Vocational College

Unbelievable.

Jiang Ran was so shocked he couldn't speak.

Although he had already suspected that, on this brand-new Worldline where history had changed, he hadn't gone to Donghai University.

After all, back then, he had applied to Donghai University largely because Cheng Mengxue wanted to go there, so he had followed her.

Since Cheng Mengxue had died unexpectedly two years ago on this Worldline, he probably hadn't had much reason to apply to Donghai University.

But he never would have guessed!

He hadn't even gotten into an undergraduate program. He'd gone straight to a vocational college, straight into a two-year program!

For what it was worth, he'd scored 680 on the gaokao on the original Worldline... No matter how badly he'd fallen off, surely he couldn't have fallen so far as to end up at a vocational college?

His throat went dry.

He remembered Qin Feng's comment about Wang Hao:

"Even if someone's stupid, can they really not score 500?"

Sorry, but yes, they really can.

But...

Thinking about it, he could probably understand why he'd ended up hanging around Nan Xiuxiu and her best friend, along with that whole group of colorful girls.

"Um, there's something I want to ask."

Jiang Ran hesitated, but he had to ask.

Looking at Nan Xiuxiu's fair face, he asked softly,

"Um, we didn't... didn't... do that, did we?"

He made the familiar hand gesture.

Nan Xiuxiu whipped around.

"What are you thinking!"

"Ouch." His arm hurt.

"We've only been dating for four days! We haven't even held hands, and you're already thinking about that kind of thing!"

Nan Xiuxiu turned away.

"I'm very old-fashioned about this! Unless you marry me, there's no way I'll do those things with you! Absolutely not!"

"Okay, okay, I know, I know."

Jiang Ran gestured for her to quiet down.

"I was just asking."

"Even asking isn't okay!"

"Got it, got it. Stop yelling."

Good.

Jiang Ran felt relieved.

This was probably the only good piece of news among all the bad things that had come with the change in Worldline.

He didn't like Nan Xiuxiu at all, and he didn't want to get involved with her in any way.

Nothing put him more at ease than knowing things were still completely innocent between them.

He'd only been dating Nan Xiuxiu for four days. Nothing intimate had happened, he hadn't taken advantage of her in any way, and they hadn't even held hands.

That meant he had nothing to feel guilty about.

He'd find a chance to break up with her.

He thought to himself,

I don't have time to play around with you.

As things stood...

He didn't care at all about vocational college,

or having a magical girl for a girlfriend.

Once he used the Spacetime Bulletin to change the Worldline... all of this would become a history that had never existed.

He would jump back to the original Worldline, bring Cheng Mengxue back to life, find Qin Feng again, and return to his old life at Donghai University.

Jiang Ran felt no attachment to anything that was happening now. He had no reluctance to leave it behind.

Because this wasn't where he belonged.

His history wasn't here;

nor was his future.

On the taxi ride back, Jiang Ran listened to Nan Xiuxiu chatter away and learned what had happened the night before.

Nan Xiuxiu's best friend had thrown a birthday party the previous day and invited the two of them.

He had been the only guy at the party.

Nan Xiuxiu was a traditional girl, so when it was time to sleep, Jiang Ran had stayed in a room by himself, Nan Xiuxiu had shared a room with her best friend, and the other girls had split up among the guest rooms on the third floor.

In his WeChat chat with Wang Hao, Wang Hao had sent a whole string of angry messages, demanding to know why Jiang Ran hadn't brought him along to such an amazing party! He'd been as frantic as a baboon in heat.

But it was Nan Xiuxiu's best friend's birthday party, not Jiang Ran's. The host got to decide who to invite, and Jiang Ran understood that guests didn't get to bring their own guests.

In the end,

the reason that terrifying scene by the window had happened was that Nan Xiuxiu's best friend was showering in the bathroom, and Nan Xiuxiu needed to use the toilet... With no other option, she'd gone to Jiang Ran's room to borrow the bathroom.

