A Sudden Turn

November 3, 20xx, 8:00 AM.

On a crowded bus, a young man carrying a bag dozed off, clearly exhausted, or perhaps he hadn’t slept all night. The middle-aged woman standing next to him wrinkled her brow in disapproval, her expression filled with disdain.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, this young man, he really has no self-control,” she muttered.

The young man, whose spirits were already low, had no energy to engage with her criticism. He silently grumbled to himself, “It’s just because I stayed up all night reading a novel, and now she looks at me like that?”

In his heart, he silently vented, but he didn’t respond to her. The young man’s name was Lin Yi. Usually, he enjoyed playing games, listening to novels, or occasionally watching some paranormal videos. As for other forms of entertainment, he simply didn’t have the energy for them, let alone finding a girlfriend; he barely even had a few friends.

Work, come home, play games, listen to novels; his days passed in this monotonous pattern, yet he didn’t find it boring, as long as he was still alive.

“Ding dong, approaching Suhe Street. Please take all your belongings and exit through the rear door,” the bus announcer said.

Lin Yi glanced out the window, where the sky was covered in dark clouds, giving the day a gloomy appearance. A light rain tapped against the bus windows, creating a soothing sound.

It was a good day, at least in Lin Yi’s opinion.

As the bus grew more crowded and noisy, Lin Yi didn’t like the atmosphere. He reached into his pocket and took out his phone, putting on his earphones.

Just then, his phone screen flickered briefly, like an old TV with static interference.

Lin Yi paused, staring at the screen, rubbing his eyes, but seeing nothing unusual. “Did I…see things?”

He checked his phone, and it seemed fine. “Was it just my imagination? Maybe I should get a new phone in a few days.”

Without much thought, he focused on the mechanical voice coming from his earphones. Because of the rain, the streets were nearly empty.

Lin Yi glanced at the streets briefly before turning his attention back to the novel playing in his earphones.

“Why can’t you just be mine, Lin Yi? Today, that girl…”

“Chen Sishi, I told you, there’s nothing between us!”

“Liar, hahaha, all liars. Lin Yi, why do you have such a deceitful mouth? I should cut it off, then you won’t be able to lie to me, hahaha.”

This was a mediocre, cliché novel where the male lead was a typical high school playboy, charming all the pretty girls. Eventually, he fell for the female lead, a white-haired girl, only to discover later that she was just one of many girls in his life. The story was uncomfortable to read, especially since Lin Yi shared the male lead’s name. He found himself deeply engrossed.

The previous night, Lin Yi had barely slept, consumed by the novel. The story revolved around a male lead who was a classic playboy in high school, seducing numerous girls. He met the female lead, a white-haired girl, and fell for her instantly. After some time, the female lead realized the male lead had many other girlfriends and was on the verge of breaking up with him. Lin Yi felt uneasy reading this, partly because of his shared name with the male lead and partly because the novel had some unsettling elements.

Just as Lin Yi was pondering these unsettling parts of the novel, the voice in his earphones turned into a jumbled mess of static, as if the signal was being interfered with. Goosebumps rose on his skin, reminding him of a ghost story he had once read. Instinctively, he grabbed the protective amulet around his neck.

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed, and Lin Yi was thrown against a metal pole in the bus, a sharp pain shooting through his brain. His stomach began to cramp violently. Before he could recover, he felt a sense of weightlessness and his mind went blank.

“Ah!”

“What the hell just happened!”

The bus erupted in chaos, with screams and curses directed at the driver. Gradually, the surrounding noise faded, leaving only the sound of flowing water.

Lin Yi, clutching his head, listened to the sound of water and the screams from the passengers. He realized that the bus must have crashed through a barrier and fallen into the Suhe River. The river was deep, with an average depth of about two meters, and the deepest part reaching around twenty meters. His body grew colder as the river water rushed in, quickly reaching his waist. Soon, the water filled the entire bus compartment.

Water flowed into his ears and nostrils, and Lin Yi’s consciousness began to fade into darkness.

…

“Lin Yi!”

A muffled voice echoed in his ears, soft and distant, like a warm spring breeze. Lin Yi felt a warmth spread through his body. “Lin Yi! Are you okay? Why aren’t you talking?”

The voice came again, this time clearer, a girl’s voice. It was so pleasant, like a gentle spring breeze.

“Lin Yi?”

Her voice called out once more, this time right next to him. Lin Yi tried to open his eyes, gasping for breath. “Did I…die? Did I really die?”

He looked down and saw that he wasn’t wearing his work clothes. Instead, he was in a black outfit, similar to a Zhongshan suit.

“Are these just hallucinations from my death? No, if they were hallucinations, they wouldn’t feel so real.”

“Are you okay? Do you want to go to the infirmary?”

The girl’s voice pulled Lin Yi back to reality. He turned to look in the direction of the voice. Standing before him was a girl who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. Her features were delicate, but her skin was unusually pale. Her blue eyes gazed at him with concern. Her long, waist-length white hair swayed gently in the summer breeze, like a beautiful painting.

The girl wore a white sailor uniform with a pink bow at the collar. Her gray long skirt covered her knees, and black tights extended to just below her knees. Lin Yi stared, mesmerized by the girl’s beauty.

“Lin Yi?”

She called out again, waving her hands in front of his eyes. When he didn’t respond, she stepped closer and touched his forehead. The sensation of her soft skin against his forehead made Lin Yi’s heart race. He had never been this close to a girl before, and he was at a loss for words.

“You’re sweating a lot, Lin Yi. Are you nervous?”

The girl pulled her hand back, looking puzzled.

“Ah? No…no, haha.”

Facing her strange gaze, Lin Yi stepped back and forced a smile. Something felt off. Firstly, he didn’t have any female friends, and this girl was unusually beautiful, like a character from an anime.

“Wait, did I…travel into the book?” he wondered, glancing at the beautiful girl again. Her white hair, blue eyes, and elegant demeanor matched the description of the female lead, Chen Sishi, from the novel.

“Is that so?”

The girl’s voice sounded disappointed, as if she were hurt by his answer. Lin Yi was bewildered. When the girl pulled her hand back, creating some distance between them, he finally relaxed, his mind racing as he tried to recall the plot.

The male lead and Chen Sishi first met one afternoon. They were students at the same high school, but in different classes. The male lead was in Class 3, while Chen Sishi was in the top class, Class 1. On that day, the male lead noticed Chen Sishi and immediately fell for her. Initially, they were just friends, but the male lead eventually asked Chen Sishi out on a date to confess his feelings.

“Could it be…that today is the day the male lead confesses to Chen Sishi?”

“No, this must be a hallucination from my death. It’s just that I was too engrossed in the novel last night, haha, it must be that.”

His mind raced as he heard the girl’s warm voice, like a summer sun, suddenly fill his thoughts.

“So, Lin Yi, did you call me out today for something specific?”

Lin Yi froze at her words, the familiar dialogue and setting sending a chill down his spine. Chen Sishi was smiling, but her smile filled him with terror.

“Ahaha, nothing really, I…I have some things to take care of, so I’ll be going now.”

He quickly turned and ran, using every bit of strength he had. Behind him, Chen Sishi’s smile remained frozen on her face as she watched the panicked boy flee. A sharp pain stabbed at her heart, a familiar ache that had plagued her for years.

Chaotic thoughts overwhelmed Chen Sishi, a near-pathological obsession that had long haunted her. Her silver hair lost its luster, and a strange smile played on her lips as she clenched her fists tightly.

“Lin Yi, why did you run? You’re mine, after all…”

…

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