The cycle begins to repeat itself today.

I gave her the answer, and Ye Yuqing once again showed that happy and excited expression, exactly the same scene I had witnessed several times before. This should be a very normal reaction, at least for Ye Yuqing, but this time, it seemed particularly strange to me.

Ye Yuqing would sometimes ask her deskmate for the date if she didn't have her phone with her, and she would show a very happy expression after learning the exact time. I've watched this scene three or four times without it changing, and I originally thought it was just a normal question about the time. But now it seems that's not the case at all. Ye Yuqing's current behavior can only be described as very strange to me.

Although there were many strange things, they can be summarized in three words: unreasonable.

Firstly, Ye Yuqing asked me about today's date. She said she didn't have her phone with her and couldn't confirm the date, but I definitely reminded her of the date last night before school ended—September 11th—and she understood that "today" is September 12th. She shouldn't have forgotten such an important day, especially since I personally accompanied her to school around 3 or 4 AM, perhaps to check something. She shouldn't have forgotten today's date; this is abnormal.

Secondly, it's still about Ye Yuqing asking me a question. I'm usually very low-key and almost never speak unless absolutely necessary, so why did Ye Yuqing ask me this question? Just because I'm closer to her? But this time I arrived at the classroom later than her, so why did she still ask me instead of asking anyone else? She could have asked the students in front of her, behind her, or even across the aisle, and they would have gotten the correct answer. Why did she have to ask me again? Is there any special significance to this? Or is it just a coincidence?

Thirdly, there's Ye Yuqing's own actions. More than half of the information I obtained through conversations with her remains unconfirmed; it's a mix of truth and falsehood, making it extremely difficult to discern. Besides, there's information she didn't reveal: why did she come to the school so late at night? What was she trying to confirm? How many times has she used this method to infiltrate the school?

After this night, I realized that the problems I faced hadn't decreased at all; in fact, they'd increased. Fortunately, however, this didn't significantly affect my already established plan. I decided to continue according to it, this time determined to find out exactly what Ye Yuqing had experienced tonight. To prevent Ye Yuqing from noticing my actions, I needed to avoid all previous activities involving her, lest she become wary of me, causing my plan to fail, or even unknowingly leading to my own death.

After making my plan, I didn't hesitate any longer. I put myself in my most familiar state, as if nothing else mattered to me. Even when Ye Yuqing tried to talk to me, I only glanced at her briefly and didn't continue the conversation. This only happened once. Perhaps my usual aloofness was enough for her to grasp, and the perfect distance that I had previously perceived between us returned.

At lunchtime, I deliberately waited about ten minutes before leaving the classroom. I bought a piece of bread at the convenience store and two ridiculously expensive cans of coffee—I wasn't even sure if they'd work—and chug them down, hoping they'd help me stay awake. I didn't look up at the teaching building, just threw my trash in the bin and headed towards it. I didn't see Ye Yuqing at all until she reappeared at the classroom door just before afternoon classes started. I managed to get through the afternoon using the same method. I'd already spent at least thirty yuan on canned coffee alone—something I rarely do.

After dinner, I returned to the classroom, and Ye Yuqing showed no unusual behavior. At 6:30, I finally received the test paper I had memorized perfectly. I immediately began writing; I had already memorized what needed to be filled in the blanks. Once again, I finished my test well ahead of schedule. I folded the paper, placed it under my hand, and glanced out the window at the silent darkness. This was a way of avoiding any interaction with Ye Yuqing, preventing her from trying to get answers to the questions from me.

There are about fifty minutes left until 9 PM. One of the key verification points—the twenty-four hours following resurrection—is about to pass. Will some strange changes occur? I'm slightly anticipating it, but at the same time, I hope such changes don't happen, because what I'm about to do has completely exceeded the twenty-four-hour timeframe. I died around 9 PM, while Ye Yuqing committed suicide after 10 PM, which is clearly beyond the twenty-four-hour range. If the time reset is a forced event, then naturally I won't be able to see what happened on the rooftop of this building after 10 PM.

