【one】

The three-day New Year's Day holiday starts after school on Friday.

After school, Li Shu warned them not to play too wildly on New Year's Day because the final exams would be right after the New Year.

Everyone said "I know", but as soon as Li Shu left, they started whispering about where to go for the holidays.

Lin Chaoxi was sorting out the New Year's Day homework that had just been distributed. There were several layers of test papers on the table, an average of three for each course, which was fair.

She turned to the end of the test paper and found another piece of paper with the title: "My Personal Goals in 20xx".

The first column below is the sequence number, the second column is the target, and the third column is the completion time.

When Li Shu handed out this document, she said that it was a school rule that they should fill in their own personal goals for the next year and they did not have to hand it in, but it was still better for them to write it down.

Lin Chaoxi remembered that it was their school’s tradition to have everyone write down their goals for the next year before New Year’s Day.

She had also written about it in Strawberry World. She couldn't remember what she had written at the moment, but she should keep it carefully so that she could look it up if she returned to Strawberry World.

Thinking of this, she suddenly took out her schoolbag.

Lin Chaoxi seemed to have filled out this year's goals last year and put them in the pocket of his school bag, carefully keeping them.

She opened the compartment of her schoolbag according to the location in her memory, and indeed found a crumpled piece of paper.

After taking a quick look, she quickly folded the paper, but Chen Zhu's voice had already rang out: "Watching a meteor shower with Tianming?"

Pei Zhi just happened to walk over with his schoolbag on his back.

Lin Chaoxi patted Chen Zhu on the shoulder and tried to cover up: "Finish this set of Chinese exercises tomorrow? That's too fast. Just finish it in three days."

Chen Zhu: “…”

After saying that, she stuffed all the things on the table into her schoolbag and took Pei Zhi away.

——

During the New Year's Day holiday, Lao Lin's cram school continued, so they still had to cross the street at night to go to the Red Star Welfare Home for classes.

Huajuan and Lu Zhihao are going to attend the New Year's Eve party. It's a rare opportunity for Lin Chaoxi to walk alone on the streets with Pei Zhi on New Year's Eve.

The roadside was filled with cars rushing home, forming a long line of bright lights in the night, while the sidewalk was quite peaceful.

Lin Chaoxi looked at her and Pei Zhi's reflections. They didn't walk very close, but maintained a suitable distance between friends.

Maybe it was because it was too quiet around her. She suddenly remembered that when she was in junior high school, the girls in her class often got together to gossip: talking about which girl Pei Zhi went to the teacher's office with, or which girl he discussed a question with...

So if she were in Strawberry World now, she would have become the heroine of gossip a long time ago.

But in the cheese world?

It seems like she hasn't cared about these issues for a long time...

Is this what happens when people get older?

Lin Chaoxi was startled for a moment and looked up at Pei Zhi.

On a deep winter night, he was wearing a smoky grey cashmere scarf, a very simple down jacket and sports pants. In the shadow outside the street lamp, his profile was clean and soft, and there was a very comfortable and handsome aura in his eyebrows.

Lin Zhaoxi touched her chest: My girlish heart is still there, fortunately...

Following her line of sight, Pei Zhi also looked over with a questioning look.

Lin Chaoxi blushed and made up a random topic to cover up: "What are your goals for next year, Pei Zhi?"

Pei Zhi thought about it carefully and answered: "Entered high school."

"..." After a long silence, Lin Chaoxi finally spoke with difficulty, "Can you talk about a less practical goal?"

"What is considered 'unrealistic'?"

"For example, which celebrity's concert do you want to go to?"

"F4?"

"You actually like F4?" Lin Chaoxi was shocked, and then her face suddenly turned red.

f4……

Accompany you to watch the meteor shower...

Meteor showers...

After a long while, when they were almost inside the orphanage, she heard herself asking in a fake deep voice, "Did you hear that just now?"

"I heard that."

"That was all because I was young and ignorant."

"Yeah, me too."

I am also... young and ignorant...

Lin Zhaoxi walked into the gate of the Red Star Welfare Home with tears in her eyes.

Classmate Pei Zhi, you don’t seem to be like this in Strawberry World?

Perhaps seeing her despair, Pei Zhi finally showed mercy and changed the subject.

"What about you?" he asked.

What are your goals for next year?

They walked across the courtyard and not far away, the classroom was brightly lit and the cram school was noisy.

