“Liangzhe, Liangzhe, wake up . Don’t you have a blind date today?”

“Ah…?”

I covered my eyes from the blinding sunlight . The footsteps next to me went back and forth then stopped by my bed . She tapped me on my belly . With a smile, she said, “This is the first day of your blind date . Don’t give the girl a bad impression, or else, Auntie will speak ill of me . ”

“It has nothing to do with you, does it, Sis Ning?”

“Of course it does . Since your mom entrusted you to me, I have to take responsibility . Enough stalling, hurry and get up to eat . It’s hard for you to have a girlfriend at school, so you must make the most of this opportunity . ”

Before me was a woman dressed in simple sleepwear . She left my room . I opened my eyes a bit more and, in a bleary state, looked at the white ceiling overhead .

I didn’t lose my memory; it was still intact . I could remember everything on that continent located in some unknown place with Mommy Vyvyan, Mommy Elizabeth, Nier and Lucia . I remembered everything that happened between us . When I opened my eyes again, I was already here, or rather, I had returned to where I came from .

“Is this a dream or not? I know I woke up during a dream then saw Mom and Lucia, and then… and then I came back . Did Mom and Lucia execute me, or was everything just a dream?” I mused .

“Hurry up and wake up, or you’ll be late!”

A displeased look on a pretty face poked in from behind the door . I responded then stood up and grabbed my clothes to quickly get dressed . I picked up my cell phone that I hadn’t seen in ages to take a look .

The task for the day was to attend a blind date . It was something Mom organised . The girl I was supposed to meet had a decent family background, so we did share a similar social status . She studied economics and looked quite pretty in her photo . I wasn’t against it . I planned to go see her .

“Wait a minute… Something’s strange . If nothing that previously happened actually took place, why don’t I feel as though anything is missing? Why does what happened here feel so familiar? Nothing feels out of place . It’s as though I never left this place,” I contemplated .

I pocketed my phone before leaving my room .  There was hot milk and a big bag of bread prepared in the dining room . According to Sis Ning’s standards of breakfast, that was what she considered breakfast . She cheerfully sat down at the table: “Okay, okay, okay, let me teach you how to make girls happy . First, you have to… then…”

I didn’t listen to a thing Sis Ning said . Instead, I turned my attention to the television in the living room . It was broadcasting the morning news, which was about international and national affairs as usual .

Sis Ning was my childhood friend . She was four years older than me and had always taken care of me as an elder sister would . I guess I was one of her best friends . She was pretty, but she was still single, which was why I had no interest in the romance experience she shared with me .

“Hey!!”

“Whoa!!”

Hearing Sis Ning’s voice in my ear shocked me . She took back the gla.s.s of milk and grumpily complained, “As your sister, I tried to give you experience to make girls happy, yet you didn’t listen . Are you planning to be a shut-in for life?”

“How do you know? No guy ever used those tricks to get in your books, did they?”

“What was that, you little brat?!!”

“Okay, okay, I give!!”

Sis Ning, came at me aggressively as a wolf . As a result, I pled for mercy . Sis Ning snorted then softly said, “Listen properly and then use it…”

My attention wasn’t on Sis Ning because I heard, “Son!! Hurry and think!!” on the news . I didn’t hear it particularly clearly, but I jolted . I watched the television . For some reason, I literally wanted to leap at it . However, Sis Ning was in front of me, so I didn’t do so .

Sis Ning was baffled: “What’s the matter? Did a major incident happen?”

“Ah… No…”

“He’s not my son . He’s just a commoner . He shouldn’t be by my side . I have my son . I don’t need him!” I could still remember the last thing Mom said to me .

Perhaps I was no longer needed in that world . I didn’t know what the magical spring did, but it made a dead elf reappear . I was just a subst.i.tute to begin with . I only came to exist there after Troy died . If Troy was there, I guess I was no longer needed .

That life in that world was just a dream in the end . Try as I may, I could never beat a blood relations.h.i.+p . Everything I had was what I had in the present . Mommy Vyvyan didn’t love Zhu Liangzhe but Troy . Since she had Troy, my existence was meaningless .

I believed my conjecture . Mom probably never loved me . Well, I had returned to the world I came from, so I figured I should just continue living my own life . It wasn’t bad, after all . Troy should be able to live on in peace with his moms, Nier and Lucia… It was a pity but probably not something I couldn’t accept .

“Far out, I’m talking about something important to you, yet you’re not earnestly listening . This is about whether you’ll be able to find yourself a girlfriend or not! Listen in properly!!”

“Sorry, sorry, Sis Ning, I’ll listen properly . Go ahead . ”

It was dull, dry and boring, but it was all I had . Nevertheless, what confused me was that I was supposed to be dead .

“How do I have this flesh body? What, am I still alive in this universe’s timeline, or has my life already been changed?” I wondered .

“Sis Sing, I did tell you to continue, but I still didn’t listen…” was what I was thinking .

After I left, I checked the map on my cell phone . The sound of cars and the bustling crowds gave me a sense of security and nostalgia . I hadn’t heard those sounds in a long time, after all . I could smell the stuff emitted from exhaust pipes and experience the convenience of humanity’s science advancements and the futuristic lifestyle .

I got onto the subway . The girl booked a spot at a café located next to the river . After leaving the station, I arrived at the river . The river current was somewhat turbulent . While it wasn’t common for there to be floods in our city, it was the first time I saw the river roiling so violently .

“Help! Help!”

“Aaahh! A child fell into the water! A child fell into the water!”

I ripped my phone out of my pocket and checked the date . You guessed it . It was the day I died . It happened in the same place for the same reason and at the same time… This time, however, I felt that I had the power to choose…