Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

The next day, Beijing experienced its first rain of the winter.

It's not big, but it's fine and dense, like a layer of gray gauze covering the entire Tsinghua Garden.

Lin Xiuhe walked out of the dormitory building with an umbrella, her mind still on the words she had spoken last night.

—About supply and marketing cooperatives.

What does Zhou Zhiyuan know? And why can't he say?

The more she thought about it, the more questions arose, but what concerned her most was not the supply and marketing cooperative.

Instead, it was the phrase: "Wait a little longer."

It was as if he already knew some of the answers, while she was still standing outside the door.

-

In the morning, at the Automation Building.

The first presentation of the Qiming Project proposal.

The conference room was full. Professor Chen sat at the very front.

Li Mingyuan was the first to go on stage.

The handwriting is neat and the logic is clear. From data collection to feedback control, every step is done extremely thoroughly.

Professor Chen nodded as the report concluded.

"good."

Zhao Guodong, the second, had an even more radical approach. He even proposed several entirely new directions for optimization.

Although some aspects are still immature, it is bold enough.

Many people in the meeting room nodded frequently.

When it was Lin Xiuhe's turn, she did not stand up immediately.

Because just now, she suddenly discovered something.

In her previous life, she had only seen similar news sporadically in newspapers.

According to her memory, that must have happened later.

But now, it has appeared ahead of schedule.

Not only did they appear ahead of time, but research institutes also got involved early.

Standing on the podium, she realized for the first time that she had been ignoring something.

These changes are not necessarily all of our own making.

With that in mind, she slowly began to give her report.

-

At the end, Professor Chen looked at her and remained silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, he said:

"Your proposal."

"Why do we have an extra set of spare models compared to others?"

Many people in the conference room looked up.

They also discovered that Lin Xiuhe's plan included an additional backup logic compared to others.

Li Mingyuan frowned, and Zhao Guodong was also somewhat surprised.

Because under normal circumstances, no one would waste time making two plans.

Lin Xiuhe paused for a moment and then said, "Because the future will change."

She was stunned for a moment when she said those words.

The meeting room fell silent for a moment.

Professor Chen raised an eyebrow.

Will the future change?

"Yes."

Lin Xiuhe quickly adjusted.

"The conditions have changed."

"The plan also needs to be changed."

"If only one outcome is prepared."

"Once the environment changes."

"The system will then fail."

Professor Chen stared at her for a few seconds. Suddenly, he smiled.

"interesting."

"continue."

No one noticed that Lin Xiuhe's hand holding the lecture notes tightened slightly.

Because what I just said wasn't just about the project.

She was referring to herself.

-

Library in the afternoon.

She sat in her familiar spot, with English materials in front of her, but she couldn't concentrate on reading a single word.

Because she finally figured something out.

For the past few days, she has been thinking: Has Zhou Zhiyuan been reborn?

But the direction is wrong.

The real question is: if Zhou Zhiyuan wasn't reborn, then how would he know those things?

The answers are becoming increasingly scarce.

In the end, only one remained.

She slowly closed her eyes, and images from her past life flashed through her mind.

Supply and marketing cooperative.

TRAIN STATION.

Beijing.

And then there's that person who always shows up at crucial moments.

Many details.

I used to take it for granted.

Looking back now, everything seems wrong.

-

Just then, someone pulled out a chair and sat down opposite her. Without even looking up, she knew who it was.

Zhou Zhiyuan.

Neither of them spoke.

After a while, Zhou Zhiyuan pushed a piece of paper over.

"have a look."

Lin Xiuhe looked down at a training schedule, which was filled with a densely packed timetable.

Just as she was about to put it down, she suddenly noticed a date.

November 27th.

That instant.

Her pupils contracted slightly.

Because of this date.

She remembers.

Around this time in his previous life, Zhou Zhiyuan wasn't even in Beijing.

But the training schedule shows that he is still here.

Changed again.

The future will change again.

She looked up and met Zhou Zhiyuan's gaze.

The man kept looking at her, as if he was waiting for something.

"You found out?"

he asks.

Lin Xiuhe's heart skipped a beat.

"What did you find?"

"Times have changed."

boom--

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

The sound of pages turning in the book still lingered around her, but Lin Xiuhe couldn't hear anything.

Because of this sentence.

This goes beyond the realm of coincidence.

She slowly looked at the timetable, her voice very soft.

How did you know I would notice this?

Zhou Zhiyuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"Because you've always been very sensitive."

Always.

Not recently.

Not in this lifetime either.

Instead, it has always been.

Lin Xiuhe stared at him, her gaze lingering for a long time.

She suddenly realized that the distance between them was getting closer and closer.

So close, just one sheet of paper away.

No one made it public.

-

On the way back to the dormitory at night.

The rain has stopped, and the streetlights are reflected in the puddles like shattered starlight.

Lin Xiuhe walked slowly forward alone, her mind replaying the events of the day.

The future will change.

The training was conducted ahead of schedule.

Zhou Zhiyuan's probing.

And that line: Because you've always been very sensitive.

I don't know why.

She then remembered a very small thing from her past life.

That winter, she left the supply and marketing cooperative for the first time to look for work in the county town.

snow.

It's extremely cold.

She tripped and fell on the road, scraping her knee. She sat by the roadside for a long time to recover, until someone handed her a handkerchief.

It's white and very old.

She didn't know who it was. When she went to look for them again the next day, they were gone.

She never told anyone about this.

But I don't know why.

At that moment, she suddenly thought of Zhou Zhiyuan.

Thinking about this, she was stunned. Then she slowly stopped in her tracks. For the first time, a thought emerged with unparalleled clarity.

if--

Are all those things related to him?

if--

Those past events she thought no one knew.

Actually, people have always remembered this.

A night breeze blows, and the clock tower in the distance chimes.

Lin Xiuhe stood under the streetlight.

Suddenly I realized that I was getting close to the answer.

******

That night, Lin Xiuhe slept very lightly.

After the rain stopped, the chill in Beijing intensified. A gust of wind slipped through the crack in the dormitory window, causing a corner of the draft paper on the desk to flip up.

Gu Xiaolan was fast asleep, Liu Xue had the blanket pulled up to her chin, and Su Qing had an English dictionary on the bedside table.

Everyone is asleep.

Only Lin Xiuhe had her eyes open.

Zhou Zhiyuan's words kept echoing in my mind—"Wait a little longer."

What are you waiting for?

Are we waiting for the supply and marketing cooperative's answer?

Should we wait until he's willing to speak?

Or should we wait for her to continue pretending that she hasn't noticed anything?