Moreover, so far, not to mention the principle behind this phenomenon, there is still no relatively reliable conclusion on its resetting pattern. This will have a greater impact on my investigation than I imagined.

Fortunately, I no longer need to speculate on random, irrelevant clues. Everything will be clear by nine o'clock. If time has reset, my time will continuously cycle within these twenty-four hours. If it hasn't reset, both my investigation and my speculation about the time reset will make significant progress. I couldn't help but feel excited, and my mental fatigue was somewhat alleviated.

I waited quietly for the exam to end.

Chapter Thirty-One: The Lingering Sleepiness

I sat in my seat waiting for the exam to end. Perhaps it was the quietness around me, and having already finished the paper, I started to feel bored, and sleepiness began to creep in. I bit my tongue, but it didn't help much, so I tried a different approach: I slightly raised my buttocks, sitting there in a squatting position, even removing my hands from the desk. This position, while tiring, at least prevented me from falling asleep. Realizing something, I quietly took out my phone to check the time—it was already 8:47, thirteen minutes until the exam ended, and eight minutes until the twenty-four-hour mark.

I haven't slept for almost 24 hours, which is a disaster for someone with a relatively regular lifestyle like me. But I can't fall asleep now. I'm so close to success with what I'm doing, how can I give up here?

But sleepiness washed over me, and I couldn't effectively resist the drowsiness that wanted me to close my eyes. The horse stance only lasted two or three minutes before I collapsed due to exhaustion, only to rise again, repeating this process. Soon, even the horse stance couldn't fight off the sleepiness, so I started biting my tongue and twisting my arms, trying to stay awake with as much pain as I could tolerate. My entire focus was on maintaining my willpower and preventing me from falling asleep, until I heard a sound like clapping. I looked up at the podium; the Chinese teacher had stood up. She glanced around the classroom and said, "The exam is over. You have five minutes to rest, and then we'll go over the test."

These five minutes were for us to use the restroom and catch our breath. I glanced at Ye Yuqing beside me; although she didn't seem inclined to move, I needed to go out, so I stood up. She saw me stand up, understood, and made way for me, saying thank you. I went out. I headed towards the public restroom downstairs. These old-style buildings don't have restrooms on each floor, but that wasn't my destination. I went to the water tap, turned it on, and the water, warmed by the heat, flowed down. I scooped some up with my hands and poured it over my face. Although the temperature wasn't low, it at least lifted my spirits a bit.

I washed my face briefly with the tap water and then dried it with my sleeve. I rarely do this, but I really had no other choice today; I didn't want to, and couldn't, go to sleep.

I made it through those 24 hours.

I took out my phone again and checked the time: 9:03 AM, still September 12th. The time hadn't been reset. Having experienced September 12th so many times, for the first time I felt a little happy. I saw a glimmer of hope that time would continue to move forward, and even felt like I had broken free from that cycle. I looked up at the adjacent teaching building. From the water dispenser, I could see the back of the building, the window next to my seat, and the steel bar stuck in the wall—if it were daytime, of course. My eyesight is normal; I can't see very far in the dark.

What I had to do next didn't change. I went back into the classroom and saw Ye Yuqing still sitting in her seat, flipping through her test paper. I walked over, and she stood up again when she saw me, letting me in. This is why I hate sitting in this kind of seat; it's a real hassle for me, and obviously, it's the same for everyone else.

I thanked her again and then sat back down in my seat.

The timeline has been settled, and according to the plan, there's one more thing I need to figure out today. My heart is racing slightly because, at this moment, the importance of that next thing excites me even more than jumping out of the time loop. This time, I'm absolutely certain I can find out who Ye Yuqing was dating, and why she committed suicide.

I sensed Ye Yuqing looking at me. I turned to look at her and realized my feeling wasn't illusion. However, when she saw me turn to look at her too, Ye Yuqing turned her head away. These small actions made me wonder if I had unknowingly given myself away and she had noticed. I started to recall any mistakes I might have made since arriving at school that morning, but after thinking it over, I couldn't come up with anything glaringly wrong, which only made me more confused.

