Chapter 1 Time Travel "You are not fo..."

"Yan Zhao, Yan Zhao, wake up! It's almost time for morning exercises, why are you still sleeping?"

"Oh? Okay."

Ning Yanzhao opened her eyes groggily and sat up to see her old high school friend Jing Yiran putting on her school uniform, ready to go out for morning exercises. Like boarding students, day students at No. 1 High School also had to run exercises in the morning.

Ning Yanzhao, having suffered from insomnia the previous night and knowing she couldn't sleep anyway, arrived at the classroom early this morning, when there were only a few people there yet.

Ning Yanzhao originally wanted to read more while there was still time, but the classroom always had a special magic that made her sleepy as soon as she sat down. So she was catching up on sleep until Jing Yiran woke her up. However, it seems that she has never been awake since she started high school.

"What year and what day is it now?" Ning Yanzhao asked as she tidied the books that she had slept on.

"Hmm, let me think, today is December 4th, 2016."

"It really is 2016," Ning Yanzhao said as if to herself.

Why are you asking this? Have you been under too much pressure from studying lately and lost track of time?

"Maybe so." Actually, Ning Yanzhao wasn't sure either.

"Do you still remember that we were supposed to recite the entire 'Li Sao' from memory today?"

"What?!!"

"Haha, just kidding. Actually, today's Chinese morning reading class was a dictation of 'The Road to Shu is Hard'."

Ning Yanzhao: "..."

What difference does it make? Ning Yanzhao really didn't dare to say that she had traveled back nine years due to an "accident." She had completely forgotten both "Li Sao" and "The Road to Shu is Hard." No matter what she recited, it was useless. She felt sorry for her Chinese teacher.

"Let's go, let's hurry up and do our morning exercises. It wouldn't be good if we got caught by the grade director, the homeroom teacher, and the student council all at the same time."

Ning Yanzhao looked at the crowded playground and sighed heavily, thinking about the painful running exercises that were about to begin.

That said, today is not only December 4, 2016, but also the second day after Ning Yanzhao returned to nine years ago.

Ning Yanzhao graduated from university at a time when the job market was extremely tough. Not wanting to face the risk of being laid off at the age of thirty-five, she decided to take the civil service exam.

Ning Yanzhao studied advertising within the journalism and communication major at university. The exam papers for journalism and communication majors are not only reflected in postgraduate entrance exams, but also in civil service exams, where there are countless top candidates. Therefore, because she did not have an absolute overwhelming advantage in strength, she was rejected even though she made it to the interview stage, as her score was too close to that of the second-place candidate.

In an era where liberal arts students are universally disliked, if Ning Yanzhao doesn't want to do any sales-related work, then finding a job becomes extremely difficult.

It's not about one person doing three jobs and getting free overtime; it's about companies being so stingy that they'll list Wi-Fi as a perk in their job postings. It's a situation where everyone feels cheated, and only those who've done it truly understand.

Job opportunities and salaries are higher in big cities, but the cost of living is also higher. As someone who wants to be a laid-back person, returning to the big city where she went to university is her backup plan.

Just when Ning Yanzhao was struggling to decide which company would be somewhat acceptable, luckily, there was always a way out. Not long after graduation, a funeral home was recruiting contract workers, including positions such as funeral planning and design, master of ceremonies, and mortician. Because her major happened to match the position of funeral planning and design, she was hired.

Ning Yanzhao is currently working at the funeral home while using her spare time to study for the civil service exam, hoping to get a permanent position at the funeral home.

On an ordinary day while working at the funeral home, Ning Yanzhao and her colleagues received a funeral planning request. According to her colleagues, the deceased's family revealed that the client was a somewhat famous radio voice actor, but he never showed his face, so very few people had ever seen him.

Furthermore, the colleague stated that the cause of death was cardiac arrest due to excessive drinking, and by the time acquaintances arrived at the deceased's home, the deceased had already passed away.

Young people today face immense pressure to survive, so such situations do occur occasionally. Those who work at funeral homes see even more cases than the average person, and Ning Yanzhao remained calm at the time.

However, when Ning Yanzhao saw the portrait, she was deeply shocked. She never expected that the deceased was him, An Nianyu, the person she had secretly loved in high school.

An Nianyu was Ning Yanzhao's classmate in the next class during high school. Although the hazy feelings of affection during adolescence always quietly sprouted in some corner, the two actually had very little interaction during their three years of high school.

The two had very little contact not only because high school students, who were at a crucial stage of their academic journey, had various strict school rules regarding relationships between boys and girls, but also because An Nianyu mysteriously disappeared in December 2017, the year after they met.

The most widespread reason for this matter is that An Nianyu's family helped him withdraw from school and go abroad to study. The reason why this issue is discussed is because An Nianyu is, after all, a "prominent figure".

In high school, those who generate widespread discussion are either those with exceptionally good grades, privileged family backgrounds, outstanding looks, or those with various "rumors." An Nianyu, however, embodies all these trending elements.

Some people said they envied An Nianyu, who had finally escaped the high-pressure, endless sea of ​​questions and could now embrace a free world. Others sarcastically remarked that the grass is always greener on the other side. Still others secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that one less competitor was better than one more for top students who were very sensitive to rankings.

Therefore, in the highly competitive and intense learning environment of No. 1 High School, even though everyone initially reacted to the news of An Nianyu dropping out to study abroad, no one would ask the homeroom teacher to verify his true whereabouts. Naturally, it is said that the homeroom teacher of An Nianyu's class never mentioned it either, as it's better to avoid any trouble.

From then on, Ning Yanzhao never heard from An Nianyu again, and no one even knew what university he attended abroad.

