The story of the movie is quite simple.
The male and female leads were childhood sweethearts who naturally ended up together after graduating from university.
At the time, everyone thought they would be very happy. They understood each other’s personalities, character, and family backgrounds, and trusted each other completely.
The usual worries that plague ordinary couples were simply not an issue for them. Quarrels, fights, cheating—those things were simply unthinkable.
But marriage turned out to be far more complicated than they’d ever imagined.
Even for two people like them, they couldn’t withstand the test of “rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.”
Because they had been childhood friends for so many years, the weight of familial affection ended up outweighing their love.
Once the fire of romance slowly cooled, all that was left were endless, trivial arguments.
In the end, with both of them swearing, “If I could go back, I’d never marry you again,” they divorced.
Not long after they walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, a dump truck barreled toward the male lead.
In this lifetime, the final scene was the despair in the female lead’s eyes.
Shen Xiyan wore a strange expression, her throat feeling as though a stone was lodged inside, painfully stuck.
Qin Sheng should be happy over there… right?
But Wenwen…
Suddenly, a suffocating pain gripped her. Shen Xiyan didn’t dare look any longer.
As she closed her eyes, she caught a glimpse of Qin Sheng out of the corner of her eye.
In the light and shadows cast by the movie screen, she could see Qin Sheng’s eyes—bright and shimmering, with a hint of wetness at the corners.
“???”
Shen Xiyan quickly pulled a tissue from her bag and teased, “Didn’t think your heart was this fragile, huh?”
“Touched! These two have a screw loose—only after losing do they realize what they had…”
When Shen Xiyan hadn’t noticed, Qin Sheng was still holding back, not letting herself cry aloud, her big eyes red.
But once Shen Xiyan caught her, tears started streaming down, and she wiped both her tears and snot all over Shen Xiyan’s clothes.
Shen Xiyan sighed and quietly cleaned it off with a tissue.
At that moment, while Qin Sheng was distracted, Lin Ci pinched a popcorn and stuffed it into Shen Xiyan’s mouth.
Lin Ci wasn’t nearly as fragile as Qin Sheng—the only one who cried from the very beginning was Qin Sheng, after all.
After chewing for a bit, Shen Xiyan shoved two tissues into Qin Sheng’s palm and left her alone.
The movie continued.
When he was first Reborn, the male lead was filled with hope for the future.
He still maintained a good relationship with his childhood sweetheart, but the ambiguity of the previous life was gone. Instead, taking advantage of the Rebirth, he pursued the campus belle.
“Scumbag!” Lin Ci ground her teeth.
“Scumbag!” Qin Sheng was furious.
She believed in the Butterfly Effect, so she didn’t dare act recklessly—any small misstep could turn Destiny’s Gear in an unexpected direction.
She didn’t care about money or fame; she just wanted Shen Xiyan.
But staying the same wouldn’t work—otherwise, the tragedy would simply repeat.
Changing too much was dangerous too. What if she couldn’t win over Shen Xiyan?
She had only one regret she wanted to make up for; as for everything else, she hoped they’d stay exactly the same.
So she could only be extra careful, keep everything within her control, carefully considering every decision, reflecting over every action again and again.
Especially now that her aunt had survived; after this, no matter what happened, someone would always have her back.
Based on her previous life, next month Shen Xiyan would come to realize, anxiously, that she really did like him, and it wasn’t just some prank after losing at Truth or Dare.
Though things weren’t going as smoothly this time, at least they’d kissed, hugged, even gotten a little intimate… so, not a total loss!
***
In the second half of the movie, the male lead and the campus belle simply didn’t click.
Instead, it was his childhood sweetheart, the one he’d dismissed, who moved him again like she had years ago, making him fall for her all over again.
Then, there was an earthquake. Everyone rushed to escape, the campus belle included, but the male lead went searching for his childhood sweetheart, only to find she was looking for him, too.
In that instant, the male lead understood what he truly wanted.
Qin Sheng wiped her tears, poked Shen Xiyan in the side, and asked, “Xiyan… If you were like him, Reborn, would you choose the campus belle or the… pfft! Your wife?”
“My… the campus belle!”
