Reborn in 2006, I met Mr. Zhou from the past.

June arrived as usual. This is a very important month for students, with the college entrance examination at the beginning of the month and the junior high school entrance examination from the middle to the end of the month, both of which are crucial turning points in their lives.

On June 26, Su Fengxia faced a turning point in her life—the high school entrance examination.

Early in the morning, Su Fengnan got up to cook breakfast for her younger sister, making egg pancakes and minced meat noodles, and also heating up a cup of milk. Su Fengxia looked at the abundant breakfast on the table, but her appetite was only so-so. Su Fengnan served her noodles and gently instructed her, "Xiaoxia, try to eat more. You'll have the energy to answer the questions if you're full. Double-check your admission ticket and stationery, don't forget anything."

Su Fengxia picked at the noodles in her bowl and replied softly, "Sister, I've checked three times, they're all in the bag. It's just... I'm a little panicked."

"What's the panic? Just take the test the same way you always do." Su Fengnan smiled and patted her sister's head. "Don't overthink it, just relax."

During the high school entrance exam, Su Fengnan also took two days off to spend with her younger sister throughout the entire process.

After breakfast, Su Fengnan accompanied her younger sister to school. Their place was just across the street from the school gate, a two-minute walk away.

Reaching the intersection, Su Fengxia stopped and took a deep breath. Su Fengnan straightened her collar and said softly, "Go on, don't look back, focus on the exam. I'll wait for you when you come out."

After watching her younger sister enter the examination hall, Su Fengnan turned and went home. She started preparing the dishes for lunch, and then quietly copied scriptures to pray for her sister's return.

......

In Chengdu, Yan Yun exceeded his work quota. He had endured more than twenty days of waiting to go home and see Su Fengnan. With his return date fast approaching, he couldn't contain himself and went to Chunxi Road to buy her some new clothes.

He walked into a women's clothing store, browsed around, and picked out several stylish dresses. The sales assistant, noticing his discerning eye and the fact that he'd chosen only the latest styles, praised him in fluent Chengdu dialect, "Handsome, you have great taste! These are all our newest styles this season. Are they for your girlfriend? With a boyfriend like you, she'll be incredibly lucky!"

Although it was a common compliment, Yan Yun's face showed no smile. He simply urged coldly, "Wrap it up quickly, I'm in a hurry."

The sales assistant noticed the impatience in his tone and wondered if she had flattered him too much. She stopped talking and quickly took the clothes to the cashier.

"Okay, just a moment." After scanning the code and packing the food, she said, "Handsome, that'll be 2356 in total. Will you be paying by card or cash?"

"Swipe your card." Yan Yun took out his bank card from his wallet and handed it over.

After buying the clothes, Yan Yun went to a nearby ticket office and bought a sleeper train ticket for three days later before going home.

As soon as I stepped into the house, my older sister, Yan Jing, came out of the kitchen carrying a freshly cooked dish. "You're back? Wash your hands and get ready to eat."

She noticed the several well-known brand shopping bags Yan Yun was carrying and joked, "Oh, who are these for? You're quite generous. Is there any for me?"

Yan Yun ignored her, picked up the bag and went straight to his room, slamming the door shut.

Seeing that her younger brother seemed to be in a bad mood today, Yan Jing stopped teasing him and simply knocked on his door: "I don't want your clothes, come out and wash your hands and eat."

When Yan Yun came out, Yan Jing had already started eating. He sat down at the table, and the siblings ate and chatted.

"Aren't we waiting for Jun-ge?"

"He's still at his client's place, but we saved a portion of the food for him."

"Sister, I'm going back to my hometown in a couple of days."

"What are you going back for? To see your girlfriend?"

"Um."

"Didn't you say you were coming? When are you coming?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Yun put down his chopsticks, unable to eat anymore. His phoenix eyes reddened slightly, and his voice trembled with emotion: "She wants to break up with me and isn't coming."

Yan Jing saw her younger brother's eyes brimming with tears, yet he was holding them back. She hurriedly asked, "Break up? What happened between you two? Tell me quickly!"

"I don't know either. We had everything planned out at the beginning of the month, and she had even bought her plane ticket. But then she suddenly said she wasn't coming and wanted to break up with me. After that... I couldn't contact her anymore."

