Who is he?

Being a web novel writer herself, Xu Jiao is quite familiar with many theories like rebirth, transmigration, reincarnation, system, etc. In fact, she had written a few dozen books under these plot themes herself, and had secretly thought to herself how good it would've been if she could also go back in time to change the mistakes she made in life, and not just a few times too.

But, writing about them and even imagining these things is one thing. But to experience such a concept in real life is an entirely different thing altogether; Xu Jiao will assure you of this fact. It was neither pleasant, nor did it feel like a blessing, especially to someone like her who feared many things in the world, supernatural topping that list.

The past few days she had busied herself doing all sorts of things, determined not to think on this matter any further. But, now that she was on the train, on her way to K city, with nothing on hand to busy herself with, it was hard to avoid thinking about this anymore

[And, it's not like I can avoid this forever.] Xu Jiao thought rather dispiritedly, while alighting from the train to the sight of the K city north railway station built in Northern Song dynasty style, which painted a majestic view bathed in the final rays of the setting sun.

Of course she knew that this was like a God-given chance to her, giving her enough time and space to turn her life to the right track. So maybe, she'd try to live with whatever this was that happened; she doesn't have any choice in it. But, that doesn't mean that she could accept it with an open heart. After all, the unknown has always been something that struck fear in humans, right?

***

Xu Jiao stared up at the huge yet magnificent entrance of H university, falling into a momentary trance as she vaguely recalled the feeling she had when she saw these very gates for the first time; it had filled her young mind with awe and anticipation, not to mention that sliver of fear any college student would feel upon first entering university; the fear of an unknown future.

"...y! Hey! Are you ok?" Rudely shocked out of her reverie by a loud male voice that sounded close to her ears, Xu Jiao quickly turned around and after taking a good look, froze on the spot.

Standing in front of her was a young man who looked taller than her, probably by a few good inches. He had clean-cut, well-defined features and a good bearing; probably someone who can turn a few heads when going somewhere. [Good-looking] she thought absent-mindedly.

But, it wasn't this young man that managed to shock her into freezing up on the spot, but the sight of another male standing a few paces behind him, who also had an equally shocked expression playing across his features the moment he laid his eyes on her. But it was disguised just as quickly with an expression of mocking indifference before she could take note of it.

[So good looking.] Xu Jiao thought dreamily, all the while trying to take a better look at the chiselled features of this person, which were half-hidden within the darkness of the night. But, even without observing closely, she could tell that this is a man who'd seduce women left and right, without so much as a single blink on his part.

"...Hey!! Are you listening to me? Oi!!" Rudely interrupted from her daydreams for a second time within a span of few minutes by the same voice, which now started sounding quite annoying in her ears, Xu Jiao made an annoyed "Tsk" sound while turning her head to take a good look at this person who was rude enough to intrude in her enjoyment.

And turning around like this, she was met with the equally annoyed gaze of the youngster who called to her earlier, which made the atmosphere suddenly turn incredibly awkward.

Xu Jiao: "..."

Young stranger: "..."

"Ahem!" Interrupted from the rather vexing staring contest she held with the other party, she unconsciously turned her head towards the source of the noise, only to witness the raised eyebrows and the amused smile playing on the corners of the handsome man's lips.

Xu Jiao: "..."

[Damn it! I must have gotten up from the wrong side of the bed today.]

Feeling like she had lost her face all the way up to her grandma's place {1}, Xu Jiao hastily muttered an embarrassed " I'm ok." which was followed by an almost inaudible "Thank you", and sprinted away without taking one extra look at either of them, her whole being giving off a feeling of 'heels caught on fire'; and she didn't look back, not even once.

[Shit!! I really don't have face to live any more! Xu Jiao, you idiot!]

She scolded herself in her heart while her whole face showed an expression of utmost embarrassment, turning it into the colour of a ripe tomato; quite different from the blank look she sported since earlier, for the first time giving her face a trace of bashfulness that's unique to a young girl of her age.

[You might be in a younger body, but you're already an aunty nearing her 40's! Don't you feel embarrassed to lust after the beauty of a younger man?]

[But, who's that anyway? I don't remember meeting him or anything… But why do I feel like I know that kid?]

After all, no matter how good looking and all, it still didn't diminish the air of youthfulness around these two people; it was obvious that they were university students.

