Chapter 25: Regretted

Lin Xinyuan was about to explode—this jade bracelet was clearly beyond his control.

Just thinking about his good brother running away from home made his whole body tremble!

With that thought, he suddenly jumped up, ignoring the computer still playing the video, slipped on his slippers, and dashed out “swish swish.”

“Ziiila~”

“Bang!”

The door opening and closing startled the two who were still cursing at each other into prematurely ending their fight.

They glared at each other, then stared at the disappearing figure outside the door, exchanging confused looks.

“What just happened?”

Both scratched their heads in puzzlement and went back to their own business…

Lin Xinyuan left the dormitory and headed straight downstairs to the trash dump.

With his anxious appearance, anyone unaware would have thought he had dropped his phone in the toilet and forgotten to retrieve it.

Taking two steps at once, he arrived at the trash dump at top speed.

Seeing no one around, Lin Xinyuan felt a bit relieved.

He knew what he was about to do was strange… so it was best if no one saw.

Thus, he came to a small, secluded trash area on the very edge of the school.

The sky was dim.

Standing before the trash dump, Lin Xinyuan pulled out the jade bracelet.

Even in the darkness, it still shimmered faintly.

His mood was complicated, but after some thought, he steeled himself.

With a sharp look in his eyes, he forcefully threw the jade bracelet onto the ground.

A bluish-green arc flashed swiftly in the dim light.

“Bang!”

The bracelet hit the ground with a crisp sound, remarkably clear in the silence.

Lin Xinyuan hurried forward to check but found it completely intact.

He had already expected this, so he wasn’t too surprised.

“As expected…”

Since this strange thing had the power to change gender, it would be suspicious if it could be easily destroyed!

Still unwilling to give up, he tried several more times—almost every method imaginable—but nothing worked, not a single crack appeared.

At this point, Lin Xinyuan could only give up.

Fuming, he tossed it into the trash bin and left directly, heading back to the dorm.

Since he couldn’t destroy it, all he could do now was hope that throwing it away would somehow help…

Because he had been so anxious before, running and jumping in the heat, it was no surprise he had worked up a sweat.

Back in the dorm, Lin Xinyuan went straight to the bathroom for at least a quick rinse.

During this time, Chen Ze curiously asked where he had gone, but Lin Xinyuan gave a perfunctory answer and sulked away to the bathroom.

Watching Lin Xinyuan’s retreating figure, Chen Ze scratched his head and muttered, “At this rate… he can’t have been dumped, right?”

Chen Ze’s imagination ran wild.

Seeing Lin Xinyuan go out early and come back late every day, he figured he must be spending time with his girlfriend—but now it looked like he had been dumped?

After all, Lin Xinyuan’s expressions before and after going out, plus his utterly disheartened tone when talking just now, all confirmed this.

Chen Ze sighed, “Sigh… I can’t really help, but at least I can comfort him.

I should find a time to have a proper talk…”

Inside the bathroom, Lin Xinyuan casually rinsed himself off, then came out.

He didn’t bother changing clothes and just lay down on the bed.

Lying there, his hair still damp despite drying it as best he could, Lin Xinyuan didn’t care and stared blankly at the ceiling.

During this time, Chen Ze came over, saw him zoning out like that, and scolded him for not trying harder, saying some things that he half-understood.

By the time Chen Ze’s throat was hoarse, Lin Xinyuan was still in the same dazed state.

Hearing nothing, Chen Ze gave up with a sigh.

Returning to his own seat, Chen Ze shook his head at Xu Wentao, looking helpless.

Xu Wentao had heard Chen Ze’s guess but had no solution either—after all, he had never been in a relationship himself, even less experienced than Chen Ze!

The freshly awakened Fourth Brother Wen Yuanshan blinked, “What happened?”

Chen Ze and Xu Wentao both glanced at the still-bedridden, dazed Fourth Brother and sighed, “Sigh~”

Familiar place, pitch-black sky, deep blue water, and floating fireflies.

Lin Xinyuan stood dazed in this seemingly endless world.

He couldn’t hear a sound.

Coming back to his senses, he walked aimlessly in one direction.

He seemed to have experienced this before, but he wondered what might be different this time ahead?

With no sense of time or feeling, he walked for who knows how long—was it a year?

Or ten thousand years?

Perhaps time didn’t exist here…

Finally, he saw twinkling stars ahead.

Walking through the mist, a familiar scene came into view…

Under the Crooked-Neck Tree, a figure stood with their back to him.

Unlike last time, this figure was much clearer, and from the vague silhouette, Lin Xinyuan could barely make out a hint of gracefulness.

“You’re here again.”

That familiar voice floated ethereally.

As the figure spoke, it turned around—still impossible to see the face clearly, just as before.

“You…”

Lin Xinyuan tried to speak but could only barely utter one word before a sinking feeling washed over him.

“You…■■■■■■■■■.”

The falling sensation grew stronger.

Lin Xinyuan felt himself losing control of his body, powerless to struggle…

“Oh dear~ Are you wondering why, just like last time, I’m still a riddle? Sorry~ It’s not time yet. Maybe next time we’ll talk more~”

“And… you weren’t very obedient this time, you really hurt me when you slammed down~ Honestly!”

The ethereal voice suddenly turned casual and playful.

But Lin Xinyuan could no longer think much—he had already lost consciousness…

Dreaming of this scene again—it was the second time, right?

The only difference was that the person in the dream spoke some strange words…

Last time, it felt like he had walked for a long time and finally saw her, but got no useful information.

This time, she spoke a lot more…

But those few sentences that were basically meaningless—he couldn’t understand them.

Was this a hint about his bodily changes?

He didn’t understand.

One thing was certain: this dream was definitely connected to the jade bracelet…

At six in the morning, Lin Xinyuan unexpectedly woke early, lying quietly in bed with his eyes closed, thinking.

This was really bad!

He turned on his side, opened his eyes, and glanced at the familiar jade bracelet on the bedside table still faintly glowing with a green light, feeling utterly helpless.

Yes, this thing had magically and unsurprisingly returned on its own…

Had it really been useless?

Lin Xinyuan had resigned himself.

He couldn’t destroy it; he couldn’t throw it away; denying it was impossible!

From now on, he would resolutely not wear this thing anymore!

As for the irreversible continuous changes, he could only hope they slowed down…

Thinking this, he sighed and tried to comfort himself, even pondering what to do next.

Identity issues, family problems… all kinds of troubles…

Truly a mess…

For now, he could only take it one step at a time.

Thinking too much was useless, he hypnotized himself with this logic.

He regretted why he had gone out for a night run that day and why, out of curiosity, he had picked up this beautiful unclaimed bracelet…

He regretted it…