The sharp, acrid scent of chalk dust filled Lin Chen's nose, and for a moment, he thought he was still trapped in the nightmare at the funeral home—the shadow of white funeral banners, the thick smoke of incense, and the glaring AJ sneakers in Chen Hao's coffin, all swirling in his mind.
He snapped his eyes open, but the view was radically different. A yellowed math textbook lay before him, its cover decorated with crooked, cartoonish characters; the blackboard in front of him was filled with chalk scrawlings of "Trig Functions Induction Formula." Sunlight streamed through dusty windows, casting dappled patches of light on the desk, while floating chalk particles danced in the beams, like time itself waking up from the past.
"Ugh—" Lin Chen pinched his own arm sharply, and the pain surged through his nerves, jolting him upright. His fingers, almost reflexively, rubbed against the old wood grain of the desk. The rough texture was real, grounding, a far cry from the peeling paint of the rental desk back in his old place—or the cold, unforgiving concrete floor of the funeral home.
At the front of the class, Teacher Li, wearing black-framed glasses, was facing the blackboard, scribbling away. White chalk dust fell on his faded blue shirt. Lin Chen's gaze was drawn—like a magnet—to the top right corner of the blackboard, where, in red chalk, neatly written, were the words: "September 10, 1998, Happy Teacher's Day."
1998?
His heart skipped a beat, thudding in his chest like it might burst through his ribs. Fragments of his 45 years of life flashed by in an instant: his mother, on her deathbed, weakly holding his hand and whispering, "Chen Chen, I don't blame you"; Su Wanqing walking down the aisle in her wedding dress, her back turned to him, resolute and unfamiliar; Zhao Kai draping an arm over Chen Hao's shoulders after his company collapsed, sneering, "You're done for, Lin Chen"; and in the funeral home, those AJ sneakers in Chen Hao's coffin—the very pair he had once thrown into the trash… Finally, all these images shattered in front of the four digits: 1998. All that remained was this small classroom, the chalk dust still lingering in the air, the scent of it lingering in his nose.
"Lin Chen, what are you spacing out for?"
A gentle voice pulled him back, like a feather brushing against his heart, sweeping away all his disorientation. He turned stiffly, locking eyes with a pair of clear, sparkling eyes—Su Wanqing was sitting beside him, her dark hair falling lightly against her cheek, swaying with each breath. Her lips curved in a soft smile, showing the faintest dimples, and she held a small eraser with a daisy print.
It was Su Wanqing! The Su Wanqing from when she was eighteen!
Lin Chen's breath caught in his chest, his blood freezing. In his past life, he had silently pined for this girl for ten long years but had never found the courage to say the words "I like you." On the day she got into East China Normal University, he had hidden beneath her building, watching her get picked up by a rich heir, clutching the love letter he never dared to give her. On her wedding day, he got drunk at a class reunion, calling out her name to the air until he was dragged away. The year she passed away, he was sitting alone in his rented room, staring at the obituary in the newspaper, crying all night. And now, here she was, sitting right next to him at the same desk, only an arm's length away. He could even smell the faint scent of orange soda on her breath as she exhaled.
"Teacher Li's staring at you," Su Wanqing teased gently when she saw his dazed expression. She placed the eraser on his desk. "You were sleeping earlier, and Teacher Li called your name twice. Luckily, I covered for you, or you'd have had to stand."
The plastic casing of the eraser still carried the warmth of her fingertips, and when Lin Chen's hand brushed against it, it felt like a burning brand, and he quickly recoiled, lowering his head and pretending to look through his textbook, unwilling to meet her gaze again. The maple leaf bookmark tucked inside the book was dry and slightly curled, but still carried a faint scent of autumn. It was something he had picked up behind the school's back mountain years ago, tucked inside the book, and had kept for over twenty years, until the rental house fire destroyed it along with all his memories.
