I Miss You Even in the Daytime [Rebirth GL] - Chapter 2

Xu Liming didn’t get an answer. By the time she woke up, it was already the following morning. Clean sunlight dispersed the staleness in the room; the hotel bed had been made, and the pillows were neatly stacked.

As for Xu Liming herself, she was lying flat on the floor.

Her mind was still clouded. She stared at the ceiling in silence for a long while before bracing herself against the floor to stand up. Judging by the dull ache at the back of her head, she must have been shoved down.

She had been severely drunk the night before, but based on the fragmented memories in her head, while her “drunk personality” was poor, she shouldn’t have done anything too egregious. Xu Liming took a sip of the cold tea on the table and dialed Chen Yan’s number.

“Hello, Sister Liming! How was the hotel?” Chen Yan’s sweet, greasy voice came from the other end.

“Fine.” Xu Liming didn’t dare mention she had slept on the floor all night, so she changed the subject. “Who was the person who brought me back yesterday?”

“A part-time student.” Chen Yan didn’t give it much thought and continued smilingly, “Sister Liming, about that money…”

Chen Yan was a childhood friend of Xu Liming’s. However, she had been at odds with her parents since she was young, so she dropped out of high school to make it on her own. She was steeped in a “street-wise” aura; the two lived in different worlds and didn’t stay in touch often.

But for the sake of the hotel stay, Xu Liming relented. Chen Yan immediately beamed and thanked her repeatedly: “Sister Liming, you’re my real sister from now on! Wait, isn’t today the start of your semester? Why are you…”

School starts? Xu Liming froze.

By the time Xu Liming appeared at the gates of Huachuan University lugging several bags, she realized she had forgotten to ask for the name of that holiday worker.

Forget it, I’ll treat her to a meal and apologize next time.

Xu Liming rushed and managed to sneak into the auditorium just before the roll call. Fortunately, the Directing major’s seats were at the very back, so she didn’t attract much attention.

The auditorium at Huachuan had a long history, built in a Mediterranean style with a rounded ceiling and vintage colors. Students who hadn’t seen each other all winter break couldn’t stop talking; the sound of chirping chatter careened through the vast hall.

The scenes from her memory were within reach. Xu Liming sat in the corner, feeling as strange as a passerby in her own recollections.

It wasn’t until a certain name appeared that she felt like dust settling—returning to reality.

“Lin Wan.”

The host called out the name, and the students around her began to stir. Lin Wan, wearing a pure white sweater, walked onto the stage. The light blended with her hair and spilled over her shoulders like an elf.

Even in the School of Drama and Film, where beautiful people were a dime a dozen, Lin Wan was still the most eye-catching one.

Xu Liming didn’t move. She remained leaning lazily back in the cushioned chair, her gaze following the person. Even if the Lin Wan of years later had turned rotten, the nineteen-year-old Lin Wan still looked like a crane standing amidst the clouds.

Xu Liming thought she would be agitated or angry upon seeing her again, but she was unexpectedly calm. While there was hatred in her heart, it wasn’t enough to make her lose her composure.

The people in front of her were whispering. Xu Liming looked up to see two girls sitting directly ahead. One was tall and thin with a bun; the other had shoulder-length short hair that looked as smooth as silk.

The part of Xu Liming’s brain responsible for memories began to churn wildly. It took a while before she remembered their names.

The tall, thin one was Sun Muya, a girl from Guangdong who spoke gently. The short-haired one was Tao Ning, from the north.

The two were her roommates, but because Xu Liming rarely stayed in the dorms, they were only nodding acquaintances. Right now, they were discussing Lin Wan.

“I’m so jealous. She was named an outstanding student after just one semester. Not only is she pretty, but her grades are great too. Now she’s famous throughout the whole college,” Sun Muya sighed.

“Not just now. She played the piano on stage during the opening ceremony. Back then, the Weibo ‘confession wall’ was filled with her for days,” Tao Ning said, dodging the patrolling class assistant to sneak a potato chip into her mouth. “Same people, different fates.”

“She has plenty of pursuers, both men and women. Oh right, that ‘rich kid’ in our class, the one named Xu—didn’t they say she’s been chasing her since high school? Even now, Lin Wan hasn’t given her the time of day.”

Hearing this, Sun Muya slapped Tao Ning and looked around anxiously: “Everyone’s here, be careful someone hears you…”

When she looked behind her, Sun Muya’s words came to a dead stop. She pinched Tao Ning and then gave an embarrassed smile.

The rich kid—Xu Liming—raised her hand and gave them a mild greeting.

The atmosphere around them dropped to freezing. The two lowered their heads in awkward silence, but Xu Liming actually picked up the thread of their conversation.

She wasn’t a child anymore, and she didn’t care much about others’ opinions. Besides, in her past life, she had spent all her time playing around and chasing her goddess; being called a “rich kid” behind her back wasn’t unfair.

“Where did you hear that I’m chasing her?” Xu Liming chatted casually.

