After Being Reborn, I Had A Bad Ending With My First Love. - Chapter 19

Mission Three: Target Lin Jingyang.

This was one of the tasks assigned to Yan Sui by the system after she signed the contract.

Mission One: Save the family tragedy.
Mission Two: Stay away from Yu Shuli.
Mission Three: Target Lin Jingyang.

But the name Lin Jingyang was completely unfamiliar to Yan Sui.

She didn’t even understand why she would have any connection with this person, nor why the system required her to “target” him.

She had asked the system why it had chosen this completely unknown boy.

The system didn’t reveal much, only leaving her with the words, “It’s all for the host,” and brushed the topic aside.

Seeing that the system wouldn’t explain, Yan Sui gave up trying to extract any clues about the third mission from it.

—

On Wednesday, Yan Sui was sitting with Chen Ling, quizzing each other on text recitation, when the homeroom teacher suddenly entered the classroom from the back door and asked Yan Sui to step outside.

Most of the students in the honors class stayed in the classroom during breaks to study, so when the teacher led Yan Sui out, only a few students at the back glanced over curiously. They looked for a moment, then quickly returned to their own work.

Once outside, the homeroom teacher got straight to the point. “I just heard from the senior-year head teacher that last week you were harassed by the same senior students at the school gate who had caused trouble for you in the area you were responsible for, is that correct?”

Yan Sui froze for a moment, then quickly replied, “Yes, Teacher. I returned to the school immediately to seek help, but you had already left. So I went with another classmate to the senior-year office to find their head teacher.”

“Were you injured?”

“I wasn’t. The other classmate got a minor injury.”

“The other classmate is from the science class, right?”

“Yes.”

“The one Wen Qingman mentioned last time—the student who helped you out in the area?”

During the previous incident, Yan Sui had immediately taken Wen Qingman to report the situation to their homeroom teacher, and Wen Qingman had also explained how Yu Shuli had come to help.

The teacher noted everything, reported it to the school, and by Monday’s morning assembly, the school had already informed Yan Sui and Wen Qingman of the students’ punishments. During the assembly, the principal announced the punishments—mostly escalated disciplinary actions, but a few students with severe offenses were sent home by their parents for further education.

Lin Jingchen, who had cornered Ren Yusu in the alley last time, was one of them.

Yan Sui nodded again.

The homeroom teacher sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me about something this serious when you returned to school? You’re already at a crucial stage in the second year. Day by day, if these incidents keep interfering, what will happen to your studies?”

There was concern in the teacher’s eyes, which made Yan Sui feel a warmth in her heart.

During her previous life, her family had suddenly faced a crisis, and this teacher had consistently helped her, even privately talking to her multiple times, urging her not to let these matters ruin her future.

Even after she was transferred to the second arts class due to declining grades, the teacher would often bring her exams from the first class, encouraging her not to give up, to work hard and regain her position in the top class.

But because of her family circumstances, she had missed too much study time. Even though she studied during every free moment, she couldn’t raise her grades to the top-class level.

Even in the final college entrance exam, she underperformed, failing to get into her desired school.

Thinking of this, Yan Sui couldn’t help but feel guilty toward the teacher who had always helped her.

School bullying had always been a topic that was difficult to address.

As a teacher, she knew the backgrounds of those students, but there was nothing she could do.

“The senior-year head teacher told me that the parents of the student who cornered you have already come. Normally, this should be handled by your parents negotiating with them, but I only just learned about this and didn’t have time to inform your parents yet. I wanted to check on your situation first.”

Yan Sui shook her head. “It’s fine, Teacher. I wasn’t hurt. No need to inform my parents.”

The teacher frowned. “How can that be? Such a matter cannot go without telling the parents.”

Yan Sui didn’t want Sui Yuling to know about this, so she lied: “There’s been some trouble at home recently. My parents can’t handle it right now, and since I wasn’t injured, I can deal with it myself.”

Seeing that Yan Sui wouldn’t call her parents, the teacher let it go, offering her a few reassuring words before leaving.

After the teacher left, the system appeared in her mind again: “Host, why don’t you ask which office the other parents are in?”

Yan Sui lowered her eyes, her long lashes covering most of her vision as if hiding something. “Asking that would make the teacher suspicious.”

The system fell silent.

Yan Sui felt her heart beating faster. She exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself, but her pulse only quickened further, whether from nervousness or something else, she couldn’t tell.

She waited silently, afraid the system would detect her thoughts.

But…

“Host, avoidance is useless.”
“You have already activated this mission line.”

Still no escape.

