want some oat milk…”

He trailed off, staring at the cup in L1’s hands. “What’s that?”

L1 explained softly, “You were so busy, so I thought I’d try making milk myself.”

Qin Yao’s expression softened. Smiling, he walked over and sat beside L1, asking gently, “How does it taste?”

L1 shook his head.

It couldn’t compare to Qin Yao’s.

“Can I try it?” Qin Yao looked at the cup in L1’s hands, clearly intrigued.

L1 nodded, just about to get up to pour a fresh cup when Qin Yao held him in place. Then, taking the cup from L1’s hands, he drank the warm milk in one gulp.

L1 blinked.

But wasn’t this cup of milk his leftover?

What about Qin Yao…

After carefully savoring it, Qin Yao smiled and said, “I think it tastes pretty good.”

L1 replied, “But it’s not as delicious as the one you made.”

The milk made by Qin Yao was the best.

So Qin Yao stood up, “Alright, I’ll go make you some now.”

There was still a lot of milk left that L1 made, and after pouring it into a cup and putting it in the fridge, Qin Yao began to prepare milk for L1.

Even though L1 had seen Qin Yao make milk many times, he still found this scene particularly pleasing to the eye.

In fact, a subtle thought rose in his heart—

L1 wished time could stay forever in this moment.

L1 could indeed do that.

But he couldn’t do it.

So time continued to move forward.

More and more pre-written plots followed in succession.

Before the crucial match, the main players of Huo Ze’s team were suspended.

Qin Yao’s variety show continued to face scandals, and investors began to withdraw.

Huo Jing’s assistant was dismissed for leaking his personal schedule, and then a crucial batch of goods for Huo’s Group just happened to encounter a typhoon, leading to significant losses and turmoil within the entire group.

Whether it was Qin Yao or the Huo family, everyone began to get busy.

L1 found that the time he could spend with them was becoming increasingly scarce.

It wasn’t because L1 didn’t have the time, but rather because he suddenly realized he was afraid to meet them.

The Huo family continued to treat him well as always.

Even if Papa and Mama Huo had just quarreled a moment ago, as soon as L1 arrived, they would smile again, even laughingly covering up their arguments when L1 inquired.

They didn’t want L1 to worry, so they didn’t say anything.

But they didn’t know that L1 actually knew everything.

As a monitoring system, he was aware of everything.

Yet, at this moment, L1 was no longer a system that was completely ignorant of human emotions, so he didn’t ask anything and didn’t dare to ask, simply reducing the frequency of his appearances before them.

L1 even stopped visiting Qin Yao often; Qin Yao still prepared a cup of oatmeal milk for L1 every day before hurriedly leaving.

L1 would wait for Qin Yao to leave, then sit on his lounge chair and sip the milk slowly.

The next day, he would go to the Huo family.

To see Mama Huo or follow along with the three brothers of the Huo family.

This period passed very quickly; in the blink of an eye, the Qin and Huo families experienced tremendous changes.

Yet despite all this, everyone’s storyline did not stop.

The first to arrive was the ending belonging to Qin Yao.

It was the last day of August, a sunny day.

L1 had already arrived on the balcony.

When Qin Yao came out with the milk, he was pleasantly surprised to see L1: “You finally came.”

L1 replied, “I come every day.”

Qin Yao handed him the milk, smiling: “I know; I actually meant to say that I haven’t seen you in a long time. Have you been busy lately?”

L1 took a sip of the milk, but this time, he suddenly found it not sweet enough, unable to suppress the bitterness.

L1 said, “Yeah, a bit busy.”

Qin Yao looked at him quietly, and after a long while, he said, “Are you… going to leave?”

L1 looked at him in confusion: “Hmm?”

Qin Yao seemed a bit nervous, averting his gaze when L1 looked over: “I meant to say, if you’re going to leave, could you come to say goodbye to me in advance?”

L1 pressed his lips together tightly: “Don’t humans like to say goodbye?”

Qin Yao lowered his eyes slightly, his eyelashes casting a shadow under his eyes, obscuring his tiredness from the past few days.

L1 suddenly realized he couldn’t see what Qin Yao’s emotions meant at that moment.

After a long time, Qin Yao finally said, “I can’t be sure about others, but I like it.”

L1 pressed further, “Why?”

Qin Yao’s voice carried a laugh, but L1 felt that his smile held no happiness.

Qin Yao replied, “Because I want to know exactly what day the farewell is, so I’ll have a thought for the future.”

L1 still didn’t understand.

Yet he was painfully aware that Qin Yao wouldn’t have a future.

His life would end completely today.

After Qin Yao finished washing L1’s cup, he said: “You must come to tell me when you leave, okay?”

