Reprinted Youth
Fantasy Romantic Fashion Love Film 11
Scene | 91 Time | Day Setting | Cai family homestay, Shinan’s room
People | Cai Shinan
△Cai Shinan receives an email from Lin Daihua.
Shinan: I convinced my father. He agreed to meet you to discuss our marriage. I will go to Xiaoliuqiu to find you in the next two days. Wait for me at home. Daihua.
△Shinan was extremely shocked and completely flustered. He paced back and forth in the room, not knowing what to do.
Cai Shinan: (to himself) Daihua should be studying in the United States right now. Why has she suddenly come back? If she finds out I am together with Shi Meilin… what should I do?
△At this moment, the phone rang. It was Zhang Yahui. Shinan felt as if he had found a savior.
Zhang Yahui: Shinan, the students’ whale-watching trip departure time is 7 a.m. on June 3. Assemble at Baisha Fishing Harbor pier.
Cai Shinan: Got it. Yahui, are you free now?
Zhang Yahui: I’m busy right now. Why? Are you in a hurry to see me?
Cai Shinan: Yes, I need your advice on something. I’ll go to your dorm after work.
Scene | 92 Time | Day Setting | Entrance of Zhang Yahui’s dormitory
People | Cai Shinan, Zhang Yahui
△Cai Shinan arrived first at the dorm entrance. There was a letter on the ground under the mailbox, which he picked up casually.
It was a letter from the hospital obstetrics and gynecology department, addressed to Zhang Yahui.
△The envelope was not sealed tightly. Out of curiosity, Shinan pulled out the letter and read it.
Cai Shinan: (OS, shocked) Suspicious malignant tumor in the ovary? Oh my God!
△Cai Shinan put the letter back into the envelope, folded it closed, and returned it to the mailbox.
△Zhang Yahui walked toward him.
Zhang Yahui: Have you been waiting long?
Cai Shinan: No, I just arrived.
△Zhang Yahui unlocked the door. The two entered the house.
Zhang Yahui: Sit and rest for a bit. I’ll make two glasses of lemonade.
△In the living room, Cai Shinan sat cross-legged. Zhang Yahui brought two glasses of lemonade, sat down, and handed one to him.
Zhang Yahui: What’s so urgent?
Cai Shinan: Well… my college girlfriend came back from California.
Zhang Yahui: (laughs) Oh! You’re quite the romantic.
Cai Shinan: Don’t laugh! She said her father agreed to meet me, and she will come here in the next two days.
Zhang Yahui: (laughs) You’ve caused too many girls trouble.
Cai Shinan: (bitter smile) Her father used to oppose us. I don’t know why she suddenly changed her mind. What should I do?
Zhang Yahui: Actually, you can’t blame yourself. She was the one who wronged you back then. Go face her and make things clear—you owe her nothing.
Cai Shinan: (worried) But…
Zhang Yahui: But what? If you don’t do this, how will you face Shi Meilin? One old love, one new love—you have to choose. Tell your family first and face your ex together. I believe your mother and sister will support you.
Cai Shinan: Alright… Yahui, about your body…
Zhang Yahui: (alert, pretending calm) I’m fine. Why are you asking this?
Cai Shinan: Yahui, you must listen to the doctor and receive treatment as soon as possible.
Zhang Yahui: (probing) How do you know?
Cai Shinan: (earnest) How I know is not important. I just want you to live healthy and happily.
Zhang Yahui: (touched) Sigh… life and death are fate. I can accept it. Don’t worry about me.
Scene | 93 Time | Day Setting | Cai family homestay living room
People | Cai Shinan, Qiu Xiudan, Cai Shifen
△In the living room, Shifen was on the phone with a booking guest.
△Qiu Xiudan had just finished tidying a room and passed through the living room with a cleaning cart.
Cai Shinan: Mom, I need to talk to you about something.
Qiu Xiudan: Wait a moment, let me finish handling this cart of bed sheets first.
△Qiu Xiudan pushed the cart toward the laundry room. Shinan waited on the sofa.
△She later returned and sat down.
Qiu Xiudan: Shinan, what do you want to talk about?
Cai Shinan: Mom, do you still remember Lin Daihua?
Qiu Xiudan: I remember. What? Is she coming back to find you?
Cai Shinan: Yes, she will come to our house in the next two days.
Qiu Xiudan: I see. But you’ve already met Shi Meilin’s family. If Lin Daihua comes back now, just talk to her clearly. You didn’t wrong her anyway.
△Cai Shifen heard their conversation and came over to sit down.
Cai Shifen: Brother, don’t worry. We don’t owe Lin Daihua anything. What is there to be afraid of?
Scene | 94 Time | Day Setting | Cai family homestay living room, courtyard, rooms
People | Lin Daihua, Cai Shinan, Qiu Xiudan, Cai Shifen, guests
△Lin Daihua’s brand-new Mercedes-Benz stopped in front of the Cai family homestay. The elegant courtyard surprised her; she still remembered the old crumbling brick courtyard house of the Cai family.
△She got out of the car, noticing the Corolla parked at the entrance and a brand-new motorcycle.
Lin Daihua: (to herself) Strange… wasn’t Shinan’s family home a run-down brick courtyard house? When did it become such an elegant residence? How much money could Shinan have saved in only three years? It is impossible for the Cai family to become so prosperous in such a short time. Could this Cai Shinan also have traveled back from the future like me?
△She carried gifts and luggage into the homestay lobby. Cai Shifen recognized her and greeted her.
Cai Shifen: Sister Daihua, long time no see. How have you been recently?
