Chapter 3
Translator: Aafkee
Proofreader: Superclubs2
Lu Chuiqing stares at Zhou Ruiyang, expressionless and speechless.
Zhou Ruiyang is beginning to feel apprehensive. As he is about to say something, Lu Chuiqing looks down suddenly and splashes his face with cold water.
The droplets of water flow down along Lu Chuiqing’s nose and back down into the puddle of water in the sink. He stares back at his blurred reflection, stretches out both his hands and checks himself for injuries.
Lu Chuiqing straightens himself and rolls up his shirt. There are no signs of his swollen body from his binge-eating after his marriage, nor are there any signs of pregnancy. There is only his flat and smooth abdomen.
Finally, he lifts his arms, slightly trembling, and touches the back of his neck, where his gland is.
(T/N: gland, where the pheromones are produced.)
His gland is still intact. It is still unmarked.
He really did travel back in time, back to seven years prior.
No child, no Chen Yuan, no marriage. He has returned back to those years when he would work hard for the sake of his own future.
Zhou Ruiyang asks carefully, “Are you… okay?”
Lu Chuiqing is momentarily stunned. Lu Chuiqing has not heard Zhou Ruiyang’s voice since his father’s accident in his last life. Especially not such a different, young and energetic voice.
Lu Chuiqing did not answer. He walks out of the toilet sluggishly, as if it is made of rusted gears. He has a feeling that God above has been playing a joke on him, by first taking away everything he has been working and longing for, and then putting him back on the starting line.
He is very perturbed. As if he was walking on a virtual void.
He heads straight out of the campus hospital. The sun shines brightly on his face, giving him a sense of reality with its warmth.
He studies the scenery in front of him with fixed eyes. The wide and neat streets of the campus, row upon row of school buildings, the bustling of young students, faces filled with youthfulness and vitality.
He was once part of all that too.
At last, as if all the energy has left him, Lu Chuiqing kneels at the entrance of the hospital, covers his face and sobs. Zhou Ruiyang looks at him helplessly. As he has no idea what is wrong with Lu Chuiqing, he can only try his best to comfort him.
Lu Chuiqing cannot sleep a wink that night. He lays restlessly on his narrow single bed in his dormitory. He can still see that scary scene of his accident whenever he closes his eyes.
He looks at the time on his phone repeatedly, to confirm that he is indeed living in this life, a reassurance that he is indeed given a second chance in life.
During the eight hours of nighttime, Lu Chuiqing thought through a lot of things. He finally has a chance to quietly examine his life in the past few years, to examine his and Chen Yuan’s relationship, to examine what he had invested, had sacrificed, and what he had gained from all of it.
When the sun rises the next day, all the thoughts have calmed in Lu Chuiqing’s mind, his uncertainty leaving him as a form of a deep sigh.
At 7:30 am, Lu Chuiqing, with no desire to sleep, leaves the bed. Zhou Ruiyang has been busy with his course these past couple of days and his roommates are all doing their internships. Lu Chuiqing is left alone in his dormitory room.
Lu Chuiqing sits in front of his desk and flips through his workbooks for the accountant exam. It is currently the second semester of the first year of his graduate course. It was also the year when he previously started preparing for the accountant exam. He had passed the exam with flying colours in his previous life.
Li Chuiqing is sure of what he wants to do. He has decided not to think about the causes or consequences of such a weird phenomenon and treats it as a second chance given to him by God.
As long as he is alive, as long as he can sit right here, he is not afraid of starting from scratch.
Yes, everything, from scratch.
Lu Chuiqing misses Chen Yuan and his child. He wants to apologise to Chen Yuan, but he has countless possibilities in this life. He cannot and will not forgive himself if he continues being weak.
He is still young. There is no pressure, no hesitation. He already knows which path he did not want to take, and this time, he will not walk the same path again.
At the very least, he wants to become someone he wants to be. Only then, will he have the rights and confidence to pursue other things he wants in life.
Having to readjust back into his school life is not an easy task for Lu Chuiqing. The burden and pressure from having to study for an important exam, especially when he has already forgotten all his basics and has to start from zero all over again. All of these cannot be done without perseverance and a lot of effort.
Lu Chuiqing had planned to take it easy in his previous life and decided to complete the CPA exam across the span of three years. It was only delayed due to his marriage with Chen Yuan. He is determined to finish his certification within two years this time and make use of the remaining time he will have leftover to better prepare for his future.
(T/N: CPA, Certified Public Accountants. This is the first time the novel mentioned the actual name of the accountant exam LOL)
Lu Chuiqing has to readjust from his seven years of being a full-time housewife. There will be no neighbours greeting him, only students like him who study their asses off; there will be no more staying back in an empty house alone, only a tight schedule of his study plan and a crowded library.
Zhou Ruiyang has a faint feeling that Lu Chuiyang has been acting differently recently. Zhou Ruiyang cannot pinpoint how exactly he is acting differently.
Zhou Ruiyang ponders over it for a moment, pulls his chair forward and leans towards Lu Chuiying, who is busy memorising the technical terms needed for the exam, “Hey listen, bro, are you really planning on doing this as your career in the future?”
“Uh-huh.” Lu Chuiqing pauses and then lowers his voice all of a sudden, “I have always liked this industry.” His eyes are unfocused, but they are shining so brightly as if he is looking somewhere very, very far away.
“Chuiqing, I think you have been a little… different recently.”
