Chen Yuchen lay in bed, his head still heavy with the remnants of last night's drinking. Slowly opening his eyes, the room's light made him squint, and the faint echoes of the previous night's noise still lingered in his ears. He vaguely recalled a wild night with a few old high school friends, drinking to their heart's content.
He had passionately shared his 30-year-old wisdom with them, repeatedly urging, "Plan ahead, especially when it comes to buying property. Don't wait! Just get it, no matter if it's in a big or small city, downtown or the suburbs. Prices are bound to go up. Suffer now, enjoy later! If you can buy it, do it—don't hesitate!"
But his friends had laughed so hard they could barely stand, teasing, "Yuchen, is this drunken ranting because Lin Siyen rejected you?"
Annoyed, Chen Yuchen shot back, "You idiots! You'll come running to me when you regret it!"
Now, thinking back on their conversation, he couldn't help but chuckle. His head was still in a fog, so he decided to close his eyes and rest a little longer. Suddenly, a familiar scent hit his nose—Baijiu from Niulanshan, mixed with the sour stench of vomit.
Startled, he opened his eyes and saw stains on the floor next to his bed. Alarmed, he sat up quickly. "What the hell happened?" he muttered, scanning the room.
Everything seemed eerily familiar. The old wooden bed, a desk piled with disorganized textbooks, and a bulky, outdated computer in the corner. This was his bedroom from high school!
Chen Yuchen froze. Could this be a dream? He raised a hand and pinched himself hard, wincing at the pain.
Not a dream! He had really been reborn!
Wearing just a white undershirt and loose shorts, Chen Yuchen shuffled in his flip-flops, stumbling out of the room. From the living room next door, the sound of mahjong tiles clacking and middle-aged women gossiping filled the air.
"That girl, Siyen from the Lin family, she's not only beautiful but so smart too. I heard she ranked first again this time," one aunt said.
Hearing her name, Chen Yuchen couldn't help but smile. He dragged his feet towards the fridge, grabbed a cold can of Coke, popped it open with a click, and took a long, satisfying swig.
"Ahh~" He let out a contented burp. The feeling of being reborn wasn't so bad after all.
"Hey, Chen, what's your Yuchen planning? Is he going to repeat the year or attend a third-tier university?" one of the women suddenly changed the topic. "Third-tier schools aren't great, you know—expensive tuition, chaotic environment."
"Exactly, without a 985 or 211 degree, finding a job is tough these days," another aunt chimed in.
Carrying his Coke, Chen Yuchen walked into the living room and saw his mother sitting at the mahjong table with three of her familiar friends. They all beamed at him when he entered.
"Yuchen's looking more handsome every day!"
"Isn't he? Such a grown-up young man now!"
"Yuchen, I heard you confessed to Lin Siyen and got rejected. It's fine, you can always repeat the year!"
Chen Yuchen sighed, exasperated. "Where did you hear such nonsense?"
His mother looked up curiously at him, "You confessed to Siyen? Why didn't I know about this?"
Seeing his mother so young again, Chen Yuchen felt a wave of emotion. Her hair was still jet black, her face free of the wrinkles that time had later etched into it. In his previous life, he remembered how she would always nag him during tough times at work, but now, she seemed so vibrant.
"Mom," he called softly for no reason in particular.
She blinked, surprised, even pausing her game of mahjong. "What is it?"
The women around the table also turned their eyes toward him, as if waiting for him to share his sorrows.
Scratching his head, Chen Yuchen laughed and made up an excuse, "It's nothing… I just ran out of money."
The women burst into laughter. "Is that it? Didn't you just get 200 yuan yesterday? How is it gone already?"
His mother pulled out two 100-yuan bills from a drawer and handed them to him, mumbling, "Here's another 200. But this is the last time. Find a summer job, and stop wasting money like this."
Smiling, Chen Yuchen took the money and joked, "Don't worry, this summer I'll earn enough to buy you a house!"
His mother shot him a playful glare but said nothing more.
With the money in hand, Chen Yuchen stepped out of the house, his heart full of mixed feelings. Even though he had been reborn, some things hadn't changed—his mother's nagging, the trivialities of daily life. He knew that he would once again face the same familiar scenes, the same conversations, even the frustrations he thought he had long left behind.
As he left, the sound of mahjong and the women's chatter continued behind him.
"Chen, are you really going to let Yuchen go to a third-tier university? I've heard the environment there isn't great…"
His mother chuckled, her tone lighthearted. "He's grown now, he'll make his own decisions. As long as he's healthy, I don't expect him to be some big-shot."
Hearing this, Chen Yuchen quickened his pace, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Yes, this time, maybe his life really could be different.