Your future crush is about to arrive on the battlefield.
Song Chan was very uneasy. She clearly couldn’t fully believe that these twins could really handle this matter; after all, they both still looked like children.
But…
Actually, apart from being similar in age, they were quite different in other aspects.
For example, Zhong Xin, just blossoming into womanhood, possessed a natural air of superiority due to her pampered upbringing, forcing people to be mindful and try to understand her feelings.
On the other hand, Zhong Cheng remained calm and composed. His every gesture and demeanor, his unhurried speech, exuded a purity and nobility that only a privileged family could cultivate, making it difficult for anyone to question him.
The manager surnamed Wang gradually lost all his disdain, replaced by a sense of panic and helplessness. He went upstairs without a word. Seeing the manager’s unusual behavior, the cashier also began to realize that something was amiss, and immediately smiled obsequiously when she met Zhong Xin’s gaze.
A short while later, Manager Wang emerged with another middle-aged man. The man introduced himself as the restaurant owner, his expression extremely polite. “A misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding! The children are coming to eat. Why didn’t you tell me? This meal is on me. And you, Xiao Wang, you’re so blind…”
He then proceeded to berate Manager Wang, who repeatedly bowed and apologized to the students.
Zhou Wenxuan, feeling she had gained considerable face, was the first to step forward and generously forgive, “It’s alright, Manager Wang, it’s all over now, don’t take it to heart.”
Manager Wang: “Yes, yes, you are all so magnanimous.”
Zhong Xin sneered.
Her sneer startled Manager Wang; sweat immediately poured down his back. He wondered what the young lady was up to now.
“This matter can’t be left unresolved.” Her beautiful eyes glanced at Zhou Wenxuan as she spoke. “No need for a treat. We’re not that close. Charge as usual. Zhou Wenxuan is treating us today; how can we let her kindness go to waste?”
Zhou Wenxuan’s expression changed abruptly. The next second, she saw Zhong Xin take the black gold card from the table and pull Song Chan out.
“No, I…”
Zhou Wenxuan hurriedly tried to follow, but was stopped by the restaurant manager.
“Miss Zhong already said you’re treating us today. We’ve already given you a 50% discount. What more do you want?”
Zhou Wenxuan stammered. Even with the 50% discount, it was still a considerable expense. She frantically tried to call out to Song Chan, “Cousin! Cousin! Please talk to them for me!”
Song Chan ignored her and had already walked away.
Zhou Wenxuan’s friends also shook their heads, leaving without a word, their faces cold.
Everyone felt they had never been so humiliated. Zhou Wenxuan, feeling abandoned, grew increasingly panicked. “Why are you all leaving, too? Qingqing, wait for me, please… Jiang Yuanqi, come back! Can’t you hear me…?”
No matter how much Zhou Wenxuan pleaded, no one paid her any attention. Helpless, she stood there, her legs trembling uncontrollably.
Outside the quiet courtyard, a bustling market street stretched out.
As dusk settled, the air carried the faint, fishy smell of rain.
“Why were you so dazed the whole time?”
Zhong Xin held Song Chan’s hand, her face beaming with a sweet smile. Those bright, loving eyes and that affectionate, teasing tone made Song Chan feel dazed.
“How can you talk to your mother like that?” Zhong Cheng habitually scolded Zhong Xin, his tone not too harsh, but Zhong Xin seemed lost in thought; her previous defiant spirit had vanished, replaced by tears in her eyes.
Song Chan, unable to bear seeing the beautiful girl’s expression, frantically tried to comfort Zhong Xin.
At this moment, Zhong Cheng earnestly explained to Song Chan, “Mom, we’re usually very well-behaved. We’ve never caused you or Dad any trouble. We were just acting impulsively.”
Zhong Xin rubbed her eyes and nodded. “I never imagined Aunt Wenxuan could be so annoying before. She really deserved to suffer a bit. Who told her to bully Mom?”
Song Chan hesitated.
They seemed genuinely afraid of becoming children disliked by their mother…
However, she still felt it necessary to explain, even if it sounded hurtful.
“You helped me today, and I’m truly grateful, but I’m really not your mother,” Song Chan said with a wry smile. “To be honest, I’m a high school sophomore this year, just turned eighteen.”
The twins exchanged a glance, then smiled.
“Yeah, back then, Mom was still a baby herself!”
“A group photo! A group photo! A memorable picture!”
“No, Dad hasn’t arrived yet. When Dad comes, we’ll take a time-traveling family photo!”
