If what was happening right in front of him was occurring for the first time, Song Yunshen would definitely suspect some idiot was playing a prank on him.
However, after more than a week of testing and verification, Song Yunshen could tentatively conclude that the contents appearing in this Future Diary were events that would actually happen in the future.
He wondered, "Will I really get a divorce in the future?! What the hell is this!"
Song Yunshen covered his forehead and sighed, a heavy sense of absurdity stuck in his chest, leaving him at a loss for words.
He repeatedly studied the newly appeared diary entry, his expression growing increasingly bizarre.
First of all, the date.
[2036]
Song Yunshen took out his phone and repeatedly confirmed today’s date: June 20, 2025.
In other words, assuming this diary entry was real, it was from eleven years in the future!
Eleven years...
Song Yunshen counted on his fingers, carefully calculating it over and over, confirming that he should be twenty-eight years old by then.
He wondered if this meant he would go through a divorce before he even turned thirty, and who his future wife could be. The diary didn’t mention the name of his future ex-wife, which left Song Yunshen burning with curiosity.
Well... setting that aside for now, Song Yunshen continued reading through the contents.
[They got divorced.]
[That idiot Song Yunshen didn’t even know how to hide those photo albums and pictures well, and they actually got discovered.]
Analyzing these two sentences, Song Yunshen arrived at a rather speechless conclusion. He deduced that the issue with this divorce didn’t seem to lie with his wife, but rather that he himself had an extramarital affair, and that his wife had even discovered the intimate photos between him and his lover. He figured that if his cheating was discovered, then the divorce made perfect sense. However, he couldn’t fathom how he could be the kind of person who cheats.
Song Yunshen stared at the two sentences, feeling somewhat indignant. He thought to himself that he was a fine young man with healthy values and noble character. As an outstanding flower of the nation, how could he do such a despicable thing? He was convinced there must be a hidden story behind this and that he was innocent.
So Song Yunshen read on, continuing his analysis.
[But since things have already come to this, am I supposed to get back together with him?]
He wondered if the person he cheated with was actually the owner of this Future Diary, but he had no idea who on earth this person was.
Song Yunshen looked bewildered, filled with unprecedented curiosity about the true identity of the diary’s owner. Furthermore, the word "back" in that sentence was very intriguing.
He wondered if, before getting married, he had actually been in a relationship with the diary’s owner. He speculated that perhaps due to mismatched family backgrounds or similar reasons, their families hadn’t let them be together, so he had ended up marrying a wife he didn’t like. He reasoned that otherwise, he wouldn’t have cheated after getting married.
Song Yunshen fully unleashed his imagination, relying on his years of experience watching short dramas to analyze a certain possibility. He guessed that he and the diary’s owner were true love, while he had only met his wife through a blind date with no emotional foundation. That was the only guess Song Yunshen could make right now.
However, the last sentence of the diary entry easily sank his theory.
[Or perhaps, he might be more willing to choose her?]
He wondered why she couldn’t just give a name and why she had to be so secretive when writing a diary. He questioned who exactly this "her" was—whether it referred to his wife, or if there could be a fourth person involved. He even wondered if his future self’s luck with women was really that good.
Although Song Yunshen was very self-aware and knew he was indeed somewhat handsome—having even been confessed to by girls in middle school—his future romantic experiences were simply too full of twists and turns.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Song Yunshen stood up and went to the living room to pour a glass of water. Returning to his bedroom and sitting down, he took a large gulp of water to calm himself before organizing the recent diary entries once again.
Following his usual habits, Song Yunshen grabbed a pen and paper from nearby and began writing down his train of thought.
[1. Figure out the identity of the diary’s owner.]
[Currently known information:]
[The person is a student at Ningjiang Middle School, has a younger sister, and supposedly comes from a poor family background.]
[She is pretty.]
He figured that if she wasn’t pretty, he wouldn’t have dated her anyway. Song Yunshen still had certain standards for his aesthetics; otherwise, he wouldn’t have rejected those confessions back in middle school.
[I can start with the handwriting in the diary and observe the everyday handwriting of pretty girls more often.]
He wondered what Xia Yunuo’s handwriting looked like. Song Yunshen suddenly thought of his classmate Xia Yunuo, but he really had no impression of her handwriting. However, if his future partner was Xia Yunuo, Song Yunshen felt it would be completely acceptable. He decided he would find a chance to observe it carefully later.
Thinking of this, Song Yunshen added another line to the paper, writing down: "Suspect: Xia Yunuo."
But then, he remembered another strange thing that had happened at school today. So he started writing again.
[2. Figure out the source of the inexplicable voice in my head.]
[The voice sounded like Xia Yunuo herself, but I can’t be entirely sure yet.]
[Could the inner voice in my head and the diary’s owner be the same person?]
[Temporarily listed as a key observation target.]
To be honest, if he hadn’t encountered the Future Diary, the thing Song Yunshen should be doing right now was seeing a psychiatrist. After all, hearing someone else’s voice inexplicably appear in his head was somewhat too strange. Originally, Song Yunshen thought it was an auditory hallucination, but the inner voice in his mind was far too clear and specific. Coupled with the miraculous nature of the Future Diary, Song Yunshen quickly accepted the situation and planned to try verifying it first.
[3. Prepare for the final exams.]
[Work hard for next week’s exams, aim for the top two hundred, and get Old Song to give more pocket money.]
[I’m only a little short of enough money for a new computer. Hopefully, I can save up the rest during summer vacation.]
