travel far

The winter of 2115 was really long, so long that they had to go to school wrapped in thick cotton-padded coats before their holiday was even over.

Ou Liyao was a little sad. She hadn't finished her holiday homework yet, and she didn't know whose homework she could copy when school started. When Jiajia was around, she could copy most of her homework. If Jiajia didn't know how to do it, she could just copy Zheng Ruoqian's and Zhang Yuning's homework to barely get by.

Now, Jiajia went to the humanities experimental class, and she came to the science advanced class by herself. No one is in the same class as her, so there is no one to copy her homework.

Ou Liyao sat up in bed, still worrying about the start of school tomorrow, when the phone rang. The contact name was: Jiajia.

She answered the phone listlessly, and heard a voice on the other end, "Yaoyao, Zheng Ruoqian's flight is at three o'clock this afternoon, and we need to be at the airport by one o'clock. Zhang Yuning said he'll take a taxi there later. Should I come over to find you first, or should we meet at the airport?"

Ou Liyao shook her slightly heavy head a couple of times, trying to wake herself up. "Jiajia, come find me. I just woke up. The thought of school starting tomorrow is making me a little anxious."

Xu Changjia didn't need to think much to know that she hadn't finished her homework. He turned on speakerphone to continue listening to her talk, and then quickly edited a message and sent it to Zhang Yuning.

12:55 PM Junzhou North-South Airport

Xu Changjia successfully met with Zhang Yuning by phone, and the three of them then found Zheng Ruoqian and his family near the airport counter, where they had just finished checking in.

There were quite a few people who came to see them off. The three children seemed a little awkward in front of a group of elders. They quickly greeted them and then stood aside, focusing on talking to Zheng Ruoqian.

Unexpectedly, a familiar figure suddenly appeared from the crowd—Senior Wen Xuanyi, who came over and joined their group chat.

Senior Wenxuanyi and Zheng Ruoqian were talking in unison, and the promise they were talking about left the three of them completely confused and unable to understand it at all.

Zheng Ruoqian glanced down at his watch; it was indeed almost time. He walked up to them and solemnly hugged each of his cherished friends, whispering in their ears, "Goodbye."

Only then did he put his black backpack back on and head towards the security checkpoint with his mother. The group waited for them until they disappeared in the direction of the security checkpoint, separated by the cordon. Only then did they notice in each other's eyes that their eyes were already red and there were tears that wouldn't fall.

"Alright, it's not like we'll never see each other again. Zheng Ruoqian went to H country. When you guys go there to play later, you can go see him, right?"

"Or, wouldn't it be great if you could go abroad as exchange students in the future?"

......

Wenxuanyi's few words made the three children realize that there is plenty of time in the future, and they gradually came to their senses that they were not separated by life and death, and that there would always be a chance to meet again.

Seeing that the three of them understood immediately, he changed the subject, "Alright, let's get down to business."

The three people looked up at him at the same time, their faces blank.

"The three of you put so much thought into preparing gifts for Zheng Ruoqian, and he took them with him to H country. Naturally, he reciprocated with a generous gift of his own."

Seeing that he hadn't said anything, Ou Liyao became anxious, "Brother Wen, what big gift did Zheng Ruoqian give us?"

Wenxuan changed the subject, asking them instead, "What time are you going to school tomorrow? I'll see you off and welcome you back for the new semester."

Zhang Yuning rolled her eyes at him. "No, you're so annoying."

Xu Changjia seemed to grasp the intention of his senior, Li Wen, and forced a smile that didn't look very pleasant. He stepped forward and told him their start dates for the new semester and the classes they would be in.

"Ding-dong—" Xu Changjia's memory book rang: Congratulations, host, for completing the transformation of Zheng Ruoqian's life node. You are granted an extension of one year of life. Your current lifespan is 8 years.

Eight years. In her previous life, she died at the age of 22. So she can only live to be 23 now?

A chill suddenly ran from the soles of her feet to her entire body. She lost all interest in what others were saying and could only go home early to seek a sense of security in her small room.

The next morning, the area outside Junzhou No.1 Middle School was completely blocked. After eight o'clock, the traffic stopped and the three gates were closed, as if the morning's congestion had never happened.

However, the sound of students reading aloud coming from the campus seems to be telling a story of people coming and going.

The bell for morning self-study had just rung when Ou Liyao sneaked into Class 370 from the back and found her seat. Luckily, she wasn't late.

She was just about to take out her Chinese textbook to start the morning reading session when her new homeroom teacher called her to the office.

She followed closely behind the teacher, wondering what she had done wrong that made the teacher pick on her on the very first day. Could it be something as trivial as her holiday homework?

But she had finished writing it. Yesterday, the top student Zhang brought her his holiday homework, ostensibly to get some reference, but she knew that Jiajia must have told him to bring it so she could copy it and at least get it over with.