Lao Lin himself stood in front of the podium with a smile on his face, and it was unknown what he was saying to the students.

Lin Chaoxi suddenly realized that she seemed unable to state her goals for next year.

After all, next year in this time and space is completely different from this year in that time and space.

In the next year here, she hopes that Lao Lin will be able to avoid car accidents.

And next year there...

She raised her head slightly and looked at the young Pei Zhi. I hope I can catch up with your pace and get admitted to the same major in the same school you once attended.

But by then, you would have already left and wouldn't know any of this.

【two】

Lin Chaoxi was a little depressed because of the future he imagined in his mind.

After the class, Lao Lin asked everyone to stay for a while.

"Happy New Year! I'll give everyone some small gifts," said Lao Lin.

"Teacher, we have so much homework at school, please don't assign other weird homework!" the students exclaimed.

Lao Lin raised his eyebrows and asked, "Who do you think the teacher is?"

"We are all devastated by your New Year's Eve questions this year!"

Before they finished speaking, the chef from the welfare home came in from the door with a large iron basin. Lao Lin took it and placed it on the first row of tables.

The whole class fell into silence for a minute...

After a while, the student who had recovered well finally spoke.

"Teacher, why don't you assign some homework?"

“This is too cold.”

Lin Chaoxi looked at the things in the iron basin with mixed feelings.

Because it was not a basin of test papers, but a basin of freshly boiled eggs, the eggshells were earthy yellow and sparkling under the light.

"I wish everyone a happy 'round egg'. Any questions?" asked Lao Lin.

The whole class was silent again. It was difficult for the children to explain to the middle-aged and elderly people "how rustic your jokes are".

"No...no problem." Huajuan took the lead.

Lao Lin showed an admiring look: "Then come over and take one each."

It's too cold outside, and it's time to feel a little hungry.

After taking the eggs, everyone didn't want to take them away, so they all started cracking the eggs on the table. The doors and windows of the classroom were closed, and the classroom was instantly filled with a strong smell of eggs.

Lin Chaoxi didn't go, so Lu Zhihao brought one back for her.

She looked up and said thank you, and just in time she saw the clock above Lao Lin's head.

It was just before eight o'clock in the evening. The second hand on the watch face was ticking away. Lao Lin was smiling under the clock, very satisfied with the sight of the children eating their eggs obediently.

The last New Year's Eve, Lao Lin did not open the cram school. They went out for a walk naturally after dinner. She could not remember the exact time when the incident happened in the Milk Cat Internet Cafe.

And this time...

It’s hard to describe the feeling at that time, but Lin Chaoxi’s heartbeat suddenly quickened by two beats.

The sound of cars whirring faintly outside the window, some people are watching TV, and some people are walking through the empty and dark streets. It is now the commercial time before the TV show starts. In the commercial, a family sits around the dinner table, raising their glasses and praising the wine tonight for being delicious.

Lin Chaoxi thought that he should not be able to hear these sounds, but those sounds that kept ringing were like countless tiny moments overlapping. They really happened in this world and in every world...

At that moment, she suddenly discovered that the development of the parallel world was very different, and even the growth of people had undergone corresponding changes. However, she never doubted whether Lao Lin’s future car accident would really happen, just like she had never carefully thought about whether the fire in the Naimao Internet Cafe would happen as expected.

Did the Naimao Internet Cafe really catch fire? If so, could her words change the established facts?

Lin Chaoxi suddenly became nervous and felt that he had to go and take a look.

She put the egg in her pocket, packed her schoolbag, and walked up to Mr. Lin: "Teacher Lin."

Lao Lin responded quickly: "What? You're still having a midnight snack so late?"

"But I'm hungry."

"But you're fat."

Lin Zhaoxi: “…”

"I don't care, I must eat Chen's stir-fried pork!" She didn't bother talking to Lao Lin and just pulled him out.

——

As we walked out of the Red Star Welfare Home, everything around us suddenly became quiet.

Lin Chaoxi wrapped the scarf tighter around her and blew on her hand.

In the alley, dim lights shone through the windows of houses on both sides, and occasionally one could hear the residents talking and the sound of television.

She was inexplicably nervous just now, but when she walked beside Lao Lin, she calmed down again.

This place is not far from the Naimao Internet Cafe. Across the street is a small park. Beyond the park is the alley where the Naimao Internet Cafe is located. Chen's Stir-fried Pork is at the other end of the alley. This is why she insisted on going there for a midnight snack.

