For the past two months, Lin Ran had rarely dreamed of anything from his previous life. Even when he did, it was always about the fire.
But tonight, a different scene appeared in his dreams.
In front of a villa reduced to ruins, someone knelt on the ground in defeat, their face obscured by thick smoke.
The figure was thin and frail.
Lin Ran instinctively thought, This isn’t Lin Yanyan.
The scene shifted.
The ruins and flames vanished.
Suddenly, it began to rain in the dream, and the setting changed to a cemetery.
The soft drizzle made the scene hazy and surreal, as though Lin Ran were watching through a glass orb. The figures in front of him stretched and warped, their outlines distorted and strange.
This time, Lin Ran saw Lin Yanyan—but it wasn’t just Lin Yanyan. There was more.
Next to Lin Yanyan stood a woman.
Lin Ran tried to get a clearer look at her face, but in the end, he could only make out part of it.
The woman had short hair.
…
*Knock, knock.*
The sound of knocking—neither too light nor too heavy—pulled Lin Ran out of his surreal dream. He rubbed his temples in exhaustion, the vivid images from his dream still fresh in his mind. For a moment, he couldn’t tell if he was awake or still dreaming.
After gathering himself, he glanced at the clock by his bed.
10:30 AM.
He had slept for a long time.
Lin Ran grabbed the clothes by his bedside, threw them on, and headed for the door.
When he opened it, Sheng Qingxi stood there wearing his oversized T-shirt, cradling his black cat in her arms. Her bright, clear eyes focused on his face. After studying him for a moment, she said, “Lin Ran, you’ve grown a beard.”
Lin Ran’s gaze flickered over Sheng Qingxi’s long hair before he suppressed the mess of thoughts swirling inside him. With a hoarse laugh, he asked, “Do you want to touch it?”
The girl in front of him seemed to seriously consider the offer for a second before shaking her head. “No. Hurry up and get out of bed. Yanyan is hungry, and she said you told Aunt Chen not to come and cook?”
Lin Ran reached out and gently ruffled her hair, explaining softly, “I wouldn’t dare not listen to you. I just told her to take a couple of days off because I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable seeing her.”
Sheng Qingxi stroked the cat in her arms, staying quiet for a moment. Then, with her head lowered, she finally murmured, “Lin Ran, I’m sorry. There are some things I can’t explain to you right now. I… I really am sorry.”
Lin Ran stared at Sheng Qingxi’s bowed head for a moment before suddenly pulling her into his embrace.
He knew what was weighing on her mind. He had a similar feeling himself—since his rebirth, many things had changed, but there was no one to take responsibility for those shifts in fate.
Often, life is just a matter of a single thought, a fleeting moment.
Lin Ran smiled as he patted her head, coaxing softly, “No matter what happens, my Xiao Xi will always protect me, right?”
Sheng Qingxi nestled closer to his chest, her ear pressed to his heartbeat. After a long while, she quietly responded, “Yes, I’ll protect you. Don’t be afraid.”
Lin Ran, don’t be afraid.
She had said those same words to him half a year ago at the auto shop.
But now, early in the morning, Lin Ran found it hard to hold her for too long. After a moment, he let go, stretching lazily. “Go downstairs and wait. Brother will be down soon to make you both breakfast.”
Sheng Qingxi mumbled, “I told you, you’re not my brother.”
Lin Ran chuckled. “If you keep saying that, I’ll kiss you.”
Sheng Qingxi: “…”
Lin Ran was so annoying.
.
September had just begun, and the first day of school at No. 1 High was approaching.
On the morning of tuition day, the atmosphere was lively as students felt free to chat loudly in their classrooms. The senior students had moved into new classrooms since the incoming second years had two additional classes, pushing Class Five and Class Six to the fifth floor.
This left Lin Ran inexplicably upset, as he and Sheng Qingxi were now separated by an entire floor. Even though it was a minor issue, to Lin Ran, even a meter of distance from his “Xiao Xi” felt too far.
Xie Zhen glanced at Lin Ran, who was lying on the desk sulking, and muttered, “What’s he upset about now?”
He Mo rolled his eyes. “He’s just being dramatic, what else could it be?”
Upstairs and downstairs, Lin Ran was acting as if it were a long-distance relationship. If that wasn’t being dramatic, then what was?
Xie Zhen couldn’t understand it no matter how hard he thought. He nudged He Mo and asked, “Hey Mo, what do you think the deal is between the goddess and Brother Ran? It feels like they’re together, but at the same time, not really. Has Ran even properly confessed to her yet? Because knowing him, if he had, he’d be bragging about being her boyfriend by now.”
He Mo glanced at Lin Ran and whispered, “Didn’t you hear Brother Ran say? He’s focusing on studying hard and aiming to improve this year. By the way, do you remember the bet we made about the first monthly exam?”
Xie Zhen froze. “Oh crap, the ‘call me daddy’ bet!”
He Mo patted his shoulder. “I think we’re all going to lose to Brother Ran.”
