Classmate Li Zhuangsheng doesn’t want to be reborn

Chapter 730 IF·0·2
"Really?!"

Li Zhuangsheng exclaimed loudly, but then suddenly remembered that Hu Mengdie was in front of him, so he swallowed the word "crap" back down.

"Hmm, this phone doesn't seem to be from our era. It's all screen, not even buttons." Hu Mengdie took out the phone and waved it.

The two looked at each other in bewilderment until another gust of cold wind brought him back to his senses.

"My phone won't turn on... It might be out of battery, or it might be broken." Li Zhuangsheng blinked. "Why don't you try calling your family?"

Hu Mengdie held her phone, a hint of hesitation and timidity flashing in her eyes.

"Let's go to KFC and sit for a while," Hu Mengdie said softly. "And ask the staff there."

"Alright!" Li Zhuangsheng nodded in agreement without hesitation.

It was freezing outside, but KFC must have air conditioning inside. The two carefully crossed the street and silently walked into KFC, where they immediately felt warm.

"Wow, that feels so much better," Li Zhuangsheng murmured.

It was getting late, and there weren't many people left in KFC. But you would never see an air-conditioned KFC in a horror movie.

Li Zhuangsheng asked Hu Mengdie to sit down first, and then walked to the counter: "Excuse me, is this XY County? We're from out of town!"

The waiter seemed a little surprised: "You weren't just... Oh, this is XY County."

She looked at Hu Mengdie, then at Li Zhuangsheng, a hint of disdain in her eyes.

"Excuse me, is today February 17th, 202x?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing, thank you, thank you..."

Li Zhuangsheng patted his pockets, intending to treat Hu Mengdie to something to eat, but he couldn't find any cash. Disappointed, he returned home, thinking, "Am I really that poor? How come I don't even have a single coin on me when I'm out and about? Could I have really been robbed? Is the security situation this bad these days?"
Moreover, Li Zhuangsheng felt that the waitress had looked at him with hostility, as if she were looking at some kind of scumbag.

"Um, I've confirmed it..."

Li Zhuangsheng returned to Hu Mengdie's side, but Hu Mengdie, who was fiddling with her phone, suddenly snapped to attention and quickly turned off the screen.

What's going on? We're all in the same boat, why are you still hiding things from me at a time like this? Li Zhuangsheng naturally noticed Hu Mengdie's little actions, but at this moment he could only pretend not to see them.

Sigh, everyone has their own secrets, and besides, I'm not even that familiar with her... But, Zhuang Sheng, Meng Die... we're both going through this now, could this be the beginning of some kind of love story?
Li Zhuangsheng couldn't help but feel his mind wander; this opening was way too anime-like!
"What did they say?" Hu Mengdie's eyes flickered.

“If I’m not mistaken, this should be our world… I feel like we’ve traveled through time, or you could say we’ve lost our memories!” Li Zhuangsheng sat opposite Hu Mengdie. “Why don’t you contact your family, or just call the police?”

"I……"

Hu Mengdie looked hesitant, and it was unclear what she was worried about.

Li Zhuangsheng pleaded, "Or, could you lend me your phone for a moment so I can try calling my family?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Mengdie almost instinctively gripped her phone and shook her head frantically. But after a moment, she realized that her refusal was too forceful. "Um, um, let me call my family first!" Hu Mengdie hurriedly got up and took a few steps away.

"A cell phone is a private thing. If you don't want to give it to me, then don't!" Li Zhuangsheng thought to himself.

Who doesn't have a few secrets on their phone? My phone also had a lot of... well, you know... little anime... I wonder if there are still any on this phone now?

Hu Mengdie opened her phone, looked around guiltily, then found the contact "Mom," took a deep breath, and slowly dialed the number.

"Hello, Mom... Eh? You, you are... Oh, sorry, I dialed the wrong number. I have something to do here, sorry, I have to hang up now!"

Hu Mengdie quickly hung up the phone, feeling as if someone had punched her chest several times, making it hard for her to breathe.

She searched her contacts again and saw another one called "Mother". This time she was more cautious, checked the number below, and only after seeing a familiar number did she feel comfortable dialing it.

"Hey, mom..."

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Hu Mengdie's tears instantly flowed down her cheeks.

"Mmm, I'm fine. I... I want to go home... It's okay, really okay. I just want to go home tonight... Hmm, is Daddy asleep? If he is, don't wake him. Oh, him?"

As Hu Mengdie spoke, she secretly glanced at Li Zhuangsheng, "He's right next to me right now, um, we're eating out... eating. um, I'll be back in a bit..."

After finishing the call, Hu Mengdie returned to her seat and saw Li Zhuangsheng sitting there blankly, his eyes even more unfathomable.

“Li Zhuangsheng, um, I think I should go back to my house first…” Hu Mengdie curled her fingers.

"Okay, then you go home. I'll go home and see what's going on!" Li Zhuangsheng said nonchalantly. "Hey, by the way, are you sure you can go home alone? Where do you live? It's so late, do you want me to take you home?"

"Yes, thank you," Hu Mengdie said, pursing her lips.

She patted her pockets, intending to treat Li Zhuangsheng to a milk tea at KFC, but she didn't seem to have any money on her, so she gave up.

Oh no, I don't have a single penny on me. Could I have really run into robbers?
The two left KFC and silently walked into the cold night. Fortunately, the snow had stopped, though there were occasional gusts of wind that stung their faces.

“Right, right…” The long silence made Li Zhuangsheng feel really awkward, so he decided to break the silence, “You, you just called my name, do you, do you know me?”

In his memory, the two had no interaction whatsoever. The only time they crossed paths was last semester when he helped Hu Mengdie collect her homework once.

The two didn't say anything at that time, nor did they introduce themselves; Hu Mengdie herself might have even forgotten. Li Zhuangsheng remembered feeling quite embarrassed at the time, and he kept wondering afterward whether he had blushed.

“You are Li Zhuangsheng,” Hu Mengdie said softly. “You are Li Xiuyu’s older brother. Once, when I was walking at school, someone pointed you out to me.”

"Oh, I knew it! Haha, that's right, I'm the school heartthrob's brother!"

Li Zhuangsheng scratched his head and chuckled dryly. Inwardly, however, he was secretly delighted, thinking, "I never expected to be remembered by Hu Mengdie because of this! Li Xiuyu, you've done a great job!"
But after thinking about it that way, I suddenly felt a little disappointed. So it was because of Li Xiuyu. I thought… sigh.

(End of this chapter)