When she heard that four months had already passed, Huo Tong looked startled and turned to check the calendar on the bedside cabinet.

Before she could make out the month, the year printed across it caught her full attention.

The year was clearly marked on the bright red cardstock: 2016.

Six years ago… Huo Tong stared blankly as her mind shut down. The slight sting of a needle in the back of her hand finally brought her around.

“There, all done. No more moving around this time!”

The young nurse stood with a smile, gently ruffled her hair, and gave her a caring reminder.

“I have to change the dressing for the girl in the bed across from you. Be a good girl, okay?”

“S-sis, is this year a common year or a leap year?”

Huo Tong leaned forward and caught the nurse by the hem of her coat, asking the question as she tried to contain her shock.

She hardly had the time to worry about whether it was awkward to call someone her own age “sis.”

Compared to confirming whether she’d traveled through time, pretending to be sweet didn’t seem like a big deal at all.

“Hmm? 2016 is divisible by four, so this year’s a leap year.”

The young nurse did a quick mental calculation and looked at her.

A leap year… So it really was 2016.

Huo Tong let go of the nurse’s sleeve. She sat in silence for a moment, feeling a little dazed.

Not only had she been reborn, she’d traveled back in time, too? She’d returned to years ago and woken up in the body of a middle-school girl…

“Little miss? Little miss? Is it really that important whether this year’s a common year or a leap year?”

Seeing her sit there like a stunned goose, the young nurse waved a hand in front of her.

“…I was just asking. Sorry for taking up your time, sis.” Huo Tong quickly steadied herself and gave her a reassuring smile.

She wasn’t one to curse fate. Looking on the bright side, time travel was still something worth celebrating compared to turning into a woman.

Seeing that she seemed stable, the young nurse didn’t suspect anything. She smiled and said it was fine, then pushed her treatment cart over to another bed.

Once the nurse had left, Huo Tong slipped back under the covers and leaned against her pillow. She brushed her bangs aside with her left hand, lightly touched her forehead, and stared at the ceiling with a sigh. For a long while, she said nothing.

One drunken mishap and one bizarre car accident had somehow sent her back to her high-school days.

Just yesterday, he’d been wearing a cheap suit, walking on eggshells as he threaded his way through a forest of concrete and steel. With a flimsy résumé in hand, he’d hidden his confusion and dejection behind a smile.

Today, she was a high-school girl lying in a hospital bed. She didn’t have to rush around looking for a job or tear her hair out over buying a house and a car.

Huo Tong felt a little torn between gain and loss. She looked down at the chest spilling out of her hospital gown and couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

She’d traveled through time and gotten a second chance—a chance to make up for her past regrets, earn a fortune, and reach the top of the world.

But what then? Make a fortune to save up her own dowry? Or become a rich woman and keep a pretty boy?

She wasn’t one to lie to herself. Even now, she was certain she could never marry another woman.

She sat up a little. The nurse had just left the room, and the curtain around the bed across from hers was now open.

She glanced to the side, unable to hide her amazement.

What a gorgeous girl… She had a great figure, too. Her hair was long, and though she had a soft, feminine beauty, she still managed to look cool and dashing.

Too bad she wasn’t Huo Tong’s type. Huo Tong was a gentleman, though, and quickly and politely looked away.

She still preferred the gentle, delicate kind of girl from Jiangnan.

Someone with a sweet, innocent face that could heal the heart, and eyes that held the chill of a deep pool in late autumn, stirring an irresistible urge to cherish her.

At the same time, Huo Tong couldn’t help wondering what she looked like now.

Hopefully she wasn’t ugly. She’d be stuck with this face for the rest of her life, after all… She might not have the usual urge to compare her looks with other girls, but she could still appreciate beauty.

With that thought, Huo Tong turned toward the window. In the light, the glass reflected a beautiful girl.

Her gaze met the girl’s in the reflection, and the air fell into an awkward silence.

She was looking at the dream girl she’d just described in her head.

“…”

Huo Tong felt as if she’d turned to plaster. Her mouth hung open in a little O, and a dark look crossed her face.

“Heh.” She gave a self-mocking snort, questioned her entire existence, and flopped back onto the bed.

That was the third time she’d been blindsided. What could be more ridiculous than traveling through time, returning to her school days, and turning into her ideal type?

After a long silence, Huo Tong finally got her head straight. She let out a soft sigh, sat up, and scooted toward the edge of the bed.

She started thinking about what to do next. Since she didn’t have the original owner’s memories, she’d have to try to find out more for herself.

If things got too complicated, she didn’t mind pretending to have amnesia.

Huo Tong opened the bedside cabinet and rummaged through it.

There wasn’t much inside: a few books, a stack of test results, a small shoulder bag, and a diary with a combination lock.

She picked up the books without hurry and studied their covers with interest, hoping the original owner’s reading habits might give her a clue.

No Longer Human… One Hundred Years of Solitude… To Live… How old was this girl, anyway? Why did she read books like these?

Wait, weren’t these exactly the books I used to buy on a whim after reading online reviews, back when I was a cringey high-school freshman?

Huo Tong found that strange. Her expression turned odd as she set the books down and picked up the test results beside them.

Name: Huo Tong.

?

Huo Tong was dumbfounded again. At first, she’d assumed it was just someone with the same name, so she kept reading.

The information matched perfectly—even the sex?

Diagnosis: female pseudohermaphroditism. Doctor’s recommendation: surgical sex reassignment.

“…”

Looking at the test results from a little over three months ago, Huo Tong’s narrow shoulders drooped and her bangs fell messily across her face. She silently took back her earlier claim that nothing could shock her again.

Absentmindedly, she put everything back in order, then picked up the shoulder bag and opened it.

The bag was new. It looked like someone had given it to her as a gift.

Aside from a little loose change, it held an ID card and a familiar green card.

Sure enough, the girl’s name on the ID was Huo Tong—though this was the Tong from wutong, the Chinese parasol tree.

In the photo, the girl’s hair only reached her ears. Her large, dark eyes looked lifeless, as if they held a deep sadness.

January 29, 2000. Home address: 70 Taihang Street, Qiyang Town…

It was exactly the same as her own ID…

Apart from the sex and this face… Huo Tong’s expression was blank as she opened her mouth, then slowly closed it again.

It took her a little while to put the ID down and pick up the other green card.

When her eyes fell on it, she widened them despite having prepared herself for anything.

At last, she remembered where she’d seen this familiar scrap of paper. It was her high-school student ID!

But the photo on it wasn’t of the girl from the ID card.

It showed a handsome, delicate-looking boy. His features resembled the girl’s by at least seventy percent.

Even the finer details showed that they were the same person.

Comparing the boy to her original self, Huo Tong could see plenty of similarities, too. The boy’s features were even more delicate and feminine than “his” had been.

The name printed clearly on the student ID was Huo Tong.

Huo Tong lowered her eyes to the snow-white bedsheet. The mystery before her had suddenly cleared up, but the fog in her heart had only grown thicker.

“So now… am I Huo Tong or Huo Tong?”