Su Li didn't move for a long time. The phone lay buzzing on her desk, With Lin Hao's name constantly flashing on the screen.
She declined his call for what she could count as the thirteenth time. With a shaky breath she went through her contacts.Each name hit her like a hammer to the chest. Her parents,friends she hadn't spoken to in years. Professors who had long since retired. Numbers that, in her last life, had been deleted or blocked during her downfall.
It was all here.
Her lips parted, a shaky laugh slipping out. "This isn't real. It can't be real."
Her dorm door creaked open.
"Su Li? You're still here?"
She whipped around.
At the doorway stood Chen Wei, her bubbly roommate with dimples and messy hair. In her last life, Wei had moved out halfway through the semester, after Su Li neglected her in favor of clinging to Lin Hao. They had lost touch completely.
But now, Wei was here, holding a cup of milk tea in one hand, blinking in confusion at Su Li's stiff expression.
Su Li's throat went dry. "You…"
"What's with you? Did you see a ghost?" Wei chuckled, stepping inside. "Here, I bought two by mistake. You can have this one." She placed the cold cup on Su Li's desk.
The condensation dripped down the plastic, pooling onto the wood. Su Li reached for it with trembling fingers, half-expecting it to vanish. But the chill seeped into her palm, real and undeniable.
Her knees wobbled.
Wei tilted her head. "You look awful. Did you stay up all night again? Or… did you fight with Lin Hao?" Her tone carried casual curiosity, the way a roommate might gossip.
At the sound of his name, bile rose in Su Li's throat.
Fight? She had bled out on the floor while he and Zhou Qian mocked her corpse.
Her grip on the milk tea tightened until the plastic creaked.
"I…" Her voice cracked. She forced it steady. "I don't want to talk about him."
Wei blinked in surprise but didn't pry, shrugging. "Suit yourself. Anyway, don't forget the professor's quiz this afternoon. And, oh there's that job fair later, the one by the main hall. You're going, right?"
Job fair.
Su Li's breath caught. She remembered this day now, vividly. In her last life, she had skipped it. Lin Hao had asked her to meet him instead, whining about how lonely he was. She had obeyed without hesitation, missing the chance to land an internship that could've changed everything.
Her pulse quickened.The timeline was the same. Every detail was unfolding exactly as it had before.
This wasn't a dream.
It was her life. Again.
She sat heavily on the bed, her fingers tightening around the cold drink.
Her mind screamed at her to deny it, to laugh at the absurdity, but the truth pressed down like a heavy weight she couldn't shake. The quiz,the job fair,the roommate she had lost. The phone call she had ignored.
It was all real.
Her chest rose and fell, faster and faster, until her eyes stung. Tears blurred her vision, but she blinked them back, biting her lip until the metallic tang of blood filled her mouth.
If this was truly her second chance… then she had to choose.
Would she make the same mistakes? Would she throw it all away for a man who had gutted her, for a friend who had slit her open with betrayal?
Her phone buzzed again.
Lin Hao.
Her stomach twisted violently.
Once, that name had been her comfort. Now, it was poison.
She stared at it, unblinking, until the call died out. A silence filled the room, heavy and suffocating, but inside her chest, something shifted.
A spark.
Small but it would soon ignite to a flame.
If this is real… she thought, her fingers curling into a fist. Then I swear, Lin Hao, Zhou Qian this time, it's my turn.
Su Li lowered the phone slowly and exhaled. terrifying calm came over her.
She placed the phone face down on the desk, as if sealing it away. In her last life, she had chased after Lin Hao every time he called, afraid of losing him, afraid of being abandoned. Now, the fear was gone—burned to ash along with her blind devotion.
Wei watched her carefully. "…You're really serious this time, huh?"
Su Li looked up,the girl in front of her was still the same alive, warm and caring.Someone she had pushed away for a man who never deserved it.
"Yeah," Su Li said softly. "I'm serious."
Wei studied her for a moment, then shrugged with a grin. "Good. That guy always felt off to me anyway. Come on, get dressed. Lets go, you don't want to miss another job fair again".
Su Li's fingers paused.
Again.
The word struck deeper than Wei could have known.
She stood up.
"I'll get changed."
Wei blinked. "Huh? Wow, who are you and what did you do with Su Li?" She laughed, grabbing her bag. "Hurry up, then. You said you wanted to work in corporate, right? The bigger companies always draw crazy crowds."
Corporate.
In her past life, she had been so focused on being Lin Hao's shadow that she had never built anything of her own. No skills, nothing she could claim as her own..
As she changed, Su Li caught her reflection in the mirror again. The same youthful face. The same soft features.
But the eyes were different.
They were colder and full of clarity.
I won't fight them with emotions, she thought, I'll fight them with power.
The main hall buzzed with noise voices overlapping, footsteps echoing, banners fluttering overhead.
Su Li moved past booth after booth without stopping.
The larger companies were swarmed with students, resumes stacked high, recruiters smiling with practiced enthusiasm. In her last life, she had waited in those lines, believing prestige meant security.
Now, she walked past them without a second glance.
Near the far corner of the hall, she slowed.
The booth was small almost easy to miss. No LED screens, no glossy posters just a foldable table, a white banner, and a stack of thin flyers.
ChenTech Solutions.
Su Li reached out and picked up a flyer.
She read it carefully.
Cloud data optimization. Enterprise backend support. Scalable infrastructure solutions.
Modest words. Conservative claims.
But she remembered what those words would grow into.
She scanned the fine print, nodding faintly to herself, then stepped closer.
A young woman behind the table looked up first, surprise flickering across her face before professionalism settled in.
"Hi," the woman said. "Are you interested in ChenTech?"
"Yes," Su Li replied. "I wanted to ask a few questions first, if that's okay."
The woman smiled, clearly relieved. "Of course."
Su Li glanced down at the flyer again. "You focus on backend support and data optimization, but your client list seems… limited. Are you still in the development phase?"
The woman blinked. "We are. Most of our contracts are internal or short-term for now."
"I see." Su Li looked up. "So your priority isn't expansion yet, but stability."
The woman exchanged a quick look with the man beside her the one sorting resumes quietly.
He finally lifted his head.
Su Li met his gaze briefly, then returned her attention to the flyer.
"That's correct," the woman said carefully. "We're building our foundation."
Su Li nodded. "Then you'll need people who can adapt quickly, not just specialists."
The man spoke this time, his voice calm and even. "And why do you think you fit that?"
Su Li looked at him properly now.
He wasn't striking. His suit was simple, his expression unreadable. Someone easily overlooked in a room full of ambition.
"I don't," she said honestly. "Not yet."
That earned her a pause.
"But," she continued, "I learn fast. I don't mind repetitive work, long hours, or unclear paths. And I'm not afraid of instability."
The woman frowned slightly. "Most people prefer security."
"I don't," Su Li replied. "I prefer growth."
The man's fingers stilled.
"And what do you expect in return?" he asked.
She didn't hesitate. "Experience. Responsibility. And a chance to stay."
There was no mention of salary. No flowery promises.
Just intent.
The woman cleared her throat. "We don't offer much to interns. The pay is minimal, and there's no guarantee of retention."
Su Li inclined her head. "I understand."
She reached into her bag and handed over her resume calmly, deliberately.
"I'm not here for what ChenTech is now," she said. "I'm here for what it can become."
Silence stretched between them.
Then the man took the resume.
"We'll review it," he said.
Su Li nodded, stepping back. "Thank you for your time."
She turned and walked away without looking back.
Behind her, the woman exhaled softly. "She's… different."
The man glanced down at the resume again, scanning it once more before setting it neatly atop the stack.
"File her with the others," he said calmly.