Seeing that Jiang Ran was fast asleep, Nan Xiuxiu had tiptoed in without disturbing him.

She'd planned to quietly push the door open and slip out, but she happened to run into Jiang Ran as he jumped across Worldlines and shouted into the phone at Wang Hao.

And so,

the whole story finally made sense.

But it still wasn't enough.

There were other things Jiang Ran wanted to know.

The taxi pulled up outside Donghai Vocational College of Foreign Economy and Trade, and the two of them got out.

Jiang Ran looked up at the shabby, rundown school gate and couldn't help reciting a poem:

"You might have ranked dead last in high school, but here, ranking dead last is just the bar for getting through my gate. Those rare, one-in-a-million students the teachers talk about? There's a whole field full of them here."

Nan Xiuxiu turned around.

"What are you babbling about?"

"Nothing."

Jiang Ran yawned.

"Go on back. I'm meeting Wang Hao for a meal."

On this Worldline, he and Wang Hao had applied to the same vocational college. After they both got in, they'd become classmates.

After saying goodbye to Nan Xiuxiu, he found Wang Hao in the cafeteria.

Wang Hao was wolfing down his food. Jiang Ran spun his chopsticks as he started fishing for information.

"Wang Hao, I wasn't bad at school in high school, was I?"

"You were great." Wang Hao stuffed a bun into his mouth.

"Then why did I end up at a vocational college?" Jiang Ran stopped spinning his chopsticks.

Wang Hao looked up.

"Did you lose your memory?"

"Maybe a little..."

"You missed two exams."

Wang Hao swallowed his bun.

"The day something happened to Little Xue was the day before the gaokao... It happened right in front of you. You followed her to the hospital and never went to take the exams."

Jiang Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

No wonder.

That was an explanation he could accept.

"But it seems Nan Xiuxiu doesn't know about that."

Jiang Ran asked again,

"She seems to think this is just the kind of score I'm capable of."

"Of course she doesn't know."

Wang Hao held his bowl.

"Why would you tell her about that? If you hadn't gone crazy yesterday, she wouldn't even have found out about Little Xue."

"It's all in the past, and it's a trauma for you. If you don't bring it up, I won't either."

"That's exactly the problem."

Jiang Ran pushed his basket of buns toward him.

"How did I end up dating Nan Xiuxiu? How did she become my girlfriend?"

"Xiuxiu's great!"

Wang Hao accepted the buns with a grin.

"Little Xue died unexpectedly, and you were so devastated you were practically dying yourself. Your parents were afraid you'd do something stupid, so they didn't dare let you retake the exams. You came to this vocational college with me, looking miserable."

"You were down all the time back then. Your parents called me all the time and asked me to keep an eye on you because they were worried something would happen."

"Xiuxiu's been by your side ever since she met you in her first year. She was always hanging around you, trying to cheer you up. I've watched you slowly get better over the past two years... Honestly, that's all thanks to Xiuxiu."

"So when Xiuxiu confessed to you a few days ago, you said yes. I was happy to see you two finally get together. What, are you unhappy with Xiuxiu?"

Jiang Ran said nothing.

He was more than unhappy with Nan Xiuxiu.

Of course... he wouldn't interfere in Nan Xiuxiu's life or offer any opinions.

Because he didn't like her.

So it didn't matter to him what she was like.

"The past is in the past. You shouldn't keep blaming yourself."

"Xiuxiu really is great. Sometimes, I'm honestly jealous of you."

Wang Hao kept praising her.

"Look, she's not only beautiful, she's also considerate, and her personality is—"

"That's enough."

Jiang Ran stood up and interrupted him.

"Keep eating. I'm going to Donghai University."

"Huh?"

Wang Hao stared at him.

"Why are you going there? Didn't you just come back from there this morning?"

"I'll explain later."

Jiang Ran took out his phone, deleted the dating app, and warned Wang Hao,

"Don't tell Nan Xiuxiu where I'm going."

He repeated himself.

"Don't tell her, no matter what!"