Chapter 21
Lin Li remained absent-minded throughout the subsequent classes.
His pen moved back and forth across the textbook as he struggled with whether or not he should tell Tang Li about his rebirth.
Even though Tong Yao glanced at him several times, he didn't notice.
I felt a light tap on my back.
Lin Li turned his head, and a folded square piece of paper was handed to him from the back row. He looked up and saw Li Jiahao winking at him.
...Why do you have to pass notes even when you're this far apart?
He unfolded the note; it contained a line of familiar handwriting:
"My mom finally returned your novel to me. You can have it after class."
novel?
Lin Li paused for a moment before recalling this old incident from her memory—the novels she had lent to Li Jiahao in her previous life had all been confiscated by their homeroom teacher and given to his parents. She never expected that they would return to him after so long.
He turned around and gave an "OK" sign, only to run into the gaze of his Chinese teacher, Ms. Fu.
"Lin Li, go stand at the back."
So, before get out of class even ended, Lin Li had already obtained the "evidence" of the crime.
He leaned against the back wall of the classroom, and Li Jiahao took the opportunity to pull a book out of his drawer and hand it to him. When his eyes fell on the cover of the top book, Lin Li froze.
"Back to 1998"... It's this book.
He was obsessed with male-oriented novels in junior high school, but he borrowed them before finishing them and never found them again.
He casually flipped through a few pages. The story is about a successful man who is reborn in 1998 and uses his precognitive abilities to make up for his regrets and build a business empire.
The novel started in a school setting and later moved to the city. It was still quite novel a few years ago, but this kind of story has been overused. Lin Li has forgotten the content of the novel, but he can guess the plot with his toes.
Of course, as boring as it was, he found himself engrossed in it without even realizing it.
This appearance makes one imagine the Lin Li of the past.
---
When Tong Yao returned to her seat from outside, she saw Lin Li slumped over her desk, her fingertips pressing on the pages of her book, her expression focused.
She pursed her lips and sat down quietly.
At that moment, Lin Li was reading a key plot point.
The male and female protagonists' relationship quickly heats up, and in the rented apartment... they do bad things.
Lin Li had originally intended to learn some "rebirth experience" from the book, but he didn't expect to come across this passage. He subconsciously sat up straight, changed his posture, and felt his ears burning.
This author... has improved their writing style.
"You read this kind of book at school?"
The sudden sound beside him startled him. Lin Li slammed the book shut, instinctively covering the cover: "This is not suitable for children, you're not allowed to look!"
Tong Yao was silent for a few seconds, then said softly, "Lin Li, I thought you would have made some progress as you grew up."
"Ring ring—"
The school bell rang, and Lin Li breathed a sigh of relief, stuffing the book into her drawer: "I'm not going to read it anymore, it's just... and it's a legitimately published book."
Tong Yao, however, did not let him off the hook.
"Reading this kind of book, it seems you're really alright."
Lin Li froze, his face instantly burning red. He grabbed his backpack and held it to his lap—
She actually... What on earth did she search for that day?!
"I...you..." He stammered for a long time before a thought finally struck him, "Didn't someone say that we're just ordinary classmates?"
He put down his backpack, propped his chin on his hand, tilted his head to look at her, and deliberately dragged out his words:
"So even the class monitor cares about the health and well-being of an ordinary classmate."
Sure enough, this remark elicited an expression from Tong Yao.
"I wasn't—"
"Shh," Lin Li didn't give her a chance to explain, "I understand. So... what kind of relationship do we have now?"
He stared intently at her, demanding an answer.
Tong Yao felt uncomfortable under his gaze and whispered, "...Friend."
Lin Li nodded as if suddenly realizing something: "Oh—just ordinary friends, right?"
His eyes lit up: "Have you ever heard a song like this?"
Tong Yao shook her head.
“Then I’ll sing for you,” he hummed in a low voice, “I can’t… we’re just friends—”
"Singing during class!"
Teacher Liu, who came in from the door, interrupted his impromptu performance.
"Since you love singing so much, come up and sing a song for everyone."
"Huh?" Lin Li immediately chickened out. "Forget it..."
The teacher ignored him, walked to the podium, and turned on the interactive whiteboard:
What song were you singing just now?
"Ordinary Friends!" Before Lin Li could answer, the surrounding classmates cheered in unison.
