Song Yunshen finished reading the diary entry and fell silent for a long time.
He thought back to earlier today by the elevator, when Yan Zhenxia had lowered her head and wrung the hem of her shirt. His chest tightened. Both were doing everything for their families. Whether it was Yan Zhenxia or this girl’s mother, neither had it easy...
He couldn’t write a reply right now.
Song Yunshen took a deep breath, put away the Future Diary, and headed up to the rooftop terrace to catch some fresh air. After clearing his head on the roof, he returned to his bedroom and sat back down at his desk. He took out the Future Diary along with some paper and a pen. He deliberated for a long time before earnestly beginning to write.
Hello, fellow student.
It is truly mature and thoughtful of you to want to share your family’s financial burden with your mother.
However, from your mother’s perspective, a child your age should be studying hard and enjoying a happy youth at school, rather than working a grueling job and taking on the responsibilities of an adult.
Therefore, neither you nor your mother is wrong. You are both wonderful, excellent people.
If you want the best of both worlds, perhaps you should consider the type of part-time work you take on? For instance, tutoring? If your grades are good enough, that is. This kind of part-time job would ensure your studies don’t fall behind and is relatively respectable. Your mother might find it a bit easier to accept.
If you end up having a conversation with your mother about this, I look forward to receiving your next reply.
Wishing your family all the best, and hoping your life gets better and better.
— Song Yunshen, Class 5, Grade 10.
Song Yunshen didn’t want to make his intentions too obvious, so he merely tested the waters regarding the part-time tutoring job in the letter. There were still two weeks until summer vacation anyway, so there was no rush.
After finishing the reply, Song Yunshen took a photo of it and sent it to Emperor Doubao, asking her to translate it into English. Afterward, he pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and meticulously copied down the English translation.
He neatly tucked his reply together with the girl’s original letter and let out a long sigh. After stretching his arms, he took out the Future Diary again and reread the entry that had just been generated that afternoon.
"A part-time salary of three thousand a month..." Song Yunshen muttered. "That’s still within an acceptable range."
He unlocked his phone and checked WeChat. A new friend request had popped up. The WeChat handle was "Sleepy Cub Can’t Get Enough Sleep," and the avatar was Umaru-chan, making the user look like an adorable anime fan girl. This was the tenant for the apartment in Shuiting People’s House.
After accepting the friend request, Song Yunshen merely exchanged a few polite pleasantries with her and confirmed the rent collection date before ending the conversation. She had already paid this month’s rent; the next payment wouldn’t be due until July 20th.
Upon learning this, Song Yunshen couldn’t help but inwardly complain. He had thought his old man was having a bout of generosity, but it turned out the tenant handed over to him had just paid her rent yesterday.
He thought, "Old Song really pinches every penny he can. He even has to scheme against his own biological son." Still, it was better than nothing, so he didn’t bother making a fuss about it with his dad.
Putting his phone away, Song Yunshen took out his own notebook, flipped to a fresh page, and began writing his daily entry as usual.
June 21, 2025, Saturday.
Today I borrowed the English homework from Xia Yunuo. It’s a bit of a pity that the person isn’t her.
The good news is, I grabbed a letter from the English Club’s mailbox. It would be great if Teacher Jiang knew who wrote it. For now, I can only leave my reply on the bookshelf in the club room and wait.
I wonder if I’ll even get a reply.
By the way, Xia Yunuo called me handsome today. Oh man, it really makes me quite embarrassed.
Having already written a reply letter today, Song Yunshen didn’t write too much in his diary. He jotted down a few brief lines and packed the notebook away.
That evening, Xia Jinsu finished her homework in the school library and looked over at Xia Yunuo beside her. Thinking of the mysterious new content that had appeared in her newly bought diary last night, Xia Jinsu debated with herself before tentatively asking, "Nuo."
"Hmm?"
"Do you have someone you like?"
"Huh?" Still doing her homework, Xia Yunuo froze, clearly caught off guard. A second later, a certain person’s face flashed through her mind, but she quickly shook her head to dispel the thought. "No, why are you asking so suddenly?"
"Oh..." Xia Jinsu tucked a lock of beautiful hair behind her ear and spoke softly. "Just a couple of days ago, I happened to pass by your classroom and saw you asking a boy a question."
"I was just asking about a math problem," Xia Yunuo said, tensing her cheeks. She replied with utmost seriousness, "You’re acting so weird. Who assumes I like someone just because I asked them a question?"
"It was just a bit unexpected..." Xia Jinsu looked away, but ripples of surprise formed in her heart. "Didn’t you say you usually don’t have many friends in your class, Nuo? I didn’t expect you to take the initiative to ask a classmate about math."
She wondered, "Is what the diary said actually true?" Xia Jinsu was quite startled as she processed this realization. She certainly wouldn’t have been wandering around Xia Yunuo’s classroom for no reason, especially since the tenth and eleventh grades weren’t even in the same building.
But Xia Yunuo had actually admitted to it. She really *had* asked a boy a math question in class. And the diary entry that boy wrote that night had appeared out of thin air in her own notebook...
She wondered what in the world was going on.
"His math grades are really good," Xia Yunuo said softly, feeling a bit guilty and too embarrassed to meet her sister’s eyes. "Finals are coming up soon, and I want to improve my scores a little more. At the very least, I can’t be too far behind you."
She still hadn’t decided whether to tell her family that she could hear a male classmate’s inner thoughts. After all, this phenomenon didn’t seem to pose any harm so far. Furthermore, she had no way to prove its authenticity to her family without Song Yunshen present. If her mother mistakenly believed she had developed some sort of mental illness and insisted on sending her to the hospital, they would end up wasting a lot of money for no reason.
After turning it over in her mind, Xia Yunuo decided to keep this secret for the time being.
And so, both Xia Jinsu and Xia Yunuo harbored their own ulterior motives, each burying a hidden secret and keeping the truth from the other. Once their weekend homework was finished, the two girls headed home together.
Upon returning home, Xia Jinsu immediately took out her diary, flipped to last night’s entry, and read it over again. To her astonishment, she discovered that new content had been updated right after it. She buried her head in the book, reading carefully, and soon fell into a prolonged silence.
She thought, "A letter from the English Club... I just slipped a letter into the English mailbox today. Could he have been the one to take it?"
She stared at the next lines in disbelief. "And Nuo... she actually complimented a boy’s looks to his face?! With Nuo’s personality... how is that possible... how could that be possible..."
Xia Jinsu felt as if her brain had turned to mush. It wasn’t until Xia Yunuo came to call her for dinner that she finally snapped out of her daze.
"Why do you look so weird?"
"I-it’s nothing..." Xia Jinsu stared at Xia Yunuo with a peculiar expression, her current thoughts entirely unreadable.