Yan Yun finished speaking, his voice choked with sobs. The pent-up frustration and grievances of the past twenty-odd days seemed to have found an outlet, and the knot in his heart eased somewhat. Of course, he didn't reveal everything. In front of his sister, he didn't want to expose his dark thoughts; he preferred to position himself as the victim so that his sister would feel more sorry for him.

Seeing her younger brother's pathetic state, Yan Jing was furious. She slammed her chopsticks on the table and yelled, "What are you crying for! You can't even handle a girl, how dare you cry?"

"I never agreed to you dating her before. Long-distance relationships are prone to change, and besides, she's such a good student, why would she want to date you instead of focusing on getting into university?"

Yan Yun lowered her head and listened silently to her sister's lecture.

He hadn't really thought about why Su Fengnan had so easily agreed to his pursuit, especially since there had been a two-year gap between them.

Unable to figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it. He had finally experienced the taste of love, even if it had only lasted a little over a month, and he would never give up easily.

He was indeed devastated by the sudden breakup, but he was absolutely unwilling to accept it.

"Sis, I don't have any money right now. What could she possibly want from me? She must like me... right?"

Yan Yun sounded a little guilty. He wasn't sure if Su Fengnan really liked him, but even though they had been in a long-distance relationship for over a month, they had been in daily phone contact. Surely those sweet words couldn't be fake.

Yan Jing glared at him: "You yourself aren't sure. Fine, if you're not satisfied, go back and ask her clearly." She paused, then added, "Once you've found out, if you really can't get back together, a guy should be able to let go and not bother the girl. You two haven't been dating for very long, and neither of you has really lost out."

"I understand. Sis, please stop talking."

Yan Yun verbally agreed, but Yan Jing was completely unaware of the coldness and resentment deep in his eyes. How could he possibly give up? He had pursued this girl for three years, and it had finally been a struggle to win her over; how could he just let go like that?

The two days of the high school entrance exams ended quickly. After the last exam, Su Fengxia came back and immediately started clamoring to go to a photo studio with her classmates to take pictures.

"Sis, can you give me some money? I want to take pictures with my classmates." Su Fengxia leaned against the table and pleaded with her sister.

"Didn't you already take pictures? Why do you need to take more?" Su Fengnan asked without looking up from her desk as she wrote.

"Last time when the school took a group photo, it rained, so many of us didn't get many pictures. Wu Min and Li Qing said they would go to the photo studio to take some close-up photos after the exam, and they're still waiting for me on the street outside."

After learning the reason, Su Fengnan put down his pen and gave Su Fengxia 50 yuan.

"So many! Thank you, sister."

"Just the three of you?"

"And Wang Feifei, the four of us."

"Come back early after filming. You must be home before 9 p.m." Su Fengnan always prioritizes the safety of the girls and doesn't tolerate any negligence.

"Sis, why don't you come with us? We can take a picture together and send it to Mom and Dad."

"We'll be visiting them in two weeks, so there's no need to send anything."

"Sis, it'll be good to keep it as a souvenir!"

The words "to keep as a memento" touched Su Fengnan. In her previous life, she and her sister never had a photo together from their middle school days; all they had were photos of them with their friends. Whenever their mother looked through the photo album, she would always murmur, "What a pity." In this life, she would fulfill this small regret.

"Alright then." She finally nodded.

Zijiang County is a small town, with only two photo studios in total. One is on the main street, and the other is on East Street. The one on East Street is the most famous; it's said the owner is a skilled photographer with a keen eye for composition and framing. The shop faces the street, its signboard is eye-catching, and it's easy to find. Besides its excellent technique, it also boasts a wide variety of backgrounds and offers makeup and costume services, making it very popular with young women.

When Su Fengnan and her friends found the photo studio on East Street, the owner had just finished his work and was writing a receipt with his head down.

The owner was a middle-aged man with a relaxed, artist-like air about him. Seeing new customers arrive, he looked up, smiled, and said gently, "Please have a seat, everyone. It'll be ready soon."

The girls found stools and sat quietly to the side to wait. In no time, the owner had filled out the order and seen the guests off.

"Taking artistic photos?" he asked them, his tone familiar.

The group nodded in unison.

"Let's put on makeup first."

As the boss spoke, he led them into the dressing room inside.