Han Yue woke up bright and early, her heart fluttering with excitement. Today, she would finally meet Long Yichen again.
She took a shower, freshened up, and asked a maid to bring breakfast to her room—she had no interest in seeing anyone else this morning. While eating, she opened Weibo. Her eyes widened in surprise: the video of her livestream had already reached over 60 million views and was still climbing. The top nine trending topics were all related to yesterday's events.
When she checked her newly verified account, she saw her followers had skyrocketed to 20 million. Her feed overflowed with messages of concern and support. Many were outraged after seeing how she had been treated by the Han family.
Han Yue scrolled casually while nibbling on a sausage roll, chuckling at some of the dramatic reactions.
Around 9 a.m., she messaged Long Yichen to say she was on the way. Quietly, she snuck downstairs and asked the security guard to drive her out discreetly. The guard, who had clearly seen the livestream, understood. Without a word, he started up his motorcycle. She sat behind him and was soon dropped off outside the compound.
There, she called a taxi to the café Long Yi had chosen.
Her palms were a little sweaty. She was nervous—this would be their first meeting in this life. In their past life, so much had happened… but right now, they were both still untouched by the apocalypse. Still safe. Still hopeful.
When she arrived, the café was strangely empty. At the farthest corner, Long Yichen was already seated, quietly gazing out the window. The moment he saw her, he stood up and guided her to the table.
"Order anything you like," he said gently, handing her the menu.
Han Yue smiled and took full advantage. She ordered a chai latte, matcha latte, sausage roll, baked macaroni, cheesy toast, cookie, and a slice of cheesecake. She blushed a little—maybe that was too much.
Long Yichen just chuckled and ordered a black coffee, sausage roll, and toast for himself.
As they waited, Han Yue tried to think of what to say—but Long Yi spoke first.
"Don't you remember me, Yueyue?"
She blinked. That… nickname?
Startled, she stared at him. Her mind raced—did she forget something? Did they… know each other even before?
Long Yichen, watching her confused expression, smiled warmly and pulled out his phone. On the screen was a picture of two young children—one taller boy with a bandaged arm, and a chubby-cheeked little girl standing beside him.
She gasped.
Memories came flooding back.
Years ago, when she was five, Han Yue had wandered outside the orphanage looking for an adventure. In a quiet alley, she spotted drops of blood and followed them, step by step, until she came upon a boy around her age. He was injured and silent, clutching his bleeding arm.
Without fear, the little Han Yue had grabbed his uninjured hand and pulled him into the orphanage. She rummaged through the first-aid supplies and did her best to bandage his arm. Then she proudly introduced herself:
"I'm Yueyue!"
The boy had stared at her for a long time, unmoving.
Then finally, he whispered:
"Yichen… thanks for helping me."
Just as silence settled over them, a noise came from outside. A head popped into the room—it was a bodyguard.
"Young master, are you okay? We took care of those people."
He climbed in through the window and laughed when he saw the overstuffed bandage job.
"Who did that?"
"Me!" Han Yue huffed proudly. "I cured him!"
The bodyguard, Tao, laughed again and thanked her.
Before they left, Long Yichen had Tao take a photo of the two of them. He wanted to remember the little girl who helped him that day.
It was that same photo he now showed her.
Han Yue stared at it, stunned.
The memories left her dazed for a moment, but she soon relaxed. They began chatting, picking up as if no time had passed.
When the food arrived, the waiters quietly left—and never returned.
"Did you… book the whole café?" Han Yue asked.
Long Yi nodded. "I wanted privacy. No one should disturb us."
She nodded, a little touched.
Long Yichen explained why he hadn't visited her again after that childhood meeting. After the failed assassination attempt, his family sent him abroad under heavy protection. Things had been dangerous and complicated.
"I couldn't contact you," he said quietly. "If I did, it might've brought you harm."
Han Yue nodded, understanding.
She asked about the welcome party. Long Yi explained that after returning to the Dragon Kingdom recently, he had asked someone to look into her whereabouts. When he learned about the Han family's "reunion" and welcome banquet, he attended in hopes of finally seeing her again. The drama, however, made it hard to speak to her.
"That gift I left behind—my WeChat ID was on the card."
Han Yue laughed, now remembering.
As they talked, she nibbled on a cookie in one hand and held a sausage roll in the other. Her puffed-up cheeks made Long Yi chuckle softly.
He mentioned he had seen the livestream—and not just seen it.
"I bought out Weibo's top search results," he admitted. "No one can take it down. Not even their legal team."
She laughed. "So that's why they couldn't suppress it! Thanks for the help."
As their conversation deepened, she told him about the Han family trying to steal her 2 billion yuan in shares. He frowned deeply at that.
"Do you need help?" he asked.
Han Yue hesitated, then said she had a plan. She intended to sell her shares to the Han Family's biggest enemy. But the transaction would be risky.
"Would you help arrange the contract and handover? It's a big sum. I don't want to put myself at risk."
Long Yi agreed immediately.
"Just let me know when. I'll handle everything."
Han Yue felt the tension in her chest ease. With Long Yi backing her, the danger dropped significantly.
They continued eating, chatting lightly—until Long Yi noticed her hesitating.
"What's wrong?"
Han Yue bit her lip.
"There's something I need to tell you… but I'm afraid someone might be listening in."
He went silent, reading her serious expression.
Then he made a decision.
"Come to my place. It's not far—just a few blocks from your family's mansion. No one can listen in there."
After a moment of thought, Han Yue nodded.
She had to tell him the truth—about the end of the world.
At first, she debated whether she should. But Long Yichen had always been the one who tried to protect her in her past life. He had warned her about Zhou Rui, tried to save her, even cried when she died.
If there was anyone she could trust with the truth—it was him.
Her childhood friend.
Her silent guardian.
Her future ally in survival.