"Li Luo! You've gone too far! Apologize to the class monitor right now!"
"Yeah! Xixi kindly came to support you, and instead of being grateful, why did you push her?"
"Li Luo… maybe you shouldn't go play basketball. You have the high school entrance exam tomorrow."
In a daze, Li Luo heard the noise around him, his mind completely blank.
Then he suddenly opened his eyes, slowly taking in the scene before him.
On the uneven red-and-green brick sidewalk, a bent telephone pole stood crookedly. The narrow street was crowded with people, leaving only a little space around him.
A boy with an ordinary face and pale skin stood in front of him, cheeks flushed with anger.
Behind him were two girls.
One was a chubby girl with freckles on her cheeks, helping the other girl up from the ground. She frowned and stared at Li Luo in disgust.
Beside them stood a tall, well-built boy with darker skin and an honest-looking face.
Li Luo blinked, finally recognizing them.
The angry, pale-skinned boy was Shao Heqi, his junior high school's vice class monitor.
The tall, honest-looking boy next to him was his childhood friend, Zhao Rongjun.
And behind them, the chubby freckled girl—Jin Yuting.
The delicate and gentle girl being helped up was his childhood sweetheart—Ying Chanxi.
A wave of memories surged through Li Luo's mind. If he remembered correctly, today was the day he officially cut ties with Ying Chanxi.
From that day on, even though they remained neighbors, they never spoke again.
Until he was in his thirties—at the lowest, most desperate point of his life—when Ying Chanxi transferred him ten thousand yuan.
That money pulled him out of a crisis.
But even then, the bond of their childhood could never truly return.
Unless…
"What did you just say?" Li Luo turned to Zhao Rongjun, his eyes suddenly sharp.
"Huh?" Zhao Rongjun froze, uneasy under his stare. "Uh… don't go play basketball?"
"No, the next part."
"The next part?" Zhao Rongjun blinked. "The high school entrance exam is tomorrow?"
("Blinking" = mengerjap)
After confirming it, Li Luo looked around again, staring at the young, innocent faces before him. Then he lowered his head, looking at his own hands and the junior high school uniform he was wearing…
It really felt like he had been reborn.
Just a moment ago, he was calling customers on Taobao "Beautiful lady" and begging them for a good review.
In the blink of an eye, he was back in the summer of 2014, standing again at the most important crossroads of his life.
*Slap!*
A sharp sound rang out.
Zhao Rongjun's eyes widened as he covered half his face, stumbling back a step. "Whoa—bro, did you really have to slap me?"
"Does it hurt?" Li Luo stared at him.
"…A little."
"Then hit me back." Li Luo's voice was unusually excited as he leaned forward, offering his cheek. "Come on, hit me!"
"Uh…" Even though Zhao Rongjun was tall and strong, he was basically too soft-hearted to hit someone. He looked at Li Luo nervously.
But the next second, a slender figure rushed forward, swinging her arm—
*SLAP!*
A slap even louder than the first echoed through the street.
Li Luo's face twisted 45 degrees, and he blinked, dazed. A clear red handprint bloomed across his cheek.
Ying Chanxi, who had rushed over, burst into tears right after hitting him. Choking back sobs, she turned away. "Tingting, let's go."
After saying that, she walked toward the intersection.
Jin Yuting hurried after her.
"Wow… you really…" Shao Heqi muttered, chasing after them. He pointed at Li Luo before leaving, clearly disappointed for Ying Chanxi's sake.
In truth, he secretly wished he could slap Li Luo's other cheek to match Ying Chanxi's.
But because Li Luo was known for his temper, Shao Heqi didn't dare.
Comforting Ying Chanxi was more urgent anyway.
"Uh… Li Luo, are you okay?" Zhao Rongjun asked nervously.
Li Luo just shook his head. His cheek stung, but the sharp pain only made a faint smile rise on his lips.
He stared at the three retreating figures, and memories began playing like an old video tape.
He and Ying Chanxi had been extremely close childhood sweethearts before the high school entrance exam.
They lived across from each other.
Their fathers were from the same village; their bond was unbreakable since childhood.
Before junior high, everything was fine. Li Luo wasn't stupid—he could get good grades in primary school with minimal effort.
Although he could never match Ying Chanxi's perfect scores in every subject, his grades were still decent.
But after entering junior high, when real studying was required, he became addicted to playing games. He spent his days playing basketball or sneaking into internet cafés.
Naturally, his grades fell far behind Ying Chanxi's.
At home, his parents always praised Ying Chanxi—the "other people's child." It drove him crazy, and he slowly began to resent her.
