Chapter 2 Reborn Back to Senior Year of High School

A deep and intense aura pressed down.

Jiang Wan felt hot all over, her hair sticking to her forehead and temples. A large, burning hot hand climbed up her tailbone inch by inch, sending shivers down her spine.

She turned her head away, grabbed a pillow, and buried her face in it, blocking out all sound.

The suffocating feeling vanished in an instant.

Zhou Chong tossed aside her pillow, grabbed her chin with his thumb and forefinger, turned her face, and gave her a deep, forceful yet tender kiss.

In another way, it silenced her unbearable sobs.

Jiang Wan's hands were held by him, spread apart and pressed down on either side of her head. His slender fingers inserted between her fingers, slowly and deliberately, but very tightly.

It's still raining outside, and it's getting heavier and heavier.

Jiang Wan wrapped her arms around Zhou Chong's neck, rested her chin on his shoulder, bit her lip tightly, and let the tears well up in her eyes and stream down his broad back.

Feeling the chill on her back, Zhou Chong turned his head, kissed away the glistening moisture on her cheek, and then slowly moved up to kiss her eyelids.

...

Perhaps because it was the last time, the two were especially tender with each other.

When Jiang Wan drifted off to sleep, she was so exhausted that she didn't know what time it was, only that the rain outside the window was still falling.

The rain continues, and it never stops.

She was so sleepy that she found the sound of the rain too loud, but she couldn't open her eyes no matter what she did.

The darkness before her was like a giant net, enveloping her and pulling her down endlessly.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of rain, which had been coming from afar, seemed to change, from a light drizzle to a steady drip.

But the pace is getting faster and faster.

"Beep beep beep—beep beep beep—"

The feeling of falling suddenly disappeared, and Jiang Wan abruptly opened her eyes.

A blinding white light filled her vision. She instinctively clutched the blanket to her chest, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath.

She must have been having a nightmare...

Jiang Wan thought to herself and slowly calmed her breathing.

However, the very next second, she heard "beep beep beep—"

She turned her head at the sound and saw an old-fashioned alarm clock on the bedside table, swinging and ringing tirelessly.

Phew, it's just an alarm clock.

Jiang Wan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to turn off the alarm clock when her hand, which was outstretched in mid-air, suddenly stopped.

Something's not right. Where did this old-fashioned alarm clock come from?

It looks so vintage; it must be a style from ten years ago.

She sat up abruptly and quickly glanced around.

Pale pink curtains, a star-shaped ceiling light, a white lace canopy around the bed, and several plush toys piled on the bed...

The blanket she was clutching was also light pink, with small heart patterns on it.

This is not the master bedroom in Yunxi Bay at all!

Instead, instead...

Jiang Wan looked around blankly.

If she remembered correctly, this girly place was her room when she was in high school.

To make it easier for her to go to school, her parents bought an apartment in a neighborhood near the school, which only took about ten minutes to walk to.

For three years of high school, the three of them lived here until she graduated, when they moved back to their villa in Yujing No. 1.

How did she suddenly end up in this house?

Didn't she stay at Yunxi Bay last night and sleep with Zhou Chong?

Is she still dreaming?

Jiang Wan tapped her head, trying to wake herself from her dream.

However, the pain in my forehead, though mild, was very real.

Jiang Wan let out a soft "Ouch!" and before she could lower her hand, she heard a knocking sound at the door.

"Wanwan, why aren't you up yet?"

The person speaking sounds so familiar...

Jiang Wan was suddenly stunned.

mom? !

"The alarm clock has been ringing for ages, how can you still be sleeping?" Shan Tong shouted as she knocked on the door. "Don't you even know what time it is? You're going to be late for school!"

Going to school... what kind of school?!

Shouldn't she get up and go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get a divorce?

Jiang Wan jumped out of bed in a flash, not even having time to put on her slippers, and flung open the bedroom door.

The woman in front of her was indeed her mother, but she was Ms. Shan Tong, who looked almost ten years younger.

For a lady like my mother, the signs of aging seem to move very slowly. In her fifties, she frequents hair salons and beauty parlors, dyeing her gray hair black as soon as it starts to appear, and her skin is also very well-maintained.

But the woman in front of me, Ms. Shan Tong, had so few wrinkles on her face that they were almost invisible, and her eyes and brows were radiant, as if she had outrun time.

In addition, he speaks with great force.