Because I sensed the possibility of escaping the time loop, I now cherish my life far more than before. It would be terrible if something went wrong and Ye Yuqing killed me again. After all, whether I could start over was completely unknown, and I wasn't bold enough to gamble my life on that one-in-five chance. I thought carefully, but before I could come up with anything, the drowsiness lurking within me once again began to interfere with my mental state, preventing me from thinking. The face I washed at the water station earlier was like a cup of water poured into the desert—nothing changed at all.

Helpless, I had no choice but to resort to my old tricks: biting my tongue, doing a horse stance, and twisting my arms. When those failed, I started biting my fingers, taking deep breaths, and trying everything to keep myself from falling asleep. I was slightly dazed and didn't know how I got through the nearly one hour. I could have fallen asleep at any moment, but when I realized I was closing my eyes, I quickly forced them open again. This was the first time in my life I had forced myself like this. Now it seems that this kind of forcing did have some effect. When the bell rang for the end of get out of class, I was surprised to find that I hadn't completely fallen asleep yet.

Everyone around me started moving around in a flurry. Just in case, I took out my phone and checked the time—September 12th, 10 PM sharp. I breathed a sigh of relief, then stood up. This moment had finally arrived.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Words of Surprise

Slight excitement helped me suppress my overwhelming sleepiness once again. I stood up and started packing my bag, partly to stretch my arms and legs, and partly to disguise myself. Although Ye Yuqing had quickly packed her things, she hadn't left immediately, and I didn't want to give myself away. Soon, Ye Yuqing started moving, following the crowd out of the classroom. I didn't need to pack my bag anyway, so I quickly grabbed it and followed. This was probably the first time I'd left the classroom with a group of more than ten people.

After I followed Ye Yuqing out of the classroom, I followed her for a few steps, but ended up following her all the way to the stairwell and then downstairs.

I almost stopped in my tracks from sheer surprise. Had I done something wrong that aroused Ye Yuqing's suspicion, causing her to change her course? I began to question myself: had this investigation failed?

I followed Ye Yuqing downstairs. After a few steps, I saw her pause, then turn and walk back in her own direction. My heart started pounding uncontrollably. I wondered if she was going to make a move. I moved slightly to the side, but she didn't change her course. I realized she wasn't targeting me and breathed a sigh of relief. I brushed past her, took a few more steps, and glanced back. Ye Yuqing had returned to the stairwell of the teaching building and was heading upstairs.

Had she forgotten about her date? I think that's highly unlikely, almost impossible. Given her level of persistence, she wouldn't forget something so important. So why did she come here in the first place? As my gaze rose, I realized her purpose. Like most classes, our senior year evening self-study ends at 10 PM sharp. Generally, those who need to go home will pack their bags and leave the classroom, while those who live on campus and want to stay and study a little longer won't move. In other words, the group Ye Yuqing and I had been with earlier was the main group heading home, but now there's no one moving around on my floor anymore. Except for Ye Yuqing.

Ye Yuqing should have been part of the flow of people heading home. Even if she had an important date, she couldn't simply separate herself from the crowd and go directly into the lecture hall to avoid being disturbed; that would be too obvious and strange. Considering the situation when she jumped from the building, where a bunch of adults were anxiously waiting at the stairwell but couldn't get up, it's likely she didn't let anyone know her method for reaching the roof. This means no one would interfere with her important date. I'm amazed by Ye Yuqing's simple yet thoughtful approach. She's indeed very clever; I think there's no doubt about that.

I walked against the crowd towards the top of the teaching building, arriving at the entrance to the lecture hall. The door was well-concealed; since it hadn't been locked, it didn't seem strange. Besides, it was already so late; probably no one would want to come into the lecture hall. I looked around; the corridor was empty now, but I didn't rush to push the door open. I was afraid Ye Yuqing would suddenly appear from behind and stab me again, like before. I walked from the lecture hall entrance towards my classroom, peering through the window, trying to spot any unusual colors, but I failed. The lecture hall was completely dark; I couldn't see anything at all.

