After Being Reborn, I Had A Bad Ending With My First Love. - Chapter 14

The system never answered Yan Sui’s question. Its voice vanished from her mind as if it had crashed.

She found its reaction a little funny. Even without the system’s reply, she vaguely had an answer in her heart.

Because of this small episode, the anxious tension she had felt about the unanswered mystery surrounding Yu Shuli eased quite a bit.

When she returned to the stands where her class was resting, Chen Ling was already leaning over the railing, shouting for the classmates who were sprinting around the track.

Seeing Yan Sui, Chen Ling hurried over and grabbed her arm. “Come on, cheer with me!”

Yan Sui let herself be pulled to the railing. “Who are we cheering for now?”

“Jiang Luonan! He’s in first place right now—see?”

In the four-hundred-meter race, their classmate Jiang Luonan was running in first place for his heat.

Yan Sui wasn’t the outgoing type. Standing right up front with classmates crowded behind her, she couldn’t bring herself to wave her arms and shout like Chen Ling. She only dared to cup her hands over her mouth and call out a few quiet “Go for it!” toward the track.

The heat ended quickly, and Jiang Luonan finished first.

Chen Ling shrieked in excitement.

But even more delighted than her was the P.E. committee member, who had been watching all of their class’s events from the sidelines.

He couldn’t wait to turn around and share the latest points tally with Chen Ling, saying, “With Jiang Luonan taking first in his heat, I think he’s got a real shot at the finals.”

“They’ll be announcing the finalists for the four-hundred later when they dismiss us, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll keep an ear out for it.”

After exchanging notes on the race, Chen Ling looped her arm through Yan Sui’s. “I didn’t get the chance to ask earlier—didn’t you go to watch your friend’s race? Weren’t you supposed to have lunch with her?”

Yan Sui said, “Someone in her class got hurt. She’s the class life rep, so she went to get a teacher.”

“Hurt? Was that the one who fell in the hundred meters just now?”

Yan Sui thought back to the race Yu Shuli had run, not entirely sure. “Maybe? I don’t know.”

“I was over by the hundred-meter finish line with Wen Qingman when it happened. I saw someone go down right as they crossed. Their face was covered in bl00d. Their classmates helped them straight to the infirmary.”

From the timing, Yan Sui guessed that person was probably Yu Shuli. “Then it should’ve been him.”

“When they walked past us, I overheard his classmate ask why he fell. He actually said he zoned out.” Chen Ling clicked her tongue. “Zoning out while running? No wonder he ate it—looked pretty bad too.”

Chen Ling kept chatting, not noticing the shift in Yan Sui’s expression.

Thinking back to what Yu Shuli had done before the race, Yan Sui’s thoughts stumbled for a beat. She muttered softly, “Yeah… zoning out while running…”

“The following is the finalist list for the boys’ four-hundred-meter race. First place, Chen Lei from Science Class Three. Second place, Chen Sheng from Arts Class Five. Third place… Seventh place, Jiang Luonan from Arts Class One.”

Hearing their classmate’s name as hoped, sports rep Qin Yuanjia let out a long sigh of relief.

Standing behind him, Yan Sui noticed his shoulders relax and stepped forward. “Qin Yuanjia.”

He turned. “What’s up, Sui?”

“…”

She choked on his casual, overly familiar address, but since he was in a good mood and she had something to ask, she let it slide.

“I want to ask you something.”

“What’s up?”

Yan Sui lowered her gaze, weighing her words. “Do you know Yu Shuli?”

Qin Yuanjia grinned instantly. “Sure do! He’s in Science Class One. We play ball together all the time.”

Then, squinting playfully, he leaned closer. “Why’d you suddenly ask about him? Interested?”

Yan Sui kept a straight face and shoved him away, steering the topic back. “Did you tell him I was running the three-thousand?”

At that, Qin Yuanjia frowned and thought hard. “Did I? I could’ve sworn you weren’t signed up for the three-thousand.”

Seeing his blank look, Yan Sui was about to suspect Yu Shuli had lied to her when Qin suddenly slapped his palm. “Oh, right! I remember now.”

“Was it when he asked me about it yesterday afternoon? He came by after school to play ball and asked me offhand who in our class was doing the three-thousand. I just pointed at Chen Ling. Didn’t even say a name. After that, we dropped it and went to the court.”

Yan Sui mulled this over. “How exactly did he ask?”

“How? Lemme think. I think he just said, ‘Who from your class is doing the three-thousand?’ So I pointed to Chen Ling. Since you two were sitting together, and I didn’t say a name, and he didn’t ask, he probably just mixed it up.”

Yan Sui hummed in acknowledgment.

“Not a big deal, right? Who runs the three-thousand isn’t exactly classified info.”

She waved it off. “It’s fine. He asked me about it today, and I thought it was odd, that’s all.”

“Ah, then it’s nothing. Their class doesn’t even have anyone in the three-thousand—no competition for us.”

Yan Sui smiled. “True.”

Just then, someone called Qin Yuanjia’s name from behind. He excused himself and left.

Yan Sui stayed where she was, turning over his words and Yu Shuli’s explanation.

“Host.”

The system reappeared in her head. “He didn’t lie.”

“Who?” Yan Sui asked reflexively, then quickly answered herself. “Qin Yuanjia? No, he didn’t.”

“Then what are you thinking?”

Yan Sui bit lightly at her lip. When she lifted her gaze again, the corner of her mouth tugged into a faint, almost hidden smile.

“He didn’t lie. But Yu Shuli did.”

In the distance, Chen Ling waved to her.

Yan Sui dropped the thought and hurried over.

