Chapter 2: You’ve Worked Hard

Walking with the crowd toward the school gate, the people around Xu Ye were all chattering away, comparing answers. Only he remained silent, quietly savoring the sweetness of youth.

At eighteen, he was free, unburdened, and carefree.

At twenty-eight, he was worn down by life, everything in complete disarray.

Everything had begun this very year. After getting married, Xu Ye had often wondered: if he hadn’t gone after Gu Mengyao that year, would his life have been much better?

“Heh, looks like Heaven has given me a chance to choose again.”

Jiangzhou City in 2014 wasn’t much different from Jiangzhou City ten years later. That year, Malaysia Airlines went missing, and the viral song Little Apple had just been released. As an ordinary person, Xu Ye couldn’t recall any other major events from that year.

Just as Xu Ye was approaching the school gate—

“Xu Ye! Xu Ye!”

A voice suddenly called out from behind—familiar, yet distant. A teenage boy in glasses and a green T-shirt came running over. He threw an arm around Xu Ye’s shoulder, panting heavily. “Didn’t we agree to wait for each other after the exam? Why the hell did you run off on your own?”

“Brother Wei?”

Qin Zhiwei frowned. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing.”

The corners of Xu Ye’s mouth lifted slightly, but he didn’t explain.

If he told Qin Zhiwei that just last night they had been drinking together—ten years in the future—he’d never believe it, even if it killed him.

“How’d you do on the exam?”

“Not bad, probably enough to get into a Tier-One University.”

Qin Zhiwei curled his lips and snorted. “If you actually make it into a Tier-One, I’ll take your last name.”

Xu Ye grabbed his arm and started dragging him outside the gate. “Let’s go ask your dad if he’s okay with that.”

“Screw off.”

Xu Ye remembered it vividly: after the gaokao^[1]National College Entrance Exam, the two of them had gone to college in the same city. Unfortunately, when it came to relationships, neither of them had much luck.

Let’s not even talk about Xu Ye—Qin Zhiwei’s situation was even more miserable. In the second year of his marriage, his Wife cheated on him, and after the divorce, he basically started living like a widower. He played both Father and Mother to his child, and by his twenties, the stress had already given him a beer belly that looked seven months pregnant.

“Xu Ye, are you going to No. 2 High School later?”

“What for?”

“Gu Mengyao’s exam room is there. Didn’t you say you were going to see her after the exam?”

Xu Ye’s smile froze instantly. His tone turned cold. “Why would I do that? I’m going to have dinner with my Father and Mother.”

Qin Zhiwei looked at Xu Ye’s indifferent expression in shock. “What’s going on? Weren’t you planning to go after her?”

“I’ve been reborn—why would I still chase after her?”

There were too many people around, and Xu Ye hadn’t spoken loudly. Qin Zhiwei didn’t quite catch what he said.

But Qin Zhiwei had known since their first year of high school that Xu Ye liked their class beauty, Gu Mengyao. Xu Ye was a day student, while Gu Mengyao boarded at school. Over the past three years, he had lost count of how many times he’d brought her breakfast from outside the school.

Xu Ye’s crush on Gu Mengyao wasn’t just something Qin Zhiwei knew—everyone in the class did.

But Gu Mengyao’s attitude toward Xu Ye had always been ambiguous. Sometimes, she treated him like they were dating; other times, she was ice cold. That on-and-off dynamic had lasted all the way into their University years.

“What did you just say?”

“Nothing. I’m going to have dinner with my parents first. Tomorrow, I plan to lounge around at home all day. In the evening…”

“In the evening, we hit the internet café—I’ll be Yasuo, you go Lee Sin, and we’ll go on a killing spree!”

Xu Ye rolled his eyes at him. As they stepped outside the school, he spotted a middle-aged couple waving at him enthusiastically from across the street.

The man was dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and casual pants. The woman, perhaps hoping for an auspicious start symbolized by “a winning first move,” had put on a deep red qipao.

“Xiao Ye, over here!”

Xu Ye hadn’t expected his Father and Mother to look this young ten years ago.

Stunned for a moment, he said a quick goodbye to Qin Zhiwei, telling him he’d see him again tomorrow night, then walked over to where his Father, Xu Xiangdong, and his Mother, Zhang Hong, were waiting.

The couple both knew that their son struggled with a significant subject imbalance, so this final exam was especially important for him.

As Xu Ye approached, Zhang Hong looked at him with concern and asked, “Son, how did the exam go?”

Just as Xu Ye was about to answer—

Xu Xiangdong interrupted, “Didn’t we agree not to ask him right away?”

Zhang Hong shot her Husband a glare and found an excuse, “I’m his Mother. Can’t I care about my son?”

Hearing their familiar bickering, Xu Ye’s mood instantly lightened.

After marrying Gu Mengyao, Xu Ye’s Father and Mother had worried about him constantly. People often said the relationship between a wife and her mother-in-law was the hardest to manage. But after Gu Mengyao married into the family, she not only showed no respect to his Mother but even ordered her around condescendingly. For the sake of her son, Zhang Hong had no choice but to endure it all, constantly giving way, which caused the atmosphere at home to deteriorate day by day.

When emotions are strained, the body naturally suffers too. That was why, even though his parents were only in their fifties, they had already gone gray far too early.

Thinking back on it now, Xu Ye really felt like slapping himself.

“Son, don’t listen to your Mother. The exam’s done—no point overthinking it. Come on, let’s get a drink. Tonight, you and I are not going home until we’re drunk,” said Xu Xiangdong.

“Dad, actually, I did pretty well this time.”

“Really?”

“Really. I think I’ve got a solid shot at getting into a second-tier university—maybe even a top-tier one.”

Hearing this, Zhang Hong was so excited she didn’t even know what to say.

Xu Xiangdong’s face lit up with pride as well.

The couple had only one son, and their greatest wish was simply for him to grow up healthy and happy, get into a good university, and find a decent job.

“Come on, let’s go out to eat!”

Xu Xiangdong, full of excitement, grabbed the car keys and headed off to get the car, while Zhang Hong held onto Xu Ye’s arm, her face glowing with joy.

Looking at his Mother’s jet-black hair, Xu Ye felt a wave of guilt and remorse surge through him. Suddenly, he said, “Mom, thank you for everything.”

Zhang Hong didn’t realize that Xu Ye’s words weren’t just meant for her in the present, but also for the version of her ten years in the future.

She reached out and gently patted Xu Ye’s hand, visibly touched, and asked, “What’s with the sudden mushiness?”

Xu Ye forced a smile. “I just noticed all the calluses on your hands. You’ve given so much for this family.”

“Oh, those? I got them from playing too much mahjong!”

Zhang Hong laughed casually, but her eyes were already slightly red.

Sitting in an old Volkswagen Santana, Xu Ye watched the people coming and going outside the window, his heart heavy with mixed emotions.

He hadn’t expected that a simple sentence from him could move his Mother so deeply.

Memories of the past, like nightmares, surged into his mind.

Xu Ye took a deep breath, pushing all the unhappy thoughts aside.

His life had gone off course after the college entrance exam, but now that he had a chance to start over, he was determined to make a change—not just any change, but to live as a completely different self…