[Aai… never mind that] Xu Jiao sighed deeply while her gaze focused on the surrounding buildings and scenery inside the university, the familiar yet unfamiliar silhouettes throwing her mind into a bout of nostalgia while myriads of memories flooded her mind, not many of them being happy ones to say the least.

Soon, she forgot her earlier fluster while ambling through the various intersecting paths of the campus grounds, with a familiarity that even surprised herself as well; time and memories are truly unfathomable elements of nature, it seems.

***

Three days after she first arrived in K city following the experience she currently decided to term as 'rebirth', Xu Jiao found herself standing in the midst of the bustling cityscape to the east of H university, as lost as one could find themselves to be in an overcrowded place like this.

[And, where do I find this address among all these buildings and people?] She thought rather crossly, her temples throbbing, signaling another oncoming headache.

[I don't even have money to spend on a taxi!]

The first day of her arriving here, Xu Jiao had stayed awake nearly half of the night, constantly tormented by a flood of memories that assaulted her mind. It had been nearly dawn when she had been finally able to fall asleep, and woke up a few hours later to a raging headache due to the lack of sleep. It truly had been unpleasant, but what else could she do except drag her weary body all over the city in search of a good lodging place?

Actually, she had been doing that now for two days, but the places either needed her to pay too much (which is near impossible with her tight budget), or they were not safe despite their lower rent.

[This place is my last hope… but it doesn't look that promising.] Xu Jiao thought in a rather crestfallen manner, seeing the tiny alleyway squeezed in between an old automobile repair shop and a crumbling warehouse. The sign board was rusty and nearly falling off, which almost made her miss this place.

But, as she walked along the small alley, she couldn't help feeling pleasantly surprised. Despite its outwardly dilapidated look, and the old and outdated buildings dotting the sides of the road -most of which were in varying states of disrepair-, the overall vibe it gave off was quite peaceful and friendly.

Her surprise was probably evident from her face since the old lady who opened the door of the small, two-storey house, and who had a face that unusually resembled a blooming chrysanthemum flower, looked at her in a rather quizzical manner.

Forcefully removing her mind out of pondering on why this place looked so peaceful, Xu Jiao politely smiled at the old lady and explained her purpose, which earned her a wide smile from the other party, and which, somehow made her face look even more similar to a chrysanthemum flower in full bloom. Coughing lightly to hide the sudden laughter that threatened to burst from her mouth, she followed the old lady who introduced herself as 'grandma Sun' to the upper storey via the wooden stairs located outside of the house, which directly connected to the road side.

The interior of the house gave a rather spacious feeling, despite its smaller size, probably due to being sparsely furnished, but Xu Jiao was quite pleased by this; she had never been much fond of too much clatter. There was a big bedroom with two beds in it, with a common area of equal size to the bedroom, if not larger than it. There was a kitchen top in the common area, with a small pantry to complete the combination, while a small bathroom with rather old looking, but still functioning fixtures stood to the side.

[Is there another person living in this place?] Xu Jiao thought while taking an extra glance at the second bed in the bedroom, which showed signs of being slept in by someone. Probably sensing the question in her glance, grandma Sun started explaining in an amicable manner.

"Two days ago, another young girl came here to look for a lodging place. She also said she's a university student… I think she went out for a bit. You can meet her if you wait a bit longer."

Even though she felt a little complicated inside, Xu Jiao still smiled at the old lady, but didn't affirm anything either.

[Would it be troublesome to share a place with a stranger?] After all she's really not good with outsiders, but looking out of the window of the bedroom to see the rather peaceful surroundings, she felt hesitant about giving up this place.

[Well… I should first see for myself what kind of person this other girl is. If she's no good, I can always move out later ne.]

Hearing the sound of the door being opened, Xu Jiao followed the old lady out of the bedroom to take a look at her prospective future roommate, her heart giving birth to anticipation without her even realizing.

#####

A/N:

This is an edited chapter.

Glossary terms:

1. Lost her face all the way up to her grandma's place - this literally means that she was greatly embarrassed. The expression of 'loosing face' is used to indicate that a person is embarrassed or ashamed due to something that happened. So, when you add the extra part of 'all the way up to grandma's place', well... it means that the embarrassment is quite a few degrees higher.