Chapter 1: Seize the Day and Live Up to Your Youth

"Boom—"

A white light burst forth from the depths of the clouds, accompanied by a roar of thunder, and a torrential downpour began.

In the dimly lit living room.

The television lights flickered incessantly, and the reporter's powerful voice could be heard coming from within.

"Hello everyone, we have an important news briefing. Early this morning, a series of murders occurred in an abandoned factory in the suburbs of Jiangcheng City. The methods were extremely cruel and heinous. According to reliable police sources, the perpetrator is named Lu Chi, male, 26 years old, 182 cm tall, suffering from severe mental illness. He previously murdered his classmate after the college entrance examination, and then murdered 13 more people over the next five years. Currently, the murderer is still at large..."

"Anyone with information, please contact the police immediately!"

The dim light reflected in the dark room, illuminating Yu Qing's shocked face, because he recognized the person in the photo posted in the news.

Lu Chi was his classmate in high school.

Although he looks quite unfamiliar in the photos, you can still find many similarities in his features. No matter how much a person changes, they will always leave some traces, which is an undeniable fact.

However, in his memory, Lu Chi was always an average student with a quiet, weak, and withdrawn personality. He rarely spoke and had almost no friends. Even when bullied, he would only remain silent and would never dare to resist or argue back.

Now he has become the perpetrator.

Are you kidding me?

"Knock knock knock—"

A sudden, loud knock on the door interrupted Yu Qing's thoughts.

Who is it?

He was wearing flip-flops and got up to open the door.

Upon opening the door, I saw a stranger standing outside wearing a raincoat and a baseball cap that covered half of his face. He was soaking wet, as if he had just climbed out of a pool, and was carrying a black plastic bag that was bulging as if it were full of something, with water dripping onto the floor.

"Who are you?"

Yu Qing looked at the person in front of her with suspicion.

The next second.

A sharp knife pierced his neck.

Fresh blood gushed out instantly.

The man slowly removed his baseball cap, revealing a slightly ferocious and sinister smile.

"Yu, may I use your kitchen?"

Yu Qing's pupils contracted sharply, and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but only a "hoarse" sound came out of his throat.

He tried to cover his bleeding wound with his hand, but each breath caused blood to flow into his trachea, choking him and causing him to convulse and curl up on the ground.

He tried to struggle; he wanted to call for help.

But it couldn't make a sound at all.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as your agreement."

The man smiled, dragged Yu Qing into the house, and slammed the door shut.

"Boom!"

Another thunderclap exploded.

The gale, carrying raindrops, pounded heavily against the window, screaming in agony, before rolling to the ground and mingling with the dust of despair.

...

“Lu Chi…”

Yu Qing suddenly yelled and sat up abruptly in bed.

He was panting heavily, his heart pounding, clearly still reeling from the fear of his recent death.

He looked around blankly.

The ceiling was made of plywood, the overhead fan whirred and creaked, a guitar hung on the wall, and an old, worn-out computer sat in the corner of the room.

The clear sunlight shone on the window, fine dust floated in the air, and the sound of cars passing by could be heard in the distance.

Familiar yet unfamiliar.

Yu Qing walked shakily to the mirror, looked at her youthful face in the mirror, reached out and touched her cheek, her expression filled with disbelief.

Am I dreaming?

He muttered to himself, pinching his arm hard. The pain on his skin brought him back to his senses instantly.

Yes, this is not a dream!

Yu Qing suddenly remembered something and quickly picked up the phone hidden under the pillow, seeing the time displayed on the screen.

7:15 AM, April 3, 2013.

After staring blankly for a long time, I finally accepted this absurd fact.

He was reborn!

We've gone back ten years.

"Xiao Yu, what time is it? Get up already! You're going to be late for class!"

Just as Yu Qing was in a daze, there was a knock on the door.

The door opened.

Upon seeing the middle-aged woman in front of him, he was stunned for a moment, and tears almost welled up in his eyes.

The woman in front of him was his mother, Li Qiulan.

After her father went to prison, Yu Qing was raised by Li Qiulan, a single woman who acted as both father and mother to him.

The family was not well-off. The mother and son lived in a cramped rented room and lived frugally every day. Even so, Li Qiulan never mistreated Yu Qing and would buy him whatever he wanted.