L1 replied, “Okay.”

This was L1’s first time learning to lie.

Qin Yao quickly tidied up and prepared to leave, and L1 followed behind him. Just as he opened the door, L1 suddenly grabbed his hand.

Qin Yao was taken aback, turning back to look at him in confusion.

L1 actually didn’t like physical contact with humans.

Because that feeling was strange, an experience he had never had before.

But in that moment of holding Qin Yao’s hand, he felt no repulsion at all.

L1 felt as if he opened his mouth and spoke a sentence.

Qin Yao asked, “What?”

L1 repeated it.

Qin Yao looked at him quietly, then laughed: “Yaoyao, why don’t you speak up? Are you playing a game of charades with me?”

It was at that moment that L1 suddenly remembered the program he had set for himself—

If there was a possibility of revealing the truth, this program would automatically mute whatever he was about to say.

This was the safety net L1 had left for himself, but at that moment, it deeply bound him.

L1 pressed his lips together tightly and couldn’t speak.

He couldn’t say that sentence asking Qin Yao to stay and not go…

For the first time, L1 felt a slight pain in his heart.

But he didn’t understand why, as a system, he could feel pain.

Yet Qin Yao still left.

Before leaving, he reached out to ruffle L1’s hair and smiled, saying, “I’ll bring you a little cake when I come back tonight.”

L1 stood on the balcony, watching his figure disappear until he was no longer visible.

For the entire day, L1 remained on the balcony of Qin Yao’s home without moving.

The whole morning was bright and sunny, but just after noon, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and the strong winds swept through, sending leaves and debris flying onto the balcony, hitting L1’s face.

Then came the dense raindrops, pounding down on the dull ground one after another.

L1’s clothes had long since become wet, yet he still didn’t move.

He waited from morning until night, until the sun rose and set again the next day, but Qin Yao never returned.

On the third day, someone finally came to this house.

But it wasn’t Qin Yao; it was Qin Hongxi.

He instructed the servants to pack up all of Qin Yao’s things, but the balcony was the only place left untouched.

L1 stood invisibly on the balcony, watching the people come and go, bustling about.

When he flew out from the balcony, he noticed that the villa had added some decorations—

L1 recognized those decorations; they were white silk used in human funerals.

Qin Yao was dead.

L1 didn’t go to see him.

……

L1 went to the Huo family.

By now, Papa Huo and Mama Huo had divorced, and the Huo Group was rapidly declining.

Papa and Mama Huo had both moved out of the Huo family’s villa.

L1 first went to see Papa Huo, who had injured his arm in a fire; his arm hadn’t fully recovered yet.

The house was very cold and quiet. L1 wandered around and only found Papa Huo sitting in a dark corner.

After thinking for a moment, he didn’t reveal himself and instead went to see Mama Huo.

Mama Huo’s situation was even worse; she sat silently on the sofa, tears streaming down her face.

L1 wanted to comfort her, but accidentally bumped into the corner of a table, making a sound.

It hurt so much that L1 almost forgot to breathe for a moment.

Mama Huo’s voice rang out: “Is that Yaoyao? Have you come?”

L1 remained silent.

Mama Huo waited a long time for L1’s voice but heard nothing. She sighed softly, as if talking to herself: “It’s better that you don’t come; if you don’t come, he won’t know about Qin Yao…”

At this point, Mama Huo’s tears suddenly fell uncontrollably.

L1 heard her murmuring softly: “How could this happen? Why did this have to happen…”

Yes.

L1 also wanted to know why such a thing happened.

The fact of Qin Yao’s death felt like a sharp knife, piercing him deeply.

L1 fled the world of A20231007 as if escaping, pressing the pause button on this world the moment he stepped out.

Then he ran into Qiu and L2.

Seeing L1, they were momentarily taken aback, then realized this was L1’s human body, and spoke in unison, “You’re back?”

“Did the plot end?” L2 asked.

Qiu had already opened the plot progress and paused, slightly startled: “L1, you…”

L1 said, “I exchanged for an extension of the pause at the points mall; the worlds S20070501 and A20231007 have both been extended until two years later.”

Qiu and L2 were both shocked.

L2 asked, “Why did you extend it for so long?”

L1 replied without emotion, “I want to take a vacation.”

Qiu frowned slightly.

The Space-Time Bureau allowed systems to take vacations, and their breaks were usually long.

But L1 was different; he hadn’t rested even once since his creation.

He was like a machine that didn’t know what exhaustion was.

Now the machine said it wanted a vacation.

Qiu looked at his tightly furrowed brow and suddenly realized: “It seems you’ve understood some emotions unique to humans.”

