Not long after, the police finally released a notice, stating they would have the school and hospital cooperate with a criminal investigation. Finally, it was no longer an internal investigation by the school and hospital.

Before he lay down, his mother's call came belatedly.

"You've grown bold now, causing this kind of trouble for us." Ms. Zhong's tone was flat.

For once, he was just as calm: "I've already done it, and there's a result."

"So I'm not calling to argue with you," she said from the other end. "I see this matter has had some good progress."

"Mm..."

"Mm what? If something like this happens again, tell us sooner."

"Aren't you going to scold me? I've caused trouble for you."

"Your dad and I are just busy, not crazy," she replied. "You were willing to step forward. Although it was a bit stupid, we couldn't possibly scold you for that. It's good that you were able to protect yourself and not reveal your real name.

Our upbringing didn't go wrong. But, if something like this happens again, tell us in advance, so your dad doesn't get halfway through apologizing to someone only to find out his son wasn't in the wrong at all."

"Oh..."

"Oh what? He's gotten into the habit of apologizing." His mother huffed, her voice surprisingly carrying a hint of gentleness. "Are you okay?"

The topic shifted abruptly, and he couldn't catch up.

"What do you mean?"

"That... student who committed suicide..." she said, "He was your little boyfriend, right? Are you okay?"

This sudden warmth was something he couldn't adapt to at all.

"No," he said. "He wasn't."

"Just a friend?"

He wanted to say they weren't really friends either, but he couldn't bring himself to say it: "Mm..."

"Then don't be too sad. Remember to properly console his mother at the funeral, tell her not to grieve too much."

"Oh..."

"Alright, study hard. We'll handle things on the school's end. Don't overthink it, protect yourself, and tell us if anything comes up."

She was about to hang up, but he said, in a rare moment: "Mom."

"What is it?"

"I miss you."

"Then remember to act a little more obedient when we have dinner with your Uncle Wang."

He was amused by her words and said okay.

Before hanging up, Ms. Zhong said, "I'll ask your dad and see if we can come back to see you at the end of the month."

He slept through the night.

When he woke up, he was face to face with his electric toothbrush.

He brushed his teeth, thinking about when he could treat Chen Ziheng to a good meal.

Walking into the living room, he subconsciously opened his phone to check the comments.

And then.

He froze again.

In the ten o'clock morning light, a white, late-winter sun shone outside.

And his lock screen was still a childhood photo of Zhang Yijie, which he had changed to after losing a bet in February. Above Zhang Yijie's large head were the four words "Cheng Shuo's Dad".

Just looking at it made him lose his appetite.

He looked at the date: February 13th.

Group chats, news, phone records, Weibo—all had naturally returned to the past.

Li Aimin's Weibo account was stuck on a repost of a recent conference he attended.

The school's official account was summarizing the recent campus top ten singers event.

It was as if the public opinion storm of the past few days, the pressure that kept him from sleeping, and the few words left by Cen Zeng had all dissipated completely.

So completely that he didn't even know if it had ever happened.

Fine, fine, fine.

He sat down at the dining table. The breakfast Cen Zeng had made for him had no trace of warmth left.

The toast was cold, the fried egg silent.

He found it so utterly absurd that, uncontrollably, unstoppably, he laughed out loud.

What on earth was going on?

What on earth did this mean?

He silently surveyed the living room. It was peaceful. The big-screen TV, newly installed for playing on the Nintendo Switch with Zhang Yijie, reflected his face.

Full of vigor. He hadn't gotten wasted last night, so he was full of energy.

A lawless, handsome university student.

No sorrow, no questions.

He smiled at the TV, and the person in the reflection smiled back at him.

There were dozens of messages on his WeChat. The heartthrob from the computer science department, whom he remembered mutually deleting after the other party had asked for an official relationship status, had messaged him, asking, "Want to go out for dinner today?"

With a heart as still as water, he replied: "Haha, no thanks. Been a bit busy lately, I'll hit you up when I'm free."

He opened his chat with Cen Zeng and scrolled for a long time. The last time they had spoken was three days ago, when Cen Zeng told him he had made soup and to remember to drink it when he woke up.

He had replied with an OK emoji.

He had returned to one month before Cen Zeng's first suicide attempt. He took a breath and, for some inexplicable reason, thought, 'It's all Cen Zeng's fault.'

It was all Cen Zeng's fault. Cheng Shuo had clearly returned to the past, yet he couldn't pretend that everything from the future hadn't happened.

'What exactly is our relationship?' he wanted to ask.

'We clearly have no relationship at all. I'm just a completely unlucky bastard who watched you kill yourself, stood up for you, talked to your mother, and won a victory for you that you probably didn't even care about. And then when everyone, including myself, asks what our relationship is, I don't even know how to answer.'

He stared at the brown crust of the toast, then picked up the plate, wanting to dump it all in the trash can.

But when it came down to it, he put it back down.

What else could he do?

He silently typed a message to Zhang Yijie: "Are you awake?"

No reply from the other side. He probably partied hard yesterday and was still fast asleep.

He was silent for a long time, then realized he actually wanted to message Chen Ziheng.

So what to do? Might as well send it.

He typed it out three times, not knowing what to say.

If he told Chen Ziheng, "Hello, my roommate is going to commit suicide in a month. Can we expose his advisor's evil deeds together before he does it and save him?" he would probably be called a lunatic.

After thinking it over and over, he still sent a message: "I need your help with something. Can we meet and talk? Sorry to bother you."

This guy replied quickly, with a question mark.

"Account got hacked?"

"If you don't admit it, I'll mass send this to his friends."

Cheng Shuo was so annoyed he laughed and made a call: "It's me."

The person on the other end paused for five seconds before replying: "What for? In any case, I'm not going to help you say nice things in front of Xing Ji."

Cheng Shuo said, "Screw off. I'm not here for him."

"Then what else could you possibly want?"

"Let's talk in person..." Cheng Shuo answered, "And it's not to ask for your help with my failed exams."

Cheng Shuo cut off the unspoken taunt from Chen Ziheng.

"It's something very important. I thought about it, and I think you're the most reliable person I know."

It was hilarious. He once thought Wu Yin could be trusted, and that Chen Ziheng was just a poser. But in the end, the one who truly helped him was the person on the other end of the phone.

Chen Ziheng was clearly stunned by his inexplicable praise. He coughed and said, "Don't be crazy. If you have something to say, just say it."

They agreed to meet in the afternoon.

Cheng Shuo had nothing to do. While his memory was still clear, he typed the WeChat ID "Li Aimin Are You Even Human" into his memo app.

The auntie's address was also firmly committed to memory.

He couldn't quite remember the phone number, but Chen Ziheng had it.

Who else?

Zheng Yi, and Senior Sister.

And of course, his fingertips trembling, Cen Zeng.