Qin Sheng blinked her innocent eyes: “You just wanted to pick your wife, didn’t you?”
“No.”
“Yes, you did.”
“That was just a slip of the tongue, don’t take it seriously.”
“A slip of the tongue is more telling.”
“You’re like a pregnant woman giving birth, just spouting nonsense.”
“Hmph!” Qin Sheng was delighted.
“Why should I give up a whole forest for a single tree? Deciding my whole future just because of high school is too sad.”
Shen Xiyan “longed,” “If I got Reborn, the first thing I’d do is make money—lots and lots of money.”
Lin Ci was puzzled: “And then what would you do with all that money…?”
Shen Xiyan laughed loudly: “Of course, have three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines, hahaha.”
Qin Sheng’s face instantly turned cold.
Then a sharp pain shot through Shen Xiyan’s waist, from both sides.
Coughing up blood
Lin Ci… you—why did you ambush me too?
“It’s true!” Shen Xiyan kept arguing, “In that situation, just after a divorce, no feelings left, 99% of men would pick the campus belle.”
“Then why did you pick your wife?”
“I clearly picked the campus belle.”
“Fine! But after being with you for so many years, your wife just gets tossed aside?”
Lin Ci chimed in, “Yeah! And she’s your childhood sweetheart, you just throw her away?”
Shen Xiyan argued, “I said, the male lead just got Reborn—if he chose the female lead, wouldn’t he be repeating the same tragedy? Qin Sheng just said it best: people only know to cherish after they’ve lost.”
“But you’ve already been Reborn, why repeat the tragedy? If you want, you could avoid it, right?” Qin Sheng slumped in her seat, her expression lost, as if she was thinking about something, despondent…
With new choices, why get hung up on the past?
Qin Sheng gritted her teeth: “Then I’d pick my wife.”
Shen Xiyan raised an eyebrow: “Reason?”
“If I was with him, there must be something about him I really like, so much that I’d marry him.”
Qin Sheng’s eyes were resolute, her tone even firmer: “If the future isn’t happy, then change it—otherwise, what’s the point of Rebirth?”
Shen Xiyan didn’t know how to answer, so she turned her gaze to Lin Ci.
“Lin Ci, what about you?”
“Childhood sweetheart.”
Shen Xiyan: “…”
Just then, Shen Xiyan’s phone chimed again—she was almost getting PTSD from it.
She took it out and saw it was a message from Song Wan.
Song Wan: [Is Qin Sheng with you?]
Shen Xiyan: [???]
Song Wan: [That brat! I told her my aunt was coming today, and she said she’d drop by to say hi. She agreed, but it’s already afternoon and there’s no sign of her, her phone’s off, and her family said she snuck out first thing in the morning.]
There was a long silence.
Shen Xiyan: [She… is indeed with me.]
Song Wan: [Maybe I’ve been too lenient with her lately, and she’s gotten a bit full of herself. Share your location…]
Shen Xiyan: [……]
She turned to look at Qin Sheng, who was munching on popcorn like a panda chomping bamboo, crunch, crunch.
Qin Sheng… aren’t you just asking for trouble?
Qin Sheng noticed Shen Xiyan’s odd gaze and frowned, “What is it? Who messaged you?”
“Nothing to do with you…”
“Let me see! Is it another little tramp?”
“Like hell you’ll see!”
Shen Xiyan flicked her phone aside, determined not to let Qin Sheng peek.
But she didn’t realize that her casual swipe brought up an utterly wild scene.
It was the recent viral clip of “Zhang so-and-so” online, thankfully just a gif with no sound.
Still, even so, Lin Ci at her side seemed to hear indistinct noises, and her little face instantly flushed bright red.
Shen Xiyan’s side finished their scuffle, but after settling Qin Sheng, she got a scare herself.
How do these Sand Sculpture Netizens have every resource imaginable?!
Damn! No one saw that, right?
She glanced around—no one, everyone was busy making out in the corners.
She looked at Lin Ci—Lin Ci was laser-focused on the movie.
Phew, that was close.
These Sand Sculpture Netizens are a real hazard, Shen Xiyan decided she’d have to call them out.