I returned to the lecture hall door, gritted my teeth, took out my phone, and turned on the screen for illumination. I'd heard that most phones nowadays have built-in flashlights, but I rarely used my phone for that. Now I neither had the time nor the inclination to investigate. Ye Yuqing was probably inside the lecture hall, waiting for me to walk in and then stab me, or perhaps upstairs, standing on the edge, ready to jump at any moment. I had no time to hesitate. I pushed open the door, shone my phone's light around, but the light didn't allow me to see very far, and I was too lazy to check that area. I closed the lecture hall door again, my heart pounding, yet without hesitation, I went to the opposite window.

I peeked out and looked towards where I'd seen the steel bar earlier. It was still there. I breathed a sigh of relief. Ye Yuqing hadn't removed or dismantled it. This was good news for me; at least I still had a way to get up. Of course, it also proved that Ye Yuqing hadn't gone to the rooftop simply to die. But it was also possible that she couldn't get rid of it, or that she was too lazy to care since she was about to die. Whatever the reason, at least I could still get up.

However, the same problem I faced before confronted me again—I lacked the courage to bravely climb up from this spot. I hesitated once more, but quickly regained my composure and slapped myself hard. When it's time to be decisive, don't hesitate. Now is the best time to end this. If I don't do it now, will I be able to later? I made up my mind, grabbed the window frame, and climbed up. To my surprise, the dilapidated wooden window frame swayed quite a bit. The sudden movement terrified me; my heart nearly jumped out of my throat. Thankfully, it only wobbled and didn't fall apart.

I took two deep breaths to calm my wildly beating heart, reached out the window, and grabbed the outer edge of the window frame. Once secure, I turned sideways, facing the lecture hall, and extended my foot over the steel bar on the outer wall. I stepped on it, then stomped twice more; it didn't wobble. I breathed a slight sigh of relief, then shifted my weight towards the steel bar, moving my body slightly closer. I saw the edge of the rooftop that I could climb, reached out, and easily grabbed it. I tested it with a bit more force, and finding it secure, I began to climb. My entire body was suspended outside the building, my weight pressing against the steel bar, creating immense psychological pressure. I dared not look down, and quickly climbed upwards.

Getting to the rooftop from here wasn't difficult. After overcoming my fear, I climbed up easily. Once I crossed the low fence that served as protection, I landed on solid concrete. The sense of security on solid ground made me breathe a sigh of relief.

However, as if deliberately trying to antagonize me, a sound suddenly rang out beside me, not caused by me. It formed a sentence with a hint of surprise.

"Ah! It really happened!"

Chapter Thirty-Three: Abnormal Reactions

I had just climbed up the outer wall of the teaching building, and the moment my feet touched the ground, I heard a sound so close to my ear that my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. I involuntarily took a step back. But where could I possibly take a step back? My ankle hit the bottom of the low wall, and my body leaned backward. Before me was a pitch-black night sky. A feeling of extreme unease, like being suspended in mid-air, spread throughout my entire body.

I think I'm about to fall?

I didn't have time to think much, and I couldn't think of anything else. I was just thinking that I was going to fall to my death. However, a hand grabbed my hand and pulled me back forcefully. My feet touched solid ground, which gave me a sense of security again, but the feeling of almost falling was not so easily erased. My legs went weak and couldn't support my weight, so I knelt on the ground. I didn't say a word, but my heart was pounding uncontrollably.

I thought I was going to die...

Even though I had a previous death that caused me to return to an earlier past experience, I'm afraid I'll never be able to get used to the feeling of being close to death in this lifetime.

"It's dangerous to stand on the edge of such a high place, it's better to be careful."

From beside me came Ye Yuqing's concerned and reminding words. I calmed myself down a little and looked up at her. She was standing not far from me with her hands behind her back, leaning towards me, seemingly sizing me up.

"Although I was prepared that the person who came might be someone I knew, I didn't expect it to be you."

She seems to have... misunderstood something. Did she mistake me for the person she made a promise with?

Ye Yuqing stared at me with wide eyes. Even at such close range, though the sky was pitch black, I could still see the joy and curiosity on her face. I calmed down a bit and looked around. It was spacious; there was nowhere to hide, and I could only see Ye Yuqing besides myself. There was no one else here.

