Chapter 1: World One

“I’ve placed your delivery in the delivery locker. You can scan the code with your phone to retrieve it,” Lu Wuqi said proficiently. “If you have any issues during your meal, feel free to call me anytime.”

After hanging up, Lu Wuqi put her helmet back on, tucking in the ponytail she had just tied up. Then, under the most scorching midday sun of summer, she walked over to the little electric scooter marked with the milk tea shop’s logo for deliveries.

Having learned from yesterday’s lesson when she scorched her butt sitting on it, Lu Wuqi first touched the black seat cushion with her hand to check the temperature. Only after confirming it was safe did she sit down and start the scooter.

The constant forward motion of the little electric scooter brought waves of heat blasting her face, making Lu Wuqi truly understand what it meant to be hit by a heatwave.

In less than three minutes, bean-sized beads of sweat slid down from her brows, eyes, and temples, soaking into her thick white T-shirt.

How long had it been since she last experienced this drenched-in-sweat feeling?

Five years? Ten years? Or twenty?

Lu Wuqi couldn’t quite remember. She only knew that after being adopted by the Lu Family, her food, clothing, housing, and transportation had all jumped several levels, setting her apart from others.

【Host, please note: There are only twenty-three days left until school reporting, and your total savings are a mere 239 yuan.】 The self-proclaimed Redemption System issued a warm reminder.

Lu Wuqi nodded perfunctorily. Then she hurried to the milk tea shop to wait for the next batch of delivery orders.

If she hadn’t truly and completely come to this world from another one, Lu Wuqi would never believe in parallel worlds—let alone that her other self had lived such a failed life.

After all, in Lu Wuqi’s view, money was the easiest thing to get. Just be ruthless and black-hearted enough, and you could make a fortune.

Crossing through the automatic doors into the milk tea shop, a blast of 24-degree air conditioning hit her, the refreshing coolness easing her slightly furrowed brows and clearing her head a bit.

The current her wasn’t the Lu Wuqi with more money than she knew what to do with. She was the Lu Wuqi who couldn’t scrape together university tuition and had been forced to break up with her girlfriend.

—

“Little Lu, this batch is all for Huafeng Neighborhood—three orders, sixteen cups total. Hurry and deliver them; the customers are rushing you.”

Lu Wuqi had barely sat down for a minute when the new task was assigned.

“Got it.” Lu Wuqi replied. She double-checked the types and quantities on her phone’s orders, then grabbed all sixteen cups of milk tea and loaded them into the delivery box on the scooter’s footboard in one go.

Today was Lu Wuqi’s second day in this new world—and her second day as a milk tea shop delivery girl.

But she hadn’t found this job herself. The original owner of this body—her other self—had.

She earned a 10% commission per delivery. Sixteen cups of milk tea would net her about twenty yuan.

Originally, Lu Wuqi didn’t need to work so hard, nor did she need to send breakup texts to her girlfriend Lan Xu.

But a week ago, the student loan aid that Lu Wuqi had applied for was taken by Lu Father to gamble away—not only losing it all but also racking up several tens of thousands in debt. Her mother, who had been working as a cashier at a supermarket, was fired for repeated mistakes, leaving the Lu Family without any income.

After learning of the family debt, the other Lu Wuqi chose to break up with her girlfriend Lan Xu, who had gotten into the same university. The reason was easy to guess: she didn’t want to drag down her girlfriend’s bright future.

Though Lan Xu was furious at the breakup text and got no answers despite chasing after her, she still said that as long as Lu Wuqi apologized before university started and wrote a ten-thousand-word self-criticism, she would forgive that one breakup message.

This sparked a bit of fighting spirit in Lu Wuqi, making her want to see if she could create a miracle in this final month.

After trying flyer distribution and hourly gigs, the original Lu Wuqi settled on being a milk tea delivery girl, with daily pay settlements.

Unfortunately, heaven didn’t give Lu Wuqi a chance. After covering daily expenses, her hard-earned daily pay job only saved her about a hundred yuan. Even working until the day before school started, she’d have just two thousand five hundred yuan—less than half the tuition and a fraction of the debt.

Not to mention that right before school started, her unemployed mother at home would suddenly faint, and hospital checks would reveal a tumor—the final straw that crushed the other her.

Hmm, looking at it this way, the other her’s decision to break up and not burden her girlfriend didn’t seem wrong?

【Host, have you forgotten Lan Xu’s final fate? At graduation, she was schemed against by a despicable villain who coerced her into marriage by threatening her chastity. Lan Xu aborted the child, leaving irreversible damage to her body, and passed away before fifty. Don’t you think this ending needs changing?】 The Redemption System couldn’t help but jump in, its tone sounding extremely agitated.

“Is that so? Then her future isn’t all that bright either,” Lu Wuqi said casually. Having never experienced love herself, she couldn’t really empathize.

What did it feel like to like someone? Was it happier than becoming the world’s richest person?

But after saying that, Lu Wuqi felt a faint ache in her heart. When she stopped at the red light, she couldn’t help but touch her chest.

Was this what heartache felt like? It was such a strange sensation.

【Host, even if not for others, you should do it for yourself.】 The Redemption System softened its tone. 【If you don’t go to university, your end will be slaving away twelve or thirteen hours a day in a factory, keeling over from overwork after sending off your mom.】

【Your corpse will even be exploited by relatives, left to rot before they bother cremating it.】 The Redemption System added.

Lu Wuqi didn’t respond, but deep down, she dismissed the System’s words.

