Studying, huh? Honestly… you can’t force a fruit to ripen.
A melon twisted off the vine just doesn’t taste sweet.
Xia Hua didn’t push herself when it came to studying not because she was lazy, but because she had more options now.
Back then, when studying was the only way forward, even if the melon was bitter gourd, she’d have chewed it down like it was a delicacy from the heavens.
She always said: “I’m just not cut out for academics.”
But the truth was—she had never truly tried grinding through her studies.
I mean, come on. Could you expect someone who juggles part-time jobs every day and tries to study on the side to really make it? That’s asking for too much.
These days, Xia Hua no longer had dreams of being a straight-A student.
(_ _)( – . – )(O)……( – . – ), Before 11:30 PM, she was already yawning, eyes suddenly flying wide open. “Holy sh*t…”
Tired!? Xia Hua blinked in disbelief.
This early? I’m already tired?
“But going to bed this early… doesn’t it feel like a total waste of time?”
“One o’clock. I’ll sleep at one…”
“Mmm… ungh!!!”
“Forget it. I’ll just go to sleep!”
After struggling with herself for a while, Xia Hua gave in and headed to bed.
In another world, staying up late had become the norm for young people.
Sleeping at 2 or 3 AM? Totally standard.
The weirdos were the ones asleep before midnight.
Not that staying up late was good. No one was glorifying it.
It’s just that most people couldn’t resist the temptation of the night.
Xia Hua had quit drinking. Quit smoking. But the one addiction she could never kick?
Staying up late.
Turned out, staying up late was more addictive than alcohol or cigarettes.
So while she still had the chance—before the habit became incurable—
She quit.
“Good night…” came her soft voice, echoing in the small garage.
Her bed was placed directly opposite the roll-up garage door.
The top of the door always let in a bit of wind and light.
Thankfully, it was late now—no kids were around to slap the door for fun.
Still, Xia Hua prayed for a peaceful dream.
And also prayed she wouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night from a drunk banging on her door.
Of all the seasons, she only liked autumn.
In spring, the garage was damp.
In summer, it smelled faintly of sewage. And in winter, it was bone-chilling cold.
She once had a small dream:
She wanted to live in a high-rise.
The building she lived in had seven floors.
She lived in a garage on the ground.
She wanted to live up there, in a real apartment.
One day, I’ll have a big house.
%￥#￥#@…
@##￥#@#￥……
￥#@#@￥#￥#@@@￥…
“Babe, hurry up—we’re gonna be late! #@￥@…”
“What are you rushing me for? Just believe and it’ll work! %#%￥#…”
￥#%￥#@￥……
Xia Hua thought she was dreaming.
Because in that other world—the one where life had gotten better—she had a big house, a peaceful environment, and never had to hear voices in the night.
So this had to be a dream, right?
Until—
‘Bang! Bang bang bang—bang bang bang bang!!!’ A string of firecrackers exploded.
“Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!~~~~” Xia Hua woke up screaming.
Heart racing, she stared in panic at the garage’s roll-up door.
The firecracker sounds had come from there.
The voices of the couple had already faded into the distance.
Only after a long while did her frightened soul finally calm down.
Turns out—it was a couple moving house. A traditional celebration.
Xia Hua didn’t know if they were moving in or moving out.
Probably didn’t even realize someone was sleeping in the garage.
As they passed by, they’d just tossed down some firecrackers to celebrate.
“H-Holy crap, that scared me to death…” Xia Hua muttered in the darkness.
She checked the time—just past 4:40 AM.
The environment was unfamiliar… or rather, even though she’d lived here for a while, she still didn’t feel at home.
Long stays don’t make a place familiar.
And now she couldn’t fall back asleep.
Since the garage was on the lowest floor, it always stayed a little colder in summer.
She got up and turned off the electric fan.
Then climbed back under her blanket.
Now she had two choices: 1. Get up and study, 2. Go back to sleep.
But instead of choosing between the two obvious options, Xia Hua gave herself a third—something she had never done throughout her entire high school life:
A morning run.
“I’ll just say it’s for the abs,” she mumbled, convincing herself to get out of bed.
She lazed around a little longer, then finally got up—brushed her teeth, washed her face, hit the bathroom.
By the time she was ready to head out, it was already 5:15 AM.
That’s when she realized something important: She didn’t have proper running shoes.
Just two pairs of everyday canvas sneakers—one for wear, one for washing—and a pair of slippers.
Screw it. Just go like this!
Running in a pair of 35-yuan-on-sale sneakers had its own kind of charm, she figured.
As long as she didn’t make a habit of it. Her feet would be destroyed eventually.
“Two laps around the creek—let’s go!” Xia Hua declared, full of confidence.
She had no idea what her stamina was like now, in this girl’s body. But it couldn’t be that bad, right?
“Back in the day—I mean, in the other world—”
“I could jog two or three kilometers just fine.”
“And now… surely I can—hoo~—”
“It’s totally—huff huff~~—a piece of cake!”
“……”
Most cities are built near rivers or creeks.
Xia Hua lived in the old part of town.
Just 200 meters out the door and around the corner, she reached the riverside footpath.
But… that’s also where her confidence started falling apart.
Because after running just 200 meters, she was already breathing heavier than expected.
No way it’s that bad… right? But at the 400-meter mark—
“Huff huff huff huff~~” She was panting like a bellows.
At 700 meters—“Wheeze wheeze wheeze!!!”—and her body had officially reached its limit.
Xia Hua stopped her run right then and there. Enough was enough.
Any more wouldn’t be “pushing her limits”—it’d just be asking for injury.
“I can’t believe… my stamina is this bad.”
She finally had to accept a hard truth: this girl’s body was a lot weaker.
“And this is me on a normal day. I don’t even want to imagine what it’d be like if I were… you know, on my period. Hopefully that day never comes.”
“I hope my dream comes true.”
Facing the city slowly awakening under the first light of dawn, Xia Hua waved her little hand.
Mornings in May always brightened so fast.
The real pleasure came after the run—during the cool-down walk.
She passed by breakfast stalls already opening up shop, and the nearby wet market was buzzing with life, loud and lively even at this hour.
“Should I grab some groceries and cook today?”
She quickly shut that thought down.
Because for someone living alone like her, a 3.5-yuan breakfast was way more cost-effective than cooking.
As for lunch, the cafeteria food was gross but cheap.
And dinner? She’d just eat the employee meal from her part-time job at the convenience store.
“Good morning, Nanyun County.”
Xia Hua greeted the city, now glowing softly in the early morning light.