As If Granted a New Lease on Life After a Narrow Escape from Death

Facing this passage of text, Su Cheng was utterly stunned.

"Did I time travel? Or have I arrived in the future?"

As someone who had crossed over, after recognizing the situation before him, he didn’t feel excessive panic. Instead, he gazed blankly at the surrounding buildings, trying to determine whether he was in the future or a parallel universe.

Unfortunately, he found no answers. With a complicated expression, he stared at the screen, struggling to digest this earth-shattering revelation.

Soon, just as he was about to be recognized by someone, he hurriedly pushed through the crowded streets and walked away. The most urgent matter now was to get home as quickly as possible, then search online for more information to figure out exactly what was going on.

Was he in the future or a parallel universe?

However, new challenges arose one after another. His home was at least a two-hour walk from the city center. If he wanted to make it back in time, he’d probably have to take a taxi. Su Cheng calculated that paying upon arrival would allow him to reach his destination within half an hour.

...

"Knock knock—"

Holding onto a sliver of hope, Su Cheng tapped on the taxi window.

The driver rolled down the window, smiled at him, and greeted, "Young man, where to?"

Seeing that it wasn’t Sister Qin, Su Cheng felt a pang of disappointment, but he still lowered his head and replied, "XX Residential Complex."

"Got it, hop in."

The driver grinned cheerfully and gestured to the passenger seat.

Once inside, Su Cheng remained silent, keeping his head down. The driver, sensing his mood, tactfully didn’t press further and drove quietly.

Unexpectedly, the car radio suddenly blared:

"Drawing the bow, shooting for glory! Su Cheng, with his unparalleled skill and relentless effort, has conquered the world stage in individual archery, claiming the championship crown..."

Hearing the broadcast, Su Cheng’s head drooped even lower, his face burning with embarrassment as he wished he could bury it entirely in his chest.

He hadn’t done anything—yet after just one night’s sleep, he’d somehow achieved such an accomplishment. How could he possibly face this?

Finally, unable to contain his curiosity, the driver glanced at Su Cheng’s school uniform and struck up a conversation: "Young man, judging by your uniform, you’re from Flame City Private Academy too, right?"

"Yeah, that’s right."

Su Cheng answered softly, his heart heavy.

"Then you must know Su Cheng, huh?" The driver perked up. "Mind telling me what kind of person he is? Any hobbies, quirks, or anything like that…"

"......" Su Cheng fell silent.

"Why so quiet?" The driver noticed his odd reaction and shot him a puzzled look. "What’s wrong?"

"N-Nothing."

Su Cheng forced a smile. "He’s... pretty down-to-earth. I’m just curious—isn’t he just an archery champion? Why is his name plastered everywhere now?"

The driver’s expression instantly turned grave. He pulled the car to a stop and said sternly, "Young man, I get that you youngsters have your rebellious streaks, but Su Cheng? You can’t deny his greatness!"

"Plenty of people get hyped up online," Su Cheng retorted with a scoff. "And they all fall from grace eventually. No matter how good he is, at his core, he’s just another athlete. So what if he won a championship?"

"Just a championship?!" The driver exploded in anger. "Tell me, who in the world could win a world championship after only practicing for half a month?"

Su Cheng was instantly speechless.

Half a month? A world championship?

Was this some kind of joke?

"You clearly haven’t watched his tournament performance properly." The driver snorted coldly and restarted the car. "His skill is terrifying, his archery almost supernatural. Go watch it yourself! According to professional evaluations, his level has already reached the pinnacle of the world!"

"......" Su Cheng was too stunned to speak.

The pinnacle of the world?

Did that mean he’d surpassed even the club president?

And after only half a month of practice?

Even though he’d mentally prepared himself, when faced with the truth, he still felt dizzy and disbelieving.

The future version of himself... was actually this incredible?

"Lucky for you, I’m a reasonable man."

The driver grumbled. "If it were some hot-headed young punk, they’d have already jumped you by now."

Hah, and this is what you call reasonable?

You’re already lecturing me to my face.

Su Cheng grumbled internally but still refused to back down. "In the end, he’s still just an athlete, isn’t he?"

"You must not follow the news much, huh?" The driver shot him a disdainful glance. "Stop talking nonsense—you don’t know anything!"

"Nonsense?" Su Cheng looked baffled. "Is there some deeper story?"

"You definitely haven’t seen his recent interviews."

The driver spoke passionately. "He came from a poor background, an orphan raised in a rundown welfare home in the middle of nowhere. But he never gave up. Instead, he worked even harder, earning the title of top scorer in the high school entrance exams to get into Flame City Private Academy."

"Later, even after becoming a household name as an archery champion, he never forgot his roots. He actively sought corporate sponsorships to improve conditions for welfare homes nationwide and ensured children in impoverished mountain villages never went hungry or cold... All of this has been verified by the media."

At this point, the driver couldn’t help but sigh. "If you visit Su Cheng’s hometown, you’ll see—it’s because of him that the place attracted massive investments, leading to an economic boom and prosperity for the people. If someone like that isn’t worth admiring, then who in this world is?"

