Temporal Framework and Key Events
The novel spans several critical timelines, each interlinked by mysterious events and an enigmatic promise.
April 17, 2017 (Memory Timeline)
Yang An-Ting whispers a pivotal promise to Yu Yong-An: "Will you let me possess all your tenderness?" This vow seems to have altered the very fabric of time, potentially acting as a binding temporal contract.
May 17, 2024 (Reality)
In this timeline, police officer Yu Yong-An and his lover Yang An-Ting lead seemingly normal lives. During a routine walk in Tamsui, Yu discovers a mysterious artifact—a "Triple-layered Cross"—triggering distorted memories and perceptions of temporal displacement. Unbeknownst to him, this event connects to both past (2017) and future timelines (2025, 2026).
February 19, 2025 (Alternate World)
Li An-Qing (alternate Yang An-Ting) mysteriously disappears within District X, her "death" revealed to be a temporal distortion causing her displacement to another dimension. This event marks a crucial anomaly linked to District X.
February 22, 2025
Zhang Yi-An, a prodigious teenager, uncovers critical answers about these temporal anomalies, but he has already vanished from reality. Meanwhile, Yu Yong-An returns from an alternate timeline to find reality profoundly changed, forcing him to investigate the truth of these disruptions to uncover the authentic timeline.
December 27, 2026 (Alternate World)
Yu Yong-An crosses into an alternate world, embarking on nearly a year of exploration into temporal anomalies. The laws of reality differ here, and the disappearance of Zhang Yi-An emerges as a central mystery.
Main Characters
Yu Yong-An (Age 24, Police Officer)
Yu is rational, reserved, and serves as the story's primary problem-solver. After discovering the Triple-layered Cross, he experiences fragmented memories and temporal confusion. His journey across worlds leaves him uncertain about reality, leading to an internal struggle to reconcile conflicting memories and emotional ties between Yang An-Ting (reality) and Li An-Qing (alternate reality).
Zhang Yi-An (Age 18, Prodigious Hacker)
Zhang, a brilliant yet paranoid teenager with red-green color blindness, searches relentlessly for answers to temporal anomalies. His disappearance from reality after February 22, 2025, is intricately linked to District X and Li An-Qing's temporal distortion. Although he and Yu Yong-An never meet directly, their paths cross indirectly through shared memories and mysteries.
Yang An-Ting / Li An-Qing (Age 24)
Yang An-Ting, Yu's lover in reality, transforms in the alternate world into Li An-Qing. Li had an engagement with Zhang Yi-An, the details of which remain enigmatic. Her disappearance in District X and subsequent dimensional displacement become central to the unfolding temporal mysteries, further complicated by memories potentially altered or erased.
They had never truly met.Yet on certain nights, Li An-Qing would glimpse Yang An-Ting in the mirror.
Not from another's eyes—but from a deep, refracted part within herself:A version she once longed to become.A self she once abandoned.
"If we were never meant to exist in the same timeline," Yang An-Ting whispered,"would you hate me?"
Li An-Qing didn't respond.She simply lifted her gaze toward a shimmer in the mirror,as though seeing a fate that had never happened—yet was already sealed.
There were no answers between them.Only a consciousness divided by time,substituting and yearning for one anotheracross endless crossings of Fridays and Tuesdays.
Bai Zi-Ming (Alternate) / Chen Yi-Guang (Reality)
An enigmatic figure and keeper of vital information, Bai Zi-Ming assists Zhang Yi-An in the alternate world. He remains skeptical of Yu Yong-An, cautiously observing him and withholding crucial details regarding the Triple-layered Cross.
World Elements
Temporal Anomalies and Mechanisms
In the narrative, time flows in multiple directions and is susceptible to manipulation, displacement, and resets. Tuesdays and Fridays become crucial points for temporal anomalies, with specific events or information accessible only during these days.
Triple-layered Cross
Central to the narrative, this mysterious artifact connects closely with temporal anomalies, memory revisions, and identity integration. Left behind by Zhang Yi-An, it holds critical clues essential to unraveling the temporal mysteries.
District X
A mysterious location in the alternate world, District X serves as a hub for significant temporal distortions, closely tied to Li An-Qing's fate and Zhang Yi-An's disappearance. Surveillance footage from District X hints at profound temporal displacement phenomena.
Fate's Intersection
"If we no longer share the same timeline, how can I find you again?"
In a reality repeatedly rewritten, fallen leaves hold hidden clues, and crosses illuminate intertwined destinies. Yu Yong-An and Zhang Yi-An, though never meeting directly, share overlapping memories and forgotten promises. As they journey through shifting timelines, each must unravel the mysteries of their existence and reclaim a distorted encounter shaped by fate.
Through enigmatic voices, cryptic clues, and fragmented truths, "The Promise of Four Fallen Leaves" challenges characters—and readers—to question the nature of reality, the fluidity of memory, and the boundaries of identity.