Chapter 1  

He Yang stumbled and fell to the ground.  

She felt no pain as she looked around, her mind in a daze.  

…Was this a dream?  

She shook her head vigorously, but the scene before her didn’t change in the slightest.  

Raindrops fell like broken strings, pounding the uneven ground, splashing water from the puddles.  

Students in uniforms hurried past, their steps sending muddy water flying everywhere as they walked by He Yang.  

She wiped the water from her face, still utterly confused.  

Just moments ago, she clearly remembered it was midnight. A delivery guy had knocked on her door, and she had placed the warm takeout on her table. She’d opened her phone as usual to search for a variety show to watch while eating, when a news notification popped up.  

She had clicked on it and read it from start to finish. She couldn’t recall the content now, only that her head had felt like it was being stirred by something, throbbing with pain.  

And then, she had ended up here.  

Squinting through the rain, she scanned her surroundings, digging through distant memories.  

Everything felt strangely familiar.  

She was wearing a blue-and-white school uniform, the weight of a heavy backpack pulling at her shoulders—filled to the brim with test papers.  

This was her high school, Yang Kui Number One High School.  

Had she… gone back to high school?  

He Yang blinked hard, unwilling to believe it.  

As someone who frequented female-oriented fiction sites, she was well-versed in the tropes of rebirth.  

The protagonists who got reborn usually had two goals: either to take revenge, slap faces, and climb to the pinnacle of life, or to heal a future big shot and reap sweet romance.  

Though she preferred the first kind, she had enough self-awareness to know that someone like her wouldn’t reach any pinnacle even if reborn a hundred times. As for the second… that was pure nonsense!  

Yang Kui was a small, impoverished county where even birds wouldn’t bother to poop. Besides, having lived here, she knew everyone in the neighborhood—no one from this place had ever amounted to anything extraordinary.  

And more importantly, the prerequisite for rebirth was that the protagonist had to have died.  

But her?  

At this thought, He Yang grew angry.  

Her childhood had been poor, with neither parent doting on her. Though she’d slacked off during compulsory education, she had worked her hardest in high school, even to the point of burning the midnight oil. She’d managed to get into a decent university in City A. During her senior year, she hadn’t slacked off either, preparing early for career exams and eventually securing a stable job—just the kind where she could coast until retirement.  

And now, she was sent back to high school?  

He Yang refused to believe it. She felt like the heavens were toying with her.  

Her fingers dug into the muddy ground, venting the frustration boiling inside her. At the same time, her stomach growled loudly.  

This only made her feel life was even more unfair—at least let her finish her takeout first!  

She sat there, lost in thought.  

The rain showed no sign of stopping, and the students had long since scattered. The vast school entrance was empty, save for her sitting foolishly in the downpour.  

Staring at the raindrops hitting the ground, her cheeks puffed with indignation, she was just wondering what to do with her anger when a pair of pristine white sneakers appeared in her line of sight.  

The shoes were spotless, their owner walking briskly. She expected them to pass by like the others, splashing her with mud, but instead, they stopped right in front of her. The relentless rain pelting her body was suddenly blocked.  

For a moment, she stared at the specks of mud staining the shoes before slowly lifting her gaze.

The young man was dressed in the same clean school uniform, holding a large black umbrella—the very one now sheltering He Yang from the rain.

When He Yang got a clear look at his face, she couldn’t help but hold her breath.

…He was way too good-looking!

He seemed slightly uneasy, his dark eyes darting a quick glance at her before looking away. He bit his lip lightly, and his pale cheeks flushed visibly red in an instant.

He tilted the umbrella further toward He Yang. “Can you stand up?”

He Yang shifted, attempting to rise, but momentarily forgot the weight of her backpack and nearly toppled backward. A hand shot out swiftly, gripping her arm to steady her before withdrawing just as quickly.

He Yang smiled at him. “Thank you.”

He kept his gaze lowered, turning his head slightly aside, only his butterfly-wing-like lashes fluttering a few times. “No need.”

He Yang noticed him standing there as if he had something to say.

She waited patiently for a moment, but he remained frozen in place. She thanked him again and started to walk away.

She hadn’t returned since leaving for university, and long-buried memories slowly resurfaced. Her expression blank, she followed the familiar path home.

After just a few steps, someone hurried after her.

It was the kind boy who had helped her up.

Still avoiding eye contact, he held out the umbrella in his hand. “…Take it.”

He Yang was about to refuse, but before she could speak, the boy gave her a deep look, turned, and ran off.

He dashed to a black sedan, got in, and the car sped away like an arrow.

Clutching the large black umbrella, He Yang’s already muddled mind grew even more confused.

She… didn’t know him, did she?

Baffled, she tugged at the ponytail tied behind her head—such a nostalgic feeling. It had been so long since she’d worn such a youthful hairstyle.

