Chapter One: Reborn in the Year 2000

“Mr. Chen, are you certain you want to proceed with the injection?”

Beijing Third Hospital.

In the VIP ward for critical patients, several experts in white coats gathered around the bedside.

The middle-aged man lying there was pale, his breathing barely perceptible. Hearing the doctor's words, Chen Fan struggled to open his eyes.

His voice, muffled by the oxygen mask, drifted faintly.

“How long… will it take?”

The experts hesitated briefly before explaining.

“Generally, if euthanasia is administered, it’s quite swift. It will only take a few minutes.”

“Give me ten more minutes,” Chen Fan replied, turning to his assistant.

“Xiao Cai, how are the arrangements I asked you to make?”

His assistant, eyes reddened, stepped forward and answered respectfully, “Mr. Chen, everything has been handled as you instructed.”

“We’ve used your shares in the company to establish a children’s charity fund, per your will. Moreover, all your personal assets have been donated to charity.”

“There’s also… your ex-wife has been causing trouble these past few days, insisting on taking you to court to reclaim what she claims is hers.”

Chen Fan’s expression remained unmoved.

“How much does she want?”

“Eighty billion, plus ten apartments in Beijing.”

“So bold,” a faint trace of sarcasm flickered across Chen Fan’s face.

Back when he was just a small-time businessman, facing a major crisis, this wife—who once vowed to stand by him—was the first to betray him. Not only did she stab him in the back with outsiders, she also divorced him and took half his assets, nearly bankrupting him.

A ruthless woman.

“Mr. Chen, rest assured, the company’s legal team will handle it,” said the assistant.

Chen Fan nodded, slowly closing his eyes.

“I’m tired.”

He then reached beneath his pillow, struggling to retrieve a slightly rusted tin box, holding it solemnly to his chest.

The assistant’s eyes flickered upon witnessing this scene.

As Chen Fan’s assistant, he was familiar with the box. With Mr. Chen’s wealth, he could buy any treasure he desired, yet he cherished this humble object above all.

Whenever the company faced tough times, Mr. Chen would take out the box and gently polish it, as though it held a priceless relic.

Afterwards, he would stride from his office, his confidence and authority restored, leading the company onward through adversity.

Now, as Mr. Chen’s end approached—having donated assets worth billions—he still clung tightly to this tin box.

The assistant couldn’t help but wonder.

What on earth was inside?

“Doctor, I’m ready.”

“Please begin.”

With his eyes closed, Chen Fan spoke calmly.

As the transparent liquid entered his body, he felt, for a moment, as if his soul had left him.

He became impossibly light.

He saw the tin box in his arms, and a wistful smile appeared on his face.

Inside was not some rare treasure, but a simple red string bracelet.

A token of love from a girl who once cared for him deeply.

Su Ruochu.

Chen Fan’s deskmate in high school.

Later, his girlfriend.

She was gentle as water, graceful as an orchid.

That girl who endured hardship by his side, never abandoning him.

Chen Fan once promised to give Su Ruochu a grand wedding once he succeeded in his business.

But fate played a cruel trick.

One morning, while fetching breakfast for Chen Fan, Su Ruochu lost her life in a car accident.

Afterwards, his business flourished, women of all kinds came and went.

Yet he grew ever lonelier.

Perhaps his soul had left with Ruochu long ago.

His consciousness grew hazy.

Was he dying?

Chen Fan desperately tried to recall Su Ruochu’s face in his mind.

Just as his awareness faded completely.

He seemed to see a ray of light…

Ruochu.

If there is a next life, I wish to walk with you and witness the splendor of the stars, the beauty of the world!

…

“Class, make a note of question six on page three of your test papers.”

“It’s a must-test. It wasn’t on last year’s exam, so this year it’s guaranteed.”

“Don’t let those free five points slip away!”

The sound of papers rustling filled the air.

“Chen Fan, wake up…”

A clear, gentle voice rang in his ear.

So familiar.

Chen Fan suddenly opened his eyes.

And saw a delicate, oval face with lively, expressive eyes and the grace of an orchid.

“Su Ruochu!”

Startled, Chen Fan sat upright.

“Am I dreaming?”

Overcome with emotion, he reached out and pinched her smooth, jade-like cheek.

“What are you doing?”

Su Ruochu’s cheeks flushed instantly. She pushed Chen Fan away, nervously glancing up at the teacher’s podium.

“It’s real! It’s actually real!” Chen Fan could hardly contain his excitement, scanning the room.

He saw rows of youthful, familiar faces.

Desks and chairs lined up, thick textbooks and exam papers.

The ceiling fan spinning overhead, the stifling air, the glaring sunlight outside the window and the chorus of cicadas…

On the right edge of the blackboard, a line of small characters was written:

“36 days until the 2000 college entrance exam.”

Chen Fan’s mouth dropped open, stunned.

“The 2000 college entrance exam?”

“So I’ve been reborn to my final year of high school?”

“Did heaven really hear my prayer?”

Filled with excitement, Chen Fan grabbed Su Ruochu beside him and pulled her into his arms.

“This is wonderful! I finally get to see you again.”

“Ruochu, this time I’ll never let you leave me.”

With that, he pressed her smiling face and kissed her hard.

“Ah…”

Su Ruochu squealed.

The whole class erupted.

“Whoa, Chen Fan’s gone mad—he actually kissed the class monitor!”

“Did he just wake up confused?”

“Chen Fan!”

Bang!

The homeroom teacher, Wang Qiming, who was in the middle of his lecture, roared in anger.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Under the gaze of the entire class, Su Ruochu’s face turned crimson. She shoved Chen Fan away and buried her face in her desk.

Chen Fan, still excited, looked at the teacher across from him.

“Mr. Wang, you’re alive, too!”

Mr. Wang: “…”

“Haha…”

The class burst into laughter.

“You… Get out of my classroom!”

Wang Qiming shouted furiously.

Chen Fan scratched his head, sheepishly stood up, and as he walked out, he whispered to Su Ruochu.

“Sweetheart, wait for me after school, I’ll walk you home!”

Amidst the laughter of his classmates, Chen Fan left the classroom and stepped out onto the corridor.

But having been reborn, he wasn’t going to foolishly stand there and be punished.

Instead, he quickly ran downstairs to the school convenience store.

“Boss, give me a pack of Whisper pads. The ones with wings.”

“Go away, which class are you from, coming here to mess around?” the shopkeeper’s wife waved him off.

Chen Fan hurriedly replied, “I’m from Senior Three, Class Seven. Our homeroom teacher sent me.”

Hearing this, the shopkeeper’s wife handed him a pack of sanitary pads and tossed it onto the counter.

“Three fifty.”

Chen Fan paid from his pocket, grabbed the pads, and dashed off.

“Thank you, boss!”

Watching Chen Fan’s retreating figure, the shopkeeper’s wife muttered,

“Senior Three, Class Seven… Isn’t the homeroom teacher Wang Qiming?”

“What’s a grown man doing buying these?”