"Are you feeling better? I'm sorry I scared you."

Although she was apologizing, I could hear more of her barely concealed joy in her tone. She was speaking much faster than before.

Are you the only one here?

"Hmm." Ye Yuqing nodded, staring into my eyes: "But now there are two."

"...Is there no one else besides me?"

"Hmm." She answered almost every question I asked, but none of them were entirely true. She probably thought I didn't know she and another person were planning to meet on this rooftop. But in such a spacious place, where could the other person hide? Did they climb down from the other side? It was dangerous, but not entirely impossible.

"Hey." Ye Yuqing spoke again. I turned to look at her and found that her face was less than a centimeter away from me. I was startled again, but because I was kneeling, I didn't make any big movements: "Can I be your girlfriend? Do you still want a girlfriend? I don't mind what you do to me."

What she said was something no normal person could ignore. But knowing what was likely to happen next, it wasn't quite as captivating. I suspected she was trying to distract me so someone else would leave. However, my mobility wasn't fully restored, so I could only stay put and observe my surroundings. Although the area was spacious, I couldn't see anything too far away. I turned to look at Ye Yuqing; she was still looking at me as before, and when I looked into her eyes, I could feel her looking back at me.

"What are you doing here so late?"

"Hmm? Is there even a need to ask? Of course, I'm waiting for you here." She shifted her posture slightly and stood up straight. "I've been waiting for you for so, so long. But I didn't know that the person I was waiting for was actually you. Are you like me, unaware that the other person is actually me? That seems kind of interesting."

She continued to cover it up, but the failed operation and the series of frights she instilled in me, even threatening my life, were making me restless. I decided to try going straight to the point.

"Don't lie to me. How did you get your phone? Didn't you say you didn't bring it with you?"

"Oh my, you found out about that?" Ye Yuqing was a little surprised, then became happy: "Is it because you're also paying attention to me? I'm a little happy, hehehe."

She reached into her jacket pocket, and I started to get nervous. I hadn't forgotten how she had stabbed me before.

"what are you doing?"

"Don't be nervous, here." She took her hand out of her pocket, holding something in her hand. I only realized it was a cell phone after she turned it on. "I didn't bring my phone with me when I came to school this morning. I accidentally left it here when I came over last night, and I thought I didn't have it with me. I found it here when I came up to rest at noon today. But it's almost out of battery. Do you want to take a look?"

She handed me her phone. I hesitated, wondering if she was up to something. After all, she hadn't entrusted anyone with something like her phone that might contain private information. But if she really had bad intentions towards me, I was certain I would be completely powerless. It was cruel, but given her capabilities and determination, and carrying a weapon, killing me would be incredibly easy. I gritted my teeth and took her phone.

Just as she said, her phone only had about 10% battery left. I didn't need to check much; I quickly glanced at her contacts and messages, but there were no recent chat logs. The most recent phone call was ten days ago, from her mother. I suspected that Ye Yuqing had deleted her chat history, since that wouldn't be difficult.

"Should we check the chat apps too?" Her voice boomed in my ear, and I nearly dropped her phone. This was the third time in the last few minutes that she had startled me, but she didn't seem to care. Instead, she stretched out her finger and swiped across her phone screen: "The chat apps are here, but there's nothing worth looking at, because I haven't used them in a long time."

Chapter Thirty-Four: Strange Scenery

Ye Yuqing let me check her phone without hesitation, which made me doubt whether I could find anything. Her current behavior was strange; would someone normally let a complete stranger check their phone without asking any questions, as if she already knew? Moreover, what Ye Yuqing had just said was a complete lie. It must have been yesterday, or more precisely, twenty-four hours ago, the night Ye Yuqing stabbed me. I clearly saw her chatting with someone on her phone. Aside from calls and texts, if there were no traces left on the chat software, then Ye Yuqing had definitely cleared the information on her phone.

Sure enough, I didn't find any useful information. I glanced at Ye Yuqing and saw her looking at me with a relaxed expression. I steeled myself; since she was in this state anyway, if I actually found anything, she wouldn't let me off the hook, so I might as well be bolder. I scrolled to the contacts page, and then I saw… a contact page with only two accounts. Was this shooting myself in the foot? Generally, no one would only have their parents' accounts on social media, right? In that case, what's the point of keeping those social media accounts?

