Qian Wei woke up to the jarring sound of a ringtone, her whole body aching. Groggily, she grabbed her phone and instinctively tried to swipe the touchscreen, only to fumble for a while before realizing the thing in her hand was an old-fashioned flip phone, the kind that had been popular a decade ago. If she’d still thought she might be dreaming at that point, the next moment—hearing Qian Chuan’s booming voice on the other end of the call—jolted her fully awake.
“Qian Chuan? When did you get back to the country??”
“Qian Wei, is your brain broken? What do you mean ‘back to the country’? I’m at the bottom of East Campus Men’s Dorm Building 2 right now. Get over here.”
East Campus Men’s Dorm Building 2?? Qian Wei was stunned for a while. She looked around—the room felt strange, yet not entirely unfamiliar. It was clearly a girls’ dormitory: two rows of bunk beds lined one side of the room, four beds total, and four desks lined the other side. She looked again, and the more she looked, the more familiar it seemed—and the colder the sweat on her back grew.
This—this was clearly her college dorm room! She pinched herself hard. It hurt! It really hurt! Qian Wei looked up at the calendar on the wall: September 12, 2009. It really was the year she was nineteen.
So she really had died! Qian Wei thought with anguish. If only she’d known that shabby little temple last night would actually work, she never would have jinxed herself by wishing to go back to being nineteen. Even if she hadn’t wished for something like “five hundred more wishes,” she could at least have wished to win the lottery! And to make matters worse, dying from falling into a construction pit was such a ridiculous way to go—couldn’t she at least have died more heroically, doing something brave, so she could get on TV as a “Model Citizen”?
“Qian Wei! I’ve told you a hundred times—put your phone on silent before you go to sleep!”
Qian Wei’s bed was on the bottom bunk; the complaint came from Liu Shiyun on the top bunk above her. Qian Wei could even hear her mutter and turn over, the bed frame creaking.
Well, Qian Wei thought with a spirit of resigned optimism, if she’d been reincarnated, she might as well make the best of it. Better than being completely dead, anyway!
September 12, 2009—the date grew clearer and clearer in her mind. Everything was exactly as it had been at nineteen: an ordinary morning, having forgotten to silence her phone the night before, and Qian Chuan’s call shattering her sleep.
Wait! Qian Chuan’s call! East Campus Men’s Dorm Building 2!
The pieces clicked into place in Qian Wei’s mind, and she was suddenly fully awake. Scrambling out of bed, she threw on some clothes, and just as she was about to rush out the door, a pale, slender hand shot out from the mosquito net on the top bunk and grabbed the hood of her jacket. Then a woman with disheveled hair, looking exactly like the ghost from The Ring, sat up from within the netting, holding out a potted cactus in her other hand.
“Qian Wei, are you heading downstairs? Take my cactus down to the first-floor terrace to get some sun, would you? Our dorm’s balcony gets no sunlight at all—even my cactus is about to die.”
September 2009, not long after the start of sophomore year, there had been an incident of a peeping tom sneaking into the girls’ dorm building next door in the middle of the night. Though he was caught in the act and fled before doing anything, everyone had been terrified for a while—some hid fruit knives under their pillows, others bought personal alarms. Liu Shiyun had taken a different approach entirely: she’d moved her cactus onto her bed, declaring that if any pervert got close, she could grab the pot and knock him out with it.
“And even if he escapes before I can bash him with the cactus, I can still identify him by the cactus spines stuck in his face and catch him that way!”
Qian Wei still remembered Liu Shiyun’s confident expression as she’d declared this. Except, a week had passed and the peeping tom never showed up again, while Liu Shiyun’s cactus had instead withered, its spines gone soft and drooping.
“Wait! I’ve got something urgent!”
Liu Shiyun still wouldn’t let go of the hood, and in her hurry, Qian Wei had no choice but to take the cactus pot and rush out of the dorm building with it in her arms.