Lin Daihua: You are Shifen. Your house has been renovated into a homestay—I almost didn’t recognize it.
Cai Shifen: Yes, it was renovated last November. The homestay has only been open for a short time.
Lin Daihua: (OS) Last November renovation… the timing matches.
Lin Daihua: (handing gifts) When did your brother come back from Hsinchu Science Park?
Cai Shifen: (accepting) Last September, the day after the big earthquake. Wait a moment, I’ll call my brother.
Lin Daihua: (OS) The day after 921… indeed Shinan is the same as me. He must have brought a large amount of money then, which explains his current wealth. I will ask him clearly later.
△Cai Shifen made an internal call, and Cai Shinan soon appeared in the living room.
Cai Shinan: Daihua, I was surprised to receive your email. Weren’t you studying in California? Why did you suddenly come back?
Lin Daihua: I came back to find you. Aren’t you going to show me around?
Cai Shinan: I’ll arrange your accommodation first. Put down your luggage, and I’ll take you around.
Lin Daihua: Alright. Here’s my luggage. Lead the way.
△She handed him the luggage and followed him to the room. He opened the sliding door and placed the luggage at the entrance.
Cai Shinan: After you put your luggage away…
△Lin Daihua placed the luggage on the dressing table, fixed her hair in the mirror, then walked out.
△The two walked side by side along the corridor.
Lin Daihua: My father has agreed to our marriage. He wants to meet you.
Cai Shinan: Oh.
Lin Daihua: (unhappy) What do you mean by “oh”?
Cai Shinan: It just means I need to think about it.
Lin Daihua: Think about it? Because you became rich, your attitude has changed?
Cai Shinan: No. I mean circumstances have changed, and my thoughts have changed too.
Lin Daihua: (probing) Is it because your acute stroke changed your thinking after surviving a near-death experience?
△Cai Shinan looked at her in shock.
Lin Daihua: Do you still remember I visited you in the hospital? In early September 2014, you were hospitalized for an acute stroke.
△Shinan remained silent but did not deny it.
Cai Shinan: (OS) Oh my God… is it possible that Daihua, like me, also came back from the future?
Lin Daihua: At that time, you promised me we would start over. I quit my job in Silicon Valley, and we planned to return to Taichung Science Park and start a tech company together.
△Shinan remained silent, but he already understood.
Cai Shinan: (OS) It seems Daihua returned at the same time as me. Could it be that on the highway tunnel, she was the red sports car ahead of me?
Lin Daihua: Why are you not speaking?
Cai Shinan: (gathering courage) On the night of 921, were you driving a red sports car through the Beiyi Freeway Fude Tunnel?
Lin Daihua: Yes. At that time I noticed a silver-gray Corolla following behind me. So it was you in the car. Later, after exiting the interchange and switching to the provincial road, I lost focus and crashed into a roadside utility pole. The car caught fire. I suffered a head injury and lost my memory. I was placed in a homeless shelter for half a year. Finally, after regaining my memory, I left the shelter.
Cai Shinan: Daihua… I’m sorry. We are really not suitable for each other.
Lin Daihua: (shocked, angry) Not suitable? What do you mean? Cai Shinan, make it clear!
Cai Shinan: A few months ago, I met a girl and I am already engaged to her. Please forgive me.
Lin Daihua: (grief and rage) What is this? What did I ever do wrong to you? How can you treat me like this?
Cai Shinan: Daihua, I didn’t know you also came back to this time. I thought…
Lin Daihua: (laughing bitterly, shouting) Ridiculous excuse! Don’t try to use this excuse to get rid of me! You fell for someone else—you heartless man!
△Her shouting attracted guests, who opened their doors to look.
△Qiu Xiudan and Cai Shifen rushed over from the laundry room and reception.
△Shinan stood frozen in embarrassment. The Cai family women arrived to mediate.
Qiu Xiudan: Miss Lin, this is not appropriate. Whatever misunderstanding there is, let’s talk inside.
△They coaxed and pulled her into the guest room. Shinan followed and closed the sliding door.
Lin Daihua: (crying) Auntie, Shifen, please stand up for me.
Qiu Xiudan: Daihua… Shinan thought your father looked down on him, and then you went to America, so he…
Lin Daihua: Auntie, before I left your house, I clearly told Shinan in front of you all to wait for me. I would convince my father.
Qiu Xiudan: Yes… you did say that…
Cai Shifen: Daihua sister, my brother waited for you for more than two years. He was deeply hurt when your father rejected him like that.
Lin Daihua: (wiping tears) Shinan, I want to meet that woman. I want her to let go. Arrange for me to meet her.
△Qiu Xiudan signaled Shinan with her eyes to agree first.
Cai Shifen: (reluctantly) Okay, I’ll take you to meet her.
Scene | 95 Time | Night Setting | Cai homestay guest room, Shinan’s room, Taipei Shi Meilin’s bedroom
People | Lin Daihua, Cai Shinan, Shi Meilin
△Late at night, both bedrooms’ occupants suffered insomnia because of this love triangle.
△Lin Daihua leaned against a wooden wall, staring out the window.
Lin Daihua: (OS) I never expected things would become like this in just a few months! Shinan, who returned to the past with me, has already fallen for someone else. Is this God’s punishment for me?
▲Cut
△In Shinan’s room, he sat cross-legged at his desk.
Cai Shinan: (calling) Meilin, Meilin, are you free now?
Shi Meilin: I just finished showering and was about to sleep. What’s so urgent?
Cai Shinan: Don’t get angry first.
