"So, you're saying you've lived through today over 300,000 times?"
"Yes! To be precise, it's been a thousand years, and today marks the exact thousand-year mark."
In a vibrant bar, nestled in a dimly lit corner, a man and a woman were quietly chatting and laughing.
"Psh." Chloe Mu, with her smoky eyeshadow and brightly colored hair, shook her head and laughed drunkenly. "Is this your way of picking up girls? Making up a bizarre story? Such a cliché move, though the story is kinda interesting."
"Everything I said is true," Ethan Wu said, swirling his wine glass with a smile.
"True? Aren't you afraid I'll tell everyone? We just met, and you trust me this much?" Chloe teased.
"Doesn't matter. For me, everything resets tomorrow. Actually, to be precise, I'm a man without a tomorrow. When I wake up again, we'll be strangers," Ethan shrugged.
"Liar! Haven't you tried staying up all night? Don't sleep."
"I tried, many times, but I end up falling asleep. It's uncontrollable."
"Ha, like I'd believe you." Chloe scoffed, ignoring Ethan as she looked down at her phone.
She was actually supposed to be here with her best friend tonight. They had planned to hang out, but after more than an hour, her friend still hadn't shown up.
Ethan had come over to chat with her when he saw her alone and bored. Out of sheer boredom, Chloe ended up talking to him, even though she thought he was crazy for claiming to have been stuck in a thousand-year loop.
"Your friend isn't coming," Ethan said nonchalantly.
"Hm?" Chloe looked up, squinting. "How do you know about my friend?"
"I already told you, this day repeats endlessly for me. It's not my first time seeing you here. I come to this bar often. I know every single customer here today," Ethan replied with a smile, taking a sip of his drink.
"Then why isn't my friend coming? Do you know that too?" Chloe tried to catch Ethan in a lie.
"Her boyfriend suddenly returned to surprise her, so she couldn't make it." Ethan glanced at his watch. "In 9 minutes and 13 seconds, she'll call you and tell you she's not coming."
"To the second?" Chloe checked her phone and said, "It's 10:07 p.m. right now! Fine! I'll wait 9 minutes. If she doesn't call, let's see how you explain that!"
"Alright!" Ethan tilted his head and raised his glass to Chloe.
Chloe clinked her glass with his.
"So, you said you know all the women in this city with a beauty score of 8 or above. Is that true?" Chloe asked, making small talk out of boredom, amused by the supposed madman's story.
"Yeah, very well." Ethan nodded, adding with a smile, "But my life resets every day. I know them, but they don't know me."
"Then… you only have one day to get to know them? That's enough?" Chloe pressed, still trying to poke holes in his story.
"One day isn't enough, only a few specific cases are. For the rest, I have to get to know them first."
"For example, I'd spend five days thoroughly investigating a girl. Although time is repeating, and she won't remember me on the sixth day, by then, I already know her interests, career, worldview, and so on."
"So when I meet her again, the way I act will make her feel like I'm her soulmate."
"Actually, repetition has its benefits. I can make endless mistakes without worrying about leaving a bad impression. The toughest girl I ever met took me thirty-six days to win over, after countless mistakes."
"So, according to what you're saying… what's the point of all this? They don't remember you now," Chloe asked.
"There's no point to my endlessly repeating life. If there's any meaning at all…" Ethan looked down at his wine glass for a moment, then glanced at Chloe with a faint smile, "It's probably just to keep myself from going crazy. Being trapped in the same day for a thousand years is incredibly boring. You have to do something—meeting people, recalling memories—it's all pretty interesting."
Ethan dared to say anything.
Because it didn't matter. Tomorrow, everything would start over again.
"So, how many women with a score of eight have you met?" Chloe asked again.
"Actually, not that many. I'm pretty strict with my scoring. Sea City has a population in the millions, and those who score an eight or above are only about ten thousand."
"Ten thousand, and you know them all? You're well-acquainted?" Chloe squinted.
"Mhm!" Ethan nodded.
"I don't believe you at all; keep making stuff up, shameless." Chloe scoffed again.
Ethan shrugged, unconcerned. Whether she believed him or not didn't matter. He was just here to have a drink and chat with someone today.
Ding.