Xie Zhen shoved his bag of chips under the desk and put on a serious face. “No way! We need to make sure Ran doesn’t cheat. He’s getting tutoring from the top student in the grade, so he’s already starting from a different level than us!”
He Mo thought about it and realized Xie Zhen was onto something. Leaning closer to him, he said, “Ah Zhen, Sheng Qingxi is already tutoring him, so adding us two wouldn’t make much of a difference. What do you think?”
Xie Zhen nodded. “If she’s tutoring one, she might as well tutor three.”
The two of them huddled together, planning to sneak off at lunchtime to ask Sheng Qingxi if she’d agree to tutor them too. As long as she said yes, Lin Ran wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
Meanwhile, Lin Ran, who had been dozing off at his desk, had no idea what the two were plotting.
After about half an hour, their homeroom teacher, Mr. Qu, entered the classroom, carrying a stack of documents. Anyone could tell that Mr. Qu was in a good mood today. His face was beaming with pride, and he was even humming a little tune as he walked in.
Once inside, Mr. Qu glanced around at his little troublemakers. Before he’d even finished looking, he laughed and said, “It’s only been a week since I last saw you, and you’ve all gotten a bit darker. I bet none of you did your homework, spending all your time playing, right?”
After chatting with the students for a bit, Mr. Qu got down to business.
His expression turned serious as he said, “The fire incident during the summer break was quite severe. The principal has been temporarily suspended, all staff bonuses have been deducted, and the students involved have been given warnings.”
Mr. Qu spent about half an hour discussing the fire incident before his tone softened. “One more thing—our class will be welcoming a new student.”
As soon as he said that, the previously quiet Class One burst into lively chatter.
Everyone started speculating about the new student, with the main focus being whether the student was a boy or a girl. As they talked, they realized no one had any information about the transfer student.
One curious student couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Qu! Where’s the new student transferring from?”
Mr. Qu paused dramatically, letting the suspense build, before casually answering, “From another class.”
“Ugh, boring.”
“That’s so dull.”
“Well, that’s disappointing.”
“Why transfer classes in senior year anyway?”
Xie Zhen and He Mo also huddled together, whispering to each other.
“Who’s got the guts to transfer into Class One? I bet it’s a guy, not afraid of Brother Ran.”
“A girl could be unafraid of him too, you know.”
“Yeah, but I think there aren’t many. Brother Ran used to fight so fiercely in the past two years, a lot of people are scared of him.”
“Either way, it’s weird to transfer now, in senior year.”
The students’ murmuring grew louder, and Mr. Qu coughed twice to regain control of the room. He turned toward the door and waved to the well-behaved girl waiting outside, smiling warmly, “Sheng Qingxi, come in. Don’t be afraid.”
All eyes followed Mr. Qu’s gesture toward the doorway.
Three seconds later.
A chorus of shocked exclamations, “Whoa!”, erupted from the students, and almost everyone turned to look at Lin Ran.
Meanwhile, the man of the hour, Lin Ran, was still lying on his desk, sound asleep.
Xie Zhen stared at Sheng Qingxi standing at the podium and swallowed nervously. He muttered, “Mozi, do you think Brother Ran knows about this?”
He Mo’s expression was stiff as he glanced at the oblivious Lin Ran. “I don’t think he knows. If he did, how could he possibly be sleeping right now?”
On the podium, Sheng Qingxi had finished her brief self-introduction. She sneaked a glance in Lin Ran’s direction, relieved to see him still asleep. She had been worried that Lin Ran might blurt out something embarrassing in front of everyone.
Something like—
“Come sit next to your brother.”
“Doing sneaky things behind my back, not being good.”
After Sheng Qingxi’s introduction, the students were unsure whether to clap, but many continued sneaking glances at Lin Ran.
Mr. Qu huffed internally.
That rascal.
Mr. Qu scanned the classroom, and as luck would have it, the only open seat was right next to Lin Ran. He knew Lin Ran would be overjoyed if Sheng Qingxi sat there, but only if the girl was willing.
Testing the waters, Mr. Qu asked, “Sheng Qingxi, how’s your eyesight?”
Sheng Qingxi smiled softly, “Teacher, my eyesight is perfect.”
Smart girl.
Mr. Qu could tell from her smile that she got the hint.
Pointing to the empty seat beside Lin Ran, Mr. Qu said, “Why don’t you sit there for now? I’ll look for a more suitable seat for you later. If it doesn’t work out, just let me know. It’s no problem.”
Sheng Qingxi nodded and, clutching her books, walked toward Lin Ran’s seat, fully aware of the curious gazes following her.
The seat next to Lin Ran had unofficially been his domain for the past two years. As a result, it was piled high with random books, notebooks, water bottles, chewing gum, and other knick-knacks.
When Sheng Qingxi reached his side, she had no intention of waking him up. She placed her bag and books to the side and started tidying the desk.
Seeing this, He Mo and Xie Zhen sprang into action. They couldn’t let Sheng Qingxi do it herself, so they hurriedly stuffed all the clutter from the empty desk into their own, without bothering to check whether it was useful or not. They figured they could sort it out once Lin Ran woke up.