Shi Meilin: What happened? Don’t tell me you changed your mind or cheated.
Cai Shinan: No… it’s my college girlfriend. She came back from the United States to find me.
Shi Meilin: Oh? She wants to get back together?
Cai Shinan: Listen to me. I actually came back to the present from the 2014 timeline by accident.
▲Cut
△Shi Meilin, in her bedroom, leaned on a beanbag chair while talking on the phone.
Shi Meilin: (disdainful) Are you joking? 2014? That’s 15 years ago!
Cai Shinan: I’m not lying. Open your laptop. I’ll send you an email. There’s a photo inside—you’ll understand after seeing it.
Shi Meilin: Fine. I’ll check my email.
△Shi Meilin opened her laptop, and indeed there was a new email from Shinan. She opened it. A family photo appeared. In the photo, Meilin and two children were semi-transparent. The date on the photo was September 22, 2014.
Shi Meilin was completely confused.
Shi Meilin: Shinan, what is going on with that photo? You said the sender is you from 15 years in the future, sending a distress email… and the semi-transparent figures in the photo might be related to me? I’m completely confused!
Cai Shinan: I really traveled through time from 15 years in the future. And now the more serious problem is that my college girlfriend is living in my homestay right now. I just found out she also traveled from 2014 to the present, and I didn’t realize we came back at the same time.
Shi Meilin: I don’t understand what you’re talking about, Shinan.
Cai Shinan: Anyway… she wants to meet you.
Shi Meilin: What does your ex-girlfriend have to do with me? Why should I meet her? Is she trying to pick a fight with me? You’re being ridiculous, Cai Shinan.
Cai Shinan: I will take her to Taipei to see you in the next two days.
Shi Meilin: (firm) No! I refuse! I have two important meetings in the next two days.
△Shi Meilin angrily hung up the phone.
△Cai Shinan switched to instant messaging to talk with her online.
Cai Shinan: Meilin, don’t be like this. There is no other way to resolve this situation.
Shi Meilin: I am not part of your mess. I have no obligation to help you fix it. You don’t need to act as my boyfriend anymore—go back to her and relive your old romance.
Cai Shinan: The person I love is you, Meilin!
Shi Meilin: But you cannot force me to meet your ex-girlfriend. I don’t want to be humiliated by her.
Cai Shinan: I just want her to give up. I promise I won’t let her humiliate you.
Shi Meilin: We’ll see. Let me think about it. I’m going to rest. Good night.
△Shi Meilin logged off and rested her chin on her hand.
Shi Meilin: (to herself) What on earth is this? How did I get involved with a couple from the future who are emotionally entangled and unresolved?
△She stared at the family photo file, thinking deeply.
Shi Meilin: (OS) If this photo is real, then I am destined to stay with Shinan. I cannot lose to his ex-girlfriend. Hmph… I’ll see what tricks she plans to play.
Scene | 96 Time | Day Location | Tsai Family Homestay, Shih-nan’s room
Characters | Tsai Shih-nan
△ Tsai Shih-nan receives Lin Dai-hua’s email.
Shih-nan: I have persuaded my father. He has agreed to meet you to discuss our marriage. I will go to Xiaoliuqiu to find you these two days. Wait for me at home, okay? Dai-hua.
△ Shih-nan is extremely shocked. For a moment he is completely disoriented, pacing back and forth in the room, not knowing what to do.
Tsai Shih-nan: (to himself) Dai-hua should be studying in the United States at this time. Why has she suddenly come back? If she finds out I am together with Shi Mei-lin… what should I do?
△ At this moment, the phone rings. It is Zhang Ya-hui. To Shih-nan, it feels like a savior has arrived.
Zhang Ya-hui: Shih-nan, the students’ whale-watching trip departure time is June 3 at 7 a.m.
They will gather at the pier of Baisha Fishing Harbor.
Tsai Shih-nan: Got it. Ya-hui, are you free right now?
Zhang Ya-hui: I’m busy right now. Are you urgently trying to see me?
Tsai Shih-nan: Yes, I need your advice about something. I will go to your dorm after work.
Scene | 92 Time | Day Location | Entrance of Zhang Ya-hui’s dormitory
Characters | Tsai Shih-nan, Zhang Ya-hui
△ Tsai Shih-nan arrives first at the dorm entrance. On the ground beneath the mailbox is a letter. He casually picks it up.
It is a letter from a hospital obstetrics and gynecology department, addressed to Zhang Ya-hui.
△ The envelope is not sealed tightly. Out of curiosity, Tsai Shih-nan pulls it out to read.
Tsai Shih-nan: (OS, shocked) Suspicion of malignant tumor in the ovary? What the hell!
△ Tsai Shih-nan puts the letter back into the envelope, folds it closed, and returns it to the mailbox.
△ Zhang Ya-hui walks toward him.
Zhang Ya-hui: Have you been waiting long?
Tsai Shih-nan: No, I just arrived a moment ago.
△ Zhang Ya-hui takes out her key to open the door. The two enter the house.
Zhang Ya-hui: Rest for a while. I’ll make two glasses of lemon juice.
△ In the living room, Tsai Shih-nan sits cross-legged. Zhang Ya-hui brings two glasses of lemon juice, sits down, and hands one to him.
Zhang Ya-hui: What is so urgent that you needed to see me?
Tsai Shih-nan: Well… my university girlfriend has come back from California.
Zhang Ya-hui: (laughs) Oh! A great lover.
Tsai Shih-nan: Don’t laugh! She said her father agreed to meet me. She will come here in the next two days.