Ning Yanzhao thought he would stay abroad for further studies, but unexpectedly, after graduation he not only returned to China, but also became a radio voice actor when no one he knew knew him. Unfortunately, he is now lying in a cold funeral home.

Ning Yanzhao immediately searched for An Nianyu online, but found no information. She then searched for recently deceased radio voice actors and found an entry stating that a radio voice actor, "Quiet Island," had recently passed away at home due to a sudden heart attack. The voice acting work would be taken over by XXX. May she rest in peace…

Ning Yanzhao did not immediately lose her composure at the funeral home, nor did she act as if she knew An Nianyu. Instead, she remained unusually calm, just as she always did when handling other family members' requests.

But after she got home and closed the door, she washed up like a robot, lay in bed, turned on her phone and listened to the "Quiet Island" radio program. Finally, her psychological defenses collapsed, and she started to cry loudly.

Ning Yanzhao had never understood why family members could hold back their tears at funerals until today. She realized that this emotion was delayed and would suddenly erupt when they fully realized that their loved ones were truly gone.

Ning Yanzhao's tears now are not only for the person she once had a crush on, but also for that regretful youth.

In recent days, Ning Yanzhao has been unable to sleep almost every night due to work pressure and the sudden death of An Nianyu. She can only manage to fall asleep by listening to An Nianyu's radio programs. These past few days, Ning Yanzhao has been in a daze at work during the day and doesn't even know how she has managed to complete her work.

When people are in a very low mood, their work efficiency is indeed greatly reduced. Ning Yanzhao did not finish writing her plan at the office that day, so she had to take it home to continue writing.

By the time Ning Yanzhao finished writing after staying up all night, it was already past midnight.

Ning Yanzhao turned off the light in her room and lay on the bed, deep in thought, trying to fall asleep. She thought she would fall asleep quickly because her eyes were tired, but things never went as planned.

After finally falling asleep, Ning Yanzhao always had dreams of complete darkness in the second half of the night, where she couldn't see any specific details. As a result, she didn't get up until the next morning. As soon as she opened her eyes, she knew she hadn't slept well. When she looked in the mirror, she saw very obvious dark circles under her eyes, but she still had to go to work.

Ning Yanzhao quickly washed up and went out to work. When she arrived at the bus stop where she usually waited for the shuttle bus, she found that the usually bustling bus stop was empty.

Although only one bus route passes through this station each day, it is frequented by many commuters because it passes several schools and shopping malls.

Today isn't a holiday, so why is there not a single person waiting for the bus on a weekday? Ning Yanzhao remembers how crowded it used to be when she took this bus at this time. So, is she the only one who has to go to work today?

Ning Yanzhao stood under the bus stop shelter, checked her phone to see how long it would take for the bus to arrive. Based on past experience, it should be arriving soon. Sure enough, there were still three minutes left.

"Oh, is it raining?" After checking the bus schedule, Ning Yanzhao suddenly felt a water droplet run down her glasses. But when she looked up, it wasn't raining. Could it be that the old water from the bus stop roof was leaking down?

In short, today was a bit strange.

Since her glasses were fogged up by water, she couldn't see clearly. Ning Yanzhao sighed, took off her glasses, and used a tissue from her backpack to wipe them clean.

Ning Yanzhao remembered a sentence she had seen on an online platform before, looked at her glasses, and could only smile helplessly.

However, Ning Yanzhao only has mild myopia. Even without glasses, she can still see clearly as long as the distance is not too far. It's just that the dark circles under her eyes are too noticeable today, so it's better to cover them up to avoid feeling embarrassed if her colleagues ask. That's why she chose to wear glasses when she went out, just to be on the safe side.

Ning Yanzhao packed her glasses into her backpack, then noticed out of the corner of her eye that the bus was approaching.

Ning Yanzhao opened her ride-hailing QR code to board the bus. She saw from afar that the bus was empty except for the driver, and she was somewhat relieved to finally have a seat. However, the bus's inexplicably lit headlights caused her eyes to reflexively avoid the light, and she suddenly felt dizzy, then seemed to lose consciousness…

She didn't know exactly how much time had passed, but when Ning Yanzhao opened her eyes after adjusting, she found herself standing on a pedestrian bridge. Neither her backpack nor her glasses were on her anymore.

Beneath the overpass, the shopping district was ablaze with colorful lights, cars drove by one after another on the road, and snow was falling sporadically from the sky… Snow? Wasn’t it just a moment ago that the rain, which had been invisible, had blurred her vision? And was she dreaming or hallucinating? It was summer during the day, even just now.

Ning Yanzhao urgently needed to take out her phone to see what was going on, whether it was a memory error or a weather glitch.

"Nianyu, over here!"

Nianyu? An Nianyu?

In the past few days, the name An Nianyu has become like a trigger condition. Whenever Ning Yanzhao hears it, her nose feels sore and she subconsciously looks in the direction from which the voice comes.

Even though there was a distance between them, Ning Yanzhao shouldn't have been able to hear the boy calling An Nianyu's name, but she did hear it.

Under the overpass, as a boy in a No. 1 Middle School uniform rode away on his bicycle, said hello, Ning Yanzhao saw An Nianyu sitting on a public seat, holding a book and waiting for the bus.

After the boy left, An Nianyu continued to focus her gaze on the book she had been reading.

Just then, the earphone hanging on Ning Yanzhao's ear suddenly started playing music. It turned out that at this moment, just like many years later, she was walking down the street listening to music with only one earphone on, which she had completely forgotten about.

"You are not for sale..."

As if waking from a dream, Ning Yanzhao began to walk down the overpass.

That was An Nianyu at seventeen years old, who reappeared before Ning Yanzhao's eyes.

A note from the author:

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