Chloe's phone suddenly buzzed. She glanced down to see a notification from a news app: [Jewelry Heist Solved]. She clicked it open, and, seemingly reminded of something, handed her phone to Ethan. "Take a look…"
It was news about a jewelry store heist.
At 9:30 this morning, Sea City's commercial street had been hit by a robbery at "Golden Fortune Jewelry." Gold, silver, diamonds, and jewelry worth 20 million were stolen, and two employees were injured.
The case was solved by the afternoon, with one robber still at large and three captured.
The incident had been repeatedly broadcasted on national news.
Golden Fortune Jewelry is one of the top three jewelry companies in the country, headquartered in Sea City. Its owner, Sam Su, is the city's wealthiest man, worth billions.
"Hm, what's up with this…" Ethan glanced at the news.
"The last photo in the article."
"What about the last photo?" Ethan looked again.
The last image showed Golden Fortune's owner, Sam Su, shaking hands with the police, with a wavy-haired woman standing beside him.
That woman was Sophia Ray, Sam's daughter and Golden Fortune's senior vice president.
"You know about Sophia Ray, right? She's a total boss lady. Graduated from Wharton, has her own luxury brand—a true powerhouse."
"I know her, yeah. What about her?" Ethan asked.
"You said you know all the beautiful women in this city with a score of eight or above, very well," Chloe continued. "Sophia Ray is undoubtedly one of Sea City's most stunning women, highly educated, highly intelligent. Even by your strict standards, she must score above eight, right?"
"9.5," Ethan replied. "In all of Sea City, you'd be hard-pressed to find a handful who could match her."
"So, you know her… well?" Chloe pressed, trying again to expose Ethan's "lies."
"Of course," Ethan nodded.
"Liar! Golden Fortune Jewelry was robbed today. She's been surrounded by police and reporters all day. When would she have had the time to meet a stranger like you?"
"Moreover, Sophia has strict family rules, always guarded by bodyguards. Never heard of her meeting strangers casually. Even if you know her well, it's impossible! Ha, got you!"
Chloe laughed, pleased with herself for "exposing" the madman's lie.
"Let's address your second question first. You're right; Sophia is… hard to approach, very hard to meet," Ethan smiled. "But she has one fatal weakness, making it easy for me to… get to know her."
"What weakness?"
"Guess. It's more fun that way."
"Hmph! Playing mysterious. Such a perfect woman—what kind of weakness could she possibly have?"
"Now, as for the first question," Ethan continued, "You're right. The jewelry heist happened, so Sophia certainly wouldn't have had time to meet me. Even if she did meet me, she wouldn't be in the mood for a lengthy conversation."
"Then that's it? What else do you have to say?" Chloe raised an eyebrow, looking triumphant.
"But," Ethan leaned forward, placing his arms on the table and smiling softly, "what if I prevented the heist?"
Chloe froze.
"To me, today repeats endlessly. I've experienced it over 300,000 times. To me, I knew a thousand years ago that the heist would happen today. I've had more than enough time to investigate thoroughly. Do you think it would be difficult for me to prevent it?" Ethan kept his smile.
Chloe was speechless.
"My logic holds up, doesn't it?" Ethan said, raising his glass and taking a gentle sip.
"Fine! Even if your logic checks out, I still have one more question!" Chloe said defiantly, ready to throw out her trump card.
"What's your question? Go ahead."
"Do you know me? You said you've met me before. Do you know a lot about me? Are we friends too?" Chloe asked, running a hand through her hair.
Ethan shook his head, smiling silently.
"Ha! Afraid to admit it? Worried I'll ask you to tell me something about myself, and you won't be able to answer?" Chloe laughed.
"No, it's just that, well, you don't quite score an eight, so I wasn't interested in learning more about you," Ethan replied coolly.
Chloe's smile froze.
Bang!
Chloe slammed the table, standing up and gritting her teeth. "Did you just call me ugly?"
"No, no, you're not ugly. But your makeup's a bit heavy—always with the smoky eyes, looking a bit like a bad girl. I don't even know what you actually look like, but you seem to have a nice foundation. I'd give you a seven."
"You—" Chloe was about to explode.
At that moment—
Ring, ring…
Chloe's phone rang. She glanced at it; her friend was calling. She immediately answered.
"Chloe, I'm so sorry! Dave surprised me by coming back. I can't make it to the bar. Let me treat you to lunch tomorrow, okay? Bye!"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。