In the end, Lin Li was pushed onto the podium amidst applause from the whole class.
The R&B intro flowed through the classroom as he held the microphone of the little bee, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over Tong Yao.
"Waiting—I'm always waiting!"
...
“I’m willing to change and start over; I can’t just be ordinary friends, our feelings are so deep, how can I let go.”
When the song ended, applause erupted in the classroom. Lin Li smiled and put down the microphone.
He's always been a good singer. But now, after finishing this song, he suddenly understood—how to explain to Tang Yue, and how to face his own feelings.
When he returned to his seat, he noticed the smile that Tong Yao hadn't yet managed to hide from her lips.
He looked at her and mouthed the words silently:
I can't just be an ordinary friend.
---
After school, at the arcade.
Lin Li watched Tang Yue struggling with the coin pusher and took a deep breath:
"You probably guessed it already, right?"
Tang Yue slowed down her coin-inserting motion.
"Really?" She didn't turn around.
"real."
"Clatter—" Tang Yue pressed the coin return button, scooped the game tokens into her pocket, and slung her backpack over her shoulder:
"Then let's go."
The two walked out of the noisy arcade, their shadows stretched long by the setting sun.
"How old are you now, Lin Li?"
"18 years old."
Tang Yue suddenly realized: "No wonder he's still so childish."
"What high school will we go to in the future? Will we still be friends?"
Lin Li smiled and shook her head: "That's a long story..."
To make a long story short...
"After the high school entrance exam, I went to Yucheng, while you stayed in our hometown. We've always been friends, and also..."
He mentioned some fragments related to Tang Yue from the next few years, concealing the fact that he died at the age of 18 and had undergone gender reassignment surgery.
Tang Yue listened quietly, and this unusual silence made Lin Li feel a little uncomfortable.
Until she suddenly asked:
"So, did you manage to win Tong Yao's heart?"
Lin Li fell silent.
"……No."
Tang Yue stopped and turned around, her gaze seemingly piercing through him:
“I understand,” she said firmly. “You came back for her, didn’t you?”
In that instant, Lin Li seemed to see the scene he had seen before his rebirth again—Tong Yao and a strange man sitting at a dining table, discussing their marriage.
"Right?" he heard himself reply dryly.
Actually, that's not entirely true. More than that, it's about his own unwillingness to accept defeat.
"Wow—" Tang Yue drawled, her eyes lighting up, "So romantic?"
She turned around excitedly and clapped her hands:
"I've made up my mind! I'll be the one to bring you two together!"
"You?" Lin Li chuckled. "You've been single since birth until adulthood, and you still want to be my strategist?"
"What do you know? I'd rather have nothing than something bad!"
When they parted, Tang Yue solemnly said to him:
"Lin Li, being reborn means naturally making up for regrets."
---
Back home, Lin Li held her phone and opened a chat window.
Spicy Spicy Spicy: Why didn't you take the bus today?
There was a moment of silence before a reply popped up.
T: When are you going to return my coat?
She avoided his question.
The jacket? Lin Li then remembered that Tong Yao's school uniform jacket was still hanging on the balcony.
Spicy, spicy, spicy: I'll bring it to you tomorrow.
Seeing that she was unwilling to answer, he changed his approach and pressed her for an answer:
Lala: So, will you still take the bus to school in the future?
T: There's only one month left until the physical exam, so I'm planning to try morning runs.
Spicy spicy: What does that mean?
T: So I haven't been taking the car lately.
Spicy Spicy: Okay.
He wanted to say something more, but Tong Yao's profile picture went dark.
He then opened another dialog box.
Spicy Spicy Spicy: What a pity! My plan to pick up girls on the bus has fallen through.
Strategist: ?
Spicy, spicy, spicy: Tong Yao has started running to school.
Strategist: It's simple, just follow along!
Spicy Spicy Spicy: You know I'm not good at running.
Advisor: I remember that Yucheng Experimental Middle School requires out-of-town students to have excellent grades in all subjects, right? Physical education counts too!
Lin Li's heart skipped a beat.
Spicy spicy: ? ? ? Sports count too! ?
He panicked instantly. He always remembered that he needed to get all A's to get into Yucheng Experimental Middle School, but he completely forgot that physical education was one of the subjects.
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