Chapter 19

As lunchtime approached, the two hurriedly went to the administration building to get their meal cards. By the time they arrived at the cafeteria, the line in front of the food stalls had already stretched out like a snake.

They went into the third-floor cafeteria. Although the school didn't mandate a fixed number of floors for each grade, most students automatically followed the rules left by their seniors.

The most convenient floor is for seniors, the second floor for juniors, and the third floor for freshmen.

Therefore, the long line in front of them was mostly made up of hungry first-year high school students, with each stall packed full and no space at all.

Bai Nan wanted to go to the cold noodle stall at the very back. He was feeling hot and thirsty from walking around, and that popsicle was no use at all.

Liangpi (cold skin noodles) is the food she has eaten the most in the past two years. It is cheap, quick to serve, and very filling.

Unfortunately, she can only sigh from the doorway now; she can't even squeeze into the queue at the first stall.

"Never mind, let's just grab something to eat." She didn't know if she was trying to comfort Huang Wang or herself, but after saying that, she walked towards the end of the line at the first stall.

Huang Wang nodded. There were indeed too many people, and he didn't want to squeeze in.

After more than ten minutes, they finally reached the front of the line. Victory was just ahead, and the two of them perked up and looked into the stall.

Bai Nan silently prayed that the delicious food hadn't all been eaten yet.

Finally, it was Bai Nan's turn. Seeing that there were only two spoonfuls of shredded pork with garlic sauce left in the insulated bowl, she quickly grabbed her meal card.

The only delicious dish at this stall was the shredded pork with garlic sauce. She prayed that the students in front of her wouldn't order it, so that she and Huang Wang could each have a serving.

"Auntie, I'd like shredded pork with garlic sauce, eggplant with minced garlic, and cucumber salad—"

The voice of the student in front was like a judge's closing statement, and the gavel fell with a resounding crash, echoing in the plaintiff's despair.

Two portions!

A minute later, Bai Nan and Huang Wang stood blankly in the huge cafeteria, holding two plates of food that they had no appetite for.

After finally getting my food, there wasn't a single empty seat.

This long-lost feeling was suffocating for Bai Nan. In the past, there was a tall and long-legged Li Ling who would help her grab a seat. All she had to do was get her food and go to the meeting place.

These days... not only is the food terrible, but there aren't even any seats available!

For her, it would be better to be dead.

"Sister Nan!"

Suddenly, she heard a fateful echo. Bai Nan turned her head and looked in that direction with barely concealed excitement.

"Sister Nan! Over here!"

Bai Lu stood up and waved to them happily, the two empty seats next to him seemingly shimmering with golden light.

Bai Nan glanced at the plate on his table subconsciously, and her eyes lit up instantly the next second.

She turned and gave Huang Wang a look, signaling him to follow immediately. Then, with lightning speed, she flew to Bai Lu's side.

"Clang!" The plate was quickly put down.

Before Bai Lu could react, he pulled down the embarrassed Huang Wang.

"Bai Di, what are you doing? These are seats I saved for Sister Nan and Sister Ling, get up now!"

Oh no! I forgot I'm Bai Di now!

But since I was already seated, I couldn't very well stand up and look for another seat: "Didn't you see my sister and the others? I thought you were calling me."

She lowered her head and wiped her chopsticks with a tissue on the table, trying to appear calm, unaware that the person opposite her was staring intently at her.

"Didn't even I see it?"

A slightly deep voice sounded from the other side. Bai Nan subconsciously looked up, and then choked.

"Cough cough cough! Cough cough!"

She didn't even notice Xu Xin was there. No wonder when she was sprinting at full speed, the closer she got, the more girls she could see.

This is embarrassing. She thought that since Bai Lu didn't know she was Bai Nan, it wouldn't hurt to borrow Bai Di's shamelessness.

However, Xu Xin knew who she was, and now even with his thick skin, he couldn't help but blush.

Just then, Bai Di and Li Ling arrived. The latter stood by the table and asked in confusion, "Xiao Lu, where's the seat you saved?"

Bai Lu pointed at Bai Nan and accused, "It's all Bai Di's fault! He shamelessly sat down with his men! Humph!"

Huang Wang blushed a little at these words, but seeing that Bai Di didn't react, he remained seated.

Just as the atmosphere became awkward, two freshmen next to them suddenly stood up, cleared away their plates in the blink of an eye, and left.

Bai Di and Li Ling sat down, while Bai Lu continued to mutter, "So shameless..."

Bai Nan wanted to cry but had no tears. She kept saying in her heart: Stop talking, stop talking. I know I was wrong. I will never forget that I am Bai Di next time.

"Alright, let's eat." Xu Xin interrupted him at the right time.

Once rescued, Bai Nan immediately started shoveling rice into her mouth, eager to finish and leave as quickly as possible, as she couldn't bear the embarrassment any longer.

Perhaps because her trachea hadn't fully recovered from the choking earlier, she felt increasingly uncomfortable as she quickly shoveled food down her throat, so she stopped and tried to soothe the itch.

Just then, a bottle of water was handed over. Bai Nan looked up at the person who handed her the water, then lowered her head and took it.

"Thanks..."

Xu Xin replied to her expressionlessly, "It's nothing."

No one at the table noticed the interaction between the two. Bai Lu was righteously warning Huang Wang to stay away from Bai Di, or he would be led astray in no time. Li Ling was pulling Bai Di to recall the super spicy fried rice noodles they had last semester. Bai Di, on the other hand, was stuffing unpalatable vegetables into his mouth with a pained expression.

