Chapter 8

While the teacher was explaining the test questions, Zhang Yunyi could only be grateful that this was just a class quiz. If it had been a monthly or midterm exam, she would have undoubtedly ranked at the bottom of the class.

At 10:10 PM, the bell signaling the end of evening self-study rang.

She might not have been the most enthusiastic about attending school, but if she wasn’t eager to leave when school was over, then that would be a real problem. In the year she spent as a corporate worker, even though Chen Kuo and a few other senior executives still retained some human decency by offering overtime pay, she was never keen on earning that money. Luckily, overtime was rare, and the company atmosphere was great—full of young people who had already figured things out.

Half an hour before the official end of the workday, everyone would start wrapping up their tasks.

Every extra minute spent at the office required an even longer time to mentally recover.

The same logic applied to leaving school.

Even a diligent top student like Dai Jia had no interest in staying in the classroom for long. As soon as her books were packed, she squeezed into the crowd with Zhang Yunyi, both of them moving as swiftly as fish through water, racing out of the stairwell and toward the dormitory as if in a competition.

The dorm had a private bathroom, but it was shared by six people.

If you were last in line, you might not even make it to bed before 11 PM!

Zhang Yunyi hadn’t even realized how quickly she had slipped back into the mindset of a student. It had been less than twenty-four hours, yet despite all her complaints, she had stopped dreaming of returning to being twenty-seven.

“Just a step too late!”

They burst into the dormitory only to find the bathroom door already shut. Zhang Yunyi groaned in frustration.

Dai Jia took a sip of water to catch her breath. “It’s definitely Zhou Anqi.”

If it was Zhou Anqi, they could only admit defeat.

This girl had signed up for the 800-meter race at every school sports event throughout high school and had never once failed to bring home a certificate.

Catching their breath, Zhang Yunyi and Dai Jia automatically switched to efficiency mode, heading to the sinks to brush their teeth and wash their faces. Dai Jia carefully wet her bangs and lathered some shampoo in her palm. That was the life of a high school student—washing your hair once could last nearly a week. If it got greasy, you just washed your bangs and stretched it for another two days.

Zhou Anqi, ever considerate, stepped out of the bathroom within minutes, still steaming from the hot water. “Ugh, it’s so hot!”

Taking a shower was practically a sauna session.

Dai Jia, still rinsing her bangs, mumbled, “Zhang Yunyi, you go first.”

“Okay, okay!” Zhang Yunyi grabbed her pajamas and dashed inside.

Meanwhile, Zhou Anqi stood on the balcony, hanging up her freshly washed underwear. “When will it finally cool down? This heat is unbearable.”

Dai Jia chuckled. “Probably after National Day.”

Under the showerhead, Zhang Yunyi let the hot water wash away the exhaustion of the day. Happiness always needed hardship to contrast against it. Maybe this was why people looked back on senior year of high school with nostalgia—because moments like these felt so precious.

Like the delicious cafeteria meals.

Like the pop songs playing over the school’s PA system.

And like this very moment.

A person’s threshold for joy kept increasing over time.

At twenty-seven, she had been happy, too. But it took something really, really special to make her feel the same way she did now—

So happy.

Her body wash smelled cheaper and sweeter than the ones she used ten years later. The small, steamy bathroom was practically drowning in the scent of overripe peaches.

Remembering that four more people still needed to shower, she quickly rinsed off the bubbles, dried herself with a towel, and slipped into her nightdress.

As she stepped out, Dai Jia went in.

The sound of the water heater kept humming without pause—not even a second’s break.

Zhang Yunyi sat at her desk, applying lotion while glancing at her phone. The device was an old model passed down from her mom. It didn’t have much storage space, but it had all the essential functions, and most importantly, it was sturdy—it had survived multiple drops without a scratch.

She wasn’t particularly interested in her phone.

Until she saw a message from Li Jiayue—

[Why aren’t you replying?]
[Want some cream puffs? Or cocoa cookie flavor?]
[Did you leave your phone in the dorm?]
[Miss you 😘]

Zhang Yunyi frowned. “……”

She had almost forgotten about this.

Right—returning to seventeen didn’t just mean endless exams and long-lost classmates.

Her past was still very much her present.

When she was in her second year of high school, she once went go-karting with her best friend and met Li Jiayue there.

He was a student from another high school, the same age as her. His academic performance was average, but he was tall, had sharp and handsome features, and was very warm-hearted. She almost crashed into him while driving, but fortunately, he reacted quickly.

At first, he was a little annoyed. He took off his helmet and strode toward her.

She was also startled and quickly apologized.

But he froze, blushed, and stammered, “N-no no no! My fault, I wasn’t looking!”

Beyond that, he insisted on buying her bubble tea as an apology. One thing led to another, and she couldn’t shake him off. After a semester of back-and-forth interactions, they were just one step away from making things official. In fact, after the college entrance exam, they did get together.

Li Jiayue treated her well, but he was too clingy. After starting university, he often skipped classes to visit her, no matter how much she tried to persuade him otherwise. Because of his excessive absences, he almost got expelled. He also constantly worried that she would be taken away by someone else. He secretly checked her phone, eager to delete every male contact.

At one point, a photographer approached her for a shoot. The photographer was actually a woman, but her name could be mistaken for a man’s at first glance. Without understanding the situation, Li Jiayue took down the number and sent a warning, telling the photographer to stay away from her, accusing them of being a sleazy guy drooling over someone else’s girlfriend.

The photographer was baffled upon receiving the message. Thinking there must be some misunderstanding, she found her and privately showed her the text. She was utterly furious.

Even if it had been a man, this was completely unacceptable!

