After being reborn, I had a bad ending with my first love. - Chapter 3

From the nearby Moral Education Building came the broken strains of piano music. Birdsong and piano notes mingled in this quiet corner of the school, echoing around them.

Yan Sui’s breathing caught. Her thoughts tangled into a mess, her eyes fixed in a daze on the hand extended in front of her.

Then, from the distant sports field, a referee’s whistle cut sharply through the air. The shrill sound shattered her chaotic thoughts and yanked her back to reality.

Only then did Yan Sui realize the other person was greeting her. She hastily replied, “Hello.”

Without lifting her head, she deliberately ignored the hand before her and forced her attention toward Wen Qingman. “Are you okay?”

Wen Qingman, the model student, had never experienced anything like what just happened. Even if she hadn’t been physically hurt, her eyes were still rimmed red.

After the danger had passed, she couldn’t calm down immediately.

Seeing this, Yan Sui picked up the cleaning tools from the ground. “Let’s go back then.”

“But the trash on the ground…” Wen Qingman hesitated.

“I’ll tell the teacher when we get back to class.”

Wen Qingman still looked uneasy. “But we don’t even know who those people were…”

“I know. I’ll report it.”

“Oh… okay.” Hearing that, Wen Qingman no longer insisted. She picked up her broom, then turned to thank Yu Shuli, who had been standing silently nearby watching them.

Yan Sui bit her lip, forcing down the storm of emotions inside her.

As she walked past Yu Shuli, she whispered, “Thank you.” Without waiting for his reply, she quickly carried the cleaning tools and strode forward.

She never dared lift her eyes to meet his gaze, and she crushed the suffocating emotions in her chest with all her strength.

But after walking who knows how many steps, she suddenly heard the boy call out brightly from behind—

“You’re welcome!”

In that instant, the emotions pounding wildly in her chest began to stir again.

—

When Yan Sui returned home, her mother, Sui Yuling, was in the kitchen with the housemaid, preparing dinner.

A square dining table had been draped with a tablecloth, and the flowers arranged in the vase at the center revealed the care of whoever had arranged them.

Not only the dining room—the entire house had been tidied and decorated with unusual attention, as if awaiting someone’s arrival.

Yan Sui glanced briefly at the changes around her. The coldness in her expression clashed with the carefully decorated house.

She had no interest in inspecting the home so obviously prepared for someone else. She was just about to go upstairs when she heard the sound of the front door opening.

Her younger brother, Yan Jiaping, came in with his arms full of bags, complaining to the girl beside him: “Seriously? You made me carry everything.”

“You’re a boy. What’s wrong with carrying more?” Yan Jia’an, carefully holding a cake, lit up when she saw Yan Sui standing by the stairs. “Sister!”

Yan Sui drew back the foot she had already placed on the stairs and turned toward them.

Their family had three children. Her younger siblings were fraternal twins, and perhaps because of that bond, their bickering had never stopped since childhood. Most of what Yan Sui heard at home was the sound of their squabbles.

When Yan Jiaping saw his sister approaching, he widened his eyes and immediately tattled, “Sis, look at her! She dumped everything on me again!”

Yan Sui chuckled, reaching over to take the shopping bags from his arms. “Why did you buy so much?”

Yan Jia’an had already set the cake safely on the counter. Blinking playfully at Yan Sui, she said, “Sis, what kind of question is that? Of course it’s because Dad’s coming home! Mom told us to buy a bunch of things to celebrate.”

Yan Sui’s smile froze. Suddenly, the shopping bags in her hands no longer held any appeal.

She put the bags down on the cabinet. “I see.”

“These are the things Dad bought with us! Sis, come look—this one’s your gift, I picked it out for you…”

Yan Sui was about to reply, not wanting to let her bad feelings show in front of her family, when Sui Yuling came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands. “Sui Sui, you’re home! Did you see your father?”

At that name, a flash of disgust crossed Yan Sui’s eyes. “Not yet.”

“He took your brother and sister shopping. They should be back any—” Sui Yuling suddenly stopped mid-sentence, her eyes shifting past Yan Sui. Her face bloomed with happiness. “Look, Dad’s right behind you!”

Yan Sui’s body stiffened. She heard the front door close behind her.

Slowly, she turned her head. Her gaze moved inch by inch until it landed on the man in a black jacket standing in the entryway.

His hair was combed neatly with gel. A faint crease marked his clothes for some reason.