The difficult time always seemed to pass very slowly. From the moment Bai Nan sat down to the end of the meal, his back was soaked with sweat.

"Where are you going this afternoon? But don't senior students start classes in the afternoon?" Bai Lu asked while clearing away the plates.

Li Ling nodded: "Yes, classes start this afternoon, but the whole school will start military training in two days. I just don't know if we'll be assigned to the same area."

At this moment, Bai Nan and Bai Di met eyes, and for some reason, both of them felt somewhat ashamed.

At this moment, Bai Nan was unaware of what Bai Di's shame was.

"I...I made plans with Bai Di to play ping-pong." Huang Wang's voice was very soft, but Bai Lu's reaction was very strong.

"No, bro, I told you to stay away from him, why didn't you listen?" He looked at him with a disappointed expression.

Huang Wang's voice lowered even further: "But he's... he's doing really well..."

Bai Lu shook his head slightly, "You have no idea how much trouble he's gotten into lately..."

Having said all he could say, Master Bai sighed and left.

Bai Nan knew he was referring to the incident where she almost strangled Bai Di. Although the idea originated from her future self ten years later, she did not feel regret.

Because the suffering over the past ten years is real and counts.

Before parting ways, the group agreed to stand in front of each other if they could catch up in the future. Bai Lu even excitedly created a WeChat group.

However, when Bai Nan was invited, he looked reluctant. It was only after Huang Wang said, "If Bai Di doesn't come in, he won't come in either," that Bai Lu reluctantly accepted the application.

Thus, the group "[Top 5 Most Beautiful Girls and School Heartthrobs of No. 1 High School]" was officially established.

Only after Li Ling's figure completely disappeared did Bai Nan finally breathe a sigh of relief. She was genuinely afraid that Li Ling would say, "Hey Nan Nan, don't you like playing ping pong too? Let's play together next time!"

Bai Di can't play ping pong, so if she really brought it up, they'd both be doomed. She can't just casually show off her hobbies like that next time, especially since neither of them is good at one...

Bai Di didn't have many friends, which was good because she got into the top high school, but Li Ling was her best friend of two years and knew too much about her. She needed to find a way to avoid her recently...

"Bai Di!"

Huang Wang's exclamation snapped Bai Nan out of her daze, and she saw a white lightning bolt hurtling toward her face!

Bai Nan instinctively raised his paddle to block, and with a "thud!" the ping-pong ball bounced to the ground.

"Hey Bai Di, if you don't want to play, get off here. I'm still waiting in line!" Bai Lu shouted loudly from the stands behind her.

Knowing she was in the wrong and had a lot on her mind, Bai Nan handed the racket to Bai Lu and sat down in the stands.

Table tennis is her favorite sport, apart from video games, but she's not really into playing it these days.

A gentle breeze blew by in late summer, and the shade of the trees surrounding the stands brought a refreshing coolness. She sat on the stands, her hands supporting her body on either side, her head tilted back and her eyes slightly closed.

Sunlight paints on thin eyelids, colorful halos chasing and surrounding, outlining the contours of watercolors with varying shades of ink.

The cool breeze and warm sunshine made me feel sleepy.

As the light exposure time increased, the content of the watercolor painting gradually became clearer, and the colorful halo turned into large swaths of red. Then, red completely occupied the entire painting, and in the center of the bright red was a man with a long beard.

Then, the bright red turned into blood red, the blood red deepened into blood plasma, and the blood plasma coagulated into blood droplets that fell down, slowly gathering at the soles of the feet, gradually submerging the feet, and pressing up to the chest, stirring up a huge wave!

Finally, a wave of thick blood plasma slammed Bai Nan into the blood-red seabed—

To sink together...

"Nannan! Nannan!"

Grandma's voice suddenly rang in his ears, her urging like thunder, hammering at Bai Nan's brain.

"Nannan—!"

She suddenly opened her eyes and found herself leaning against the stands, her hands that had been supporting her on either side now slipped down to her ankles, while her legs were curled up on the steps.

If she doesn't wake up soon, she will fall headfirst from the third tier of the stands.

Although the three-tiered stands were less than two meters high, they still sent a chill down her spine.

The dream she had...

I thought that after a good cry, this incident would disappear completely with time, just like all the bad things that had happened to me over the past ten years.

But she seemed to have forgotten that as long as the curse of the 'Seven Star Soul Exchange Technique' remained in effect, and as long as her and Bai Di's bodies could not be swapped back, this bloody shadow would continue to exist.

Like a nightmare caused by Old Man Li, it follows me everywhere...

Bai Nan turned her head and stared directly at the setting sun. The dim yellow halo gave it a dazzling light, but the core, which she could never see, was covered with black spots of rust.

She couldn't see through the sun, couldn't see through the world, and couldn't see through herself either.

When did Bai Nan, at twenty-seven, finally see through herself? And how long will it take for her to leave these nightmares behind and embark on her own path of freedom...?

No one can provide the answer.

At least for now, she is like Bai Zong, who set up this curse, and can only obediently settle on someone else, like a drifting soul.

However, she was luckier than him; she wouldn't die. If the curse really worked as Bai Zong wished, then she could consider it a bargain.

Bai Di, I am not willing to let your soul nourish me...