The world was cold.
Not physically—but that kind of coldness that settled deep in Xiao Lie's chest. The hospital lights above him buzzed faintly, and everything around him smelled like antiseptic and steel.
He blinked slowly, confused. The last thing he remembered was walking home from work, drained and defeated after yet another overtime shift. Then… screeching tires. A blinding light.
And now… this?
Suddenly, a familiar voice cut through the air.
"Xiao Lie! You're going to be late for college!"
College?
He sat up so fast he nearly knocked his head on the headboard. This wasn't the hospital. This was—
His room.
His old room. The posters on the wall, the cracked desk, the stack of untouched textbooks. Even the old phone on the side table was there—button-based, no screen cracks, and the time...
Monday. 6:45 AM. August 8th.
His breath caught.
"2025?!"
Xiao Lie stared at the date on the screen like it had personally betrayed him. No—this couldn't be. That was ten years ago.
His chest tightened.
His hands were smaller. His voice, when he whispered a stunned "What the hell…", was just a bit lighter.
He ran to the mirror.
The reflection staring back wasn't the man beaten down by rejection, years of simping, and endless failure.
It was him. At eighteen.
Full of hope. Full of energy. And full of bad decisions just waiting to be made again.
Except this time… he wouldn't.
Downstairs, the same old breakfast waited. His mother rushed around the kitchen, packing lunch and fussing over him like always.
But Xiao Lie could barely hear her. He was still processing it all. A second chance. A full restart.
He knew what would happen if he did everything the same. Chasing the campus beauty until he became a joke. Wasting time, ignoring opportunities, letting life walk all over him.
No more.
"I'm not going to be that guy again."
No more simping.No more chasing.This life is mine to live right.
He left the house with a calm heart and a quiet smile.
At the campus gates, he saw her again — Zhao Yuran. The girl he used to adore. The girl who never looked his way, no matter how much effort he poured in.
She stood there, laughing with her friends, the very image of college perfection.
Last time, he'd rushed over, nervous and awkward.
This time, he walked right past her.
Did her eyes flicker toward him for a second?
He didn't care.
Let my new story begin.