Her instinct
Raindrops tapped softly against the windowsill. Shi Xu glanced at the last reply from Yunxi on the screen, "Thank you, no need to bother," his finger hovering over the delete button for a moment before finally saving the entire conversation.
He went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. The boy in the mirror had wet eyelashes, it was hard to tell if it was from rain or something else. He remembered how Yunxi had stood under the eaves of the convenience store to shelter from the rain—she had habitually clutched her schoolbag to her chest, an unconscious action formed after experiencing multiple robberies.
He knew these details all too well. In the third cycle, her backpack was stolen by a biker gang, and she fell in the rain, scraping her knee. Ever since then, she always carried her backpack like this.
But this time, they should have been strangers.
Shi Xu wiped his face and turned on his computer. The document contained detailed data from the previous fifty-two cycles. He created a new tab and named it "The Fifty-Third Cycle Anomaly Record".
He wrote in the first entry:
"Day 1, 18:47, the target proactively sent a 'déjà vu' message. Preliminary assessment of memory retention index: Grade C (vague impression)"
This wasn't the first time he'd encountered a similar situation. During his thirty-first playthrough, Yunxi had also said, "I feel like I've seen you before," after he'd saved her. But that time it happened after they'd had several encounters, unlike this time, which was their "first meeting" in the truest sense.
The sound of rain outside the window gradually subsided. Shi Xu walked to the window and saw a warm yellow light shining from the window on the third floor opposite. That was Yunxi's room. At this moment, she should be sitting at her desk, perhaps unpacking her newly moved-in luggage, or perhaps preparing for tomorrow's lessons.
He took out the binoculars from the drawer—a habit he'd developed during his tenth playthrough. Through the lenses, Yunxi sat cross-legged on the wooden floor, diligently sorting through a pile of books. Beside her was a carton of milk, a habit she'd maintained since junior high.
Everything seems normal.
But Shi Xu knew clearly that some things had changed. Cracks had appeared in the barrier of reincarnation, and these cracks were slowly extending into the memories of Yunxi.
The next morning, Shi Xu left home earlier than usual. He bought two servings of soy milk and fried dough sticks from a breakfast shop at the entrance of the residential area, and then stood under the sycamore tree to wait.
At 6:50 a.m. sharp, Yunxi appeared at the entrance of the building. Today, she had her hair tied in a high ponytail, revealing her smooth forehead, and looked exceptionally energetic.
"Good morning." Shi Xu stepped forward and handed over the still-warm soy milk. "I bought too much. If you don't mind..."
Yunxi was clearly taken aback for a moment, his gaze lingering on Shixu's face for a brief instant before he suddenly smiled: "What a coincidence, I was just about to go buy breakfast."
This natural attitude surprised Shi Xu. He had imagined she would decline or show wariness, but he didn't expect her to accept it so readily.
They walked side by side toward the school. The morning sunlight filtered through the sycamore leaves, casting dappled shadows on the asphalt road.
"Are you at the No. 1 High School in the city?" Shi Xu asked casually.
"Yes, Class 3, Grade 11." Yunxi sipped her soy milk. "And you?"
"Class 1, Grade 12"
This was their first real conversation. In previous cycles, the gap in the clouds would have maintained a distance from him at this time.
As they reached the second traffic light intersection, Yunxi suddenly slowed her pace: "It might sound a little strange... but I dreamt about you last night."
Shi Xu's hand, gripping the soy milk cup, tightened slightly: "What did you dream about me about?"
“I don’t remember very clearly.” Yunxi frowned slightly. “I only remember you talking the whole time, but I couldn’t make out what you were saying. It seemed to be something very important…”
The traffic light turned from red to green. Shi Xu gazed at the profile of Yun Qu's face, sunlight dancing on her eyelashes. At that moment, he was absolutely certain—reincarnation was awakening deep within her memory.
This is not a simple sense of déjà vu, but a deeper imprint of those reset times.
During math class that afternoon, when Dang Xu was called to the blackboard to solve a problem, he noticed that Yun Xi was watching him intently. It wasn't just ordinary curiosity; it was a focused gaze, one that held a sense of inquiry.
When he finished solving the problem and returned to his seat, his phone vibrated.
Yunxi sent a message: "Have you used the second solution to this problem before?"
Shi Xu stared at the words, his blood slightly hot. The second solution to this problem was one he had created during his twenty-seventh playthrough to explain it to her. Logically speaking, it was impossible to have seen the Cloud Gap at this point in time.
He replied, "Why do you ask that?"
"I don't know, it just feels familiar," Yunxi replied quickly. "It's like I've seen you solve problems this way before."
When the school bell rang, the timeline had already been set. He could no longer passively wait for these fragments of memory to surface naturally. He needed to be more proactive in triggering and confirming them.
He waited at the school gate until the clouds parted.
"Go back together?" He tried to make his tone sound natural.
Yunxi looked at him and nodded: "Okay."
The setting sun cast long shadows of the two. Reaching the alleyway from yesterday, Shi Xu deliberately slowed his pace. Sure enough, Yun Xi subconsciously moved closer to the middle of the road—a physical memory formed after experiencing danger.
“You seem very wary of this alley,” Shi Xu said softly.
Yunxi paused, finding it strange herself: "Yeah... we've only been here for a short time."
Time seemed to stand still. The setting sun cast a perfect light, and he could clearly see the confusion flashing in the gaps in the clouds. Those memories, reset by reincarnation, were returning in an instinctive form.
Yunxi raised her head, her eyes meeting his, her gaze clear and knowing.
“I believe you,” she said softly, her tone as calm as stating a fact. “So, Chronology, how many times have you rehearsed this before our ‘first’ meeting?”
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