They argued, they fought, and in the end, she broke up with him. He tried multiple times to win her back, but she never agreed. Eventually, the relationship faded away. Some love stories are like limited-edition convenience store items—meant to exist only in school.

…

And now?

She was certain that her feelings for Li Jiayue were long gone. There was no way she would walk the same path again. Flipping through their old chat history, she made a quick decision and replied to his message:

[I have a lot of classes and no time to check my phone. If you’re free, let’s meet on Saturday.]

No matter what, some things are better said in person.

Li Jiayue replied instantly: [Can you take a call?]

Zhang Yunyi recalled how, in her past life, he used to call her all the time around this period. Her poor roommates had to endure it. She decided that when she returned to campus on Sunday afternoon, she would buy them egg tarts as compensation.

She replied: [Lights are about to go out. Let’s talk on Saturday.]

Li Jiayue’s disappointment was obvious even in his text: [Alright then, goodnight 🌙]

When the heat subsided, Zhang Yunyi climbed onto her top bunk. She hesitated while setting an alarm, her finger hovering between 5:40 and 5:45 AM. Finally, she reassured herself—progress takes time, steady and slow.

She set it for 5:45 AM.

Everyone in the dorm cherished their sleep. Even one extra minute was a win. Before eleven o’clock, the restroom quieted down, and her roommates went to bed one by one. In the darkness, Zhang Yunyi listened to their chatter. Within minutes, the voices grew softer until someone ended the conversation, and sleep settled over the room.

The next morning, Zhang Yunyi was woken by the melody of her alarm under her pillow.

Drowsy, she fumbled for her phone. After years of using smartphones from a decade later, she wasn’t quite used to this older model. It took her longer to shut off the alarm, but by then, she was already awake.

“…” After some mental preparation, she struggled but accepted her fate. At least it wasn’t the dead of winter—getting up wasn’t too painful.

She moved quietly, freshened up as fast as possible, grabbed her books, and left the dorm.

Dai Jia sleepily asked, “Where are you going?”

Zhang Yunyi shushed her, “The track.”

Dai Jia mumbled, “You’re crazy,” and rolled back under the covers.

Yeah, crazy—crazy desperate. Zhang Yunyi sighed. The college entrance exam was next year, but the monthly exam was right around the corner. If she didn’t start cramming now, her parents might have a heart attack when they saw her grades.

Stretching as she stepped outside the dorm, she noticed the boys’ dormitory wasn’t far from the girls’. Since it was still early, she decided to take a half-lap around the track.

But before she could go far, she ran into Chen Kuo.

He had just come out of the dorm, wearing earphones, walking in her direction.

“Good morning, class monitor~”

Zhang Yunyi hadn’t expected to run into him. Looking closely, his energy level was the complete opposite of hers—he looked full of life.

It reminded her of the future. Years later, Jiangzhou hosted a marathon, encouraging citizens to participate. Chen Kuo completed the full course and brought back a medal.

Even after achieving success ten years later, he remained humble and disciplined. While others smoked, he ran. While others drank, he drank milk. Even Fei Shijie once said that self-restraint and discipline were ingrained in Chen Kuo’s bones—he was a freak.

Chen Kuo stopped in his tracks. His first thought was that his watch must be broken—otherwise, how could he run into her?

While he hesitated, Zhang Yunyi studied him.

No matter whether he was 17 or 27, he mostly wore sports pants—black or gray. His shoes were always clean. And to her surprise, he was holding a carton of milk.

It was a local Jiangzhou brand, with the same simple packaging it had for years.

She remembered seeing him in the company’s break area, casually leaning against the counter, drinking milk.

She hadn’t expected that ten years ago, he drank the exact same brand.

It must be really good, right?

Following her gaze, Chen Kuo looked down at the milk, hesitated for a moment, then casually handed it to her. “Want some?”

If it had been any other classmate, he would’ve done the same—it was just a way to return the crunchy shark snack she had once given him.

Zhang Yunyi quickly waved her hands, “No, no, I was just curious. You always drink this brand. Is it that good?”

As a local, she had tried it before. Honestly, without the hometown bias, it was just average.

Or maybe she just didn’t appreciate its uniqueness?

Chen Kuo, who always had smooth answers to any question, actually paused. He looked a little awkward. “It’s alright. Just a habit.”

That’s it?

That’s it??

Zhang Yunyi was surprised.

“Oh… okay.” If she weren’t in a rush to memorize her lessons, she would’ve kept chatting.

She waved goodbye. “I’m heading to the track.”

Chen Kuo nodded, glanced at her, then turned toward the cafeteria. The morning light stretched their shadows in opposite directions as they passed each other.

It was just a small, ordinary moment. But later, during the morning break, when Zhang Yunyi and Dai Jia went to the campus store to buy drinks, she saw the same milk on the shelf.

They weren’t close at all, but maybe because she had first noticed the habit in his future self, she instinctively felt that it was something he had kept up for many years.

So, she was successfully convinced!

Without hesitation, she grabbed a carton, determined to find out what was so special about it.

She had just eaten breakfast, so she didn’t open it right away. She placed it on her desk when she got back to the classroom.

A few minutes later, Chen Kuo and Fei Shijie entered from the back door. As they walked past, Chen Kuo’s gaze casually swept over the room—and then stopped.

If it hadn’t been for their conversation that morning, he wouldn’t have even noticed the milk on her desk.

Fei Shijie nearly bumped into him. “What, are you frozen?”

Chen Kuo kept walking, returning to his seat, flipping open his notebook as if nothing had happened.

From behind, laughter and chatter from the girls occasionally drifted over.