Chapter 1 I Remember You Were a Girl Who Was on the News the Year Before Last…

"I remember you were a girl who was on the news the year before last…" Chen Yuan said, reminding the somewhat familiar girl in front of him.

"How… how did I die?" After being reminded, the girl, realizing she was already gone, asked, very concerned.

"The news said it was sudden death…" But Chen Yuan wasn't sure if she had any grievances. Otherwise, why would her soul still be here, lingering?

"I… I remember now." Mentioning this, the girl suddenly realized that she had indeed suddenly felt discomfort in her chest, tightness, palpitations, and then a burst of angina… So she was dead. And in such a way.

"Senior, are you called Zhu…"

"Zhu Tingting," the girl said.

"Oh right, that's it." Chen Yuan remembered, then said excitedly, "You caused quite a stir back then, after all, you scored 710, a student who could compete for the top spot…"

And because of her death, the No. 4 High School's 'Hengzhong Model' also sparked strong public discussion. There was even verbal criticism of Zhang Jianjun.

But after all, No. 4 High School was a top school, valued by the entire Haidong government, and it was impossible for it to be rectified because of this kind of thing.

However, the passing of such a talent was still quite regrettable. Of course, it was also regrettable for those who didn't do well to pass away, there was no intention of elitism here.

"I couldn't compete for the top spot, I was still a bit far off," Zhu Tingting said with a faint smile.

"Then do you have any regrets?" Chen Yuan asked curiously, "What's the reason your soul is still here?" If every deceased person didn't reincarnate because of regrets, there would be souls everywhere in this world. But according to what Chen Yuan had seen, Xia Hai wasn't a night parade of a hundred ghosts.

"Regrets…" After thinking for a while, the expression on the girl's face gradually became lost, then she looked up and said, "Let's talk somewhere else, I feel a bit stuffy."

"Ghosts can feel stuffy too?"

"It's a feeling…"

And so, the two went directly to the rooftop of the dormitory building, then sat down on the roof with their feet dangling in the air. If they were two real people, it would probably be terrifying.

After holding it in for a long time, Zhu Tingting finally said, "Actually, I quite like taking exams."

"...Zhang Jianjun, you've really turned someone into a ghost." Chen Yuan looked at Zhu Tingting beside him and felt a bit like he was in hell. After all, people were exhausted to death, and she was still saying she liked taking exams.

Chen Yuan really wanted to tell her that life is a wilderness, life is a fug movie. But there was no point in saying that now, after all, the person was already dead. This would be like Yakushi Kabuto reanimating her with Edo Tensei, another Kage-level ninja.

"If there's something I regret and that's why I haven't disappeared, maybe I really do have something…" Zhu Tingting suddenly turned her head and looked at Chen Yuan.

"Is it about your family?" Chen Yuan asked.

"That's not it."

"..."

What an unfilial daughter.

Thinking of this, Zhu Tingting slowly said, "There's a boy in our class, I'm not very familiar with him, he was born on July 15, 2003, about 178cm tall, 78 kilograms."

"You call that not familiar?" You're practically giving out his blood type.

"He's very fair, very clean, always has a scent on him, but he also loves to play basketball, very athletic," Zhu Tingting said.

"That kind of guy is indeed rare." To this, Chen Yuan could only think of Kun Kun.

"His grades are particularly good, and after entering senior year, he's basically the top in the class. Of course, he's also the top in the school. Even, the top in the city." Speaking of this, Zhu Tingting's tone even had a hint of shyness.

"What was his score on the unified exam?"

"The highest he got was 718."

"That's indeed very awesome, almost close to Shi Yi."

"Is Shi Yi the best-performing boy in No. 4 High School now?" Zhu Tingting asked curiously.

"Yeah, he got 725 on this unified exam, almost breaking the record."

"...Impressive." Hearing this, Zhu Tingting revealed an admiring expression. "Even more amazing than him."

"But to you, he's the most amazing student, right?" Chen Yuan could tell that she liked that boy.

"Of course, he's our school's god, in our year, he was the most amazing." Saying this, Zhu Tingting revealed a somewhat proud smile. It seemed to be a secret crush.

"But you're also strong, you can get 710."

