Chapter 3: True Past, False Past

‘Has it finally come to this moment?’

You Xue looked up.

Her eyes, like gray-blue gemstones, reflected the glamorous city and the gray sky.

Today was overcast.

The sky was like a gray canvas, and the layers of clouds were a thicker smear of gray on that canvas.

On the bustling main street in the city center, crowds jostled.

You Xue walked toward the school while recalling the plot of the original novel.

In the early part of the novel, the author spent a lot of ink describing Su Li’s excitement upon learning he had been accepted.

At that time, he was not the somewhat tragic hero of the later parts, but just a somewhat immature boy.

Thinking about becoming someone great, earning enough money, and making a name for himself in the future—just imagining such an illusory future made Su Li happy for a long time.

Then he wanted to find his childhood friend who had grown up with him and share the joy.

And that was the day Su Li sent a message inviting her to come out.

You Xue knew that because of her refusal, the entire story had begun to change.

With one less burdensome childhood friend, the path to a happy future might become smoother.

After all, in the original work, the male lead had spent a lot of effort to treat his childhood friend’s Magic Rejection Syndrome, and also used resources that could have been spent on improving his abilities.

But in the end, his childhood friend still lay in the male lead’s arms and died tragically.

Ah, that book’s author liked to write plots where characters resist fate but still get defeated.

Although it can stir readers’ emotions, making people feel pity and moved.

But the current You Xue, who was also once the him who lay on a hospital bed, felt that the biggest takeaway was anger.

Originally, real life was already very unsatisfactory, and he wanted to find some comfort through novels.

But he never expected that through the hopes hidden behind repeated disappointments, he would only see the arrival of a sad ending.

Simply terrible!

The main themes of the early and middle parts of the novel were growth, pain, and hope.

Everyone expected the male lead to change his fate in the end, protect those he wanted to protect, and achieve a happy and wonderful ending.

However, at the ending, the author gave all the readers a huge dose of bitterness.

Su Li shouldered the expectations of his companions, used all his strength, and defeated the Beast King, the incarnation of calamity.

But little did they expect that this was exactly the beginning of another nightmare.

With the Beast King dead, all the beast hordes lurking outside the city frenziedly charged toward the human city.

The city Su Li had tried with all his might to protect turned to ruins before his eyes.

The companions he desperately wanted to protect fell one by one.

In the end, he stood atop a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, covered in wounds, with no one beside him.

The author spent a lot of effort describing that scene.

Under the gray rain, Su Li knelt on the ground, holding the body of his last companion in his arms, looking up at the empty sky, tears silently streaming down.

No hope, no miracles, nothing.

And then the story ended like that, hastily and sorrowfully.

At that time, a thought sprouted in his heart.

A male lead who was so upright, brave, gentle, and like the sun did not deserve such a tragic ending.

He wanted to change that ending.

He had no talent for writing, so he couldn’t personally rewrite the ending, but he could imagine in his heart what turning point the story might have.

For example, thinking about changing the initial situation, letting the sick childhood friend recover, reducing the male lead’s burden—would the ending of this book be better?

Or imagining the male lead obtaining stronger skills, allowing him to protect his companions and the future with his own strength in the final showdown.

But after all, it was nothing but a delusion.

But now, she truly had the opportunity to change all of this.

You Xue stopped, feeling something, and looked up.

Her gaze passed over the academy’s mottled walls to see the orderly Baroque-style buildings inside.

Exquisite, pretty, magnificent—that was You Xue’s first impression of this academy.

It was the cradle of espers, a place longed for by all young people with dreams.

Likewise, it was also the starting point of countless tragedies in the original work.

Su Li would encounter many, many people there: a proud yet gentle underclassman, an understanding upperclassman, an optimistic and enthusiastic roommate, a strict but protective mentor…

Many, many good people.

They would become Su Li’s companions, giving him help at critical moments, making him shine brighter, becoming a better and better person.

Yes, these were all companions worth protecting for Su Li.

And You Xue…

Just a playmate from childhood, just a childhood friend from a barren and dilapidated village.

Not important, not worth attention.

Thinking of this, for some reason You Xue’s heart beat more violently, as if something heavy was pressing down in her heart.

Even though the sunlight was not dazzling at all, the world in front of her slowly became blurry.

Then it became clearer and clearer.

Abruptly, she remembered the past village, full of green and fresh air.

The sky was a deep blue like the ocean.

He said the ocean was also this blue.

Who said that?

Him—with short, messy hair, a clean face, always showing a bright smile.

He was—little Su Li.

And I, I am his childhood friend, You Xue.

They liked to play in the yard, basking in the warm sunlight, and sometimes just look at the beautiful blue sky, watching what shapes the clouds made.

She remembered what the boy said then.

“I want to become the sun.”

When he said that, his eyes were bright, also like the sun.

You Xue blinked and asked.

“Why?”

“Because the sun is brilliant, shining warmly on many people, and everyone praises it.”

He turned around, his eyes shining with a longing light.

“I also want to be praised by many people, and I don’t want to be hated, so I want to become the sun.”

Then he asked.

“What do you think?”

You Xue looked at his face, lowered her head shyly.

“You can.”

“What?”

The boy didn’t hear clearly.

“You can definitely do it.”

You Xue increased her volume.

Finally, the boy nodded and smiled contentedly.

But actually, You Xue had another sentence in her heart.

She felt that the boy was already warmer than the sun.

She didn’t say it, just kept it in her heart.

She looked up, gazing at the light pouring from the sun, yet felt that everything had darkened.

In an instant, the sky in her vision became so gray.

You Xue returned to the present.

This was a very normal thing.

Ever since she transmigrated into this world, she could always recall those pasts that she never had.

The past that originally belonged to You Xue.

She withdrew her gaze, covered her forehead, and murmured to herself in her heart.

‘Sorry, You Xue. Sorry.’

She said it again in her heart.

‘It’s clearly not me, so why must I bear this attachment and loss? Isn’t there a god in this world? Can’t someone give me an answer?’

You Xue received no response.

She sighed, no longer lingered, and walked forward.

The things she had to do were very important.

She couldn’t keep indulging in these inexplicable emotions.

The place she was going to was the outskirts of the school, a secluded street called Blackhorn Alley.

There was no direct road to the school there, so there were few people.

At the same time, it meant that if one wanted to avoid notice, this road was a good choice.

And today was the time when the [Dark Crow] began setting up explosive devices in the academy.

She had waited a long time, and finally, this moment had come.

You Xue pretended to be an aimless pedestrian and walked into Blackhorn Alley.

Eight small knives, sixteen seals—these were all her trump cards.

You Xue’s luck was good.

She could see members of the Dark Crow organization pretending to be deliverymen, pushing handcarts full of goods, and those goods were covered with a layer of black cloth.

A total of six people, all likely espers, were walking directly toward her.

Direct confrontation would be difficult, so she needed to find an opportunity.

You Xue had many thoughts in her heart, but her expression remained calm.