This topic makes Lu Chuiqing anxious. This is a secret, acting as his protection. It is a secret he will never, ever tell anyone about. Not even his family or best friend.
Lu Chuiqing shrugs it off, pretending to be nonchalant, “Am I?”
Judging from Lu Chuiqing’s response, Zhou Ruiyang cannot be sure. It is almost like Lu Chuiqing has grown mature and earnest overnight. Perhaps something happened and gave Lu Chuiqing a morale boost? He can only assume.
“Ah, right. It seems like the date for Sheng An Insurance’s (盛安保险) study project has finalised. It’ll be on next Saturday, the whole project should take about a week or so. I have already signed up.” Zhou Ruiyang changes the topic and discusses the recent study projects from their university, “You’ll be attending too, right? I remember you were really interested when the project was still at its planning stage.”
Lu Chuiqing is momentarily stunned. He glanced at the date shown on his phone and finds out that this day is arriving soon, without him realising.
This project is where the him of seven years ago had first met Chen Yuan.
Sheng An Insurance is a well-known international insurance conglomerate. The company is known for its generous employees’ benefits, it is the dream company of many fresh graduates.
Chen Yuan was the assistant manager of Sheng An Insurance’s education and training department. When Lu Chuiqing and Zhou Ruiyang attended this study project, Chen Yuan was the one who had personally trained their batch of graduate students.
(T/N: He is referring to his past life i.e. Chen Yuan is currently the assistant manager, and will probably be training them in this life too)
Lu Chuiqing had a very good first impression of Chen Yuan. Chen Yuan was earnest and generous, cautious and serious in this work. It was easy to tell that Chen Yuan is a gentle and considerate person from all the things he does.
It was unexpected that Chen Yuan started taking the initiative to contact Lu Chuiqing not long after the study project. Chen Yuan confessed his romantic interest in him directly, asking for a chance for them to get to know each other better, a better chance to deepen their relationship.
That was how Chen Yuan and his relationship had started.
He fell in love with everything Chen Yuan had given him and even started looking forward to a common future together. Lu Chuiqing would have never thought that he had chained and locked himself, giving the only key to Chen Yuan for safeguarding.
What happened was Chen Yuan throwing away the key straight away, reassuring him gently that there was nothing for him to worry about. Told him that he could accept his protection and support without any worry. That he would provide him with everything.
Lu Chuiqing has never once blamed Chen Yuan. He knew Chen Yuan has always wanted a wife that puts his or her everything into him and the family. There is no fault in that. Li Chuiqing tried, and he was not suitable for such a role.
Lu Chuiqing looks down and quietly replies, “...... I think I will not attend after all.”
“Huh? Why?” Zhou Ruiyang is confused, “didn’t you mention that Sheng An is also one of the targets for your career?”
Lu Chuiqing’s eyes wavered, “It is… my heat is here.”
“Who are you kidding? Isn’t your heat in May?” Although Zhou Ruiyang is a beta, as his best friend and roommate of many years, he knows exactly when Lu Chuiqing’s heats are. “You better tell me the truth.”
“... Fine. I just didn’t want to delay my revision.”
Although Zhou Ruiyang does not know what the reason is, by looking at his response, he knows that Lu Chuiqing is probably really against the idea of attending the project. Although he is slightly disappointed, he understands that Lu Chuiqing always has his reasons. It is better not to force it.
“Alright then. I’ll bring back the notes for you if I am chosen.”
Zhou Ruiyang’s results have always been good. He was chosen for Sheng An Insurance’s study project without any problems. On the night of the first day of the study project, Zhou Ruiyang sent a photo of the current batch of trainees. A suited-up Chen Yuan was standing between the students, smiling at the camera.
Lu Chuiqing stares blankly at that photo for ten minutes and quietly saves the photo.
Lu Chuiqing has recently gotten into the habit of running at the campus at night. Due to his lingering fear from his extreme weight gain after his marriage, he has started watching his health and diet very closely.
He carries his back and walks to the campus. Lu Chuiqing looks up and watches the hazy moon hiding behind the clouds.
Will Chen Yuan have another person this time just because he did not meet him this time?
It has been almost a month since Lu Chuiqing returned to seven years prior. Throughout the month, he was occasionally at a loss, felt hurt and anxious, but it was not as if he could not survive without Chen Yuan.
Lu Chuiqing’s life from the past had always revolved around Chen Yuan. Now that he thinks about it, Chen Yuan was undoubtedly a part of his life, but he could never be his everything. There are many other things for him to pursue and ponder on other than Chen Yuan.
Lu Chuiqing absent-mindedly thought, must it be Chen Yuan?
The Lu Chuiqing from the past would never have thought of such questions.
At last, Lu Chuiqing lets out a deep sigh. If he is to meet Chen Yuan again someday in the future, and if he still thinks that Chen Yuan is the person he loves the most, he will, for sure, pursue his love without hesitation.
But if he has changed by then, if he is able to stand at a higher viewpoint and meet more people this time, meet better people this time, then he will only feel gratitude for all the happiness Chen Yuan had brought to him in his other life. He will be brave enough to face the next hug.
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Author’s note:
The identity of the real ML has already been mentioned once before. He has already rebirthed, there is no way I will leave him hanging on the tree.
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Hi, this is Aafkee! If you guys have a minute to spare, please head over here for a little announcement and poll! Your responses will be very much appreciated! Thank you and have a great day ahead! xoxo
the president of that Xu company??? hmm~》thank u for the chapter!!
ReplyDeleteSo excited! The translation quality is amazing!
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