When Shan Tong saw Jiang Wan barefoot on the carpet, her long hair disheveled and looking like she hadn't woken up yet, she frowned and quickly ran to her bedside to pick up the pair of crooked slippers from the floor.

"It's the dead of winter, why aren't you wearing slippers? Are you thinking of getting cold?"

While frowning and scolding, Shan Tong deftly helped Jiang Wan put on her slippers.

Jiang Wan numbly lifted her foot, then put it down again. After her foot touched the ground through the thick sole of her slippers, she suddenly reached out and hugged the person in front of her.

"mom……"

"Calling for Mom won't help. If you catch a cold, I won't take care of you. You'll have to suffer on your own!" Shan Tong said sternly, but she still gently patted Jiang Wan's back. "Got it?"

Jiang Wan sniffed, "Okay."

"Alright, hurry up and wash up, then come out for breakfast." Shan Tong pushed Jiang Wan into the bathroom. "It's almost 6:30. If we don't hurry, we'll really be late for school."

Jiang Wan opened her mouth, wanting to turn around and ask something, but seeing that Shan Tong had already turned and walked out, she temporarily suppressed her doubts and dragged her feet toward the washbasin.

Standing in front of the mirror at the sink, Jiang Wan held her toothbrush and stood there stunned for a full half minute.

The reflection in the mirror shows round almond-shaped eyes, a small but not sharp chin, and chubby cheeks that give the impression of youthful innocence.

As if in disbelief, Jiang Wan closed her eyes, silently counted a few seconds, and then opened them again, but her face in the mirror remained unchanged.

I am still that same young, naive version of myself.

At this moment, 28-year-old Jiang Wan was completely confused about her own age.

After a short delay, Ms. Shan Tong called out again from outside, and Jiang Wan quickly finished washing up and ran out.

Besides Shan Tong, her father, Jiang Ronghai, was also sitting at the dining table.

It's still the younger version.

Jiang Wan walked over blankly, and before she could even sit down, Shan Tong grabbed her by the collar.

"Why are you still wearing your pajamas? Haven't you changed into your school uniform?" Shan Tong grabbed her collar with one hand and gathered her hair with the other. "You didn't even tie your hair up. Don't they check your appearance at the school gate anymore?"

Jiang Wan nodded blankly, "I...I'll change into my school uniform after I finish breakfast."

She paused, then tucked her hair behind her ear, "I also tie my hair up."

Dan Tong waved his hand and placed the soy milk on the table in front of her. "Eat up."

Jiang Wan took a sip of soy milk, then a bite of a steamed bun. She nervously looked up at her kind-faced parents at the table and cautiously asked, "What grade am I in now?"

Upon hearing her words, both Shan Tong and Jiang Ronghai were taken aback, their faces showing obvious surprise.

Shan Tong looked at her as if she were an idiot, and even reached out to feel her forehead. "Are you still half asleep? Or do you have a fever?"

Jiang Wan: "..."

Jiang Wan pursed her lips, trying to find an excuse to save face. Before she could think of what to say, she heard Jiang Ronghai's words.

"Wanwan, if you don't want to take the college entrance exam next semester, talk to your parents and we'll discuss it properly. Should we start preparing for applications to overseas universities as soon as possible, or do you plan to repeat a year?"

Jiang Wan: "..."

"No, Dad, I didn't mean that." Jiang Wan quickly raised her hand, stopping Jiang Ronghai from saying anything more. "So, I'm a senior in high school now, right?"

Shan Tong nodded. "Yes, the college entrance exam is in a few months."

Jiang Wan's vision went black, and the steamed bun in her hand no longer tasted good.

While time travel and rebirth were beyond her scientific understanding, she had read so many novels over the years that she wasn't entirely unaware of such a possibility.

But how come she was reborn into the most miserable year of high school?!

As if clinging to the last glimmer of hope, Jiang Wan took a boiled egg from the dining table and smashed it against her forehead.

With a "crack," the eggshell shattered.

Then came the gasps of surprise from Shan Tong and Jiang Ronghai.

"Wanwan!"

"Does it hurt?"

"No...it doesn't hurt." Jiang Wan forced a smile, put her hand down, and began to peel the broken eggshell. "I just think it's...easier to peel the eggshell this way."

It did hurt a little, but only a little, and that was enough to wake Jiang Wan up.

She was reborn and returned to her senior year of high school.

Furthermore, I'll have to take the college entrance exam again!

The sky has fallen...