Chapter 1, Time Flies.

Su Can instinctively looked at his watch, but was startled. Is this my hand? How has it shrunk so much!

Um... Ah? What, the high school entrance examination!" Su Can was still sorting through his chaotic thoughts as he suddenly returned to eleven years ago, and upon hearing the encouraging words of the future female boss, he inadvertently spoke out.

And I, in the same posture, in the same position, and even at the same moment, paused. Everything was like two points in a segment of time; after more than a decade, in this sparse starry winter, they suddenly converged and focused in one place

Su Can thought to himself that you were indeed correct; my current situation is probably akin to having turned back time.

By the way, little brother who doesn't even know what date it is today, your high school entrance examination is in three days, right? You should maintain a relaxed mindset when facing it. However, seeing that you can't even keep track of time, you must be one of the top students in your class. While you work hard, remember to take breaks occasionally

The entire world was silent and still, and Su Can did not know what he had encountered—whether it was a deity, a monster, or perhaps a terrifying scene reminiscent of a curse. He only knew that aside from being able to think and that his senses had not yet been blocked, he could do nothing else, including blinking. Strangely, despite having his eyes wide open for nearly twenty seconds, he felt no fatigue whatsoever.

Not a single soul in sight! The world is changing rapidly and silently, like a scene from a silent film. Panic and fear slowly spread within Su Can's heart, which is as still as a sculpture.

Three months ago, a new competitor joined the project department of his company. The newcomer was a top graduate from a prestigious domestic university, which created a stark contrast in academic credentials with him, a person who had faced numerous challenges in his studies and ultimately graduated from a third-tier university.

However, ten seconds ago, the world in Su Can's mind was still functioning under a normal worldview

He stood on the street, frozen like a statue in a posture reminiscent of m.hetushu.com, both bizarre and peculiar

First, in order to understand what was happening to him, Su Can believed that the wisest course of action was to find a mirror. Ultimately, standing in front of a broken piece of mirror in the grocery store, Su Can was able to see his entire self clearly

Then, a week ago, the company's board of directors adopted the other party's project proposal, while he was reduced to a state of utter insignificance. Later, the other party summoned him in the boss's office, embracing the boss's daughter.

The water spilled from the nearby grocery store viciously poured into the basin, leaving no trace behind. Then, the slightly mature and alluring female owner retreated back into the store, disappearing from view, creating an atmosphere that indeed had a hint of horror film eeriness.

Watching the world come to a standstill right before his eyes, is it the early arrival of the Maya's prophesied end of days? Or is it all merely a figment of his imagination? Yet, Su Can questioned himself, he had not been foolish enough to regard such a vivid scene as an illusion

The sky, which was originally empty above, has gradually been replaced by a dense and intricate array of antennas. Concrete utility poles have begun to sprout along the roadside, the streets have become narrower, and the trees have vanished

"June 13, 1998." The girl in front of him finished speaking and then smiled gently. It was only then that Su Can realized this girl was the future owner of the grocery store. However, at that time, she was a charming woman in her thirties, while now she was merely a vibrant girl around twenty. It seemed she had inherited this grocery store from her stepmother, and a sense of familiarity arose. At the very least, this could be considered as inexplicably returning to Su Can from eleven years ago, the first person he could recognize.

In the crowd, Su Can adopted an extremely peculiar posture, bending his hand backward to stroke his back, his head twisted to look behind him, as if he wanted to see the fleas on his back. However, what he saw was... a backpack

Time once again came to a standstill for a duration of ten seconds

Then the passage of daylight gradually slowed down, slowed down, becoming slower and slower, as if it were the moment he had frozen before the beginning, until it slowed down to a point of stillness once again

Su Can's life is far from being as brilliant as his name suggests. Walking in the small city of his hometown where he lived for nineteen years, he gazes at the road he has walked for at least ten years. Above him, the stars shine brightly in the night sky, and the lights are dim and hazy. Yet, Su Can can only manage a bitter smile, realizing that his life is much like the road before him—a landscape of suffering and gloom.

Cough! Cough! Under the psychological effect of having not breathed for a long time, Su Can immediately coughed out loud, gasping for air, with the sound of his wheezing and coughing resonating in his eardrums

I have almost detached myself from the antique backpack of my distant student days, yet it has unexpectedly reappeared on my back, and it is such a blatant imitation

The grocery store remains, its main structure made of a mixture of wood and concrete, gradually transforming from its initially worn appearance to a bright and increasingly new look.

The world suddenly moved, yet time violated its normal state and retreated.

At the moment time stands still, specifically, there is no sensation whatsoever

The female owner of the grocery store next door splashed the sewage onto the street, which dispersed in mid-air, taking on a clawing posture. The large droplets of water danced in the air, yet they simply would not fall down.

Moreover, his shirt and suit were missing, replaced instead by bare arms. He was only wearing a thin T-shirt, the kind that had faded to a whitish hue. On the lower half, he wore a pair of similarly faded jeans, and beneath that, a pair of slightly worn Double Star brand sneakers. On his shoulders, there were two tightly strapped bags, supporting the weight on his back.