"Oh! By the way, do you want to add me as a friend first? As you can see, I don't have many friends, and I only have those two people on my social media accounts."

Ye Yuqing was already sitting next to me, not minding at all as she moved close to me, as if we were intimate friends, or something more.

To me, her words and actions now seem to be composed of one lie after another.

I couldn't find any more information, so I returned the phone to her. She took it back, then, without paying any attention, turned off the screen and put it back in her jacket pocket. She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a vest, and I could feel her smooth, slightly cool skin touching my arm—skin so different from mine. She was being too close to me now. I felt very uncomfortable and wanted to move away, but I felt resistance—she had already taken my hand and was just looking at me. Her expression had changed, becoming uneasy, panicked, and even on the verge of tears.

"Is it because I'm the one you're with that you're unhappy?" Ye Yuqing's voice trembled slightly. "Please don't be angry, okay? You can do whatever you want, you can make me do whatever you want, please don't be angry, okay? I have nothing left but you."

Because of Ye Yuqing's words, some very unpleasant thoughts surfaced in my mind. I felt embarrassed and ashamed of having harbored such evil intentions. This was not my purpose, I reminded myself again and again.

I looked at Ye Yuqing again, my face cold. This coldness was a coldness I felt towards myself, but Ye Yuqing seemed incredibly sensitive to others' emotions. I watched her sway slightly, the smooth touch leaving my arm. I breathed a slight sigh of relief; this was a more suitable way for me to maintain a relatively rational mindset when facing her. But Ye Yuqing's actions didn't end there. She stood up, head bowed, and I could see her face contorted with sorrow, tears welling in her eyes and falling to the ground.

"Why does nobody like me? I've tried so hard, I've tried so hard... whether it's enduring, exercising, getting up in the middle of the night, or living alone, I've tried so hard. Why?" She sniffed. "Why does nobody like me? I've been trying for half a year."

The sadness in Ye Yuqing's words made me look at her involuntarily. I watched her lower her head, mutter to herself, then turn around, step... and step onto the section of the wall that I had almost fallen off, and stand on it.

"you!"

Ye Yuqing deliberately leaned forward. Without thinking, I sprang up, slightly increasing my height, but that should be enough. I reached out and grabbed Ye Yuqing's hand. The smooth, cool touch I felt earlier was instantly transmitted to my hand as I gripped it tightly. After holding it firmly, I pulled her back. Ye Yuqing's weight forced me to move closer to her, but I managed to pull her back inside the teaching building. She bumped into me, and my body was slightly injured from the pulling and pushing. I felt a slight strain in my arm, and Ye Yuqing's weight caused me to slam into the ground, inflicting further injury. The swaying made me dizzy for a moment, but then I came to my senses.

"What are you doing?!" I was furious, not because of any physical injury. I've even faced death before; such minor injuries are nothing to me and not worth getting angry about. The only thing that angered me was Ye Yuqing's suicide attempt.

Before, I was standing downstairs when she jumped from the building, falling to her death right in front of me, forcefully shoving a memory into my mind that could become a shadow. This time, she actually wanted to jump off in front of me again? And the direct cause of her suicide attempt was still me? What a joke! How could I let you have your way? How could I let her fill my life with even greater darkness? That's why I'm angry. But this anger was quickly replaced by doubt and confusion.

I lay on my back on the ground, and Ye Yuqing, who had fallen on top of me, was far less injured than I was; she quickly regained consciousness. My angry words were barely out of my mouth when she cut me off again, in a way I had experienced before.

More than half of the scenery I could see was replaced by her delicate face, and I felt a few drops of tears fall onto my face. Her hair, tied back, cascaded down her cheeks, falling beside my ears. I couldn't utter a word; I could only stand there motionless. Suddenly, I noticed a few twinkling points of light appearing in the previously pitch-black sky. After what seemed like an eternity, Ye Yuqing finally raised her head. I don't know what my expression was, but I could see her.