Having finalized how to handle the two supernatural events that recently happened to him, Song Yunshen finally acted like a normal high school student and briefly mapped out a follow-up study plan. His family wasn’t strict right now, so Song Yunshen didn’t work particularly hard on his studies. He generally maintained a mid-tier level at school, his grades hovering neither high nor low. In the teachers’ eyes, he was an average student—neither a top achiever nor a complete slacker. Aside from his handsome face, he had nothing else worth being remembered for by teachers and classmates.
"I’ll write in my diary for a bit," Song Yunshen muttered. He placed the written plan on the desk. After thinking about it, he stuffed the plan along with the Future Diary into a drawer.
He locked it.
Then, he took out a normal diary from the bookshelf, opened it to the latest page, and prepared to write.
But right at that moment, someone knocked on the bedroom door.
"Yunshen, are you there?" His dad, Song Mingyuan’s voice, came from outside the door.
"Yeah, what’s up?"
"I’ll come in and talk."
"Oh."
The door was pushed open. Song Mingyuan, wearing rimless glasses and blue pajamas, walked from the hallway into his son’s bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed.
Song Yunshen looked at his dad and asked in confusion, "What’s the matter?"
"Just letting you know, I took a long leave and plan to travel around during summer vacation," Song Mingyuan said.
"Huh?" Song Yunshen froze for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "Going on a trip? Am I going too?"
Song Mingyuan glanced at his son. "Don’t you have tutoring during the summer? Of course, I’m going by myself."
"How long are you going for? I think I can still spare a few days," Song Yunshen said.
"Two months."
"What?!"
"Anyway, just stay home and behave during summer vacation," Song Mingyuan said. "Go to your tutoring, play when you want, but no staying up late. I’ll be watching the home security cameras."
"I know, I know." Song Yunshen waved his hand. Learning he had no part in the trip, he couldn’t be bothered to listen anymore. "So when are you leaving?"
"Early next month."
"That works." Song Yunshen chuckled. "I have my finals next week, and the results will definitely be out by the end of the month. We had a deal—you have to give me my summer pocket money then."
"Oh, about that..."
"What? Are you trying to back out?"
"Of course not." Song Mingyuan shook his head, then smiled. He took out his phone and tapped on it. "Check your WeChat."
"What is it?" Confused, Song Yunshen took out his phone and opened WeChat, only to see his dad had recommended a contact to him. "Who is this?"
"Add her."
"Added." Song Yunshen looked at the person whose WeChat name was "Yan Zhenxia" with a suspicious expression. "You didn’t find me a stepmom, did you?"
"Get lost!" Hearing this, Song Mingyuan’s face immediately darkened, and he smacked the back of his son’s head. "If you don’t know how to speak, just shut up."
"OUCH..." Song Yunshen rubbed his head. "Then who is she?"
"Our tenant," Song Mingyuan said calmly, recovering his composure. "Don’t we also have an apartment in the East District? The fifty-square-meter one. It’s been rented out for several years."
"A tenant?" Song Yunshen realized, but then asked in confusion, "Why did you have me add her?"
"The rent for this apartment is two thousand a month," Song Mingyuan explained. "I just informed her today that from now on, she will pay the rent directly to you."
"Huh?"
"Two thousand a month, which covers your living expenses, pocket money, and any extra academic costs," Song Mingyuan said. "I won’t be giving you separate living expenses and pocket money anymore."
Song Yunshen blinked, taking quite a while to process it. "Does it have to be this complicated?"
"These will all be yours in the future anyway, so you might as well take over early and get familiar with it." Song Mingyuan adjusted his glasses and looked at the night sky outside the window. "We still have a few other properties. When you go to college, I’ll hand over all the rent collection to you."
"Why does it feel like you’re leaving your final wishes, Dad? You don’t have some terminal illness, do you?" Song Yunshen asked with concern.
Song Mingyuan sighed. "Can’t you wish for something good?"
"I’m just worried about you."
"You’d be better off doing a few more practice questions than worrying about me." Song Mingyuan stood up from the bed. "I’m not worried about your science subjects, but your English is simply too poor. If you bomb this final exam again, I’ll find an English tutor for you during summer vacation."
"Don’t do that, it’s such a waste of money."
"It’s fine. It’ll be deducted from the rent you collect."
"Damn it! Tutors are so expensive nowadays! Two thousand a month won’t even be enough!"
"Then just do well on your exams!"
After seeing his dad out, Song Yunshen rubbed his forehead and glanced at WeChat again.
In those few short minutes, the other party hadn’t accepted his friend request yet, so Song Yunshen temporarily put the matter aside and planned to write today’s diary entry first.
[June 20, 2025, Friday]
[The weather was nice today. We had P.E. class in the morning, and I completely crushed Old Xu.]
[Then we casually bet on lunch and dinner. Sure enough, I won easily and saved money on two meals.]
[During evening self-study, Xia Yunuo came to ask me a math question again. She doesn’t actually have a crush on me, does she?]
[Something strange happened again today. I hope I can uncover the truth soon.]
[Speaking of which, is Dad really okay?]
[He rarely travels, yet this time he’s going away for two months.]
[He even recommended the tenant’s WeChat to me... By the way, when do I start collecting this rent? I’ll have to ask him later.]
[Anyway, it was another happy day. The money-saving plan is progressing smoothly, and I should be able to get a new computer this summer vacation.]
[Keep it up!]
Late at night.
A girl took out the cheap diary she had newly bought yesterday from a drawer and turned to the first page.
The next second, she frowned slightly and couldn’t help but ask the person in the living room, "Mom, did you use my diary?"
"Huh? No, what’s wrong?"
"Oh... N-nothing..."
The girl shook her head and looked down again at the inexplicably added handwriting in her diary, falling into deep thought for a moment.