Zhang Ya-hui: (laughs) You really attract too many girls.
Tsai Shih-nan: (bitter smile) Back then her father opposed our relationship. I don’t know why she suddenly changed her mind. What should I do?
Zhang Ya-hui: Actually, you can’t be blamed for this. Back then it was she who wronged you. You should face her and make things clear—tell her you owe her nothing.
Tsai Shih-nan: (worried) But…
Zhang Ya-hui: “But what?” If you don’t do this, how will you face Shi Mei-lin? One is past love, one is new love—you must make a choice. First, explain clearly to your family, then face your ex-girlfriend together. I believe your mother and sister will support you.
Tsai Shih-nan: Alright… Ya-hui, your body…
Zhang Ya-hui: (alert, pretending calm) I’m fine. Why do you ask?
Tsai Shih-nan: Ya-hui, you must listen to the doctor and receive treatment as soon as possible.
Zhang Ya-hui: (probing) How do you know?
Tsai Shih-nan: (sincerely) How I know is not the point. I just hope you live a healthy and happy life.
Zhang Ya-hui: (moved) Ah… life and death are fated. I can accept it. Don’t worry about me.
Scene | 93 Time | Day Location | Tsai Family Homestay living room
Characters | Tsai Shih-nan, Qiu Xiu-duan, Tsai Shi-fen
△ In the homestay living room, Shi-fen is on the phone with a booking guest.
△ Qiu Xiu-duan has just finished tidying a room and pushes a cart past the living room.
Tsai Shih-nan: Mom, I need to talk to you about something.
Qiu Xiu-duan: Wait a moment. I need to handle this cart of bedsheets first.
△ Qiu Xiu-duan pushes the cart toward the laundry room. Shih-nan sits on the sofa waiting.
△ Qiu Xiu-duan returns and sits down in the living room.
Qiu Xiu-duan: Shih-nan, what matter do you want to talk about?
Tsai Shih-nan: Mom, do you remember Lin Dai-hua?
Qiu Xiu-duan: I remember. What? She has come back to look for you?
Tsai Shih-nan: Yes. In these two days, Lin Dai-hua will come to our house.
Qiu Xiu-duan: I see. But you have already met Shi Mei-lin’s elders. Since Lin Dai-hua is coming back to find you now, just make things clear to her face. After all, you did not wrong her in the first place.
△ Tsai Shi-fen hears the conversation and walks over to sit down.
Tsai Shi-fen: Brother, don’t worry. We don’t owe Lin Dai-hua anything. Why fear her?
Scene | 94 Time | Day Location | Tsai Family Homestay living room, courtyard, rooms
Characters | Lin Dai-hua, Tsai Shih-nan, Qiu Xiu-duan, Tsai Shi-fen, guests
△ Lin Dai-hua’s brand-new Mercedes sedan appears at the entrance of the Tsai homestay. The elegant courtyard fence surprises her. She still remembers the old crumbling brick courtyard house of the Tsai family.
△ Lin Dai-hua gets out of the car. She first recognizes the Corona car parked at the entrance, then notices a brand-new heavy motorcycle.
Lin Dai-hua: (to herself) Strange… wasn’t Shih-nan’s old home a run-down brick courtyard house? When did it become such an elegant courtyard? How much savings could Shih-nan have accumulated in only three years of work? It is impossible for the Tsai family to achieve such prosperity in just a few years. The Shih-nan I am about to meet… could he, like me, have traveled back from the future through time?
△ Lin Dai-hua carries gifts and luggage into the homestay lobby. Tsai Shi-fen recognizes her and greets her.
Tsai Shi-fen: Sister Dai-hua, long time no see. How have you been?
Lin Dai-hua: You are Shi-fen. Your house has been rebuilt into a homestay—I almost didn’t recognize it.
Tsai Shi-fen: Yes. It was renovated last November. The homestay has only been open for a short time.
Lin Dai-hua: (OS) Last November rebuilt? The timing matches.
Lin Dai-hua: (hands over gift) When did your brother return from Hsinchu Science Park?
Tsai Shi-fen: (receives it) Last September, the day after the big earthquake. Wait a moment, I’ll call my brother out.
Lin Dai-hua: (OS) The day after 921… indeed Shih-nan experienced the same thing as me. He must have carried a large amount of cash then, which is why he now has such financial strength. I must ask him clearly later.
△ Shi-fen makes an internal call. Tsai Shih-nan soon appears in the living room.
Tsai Shih-nan: Dai-hua, receiving your email did surprise me. Weren’t you studying in California? Why did you suddenly come back?
Lin Dai-hua: I came back to find you. Won’t you take me inside for a tour?
Tsai Shih-nan: I will first arrange your lodging. Put down your luggage, and I will take you around.
Lin Dai-hua: Alright. I’ll give you my luggage—lead the way.
△ Lin Dai-hua hands the luggage to Tsai Shih-nan and follows him to the room entrance. He opens the sliding paper door and places the luggage at the entrance floor.
Tsai Shih-nan: Wait until you put your luggage away.
△ Lin Dai-hua places the luggage on the dressing table, fixes her hair in the mirror, then turns back out.
△ The two walk side by side along the corridor.
Lin Dai-hua: My father has agreed to our marriage. He wants to meet you.
Tsai Shih-nan: Oh.
Lin Dai-hua: (unhappy) What do you mean by “oh”?
Tsai Shih-nan: It just means… I need to think about it.
Lin Dai-hua: Think about it? Because you are now wealthy, your mentality has changed too?
Tsai Shih-nan: No. It is more that circumstances have changed, so my thoughts have changed.
