ABOES 1: Rebirth

After a deafening crash, there was the searing pain of flesh scraping against asphalt, followed by the crushing weight of something heavy rolling over his body. The suffocating pressure surged all at once, and for a moment, Ye Xinian thought he was already dead.

When everything finally stilled, what followed was a torrent of unbearable pain. The noise around him slowly faded, leaving only the faint trickling of blood in his ears—a chilling reminder that he wasn’t dead yet… but almost.

Then, in the darkness that had swallowed Ye Xinian’s world, a familiar voice echoed, “Xia Huaiming said only the dead can keep secrets. Ye Xinian, you can’t blame me… I’m your best friend, after all…”

Blood streamed into Ye Xinian’s ears, dulling his hearing. He kept trying to open his mouth to breathe but it was all in vain.

He forced his eyes open one last time and saw Song Jing’s face twisted in a frenzy, “Ye Xinian, don’t blame me. Blame yourself. If you hadn’t gone into Xia Huaiming’s study that day, none of this would have—”

Would have what?

A single tear of blood slid from the corner of Ye Xinian’s eye.

His so-called best friend had been cheating with his fiancé behind his back. Now, under that fiancé’s orders, Song Jing had run him over with a car.

Yet here he was, asking not to be blamed.

Ye Xinian wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it, but he didn’t even have the strength to twitch his lips. The thirst from blood loss made him unconsciously lick at his cracked lips.

If I could just have a sip of water before dying… wouldn’t that be nice?

His final thread of consciousness faded.

And the world went black.

***

“Ye Xinian.”

“Ye Xinian!”

A hand suddenly slapped Ye Xinian on the shoulder from behind. Startled, he turned around in panic.

His roommate looked at Ye Xinian’s pale face with confusion, scratched his own head awkwardly, and apologized. “Did I scare you? The exam’s over. I called your name several times, but you didn’t react at all…”

Only then did Ye Xinian remember—he had been reborn. Everything he just saw was from his past life.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about something,” Ye Xinian forced a weak smile and stood up, saying to his roommate, “Thanks for waiting. Let’s go.”

His roommate gave him a worried look and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” 

Ye Xinian lowered his head to hide the emotion in his eyes.

The roommate didn’t ask further and called over the two other roommates, and they all headed back to the dorm.

Outside the teaching building, the scorching sunlight burned his exposed skin. Only then did Ye Xinian truly feel that he was alive again.

He had really been reborn—back to his sophomore year.

This was the year he had just gotten engaged to Xia Huaiming. It’s just the beginning. He still has time to correct his mistakes.

At Nanda University, different colleges had different final exam schedules. Some had already finished, and many students were dragging their suitcases home.

Ye Xinian followed his roommates from the teaching building back to the dorms. Aside from the sounds of chatter and laughter, the most frequent noise was the rumble of suitcase wheels along the way.

The familiar sounds that came twice a year made Ye Xinian feel strangely at peace.

“Oh right, Ye Xinian, what are your plans for summer break?” asked Zhou Ping, the dorm leader who had called him earlier.

Before Ye Xinian could reply, another roommate jumped in for him, “Of course he’ll keep filming videos! Our Xinian is famous now. So many girls were staring at him on the way back! They all looked like they wanted to talk to him, but none dared!”

The roommate burst out laughing.

Zhou Ping also chuckled, recalling the scene. “That’s true, Xinian. You’ve made it big now—become a proper internet celebrity! Just don’t forget about us when you’re famous!”

Only then did Ye Xinian recall—at this point in time, he actually was a bit famous.

Ye Xinian was naturally good-looking. His deep-set eyes framed by long lashes, fair skin, and rosy lips gave him a striking appearance. Although his features were somewhat delicate, they didn’t make him look feminine; rather, his sharp contours and high nose bridge gave him an air of nobility.

After entering university, Ye Xinian often worked as a magazine model to pay for living expenses and tuition. The magazine’s boss appreciated him and introduced him to Xie Yi, an agent at Yunxing Entertainment.

From their first meeting, Xie Yi said Ye Xinian belonged on the big screen.

Just recently, Xie Yi had him shoot a short video with one of her new artists and it unexpectedly went viral, bringing Ye Xinian into the spotlight.

Since then, Xie Yi wanted to guide him into the entertainment industry. At that time, Ye Xinian was completely devoted to Xia Huaiming. Plus, his friend Song Jing kept sowing doubts, saying how many newcomers were being sent to sleep with investors.

So Ye Xinian believed Xie Yi only saw him as a money-making tool and repeatedly turned her down.

What he didn’t expect was that all the opportunities he rejected “coincidentally” ended up going to Song Jing.

