Chapter 8

Arriving home a bit later than usual, Dad and Mom didn’t ask anything. Mom brought over two freshly fried eggs, told him to go to bed early, and then went back to her room.

Sitting at his desk, Bian Xuedao found a small iron box and only then noticed it was heart-shaped, containing chocolates.

This was something that didn’t happen in his previous life. In the last few dozen days before the college entrance exam, Bian Xuedao had almost no memory. Even if he wasn’t completely muddled, he was probably confused, but he could be sure that there was definitely no Dong Xue in his life back then.

Placing the small iron box on the corner of the desk, Bian Xuedao continued to review.

Bian Xuedao was an "owl-type" person. From a young age, his peak energy was always at night. When he got tired of studying, he would walk to the courtyard, take a few deep breaths of air, and then look up at the stars. For these stars, 2001 and 2014 were just a moment, perhaps not even a moment, but for Bian Xuedao, it was the most beautiful and precious time of his life. The last time, he didn’t live it well or badly, not successfully or unsuccessfully.

What about this time? How should he live it? What kind of life would he have?

The next evening, Dong Xue didn’t say anything, and Bian Xuedao waited at the school gate as usual. When he saw Dong Xue coming, he took out the small iron box. As she approached and saw what was in Bian Xuedao’s hand, Dong Xue’s face turned a bit unnatural. Bian Xuedao took out a piece of chocolate for Dong Xue and another for himself, then got on his bike and said, "Let’s go, I’ll take you home."

Looking at Bian Xuedao’s back, Dong Xue suddenly came to life.

In the days that followed, Bian Xuedao followed Zhou Hang, and Dong Xue followed Bian Xuedao. They arrived at school early in the morning, had lunch and dinner together, and then Bian Xuedao would ride his bike to take Dong Xue home. The chocolates in the small iron box were quickly finished, and Bian Xuedao bought various flavors of candy to replenish them. After a few days, he found out that Dong Xue liked soft candies.

Zhou Hang didn’t mind Dong Xue. Although he felt a bit jealous of Bian Xuedao and Dong Xue, in his heart, he believed that after the college entrance exam, he would enter a well-known university, work hard for a few years, and should be able to find a good job. At that time, he would naturally have a woman by his side. Moreover, they were about to graduate, and everyone might go their separate ways. He thought Bian Xuedao and Dong Xue were wasting time and emotions. But Zhou Hang didn’t say anything to Bian Xuedao, not because he didn’t think they were close enough, but because of his personality.

Bian Xuedao had already made up his mind. He was happy to spend the last days of high school with Dong Xue in a slightly intimate relationship, taking care of her, but he would never show excessive affection in front of others. After graduation, each would start a new life, and time and distance would fade this memory.

One day during self-study, Dong Xue used Bian Xuedao’s textbook to look up answers and curiously pointed to some markings, asking, "What do these marks mean?"

Bian Xuedao glanced at them and knew they were the marks he had made based on his memory of the college entrance exam short-answer questions. He said calmly, "They don’t mean much, just places I got wrong before. I think these parts are important. You can take a good look at these marked places; I’m pretty good at predicting the exam questions."

This was the first time Bian Xuedao hinted at the final exam questions after his rebirth.

Dong Xue thought Bian Xuedao was joking and flipped through a few pages before finding her own questions.

Bian Xuedao stared at the book in his hand and made up his mind. If anyone else asked, he would say he had drawn them randomly and would never mention the exam predictions again.

After his rebirth, Bian Xuedao enjoyed walking around the campus. He liked the atmosphere and feeling of the campus at this time, different from the naivety of junior high and the utilitarianism of university. Most high school campuses had a unique charm.

Bian Xuedao especially liked to walk under the trees along the campus wall after dinner, then find a place to lean or sit, quietly watching the teaching buildings gilded by the sunset and the students sitting, walking, or playing in each window. He knew that perhaps these children felt that high school was tiring and exhausting, but in fact, it was the most carefree or least worrying time of their lives.

Dong Xue was embarrassed to just wander around the campus with Bian Xuedao, but she thought of some self-deceiving methods. For example, after dinner, she would go to the school supermarket to buy two bottles of soda or two ice creams and then give them to Bian Xuedao. Her close friends already knew about their relationship and often created opportunities for them. At this age, helping others achieve their desires was a common worldview.