Because of his rebellious nature since childhood, he often skipped classes to go online, hung out with delinquent youths, got into fights and caused trouble all the time, and lost a lot of money.

After graduating from high school, he went out to work.

A man took a green train from Jiangcheng to Chongqing to make his way in the world. He did all sorts of dirty and hard jobs. He finally found a stable job, but then he was met with the devastating news of his mother's unexpected death.

After Li Qiulan left, Yu Qing became despondent, spending his days in a daze, immersed in grief and regret.

"mom."

Yu Qing choked up, tears streaming down her face.

"Why are you crying, child? Did something unpleasant happen?" Li Qiulan asked with concern.

Yu Qing wiped away her tears and forced a smile: "No, I'm just so happy to see you."

"Alright, alright, stop dawdling and hurry up and get ready. Li Fei is still waiting downstairs. I'll put your allowance in your schoolbag. Remember to eat breakfast," Li Qiulan urged.

"I understand, Mom." Yu Qing suppressed the bitterness in her heart and took the schoolbag from Li Qiulan's hand.

Thank God for giving him another chance.

This will allow him to make up for past regrets, cherish every moment with his family, and change his destiny.

...

Downstairs in an old residential building.

From afar, I spotted a familiar figure squatting by the roadside. Long, slanted bangs covered one eye. He was wearing a black t-shirt and tight pants with several silver chains hanging from his pants—a typical non-mainstream outfit.

Upon seeing Yu Qing appear, Li Fei immediately stood up and whistled at Yu Qing.

"Brother Qing, over here."

Li Fei, his little follower in his previous life, was also his childhood friend. The two had a good relationship and often hung out together, willing to go to great lengths for each other.

Of course, all of this was influenced by the Young and Dangerous movies.

After graduating from high school, the two went their separate ways and never contacted each other again. They only occasionally heard from others that he had gotten a job in a government institution through family connections and was doing very well.

Yu Qing, on the other hand, became unemployed, running around every day for a few taels of silver, a stark contrast to his previous situation.

"How are you? Are you feeling better?" Li Fei asked.

"What?"

Yu Qing was stunned for a moment.

Li Fei sighed: "I warned you a long time ago not to confess to Lin Yueyue, but you wouldn't listen. To put it bluntly, so many people like her, you're just a fool who died in vain. If I hadn't stopped you yesterday, you might have ended up drinking yourself into the hospital!"

Lin Yueyue? Which Lin Yueyue?

Yu Qing blinked and thought for a long time, then suddenly remembered something and looked at Li Fei in surprise: "Lin Yueyue is not dead?"

"Well……"

Li Fei paused for a moment: "Even though they rejected you ruthlessly, you can't curse them to die!"

It's no wonder Yu Qing lost his composure, because in his mind...

Lin Yueyue disappeared a week before the college entrance examination. Her body was later found in the river outside the school. Because the body had been submerged for too long, it was impossible to determine how she drowned.

It was later ruled a suicide, and thus the matter ended without resolution.

He was heartbroken for a while, thinking Lin Yueyue was too foolish. Why would she choose to jump into the river and commit suicide? She could have lived a wonderful life.

Looking back now, everything seems strange.

As Yu Qing walked towards the school, lost in thought, Li Fei kept rambling on about the embarrassing incident of confessing his feelings yesterday.

“Brother Qing, I’m not trying to criticize you, but Lin Yueyue is a goddess to both of us. There’s a huge class difference between you and her. She started attending concerts at the age of three, learning ballet at five, and riding horses at the horse farm at six. Other girls can be moved to tears by just buying her a bouquet of flowers.”

"But with you, given her family's financial situation, even if you gave her a Cartier, she would probably still find it ordinary. No matter how much money you spend on her, it's a bottomless pit."

"Hey, are you even listening to me?"

Seeing that Yu Qing remained silent for a long time, Li Fei's face showed a hint of anger, and he reached out and patted Yu Qing's shoulder.

Yu Qing reacted instantly, looked up, smiled at Li Fei, and said, "Listen, you can continue."

Li Fei curled his lip: "Continue my ass! I've already said everything. To sum it up, you're a toad trying to eat swan meat. Do you understand, a toad trying to eat swan meat!"

"Well."

Yu Qing awkwardly touched the tip of his nose. If he had heard this before, given his fiery temper, he might have rushed up and beaten that bastard.

But now!

Oh my god, why didn't you say so sooner?