Her thoughts were too chaotic, so she decided to clear her mind and keep walking.

……

Heavy raindrops pelted the car window. Through the rain-streaked glass, the world outside blurred into obscurity, the passing cars and pedestrians dissolving into nothingness. Yet one figure remained vividly etched in He Cheng’s mind—he didn’t need to look closely to picture her.

Seated in the back, soaked by the rain, He Cheng’s damp black hair clung to his forehead, accentuating his already pallid complexion with an even sicklier hue.

Covering his mouth, he coughed a few times.

His right hand rested on his leg, fingers flexing and relaxing. He Yang’s arm had been slender, the warmth of her skin palpable even through the thin fabric of her uniform. Recalling the earlier moment, a faint smile touched his lips, but as his gaze returned to her receding figure outside, the smile turned bitter.

Uncle He observed He Cheng through the rearview mirror.

Worried, he said, “…Young Master, you’ve gotten drenched. Let’s head back for today.”

He Cheng remained silent.

Uncle He pressed on, “Young Master’s health…”

He Cheng coughed again, his tone gentle. “We’re almost there. A few more minutes won’t make a difference.”

Uncle He could only sigh inwardly, easing his foot onto the brake to match He Yang’s walking pace.

Horns blared from the cars behind them, but upon recognizing the vehicle’s emblem, they quickly overtook, not daring to risk a collision they couldn’t afford.

At this speed, such a fine car was practically being wasted.

Yet Uncle He didn’t dare show the slightest dissatisfaction. Instead, despite his age, he felt a profound sorrow welling up inside.

He was a distant relative of the He family—very distant at that. After the He family prospered, they didn’t look down on poor relatives like him. Instead, they invited him to work as a driver for the family.  

Honest and steady behind the wheel, he followed He Cheng to Yang Kui County.  

From his very first year there, he knew about that young girl. Every day after school, the first thing He Cheng did was follow behind her. Sometimes, even when they reached the girl’s doorstep, He Cheng still wouldn’t speak, merely staring intently in one direction.  

The route from Yang Kui Number One High School to Tenth Lane Street was etched into his memory.  

But Tenth Lane Street and Tianhe Grand Residence were worlds apart—one in the west of the county, the other in the east, separated by the greatest distance.  

Even after He Yang went upstairs, He Cheng still didn’t look away.  

Uncle He waited a moment before saying with some reluctance, “Young Master, it’s already the second semester of senior year. In just a few months, it’ll be the college entrance exams. After that… will you still be like this?”  

Three whole years. For three years, He Cheng had silently trailed behind He Yang. Yet, three years could feel both long and short. In a single school, a single county, anyone could know anyone—except that He Yang didn’t know He Cheng.  

Hiding in the shadows, He Cheng—a young man who should have been radiant like pearls and jade—had instead turned himself into something lurking in the gutters, afraid to be seen.  

He Cheng’s face was as pale as ever, his gaze glued to the spot where He Yang had disappeared. After a long while, his thick lashes slowly lowered, half-covering his dark, dull pupils. An aura of broken desolation clung to him.  

Like a rose, its roots deprived of water, leaving only a vibrant, blooming shell—while the barren drought inside was known only to itself.  

He heard Uncle He’s words but didn’t know how to respond.  

He Yang was a slender girl with delicate features, the very picture of a well-behaved, studious student. But He Cheng knew—no one knew better than him.  

When He Yang smiled, two mischievous canine teeth would peek out.  

On empty streets, she would abandon her usual composed stride and skip ahead like a child.  

He had even seen her scare a chubby kid—barely half her height—into tears with a raised fist before darting away like the wind before the kid’s parents arrived…  

She was bright. Warm.  

Exactly what this withering plant of his desperately, deeply craved.  

“Let’s go back to Tianhe Grand Residence,” He Cheng said.  

Uncle He acknowledged and turned the car around.  

Just when Uncle He thought He Cheng wouldn’t answer his earlier question, He Cheng spoke again: “She’s in Class Four, an ordinary class. But she studies hard, and her exam results are always steady within the top two hundred of her grade. If she performs well in the exams, she has a shot at a top-tier university. She’s diligent and ambitious—she’ll find a good job in the future, maybe even…”  

His gaze dimmed. “…start a happy family, with a loving husband and adorable children.”  

Uncle He asked, “…And what about you, Young Master?”  

He Cheng smiled bitterly. “Uncle He, you know… that person can’t be me. It absolutely can’t be me…”  

He turned his gaze out the window, his right hand clenching tightly as if trying to grasp something—only to loosen helplessly in the end.  

“She’s so good. She’s so good. I can’t ruin her.”  

Hearing this, Uncle He didn’t press further.

He thought of something and looked at He Cheng, who showed no sign of life in the back seat through the rearview mirror, letting out only a heavy sigh.