“Stop talking, you’re scaring Mom again.”
Zhong Cheng finally noticed Song Chan’s unnatural expression.
Song Chan not only didn’t recognize them, but also seemed quite panicked about it, which made Zhong Xin feel frustrated for a moment, but she quickly cheered up, thinking that she and her brother must not have explained things clearly enough.
“Mom, we come from twenty-six years in the future, we are your future babies.”
Zhong Cheng: “But later we encountered some accidents, and we traveled with Dad twenty-six years ago, when you were eighteen.”
Song Chan shook her head frantically, incoherently: “… No… no… impossible…”
Seeing Song Chan’s increasingly resistant expression, Zhong Xin froze, feeling like a little stray abandoned by her mother, a wave of grievance washing over her, her voice trembling with tears.
“It’s true. Mom has two small red moles on her lower back. Grandma said it’s because Mom was walking too slowly in line to be reincarnated, and the impatient snake behind her bit her, leaving those two fang marks.”
Zhong Cheng: “And Uncle is that snake?”
Song Chan felt a chill run down her spine.
Waaah, how could she know even such things so clearly?
This was indeed something Song Chan’s mother often said, used to scold Song Chan for always being slow and frustrating.
On the contrary, her younger brother, Song Qing, was impatient, and since he and Song Chan were born around the same time, he naturally became the snake that bit Song Chan.
Zhong Cheng noticed that Song Chan, hearing such certainty, didn’t believe him, but only felt fear. She secretly tugged at Zhong Xin’s finger and gave her a look.
Then, the boy pulled his sister back a step.
“Don’t worry, we won’t pressure you. It’s okay if you can’t accept it.”
“We won’t bother you rashly. We can start as friends. Mom said that although we’re mother and son, we’re also the best of friends in the world.”
“Okay, so this time we’ll really just be friends for once, and for now… not mother and son.”
The siblings reached an optimistic agreement, then looked at Song Chan expectantly.
Song Chan nodded almost unconsciously.
It wasn’t until an hour later, when she got home, that she suddenly realized she had agreed too quickly and began to regret it.
Song Chan stared at the ceiling, hugging her teddy bear, repeatedly replaying this bizarre incident in her mind.
She had only agreed because she really didn’t want to see the two classmates’ sad expressions after being rejected.
But thinking about it carefully, it didn’t seem to matter much. They said they wouldn’t bother her rashly, and they really didn’t pursue Song Chan any further. They put Song Chan on her way home, and then they left.
They didn’t exchange contact information or anything, so they probably won’t see each other again.
But…
What kind of person is the child’s father?
Those twins are so good-looking; will her future husband be a feast for the eyes?
They say girls resemble their fathers more. Zhong Xin’s high nose bridge suggests her father has striking features.
Although what the twins said was a bit absurd, their manners and upbringing certainly didn’t seem like those of children raised in an ordinary family.
Just look at how Zhong Xin calmly and methodically dealt with the arrogant restaurant manager by brandishing her black gold card. For someone so young to handle conflict so easily, she must have been taught by a very capable adult.
Good family background, good looks, strong mental fortitude, emotional stability, and a strong emphasis on family education…
What a perfect husband he would be!
Song Chan curled up on the bed, her mind racing, sketching out that person’s appearance, personality, and mannerisms, and imagining all sorts of scenarios, including their first encounter in the future and the gradual progression from dating to marriage.
Until Song Chan’s mother knocked on the door, jolting her awake.
“Sleeping so early? Aren’t you going to do a practice set? School starts soon, don’t fall behind your classmates.” Meng Mian glanced at Song Chan’s notebook, her expression concerned. “Such good paper, write smaller, don’t write so big, the notebook will last longer.”
“I’ll use a pencil, I can erase and reuse it.”
The thrifty Meng Mian was very pleased with her daughter’s thoughtfulness.
After her mother left, Song Chan got out of bed and went to her desk, opening her workbook.
She rubbed her chest, feeling a strange, aching, and throbbing sensation, a wonderful feeling filling her body. She was so excited she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.
“Pfft.”
At the same time, she felt a little ridiculous.
Logically, she thought the other person’s idea was absurd, but in reality, she herself had, in just one night, fabricated a whole story, from appearance to personality, even the trivialities of married life.
But she couldn’t really be blamed, could she? What teenage girl couldn’t fantasize about her future lover?
Like most girls, Song Chan acknowledged her ordinariness while simultaneously hoping to be loved by someone gentle and strong.
