I Have Three Months Left To Live, Please Let Me Face Death With Dignity

Zhuang Zi'ang is an eighteen-year-old high school student who has spent his entire life as the model student, ranking first in his grade and serving as class monitor. His personal life, however, is marked by profound isolation and neglect. His parents divorced when he was five, and he was left with his father, Zhuang Wen Zhao, a man who prioritizes gambling over his son. Two years later, his father remarried Qin Shulan and had a younger half-brother, Zhuang Yu'hang. From that point on, Zhuang Zi'ang became an outsider in his own home, enduring emotional abuse and indifference while his brother was spoiled and protected. Despite this, Zhuang Zi'ang maintained his academic excellence and obedient demeanor, suppressing his resentment to keep the peace. He harbored unrequited feelings for Lin Mu Shi, the school's beautiful but arrogant campus goddess, who treated him merely as a servant to run errands.

The narrative shifts dramatically when Zhuang Zi'ang receives a terminal cancer diagnosis with a prognosis of only three months to live. Rather than succumbing to despair, he experiences a sudden liberation from the constraints of his previous life. He decides to reject the persona of the perfect student and live authentically for his remaining time. He begins by indulging in forbidden foods, wearing a garish floral shirt, and openly defying authority figures. In a pivotal confrontation, he rejects Lin Mu Shi’s continued manipulation, ending their dynamic and shocking her and his peers. He also cuts off contact with his father, realizing that seeking validation from those who do not value him is futile.

During a period of rebellion, Zhuang Zi'ang skips class and attempts to climb over the school wall. There, he encounters Su Yudie, a mysterious and strikingly beautiful girl who claims to be from Class 23, a class that does not exist in the school. Su Yudie helps him escape, and the two form an immediate, inexplicable connection. She takes him on a culinary tour of the city, introducing him to a world of simple joys and genuine warmth that he had been denied. Through her, Zhuang Zi'ang begins to heal from his childhood trauma, sharing his painful memories of being abandoned by his father and beaten by him during a fever. Su Yudie’s innocent yet perceptive nature allows her to see through his lies and offer him unconditional friendship.

Back at home, the tension with his family reaches a breaking point. His half-brother destroys a treasured bamboo flute, a symbol of Zhuang Zi'ang’s past achievements and solitude. When his stepmother and father blame Zhuang Zi'ang for reacting violently, he finally snaps. He confronts his father about years of neglect and favoritism, leading to a physical altercation where he is slapped. In response, Zhuang Zi'ang declares he will move out and live in the school dormitory, effectively severing his ties with his abusive household. He stays overnight at the home of his best friend, Li Huang Xuan, where he experiences the familial warmth he has always lacked, causing him to break down in tears for the first time.

Zhuang Zi'ang confides in his homeroom teacher, Zhang Zhiyuan, about his illness, asking for discretion. The teacher, devastated by the news, promises to support him while respecting his wish to live his final months without pity. Meanwhile, Su Yudie continues to appear in his life, bringing him medicine for his nosebleeds and joining him for meals. She gives him two goldfish for his new apartment, asking him to keep them alive, a request that symbolizes her desire for him to hold onto life. Despite the growing bond between them, Su Yudie remains enigmatic, refusing to reveal her true class or background. Zhuang Zi'ang resigns from his position as class monitor, passing the role to his rival Xie Wen Yong, and fully embraces his new identity as a free individual. As his health declines, he finds solace in his friendship with Su Yudie, though the mystery of her existence and the looming deadline of his illness create an underlying tension that defines his remaining days.