"I don't know how it was reported after I died, but only once, during the school's monthly exam, did I get 710. And even then, my score was only third in the school." Zhu Tingting said with a good sense of self-awareness, "And the score on the monthly exam is not as useful compared to the unified exam."

The thing was real, but not useful.

"Does he know you like him?" Chen Yuan asked.

"..."

As soon as the word 'like' was said, Zhu Tingting visibly became uneasy, as if she had been exposed, even a little flustered. If ghosts had blood flow, she would probably be blushing.

After fidgeting for a while, she continued, "Throughout high school, we didn't talk much, he's very popular, but I… I'm a little insecure in that regard."

Hearing the word 'insecure', Chen Yuan felt a faint sadness. Not everyone's youth is like Cheng Xi and Ya Ting's, perfect from the outside to the inside. A studious person like Zhu Tingting should be the majority.

"Anyway, throughout the three years of high school, I didn't have much interaction with him, our seats weren't arranged together… not even near each other," Zhu Tingting said with some disappointment.

"Not even normal conversation…"

"Where would there be a chance?" Saying this, Zhu Tingting, who was particularly introverted, said, "And if there's nothing to talk about, you take the initiative to find someone, wouldn't it seem particularly 'ulterior motive'?"

"Don't you have ulterior motives?"

"But I don't want him to find out."

"...I see."

"But once, we did talk!" The light in Zhu Tingting's eyes seemed to suddenly reappear. Even though she was a ghost, she had such a reaction.

But Chen Yuan knew that this moment might be the reason she was lingering in the world.

"It was one day in the second semester of senior year, during school P.E. class, they suddenly said they were going to have some kind of open class, and the teacher asked one boy and one girl to go to the equipment room to get the balls. He's a very enthusiastic person, so he volunteered."

Talking about this part of history, the smile on her face couldn't be hidden at all: "And on the girls' side, no one was willing to go, at the time I was thinking, if I just spoke up directly, it would be too obvious, so I didn't say anything, but in my heart I was praying, don't go, don't go… After dawdling for a while, when the teacher was about to randomly pick someone to go, I made a somewhat helpless look and said, then I'll go. You don't know how I felt at that time, it was amazing!"

"The girls in your class are quite useless, they don't do anything, huh."

"Is that the key point?"

"Indeed."

This kind of dawdling, being coy, is also an indispensable part of Chinese campus romance. Aren't some girls like this too? They're clearly very happy when they're assigned to be desk mates with the boy they have a crush on, but in order to hide it, they always make some unwilling, very awkward movements, and then they're separated by the teacher… This is everyone's green and foolish youth.

"Then, we went to the equipment room to get the balls together." As she spoke, she began to feel shy again. "Originally, this was a very happy thing, but my mind went blank all of a sudden, and I was like a dummy, but I remember that he was taking the initiative to find topics to talk about, so the atmosphere wasn't awkward, and when we were getting the balls, he directly held them all himself, and didn't let me take any… you know that feeling, right!"

I don't know, I've never had a crush on anyone.

"That's good, what happened later?"

"Later, we went back to the playground together… and, because he took the balls for me, when we went back, his friends were cheering there… you know that feeling, right!"

"...Uh-huh."

Zhu Tingting's jumpy appearance was really a bit much. It was easy to scare… a ghost.

But the story she was telling seemed to be a bit sweet. From her perspective. Like Tang Jian and Ms. No Sugar's love, it was particularly real and relatable.

"Originally, my grades weren't that good, only around 690…" When Zhu Tingting said this, she slowly looked at Chen Yuan, not understanding why he didn't excitedly retort - 690 isn't good, how are you going to let others live?!

What, are you waiting for me to speak?

To support her, Chen Yuan echoed, "Indeed, not very good."

Zhu Tingting: "..."

690 isn't good? How arrogant is this guy?! But this was No. 4 High School, there were all kinds of students. Even this kind of improper male ghost wandering in the girls' dormitory shouldn't be underestimated.

In No. 4 High School, it's best not to show off your grades to others.

"And in order to catch up with him, my grades were slowly improving, but I didn't expect to die when I was about to catch up…" she said regretfully.

"You died for this reason… I can't accept it." Life is a wilderness, not a track, what dead end are you going down?