Thus, in the parallel bars, the basketball court, the back garden, and the small square in front of the experimental building, their figures were often seen together. Every corner of the campus held memories that could make Bian Xuedao nostalgic. In his previous life, when he was a junior in college, the high school moved to a new location, so after the college entrance exam, Bian Xuedao never revisited this campus.

Recently, something sensational happened at the school. Peng Hong, who had been pursuing a girl without success, suddenly decided to beat up her male desk mate.

The fight, as expected, happened during self-study. The male desk mate wasn’t someone who would take it lying down; he fought back against Peng Hong and three others. As a result, he got two wounds on his head, and blood splattered all over the walls. The incident caused a big stir, and the corridor was in chaos, with half the building being disturbed.

The outcome of the incident wasn’t detailed, but it was known that Peng Hong’s family paid a sum of money to the other party, and then Peng Hong packed his bags and went home.

Bian Xuedao knew that, if nothing went wrong, Peng Hong would follow the same path, not taking the college entrance exam and directly joining the military through connections. The girl he was willing to fight for and break someone’s head over would disappear from his life and vision, and years later, she would be in another man’s arms, moaning and groaning.

This was the fate of "liking" during most people’s adolescence, and this was the end for most teenage sweethearts.

Dong Xue’s seat-switching rhythm was very well-timed. She came to sit every day but didn’t stay long, never more than a class period. Bian Xuedao found it a bit amusing; at this age, Dong Xue already had a subconscious awareness of maintaining distance between the sexes, whether taught by someone, learned from TV, or self-taught.

One day during self-study, Dong Xue wrote a few words on a piece of paper and passed it to Bian Xuedao: "Have you decided which university you want to apply to?"

Bian Xuedao was determined to go to Dongsen University, but he wouldn’t tell anyone in advance. He replied, "No, we’ll see after the exam."

Dong Xue: "Oh. Do you want to study in this province or go out of province?"

Bian Xuedao: "In this province. Generally, the scores for in-province schools are a bit lower."

Dong Xue: "Which part of me do you think is the most attractive?"

Bian Xuedao stared at the question for a while and wrote on the paper: "Legs."

Dong Xue looked at the note, glanced down at her chest, then stretched her legs, and ended the paper conversation.

That afternoon, the sky was overcast, and by evening, it started drizzling.

At the school gate, Bian Xuedao said, "Leave your bike at school and find a ride home."

Dong Xue held the handlebars and said, "No. I’ll go home myself, and you go home too."

Bian Xuedao didn’t agree and insisted on taking Dong Xue home. Halfway through, the rain got heavier. Bian Xuedao gave his outer jacket to Dong Xue, and the two rode their bikes through the rain, getting completely soaked.

"The rain is too heavy. Let’s find a place to take shelter and wait until it gets lighter. If we’re late, we can say we were taking shelter from the rain," Bian Xuedao slowed down and waited for Dong Xue to catch up, shouting to her.

The raindrops made it almost impossible for Dong Xue to open her eyes, and she could only nod vigorously at Bian Xuedao. Not far away, Bian Xuedao found a door alcove and led Dong Xue into it.

Leaning the bikes against the wall, Bian Xuedao, seeing how drenched Dong Xue was, smiled and asked her to take off her outer jacket so he could wring out the water.

Wearing wet clothes, the draft in the door alcove felt particularly cold. Dong Xue started shivering and suggested they not wait and continue riding home.

Looking at the cars speeding by with their headlights on in the rain, Bian Xuedao rejected Dong Xue’s suggestion: "The rain is too heavy, and it’s dark. It’s too dangerous to see the road clearly. Let’s wait a bit longer until it gets lighter."

The two found a sheltered corner nearby and huddled together, watching the rain outside. Feeling that Dong Xue couldn’t control her shivering, Bian Xuedao pushed her behind him and stood outside to shield her from the wind.

After standing for a while, Bian Xuedao felt Dong Xue getting closer and closer, gradually pressing her whole body against his back, her hands circling his waist and lightly hugging him.

Bian Xuedao forcibly suppressed the urge to turn around and hug her. He knew that if he did anything to Dong Xue without being able to give her anything in return, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.