Wucheng No. 1 High School, Senior Year Office.
“Li Qing, the college entrance exam is one of the most important events in life. I know your family situation, but you still need to think about your own future…”
Liao Ting, homeroom teacher of Senior Class One, was earnestly persuading his most accomplished student.
“Wucheng has been developing rapidly in recent years, and its universities aren’t bad either, but they still can’t compare to the resources in Jinghua…”
Liao Ting spoke until his mouth was dry, yet even so, Li Qing remained unmoved, even spacing out right in front of him.
He glared at the girl in front of him, who wore her uniform neatly but whose eyes were filled with indifference, feeling so worried that his hair seemed about to fall out.
Li Qing glanced at Liao Ting’s nearly balding head and spoke with a faint smile: “Alright, Old Liao, worry less on the first day of school.”
“Hey, you!”
Noticing her gaze, Liao Ting was so angry he almost threw the thermos cup in his hand at her.
Seeing Li Qing’s stubborn refusal to listen, he waved his hand in frustration.
“Forget it, go home first.”
“Mm.”
Li Qing nodded calmly and was about to turn and leave when she heard Liao Ting call her back again.
She stopped and turned around in confusion, just in time to see the document in Liao Ting’s hand—
The final exam results from the second semester of sophomore year.
……First place was unmistakably her archrival, Yuan Tingshen.
Right after that was her name.
Yuan Tingshen had transferred here in sophomore year, and ever since then, Li Qing had been knocked off the throne of grade-level first place.
Li Qing wasn’t someone who cared much about grades, nor did she mind losing the top spot.
Her feud with Yuan Tingshen stemmed from one incident.
After the first monthly exam in sophomore year, Li Qing went to the office to find Liao Ting, only to find Yuan Tingshen there as well.
She overheard him speaking to Liao Ting.
“Teacher Liao, being first in the grade is normal.”
“Li Qing?”
“Her grades are decent, but…”
Li Qing didn’t listen to the rest.
From Yuan Tingshen’s tone, she sensed arrogance and disdain.
She had heard earlier that this transfer student was a wealthy second-generation from Jinghua, with a powerful family background.
Li Qing returned to the classroom seething with anger.
When Yuan Tingshen came back, Li Qing glared at him coldly: “Don’t you have anything to say?”
Yuan Tingshen was always arrogant and aloof.
He frowned at her but disdained to speak to her.
This reminded Li Qing of his cold, arrogant demeanor in the office, as if all her years of hard work were insignificant compared to his privileged advantages.
“Fine.”
The young and spirited Li Qing snapped.
Her competitive spirit was fully ignited from that moment on.
After a year as classmates, the number of times they spoke could be counted on one hand, and mutual disdain had become the norm.
Noticing Li Qing’s intense glare, Liao Ting twitched at the corner of his eye and said helplessly, “It’s been a year, and you two still haven’t settled down?”
He racked his brains trying to figure out why these two were so hostile toward each other.
In an attempt to ease their relationship, he had even unilaterally appointed them as class monitor and academic committee member.
Unexpectedly, their relationship only worsened.
Liao Ting’s mind stirred, and he felt the urge to persuade them again.
“Hey? Yuan Tingshen transferred here from Jinghua. Maybe you two could even become university alumni in the future…”
“University alumni in our dreams?”
Before he could finish, Li Qing interrupted through gritted teeth.
“……”
Liao Ting gave an awkward smile, remembering the last time his good intentions had backfired, and silently closed his mouth.
“Later, Old Liao.”
Li Qing didn’t pay any more attention to the report card, waved her hand casually, and turned to walk out of the office.
……
It was the first day of the new semester. After the class meeting, students were allowed to go home, but Li Qing was kept behind by Liao Ting for a talk.
By the time she left, there were hardly any people left in the school.
As she stepped out of the school gate and prepared to cross the street, she was caught off guard by the sight of a young, handsome, clean-cut guy standing on the other side of the road.
Looking at his face, Li Qing felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and closeness.
Most importantly, the guy was staring intently at her, his eyes slightly red as if tears were welling up.
Suppressing the strange feeling in her heart, Li Qing stepped forward when the light turned green.
When she reached the other side of the street, she noticed the guy’s gaze still following her, his body trembling slightly.
Could he be a psychiatric patient who had wandered out?
Li Qing couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.
But the next second—
“Mom!!”
The guy, tears in his eyes, rushed toward her.
“?”
“………”
“Hold on.”
Li Qing frowned, stepped back, and stopped him in one smooth motion.
She sized up the excited young man who was trying to get closer. Were scams these days of such high quality now?
But his judgment was terrible.
Her entire outfit probably wasn’t even worth as much as one of his clothes.
What was he after? At the very least, he should have picked someone who looked wealthy to scam, like her rival Yuan Tingshen.
“Mom, I’m Miao Miao!”
Yuan Miao eagerly explained.
He didn’t know how to explain that he had simply tripped on his way to visit his mother and somehow ended up twenty years in the past.
Miao Miao?
Li Qing’s frown deepened. “A stray cat turned spirit? You couldn’t even come up with a better—”
“What stray cat?”
Yuan Miao interrupted her, baffled, and declared confidently, “I’m your biological son, Yuan Miao!”
“???”
Were scamming organizations not even training their people these days?
Did he really think he could fool someone just by having this face?
Li Qing sneered, no longer holding back.
“I couldn’t possibly have a son as old as you. Move aside.”
After saying this, she tried to walk around him.
If it weren’t for the fact that the only row of shared bikes was right there by the school gate, she wouldn’t have crossed this street at all.
Yuan Miao was growing desperate.
He hurriedly ran after his young and beautiful mother, trying to explain.
“I really am your biological son, from twenty years in the future!”
“I tripped on my way to see you and ended up here! I’ve been looking for you for days…”
The story was getting more and more absurd.
Li Qing took a deep breath, gave up on scanning the shared bike, and glanced subtly at the police station a few hundred meters away.
“Fine, then come with me.”
“You believe me now?!”
Yuan Miao’s eyes lit up. Unaware of what he was about to face, he looked as excited as a proud peacock.
He chattered away as he ran alongside Li Qing, complaining about the hardships he had endured over the past few days.
Things like his ID being invalid, having no one to turn to, and nearly becoming a homeless person after sleeping rough…
Yuan Miao grew more animated as he spoke, showing no signs of stopping.
Li Qing thought it was only a few hundred meters away and decided to endure it.
But unexpectedly, Yuan Miao suddenly mentioned a name.
She stopped in her tracks and casually probed, “Did you just mention a name?”
“Ah, I mentioned a lot of people.”
Yuan Miao blinked innocently, “Mom, are you asking about Uncle Zhao or Uncle Luo? And what about Grandpa Jiu?”
“…You know them?”
“You told me yourself! They’re all your family. When you and Dad were busy with work, it was my uncles who took care of me!”
Could he really be from twenty years in the future?
For a moment, Li Qing felt a flicker of doubt.
But the police station was right in front of her, and that thought was quickly and ruthlessly suppressed.
She would never marry or have children in this lifetime.
Looking at Yuan Miao, who remained completely unaware even as they reached the police station, Li Qing grew even more convinced that he was just a novice scammer.
She sighed silently.
“Don’t try to deceive people anymore.”
After saying this, Li Qing walked up to the front desk of the police station under Yuan Miao’s disbelieving gaze.
“Officer, I’d like to report a crime.”