This was just the price for making wrong choices and mistakes. Without the courage to change, this was the only outcome.

Even if the one meeting a tragic end was her other self, Lu Wuqi only found it pitiful. She wouldn’t waste sympathy she had nowhere else to put, fully embracing everything from her other self.

—

Yeah, right.

Lu Wuqi had three deliveries in Huafeng Neighborhood. The first two were three cups and four cups respectively. The remaining nine cups were all ordered by a user named Fa Cai.

Lu Wuqi figured she should use her brain here. Who orders nine cups of milk tea in summer vacation with such a straightforward username? Most likely a student.

And Huafeng Neighborhood was just a ten-minute ride from her alma mater. This student had a high chance of being a classmate.

“Hello, your, your milk tea. Pl-please check it,” Lu Wuqi stammered.

The moment she saw Lan Xu, intense emotions overwhelmed Lu Wuqi’s mind. Her previous detachment and armchair arrogance vanished without a trace, leaving only nervousness and panic.

Even her calm tone was tossed aside. Seeing the clear-eyed, pretty girl in front of her—wearing a white blouse and plaid skirt, with her hair tied into a simple bun with a hair tie—Lu Wuqi’s breathing and heartbeat sped up, her face screaming that she wanted to run.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Wuqi shoved the milk tea into Lan Xu’s hands and turned sharply, ready to take the elevator and bolt.

“Lu Wuqi, why did you send me that text?” Lan Xu held the milk tea with one hand and grabbed Lu Wuqi’s wrist with the other.

Lan Xu was just over 1.6 meters tall, while Lu Wuqi was just over 1.7 meters—a nearly ten-centimeter height difference that had Lan Xu tilting her head up slightly to meet Lu Wuqi’s eyes.

Lan Xu saw Lu Wuqi drenched in sweat, her temples soaked, her face and arms sunburned red, and those eyes that still shone brightly.

“No reason, just, just…” Lu Wuqi took another deep breath, barely suppressing the burning, intense emotions to make her tone sound calmer.

“I can’t go to university. You deserve someone better.” Lu Wuqi swallowed silently, sweat from her forehead sliding down her cheek and dripping onto the warm white tiles with a soft pat.

“Why?” Lan Xu furrowed her brows lightly, looking at Lu Wuqi with confusion. “Didn’t you already get your admission notice?”

Lu Wuqi blinked to keep the sweat from her forehead sliding into her eyes.

Would the original her have run into Lan Xu while delivering?

Probably not. So why did she meet her on the second day after arriving?

【Because of the butterfly effect, Host. The moment you became this world’s Lu Wuqi, it became a brand-new parallel world.】 The Redemption System helpfully provided the answer.

“Because, because…” Lu Wuqi wanted to just say it was because she had no money, but the words stuck in her throat.

After seeing Lan Xu in person, the other self’s emotions seemed to fully belong to her now—including the reluctance to show weakness or cowardice in front of her lover. The current Lu Wuqi had fused it all.

Lan Xu didn’t urge her on but just stood there, head slightly raised, gazing at Lu Wuqi and waiting for an answer.

Before Lu Wuqi could speak, a voice came from the entryway. “Lan Xu, was the milk tea delivered wrong or short? Why… Huh? Lu Wuqi? What are you doing here? Looking for Lan Xu?”

The orderer nicknamed Fa Cai came out in slippers to check, puzzled by their current posture.

“Can I tell you the reason later?” Lu Wuqi gripped Lan Xu’s wrist, firmly pulling her hand away while pressing the elevator down button.

“Lu Wuqi!” Lan Xu was a bit angry. She’d let the phone and texts slide before, but now face-to-face, why wouldn’t she explain?

“I’m here.” Lu Wuqi responded instinctively. Meeting Lan Xu’s eyes, which held a hint of tears, she froze for a moment.

When had she and Lan Xu gotten together?

They’d apparently taken a liking to each other in their first year of high school, entering an ambiguous phase. But prioritizing studies, they only confirmed their relationship in senior year, studying together to sprint toward their dream schools.

Seeing the elevator doors open, Lu Wuqi looked away, stepped in, and pressed the first-floor button.

Lan Xu stomped her foot, shoved the milk tea into Fa Cai’s hands, and blocked the elevator doors with her hand, calling Lu Wuqi’s name again.

“Lu Wuqi!” Lan Xu’s voice carried a faint, barely detectable sob.

“I’m here.” Lu Wuqi straightened up but avoided Lan Xu’s gaze.

“If you explain now, I can pretend I never saw that text!” Lan Xu said, both angry and anxious.

A muddled breakup like this? No way!

They’d both gotten into top universities, and they were about to fulfill the wish they’d made on their eighteenth birthdays!

Why split up so unclearly right now? She wouldn’t accept it—absolutely not!

Lu Wuqi tried again to voice the truth but found she still couldn’t let go of that so-called pride. She could only step forward and move Lan Xu’s hand aside.

“What you’re doing is dangerous.” Lu Wuqi slowed her words, pressing the close-door button with her other hand. “Xuxu, give me a little time, okay?”

“I’ll come see you with a ten-thousand-word self-criticism.” Lu Wuqi forced the corners of her mouth up, trying to leave Lan Xu with a reassuring smile before the doors closed.

Explaining now would just burden Lan Xu unnecessarily. Better to clean up this mess first, then grovel and apologize.

But Lu Wuqi lacked a God’s-eye view, so she didn’t know how forced that final smile looked.

So forced that as long as Lan Xu’s eyes worked, she’d guess the breakup definitely hid some untold story.