Ding ding ding—
The bell rang suddenly, like a key turning, unlocking the classroom's energy. The boys immediately erupted in chaos, linking arms and rushing out to the playground, the sound of sneakers scraping against the ground, sharp and alive. The girls gathered around, sharing snacks, their laughter ringing like silver bells. Some chased each other in the hallway, their voices mingling with the cicada song outside, creating a youth anthem that was pure 1998.
Everything felt so real, so vivid, that Lin Chen's heart surged with the bittersweet mix of "lost and found." He watched Su Wanqing pack up her textbook, gently sliding a pencil into her pink pencil case with a focused, tender air. The sight made his eyes sting—could it be? Those moments, the ones he'd regretted for an entire lifetime, were they truly coming back?
"You were sleeping so deeply earlier, you drooled on your textbook." Su Wanqing finished packing her books and turned to see Lin Chen still in a daze. She couldn't help but tease him, gently tapping the small wet mark on his textbook.
His face flushed bright red. He quickly wiped at the stain with his sleeve, only making it worse. Su Wanqing laughed, pulling out a packet of tissues from her bag and handing him one. "Use this instead. The sleeve won't clean it, and you might just ruin the book."
Lin Chen took the tissue, his fingers accidentally brushing hers. The warmth spread like electricity, sending a jolt through his whole body. He shivered slightly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Th-thank you, Su Wanqing."
"No problem. We're desk partners, right?" Su Wanqing smiled and waved it off. Then she remembered something, pulling a math practice book from her bag. "Oh, by the way, we have a math test next class. How's your revision going? I've marked the key problems on these pages. If you haven't gone over them, you can take a look first."
Math test? Lin Chen paused for a moment, then recalled how terrible his math scores were in his previous life—he had barely scraped a 78 on the college entrance exam, ranked 25th from the bottom in his class. He didn't even meet the minimum requirement for a specialized degree. In the end, he had to attend an expensive private school. But this time, it was different. He had 45 years of life experience, and more importantly, he now had Su Wanqing, his "genius desk partner," to help him correct his past mistakes.
"I… I've reviewed a little. I should be able to handle it," Lin Chen said, his tone more confident. He raised his head, finally daring to meet Su Wanqing's eyes, a determination shining through that had never been there before. "In the future, if I don't understand something, could you help me out? I want to improve my math scores."
Su Wanqing's eyes lit up with surprise, then she nodded eagerly. "Sure! No problem! We can study together, and by the next monthly exam, we'll both improve. Maybe we can even make it into the top ten in the class!"
At that moment, a commotion came from the corner of the classroom. Lin Chen's eyes involuntarily glanced over, spotting Zhao Kai surrounded by a group of boys, casually tossing a basketball in the air, a smug grin on his face as he pointed and laughed at the classmates in the back row. Zhao Kai hadn't yet developed the greasy, arrogant demeanor of his later years, but his bullying nature was already showing. The same disdain and contempt were evident in his eyes, just like it was when Lin Chen saw him after the company collapsed.
Lin Chen's fingers tightened around the tissue, knuckles turning white from the pressure. In his previous life, he had been too weak to speak out, watching Zhao Kai bully classmates, watching him steal his client data with Chen Hao, watching his father use medical malpractice to delay his mother's treatment... This time, Lin Chen swore it wouldn't happen again. He would protect his mother from illness, give Su Wanqing the happiness she deserved, and make Zhao Kai and Chen Hao pay for everything they owed him—both the principal and the interest.
The bell rang again, and Teacher Li entered with the test papers, his face stern. "Class, put your textbooks away and get ready for the test. Focus on your answers—no cheating."
Lin Chen looked at the familiar problems on the test paper, then glanced at Su Wanqing, who was already writing, her brow slightly furrowed in concentration, looking so beautiful in her seriousness. The sunlight outside was still bright, chalk dust slowly swirling in the air. Everything felt full of hope.
He took a deep breath, picked up his pen, and wrote his name on the paper. This time, he wouldn't miss the chance. He wouldn't let regret follow him for the rest of his life. His comeback, his turn-around, began here—on this math test, in the fall of 1998.