L1 did not deny it.

L2 was somewhat confused: “Understanding human emotions is a good thing, but your expression…”

Qiu stopped L2 from speaking further.

L1 didn’t explain; he quickly submitted his vacation application and entered his system space to start sleeping.

For a system, sleeping meant reorganizing data.

L1 was a very advanced system, and he didn’t need much time to organize his data.

But this time, he remained in his system space for a full two years without leaving.

L1 continuously cleaned his data, as if believing that if he cleared away all the bad data, he could feel happy again.

The time flow in the Space-Time Bureau was very slow, but after the long two years, L1 still couldn’t feel happy.

On the last day of the vacation, L1 left his system space.

As soon as he arrived at the Space-Time Bureau, he ran into L2.

L2 asked, “Where did you go on vacation for these two years?”

L1 didn’t speak.

L2 leaned closer: “Was it fun?”

L1 still didn’t respond.

L2 jumped onto his shoulder: “Can you give me a little grooming?”

Only then did L1 turn his head to glance at him. L2’s orange cat form was very cute, so L1 naturally picked him up and began to pet him.

L2 was very comfortable, even exposing his belly.

When Qiu came over, she happened to see this scene.

She chuckled and said, “You never used to do this, so now you are—”

“I don’t understand,” L1 said.

Qiu watched him quietly.

L1 lowered his head, his voice tinged with sadness: “I clearly cleaned up all that data; logically, I shouldn’t be sad anymore, but why am I still feeling this way?”

L2’s belly-up gesture paused.

Qiu looked at L1 for a long while before sighing.

Qiu said, “L1, I can’t give you the answers you seek. Your confusion originates from the world of S20070501, and deepened in A20231007, so I think you need to go back to these two worlds to find the answers.”

L2 recalled a saying: “As the saying goes, to untie the bell, one must find the person who tied it?”

Qiu smiled: “You could say that.”

L1 looked up at Qiu.

Qiu just gazed into his sad eyes and asked, “Are you still going?”

L1 took a long time before nodding his head.

He wanted to know why he felt so sad.

So, L1 restarted the paused A20231007 world.

His first destination was Mama Huo’s house.

Two years had passed in the Space-Time Bureau, but time had not moved in the paused little world.

Before departing, L1 went to various milk tea shops and convenience stores to buy a lot of oat milk, finishing each one in turn, and finally appearing at Mama Huo’s house just before the sun was about to set.

Mama Huo, seeing L1 whom she hadn’t seen for a long time, brightened up and a smile that had long been absent appeared on her face: “Yaoyao, you haven’t come for a long time!”

“Hmm,” L1 nodded, stopping Mama Huo, who was about to prepare a big meal for him, politely asking, “Could you please make me a cup of oat milk?”

Mama Huo quietly looked at him for a long time before gently nodding, “Alright.”

Following the steps L1 described, Mama Huo prepared a cup of oat milk for him.

Unfortunately, this cup of milk still did not taste like the one he was familiar with.

But it couldn’t be denied that the milk was delicious.

So, before leaving, L1 asked Mama Huo a question: “What does it mean to like someone?”

Mama Huo thought for a long while before answering, “The definition of liking is different for everyone, but for me, liking means closeness, wanting to be together all the time.”

L1 nodded thoughtfully, helping Mama Huo wash the cup and saying goodbye.

Mama Huo accompanied him to the door, and just as L1’s figure was about to disappear, she called out, “Yaoyao, you must take care of yourself!”

L1 turned back, looking at Mama Huo, and smiled as he called out, “Do you like me?”

Tears rolled down Mama Huo’s face as she nodded with a smile.

Yes, she liked him.

Ever since she first met L1, she genuinely liked this child.

To Mama Huo, no matter if L1 was a system or anything else, she liked him, and she hoped L1 could always be well.

L1 then went to the Qin family.

Qin Yao’s balcony remained unchanged, and L1 sat down on his lounge chair, suddenly noticing that the rose leaves next to him still had water droplets on them, and the surroundings were clean, as if someone had been tidying up all along.

At that moment, L1 heard the bedroom door behind him open, and someone unexpected walked out.

Qin Hongxi looked at L1 and then smiled: “Aren’t you called Leyao?”

L1 observed Qin Hongxi. In just a few days, this middle-aged man’s hair had turned gray.

L1 nodded, “Yes.”

Leyao was the name Qin Yao had given him.

Qin Hongxi smiled again: “Don’t worry, I have no ill intentions. While sorting through Xiao Yao’s belongings, I found a letter addressed to you.”

As Qin Hongxi spoke, he turned and went back into the bedroom.

