Freshmen

"……"

"……"

"……"

"Beep, beep, beep—"

On the hospital bed, a short-haired girl slowly opened her eyes. Gazing at the familiar ceiling and the sound of medical equipment, she sat up in confusion.

Beside her, bathed in the morning light, the heart monitor displayed steady pulses, as if heralding a new life under the rising sun.

A warm breeze drifted in, carrying her bewilderment with it.

The girl reached out, as if trying to touch the sunlight streaming through the window. The warmth pooling in her open palm felt almost surreal, like a dream.

She should have reached the end.

Why?

Could it be…

An Shiyu tugged open her hospital gown, but instead of the expected surgical scar, her skin remained smooth and unblemished.

"No heart transplant…"

"So… is this the afterlife?" An Shiyu murmured, her eyes gradually brightening.

She had imagined the afterlife countless times, but now that she was here, it seemed no different.

Would she meet the people she longed to see here?

Yet, the sharp scent of disinfectant kept tugging at her drifting thoughts, anchoring her to reality.

"Hey." A rustling sound came from nearby, followed by another girl stepping into view. "Finally awake?"

"Huh?" An Shiyu stared at her in confusion, scrutinizing her from head to toe before asking softly, "Why… didn’t I die?"

On the contrary, she could feel her heart beating strongly—something she had never experienced before.

Like a broken music box suddenly playing notes again, the rhythmic thumping was strangely beautiful.

"Not sure about the details, but the old man gave you a shot, and… well, here you are." The girl tilted her head, her tone laced with disbelief. If she hadn’t seen it herself, she wouldn’t have believed such a thing was possible.

"A… shot?"

An Shiyu silently pulled up her pants but found nothing.

Just then, noise erupted outside the door. As it swung open, voices spilled in—

"A miracle! An absolute miracle! How did her vitals stabilize overnight?"

"You’re saying my granddaughter is fine?!"

"Well… we’ll need further tests to confirm."

Anshi Yilang was deep in conversation with the doctor when he spotted An Shiyu sitting quietly on the bed. His body froze as if struck by lightning.

"XIAO YU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" His booming voice nearly blasted the ceiling off the room!

Anshi Yilang lunged forward, arms outstretched!

"Tch." In the next second, his face met the sole of a foot.

An Shiyu eyed him with disdain. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Waaah, my precious granddaughter! You’re finally awake! Do you know how worried I was last night?!" Tears and snot streamed down Anshi Yilang’s face as he failed to contain his emotions.

"Your beard is prickly! Stop rubbing your face on my foot! Disgusting!" An Shiyu kicked wildly, but the old man stubbornly nuzzled her sole like an overgrown puppy.

Once the chaos settled, the doctors ran a full checkup on An Shiyu.

Every machine they could think of was used, and the results were shockingly positive.

Though not quite at normal levels yet, the readings were unimaginable for someone whose organs had been on the verge of failure.

It could only be described as divine intervention.

"So… why am I like this?" An Shiyu remained puzzled. Her instincts told her there was more to this.

"Here, take a look at this footage." The other girl tossed her a phone.

An Shiyu tapped the video, which showed a figure standing motionless by her bedside, his movements oddly stilted, as if lagging.

Sometimes he clutched his head, sometimes he crouched, seemingly deep in thought—even sketching something on the floor with his finger.

This went on for nearly two hours before he suddenly dashed out.

When he returned, he held a syringe.

Bending over, he administered it to An Shiyu, then sat by the bed for a while before leaving.

"Did… the old man save me?" An Shiyu was stunned. Because the person in the footage was none other than—

Ye Shuang!

Since when did he have that kind of ability?

"According to the footage, yeah," the girl confirmed.

"Who knew that brat could actually save you? Xiao Yu, I won’t object to your marriage anymore!" Anshi Yilang grabbed her hand, his voice dripping with solemnity.

"I admit he’s the second most important man in your life after me! Xiao Yu, I’ll allow you to rank him right below Grandpa!"

An Shiyu’s eyes flattened. "Who said anything about marriage? Keep talking nonsense and I’ll drop dead right here."

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!"

While shoving her clingy grandfather away, An Shiyu turned to the girl. "Where’s the old man?"

"Drove home, I think."

An Shiyu: "……"

"I’m tired. Gonna sleep." She kicked her grandfather aside and flopped onto the bed, as if processing the flood of information in her head.

"Ah?! Sweetie, you’re not gonna sleep forever, are you?" Anshi Yilang wrung his hands nervously.

"Oi. Keep staring like that and I might just not wake up."

"……"

……

Dozens of kilometers away, traffic clogged the highway during morning rush hour.

Inside a small sports car, Ye Shuang gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the countdown at the traffic light.

"Today’s weather in Haizhu City is sunny. Remember to wear sunscreen…" The radio’s cheerful voice filled the car.

Ye Shuang reached over and turned it off. Exhaustion clung to his features—all he wanted now was rest.

His gaze drifted absently to the window—

[Total Entries: 7,456

Remaining: ∞ (1 day left)]

The system’s original purpose was to send him back to a specific timeline to forge a new future.

But…

"I chose to spend nearly twenty years researching An Shiyu’s condition across other timelines."

No one knew how he endured it. No one knew how he persevered.

But to Ye Shuang, it was just another obstacle.

"Guess you could call this exploiting a bug." He chuckled softly. At the very least, it wasn’t what the system had intended.

If he couldn’t change the original future,

He’d change himself instead.

He’d make himself capable of saving her.

Just then, the traffic light flickered green—

Ye Shuang smiled faintly.

"I’m exhausted. Time for a good, long sleep."