"Alice... could you stay?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Bruce felt the slight tremble in the body pressed against him.
"I'm sorry, Bruce, but I've already made up my mind. I'm still going back. America just isn't where I want to stay. And besides... the age gap between us is too much."
"It's only seven years. That's not even that unusual. Plenty of people marry with a much bigger age gap than that. You..."
"I'm sorry. I really can't accept it."
She cut him off before he could finish.
From the memories he had inherited, Bruce understood her well. Alice, who had come from Taiwan, was deeply traditional at heart. And he also understood what it meant, in that mindset, for a woman to be seven years older than the man she was with.
Bruce let out a long breath.
Before he arrived in this body, the original Bruce had already argued with her about this many times. But the woman in his arms had never once softened.
Now that he carried Bruce's memories, he also carried his feelings. But unlike the original Bruce, who had been younger and less tested by life, the current Bruce had thirty-five years of real-world experience behind him. He was steadier when it came to relationships, and far better at accepting that some things simply did not work out.
"Did your thesis pass?"
She nodded.
"Professor Joseph called me. My degree will be issued in three days."
"When are you leaving?"
"I already booked my flight. One week from now. San Francisco to Taipei."
"So soon?"
A hint of hesitation appeared on her face, but it quickly settled back into resolve.
"My grandmother hasn't been well. I want to go back as soon as I can and see her."
That answer left Bruce with nothing to say.
He had been with her for over a year. He knew exactly what her grandmother meant to her, just as he understood what his own grandparents had meant to him in his previous life. Some bonds could not be reasoned away.
After a long silence, he finally said, "Let's go get dinner."
If he did not have nearly twenty years of future knowledge in his head, maybe he would have chosen love at this moment.
But now, compared to romance, he needed America. He needed the platform, the market, the scale. He needed all of it to build the life he wanted.
A faint trace of disappointment flashed in Alice's eyes.
People were selfish by nature. Somewhere deep down, she had hoped he might choose to go back with her.
"Okay," she said softly.
"Let's go to that Greek place in Palo Alto. That's where we first met."
She nodded.
Hand in hand, they returned to the dorm, got in the car, and drove to the restaurant.
As one of Palo Alto's better-known dining spots, Evvia Estiatorio had built a strong reputation. It had even been featured in Michelin coverage, and people said Steve Jobs himself was a regular. At night the place was always packed. Without a reservation, they would have had to wait.
Naturally, a place like that did not come cheap.
Dinner for two, plus a bottle of Napa red, cost Bruce nearly five hundred dollars.
When they were done eating, Alice looked at him and said quietly, "Can you sing for me one more time? I like hearing your voice."
Bruce hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Back when they first met, the original Bruce had won her over in this very restaurant by singing "Yesterday Once More" by the Carpenters. Add in the brains, the looks, and the effortless confidence, and that had been enough to win over one of the most admired women on campus.
Bruce stood, walked to the center stage area, and approached the house singer, who had just finished a song and was taking a break.
"Hey, would you mind if I borrowed your guitar for one song? I want to sing something for my girlfriend."
The young singer, dressed in a slightly punk style, glanced toward Alice, then grinned as he accepted the twenty-dollar tip Bruce handed him.
"Sure."
It was not an unusual request. People came up to sing for someone all the time, and with a tip involved, there was really no reason to say no.
Bruce took the guitar, stepped to the center of the stage, adjusted the microphone, tested the strings, and tuned the tone.
Then he sat down on the stool.
A long list of songs ran through his mind.
Bruce had been a genuinely talented guitarist, and the memories he left behind were full of classics. But Bruce did not pick any of those.
Instead, he chose a song that had only recently been released and had also been one of his personal favorites in his previous life:
"Only Love" by Trademark.
He took a breath, settled into the mood, and began.
"Two a.m. and the rain is falling..."
The moment he opened his mouth, the warm chords and the magnetic quality of his voice drew the attention of most of the restaurant.
"Only Love" had earned its place among timeless love songs for a reason. As Bruce slipped more deeply into the emotion of it, the feeling in the lyrics flowed naturally through his voice and guitar.
In the slightly hushed restaurant, the song moved through the room like warmth in winter, brushing against everyone's memory of love, regret, longing, and hope.
When he reached the last line:
"That's something only love can do..."
