The alarm clock rang at five in the morning.

Jiang Xia reflexively opened his eyes and quickly jumped out of bed. He truly had the body of a young man; even though he had stayed up all night drawing by candlelight until 1 a.m. last night, he still felt full of energy.

He habitually pressed the switch by the bedside, and the room light came on as usual. He breathed a sigh of relief; the power was back on, and he no longer had to fumble in the dark to wash up.

At 5:10, Jiang Xia tiptoed out the door without disturbing her parents' rest, carrying her schoolbag on time.

I boarded the breakfast bus at the entrance of the residential area and finally arrived at the school gate 10 minutes later.

As if by fate, Jiang Xia happened to see Lin Yanwan slowly walking towards him from the opposite side.

Even though their relationship had clearly run its course, he found himself surrounded by her all day long, bumping into her everywhere he went.

This made him wonder if God was actually the hidden matchmaker, trying every possible way to force the two of them together.

What era are we living in? There are still people who advise reconciliation rather than separation?

After silently complaining to himself, Jiang Xia no longer tried to avoid the issue as before, but instead faced it calmly. Since they couldn't be husband and wife in this life, being friends would be fine, right?

"Good morning," he greeted her proactively.

Lin Yanwan had originally planned to pretend she hadn't seen him, but now that he was speaking to her, there was no way to avoid him.

"Don't you feel like it's been a long time since you've gotten up this early?" she said casually.

Jiang Xia was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it carefully, it was true. During the most loving period of their lives, they could spend 24 hours a day snuggling together in bed, unless they were so hungry that they couldn't stand it.

Looking back, the last time we got up this early was when the two of us went to the beach together to watch the sunrise, snuggling up to each other.

In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed.

Whether Lin Yanwan was also reminded of the past or not, the atmosphere between the two was a little strange. Jiang Xia coughed lightly to break the deadlock.

"Sorry, I forgot my flashlight when I left home. I'll return it to you next time."

"Just leave it with you for now, I didn't expect you to remember it anyway."

Lin Yanwan said irritably, after all, he was a forgetful guy, but he remembered her birthday, hobbies and their wedding anniversary very clearly.

"That's hard to say. I'll put the flashlight in my bag when I get home today."

Hearing this, Lin Yanwan couldn't help but pout. Didn't she know Jiang Xia well? She'd be surprised if she could remember him when she got back today.

How did you sleep last night?

"Not bad, I slept soundly holding Xiaoman." She changed the subject, a playful glint in her eyes: "You can't sleep, can you?"

"How could that be! You have no idea how energetic this body is. My dreams are full of beautiful women, okay?" Jiang Xia said this on purpose, just to let Lin Yanwan know that he had truly let go of this relationship.

The two of them no longer need to hide anything from each other; it's nice to communicate simply and naturally, just like now.

"Tch, then my dreams will be full of handsome men."

Their eyes met, and they exchanged a knowing smile, a sense of relief washing over them.

We walked side by side to a breakfast shop near the gate. The owner was cooking noodles and serving customers, while his wife was selling steamed buns.

Jiangxia stopped in her tracks, remembering the old-fashioned spicy wontons from this shop. They were incredibly delicious, fragrant, and spicy, with an unforgettable aftertaste. But she hadn't eaten them since starting university.

Glancing inside, there were only one or two seats left in the small shop. To save time, many students would choose to buy steamed buns and soy milk to tide them over.

Jiang Xia was the same way in the past, but now that he has lived two lives, he can be considered a seasoned veteran. As long as he is not late, he will not hesitate to enter the classroom on time.

"Would you like to have breakfast here?" he asked.

Lin Yanwan hesitated slightly, glanced at the time in the store. It was not yet 5:30, and the morning exercise would not start until 6:00, so there was still plenty of time. She nodded.

"Go sit down first, or someone else will take it."

"Okay, sure."

Thinking of her preferences, Jiang Xia immediately said, "Boss, one bowl of shrimp wontons and one bowl of spicy wontons, no garlic in the wontons, and extra cilantro in the wontons."

"Alright, please come in and have a seat, it'll be ready in a minute," the shopkeeper called out.

Jiang Xia walked in and sat down in front of Lin Yanwan. He saw her carefully wiping the table in front of her with a napkin, which was a little habit of hers all along.

No matter how clean the desktop looks, a layer of grease will eventually be left after wiping.

"What did you order for me?" Lin Yanwan asked without looking up.

"Shrimp wontons, no garlic."

"And you?"

"Old Ma's wontons."

She frowned subconsciously: "You have a bad stomach, why are you eating such spicy food?"

Jiang Xia smiled mysteriously: "Who said that? My stomach has never been healthier than it is now."

Seeing his smug look, Lin Yanwan suddenly realized that at this point in time, he didn't have stomach problems yet.

"It's better to be careful, so that things don't turn out like before, where you get unbearable stomach pain if you skip a meal."

"It's okay, it's okay. I've been craving this for years. It's full of the taste of my memories."

The waiting process is always quite long. Nowadays, unlike in later generations when everyone has a smartphone, people spend their free time chatting, watching short videos, browsing Weibo, and playing games.

The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

"I suddenly realized that you're quite cute right now," Jiang Xia said abruptly.

Lin Yanwan was dressed very youthfully today, wearing a loose pink and white sweatshirt paired with light blue jogger jeans, which made her legs look thin and straight. Her hair was casually draped behind her, and she used a pretty butterfly hair clip to pin it to one side from her ear. Her air bangs were slightly curled, her eyelashes were long and thin, and her delicate features had a beauty like that of first love.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes: "If you really can't find anything to talk about, you don't have to say anything."

Jiang Xia felt slightly embarrassed. What else could they say? Reminisce about the good old days together? Or criticize each other? That would be even more ridiculous.

Just as the two fell silent again, an untimely voice suddenly rang out.

"Yanwan, what a coincidence, you're having breakfast here too?"

Jiang Xia looked in the direction of the sound and saw a tall, thin, handsome young man walking in. He was wearing the most fashionable denim jacket of the era from Metersbonwe, and had a somewhat unconventional pompadour hairstyle. He looked at Lin Yanwan with surprise and naturally ignored Jiang Xia beside him.

Looking at his expression, Jiang Xia instantly understood. He was probably one of his wife's suitors, but he had no recollection of who this guy was.

Did I have such a rival in love back then?

He couldn't help but look puzzled, and Lin Yanwan also looked blank. Then she shrugged at Jiang Xia in a subtle way, indicating that she didn't know either.

So Jiang Xia could only give him a pitiful look. This guy was really in a bad situation. He had made his unrequited love so obvious, but he didn't even have the right to be remembered by his wife.

I really want to tell him, "Go find someone else to like. Trying to pursue my wife will never lead to anything."

At the very least, they have to be better than me, right?