Lin Dai-hua: (probing) Is it because of your acute stroke—surviving a disaster—that changed your thinking?
△ Tsai Shih-nan looks at her in shock.
Lin Dai-hua: Do you still remember I visited you in the hospital? Early September 2014, you were hospitalized for an acute stroke.
△ Shih-nan remains silent, but does not deny it.
Tsai Shih-nan: (OS) Heaven… how is it possible that Dai-hua is like me, returning from the future to the present?
Lin Dai-hua: At that time you promised me we would start over. I quit my Silicon Valley job, and we planned to return to Taichung Science Park to start a tech company together.
△ Shih-nan continues to remain silent, but he already understands.
Tsai Shih-nan: (OS) It seems Dai-hua returned at the same time as me. Could it be that during the passage through the tunnel, she was the red sports car that went ahead of me?
Lin Dai-hua: Why are you not speaking?
Tsai Shih-nan: (gathering courage) On the night of 921, did you drive a red sports car through the Beiyi Highway Fude Tunnel?
Lin Dai-hua: Yes. At that time I noticed a silver-gray Corona sedan following behind. So it was you in the car. Later after exiting the interchange, I switched to the provincial road. I was momentarily distracted and crashed into a roadside electric pole. The car caught fire. I suffered a head injury and lost my memory. I was placed in a homeless shelter for six months. By heaven’s mercy, I only regained my memory and left the shelter.
Tsai Shih-nan: Dai-hua… I’m sorry. We are really not suitable for each other.
Lin Dai-hua: (shocked, angry) Not suitable? What do you mean? Tsai Shih-nan, explain clearly!
Tsai Shih-nan: A few months ago, I met another girl. I am already engaged to her. Please forgive me.
Lin Dai-hua: (grief and rage) What is this? Which part of me wronged you? How can you treat me like this?
Tsai Shih-nan: Dai-hua, I didn’t know you had also returned to the present. I thought…
Lin Dai-hua: (bitter laugh, pointing and shouting) Lame excuse! Lame excuse! Don’t use this pathetic excuse to get rid of me! You fell in love with someone else—you heartless man, Tsai Shih-nan!
△ Lin Dai-hua’s shouting attracts guests, who open sliding doors to look out.
△ Qiu Xiu-duan in the laundry room and Tsai Shi-fen at the counter rush over.
△ Tsai Shih-nan stands there in embarrassment, stunned and motionless. The mother and daughter arrive to mediate.
Qiu Xiu-duan: Miss Lin, this is not appropriate. If there is any misunderstanding, please come inside and talk.
△ The mother and daughter coax and pull Lin Dai-hua into her room. Shih-nan follows and closes the sliding door.
Lin Dai-hua: (crying) Auntie, Shi-fen, you must stand up for me.
Qiu Xiu-duan: (awkward) Dai-hua, Shih-nan thought your father despised him, and you also went to America, so Shih-nan then…
Lin Dai-hua: Auntie, before I left your house, I clearly told Shih-nan in front of all of you to wait for me for a few years. I would persuade my father.
Qiu Xiu-duan: Yes… you did say that at the time…
Tsai Shi-fen: Sister Dai-hua, my brother also waited for you for more than two years. He was deeply hurt when your father rejected him like that.
Lin Dai-hua: (wiping tears) Shih-nan, I want to meet that woman. Tell her to let go. Help me arrange to meet her.
△ Qiu Xiu-duan signals Shih-nan with her eyes to agree first.
Tsai Shi-fen: (forcing herself) Alright. I will take you to see her.
Scene | 95 Time | Night Location | Tsai homestay guest room, Shih-nan’s room, Taipei Shi Mei-lin’s bedroom
Characters | Lin Dai-hua, Tsai Shih-nan, Shi Mei-lin
△ Late night. In separate bedrooms, both cannot sleep because of this love triangle.
△ Lin Dai-hua leans against a wooden wall, staring out the window.
Lin Dai-hua: (OS) I never expected that in just a few months, things would become like this! Shih-nan, who returned to the past with me, actually fell in love with someone else. Is this heaven’s punishment for me?
▲ Cut transition
△ In Shih-nan’s room, he sits cross-legged in front of the desk.
Tsai Shih-nan: (on phone) Mei-lin, Mei-lin, are you free right now?
Shi Mei-lin: I just finished showering and was about to sleep. What is so urgent?
Tsai Shih-nan: Listen to me, don’t get angry first.
Shi Mei-lin: What happened? Don’t tell me you cheated or changed your mind.
Tsai Shih-nan: No… it’s my university girlfriend. She came back from the United States to find me.
Shi Mei-lin: Oh? She wants to reconcile?
Tsai Shih-nan: Listen, I actually came from the time-space of 2014 and accidentally returned to the present.
▲ Cut transition
△ In Mei-lin’s bedroom, she leans on a beanbag while speaking on the phone.
Shi Mei-lin: (disbelieving) Are you joking? 2014? That’s 15 years in the future!
Tsai Shih-nan: I am not lying. Open your laptop. I will send you an email with a photo. After you see it, you will understand.
Shi Mei-lin: Alright. I’ll open my laptop and check.
△ Mei-lin opens her laptop, checks her inbox, and indeed finds an email from Shih-nan. She opens it. A family photo appears. In the photo, Mei-lin and two children appear semi-transparent. The date shows September 22, 2014.
Mei-lin is completely confused.
Shi Mei-lin: Shih-nan, what is going on with that photo? You said the sender is you from 15 years later, and the photo shows semi-transparent images that might be related to me. I’m completely confused.
