After Being Reborn, I Had A Bad Ending With My First Love. - Chapter 15

Ever since the sports meet incident, Yan Sui could clearly feel that Yu Shuli sought her out far less often.

Occasionally, when the two ran into each other on campus, they only exchanged a brief greeting.

Yan Sui was never the one to greet him first—usually it was Yu Shuli who would nod or lift his hand with a smile, and she would respond out of courtesy.

Still, Yan Sui could sense something odd about it all.

She could tell Yu Shuli still wanted to be close to her, but his actions seemed deliberate in avoiding that closeness. In his expression, she caught glimpses of struggle.

She didn’t know what he was thinking, nor did she have the energy to guess what he might be planning.

After all, in this life, Yu Shuli was a giant question mark in her heart.

On the day the sports meet ended, Yan Sui had caught solid evidence of Yan Zhaoting’s affair, and recently all her focus had been on that matter.

Although there was still some time before the moment when Yan Zhaoting confessed in her previous life, progress had already been made, and she couldn’t control her eagerness for more clues.

But besides matters with Yan Zhaoting and Yu Shuli, there was something else lately that had been making her restless.

The school bell rang. The Chinese teacher on the podium closed his book, reminded everyone not to forget to recite the text, and then left the classroom with his books under his arm.

Students began packing their bags one after another, slipping assignments and textbooks into their backpacks.

Chen Ling had already packed up in advance. At the bell, she shoved her Chinese book into her bag, zipped it up, and stood.
“Suisui, aren’t you leaving yet?”

Yan Sui still had one last reading question left on her test paper. At Chen Ling’s voice, she looked up briefly.
“I’ve just got one more big question. I’ll finish it before leaving.”

“Alright then, don’t stay too late. Go home early.”

“Mm, okay. Be careful on the way.”

After Chen Ling left, Yan Sui skimmed the question, flipped back to the passage, and started circling key sentences with her pen.

It didn’t take her long to finish the reading comprehension. When she finally lifted her head, most of the class was still filled with students quietly studying.

But remembering it was Friday—the day Yan Zhaoting returned home—and that Tan Shu wasn’t walking back with her today because of choir practice, Yan Sui decided decisively to pull out another math paper and bury herself in it.

By the time she raised her head again, the sky outside the windows was tinged red with dusk, and the classroom had nearly emptied out.

Checking the time, Yan Sui sighed and began to pack her things.

It was only when she finished that the system reappeared in her mind, reminding her:
“Host, the target of the side mission will be appearing soon. Please pay attention.”

This was the third time it had reminded her.

Yan Sui didn’t really want to complete the mission. She had come back to prevent her family’s tragedy. She would keep her distance from Yu Shuli, but she didn’t want to get involved with anyone else either.

Whether it was Yu Shuli or anyone else, she simply wasn’t ready to accept a new relationship so soon.

But since it was part of the condition of her return—and she had already agreed to it—she couldn’t go back on her word.

Yan Sui slung her backpack onto her shoulders and sighed.
“I know.”

“Has the Host thought of a strategy for the target?”

“No.”

“Host—”

Yan Sui twitched her lips and forced herself to sound serious.
“I’m thinking about it. But I need time.”

The system said, “Host, while I cannot read the hearts of those in the main storyline, I am integrated with you. Whatever you think is synchronized with me.”

Yan Sui: “…”

—

When Yan Sui walked out of the teaching building, the entire campus was silent and empty.

This week was a “big week,” meaning everyone had the same dismissal time, including the Grade 12 students who usually stayed late to cram. Because of this synchronized release, there were even fewer people lingering in the school than usual.

After exiting the school gate, the system kept chattering in her head, urging her to adjust her attitude toward the mission’s target.

Yan Sui grew so annoyed she had a headache. Unable to shut it out, she muttered aloud,
“You don’t need to say so much. Since I promised you, I’ll complete the mission.”

The system fell strangely quiet, almost caught off guard. Yan Sui thought she even heard it sigh faintly. And though its voice was still mechanical, there seemed to be a trace of helplessness in it.

“But Host, I still hope you can accept this mission willingly.”

Yan Sui froze. She murmured,
“What do you mean?”

But this time there was no reply.

The system’s voice suddenly vanished from her mind.

No matter how she called out, the familiar mechanical tone never came back.

It was the first time since binding with her that the system had cut off mid-conversation.

A sense of unease grew in her chest.

Lost in thought about the system’s sudden disappearance, Yan Sui failed to watch her path and just kept walking forward.

By the time she realized, she was already standing at the mouth of an alley beside the urban village—about a hundred meters off her normal route.

Annoyed, she was about to turn back when she heard a clattering sound deeper in the alley, something heavy falling.

With it came the reckless laughter of a boy.

Yan Sui’s steps halted. Then came angry curses, and she instantly realized what was happening inside.

She turned quickly, ready to leave.

She didn’t want to get involved in things that had nothing to do with her—trouble like that would only bring her more problems.

But just as she took two steps forward, she heard a familiar name among the curses.

—Yu Shuli.

Her lifted foot froze midair. Against her will, her attention locked onto the voices behind her:

“You, trying to play hero? You’re so weak you can’t even take one punch from me.”

“I told you from the start to mind your own business, but no, you just had to meddle. Did you really think I was scared of you back then?”

“Hm? Why so quiet now? Lost your tongue? If you won’t talk, then I’ll go find her.”

Yan Sui’s heart clenched. She was just about to wonder who “her” referred to when a voice—hoarse, far rougher than usual, yet unmistakably Yu Shuli’s—echoed through the quiet alley.

“Don’t—don’t go to her.”

The sound was raspier than the voice he used when speaking to her, but Yan Sui recognized it instantly.

It was Yu Shuli.

Without stopping to think what was really going on, Yan Sui’s body moved before her mind, turning and running straight into the alley.

Her shoes kicked up dust. Reaching the corner, she braced against the wall to stop herself.

What met her eyes was almost exactly what she had just pictured in her mind.

Yu Shuli was slumped among a pile of scrap metal sheets. By the dim light of a streetlamp on the main road, she could see several black footprints stamped across the white-and-black fabric of his school uniform.

Beside him lay his discarded backpack and scattered textbooks.

The faint light left his face in shadow, his expression hidden from view.

“Who’s there?”

The alley was dark, and Yan Sui was standing right in the blind spot of the lamp.

From there, she could clearly see Yu Shuli on the ground and the boy standing over him.

“Who’s there? Don’t want a beating too? Then get lost!”

When she saw the boy’s face, and recalled what she had just overheard, Yan Sui instantly pieced together the cause and effect.

It was because of her.

Pressing her lips together, Yan Sui stepped out of the shadows into the light.

“You just said you were going to find me, right?”