Yes, she’d just think about it secretly, without telling anyone.
On the first day of classes after the class division, Song Chan, an early riser, dragged her carefree younger brother to catch the earliest bus. After an hour of bumpy travel, they finally entered the gates of Luhua Middle School.
Before dawn, the sound of recitation already filled the classrooms.
Standing at the door of Class 1, Grade 11, Song Chan saw the entire class standing and reciting, not a single person sitting. Suddenly, she felt a little lost, like a husky that had wandered into a pack of wolves.
No wonder she’s a top student, so self-disciplined.
There were a few empty seats in the classroom. Song Chan chose one towards the back and politely asked the short-haired girl next to her, “May I sit next to you?”
The short-haired girl nodded while reading English.
Ten minutes later, the morning self-study ended, and the classmates began to get to know each other in small groups.
Song Chan mustered her courage and greeted the students around her.
“Hello, I’m Chen Miao. What’s your name?”
“She and I were in this class before, Qiao Yuanyuan.”
“I got in from Class Two.”
“I know you, the top student in Class Two, right? You made the bottom student in our class anxious all the time.”
“Haha, by the way, Song Chan, which class are you in?”
Song Chan was relieved to finally have a word or two to say, and her eyes lit up with a smile. “I used to be in Class Six.”
“Class Six, isn’t that a regular class?”
“Ah…you wouldn’t happen to be the last student in this Class One now, would you?”
Recognizing her deskmate’s disdain, Song Chan’s expression froze slightly.
She had never excelled in anything since childhood. She studied late into the night for a whole year, and this time, she finally gritted her teeth and barely squeezed into a good class in the placement exam, with the last-place score.
“She definitely is. Look, she hasn’t even said anything.”
The student in front of her turned her head back.
Her deskmate muttered under her breath, “So unlucky.”
Song Chan lowered her head and remained silent, leaving alone with her water bottle.
Maybe…maybe things weren’t so bad after all. She could just study harder and try not to be last in next month’s exam, right?
Song Chan’s fighting spirit was rekindled.
However, just as she managed to cheer herself up and stepped into the classroom, she saw her deskmate, Qiao Yuanyuan, had moved to a seat in front.
The seat next to Song Chan was empty.
A sharp pain shot through her chest. She silently sat back down. There was no one beside her, and even the air felt cold, so cold that she hunched her shoulders, unable to even lift her head.
Is this what a top-performing class is like? A dog-eat-dog world, a harsh reality. Nobody wants to be friends with the last-place student.
But Song Chan couldn’t be angry. Who could she blame but herself for not being good enough? Qiao Yuanyuan, a complete stranger, had no obligation to kindly accompany her and wait for her to grow. Song Yuanyuan’s current deskmate is undoubtedly more valuable than Song Chan…
But just this morning, she was a top student, a source of pride for her parents.
Song Chan suppressed her sadness, forcing herself to focus on her textbook. The thought of today’s setback only fueled her determination to study harder.
The music for morning exercises filled the entire Luhua campus. The paths leading to the playground were packed with students, chattering excitedly.
Class 1, located in the middle, had fewer students, lined up in a row, flanked by students from other classes.
Song Chan, one of the taller girls, stood at the back, diligently memorizing vocabulary from her notebook, partly to improve her skills, and partly to hide her awkwardness at not fitting in.
The students from Class 4 were much more lively and friendly than those from Class 1. In just one morning, they had already become acquainted.
“As expected of Luhua High School, its reputation as a breeding ground for the wealthy is well-deserved. The junior high has the heir to the Hengding Group, and now the senior high has a young master from the Zhong Group.”
“The Zhong Group? Are you sure? The internet says they’re overseas.”
“Look, see that person under that tree over there?”
“So impressive, being personally welcomed in by the principal. With this kind of entourage, he’s probably not here to study, but to inspect our work.”
“I knew it! Why were we all wearing school uniforms today? Turns out it’s to show off our spirit to Young Master Zhong. Afraid he’ll think we’re lazy and turn around and choose another school.”
A bright sun hung overhead, its intense rays illuminating every detail of the playground, making the noisy cicadas’ chirping even louder.
To the left, under the dense shade of the trees near the school history museum, stood a tall, elegant figure, dappled green shadows falling on his spotless white clothes. A group of formally dressed school leaders stood discreetly to his side, introducing the school’s educational philosophy. He seemed oblivious, turning his chin as a cool breeze blew from the track.