In the end, Su Can simply adapted to the entire world collapsing around him, reinventing himself; yet what made him feel uneasy deep inside was that he had not seen a single person from beginning to end

The stars in the sky faded, suddenly brightened, then quickly darkened again, and then brightened once more

The golden sunlight streamed in from the side, cascading over the earth, in stark contrast to the previous dim twilight. The nearby grocery store and small shop were numerous, indicating a thriving business.

Everything around the block is changing rapidly, as Su Can watches helplessly the newly constructed seven-story building quickly disintegrate, transforming from a completed structure into a shocking skeleton, and then disappearing. What follows is a sunken foundation, which, once filled, becomes an empty lot, "growing" numerous old tile-roofed houses with mottled walls

The youthful appearance, which seemed to have shed more than ten years, still bore a hint of naivety. The hair was no longer the short and neat style from work; instead, it was soft yet somewhat disheveled, with short strands cascading messily to the forehead. The lower half was clad in a T-shirt that outlined a slightly slender physique, paired with jeans and sneakers, presenting a typical student attire. The height appeared to have diminished by nearly ten centimeters from the previous stature of 1.74 meters.

After standing in place for half a minute, Su Can finally asked the most clichéd question of his life, "Boss, may I ask... what year is it this year, what month, what day? How much time has passed?"

A woman with beautiful eyes blinked, staring blankly at the crowd of students outside the grocery store, but was amused by Su Can's words. She turned her head and shouted inside, "Mom, a student actually asked me what year, month, and day it is this year!"

The speed was so swift that the shadows of time, represented by the flying shuttles, fluctuated between light and dark on Su Can's body

At this time, the surrounding streets and the picture book area have long since changed beyond recognition, resembling the scenes from over a decade ago.

There are still no non-mainstream outfits from the post-90s generation; instead, there are groups of girls who clearly belong to the same era as when I was in school, standing in clusters by the small stalls, next to a steaming hot fried potato stand

Su Can was surprised to find himself maintaining a low-key pace, with his hands in his pockets, his left foot already stepping forward, while his rear foot was poised as support.

Su Can guaranteed that at this moment, no one could explain it, whether it be Einstein, Newton, Archimedes... Even those experts and professors who shout in the media every day, when faced with such a situation, would be left speechless, unable to do anything but stare blankly at themselves

On the top of the backpack, the word "addis" is printed in a particularly grand and righteous manner

Then, the chaotic noise from the surroundings flooded into his ears. Su Can blinked his eyes, and after seeing clearly around him, he found himself in the midst of a crowded throng, specifically, a crowd of students

The luminous shade of the lamp covers this street corner, and beneath the fluorescent light, a dense swarm of mosquitoes and moths gathers, resembling a cloud solidified by concrete

Reply normal

Men and women, carrying backpacks or pushing carts, continuously pass by him, while ahead lies an even larger crowd of students. He finds himself in a corridor filled with students leaving school, with people constantly jostling past him. This makes Su Can, who suddenly comes to a halt, feel as out of place as a stone in a flowing stream

The green-headed fly, dancing in the space three centimeters in front of its mouth, was flung out into the clouds at supersonic speed

His grades were so poor that he barely managed to enter a low-quality junior high school. The brutal high school experience similarly led him to a disastrous college entrance examination. In the end, he could only gain admission to a university that many people had never even heard of. If life has countless turning points, then Su Can has never grasped any of them. Every battle in his life is intertwined with failure, forming a tragic existence that belongs solely to him

As he walked along the street of his hometown, a place meant for healing, a certain faded and almost moldy part of Su Can's memory was unearthed. Many years ago, he walked this same path toward the dimly lit middle school, just as he does now

Su Can originally believed that his life would be like this, constantly being defeated by others, lingering on the fringes of the lower class, ultimately marrying a wife who could be considered unattractive, and supporting a family, living out his entire life in this manner

"Top students?" Upon hearing this, several clusters of girls who had just entered the store turned their gazes toward Su Can, and then collectively exchanged glances, their lips unexpectedly curling into faint smirks.

An elderly middle-aged woman walked out of the shop, wiping her freshly washed hands with a cloth. With a chuckle, she said, "Whose child has become so foolish from studying? This year, they don't even know what year it is. Where have they gone!"

Time comes to a halt, coinciding with this very moment, ten seconds prior, due to negligence

A month prior, this new competitor swiftly integrated with the company, demonstrating equally outstanding business performance, leaving Su Can at a disadvantage.

Thus, Su Can lost to a formidable opponent in a completely predictable outcome, relinquishing the project manager position he had held for three years, and in return, he received a seven-day vacation, akin to being exiled, a form of humiliation imposed by the victor upon the vanquished

His mouth was still slightly agape from the surprise of the previous moment, and a fly, hovering elegantly just three centimeters in front of his face, seemed to share the same fate as Su Can. It appeared to be paused in mid-air, its green, glistening compound eyes causing Su Can's nausea to accumulate in his chest and abdomen in direct proportion.

There is sound! Finally, there is sound, my goodness! I have finally returned to the normal world