—

At first, Yan Sui didn’t understand what the system meant.

It wasn’t until history class ended that the homeroom teacher came again to take Yan Sui out.

With no one around, the teacher spoke softly: “The parents of that student want to apologize to you in person.”

Yan Sui: “……”

She finally understood what the system meant by “you can’t escape.”

It was just an apology—something she didn’t really need. After all, the other party hadn’t actually harmed her. Compared to her, it was Yu Shuli, covered in bruises, who needed the apology more.

Yet Yan Sui knew that even if she refused, the person she had to face would appear eventually.

After all, she had already activated the third mission line.

Not something she could avoid just by wanting to.

.

Yan Sui followed the homeroom teacher to the senior-year office. As soon as she pushed open the door, everyone in the office turned to look.

Yu Shuli was standing beside a young couple. The scabs on his facial wounds hadn’t fallen off yet, and the dark scabs on his delicate face made him look pitiful in a touching way.

Yan Sui recognized Yu Shuli’s older brother and sister-in-law; the four of them had eaten together during university.

In her previous life, Yu Shuli had confided in her about his complex family situation—his parents divorced, each finding new partners, leaving him to live with his fifteen-years-older brother.

When his parents divorced, he was only five. At twenty-two, Yu Shufeng (his brother) had to take care of this “unwanted child” left by both parents.

When Yu Shuli was seven, his brother was twenty-four. After stabilizing in his career, he married his college girlfriend, Zhu Yue.

Yu Shuli said that his brother and sister-in-law had raised him with the same care as parents would, and his sister-in-law never withheld love, taking care of him as if he were her own child. They had never missed anything regarding his upbringing.

The love that his parents abandoned was restored by his brother and sister-in-law.

Apart from Yu Shuli, his brother and sister-in-law, the senior-year head teacher, and the boy who had attacked Yu Shuli, the only person left in the office was the man sitting across from them.

The man had long, arched brows and a high nose bridge with half-black-rimmed glasses. He leaned slightly back in his chair, not appearing lazy. The cuffs of his pure black shirt were rolled halfway up his forearms, revealing veins and sinewy muscles.

His expression when he looked at her was calm and indifferent. From his face, Yan Sui couldn’t tell any unrelated emotions.

Just looking at him…

Yan Sui didn’t understand why the system had assigned such a target for her. He was clearly not in the same age group as her.

After reincarnating, her environment mostly involved people her own age—students who still carried a trace of youthful naivety, very different from the people she had dealt with in society.

All her previous missions and interactions had been with students of high school or college age.

Suddenly encountering an adult male outside of that age range, Yan Sui had no idea how to proceed with this mission.

Perhaps sensing her emotions, the system appeared more actively than ever: “Host, just carry out the mission as planned. Do not carry any burden.”

After the mechanical voice fell silent, it added, “Before you were reincarnated, you were also nearly thirty.”

The system deliberately emphasized the word “thirty,” as if to remind her not to feel constrained by age.

Yan Sui was momentarily speechless.

.

Seeing that Yan Sui stood there frozen for a long time, the senior-year head teacher assumed she was nervous about facing Lin Jingchen and his parents. He hurried to smooth things over: “Don’t be afraid, Yan Sui. This is Lin Jingchen’s older brother. He came regarding the incident outside school where Lin Jingchen cornered you and Yu Shuli. He said he wanted Lin Jingchen to apologize to you and Yu Shuli personally. That’s why I called you over.”

After finishing, the head teacher gestured subtly to Yan Sui’s homeroom teacher.

Understanding the hint, the teacher gently placed a warm hand on Yan Sui’s shoulder, conveying strength: “Let’s go, Yan Sui.”

Yan Sui pressed her lips together and followed the teacher into the office.

Yu Shuli’s gaze followed her from the moment she entered until she stood in front of him. When she looked up, their eyes met.

Though it was only brief, Yan Sui quickly looked away. Still, Yu Shuli felt a flutter in his heart from this short glance.

.

“Since Yan Sui is here, let me make a brief introduction. This is Yan Sui, one of the people involved in the incident. This is Lin Jingchen’s older brother, Lin Jingyang.”

After the introduction, Lin Jingyang stood up and took a step toward Yan Sui in his dress shoes.

Yan Sui held her breath. She knew he wouldn’t do anything in front of so many people, but under his presence, she still felt a trace of tension.

Her eyes remained fixed on him, vigilant against any sudden movement.

Unexpectedly, the man only took two steps closer, stopping half a meter away from her.

The next second, a hand, wrist adorned with a watch, extended in front of her—

“Yan Sui.”