I can rewind time to prevent death

Chapter 52 Wine Red High Heels (Part 4)

Yan Junze took a deep breath and said to the woman outside, "I love you, but there are debt collectors looking for me right now, so I can't come out, and I also don't mind anything about you."

This time, he managed to touch upon all the potentially explosive topics in their conversation and skillfully avoided them one by one.

Suddenly, there was silence from the other side of the partition.

Yan Junze waited for a moment and noticed that Jian Tong didn't speak anymore.

Unassured, he peered through the gap under the partition and saw those wine red high heels still standing outside, facing the partition, motionless; yet Jian Tong remained silent.

Without her speaking, Yan Junze also stayed silent, and the standoff continued.

"Who... are you?" Jian Tong's voice suddenly came through, filled with barely suppressed anger.

Boom!

The door of the bathroom stall exploded violently, breaking into seven or eight pieces, revealing Jian Tong standing outside.

Dressed in red high heels and a long black dress, she appeared exceptionally tall, more than a match for any man. Her black hair danced wildly in the air, but the strands that fell over her face did not move.

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Her eyes were completely dark, shining black, without white sclera, and her slightly open mouth was also pitch-black.

Almost in sync with the explosion of the door, Ke'er, who was on Yan Junze's back, shot out, pouncing towards Jian Tong.

Yan Junze of course knew that Ke'er was no match for this woman, and with a fierce determination, he simply summoned the Crawler Monster from the Spacetime Atlas as well.

Since the battle had already begun, he might as well have both his subordinates join the fray to see what the ultimate outcome would be.

When the Crawler Monster appeared, it was completely bewildered, looking up at Yan Junze.

Yan Junze shouted, "Join Ke'er and take down that woman!"

The Crawler Monster still looked confused, staying put without moving.

This made Yan Junze suspect that the creature might have been an idiot in its past life.

"If you take down this woman, I'll grant you your freedom!"

This time, the Crawler Monster understood at once and, with a grimace, it turned around on the ground and scuttled towards Jian Tong.

The next second, Jian Tong's high heel came down, piercing through the creature's head and pinning it mercilessly to the ground, immobilized.

Jian Tong's right hand was tightly wrapped around Ke'er's neck, causing Ke'er to struggle midair. Her tiny hands scratched wildly forward, but they always fell short, as she cried out incessantly.

By this time, Yan Junze had realized that Ke'er could only make two sounds, "Eh" when she was usual, and "Ya" when she was angry.

But now, it seemed that the combat strength of these Evil Spirits he possessed was still too weak.

He remembered the mission hint from "Wine red high heels," which stated that the Evil Spirit could be Locked down.

If he managed to complete the mission, Yan Junze already had plans to Lockdown Jian Tong.

In that case, Jian Tong would become the most powerful among the Evil Spirits he possessed.

Seeing how things were going, the Crawler Monster and Ke'er were doomed to be slaughtered. Yan Junze shrugged his shoulders.

Rewind!

He was squatting in the stall again, gaze fixated on those disturbing high heels beneath the door, lost in thought.

Fighting was definitely not going to solve the problem, let alone complete the mission. Just now, he let Ke'er and the Crawling Corpse engage with Jian Tong purely to test the combat strength of the two Evil Spirits on hand.

And the result had proven that they were indeed pathetic.

Surely the conversation with Jian Tong wasn't limited to just what had occurred. Yan Junze wondered if he had overlooked some vital information or if his thinking was constrained.

Is the answer to the first question only "love" or "not love"?

Just at this moment, Jian Tong's voice came through, "Do you still love me?"

Yan Junze took a deep breath, then almost retched from the stench in the bathroom, taking a good while to recover.

Remaining in a squat, he tilted his head up slightly to look straight at those wine red high heels. After pausing for a few seconds, he replied, "Loved."

Outside the stall, there was a moment of silence, followed shortly by a faint sound of sobbing.

It seemed that this answer was much more sophisticated than the previous ones.

Yan Junze sighed and continued, "Truth be told, I owe a lot of money and have been changing my identity to dodge creditors. After meeting you, I intended only to cheat you out of your money and then disappear. But, to my utter surprise, I actually fell in love with you."

The sobbing outside the stall began to grow louder, but Jian Tong still did not speak.

"Deciding to steal your money was a tough choice. On nights when I carried the deception behind your back, I would smash a perfect mirror, and my pillow would be soaked with tears," Yan Junze's voice was low, carrying a mix of sorrow, regret, and grief.

It was undeniable that it was lucky to have usurped someone's body; otherwise, a regular high school student would never be able to portray such a dramatic mix of love and hate, joy and sorrow.

"Why didn't you just tell me? Why deceive me!" Jian Tong sobbed.

"Because I love you, I was afraid of hurting you, of making you sad. I didn't want you to know my true identity," Yan Junze said slowly, "And because I love you, I don't want to hurt you anymore, nor do I deserve to be with you, so... I want you to forget about me!"

By then, Jian Tong was sobbing inconsolably.

"I... I truly love you. They said... you deceived me, and I never believed them; I couldn't bring myself to believe... that you would do such a thing. Because I know...

I can feel your love!"

At that moment, Yan Junze felt that Jian Tong on the outside was softening.

If she softened just the slightest, there was a great chance she would let him open the door of the bathroom stall, and then...

No!

He couldn't let her soften any further.

Yan Junze hurriedly said, "It's all my fault! Now I have lost the face to see you, and I dare not harbor any more feelings of love for you. Despite all my calculations, I never expected to bring such tremendous pain to the person I deeply love! I really... can't face you any longer, nor do I have the courage... to face you again!"

"Jiang Mingjun." Jian Tong's sobbing slowed down as she uttered the name of the man.

After a brief pause, she continued, "I've forgiven you."

Perfect!

Hearing these words, Yan Junze could hardly contain his excitement.

The conversation with Jian Tong seemed to require a less conventional approach for a successful resolution; orthodox responses just couldn't elicit her conviction.

Now that he had received forgiveness, the task was nearly completed. Yan Junze's heart settled, just waiting for Jian Tong to leave after finishing her speech.

"Do you remember the place where we first met?" Jian Tong suddenly asked.

Yan Junze's heart, only just put to rest, abruptly leaped to his throat. He subconsciously nodded before realizing that Jian Tong couldn't see it, and then said aloud, "Of course I remember."

"The hug you gave me then is etched in my bones and unforgettable even now. I think... I want you to hug me one last time," Jian Tong's voice resonated faintly.

Yan Junze lamented, only to find that, after all the twists and turns, he was back to the critical point of opening the stall door.

While he felt anxious, he suddenly noticed that the wine-red high heels outside the door gap had turned around—the heels were now facing the stall door, toes pointing outside.

"Is... is it a hug from behind!?" Yan Junze instantly realized.

With this, maybe he could open the door and embrace her from behind, fulfilling this woman's final wish.