He had already changed into slippers and was adjusting his jacket as he walked toward them. “Sui Sui.”

Yan Zhaoting’s eyes crinkled with his smile. Wrinkles lined his face, giving him the appearance of a gentle father.

But as his voice reached Yan Sui’s ears, her whole body felt plunged into an icy abyss, trembling with cold.

She stood frozen, lips pressed tight, staring at him with eyes that brimmed with loathing.

The hatred from her past life surged up violently. She hadn’t even realized it herself, but her gaze was already filled with animosity.

Yan Zhaoting was briefly startled, his hand pausing on his chest where he was adjusting his jacket.

Sui Yuling, puzzled by her daughter’s behavior, nudged her shoulder. “Sui Sui?”

Startled back to reality, Yan Sui heard the system’s mechanical voice in her mind: “Host.”

She realized this wasn’t one of the countless nightmares of her past—it was real life.

Her expression softened instantly. She forced a sweet smile and obediently called out, “Dad.”

She added, “I’ve been a little tired from studying lately. Sometimes I just zone out.”

Sui Yuling’s heart ached. She stroked her daughter’s cheek. “My poor girl. I’ll make you something you like tomorrow.”

Yan Zhaoting let out a relieved sigh. “Second year is tough. If you want anything, just tell your mom, she’ll get it for you.”

He reached out, intending to pat Yan Sui’s shoulder.

But Yan Sui sidestepped.

His hand fell on empty air, and a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.

Yan Sui had already leaned into her mother’s shoulder, head resting there as she cooed, “Thanks, Mom.”

Her gaze slid over to Yan Zhaoting, her lips curving into a faint smile. She said clearly, “And thank you… Dad.”

—

Back in her room, Yan Sui collapsed onto her bed, all strength drained from her.

She had been back for days, but nothing had shaken her as badly as what happened today.

More than her father’s return, what truly unsettled her was the person she had unexpectedly run into at school.

“System,” Yan Sui murmured to the white ceiling.

The mechanical voice immediately sounded in her mind. “Host.”

Her eyes were dazed. Her voice trembled slightly. “Does the butterfly effect caused by my rebirth change the people I meet?”

The system fell silent, as though it too was considering the same question.

In her mind replayed that cheerful “You’re welcome!”—the boy’s voice bright and clear, just like the energy he radiated when he appeared earlier to chase those people away. It was like a beam of light piercing into her darkness, warming her.

She whispered, “Why was he there?”

Today’s cleaning duty had been hers alone, unrelated to Yu Shuli. In her previous life, up until those delinquents were taken away by the teacher, Yu Shuli had never shown up.

In fact, she had only gotten to know him later, when some upperclassmen harassed her and he happened to ask what was going on. Only then did he learn of that earlier incident.

No matter how she thought about it, Yu Shuli should not have appeared today.

“Was it because I came back that something deviated, and that’s why he suddenly showed up?”

But the system gave her no response.

Silence filled the room. The orange-scented diffuser her aunt had lit filled the air. The sweet citrus clashed with her confusion, making her stomach churn.

She rolled over and fumbled under her pillow for her phone.

Just as the screen lit up, the system’s cold mechanical voice sounded:
“He suddenly changed what he was supposed to do—last night.”

Yan Sui froze.

“He was originally supposed to be on cleaning duty today. Afterward, he would have gone to play basketball with classmates outside school. But last night, he altered his plan—he swapped cleaning duty with Tan Shu. After class, he went to the second-year liberal arts class, then went straight to your cleaning location. That’s why he happened to run into you being surrounded.”

The system stated Yu Shuli’s movements calmly, but offered no explanation for why he had suddenly changed his schedule.

Hearing he had made the change last night, Yan Sui’s breathing grew uneven.

Was it the heavy orange fragrance, or something else?

“Why did he suddenly change his plans?” After a long silence, she asked.

“Apologies, Host. My permissions only apply to you. I cannot access the thoughts of others in this world.”

Disappointment flickered in Yan Sui’s heart, though inside her the emotions she had tried to suppress struggled fiercely.

“Host, do not forget our purpose and mission for returning.”

The system’s voice crackled like static, jolting her body with a shiver.

Flustered, Yan Sui lowered her eyes, trying to hide the emotions the system called “forbidden.”
“I know.”

She knew the system could see through her every thought. Yet instinctively, she still wanted to hide that dangerous, forbidden feeling deep inside.