In his previous life, this poem had not been seen by others.
The night before his love confession to Chen Qing, he couldn't sleep a wink. Before dawn, he rose and went to school. Once there, Cheng Xing spent the entire morning crafting his love letter. Then, during the lunch break, Cheng Xing slipped the letter into Chen Qing's desk. Cheng Xing hadn't kept his intention to confess to Chen Qing and write a love letter a secret. Therefore, when Cheng Xing delivered the letter, many people knew about it. Later, when Chen Qing returned to school and heard the rumors, she found the letter, and without even looking at it, she angrily went to the basketball court and publicly rejected Cheng Xing's confession, returning the letter to him.
For Cheng Xing at that time, being publicly rejected by Chen Qing was a very embarrassing thing, so he immediately tore up the letter. Therefore, from the moment he wrote it to the moment he sent it out, in his previous life, only he had ever seen its content.
The afternoon self-study session ended quickly. Cheng Xing flipped through his textbook, and the school bell rang. He glanced at the love letter beside him. Whether it was in his previous life or this life, there was no need to keep this letter. Cheng Xing crumpled the paper into a ball and walked to the trash can at the front of the classroom, throwing the paper ball into the bin.
"Cheng Xing, why did you throw away such a beautiful poem?" a girl sitting in the first row near the trash can asked, puzzled.
"What poem? How can you be so stupid, this is a love letter Cheng Xing wrote to Chen Qing," another girl sitting next to her said impatiently.
"Ah, so Cheng Xing likes Chen Qing? Why would he throw away this love letter?" she asked, puzzled.
"How would I know? If you want to know, ask him!" the girl rolled her eyes.
"Cheng Xing, why did you throw away the love letter you gave to Chen Qing?" Who knew this girl named Sun Ying would really ask, and because her voice was so loud and the content was so explosive, she attracted the attention of everyone in the classroom.
"I was rejected, why keep it? From now on, my heart is like cement, I won't love anyone," Cheng Xing laughed.
Cheng Xing turned his head and happened to meet Chen Qing's gaze. Cheng Xing nodded with a smile, as a greeting. Cheng Xing's parents and Chen Qing's parents had a very good relationship, and the two families were very close. So even though he had long since lost any feelings for Chen Qing, they could still be friends, but that was all.
"That's so pitiful," Sun Ying said.
"What's pitiful? At this stage, studying hard and making progress every day is the most important thing," Cheng Xing laughed.
"Pfft," hearing Cheng Xing's words, the two girls laughed at the same time. Sun Ying laughed.
"I know you're not bad at Chinese, but can you show me any good results in math or science? I really don't understand why you chose science instead of art or literature."
"I just like science. Isn't that a good enough reason?" Cheng Xing said with a smile.
Cheng Xing didn't continue chatting with them but returned to his seat.
"Chen Qing, Cheng Xing was rejected by you, why isn't he sad at all? He's even chatting and joking around with other girls," Li Dan said angrily.
"He can do whatever he wants, what does it have to do with me?" Chen Qing said.
Although she had already figured out how to solve the problem, she hesitated and put her pen down. A memory surfaced: when they were about to enter their sophomore year of high school, Cheng Xing had originally planned to join the literature class. However, because she was in the science class, he followed her and joined the science class as well. It was entirely his own decision; she hadn't influenced him. Pondering this, Chen Qing finally picked up her pen again and resumed solving the problem.
Cheng Xing spent the entire afternoon and evening self-study period immersed in reading. He delved into Zhou Yuan's entire Chinese textbook. Some articles remained vivid in his memory, while others had faded. After all, more than a decade had passed since high school. Yet, for classic pieces like "The Preface to the Pavilion of the Prince of Teng" and "Ode to the Red Cliff," which he held dear, he could still recite them flawlessly. Just two years before his regression, the Pavilion of Prince Teng in Nanchang offered free admission to anyone who could recite "Teng Prince's Pavilion Preface," Cheng Xing specially took a high-speed train to Nanchang and recited the entire piece to save money on the entrance fee.
Cheng Xing had forgotten certain obscure and rarely referenced topics. Those were the ones he now needed to relearn and commit to memory.
By senior year, most of the high school curriculum had already been completed. The entire third year would be dedicated to relentless review. In his previous life, Cheng Xing's college entrance exam results had been disappointing. Afterward, he chose not to pursue further studies. Thanks to his family's relatively affluent background, he lived comfortably despite his lack of ambition. But that lifestyle only lasted until 2017. That year, his parents faced a catastrophic business failure that plunged them deep into debt. Early in 2018, his mother was hospitalized from overwork as she struggled to repay the debts, and Cheng Xing's seemingly stable life began to crumble.
At that time, if not for the 10,000 yuan that Jiang Luxi had lent him as a final act of support, his previous life might have spiraled into complete darkness.
After stabilizing his mother's health, Cheng Xing threw himself into relentless work to make ends meet. During those grueling years, he found rare solace in browsing online forums. One night, under the influence of alcohol, he wrote about his youth—about innocent first love, and the heady days when he and his friends had ruled their little corner of the world. The stories were raw and brimming with authenticity. Combined with Cheng Xing's natural talent for writing, the post went viral. A chief editor from a publishing house discovered it and compiled the stories into a book. The book sold remarkably well, and not long after, it was adapted into a film that grossed over a billion yuan at the box office, becoming the top youth-themed movie of the year. Cheng Xing's name skyrocketed to fame.
Yet, everyone's youth carries its share of regrets. Cheng Xing regretted not seeing Jiang Luxi's long hair billowing in the summer breeze that year. He regretted that his education had ended in high school, leaving him unable to experience the vibrant scenery of a university campus.
During the last blind date before his regression, his patience began to wane not just because of the probing questions but because of what had come before them. that woman had casually, yet condescendingly asked him, "I heard you didn't attend university?"
That question hit a nerve, reopening one of his deepest regrets from his student days.
Now, with this second chance at life, attending university was no longer a mere aspiration—it was a non-negotiable goal. Cheng Xing was determined to reclaim the youth he had lost. To rewrite his past regrets and craft a future filled with the choices he wished he'd made.