Tsai Shih-nan: I really traveled from 15 years in the future. The more complicated issue now is that my university girlfriend is staying at my homestay, and I just found out she also traveled back from 2014. I didn’t expect she returned to the present at the same time as me.
Shi Mei-lin: I don’t understand what you are saying.
Tsai Shih-nan: In any case, she wants to meet you.
Shi Mei-lin: What does your ex-girlfriend have to do with me? Why should I meet her? Is she coming to fight with me? You are being ridiculous, Tsai Shih-nan.
Tsai Shih-nan: I will take her to Taipei to see you in the next two days.
Shi Mei-lin: (firm) No! I won’t meet her. I have two important meetings these days.
△ Shi Mei-lin angrily hangs up.
△ Tsai Shih-nan switches to instant messaging to continue chatting.
Tsai Shih-nan: Mei-lin, don’t be like this. There is no other way to resolve this situation.
Shi Mei-lin: I am not part of your entanglement. I have no obligation to help you solve your mess. You don’t need to act as my boyfriend anymore—go back to her and relive your old romance.
Tsai Shih-nan: The person I love is you, Mei-lin!
Shi Mei-lin: But you cannot force me to meet your ex-girlfriend. I don’t want to be humiliated by her!
Tsai Shih-nan: I just want her to give up. I promise she will not humiliate you.
Shi Mei-lin: We’ll see. Let me think. I need to rest. Good night.
△ Shi Mei-lin logs off and rests her chin on her hand.
Shi Mei-lin: (to herself) What is all this? How did I get involved with a couple from the future, still emotionally entangled?
△ She looks at the family photo file and thinks deeply.
Shi Mei-lin: (OS) If this photo is real, then I am destined to be with Shih-nan in this lifetime. I cannot lose to his ex-girlfriend. I will wait and see what she is planning.
Scene | 96 Time | Day Location | Tsai Family Happiness No. Tourist Fishing Boat
Characters | Lin Dai-hua, Tsai Shih-nan, tourists
△ Lin Dai-hua boards the Tsai Family “Happiness No.” tourist fishing boat, going out to sea whale-watching together with the homestay guests to relax.
△ In the yacht cockpit, Dai-hua makes a call to her family to report she is safe.
Lin Dai-hua: Mom and Dad, this is Xiaoliuqiu. I am now on the tourist fishing boat that Shih-nan is operating. In two days, Shih-nan will accompany me back to Taichung to see you.
△ Lin Dai-hua turns off her phone and looks at Tsai Shih-nan’s side profile.
Lin Dai-hua: Shih-nan, do you want to live this kind of life from now on?
Tsai Shih-nan: The sky is vast and the sea is wide; where can one not find a place to live? I do not want to return to the city and be an ordinary overworked office worker.
Lin Dai-hua: I understand your thinking. We have both been struggling in the workplace for more than ten years. I only feel that with your ability in information software design, staying in Xiaoliuqiu to run a homestay and operate a sightseeing fishing boat is a waste of talent.
Tsai Shih-nan: (smiles) I am not the kind of material suited to be “great talent.”
Lin Dai-hua: If you are willing to come with me to the Central Taiwan Science Park to start a business and establish a technology company, with both of our abilities, we could bring smart phones into existence fifteen years earlier. This is absolutely a field worth us investing our youth in again.
Tsai Shih-nan: (calm) I am not worried about food or clothing now, and I no longer have that ambition. I only want a stable career and a happy family.
Lin Dai-hua: (OS, discouraged) Shih-nan’s heart has truly changed. It is no longer with me.
Scene | 97 Time | Day Location | National Freeway No. 3, Fude Tunnel
Characters | Lin Dai-hua, Tsai Shih-nan
△ On the way to Taipei, near Xindian, sudden thunder and heavy rain occur. Inside the car, Lin Dai-hua wears earphones listening to classical music. As the car enters the Fude Tunnel on National Freeway No. 3, Shih-nan notices Lin Dai-hua’s golden hair gradually fading back to black from the tips, and his own hairstyle also begins to change. Shih-nan realizes they are about to pass through another space-time tunnel, while Lin Dai-hua seems unaware.
Tsai Shih-nan: (OS) It is bad! The same location, the same scene again! If we pass through this space-time tunnel again, who knows which time-space we will end up stranded in.
Tsai Shih-nan: (shouting) Dai-hua, brake! Brake! Reverse the car, do not keep driving forward…
△ Tsai Shih-nan urgently hits Dai-hua’s shoulder and gestures for her to brake and reverse, but Dai-hua deliberately pretends not to hear and continues pressing the accelerator forward.
Tsai Shih-nan: No! I cannot let history repeat itself!
△ At this moment, Shih-nan quickly pushes open the car door and jumps out of the vehicle. His left lower leg touches the ground first, and his body rolls several times on the road. He lifts his head helplessly, watching Dai-hua’s car instantly disappear into the tunnel, then he faints from the pain.
Scene | 98 Time | Day Location | Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Emergency Room, Focus Company Meeting Room, Hospital Obstetrics Clinic Entrance, Kaohsiung City Streets
Characters | Tsai Shih-nan, Tsai Shi-fen, Shi Mei-lin, patients, doctors, nurses, Su Ming-yu, Zhao Jun-ting, several department managers
△ In a hospital emergency room bed, Tsai Shih-nan has several layers of bandages wrapped around his body and thigh. His younger sister Shi-fen stays by his bedside.
Tsai Shi-fen: (calling, to herself) What is going on? It keeps going to voicemail. What exactly is Mei-lin sister so busy with?
