Zhou Muyan, a thirty-year-old man who had achieved professional success and romantic variety, finds himself abruptly transported back to the year 2009. He wakes up in the body of his high school self, standing in the narrow, chaotic alleys of a small county town. The sensory details of the environment are vivid and overwhelming: the crooked low roofs, the humid air, and the specific cultural markers of the era, such as the popularity of the drama Xianjian. Despite the external familiarity, Zhou Muyan feels a profound sense of displacement. He is acutely aware that he is reliving his youth, a phenomenon he attributes to the genre of rebirth novels he may have read, yet the physical reality of his teenage body and the immediate presence of his past peers confirm the impossibility of it being a dream.
His companion on this morning walk is Summer Xiaoxiao, a classmate who has not changed in the twenty years since their youth. She is loud, energetic, and perpetually frustrated by Zhou Muyan’s indifference. In their previous life, she was a persistent presence in his periphery, often latching onto his arm and engaging in rapid-fire chatter. Her affection was masked by aggression; she frequently insulted his appearance, calling him a four-eyes with no charm and no money. Zhou Muyan observes her with a detached amusement, recognizing that her sharp tongue was merely a defense mechanism for a prideful girl who would remain unmarried until her thirties in his past timeline. He remains unmoved by her insults, a reaction that only serves to irritate her further, creating a dynamic that is both exhausting and strangely nostalgic for him.
The narrative delves into Zhou Muyan’s background to explain his current emotional state. His parents divorced when he was in middle school, a traumatic event that shattered his domestic stability. His father was obsessed with career advancement and allegedly kept a mistress, while his mother crumbled under the weight of the betrayal. She pinned all her remaining hopes on Zhou Muyan, forcing him into a grueling academic regimen designed to secure his entry into a prestigious university. For three years, he lived in a state of suffocation, studying from dawn until late at night, viewing education solely as a means of escape from his hostile home environment. This period of intense pressure left him emotionally stunted regarding relationships, causing him to become invisible in social settings and indifferent to the romantic pursuits of his peers.
It was not until his senior year of college that Zhou Muyan experienced his first serious relationship with a woman seven years his senior. She was a polished professional who took pity on his naivety and actively reshaped his identity. She taught him how to dress, how to groom himself, and how to navigate the complexities of adult interactions. Under her guidance, he transformed from a messy, unkempt student into a successful professional. Leveraging his academic credentials and his father’s extensive network, he climbed the corporate ladder with ease. However, despite his outward success and the multitude of younger women who entered his life, he felt an persistent, inexplicable emptiness. The physical intimacy he sought never filled the void left by his fractured childhood and his lack of genuine emotional connection.
As they approach City No.1 High, the setting of his past trauma and eventual escape, Zhou Muyan’s attention is captured by a new variable in his reborn reality. Tang Wan, a girl he barely remembered from his previous life, rides past on a pastel pink bicycle. The description of her is ethereal, bathed in the golden morning light, with a fragrance that is sweet and intoxicating. Her appearance triggers a flood of buried memories. Zhou Muyan recalls a conversation with his older girlfriend from his past life, who had asked him if he had ever liked anyone in high school. He had answered no, but now, seeing Tang Wan, he realizes that his answer was a lie born of repression. The encounter with Tang Wan serves as the inciting incident for his new life, suggesting that his second chance at youth is not merely about repeating past successes, but about confronting the emotional truths he had long suppressed.
The core conflict of the story emerges from the tension between Zhou Muyan’s mature, cynical worldview and the vibrant, chaotic reality of his teenage years. He possesses the knowledge of future events and the emotional maturity of a thirty-year-old man, yet he is trapped in the social hierarchy and academic pressures of high school. His indifference to Summer Xiaoxiao’s provocations highlights his detachment, while his sudden awareness of Tang Wan indicates a reawakening of his capacity for desire and connection. The story moves toward a exploration of whether Zhou Muyan can alter his fate or if he is destined to repeat the patterns of his past. His journey is one of reintegration, forcing him to reconcile the successful but lonely man he became with the neglected and repressed boy he was. The presence of Tang Wan introduces a romantic element that challenges his emotional defenses, promising a narrative arc focused on personal growth, the correction of past regrets, and the discovery of genuine happiness beyond material success.
