The days following their discovery at the archive left Wu Zhilan in a fog, drifting between her present life and the fragments of memories that flickered in her mind like scenes from an old film reel. The photograph they had uncovered their faces captured in another time was all she could think about. Though she was busy with preparations for Zhou Han's book launch, her mind constantly returned to those echoes of the past.
Every moment she spent with Zhou Han now felt charged, a sense of familiarity weaving between them that neither could ignore. They had lived entire lifetimes apart, yet they were here, brought back to each other by memories that defied reason.
One morning, Zhou Han called her. His voice was low, cautious. "Zhilan, I think I've found something else."
A familiar thrill shot through her. They met that afternoon in a quiet teahouse near the archives. Zhou Han pulled out a worn journal from his bag, laying it on the table between them. The leather cover was scratched and faded, and the edges of the pages were frayed.
"I found this in my father's things," he explained, his fingers tracing the cover. "He was a collector of antiques, and he always had an interest in the history of old Shanghai. I never thought much of it until now."
Wu Zhilan felt her heart quicken. "What's in it?"
Zhou opened the journal to a random page, the delicate paper crackling under his fingers. The handwriting was messy but elegant, old-fashioned strokes that bore the weight of urgency. He gestured for her to read.
"'Dai Wei and I have uncovered something dangerous,'" she read aloud, her voice trembling. "'If we're right, this could reach far beyond Shanghai. They won't stop until they have what they want, even if it means destroying us.'"
Zhilan looked up, the air between them thick with realization. "This was written by…Lu Cheng ?"
Zhou Han nodded, his face unreadable but his eyes intense. "I'm certain of it. And he kept writing documenting everything he and Lin Wei uncovered." He flipped to another page, then another, each filled with entries that painted a picture of the clandestine life they had led: a network of informants, secret missions, codes hidden within letters.
As she read, fragments of memories resurfaced, hazy but stirring her with a sense of urgency and familiarity. She remembered shadowed streets, code words whispered in the dark, and the thrill of unmasking secrets with a partner she trusted more than anyone. Each word in the journal seemed to breathe life into these memories.
Zhou Han cleared his throat, bringing her back to the present. "There's something important here, something I think we need to understand."
Wu Zhilan nodded. "I know," she murmured, her fingers brushing the yellowed pages. "These memories they feel like more than just pieces of the past. It's like…they're asking us to finish something we started."
A silence settled between them, thick with questions neither had the answer to. Finally, Zhou Han spoke. "Maybe we're supposed to uncover whatever it was that Dai Wei and Lu Cheng never could."
---
Later that evening as Wu Zhilan laied awake that night, Zhilan found herself haunted by fragments of memories moments too vivid to dismiss as dreams. She saw herself in dimly lit rooms, leaning over maps, studying photographs, and discussing strategies with Lu Cheng. Each memory was a flash, barely lingering before slipping away, yet the emotions they brought were raw and real. She remembered not just the thrill of the mission but the laughter they shared in rare, stolen moments.
She turned over in bed, staring at the ceiling. Who was she, really? Was she Wu Zhilan, an ordinary woman working in a marketing agency, or was she Dai Wei, the fearless detective who had loved and lost a lifetime ago?
The two names, two identities, felt like they were converging, each pulling her into a different world. Her past was haunting her, calling to her, and she knew she couldn't ignore it any longer.
She sat up and grabbed her phone. Before she could second-guess herself, she sent Zhou Han a message: "Let's meet at the archives tomorrow. I think we need to find out what happened to us to them."
A response came almost immediately: "I'll be there."
---
The next morning, they met in the dim light of the archives. Zhou Han carried Lu Cheng's journal, flipping to a passage he had marked earlier.
"Look at this," he said, his voice low. "'They've placed it on a ship to Shanghai's business district. Dai Wei and I are to intercept before it leaves the harbor. We leave tonight, but the risk is high. I don't know if we'll make it.'"
Zhilan felt a chill run down her spine. She remembered the dream the explosion,The ship sinking, the sea swallowing her in icy silence, and the last glimpse of Lu Cheng letting go of her hands
"This is it," she whispered. "This is what we failed to stop. The ship, the explosion it all happened because of whatever was on that ship."
Zhou Han nodded, his face somber. "It sounds like they were tracking a dangerous organization, something that extended beyond China. They risked everything to prevent it from leaving Shanghai and to get information."
For a moment, they stood in silence, absorbing the enormity of what they had uncovered. Their past lives had been on the verge of something big, something they had both sacrificed their lives for. And yet, here they were, given a second chance to find the truth.
"What if we continued what they started?" Zhou Han suggested quietly. "We may not be Dai Wei and Lu Cheng , but we're them, somehow. Maybe we're meant to finish their story."
Wu Zhilan felt a rush of determination. "I think you're right. Let's keep searching until we know what they knew."
Zhou Han held her gaze, a solemn promise passing between them. The weight of history and a love that had transcended time bound them together in a way that defied reason, but she felt its pull all the same. They were not just here to rediscover the past hey were here to complete it.
And in that moment, Zhilan knew that no matter how strange, how daunting the journey might be, she would not stop until she and Zhou Han had uncovered the mystery that Dai Wei and Lu Cheng had sacrificed everything for.