Tsai Shi-fen: (to herself) I should leave a message first.
Tsai Shi-fen: Mei-lin sister? This is Shi-fen. My brother was in a car accident and is seriously injured and unconscious. He has just undergone a lower-leg amputation surgery. He is currently at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital emergency department. Please come to the hospital when you are free…
▲ Cut to another scene
△ In a conference room, Shi Mei-lin operates a projector, explaining each winter clothing design draft one by one.
Shi Mei-lin: This set of plaid trousers is designed with the concept of dignity and comfort. Winters on the island are not too cold, and the north is humid while the south is dry. Comfortable trousers are suitable for office workers…
▲ Cut to another scene
△ Zhang Ya-hui has just left the hospital obstetrics and gynecology department. Her expression is gloomy. The doctor’s words still echo in her ears: Miss Zhang, the tumor in your ovary has been identified as malignant by biopsy. To achieve complete treatment, the uterus and ovaries must be removed as soon as possible for full therapy…
△ Zhang Ya-hui receives a call on Shi-fen’s phone.
Tsai Shi-fen: Sister Ya-hui, my brother had a car accident. He is seriously injured and has had one lower leg amputated.
Zhang Ya-hui: (shocked) When did it happen?
Tsai Shi-fen: Yesterday evening, when my brother was accompanying his ex-girlfriend Lin Dai-hua to Taipei.
Zhang Ya-hui: (worried) I will take a bus and go there immediately. Where are you now?
Tsai Shi-fen: Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital emergency department.
Zhang Ya-hui: (worried) I will go take a car now!
△ Zhang Ya-hui flags down a taxi and gets in.
Scene ∣ 99 Time ∣ Night Setting ∣ General ward of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
Characters ∣ Tsai Shinan, Tsai Shifen, Zhang Yahui
△ The anesthesia in Tsai Shinan’s body wears off, and he wakes up. He sees Zhang Yahui and his younger sister Shifen guarding beside the hospital bed, and immediately discovers that his left lower leg is gone. He listens in frustration to the conversation between Shifen and Yahui.
Tsai Shifen: This Shi Meilin is really something. Even if she’s busy, she should at least return a phone call, right? Why does she feel so materialistic?
Zhang Yahui: Maybe she just happens to be busy with work.
Tsai Shifen: (looking at Shinan) My brother is awake.
△ The two women by the bedside lean closer. Zhang Yahui gently touches Shinan’s face, her eyes full of affection.
Zhang Yahui: The doctor said your left lower-leg tissue was necrotic. Shifen didn’t want you to develop sepsis, so she had no choice but to agree to the doctor performing an amputation surgery on you. Don’t blame your sister.
Tsai Shinan: (a bitter smile flashes across his face) As long as I can keep my life, I’m satisfied.
Tsai Shifen: Brother, how did you get injured? What about Daohua? Didn’t you go to Taipei with her in her car?
Tsai Shinan: Near Xindian, there was a thunderstorm. When Daohua’s sedan was about to pass through Fude Tunnel, I suddenly noticed a time-space wormhole there. I told her to brake and turn back, but she gave no response. I didn’t want history to repeat itself, so I urgently pushed open the car door and jumped out. Daohua’s car disappeared instantly inside the tunnel.
△ Tsai Shifen is stunned, her eyes wide in disbelief.
Tsai Shifen: Brother, what is a time-space wormhole?
Tsai Shinan: It’s a time tunnel. I passed through the time tunnel on September 21, 2014, and returned to September 21 of last year.
△ Tsai Shifen is completely confused. Zhang Yahui understands everything; she is deeply moved inside.
Zhang Yahui: (OS) At the critical moment when history was about to change, Shinan risked his life and chose to stay, and all of this was because he did not want to lose Shi Meilin.
Tsai Shinan: Yahui, I’m sorry. I promised to take you and the students on a sea sketching graduation trip, but I’m going to break my promise.
Zhang Yahui: It’s alright, Shinan. I’ve just applied for long leave from school as well.
Tsai Shinan: Long leave?
Zhang Yahui: You told me to live a healthy and good life. I listened to you.
△ Tsai Shinan understands, and a relieved smile appears on his face.
Zhang Yahui: Shinan, rest for a while. We’ll go buy some things.
△ Zhang Yahui pulls Tsai Shifen outside the room.
Zhang Yahui: I’m going to Taipei to meet Shi Meilin. Shifen, give me her mobile number.
Tsai Shifen: Okay, I’ll check my phone.
Tsai Shifen: (takes out phone and finds it) This is the number.
△ Zhang Yahui inputs Meilin’s number into her phone, then immediately calls Tsai mother Qiu Xiuduan.
Zhang Yahui: Aunt Xiuduan? It’s Yahui. Shinan has woken up and is out of danger… You don’t need to worry too much. Shifen and I will take good care of Shinan… Aunt, please send Shinan’s diary on the desk in his study, and the family photo of Shinan and Meilin inside the diary, by express delivery to the hospital for me…
△ Zhang Yahui ends the call.
Tsai Shifen: (confused) Yahui sister, a family photo of my brother and Meilin sister? When did they have such a photo?
Zhang Yahui: (mysteriously) You’ll see in the next couple of days.
Scene ∣ 100 Time ∣ Night Setting ∣ Eastern District streets of Taipei City, café
Characters ∣ Shi Meilin, Zhang Yahui, passersby, customers, waiter
△ Zhang Yahui sits in a corner of the café with Shinan’s diary in her bag, looking out at the bustling street outside the window.