It's less than a 10-minute walk, and the surrounding area is really quiet, without the sound of fire trucks rushing past.

Maybe the boss was really careful and there was no fire in the Internet cafe. She could eat her meal happily after confirming this.

Lin Chaoxi held Lao Lin's arm and walked forward without stopping.

Many times later, she recalled her mentality at that time.

In fact, if a person has the mentality that something will never happen, then she already knows the outcome in her heart.

【three】

The Naimao Internet Cafe was still burned down.

The situation was completely different from the memory of her taking a walk with Lao Lin after dinner, hearing the noisy noises, and then strolling over leisurely.

Before my eyes was a dark street, and all was silent.

There were no bustling fire trucks at the street corners, no crowds of onlookers in the alleys, and everything was as quiet as a bottomless black hole of time.

Lin Chaoxi pulled Lao Lin deeper and deeper. It was very cold around them and she even felt like her mind was frozen. Only the burnt shell of the Internet cafe stood out in the darkness, like a giant beast that could devour everything.

If it weren't for the water stains still on the ground, she would even suspect that her memory was wrong.

Why is this happening?

Is she late?

At this moment, in the dark and cold night, the host of the New Year's Eve party shouted excitedly from somewhere: "Next, let us welcome the Asian superstar group - F4."

It seemed as if someone was answering her questions.

The scene in my memory suddenly flashed, with a gray background and a hoarse voice, but it was so clear that it seemed within reach.

That was the last time she stepped into a fire scene.

Firefighters, police, onlookers, the owner of the Milkmao Internet Cafe was crying...

In a small shop on the street, an old man was watching the New Year's Eve party. The host said, "Now, let us invite the Asian superstar group, F4, to sing "Meteor Shower" for us..."

Lin Chaoxi woke up. She heard exactly the same words the last time she walked into this street.

She was not late. This moment was exactly the same as the time she last came here to witness the fire.

But something has changed.

Thinking of this.

Suddenly, a blinding light appeared in front of her eyes. She covered her eyes with her hands. After a while, she opened her eyes with difficulty and realized that someone was shining a flashlight in their direction.

The owner of the Milkmao Internet Cafe was standing not far in front of her. The middle-aged man looked at her blankly, looking much older.

Lin Chaoxi stepped on a large puddle of water and walked towards him: "Boss..."

The boss's face was wrinkled. "They caught them. They were just elementary school students. Blame me for not listening to you. Come to think of it, it's my fault. I was greedy for a small amount of money... I let them know that I can access the Internet here."

The more he talked, the sadder Lin Chaoxi became.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of burned buildings and electrical appliances. Her nose and eyes were sore and she couldn't even bear to look at the miserable state of the Internet cafe.

She also wanted to ask why the Internet cafe was still like this, but she couldn't say anything.

Lao Lin also reacted and asked her, "What's going on?"

Lin Chaoxi lowered her head, wondering if things would be different if she had reminded her boss more seriously and carefully, or even tried harder.

At this moment, the boss patted her on the shoulder and said comfortingly: "It's okay, you are still here, and your things are always ..."

Lin Chaoxi was stunned.

The moment those rough hands touched her, she instantly sensed something called "rules".

The internet cafe is still charred, the floor is stained with water, and someone is conducting a final inspection at the fire scene...

She moved her eyes to the left. There was a waste collection station to the right of the Naimao Internet Cafe. Because the fire spread, the waste collection station was completely burned down, leaving only the metal frame of the recycled products standing in the dark night, letting the night wind whistle past, which was terrifying.

The previous fire only burned the Internet cafe, and the waste collection station was not affected at all. The fire was not as severe as it is now.

Earlier fires, worse events...

Without any warning or reminder, Lin Chaoxi was touched on the forehead by a drop of extremely cold water. She suddenly realized that all the tiny changes were just a warning.

——As an outsider, she was forbidden to reveal information about the future to anyone in this world.

She can't tell her boss that someone will burn down her internet cafe on New Year's Eve, nor can she tell just anyone the lottery number. She can even buy the lottery ticket herself without telling anyone.

That is to say, the plan she thought was the most reliable to prevent Lao Lin from getting into a car accident would be useless. She couldn't have warned Lao Lin before he got into a car accident.

Because things can only get worse.