The driver gave Su Cheng a meaningful look and added solemnly, "Young man, I hope you understand—the title of archery champion is just the cherry on top for him. What’s truly precious, what makes him worthy of respect, is his kind, pure heart and his unwavering humility."

"......" Su Cheng listened to all this in a daze, utterly speechless, his emotions in turmoil.

So, the future version of himself had not only achieved success but also remembered his roots and given back to society. Such noble character was truly awe-inspiring.

"We’re here. That’ll be sixty yuan. Card or cash?"

The driver’s voice snapped Su Cheng back to reality.

He quickly took off his jacket and stammered, "I’ll leave my jacket here as collateral. Let me run home and grab my wallet."

"Fine, but make it quick."

The driver agreed readily.

"Got it." Su Cheng hurried out of the car, entered the apartment building, took the elevator up, and arrived at his doorstep.

He fished out the spare key from under the doormat but hesitated before inserting it.

Better knock first.

What if the future version of himself was inside?

"Knock knock knock—"

After several attempts, there was no response from within.

Only then did Su Cheng use the key to unlock the door.

The first thing that caught his eye upon entering was the shoe rack—completely different from what he remembered. It was packed with all kinds of women’s slippers, nearly overflowing.

Puzzled, he swapped into his own slippers and walked into the living room. The decor was mostly the same as before, but the brand-new fridge he’d just bought yesterday was gone.

The old fridge was still in its usual spot.

This discovery made him frown, but upon reflection, it wasn’t entirely surprising. The new fridge had been a tournament prize—maybe it was defective and had to be thrown out after breaking down?

Su Cheng didn't hesitate and rushed straight to the bedroom, rummaging through drawers and cabinets to scrape together some spare change for the taxi fare. However, his wallet was nowhere to be found, and after turning the place upside down, he could only gather thirty yuan.

Now he was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"What the hell? Not even emergency cash at home?" He couldn't help but grumble at his future self, feeling utterly unreliable—and now he was the one paying the price.

"Beep—beep—"

The impatient honking of the taxi echoed from downstairs.

Left with no choice, Su Cheng's eyes landed on the notebook on his desk. He initially thought of offering his autograph as payment, but when he flipped it open, he realized his future self had also used it to practice signatures. Gritting his teeth, he tore out a page and dashed downstairs.

This time, he didn’t bother hiding his face. Instead, he offered the driver an awkward, stiff smile, cleared his throat, and tentatively asked, "Uh… would an autograph work?"

With that, he shoved the signed page toward the driver.

The driver froze, staring at him wide-eyed, utterly speechless for a long moment.

"Would it?" Su Cheng repeated, his embarrassment reaching its peak.

"Yes! Absolutely yes!" The driver snapped out of his daze, his face flushing with excitement. He carefully accepted the autograph as if it were a priceless treasure, his breathing growing noticeably quicker.

While the driver was busy reverently storing the autograph, Su Cheng grabbed his jacket and bolted like a startled hare, leaving the stunned driver gaping after him.

……

The moment he got home, Su Cheng eagerly booted up his computer and began searching for information about his future self.

"What? The tournament’s in just seven days?" He was shocked to discover that the so-called World Archery Championships were scheduled for just a week later—meaning if he returned to the past, he’d have only seven days to prepare.

The realization filled Su Cheng with dread.

Even worse—how was he supposed to get back?

Drink a glass of milk and go to sleep?

Scratching his head in frustration, he gloomily stewed over the problem.

By chance, he clicked on a forum thread filled with netizens’ lavish praise for him:

『The man among men』

『The alpha of alphas』

『The dominator of men』

『The ruler of men』

『The terminator of men』

『A beauty unseen in four millennia』

『King! Master!』

『God-tier!』

『Emperor!』

『An overwhelming presence!』

『Alias: The Pinnacle Sage』

『The immortal peak of human archery!』

『Pinnacle↑↑!』

In an instant, Su Cheng’s face burned crimson, so red it looked ready to bleed.

Panicking, he slammed the browser shut, bolted to the bathroom, and splashed his face with cold water from the tap.

"Whew—" He exhaled deeply, finally calming down.

Just as he was wallowing in shame over those cringe-worthy, over-the-top compliments, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Knock knock knock—"

Su Cheng approached the door, pressing close to peer through the peephole—only for his pupils to shrink in shock at the sight outside.

Blonde hair, emerald eyes, white socks…

It was unmistakably Cornelia!

And standing beside her was a girl with long, straight black hair—none other than Li Guanqi.

"He doesn’t seem to be home. Let’s just go in," Cornelia said, crouching to retrieve the spare key under the doormat—only to come up empty-handed.

"Huh? That’s weird, where’s the key?"

She muttered to herself, sounding confused.

Seeing this, Li Guanqi set down the groceries she was holding, pulled out a key from her bag, turned it in the lock, and pushed the door open.

Instantly—

The three of them stood face to face, the air between them freezing solid.