△ Shi Meilin, bare-faced and wearing a long dress, enters the café.
△ Zhang Yahui immediately recognizes her and waves. Meilin walks over and sits down.
△ The waiter comes to serve them.
Zhang Yahui: One cup of Mandheling coffee.
Shi Meilin: Mixed fruit juice.
Waiter: The drinks will be served shortly. Please wait a moment.
△ The waiter leaves the bill and turns away.
Zhang Yahui: (extends hand) Shi Meilin, nice to meet you.
Shi Meilin: (smiling, shaking hands) Shinan mentioned you to me. You are his confidante, Zhang Yahui.
Shi Meilin: Is Shinan doing alright? I was planning to visit him today.
Zhang Yahui: In order to stay with you, Shinan sacrificed one of his lower legs.
Shi Meilin: (confused) Oh? Shinan said he wanted me to meet his ex-girlfriend. I was still wondering—why did the voicemail say Shinan had a car accident, and then his ex-girlfriend also disappeared?
Zhang Yahui: This part is quite mysterious. Please just believe it for now.
Shi Meilin: Go on then, Miss Zhang.
Zhang Yahui: Shinan could not resist his ex-girlfriend Lin Daohua. He accompanied her to Taipei to find you. When the car passed Xindian…
△ Shi Meilin is deeply moved, tears shimmering in her eyes.
△ Zhang Yahui shows Shinan’s diary and the family photo, handing them to Meilin.
Zhang Yahui: After you read them, you will understand why I came to see you.
△ Shi Meilin reads the diary and looks at the photo. She feels Shinan’s deep love for her. Tears fall drop by drop onto the photo, and the originally blurred image of Meilin and two children gradually becomes clear.
Shi Meilin: (happy, OS) This must be destiny. It must be destiny!
△ Zhang Yahui takes out her cancer diagnosis certificate and a letter from her bag and gives them to Meilin. After seeing the diagnosis certificate, Meilin understands Yahui’s purpose.
Zhang Yahui: (holding Meilin’s hands) For the rest of my life, please take good care of Shinan for me.
Shi Meilin: (nodding) I will. Yahui, thank you sincerely for caring so much about Shinan!
△ Zhang Yahui stands up and is about to leave, tears welling in her eyes…
△ The waiter has just brought the coffee and juice.
Shi Meilin: (nods) Can you stay and finish this cup of coffee with me? Yahui.
△ Yahui smiles and nods, sitting back down.
Shi Meilin: (takes out phone and calls) President Su? I want to resign… no, no, I mean I’m going to get married and settle in Xiaoliuqiu. Thank you for your care all this time.
△ Shi Meilin ends the call. The two women look at each other with knowing smiles, lift their cups, lightly touch the rims, and drink leisurely together.
Scene ∣ 101 Time ∣ Night Setting ∣ General ward of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
Characters ∣ Tsai Shinan, Tsai Shifen, Shi Meilin
△ Shi Meilin arrives at the hospital ward carrying a suitcase.
Tsai Shifen: (surprised) Meilin sister, brother—Meilin sister is here to see you.
△ Tsai Shifen tactfully leaves and closes the door, leaving the two alone.
△ Shi Meilin returns the diary and photos to Shinan, along with Yahui’s diagnosis certificate and letter.
△ Tsai Shinan reads the letter. Tears well in his eyes.
Tsai Shinan: Meilin, in the future when we have children, I want them to recognize Yahui as their godmother.
△ Shi Meilin nods and smiles, holding Shinan’s hands.
Scene ∣ 102 Time ∣ Night Setting ∣ Tsai family homestay, Shinan’s room
Characters ∣ Tsai Shinan, Shi Meilin
△ In Shinan’s room at the Tsai family homestay, Shinan sits at the desk, writing on the computer screen for the homestay website. A lower-leg prosthesis is placed beside his feet.
△ Shi Meilin opens the sliding paper door and brings a plate of fruit, placing it on the desk. She walks behind Shinan and wraps her arms around him.
Shi Meilin: Shinan, I have resigned from my Taipei job. I am ready to marry you.
△ Tsai Shinan smiles and opens his inbox, showing a second email sent by his future self in 2016. It contains two photos: one of Shi Meilin in the captain’s cabin of a sightseeing boat, confidently steering the helm; the other of Tsai Shinan in the cabin holding a microphone, introducing the trip to tourists.
Shi Meilin: (laughing) Alright then. After we get married, I’ll get a license. I’ll be the one driving the boat.
△ Tsai Shinan then opens the first distress email. In the photo, Meilin and the twins are no longer translucent. Meilin smiles and kisses Shinan on the cheek.
Shi Meilin: I’ve seen this photo. Thank you for the sacrifice and devotion you made for our family.
Tsai Shinan: (holding Meilin’s waist) Meilin, you also sacrificed your career and ideals. Thank you for everything you’ve given.
Scene ∣ 103 Time ∣ Night Setting ∣ Tsai family “Happiness” sightseeing fishing boat
Characters ∣ Tsai Shinan, Shi Meilin, tourists
△ On a calm and sunny sea, a sightseeing boat departs carrying tourists.
△ In the cockpit, Shi Meilin looks at the sea, holding the steering wheel with one hand and drinking bottled water with the other.
△ In the cabin, Tsai Shinan holds a microphone, guiding tourists and explaining the dolphins chasing schools of fish on the sea.
Tsai Shinan: Near Xiaoliuqiu, dolphin families often appear, chasing saury schools…
△ Some tourists notice that part of his lower leg under his trousers is a prosthetic…
— THE END —