This resentment peaked before the high school entrance exam.
Since Ying Chanxi's grades were so good, she didn't even need to take the exam. She had already been accepted into the top high school in the district more than a month earlier through an advance admission program.
Meanwhile, Li Luo's grades were terrible—he might not even qualify for an ordinary high school.
After the exam, Ying Chanxi would attend Yuhang Affiliated High School, a provincial key school.
Li Luo, on the other hand, would be stuck in a vocational school, continuing his downward spiral.
They would no longer live in the same world.
Realizing this, fifteen-year-old Li Luo chose to lash out and run away—in the worst way possible.
What made it worse was that after getting accepted early, Ying Chanxi could've skipped school altogether and enjoyed her long holiday.
But she still came every day—just to tutor him.
Every evening after school, she'd go to his house to help him review.
But to the insecure teenage Li Luo, the more she helped, the more it felt like pity—something he couldn't stand.
He knew well that one month of cramming wouldn't change anything.
Even if he somehow got into an ordinary high school, they'd still be in different worlds.
So he gave up on himself, dragging Zhao Rongjun—who also got early acceptance—to play basketball after school.
Funny enough, he never realized that Zhao Rongjun would end up in a completely different world too.
Now, mentally thirty-five, remembering everything, Li Luo couldn't understand his fifteen-year-old self at all.
Especially today—the last day before the exam, when school dismissed students early so they could rest.
Yet even today, Ying Chanxi still wanted to cram a few formulas and vocabulary words into his head, hoping he might score a few more points.
But when she caught up to him near the school gate, he impatiently shoved her to the ground.
She must have been heartbroken.
Thinking about it now, Li Luo felt like slapping his other cheek.
"Haa…" After recalling everything, he let out a long breath and steadied himself.
He handed his schoolbag to Zhao Rongjun and ran after the three.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Zhao Rongjun grabbed the bag and hurried after him.
Ying Chanxi, walking ahead, was still wiping away tears.
The two beside her comforted her while criticizing Li Luo.
"Xixi, you're going to the Affiliated High School now. No matter how hard Li Luo studies, he'll only get into an ordinary high school—or even vocational school. You won't see him again, so why bother with him?"
Jin Yuting had never liked Li Luo to begin with.
Ying Chanxi was beautiful, kind, always ranked first—basically a perfect goddess.
She only ever showed her soft, cute side when talking to Li Luo.
Many boys secretly competed for her attention.
Only Li Luo was blind—wasting time on basketball and games, his grades terrible.
In Jin Yuting's eyes, only Liu Shaowen, the tall, handsome boy who always ranked second, was worthy of Chanxi.
Even the vice class monitor, Shao Heqi, didn't quite measure up in her eyes.
"Class monitor, don't be sad," Shao Heqi chimed in. "He's not worth it. And I didn't see a hint of regret on his face."
Although he knew it was wrong, Shao Heqi secretly thought their conflict was a good thing for him. If he could take this chance to comfort Ying Chanxi, their relationship could grow closer. And once they entered the same high school, maybe he could receive the same special treatment Li Luo used to get?
Thinking about it made his chest puff with pride.
But just then, a figure rushed toward them, grabbing Ying Chanxi's wrist.
She stopped and instinctively turned around—only to see Li Luo's face, which instantly reignited her anger.
Li Luo released her hand, looking slightly startled.
Yeah… he had to admit, his younger self was really strange.
How could he bear to make a girl as beautiful as Ying Chanxi cry?
Her delicate face still had trails of tears, her cheeks slightly flushed, looking soft and lovely, with a hint of baby fat that made people want to poke her.
Even in an oversized school uniform, her pure, gentle aura couldn't be hidden.
But Li Luo was, after all, mentally thirty-five. After a brief daze, he snapped back to reality and took a deep breath.
Before anyone could react, Li Luo bowed slightly to Ying Chanxi and said loudly,
"Ying Chanxi, I'm sorry! I was wrong!"
"Please help me review for the high school entrance exam tomorrow!"
The moment he finished—
Jin Yuting covered her mouth in shock, her expression like someone who had just seen a wild gossip on her phone.
Shao Heqi also opened his mouth slightly, rubbing his ears in disbelief, thinking he must have misheard.
Zhao Rongjun, who had just caught up, came to an abrupt stop. His suspicious stare screamed: *Has Li Luo been possessed?!*
Standing in front of him, Ying Chanxi was momentarily stunned.
Then, slowly, relief and joy flickered in her eyes.
"You said it yourself."
"Of course!"