The new classroom had just been cleaned, so the desk itself was spotless.
After Sheng Qingxi placed her bag and books neatly, she quietly went about her tasks.
As a result, Lin Ran remained asleep throughout the entire morning of the first day back to school.
It wasn’t until near noon that Lin Ran woke from his sleep. He slowly stretched as he lifted himself off the desk. But halfway through his stretch, he froze.
Because the desk that had always been his was now filled with someone else’s things.
Neat, organized textbooks, a pale pink pen?
On the first day of school, there was suddenly a girl sitting next to him?
Without giving it much thought, Lin Ran frowned.
Before he could get angry, He Mo hurriedly explained, “Brother Ran, don’t get upset. Take a closer look at whose stuff it is.”
Still frowning, Lin Ran reluctantly glanced over the desk, and then he saw it—Sheng Qingxi’s water bottle. The familiar blue and white bottle with a big duck on it.
Lin Ran: ?
So not only was there a girl sitting next to him, but a thief?
When his gaze landed on the backpack, he got even more upset.
Did she steal that too?
But before he could react further, a soft, gentle voice whispered in his ear, confirming the wild guess he had been hesitant to believe.
“Lin Ran, what are you looking at?”
Lin Ran turned his head, dumbfounded.
Standing there, with her ponytail swaying, was a girl in a blue-and-white school uniform. Her delicate neck led up to a fair, beautiful face, and her clear eyes, glimmering with a hint of amusement, were looking right at him.
It was his Xiao Xi—Sheng Qingxi.
For a moment, Lin Ran’s mind went completely blank. He stammered, “Sheng Qingxi, I… I didn’t make it into the top 50. How… how are you here?”
Sheng Qingxi leaned in slightly, raising her hand to gently tap his forehead.
His dark eyes were shining with surprise as she softly replied, “I know. Right after the finals, I spoke to Teacher Jiang about it. Lin Ran, this isn’t about what rank you got. I just wanted to do this.”
Suddenly, everything made sense—Jiang Mingyuan’s attitude during the summer, and Mr. Qu’s knowing smiles.
Lin Ran understood it all now.
For a while, he couldn’t say anything, just stared blankly at Sheng Qingxi.
His heart felt both warm and burning, as if Sheng Qingxi was holding him carefully, making sure he wouldn’t break.
After a long silence, Lin Ran finally smiled. His usual cocky and bold tone returned as he chuckled, “So you like your brother this much, huh? Following me all the way here.”
From the side, He Mo and Xie Zhen, who were eavesdropping, thought: “…”
Who are these people?
Is there no limit to shamelessness?
At first, Sheng Qingxi didn’t know how to respond to such remarks from Lin Ran, but now she was starting to get used to it. She nodded, throwing a direct response back at him: “Yes, I like you just like that.”
Lin Ran: “…”
Damn, how was he supposed to respond to that?
Eavesdropping He Mo and Xie Zhen: “…”
Damn, they felt like they were intruding.
Lin Ran held his breath, unable to come up with a response.
Sheng Qingxi smiled. “Hello, my new deskmate.”
Lin Ran didn’t need to look in the mirror to know that his ears were probably bright red. He fidgeted awkwardly for a moment before trying to change the subject. “Shall we go get lunch?”
Sheng Qingxi glanced at the time and nodded, “I need to pick up my uniform first. Last term they didn’t have my size. The one I’m wearing is a bit too big, but they have new uniforms this time.”
Without hesitation, Lin Ran stood up. “I’ll go with you.”
Sheng Qingxi blinked and pointed to the stack of books on her desk. “We received a lot of new books today, and I haven’t written my name in them yet. Could you help me with that?”
Lin Ran: “…”
Every time she asked for help, her reasons were always so straightforward, yet he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
Lin Ran snorted lightly, “It’s just a short walk, what’s the harm in me going with you?”
Sheng Qingxi smiled softly. “Be good and wait for me here.”
Lin Ran sighed, resigned to his fate. He picked up the pen, looking at her as he spoke with a lazy chuckle, “How can I ignore an order from my commanding officer? I’ll be good and write it.”
Sheng Qingxi patted his head and walked away.
He Mo and Xie Zhen: “…”
Yeah, they’d better go get lunch. They were definitely not needed here.
Ten minutes later.
Lin Ran had finished writing Sheng Qingxi’s name in all her books. Bored of waiting inside, he stepped out into the hallway to wait for her, hoping to catch a glimpse of her as soon as she returned.
It didn’t take long before Sheng Qingxi appeared downstairs, carrying her new uniform and walking toward the teaching building.
But before the smile on Lin Ran’s face could fully form, it vanished without a trace.
Downstairs.
Sheng Qingxi stood frozen, staring at the boy who had suddenly appeared in front of her.
The boy had his head bowed, but his hand was outstretched, holding a letter. His voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout the entire building. “Senior, I’m Ding Minghui from Class Five of Year One. I’ve fallen in love with you at first sight!”
Sheng Qingxi: “…”
Lin Ran: ?
He was going to kill someone.