She needed to get to East Campus Men’s Dorm Building 2 right away—Qian Chuan was there right now, about to fight Lu Xun! In her previous life, after being woken by Qian Chuan’s call, she hadn’t paid it any mind and had simply rolled over and gone back to sleep. By the time she woke up, Qian Chuan and Lu Xun had already gotten into a brutal fistfight in front of the dorm building, and the two of them had been enemies ever since—that was also where Qian Chuan had started dragging Qian Wei down the path of offending Lu Xun.
Now that heaven had given her a second chance at life, this time she was determined to seize it—and build a good relationship with her future boss!
Unfortunately, Qian Wei was still a step too slow. By the time she reached the men’s dorm building, Qian Chuan had already landed a punch square on Lu Xun’s face.
At nineteen, Lu Xun had a slender build, fair skin and red lips, and his features were as handsome as ever—his refined proportions were reminiscent of a young aristocrat from an old Republic-era wealthy household. His face had all the fresh, full bloom of youth, radiating a distinctive, pure beauty, and his well-proportioned face already showed the first traces of what would later become his ascetic, untouchable persona. That was the thing about Lu Xun—at every stage of his life you’d think you were seeing the peak of his looks, and every time, he’d shatter your expectations with his ever-more-striking, ever-more-commanding appearance, setting a new peak.
Unfortunately, this beautiful face had just been marred by one of Qian Chuan’s punches. Lu Xun’s left cheek was swollen and red, and the corner of his mouth was cut and bleeding.
He gently wiped the corner of his mouth, glanced down at the blood on his fingertip, and looked at Qian Chuan expressionlessly—calm, not the least bit angry—before slowly and unhurriedly beginning to roll up his sleeves, his movements still elegant.
Qian Chuan looked at Lu Xun triumphantly. “What’s wrong? Can’t fight back? You liberal arts guys are all weaklings.”
Only Qian Wei let out a cry of alarm. The calmer Lu Xun’s reaction, the more ruthless his retaliation would be. Only now did she understand why, in her previous life, Qian Chuan had been beaten half to death by Lu Xun right outside the men’s dorm—provocation of this degree was basically asking for it. Lu Xun was anything but weak; he’d been training in sanda since he was a boy…
“What are you staring at me for? If you’ve got the guts, come at me.”
Qian Chuan, still oblivious to the danger he was in, kept mouthing off. Qian Wei rushed forward and smacked him on the back of the head.
“Who’s that?!” Qian Chuan whipped around furiously, but upon seeing it was Qian Wei, his tone softened. “You finally came to cheer me on.”
Qian Chuan: ???
Hearing Qian Chuan’s voice, Lu Xun also turned his gaze toward Qian Wei. Quick as a flash, Qian Wei switched expressions with the speed of a Sichuan opera face-changer, plastering on a bright smile as she rushed forward and grabbed Lu Xun’s hand.
“Lu Xun! I’ve admired you for so long!”
Qian Chuan: ???
Lu Xun was so startled by this sudden turn of events that his hand momentarily stiffened, and he forgot to pull it away.
Qian Wei pressed on, undeterred. “Hi! I’m Qian Wei. I skip class a lot, so you might not remember me, but I’m in the law school too, and Qian Chuan’s twin sister—though I was only born one minute earlier, I’m still his big sister, and an older sister is like a mother, so let me apologize to him on his behalf! Please, for the sake of us both being law students, forgive him just this once! My brother here is in the athletics college, admitted as a special athletic recruit, you know how it is—athletics types, all brawn no brains—please don’t take it to heart.”
“Qian Wei! What are you saying? Is your head broken? Who’s all brawn no brains?!” Qian Chuan roared. “My fourth girlfriend just broke up with me because of this Lu Xun! Said she’d fallen for him, and you’re taking his side?”
