Chapter 1

It wasn't the familiar lavender detergent her mother always used, nor the faint aroma of books that lingered in her bedroom. Instead, the air carried the clean fragrance of fresh linen mixed with sunlight streaming through half-open curtains.

She slowly opened her eyes.

A white ceiling greeted her.

She blinked once.

Twice.

"Where... am I?"

Her voice came out as a whisper.

She pushed herself upright, feeling a dull ache behind her eyes. The room was beautiful—far too beautiful to be hers. Cream-colored walls, neatly arranged bookshelves, a large desk beside a floor-to-ceiling window, and a wardrobe that looked more expensive than everything she owned combined.

"This isn't my room..."

Her heart began to race.

She threw off the blanket and hurried to the mirror hanging beside the wardrobe.

The girl staring back at her was... her.

Long black hair.

Clear brown eyes.

Fair skin.

Everything looked the same.

"I'm still me."

A sigh escaped her lips before another wave of confusion crashed over her.

"If I'm me... then why don't I recognize this place?"

She searched every corner of the room, hoping to find something familiar.

Nothing.

On the bedside table lay a smartphone.

The screen lit up the moment she picked it up.

Monday, September 7.

7:02 A.M.

The wallpaper displayed a picture of herself smiling with several classmates.

She frowned.

"I... don't remember taking this."

Her thumb hesitated before unlocking the phone.

It opened effortlessly.

Hundreds of messages flooded the screen.

A class group.

Several private chats.

Photos.

Homework reminders.

Inside jokes.

Everything suggested she had been living this life for months.

Yet none of it existed in her memory.

A chill ran down her spine.

"...Did I lose my memory?"

She quickly searched for her identification.

Inside the school bag resting beside the desk was a student ID.

Qingshan High School

Name: Bai Chuxue (白初雪)

Class: Grade 11, Class 2

She stared at the card.

"My name..."

That was correct.

Her birthday.

Correct.

Everything was hers.

Except...

She couldn't remember attending this school.

She couldn't remember making any of these friends.

She couldn't even remember moving into this room.

A knock interrupted her thoughts.

"Chuxue?"

A gentle woman's voice came from outside.

"Breakfast is ready."

Mother?

The voice sounded warm.

Familiar.

But...

She couldn't remember it.

Her chest tightened.

She opened the bedroom door.

Standing outside was an elegant woman wearing a pale blue sweater.

The woman smiled softly.

"You finally woke up. Were you studying too late again?"

Bai Chuxue froze.

Her lips parted.

"...Mom?"

The woman laughed.

"Why are you looking at me like you've seen a ghost?"

Ghost.

That wasn't the right word.

She looked exactly like the woman in the family photos hanging along the hallway.

But Bai Chuxue couldn't remember any of those memories.

"I..."

Her head suddenly throbbed.

Broken images flashed before her eyes.

Rain.

A school gate.

Someone calling her name.

A boy standing beneath a black umbrella.

Then...

Darkness.

The pain disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Are you alright?" the woman asked, concern replacing her smile.

"I'm... fine."

She wasn't.

Not even close.

Breakfast felt strangely normal.

Her father quietly read the morning newspaper.

Her younger brother complained about mathematics homework.

Everyone acted as though this was an ordinary Monday.

Only Bai Chuxue felt like an actress forced onto a stage without a script.

She carefully copied what everyone else did.

She smiled.

Answered simple questions.

Avoided saying too much.

No one noticed.

Or perhaps...

No one expected anything unusual.

After breakfast, she picked up her school bag.

"I'll go now."

"Study hard," her father said.

Her mother smiled.

"And don't forget today's student council meeting."

Student council?

She nearly stopped walking.

Instead, she nodded.

"...Okay."

Outside, the autumn breeze brushed against her face.

The streets were lively with students wearing identical school uniforms.

Everything felt both familiar and unfamiliar.

She somehow knew the route to school.

Her feet walked automatically.

Like her body remembered even if her mind didn't.

Within fifteen minutes, she arrived before the large iron gates.

Qingshan High School.

Students laughed.

Teachers greeted one another.

The campus buzzed with life.

Yet Bai Chuxue felt completely alone.

A girl suddenly wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Morning, Chuxue!"

She nearly jumped.

The cheerful girl laughed.

"You look like you didn't sleep."

"I..."

The girl's name appeared automatically inside Bai Chuxue's mind.

Li Yiran.

How strange.

She knew the name.

But not the memories attached to it.

"You forgot our English homework again, didn't you?" Li Yiran teased.

Bai Chuxue forced a smile.

"Maybe."

The answer seemed acceptable because Li Yiran simply giggled.

"You've been acting weird since Friday."

Friday...

What happened on Friday?

No matter how hard she searched her mind...

Nothing.

Inside Class 2, students chatted noisily before the first lesson.

The classroom felt warm.

Lively.

Comfortable.

Except she couldn't remember any of them.

She quietly sat near the window.

Apparently...

That was her seat.

Books already waited neatly on the desk.

Her handwriting filled every notebook.

Even the unfinished homework looked undeniably hers.

She traced the familiar penmanship with trembling fingers.

"I wrote this..."

So why couldn't she remember writing it?

The classroom suddenly became silent.

Someone had entered.

Girls immediately whispered.

Several students sat straighter.

Even Li Yiran smiled knowingly.

"He came."

Bai Chuxue looked toward the doorway.

A tall boy stepped inside.

His uniform was perfectly pressed.

Black hair.

Sharp eyes.

Calm expression.

Everything about him radiated quiet confidence.

He walked past everyone without speaking.

Yet every student seemed aware of him.

He stopped beside her desk.

For the first time...

His usually unreadable expression shifted.

Confusion flickered across his face.

"...Bai Chuxue?"

She looked up.

Something inside her heart skipped.

Not because she recognized him.

Because...

She felt as though she should.

His deep eyes searched hers.

"You look pale."

She stared silently.

Who was he?

Why did everyone suddenly look between the two of them?

Li Yiran covered her smile with a notebook.

"Don't tell me you two argued again."

Again?

Bai Chuxue's pulse quickened.

The boy sighed quietly before placing a carton of strawberry milk on her desk.

"You skipped breakfast yesterday."

His voice was calm.

Gentle.

"I thought you'd do it again."

Yesterday?

But...

She couldn't remember yesterday.

She couldn't remember him.

She couldn't remember anything.

"...Thank you," she answered carefully.

For a brief moment, surprise crossed his face.

Almost as if she'd said something unexpected.

He gave a small nod before walking to the seat directly behind hers.

Li Yiran leaned close.

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"You two made up already?"

Made up?

Bai Chuxue blinked.

"What do you mean?"

Li Yiran laughed.

"Very funny."

No.

It wasn't funny.

Because Bai Chuxue genuinely didn't know.

She discreetly glanced backward.

The boy had already opened a textbook.

His expression was as unreadable as before.

The name embroidered on his school blazer caught her attention.

傅景深

Fu Jingshen.

For some reason...

The moment she read his name, another fragment flashed through her mind.

A classroom at sunset.

Someone saying—

"If you forget everyone... don't forget me."

The memory shattered before she could see the speaker's face.

Her hand instinctively clutched the edge of her desk.

"What's wrong?" Li Yiran whispered.

"Nothing..."

But it wasn't nothing.

Not anymore.

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