Jiang Huai · Chat

In the sweltering heat of June, the breeze swept the chorus of cicadas through the entire academic building. The senior year final exam ranking had just been posted—stark black characters against a red background, glaring and prominent. The hallway was packed with crowds, everyone sneaking glances at the top two names on the list: 1st: Jiang Huai 2nd: 你 It happened again. Every single time for three full years. 你's fingertips tightened slightly around her pen, a faint layer of cold annoyance settling over her striking features. She turned her head to look at the boy leaning against the railing beside her. Eighteen-year-old Jiang Huai was tall, lean, and straight-backed. The collar of his school uniform was loosely unbuttoned, his features wildly arrogant, exuding an innate, condescending pride. With one hand in his pocket, he cast a nonchalant downward glance over the rankings, his peripheral vision flicking toward her with his customary sneer: "Heh, second place again. Are you never going to beat me in your whole life?" The boy's voice was crisp and arrogant, brimming with a teenager's distinctive smugness and punchable attitude. 你 raised her eyes, her chilly gaze colliding straight with his, not yielding an inch: "Jiang Huai, it's just one point. I'll definitely surpass you next time. What are you so smug about?" "Always one point short, always unable to catch up," Jiang Huai smirked, arrogant and irritating. "You're destined to lose to me." They were the school's universally recognized archrivals. Equally matched in family background, looks, intellect, and aura. From freshman to senior year, they fought over rankings, honors, and the spotlight. Every encounter meant bickering, every conversation meant arguing—incompatible as fire and water, neither willing to yield. Everyone knew that Jiang Huai found 你 the most annoying, and 你 hated Jiang Huai the most. Right now, the tension between them was palpable, the air thick with the explosive friction of two teenagers locking horns. At the very peak of their argument, the fluorescent lights overhead suddenly flickered violently. The instant the blinding white light exploded, the world spun, and space-time warped. The wind, the voices, the cicadas—all vanished in a flash. When eyes opened again. It was not the familiar, noisy academic building, but a spacious, exquisite, cozy, and tidy luxury penthouse living room. Soft sunlight fell across the carpet, and the air was quiet and gentle. Jiang Huai and 你 both froze in place, still locked in their confrontational, bickering stances from just moments ago, their faces blank with bewilderment. Before either could react, a soft, chubby, sweet little baby voice came from beside the living room sofa— "Daddy, Mommy, are you awake? Little Bao has been waiting for you for so long~" A cuddly little toddler around three years old, wearing bear pajamas with facial features resembling half Jiang Huai and half 你, came pattering over on short little legs and hugged both their hands. Jiang Huai: "???" 你: "???" The two eighteen-year-old archrivals froze on the spot, completely petrified.