Coco's Hometown

Ye Shuang couldn't sleep tonight.

With his hands tucked behind his head, he kept replaying the events of the day in his mind. Even as the clock struck 3 AM, sleep remained elusive.

Glancing at the girl curled up beside him, deep in slumber, Ye Shuang fumbled under his pillow and pulled out his phone.

"Ugh." The sudden brightness of the screen felt like a flashbang to his eyes. He immediately dimmed it to the lowest setting before searching for information on heart diseases.

Ye Shuang had been researching cardiac conditions for a long time, but the more he learned, the more helpless he felt about An Shiyu's illness.

Doctors weren’t gods—let alone someone like him, who was barely half-qualified.

"Hmm..."

He slowly lowered his phone, and as the screen darkened, silence reclaimed the room.

The power of the system...

Ye Shuang began considering the possibilities of his system. It had the ability to jump timelines—if he could leap into the future, maybe he could obtain the formula for the medicine.

But he quickly dismissed the thought. If An Shiyu really died, the research would likely halt, especially since it was probably funded by her grandfather.

Even if he knew where the research was being conducted, jumping to the right point in time would be impossible.

A deep sense of powerlessness weighed on his chest. Ye Shuang stared at the ceiling for a long time, and before he knew it, dawn had arrived.

"..."

Sunlight trickled through the window, but it carried no warmth.

"Time to get up... Seems like the only thing I can do for her is help fulfill her bucket list." Despite thinking this, Ye Shuang used his system to scan every visible object around him.

Including the girl beside him—

[Character: Bai Yuyou

Currently dreaming about you...]

Ye Shuang gently patted Yuyou’s head.

After all, the clock had appeared this way—maybe if he kept using the system like this, it would level up or something.

Of course, he was just fantasizing about a miracle.

"Would be nice if there was a progress bar," Ye Shuang mused before heading downstairs to wash up.

Opening the fridge, he started preparing breakfast. Perhaps due to lack of sleep, he brewed himself a rare cup of coffee.

It was bought by Chen Qin.

"Too bitter. I really prefer it sweetened." Ye Shuang sipped the coffee while frying an egg.

He scanned the egg out of habit.

[Item: A fried egg

Chicken’s gift.]

Ye Shuang: "..."

But then he noticed the system window flicker slightly. Puzzled, he glanced at the nearby clock and realized it had actually changed.

[Entries: 3]

[Remaining: 1]

What was this...?

Entry attempts? The number of times he could jump timelines? And "Remaining"—did that mean he had only one try left?

He quickly scanned other objects in the house, but the window remained unchanged.

"Useless," Ye Shuang muttered.

Altering the past would only spawn a new timeline—it wouldn’t change his own future.

Now, even with this new "entry count" display, it felt like drawing a smiley face on an egg—completely unhelpful when you were starving.

Maybe things would change later?

For now, Ye Shuang could only stay optimistic, though the heaviness in his heart refused to lift.

After breakfast, he took out his phone and sent a message to the person with the ninja shurikan profile picture.

Ye Shuang: Have you thought of your second wish?

A vibration soon answered him.

An Shiyu: (--) I’ll let you know when I think of one. Gonna sleep more—played games all night, dead tired.

Ye Shuang: "..."

She really had zero sense of urgency.

He shook his head.

Just then, footsteps sounded from the stairs. Ye Shuang turned to see Bai Yuyou stumbling down, still groggy. She had gotten used to waking up early to make breakfast for him.

"Ye Shuang... up early." Rubbing her eyes, she yawned, her hair sticking up in all directions.

"Go wash up first."

"Mm."

But just as Yuyou was about to enter the bathroom, she paused and walked back to Ye Shuang.

Tilting her head, she studied his face intently.

"What’s wrong?"

Before he could finish, Yuyou cupped his cheeks with her soft hands. Her voice was drowsy but gentle. "Ye Shuang... unhappy?"

"No."

"You are. I can tell." Her intuition was sharp—even if Ye Shuang seemed no different from usual, she sensed his exhaustion and gloom.

"...A little."

"What happened?" Yuyou tilted her head.

"Just... some things." An Shiyu was Yuyou’s friend—at least, Ye Shuang thought so. But telling Yuyou wouldn’t help either of them, especially since An Shiyu hated pity.

"Go wash up. Breakfast will get cold."

"Mm."

Yuyou didn’t press further and obediently headed to the bathroom.

During breakfast, she glanced at Ye Shuang again—he seemed slightly better now.

"Ye Shuang, Keke invited us to visit her hometown," Yuyou said. They had discussed this during their vacation.

Lost in thought, Ye Shuang blinked before smiling. "Oh? Where’s Keke’s hometown?"

"Don’t know."

"Let’s ask her later, then."

Tang Keke came over for lunch as usual. When Ye Shuang and Yuyou asked about her hometown, she grinned and explained,

"My family’s from Heshan—it’s a small town, but it’s developed a lot now. Really pretty."

Heshan...

Wasn’t that just over an hour’s drive from Haizhu?

Pretty close.

"Both your parents are from there?" Ye Shuang asked.

"Nope, Mom’s from another province," Tang Keke clarified.

"I see."

"Oh, right! Here, try this—my mom made sweet potato jerky yesterday." Keke handed him a small bag.

Ye Shuang inspected it. "Your mom made this?"

"Yep! But eat it fast—once it dries out, it’s like chewing bark." Keke shuddered at the memory of battling rock-hard jerky in the past.

"Don’t worry. If it gets too tough, we’ll just give it to Yi Wan," Ye Shuang chuckled. "Good for her teeth."

Nearby, Yi Wan: "Meow?"