Qian Wei glared at him. “Qian Chuan, how can you possibly pin this on Lu Xun no matter how you spin it? You’ve had four girlfriends who all fell for Lu Xun—first of all, you have no proof Lu Xun did anything to seduce them, and second, even if he were some kind of homewrecker, you should first take a hard look at your own issues. If you and your exes had truly been rock solid, would anyone have found an opening to exploit?”
Qian Chuan’s face twisted with fury and shock. “Qian Wei, you… you…”
“What me? Your exes broke up with you because you’re not as charming, knowledgeable, or cultured as Lu Xun. You should learn to grow from setbacks and toughen up through comparison! How could you go and hit a classmate who’s better than you?” After saying this, Qian Wei fawningly glanced at Lu Xun. “Lu Xun, is the cut on your lip serious? Should I take you to the campus clinic? Anything you need, just say the word!”
Lu Xun watched this whole scene unfold, his expression somewhere between amused and not, and looked at Qian Wei with a meaningful tone. “Are you going to let go of my hand?”
Only then did Qian Wei realize she was still tightly gripping Lu Xun’s hand. She laughed awkwardly and quickly let go. “I got a bit carried away with emotion there. Please accept my sincere apology!”
A second chance at life—this time, she would rewrite her fate! Not only must she avoid offending Lu Xun, she had to become his friend as soon as possible! Butter up her future boss! After all, future Lu Xun was basically a walking pile of cash, a wealth-scattering deity!
Lu Xun pointed at his injured lip, his voice icy. “Your brother beat me up like this, and you think a flimsy apology is enough for me to just forgive him? No further gesture of goodwill? If I recall correctly, page 23 of our school’s student handbook, Don’t Fall in Love With the Boss – Chapter 3, Section 10, states that hitting a fellow student results in a serious demerit and a deduction of 10 credits.”
Sweat beaded on Qian Wei’s forehead. She didn’t want to offend Lu Xun, but she couldn’t exactly throw her own brother under the bus either. With Qian Chuan’s already pathetic grades, losing 10 more credits would probably mean he wouldn’t have enough credits to graduate even by senior year…
Perhaps a person’s hidden potential surfaces most readily in a moment of desperation—Qian Wei suddenly remembered the cactus in her hand.
“Of course there’s a gesture! Here, take this!” Qian Wei said, solemnly shoving the potted cactus into Lu Xun’s hands. “A real man should be flexible, bear no grudges overnight.”
“So your gesture is giving me a potted cactus?” Lu Xun laughed coldly. “The symbolism of a cactus is resilience. Are you giving me this cactus so I can stay resilient after getting randomly punched by your brother?”
Qian Wei forced out an explanation. “A cactus is still a green plant, and green represents peace and friendship. And a cactus can survive even in the desert—the resilience symbolism is meant to express my hope that the peace and friendship between you and my brother can thrive just as vigorously as this cactus.”
Lu Xun studied the cactus for a moment, then smiled at Qian Wei. “Really? But this cactus of yours has spines that are already drooping—looks like it’ll be dead within days. I imagine the peace and friendship between me and your brother is headed for the same fate, and just as soon.”
“…” Qian Wei wanted to cry. “Can I just apologize on Qian Chuan’s behalf and call it even?”
“My face is bruised. An apology settles it?”
“Then tell me what to do so you and Qian Chuan can make peace! Whatever compensation you name, I’ll make sure it happens!” Qian Wei groveled. “Besides, you’ve always been the role model I aspire to. Qian Chuan hit you—even though you’re the one who got hurt, it pains my heart too. Who could bear to watch their idol get beaten? You’re the pride of our law school! Even if you’re magnanimous enough to forgive Qian Chuan, I won’t forgive him—I’ll definitely go home and straighten him out myself!”
Lu Xun glanced lightly at Qian Chuan, who stood nearby grinding his teeth. “In that case, I won’t pursue this further.” He turned back to Qian Wei. “As for compensation—I’ll let you know once I’ve thought of something.”