"Not for this reason." Zhu Tingting shook her head and said, "My parents divorced when I was little, and I lived with my mother. Then in senior year, my mother was bringing me food, and I went to the school gate to pick it up, but when she was crossing the road, she was hit by a speeding car, right in front of me…" Speaking of this matter, she was very sad, but a ghost couldn't cry or choke up, so she looked a bit 'numb'.

"From then on, I always had some mental problems. I couldn't sleep at night, and I was in pain every day. But… I suddenly found that when I was studying, I seemed to be able to escape that state."

"My girlfriend has also experienced times like this." But she had me as her spiritual pillar.

For this senior, it should be the same. She took that boy as her pillar.

"Then you should know that it doesn't have much to do with things in life." After saying this, Zhu Tingting finally looked up, looked at Chen Yuan, and said, "I understand, my regret may be missing an exam. Because the day after I died, the school had a unified exam."

"Do you really think so?" Chen Yuan didn't quite believe it.

"Yeah." Zhu Tingting said, "If I could score 713, maybe I could fulfill my wish and disappear."

"What's the deal with 713 again?"

"His friend, the one who always came in second, never scored higher than 713, if I scored 713, I could be second…"

"Your regret isn't an exam." At this time, Chen Yuan interrupted Zhu Tingting and said to her seriously, "You should go see that boy, that's how you can fulfill your wish." After all, no matter how you looked at it, her regret was that her secret crush hadn't been reciprocated.

"What's the point of going to see him?" Zhu Tingting asked.

"Because you have a crush on him."

"But I'm a ghost, and he can't see me."

"Then at least you can know what he's doing, how he's doing now…"

"And even if he could see me…" Even after death, Zhu Tingting was still lucid, "I would only scare him. After all, I'm the one who likes him, not him who likes me."

These words made Chen Yuan feel 'oppressed'… Indeed, one-sided crushes, in most cases, continue until the end. They end without a trace.

Even if she was resurrected, she might not have the courage to pursue him.

"Then how could it be an exam?" But Chen Yuan still insisted, "Even if you scored 713, what could you change…"

"Next exam, I could sit behind him."

"..."

This sentence stirred up waves in Chen Yuan's soul. He was stunned by the pure love bullet.

"As long as I can maintain it, every month, there will be two days when I can sit behind him." A smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and Zhu Tingting looked forward to that moment: "He and the third best are good friends, they will chat before the exam, so he will turn his head, bypass me, and talk to his friend. And at that time, I don't have to secretly… I can see his face head-on."

Chen Yuan had never had a crush on anyone.

But indeed, there were once beautiful girls he cared about. That feeling of occasionally having contact with the other person… was really not bad.

It seemed that he had misunderstood Zhang Jianjun, he hadn't turned the students into ghosts. Even students from schools like No. 4 High School have 'love'.

"Hey, then how did you die?" Zhu Tingting looked at Chen Yuan curiously, puzzled.

"I didn't die, I just had my soul leave my body, I can still go back."

"Ah?! Why?!" Zhu Tingting was stunned.

"I don't know, fate, maybe."

"Then, then does that mean I can take an exam for you…" Saying this, Zhu Tingting was particularly excited, "As you know, my grades are very good, I can help you get ahead, directly in the top few in the grade, even second, and enjoy being the center of attention!"

If he could see her and communicate with her, wouldn't that mean she could take the exam for him? Then, she would have the opportunity to score 713 once. And also fulfill her last wish of not being able to get close to him before she died…

And to her passionate request, Chen Yuan, with his head held high, said calmly, "You? You still need practice."

"..." She had just been mocked by him, how amazing was this kid, Zhu Tingting asked unconvincingly, "What are your grades, just tell me your score on the last unified exam!"

"716."

"..." The expression on Zhu Tingting's face directly froze, then turned from pride to humility, and directly pleaded, "Let me take it once, I really have a strong obsession." Even though he had graduated a long time ago, and even if he got that score now, he wouldn't be able to sit behind him… But regret is only ever a moment.

"Although I want to help you, your level will make me unable to hold my head up in front of my friends," Chen Yuan said quite harshly.

"Please, senior brother!" And Zhu Tingting pleaded forcefully, "Let me take it once, even just one exam… I was the top scorer in language on the joint exam!"

(End of chapter)