At seven a.m., Li Mu's parents roused him from bed.
He'd coded until 5 p.m. the prior day, completing roughly 50% of Stone Age Overlord. After dinner, he'd collapsed into dreamless sleep. Youthful resilience revived him fully—no trace of his future corporate burnout lingered.
By 8:50 a.m., he arrived at Haizhou No. 1 High via bus. Chen Wan's flashy mountain bike stayed home; drawing attention wasn't today's goal.
Class 3-7 buzzed as he entered. Whispers erupted—this wasn't the bowl-cut Li Mu they knew. The boy who'd slouched through three years now stood tall, jawline sharp, hair styled with rebellious precision. Girls giggled; boys scowled.
Li Mu ignored the stares. His eyes swept the room, hunting one figure.
Su Yingxue.
The class belle occupied her usual center seat—ponytail cascading over a simple dress, purity radiating like winter's first snow. Even through thirty-year-old eyes, she stunned. No Instagram filters, no contouring. Just eighteen, untainted, holy.
Memories flooded: crumpled love letters buried in his backpack, shredded in shame. A lifetime ago.
Their gazes collided.
Past Li Mu would've flinched. Today's Li Mu held firm, admiration undisguised. Su Yingxue blinked first, lashes fluttering down.
Peach blossoms, radiant and resplendent. The ancient verse flickered through his mind.
In their original timeline, Su had soared to Renmin University, then Wharton—leaving Li Mu stranded in Beijing's tech grind. By 2013, she'd married a gay American designer, trading romance for boardroom conquests. A queen of her own making.
"Seat's here, Romeo." A jab to his ribs. Hu Guoran, his desk-mate-slash-sarcasm-broker, smirked. "New 'do? Trying to impress someone?"
Li Mu dropped beside him. "Says the guy with a face made for radio."
Hu stroked his horse-like jaw. "Fair. Scores?"
"Solid. You?"
"First-tier lock. Join me at Provincial Tech?"
Li Mu's gaze drifted back to Su.
Hu snorted. "Give up. She's Renmin-bound. We're small-town fish."
"Says who?" Li Mu slammed the desk. "If I nail 130 in English, Renmin's doable!"
The class erupted in laughter.
Li Mu—the boy who'd struggled to break 90—aiming for 130? Delusional.
Amid the jeers, Su Yingxue alone stayed silent. She turned slightly, profile unreadable.