The room stayed quiet for a beat.
Then applause broke out all at once.
Bruce stood, gave a small bow in thanks, and handed the guitar back to the young singer.
"Man, that was incredible," the singer said. "What's the name of that song?"
"Only Love. It's a new single from a German group."
"Got it. Thanks. By the way, I'm Amy Nam."
"Bruce Guo."
After exchanging names, Bruce smiled and stepped off the stage.
When he returned to the table, he saw that Alice's eyes were red, as if she had been crying.
"What's wrong?"
"Bruce... let's go."
She looked at him differently now, the emotion in her eyes impossible to miss.
"All right."
He was caught off guard for a second, but he did not object.
After paying the bill, they got into the car, and Bruce said, "I'll take you back to the dorm."
"No," she said quietly. "I don't want to go back to the dorm."
The look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know.
He was not naïve, and before his rebirth, Bruce and Alice had already crossed far past the stage of innocent hand-holding.
A heat slowly rose in him.
He turned the car toward a hotel near Stanford.
After that, everything happened the way it was always going to happen.
For the next week, they lived together.
Maybe it was because they both knew the end was coming, but those seven days were filled with an almost desperate closeness. Still, no matter how intense the time together was, it could not stop the day of parting from arriving.
When it finally did, they turned down all offers from friends to come along.
Bruce took her to the airport by himself.
"Alice... can you wait for me three years?"
Thinking back on the week they had just spent together, he knew the odds were slim, but he still wanted to try one last time.
She shook her head slightly, uncertainty clouding her face.
"I don't know."
Bruce felt disappointment settle in his chest, but he also understood that his request was unfair.
A woman did not have endless time to wait around for promises. Those years, once gone, did not come back.
"Have a safe flight."
Alice looked at his strained smile and seemed like she wanted to say something, but in the end she said nothing.
After a small, hesitant nod, she pulled her suitcase behind her and walked toward the departure hall, glancing back more than once.
Bruce stood there watching until her graceful figure disappeared completely.
A heavy sense of loss settled over him.
"Well," he muttered to himself, "fresh start, and I'm already single again. Maybe that's for the best. Time to stop wasting energy and go all in on the business."
Ring.
His phone started vibrating in his pocket.
Bruce pulled it out and answered.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Guo? This is James, your relationship manager at Wells Fargo. The financing and advisory work you requested have both been completed. When would you be available to come in so we can finalize the documents?"
Bruce's heart jolted.
"I'm available now."
"Perfect. It's 2:20 p.m. right now. Shall we meet at 3:00 on the third floor reception area at the Wells Fargo building in San Francisco?"
"That works."
"Great. See you soon."
"See you."
After hanging up, Bruce turned and took one last deep look at the busy departure hall.
Then he inhaled, turned around decisively, and strode away from the airport.
He did not have the luxury of spending too much time on romance.
If Alice had not been leaving, he would never have devoted most of an entire week to being with her.
Still, it was not as if he had done nothing during those days.
"Mr. Guo, based on our valuation of Guo Farm, we can extend up to four million dollars in financing secured by the property."
Four million.
That was roughly sixty percent of the farm's estimated value. For a commercial real estate-backed loan, it was a respectable loan-to-value ratio.
"What's the interest rate?"
"4.69 percent."
The risk profile on a commercial loan secured by real property was relatively low, so the rate was not excessive.
"All of the key terms are set out in the agreement. If everything looks acceptable, please sign at the end. Funds should be disbursed to your Wells Fargo account within approximately three business days."
Bruce nodded.
He read through the agreement carefully, then signed his name at the bottom.
"And this," James said, sliding another document across the desk, "is the valuation report you requested on Google."
A flash of excitement passed through Bruce.
He took it immediately.
As one of the largest commercial banks in the country, Wells Fargo was no slouch when it came to business advisory and valuation work. The underlying figures in the report, especially the analysis of Google's current worth, were precise enough to be useful.
And that was exactly what Bruce needed.
"Charge the advisory fee to my account."
After skimming several of the key numbers in the report, Bruce stood with a satisfied smile.
"If you need any additional advisory or financing services in the future, Mr. Guo, feel free to contact me directly."
Bruce nodded, and with James seeing him out, left the Wells Fargo building in downtown San Francisco.