With each opportunity, Song Jing rose from a nobody to a rising second-tier star, while Ye Xinian remained stagnant and was quickly forgotten by the internet.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

Just a month before Ye Xinian and Xia Huaiming’s wedding, he caught Song Jing and Xia Huaiming in bed together—in his own wedding home.

What followed… was the car crash he never saw coming.

Every time Ye Xinian thought of this, he could barely breathe.

Pulling himself out of the memory, Ye Xinian took several deep breaths to calm himself. He smiled at his roommate and said, “Don’t worry. I won’t forget you guys, no matter what!”

After all, in his last life, when he hit rock bottom, these dorm brothers were the only ones who reached out to help him.

Hearing this, the others all smiled warmly.

Zhou Ping’s reminder also made Ye Xinian recall the upcoming opportunity.

If he could seize it, everything could change.

With that in mind, Ye Xinian handed his book to a roommate to take back and turned to head off campus.

Zhou Ping called after him with concern, “Want me to come with you?”

Ye Xinian shook his head and walked off.

It was noon and the weather was blazing hot. Students were out in droves.

Ye Xinian took a couple shortcuts and entered a digital mall. With a sales representative’s help, he found what he needed.

After checking out, he looped back to the school gate and crossed the street to a luxury apartment building after taking a deep breath.

Xia Huaiming had gifted this apartment to Ye Xinian as a wedding present after getting engaged.

However, Ye Xinian preferred staying in the dorm. Their relationship hadn’t been that deep yet, so he only stayed there occasionally on weekends.

However, Song Jin, upon learning about the apartment, offered to move in with him.

Ye Xinian hadn’t thought much of it and agreed after asking Xia Huaiming.

Now that he thought back… when Xia Huaiming found out about Song Jing moving in, his expression had been oddly meaningful.

They must’ve already been secretly involved back then.

Ye Xinian’s eyes turned cold. If he had to blame anyone—it was his own stupidity. He had mistaken wolves for sheep and raised a tiger that would bite him.

He took the owner’s card, scanned his fingerprint, and unlocked the door. Song Jing wasn’t home.

It was a spacious apartment over 100 square meters with two bedrooms and a large living room.

Ye Xinian didn’t plan to record anything now, but he figured installing a surveillance camera in his room was a good idea—just in case.

After assembling the camera on his bedside table, he bagged up the box and tossed it in the trash. He also packed his documents and some essentials from the wardrobe to take back to school.

As he was closing the bedroom door, a pleasant male voice drifted in from the entrance, “Huaiming, don’t be mad, okay? I’ll come see you tonight, alright? Just bear with it a little longer, okay?”

Ye Xinian raised an eyebrow and turned toward the sound.

Song Jing held the phone in one hand and books in the other, smiling dreamily—completely unaware that Ye Xinian was standing by the bedroom door.

His guess had been right, they were already sleeping together.

Ye Xinian felt a wave of nausea rise in his throat. His hand clenched tightly around the trash bag, nails digging into his palm. The pain grounded him.

He then pushed the bedroom door open forcefully, creating a noise.

Song Jing jumped and looked up, startled, “Xi-Xinian? Why are you back?”

Ye Xinian kept his expression calm and nodded slightly. “Just came to grab some clothes.” He paused, his eyes quietly fixed on Song Jing before casually asking, “Who were you talking to?”

Song Jing’s heart skipped a beat, panicking about what Ye Xinian might’ve heard. He quickly ended the calls, forced a smile, and said, “No one. Just… a senior inviting me to dinner.”

Yeah, to sleep with you, maybe.

Ye Xinian sneered internally but didn’t bother to expose him.

“Alright. I’m just grabbing a few things. I’m heading back to school.”

Feeling guilty, Song Jing didn’t dare stop him like usual.

“Okay. Be careful on the way.”

Only after the door shut did Song Jing finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Just then, his phone rang again. It was Xia Huaiming.

“Hello—”

“He didn’t find out, right?” Xia Huaiming sounded more anxious than Song Jing, immediately resorting to threats, “Let me remind you, Song Jing—we’re just having fun. If Xinian finds out about us, you’re out.”

Song Jing’s face turned pale with eyes full of restrained fury. Gritting his teeth, he took several deep breaths and coaxed softly, “Relax, I’ll be careful. He didn’t seem suspicious. You don’t have to worry.”

“It better stay that way!” Xia Huaiming snorted.

Song Jing’s fingers tightened around the phone, knuckles turning white. He forced a smile, “I’ll come over later, okay?”

Only then did Xia Huaiming say nothing more and hung up after giving a hotel room number.

Song Jing took several more deep breaths to suppress the bitterness and jealousy in his heart. He then quickly went to wash up before heading out to meet Xia Huaiming.

Meanwhile, Ye Xinian was on his way to the café where he had arranged to met Xie Yi.