After seeing Zheng Ruoqian off yesterday, she went back and frantically finished her homework, copying it all night long. She got up early for school this morning and went to her old class, now Class 369, to return the homework to Zhang Yuning. She almost missed the morning self-study session and was caught by the teacher.

She followed the teacher into the office and saw her senior, Wenxue, leaning against the wall, chatting and laughing with her former homeroom teacher, Ms. Wang. Really? Does Wenxue have that many connections?

Before she knew it, she was already standing in front of her current homeroom teacher. She greeted him quickly, then stood obediently to the side and listened to them talk.

What about transferring classes? What about going back? What about studying hard?

She wondered if there was something wrong with her ears, so she reached out and tugged at her senior's sleeve, wanting to ask him what was going on, when she heard his unhurried voice drift over:

"Teacher Wang, I'm so sorry to trouble you with this today. Ruoqian went to H country in a bit of a rush, and he asked me to handle some of the paperwork that he didn't have time to complete. I shouldn't have troubled you with something as small as transferring classes, but both Ruoqian and Ou Liyao are students you taught. If one of them leaves, the replacement will be just enough for the experimental class based on their grades. That's why I had to swallow my pride and ask you to lend a hand."

Teacher Wang also knew that these kids loved to play together, and Ou Liyao's grades had improved by leaps and bounds since she entered school, so she had great potential to stay in the experimental class. He didn't have to put in much effort; he just had to submit an application and get it stamped by the political education office.

Besides, the dean of students is still teaching them physics this semester. Zheng Ruoqian left and Ou Liyao came in, so they should feel somewhat gratified.

Therefore, he agreed without hesitation and negotiated with Ou Liyao's homeroom teacher, who then approved a note for Wen Xuanyi to help her move her classroom and dormitory.

While helping her move to her new dorm with her suitcase, the senior student also gave her a serious lecture, "Now that you're back, you have to study hard and stay in the experimental class, understand? Don't be at the bottom of the class every day. If you really fall behind, there won't be another Zheng Ruoqian to give you a spot to go abroad."

"Oh, and tonight, I'll treat the three of you to dinner on the second floor of the main cafeteria. Didn't you go back? You can see your old classmates and invite the other two over too."

Wen Xuanyi would say something, and Ou Liyao would just respond with an "uh-huh," since there was plenty of time in the future.

After moving into the dormitory, Wen Xuanyi helped her move the classroom as well. The two deskmates she used to share were now sitting at a single desk. Wen Xuanyi moved the desk directly in front of Zhang Yuning, and the front-to-back desk position made her feel very at ease. Seeing the surprise on Zhang Yuning's face made her unable to suppress her happiness.

Even during English class, Zhang, the top student, couldn't help but toss a note toward her seat, asking: Why are you back?

She happily told Zhang Yuning everything that had happened that morning. She looked around, feeling sad because she was busy moving her things to the advanced class, but now she was very happy to see so many familiar faces in the class.

She was even happier than if she had passed her physics exam!

She then remembered that when her senior classmate helped her move dorms that morning, he had specifically applied to live in a mixed dorm so that she would still be in the same dorm as Jiajia. She wrote another note and threw it behind her, but received no response from the academic genius Zhang.

Her joy lasted until the end of get out of class. She immediately turned to talk to Zhang, the top student, and said, "Do you think she would be happy if I ran over to class 365 next door and told Jiajia that I would still be her roommate, but that we were now in the next class instead of sitting next to each other?"

Zhang Yuning was about to speak, but before she could even open her mouth, Ou Liyao cut her off again with her words, "Never mind, you probably don't know. I'll go ask Jiajia and she'll find out."

Then, like a cheerful oriole, she flew to the next class.

Just after class ended, Xu Changjia was flipping through the history book and organizing his notes when he heard a classmate sitting by the door call out, "Xu Changjia, someone's looking for you."

She thought it was Zhang Yuning coming to return her English book, but when she saw her good friend Ou Liyao at the door, a smile immediately appeared on her face. "Yaoyao, what brings you here?"

Ou Liyao pulled her aside, not blocking the other students coming and going, and then excitedly told her about a series of things that had happened since she came to school that morning.

She never expected that Zheng Ruoqian would leave them with such a great gift—allowing her and Ou Liyao to continue being roommates, and letting Zhang Yuning and Ou Liyao continue to sit at the front and back desks.

Such a small reunion was truly precious compared to the piano book, music box, and hand-painted puzzle they gave him.

"Jiajia, from now on I can continue to go to class with you, eat with you, and sleep with you!"

Xu Changjia affectionately took her arm and leaned against her, "Yes, it's great, we're together again, we don't have to be apart anymore."

The ten minutes between classes were far too short. Ou Liyao only had time to tell her that she had returned to the experimental class, completely forgetting about the late-night snack that her senior had told her. By the time she remembered, it was already evening.