A thunderclap of a statement left Cang Xiaoxi speechless.
Recall the scholarship? It had already been confirmed! To backtrack at this hour… Unbelievable…
“What kind of joke is this!”
Unable to contain himself, Cang Xiaoxi shot to his feet with a shout.
Teachers and students alike flinched—but only for a moment.
Chi Lili, the new intern teacher immensely popular among faculty and students,
Chi Yun’s cousin mentioned earlier, let out a sigh tinged with self-reproach.
She gently calmed the agitated Cang Xiaoxi and gestured for him to sit.
“Cang Xiaoxi, please stay calm. I… I’ll explain everything.”
“Ah, sorry. I overreacted.”
Noticing Chi Lili’s pained expression, Cang Xiaoxi took a deep breath.
He was rational. The news had shaken him momentarily—but he regained composure fast.
Chi Lili then explained: frequent tardiness and violating the no-part-time-work rule led the committee to revoke his scholarship.
But was that truly the reason?
Cang Xiaoxi knew he’d been late while repaying debts and earning a living.
Still, he attended every class. Aside from the part-time work, he broke no other rules.
So what was the real cause?
He’d already guessed.
From the moment the news spread, only one person reacted differently.
Luo Shun!
That pitiful rich upstart who, after Cang Xiaoxi’s family business collapsed years ago, finally escaped being the perpetual runner-up.
“What a boring person…”
He clicked his tongue in displeasure.
This wasn’t the first time Luo Shun deliberately targeted him—scholarships, math Olympiads, sports contests.
He’d meddle regardless of whether he could take Cang Xiaoxi’s place.
Years of runner-up resentment don’t vanish overnight.
All Luo Shun sought was to vent old frustrations.
“Cang Xiaoxi, I know it’s disappointing,” Chi Lili murmured softly, having approached unnoticed, “but we’ll strive harder next time. I promise I’ll recommend you again.”
“I’m not feeling well. I’ll take my leave early.”
No reason remained to stay. Better to head to work—earn a little more, pay debts faster.
“Mm… alright.” Chi Lili pressed her lips tight and nodded slightly. “Go. I’ll explain to the senior teacher.”
As merely an intern, she lacked authority to approve leave.
But knowing his situation, she chose to bend the rules—ready to bear any scolding for him.
“Thank you. I’ll repay your kindness.”
Cang Xiaoxi recognized her care. For someone who’d nearly lost faith in women, Chi Lili was among the few he trusted.
Walking down the hallway—whispers, pointing fingers, stifled laughter.
Bitterness swelled, but sharper was anger at his own helplessness.
If only he’d been useful when his father’s company fell… If only his father hadn’t married *her*…
“So… women’s promises are all lies.”
“Xiaoxi, I—”
Passing Yuan Huixue, his muttered words reached her. She stood to stop him—but too late.
Cang Xiaoxi had already slipped out.
Alone in the empty corridor, he leaned against the door, motionless.
He forced himself to think—*what* to think.
Everything changed the year his mother embezzled company assets and eloped with her lover.
His father’s firm drowned in debt. The partnership with Luo Shun’s father collapsed.
Two years ago, unable to endure the crushing burden, his father drank heavily and hanged himself.
Reading that apologetic suicide note left Cang Xiaoxi hollow.
He’d considered following his father—until remembering his childhood friend who stayed kind after the collapse.
That hope shattered when Yuan Huixue became engaged to Chi Yun, the mayor’s only son.
From then on, he trusted no woman—especially those who swore eternal vows.
“Hah. How laughable. Why dwell on this alone?”
A bitter, self-mocking smile tugged his lips.
*Nothing is real. Only self-belief matters.*
People fawn while you’re useful. Once worthless? Kicked aside like roadside gravel—
No. Less than gravel. Like him now.
“Time to go. Staying’s pointless. I’ll drop out. Wasting time here solves nothing.”
Tuition, textbooks—dreams of university meant nothing without money.
Dropping out was his only path.
“Truly… few good memories from school.”
One last nostalgic glance at the hallway, the classroom—places he’d likely never enter again.
Shedding the final trace of attachment, Cang Xiaoxi turned toward an uncertain, solitary future.
The moment his foot lifted, brilliant white light bloomed.
The classroom behind him dissolved into radiance.
Even Cang Xiaoxi, caught off guard, was swallowed whole.
…
“Where… am I?”
After the blinding glow faded, he stood in an endless white void.
He walked—but went nowhere. Directionless. Pure white.
He stopped. *Not kidnapping.* He remembered the flash in the classroom.
Teleportation.
Unthinkable… yet…
“Isekai summoning.”
“Hehe. Should I be surprised? You grasped it so quickly.”
“Who’s there!”
A soft, honeyed voice echoed in his mind. He turned.
Through the mist stood a petite silver-haired figure.
“Did *you* bring me here? Why?”
He skipped asking her name. Only the reason mattered.
“Hehe. Yes and no. I merely nudged you. Another summoned you. The reason? Not yet time.”
Ambiguity laced her tone.
Someone else stood behind this.
Yet the mist-shrouded girl unsettled him more.
A familiar ache stirred each time he looked at her.
“Have we met before?”
Though her form was blurred, nostalgia swelled in his chest.
As if not their first meeting… yet he couldn’t be sure.
“Hehe. Perhaps.” A faint, enigmatic laugh. “Maybe somewhere… in a past life.”
“A past life…”
Before this, he’d dismiss it as nonsense.
Now? A quiet certainty whispered: *true*.
*So what? I remember nothing.*
“You brought me here just to sip tea and reminisce? That’s a twisted hobby.”
“A twisted hobby? People used to say that…” Her voice softened with longing.
“Spit it out,” Cang Xiaoxi snapped, her tone stirring old wounds. “Send me to another world or back—I don’t care. Just act.”
“You’re still so impatient. Just like before.”
Her misty form seemed to sigh in fond resignation.
But she pressed on—her time here was fleeting.
“Details of that world will partially reach you upon transfer. But I ask only one thing.”
She paused. Then, with raw sincerity, her voice flowed straight into his heart:
“Live. *Truly* live this time. When you reach that world… we’ll meet again.
My king. My eternal beloved…”
