Cracking the Curse of the July Cycle

Bing's high school grades weren't great, but he still managed to get into a private vocational college near Yunzhou City. Before the semester started, he realized commuting daily would be exhausting, so he rented a student apartment near the school, only returning home to visit his mom on weekends and holidays.

Bing's full name was Chen Bing.

An ordinary, overworked college junior.

One morning, he woke up—

Another bright, sunlit day. The glaring sunlight pierced through the grimy window of his dimly lit rented room.

Chen Bing yawned, rubbing his bleary eyes as he stirred awake.

It was summer break, and his sleep schedule was completely wrecked.

He was used to mornings like this by now.

Boring. Dull. Unbearable.

After reliving the same morning tens of thousands of times, anyone would be sick to their stomach.

Listlessly, he pushed open the door—and, as expected, his landlady, Mrs. Hu from across the hall, had just stepped out at the same time.

"Mrs. Hu, not working today?" Chen Bing forced a smile, reciting the same script that made him want to vomit.

Mrs. Hu looked surprised, then burst into laughter. "Did summer break fry your brain? It's Sunday!"

"Sunday?" Chen Bing froze, instantly wide awake, as if struck by lightning.

Normally, at this point, Mrs. Hu would invite him to grab fast food for lunch, then ask him to help carry her packages, and then—

But something was clearly off.

July 1st shouldn’t be a Sunday. He had lived through this loop over ten thousand times—he couldn’t be wrong.

"Mrs. Hu, what’s today’s date?" His voice was hoarse, terrified this was just another dream.

Mrs. Hu covered her mouth, giggling. "Kid, did you game all night and lose track of time? It’s August 1st—your summer break’s halfway over."

August 1st!

Chen Bing’s breath hitched. With trembling hands, he pulled out his phone—the screen confirmed it. August 1st.

He’d escaped.

That nightmare of a July time loop—he’d broken free!

The damn cycle was finally over!

"I—"

Chen Bing collapsed to his knees, choking back sobs, tears streaming down his face.

Twelve thousand Julys.

No one knew how he’d survived a thousand years of this.

It’s over!!!

Mrs. Hu stared at his breakdown, bewildered. "Kid, what’s wrong? Come to my place, let big sis cheer you up—"

"AHHHHHH!!!"

Chen Bing let out a primal scream.

Pure euphoria. Uncontainable joy.

He had never, in all his existence, felt this happy.

Mrs. Hu frowned.

She had initially thought this kid was decent-looking—quiet, clean-cut—and had planned to "educate" him, maybe teach him a few moves.

Turns out he was just a freak.

"I’m free!!!"

Chen Bing howled with glee, gripping the rusted railing of the stairwell like a wild ape before leaping off with a roar.

Mrs. Hu shrieked, her face pale.

What the hell?!

This lunatic just jumped?!

"AAAAHHH—"

Her shrill scream echoed through the dingy hallway.

Everything felt new.

Even though he’d seen this world for a thousand years, the shift in time made it all feel vibrant, exhilarating.

Chen Bing, who had just vaulted from the sixth floor, sprinted down the street in pure ecstasy.

Even the sleazy old man in a white martial arts outfit faking a collision with a Land Rover at the intersection looked charming.

As if witnessing the world for the first time, Chen Bing inhaled deeply, savoring the sweetness in the air.

"Old man, are you getting up or not?!"

A middle-aged man in a suit, his belly straining against the fabric, barked in frustration.

"Owwww, I’m dying! Someone call the cops!"

The silver-haired old man, who looked far too spry for someone supposedly hit by a car, writhed dramatically in front of the luxury vehicle.

A crowd gathered instantly, pointing fingers at the suited man.

"Rich bastard hit-and-run! No conscience!"

"Poor old guy got thrown into the flower bed. At his age, he might not make it..."

The suited man panicked at the murmurs. "No, no—I have a dashcam!"

"Then call the cops!"

The old man smirked, utterly unfazed, clearly confident he had the upper hand.

The man’s face darkened.

He had felt the impact, but the old geezer had jumped in front of him!

"Let’s settle this privately. How much?" he growled.

The old man shakily held up one finger.

The man exhaled in relief.

"One million."

The suited man nearly choked.

"You senile bastard! A million?!"

"Bodyguards make 100 million a year! You drive a Land Rover—what’s a million to you?!"

"Damn it, old man—I just got cheated on by my wife. Maybe I should just run you over and enjoy prison!"

As the two argued, the old man’s gaze suddenly flickered toward Chen Bing, who was still sprinting past.

His eyes narrowed.

That aura...

No mistake.

The suited man climbed back into the Land Rover, ready to end it all with the scammer.

At that moment, the old man sprang up like a carp leaping out of water and darted toward the park with the swiftness of a hare.

The man in the suit hurriedly flung open the car door, tears streaming down his face as he wailed, "This old man is clearly faking an accident! Did you see it? Did you? Did you?"

Exhausted, Chen Bing slumped onto a park bench.

After a long moment of reflection, his initial excitement faded, and he sank into deep thought.

What had finally broken the chains of his endless cycle?

After all, he had already relived the same loop—12,000 times!

Yet he had never given up searching for a way to escape it.

He had thrown himself under trains, leaped off cliffs, hanged himself—

or turned into a devil, slaughtering indiscriminately across the world.

But every time he woke up, it was still July 1st.

It felt like a curse.

At one point, he even questioned the reality of the world itself—or wondered if he was just a brain-dead corpse, his mind floating in some lab’s preservation tank.

But why, this time, had he finally broken free?

Had he simply hit the quota?

Chen Bing pondered, then zeroed in on last night.

This cycle had been utterly ordinary. He hadn’t done anything earth-shattering; in fact, for the first half of the month, he’d just used the "Turtle Breathing Technique" to play dead, waiting out the mind-numbing passage of time.

Only last night stood out as suspicious.

After countless repetitions, the script had deviated—without his interference.

That kid who was supposed to die a violent death had survived.

This was the biggest anomaly.

Could the secret to escaping the loop really be saving that guy, An Yi?

Chen Bing’s forehead creased with frustration.

Don’t tell him he’d been stuck in a thousand-year loop just because he’d never bothered to save An Yi before!

No way. Absolutely no way.

His face darkened as he outright rejected the idea.

Just then, an elderly man in white martial arts attire—exuding an air of immortal wisdom—ambled over.

Noticing the newcomer, Chen Bing tensed with surprise and wariness.

This old-timer wasn’t ordinary.

It was the peak of summer, midday, with temperatures hitting 38°C!

Instead of staying home with the AC blasting, he was strolling through the park!