Before long, he came out holding the letter and handed it to him: “Here you go. If you find it troubling…”

Without hesitation, L1 reached out to take the letter and said, “Thank you.”

Qin Hongxi smiled, his gaze lingering on the roses and lounge chair on the balcony, before finally looking away. He said, “I should be the one to thank you. If it weren’t for you…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, only adding, “Before Qin Yao left, he told me that you liked oat milk. He instructed me that if you came looking for him, I should definitely make you a cup of oat milk. Do you want some now?”

L1 had already had plenty of oat milk that day, but upon hearing Qin Hongxi say that, he still nodded, “Okay.”

Qin Hongxi turned and went to prepare the milk.

L1 opened the letter.

The letter’s content was very simple, with only one short line:

“Thank you, Yaoyao. I hope you have a happy and carefree life.”

L1 stared at that brief line for a long time before suddenly laughing, “How silly.”

He was a system; how could he not be happy and carefree?

Qin Hongxi happened to come out with the milk, and when his gaze fell on the letter in L1’s hand, he said, “He really hoped you could be happy and carefree, so don’t be sad because of his departure.”

L1 took the milk and looked up at Qin Hongxi.

His eyes were red, as if he had just been crying. Now that they were close, L1 could see more clearly that not only had his hair turned gray, but even his eyebrows had gone white.

Clearly, he was the one who had been hit hardest by this, yet he was trying to comfort L1.

L1 said, “Thank you.”

Qin Hongxi smiled again and said, “I buried him in the most beautiful cemetery. He liked to bask in the sun, so it gets plenty of sunlight there. If you have time, could you go see him?”

L1 replied, “Okay.”

After finishing the oat milk, L1 left.

But he didn’t go to see Qin Yao, because every time L1 thought of that, he would feel sad.

So he went to check on the plot lines of other main and supporting characters first.

He saw how Huo Yan was framed by He Shi and Su Rui and ultimately withdrew from the industry, how Huo Ze’s team descended into chaos, eventually falling apart, and how the entire Huo Corporation building collapsed, with Huo Jing standing in despair on the rooftop.

As the Huo family crumbled, the end of this world was also approaching.

At that moment, it had been two years since Qin Yao’s death.

Suddenly, L1 wanted to see Qin Yao.

On a sunny day, he bought a bouquet of flowers and went to the cemetery that Qin Hongxi had mentioned.

Just as Qin Hongxi had said, the sunlight in the cemetery was indeed very good. L1 basked in the sunlight and placed the flowers on the ground.

He stood quietly there for a long time, his gaze lingering on Qin Yao’s photo before he suddenly smiled.

“Qin Yao, I’ve come to see you,” L1 said, “Even though I still can’t fully understand human emotions, I think I should really like you all—whether it’s you, or Papa and Mama Huo, Huo Jing, Huo Yan, Huo Ze… um, and your father. He’s also a good person. You shouldn’t have ended up like this…”

“So I’ve made up my mind; I want to change your fate.”

L1 crouched down and gently touched the photo of Qin Yao, smiling as he said, “Qin Yao, you all will be alright.”

Sitting in front of the gravestone, L1 spoke to Qin Yao about many things in a broken and intermittent manner.

Even though he knew that Qin Yao couldn’t hear a single word he said, he still talked.

It wasn’t until the sun began to set on the horizon that L1 left the cemetery. On his way back, he encountered a familiar face.

“You are… Zhang Qiran?” L1 asked.

Zhang Qiran turned around with red eyes, forcing a smile at L1: “Hello.”

L1 didn’t ask him who he was there to visit because he had already seen the name on the gravestone—Song Zhehan.

L1 withdrew his gaze and softly said, “My condolences.”

Zhang Qiran nodded at him but didn’t say anything more.

As L1 turned to leave, Zhang Qiran suddenly said, “Actually, I don’t understand…”

L1 paused in his steps.

Zhang Qiran seemed to be questioning himself, as well as others, his voice trembling: “I don’t understand why someone as good as Song Zhehan would die… he…”

Zhang Qiran broke down in tears: “He was really a great person. I liked him a lot… but…”

The last sentence was spoken so softly, but L1 still heard it clearly.

“But he was too tired to live; I didn’t stop him. It’s all my fault.”

L1 looked up at the setting sun, which was sinking below the horizon.

L1 said, “It’s not your fault.”

They had done nothing wrong.

The fault lay in the predetermined plot of this world.

So for the first time since his birth, L1 restarted time.

He first rebooted the S20070501 world, changing Ye Fan’s predetermined death.

Then, without hesitation, he restarted the timeline of the A20231007 world, although L1 hadn’t anticipated that this path would be so difficult and long.