After talking with Qin Yuanjia, she was certain of one thing—

If she wanted to figure out Yu Shuli, she’d have to wait for his mask to slip again, and then confront him with both old and new accounts.

During the sports meet lunch break, Yan Sui used her past life’s memory to slightly alter the story’s course.

She volunteered to deliver materials for Chen Ling, leaving her in the classroom to prevent her from spraining her ankle on the stairs like last time.

This time, Chen Ling would make it to the three-thousand-meter race in the afternoon.

As for Yu Shuli’s strangeness—Yan Sui wasn’t about to risk running the race herself.

At first, she’d thought that shifting the choir timeline would trigger a butterfly effect, reducing her contact with Yu Shuli and making it easier to complete the system’s mission.

But after the oddities she’d encountered around him since returning, and the careless words he’d let slip that morning—those things told her Yu Shuli was not simple.

She didn’t want to gamble again on something she already knew tied them together.

That afternoon, as the three-thousand-meter race began, Yan Sui noticed Yu Shuli on the field with his face bandaged.

She remembered what he’d said—

“If I can make it back this afternoon, can I come cheer for you?”

Yan Sui stood, her figure instantly drawing eyes from the track below.

Their gazes met midair. Looking down at him, she caught the flicker of surprise beneath the gauze that hid most of his face.

She didn’t believe his words, and he didn’t believe hers.

The sports meet lasted three days. In the following two, Yan Sui barely saw Yu Shuli again.

Maybe because she’d nearly exposed his lie the first day, he kept his distance afterward, no longer appearing suddenly at her side.

By Friday at three, the meet officially closed.

Yan Sui went home with Tan Shu.

Since dismissal came much earlier than usual, Tan Shu suggested stopping by the mall to check out some boutiques. Yan Sui had nothing else to do, so she agreed.

The mall wasn’t in their neighborhood, but a bus at the school gate went straight there in ten minutes.

Tan Shu loved browsing these little shops, while Yan Sui wasn’t very interested. But since Tan Shu insisted, she followed along from one boutique to the next.

By the time they’d combed through most of them, Tan Shu was carrying two shopping bags.

Yan Sui hadn’t bought much, just two pretty hair clips she planned to give her little sister.

After two ice creams that afternoon, Tan Shu’s stomach began to hurt. Before heading home, she asked Yan Sui to wait for her in a café while she ran to the restroom.

Once Tan Shu left, Yan Sui peeked into her bag and realized she’d forgotten to buy something for her younger brother.

Her twin siblings, Yan Jiaping and Yan Jia’an, always squabbled if they didn’t both receive gifts, so she needed to get him something too.

She remembered one boutique they’d passed earlier had plenty of things boys would like, so she texted Tan Shu and went back to pick something out.

The shop was right next to a women’s fashion store. After paying, Yan Sui stepped out—and froze at a familiar silhouette.

Almost instinctively, she drew back inside, using the tall display shelves to shield herself.

She stayed still for half a minute, then slowly peeked out, searching for the couple she’d glimpsed.

Her eyes finally locked on them at the women’s store entrance.

Her heart had been pounding since the moment she recognized them, hammering harder and harder as she waited for them to pass.

Adrenaline surged. No matter how she tried to steady herself, the thrill left her cheeks flushed.

Yan Sui hurried out, keeping her eyes on the pair’s backs as she followed them into the women’s store.

Catching Yan Zhaoting and his mistress together in public—this was never part of her plan.

He had always been careful before his scheme succeeded, never leaving a trace of evidence for anyone to seize on.

Even when she’d snuck into his study, she found nothing incriminating.

If she hadn’t lived through it once, she’d never have known her father was cheating.

No wonder, in her past life, she only discovered the truth at the very end—when Yan Zhaoting was already ready to walk away clean from both the family and its debts.

Yan Sui pulled out her phone and snapped their backs.

But she knew a few shots like that proved nothing. Risking discovery, she used the glass window mannequins as cover, quickly pressing the shutter over and over.

Her hands trembled from emotion, throwing off her aim, so she sped up, desperate.

Finally, among the blurred shots, one photo stood out sharp and clear—Yan Zhaoting and the woman’s faces unmistakable.

Her chest unclenched all at once. Tears welled up uncontrollably and spilled down her cheeks.

She laughed and cried at the same time, wiping at the streaming tears.

Even as passersby paused at her odd behavior, she felt no embarrassment.

Her fingers clenched tightly around her phone. On its tiny screen, one photo filled her with satisfaction.

By the time Tan Shu came back, Yan Sui had calmed down and was waiting at the café entrance.

Tan Shu looked sheepish, pressing her palms together. “Sorry, Sui Sui, I made you—”

Before she finished, Yan Sui threw her arms around her.

Startled, Tan Shu noticed her reddened eyes. Her mind raced—was Yan Sui mad about waiting so long? Was this hug their last before breaking up as friends?

Panicked, she blurted out, “I’m sorry, Sui Sui!! It’s my fault for making you wait! Don’t be mad! I’ll treat you to dinner!”

Yan Sui burst out laughing through her tears. “What nonsense are you spouting!”

“Aren’t you crying because I kept you waiting?”

“What are you thinking.”

She hugged Tan Shu again, murmuring softly, “How could I ever be angry…?”

It was those ten minutes waiting for her that she was truly grateful for.

When she got home, Yan Sui transferred the photos to her computer and backed them up.

She even bought a USB drive just for storing evidence to use against Yan Zhaoting later.

But as she enlarged the photo, her gaze froze on the woman beside him.

Earlier, she’d been too giddy over getting the shot to notice.

Now, zooming in, she traced the woman’s features carefully.

Her face… it felt familiar.

But for the life of her, Yan Sui couldn’t place where that familiarity came from.