Sun Muya’s face was flushed red and she didn’t speak. Tao Ning scratched her head and said, “Everyone says so. Besides, you send flowers and cakes to her building every day. It’s hard not to know.”

Oh right, she had done such stupid things. Xu Liming had almost forgotten.

On stage, Lin Wan had already begun her speech. She stood smiling under the spotlight, basking in the envious gazes of others, her every move graceful and poised.

“Where do I get a water card for the dormitory?” Xu Liming suddenly changed the subject to ask about living arrangements.

Sun Muya and Tao Ning looked at each other. They had known about Xu Liming since the freshman military training—wealthy family, hated studying, frivolous and arrogant.

The fact that she was now going to give up her luxury life to squeeze into a dorm with them was shocking.

“You can get it at the Student Center,” Tao Ning replied.

“Thanks,” Xu Liming said, then lowered her head to play on her phone. Sun Muya and Tao Ning exchanged glances and didn’t speak again.

The student speech ended quickly. The principal, a woman in her sixties wearing a cheongsam with her white hair in a braid, took the stage. She began a long-winded speech with a smile. Lin Wan walked down the steps.

People constantly turned their heads as she passed. Lin Wan kept a faint smile, returning to the seat others had reserved for her. Xu Liming didn’t look up, focusing intensely on playing Candy Crush.

The auditorium fell into a drowse during the principal’s ten-page speech. However, Xu Liming felt something was off. Ever since she entered the auditorium, she felt a burning sensation around her.

It was as if someone was watching her. She looked up and around, only to catch Lin Wan’s eye. Lin Wan, who was turning to say something to a classmate, accidentally met her gaze; her smile faded, and she turned her body away.

The disdain was written clearly on her face. Xu Liming, who had done nothing to deserve it this time, almost laughed from anger, so she decided to just stare back openly.

No one else met her eyes except Lin Wan, but a figure sitting one seat away from Lin Wan caught Xu Liming’s attention. The back of the person was unremarkable, wearing an old, pilling gray sweater. Her hair was in a low ponytail, and she was looking down, scribbling away at something. She looked lifeless.

The only thing that drew attention was a small section of her neck—like freshly dried rice paper, clean and porcelain-white.

It looked familiar. A flash of last night’s scene crossed her mind, but many people wore that hairstyle; she couldn’t be sure.

Xu Liming tapped the back of the front chair and leaned over to ask: “Who is that?”

Tao Ning didn’t expect Xu Liming to talk to them again. She hesitated, thought for a long time, and then asked Sun Muya: “I think her surname is Lu. What was her name? You’re a class officer, you should remember.”

“Lu Baitian,” Sun Muya said. “She studies very hard, but it seems her family situation is very poor. Aside from classes, she’s always working. She doesn’t have any friends.”

“We’re in university and she’s still just rote-learning. She even puts on an act to study during the opening ceremony just to scrounge for scholarships. It’s normal that no one plays with her,” someone nearby chimed in.

Lu Baitian. A very unfamiliar name. A person of no consequence who had been thrown into the cracks of her memory. No matter how she tried, she could only recall a vague outline. The only impression she had was that Lin Wan didn’t seem to like her, so Xu Liming had never spoken a single word to her.

“Stop chatting! Anyone caught whispering again will be sent to stand by the principal and give a speech together!” The counselor stood up and glared in their direction. “I’m talking to you, Xu Liming!”

A few giggles broke out around her. Lin Wan in the front also turned back, her gaze haughty and indifferent. Xu Liming didn’t look at her; her eyes were still fixed on Lu Baitian. Lu Baitian did not turn around.

“Alright,” Xu Liming responded lazily, withdrawing her gaze and lowering her head. I must have seen wrong, she thought.

In her past life, Xu Liming had invested her youth in Lin Wan. Now, looking back after her sudden enlightenment, it was like examining someone else’s life—outrageously stupid.

Pah. In this new life, anyone who wants to be a “dog” can go right ahead. I’m certainly not doing it anymore.

Along with the drowsiness of several thousand people, the principal finally finished her ten-page script and her additional thirty minutes of improvisation. Accompanied by sparse applause, the students began to leave in an orderly fashion by college.

The School of Drama and Film was last. Watching the auditorium gradually empty and the counselor leave, the hall became noisy again. Xu Liming stood up, preparing to go back to the dorm to pack.

Since she was living again, she wanted to experience university life in a different way; she didn’t want to live alone off-campus anymore.

However, just as Xu Liming turned around, a commotion erupted behind her. Everyone’s eyes focused on the stage. The stage lights had just been turned off, but now they flared to life again.

A piano version of “Happy Birthday” echoed through the auditorium. Romantic lights, like the morning sun, drifted across the carved ceiling and finally focused on Lin Wan, lighting up her beautiful, blushing face.

And Xu Liming.

“F***,” Xu Liming couldn’t help but curse.

It must have been because too much time had passed; Xu Liming had forgotten that she had arranged this before the break. To celebrate Lin Wan’s birthday, she had prepared a gift months in advance, planning to confess her love on her birthday.

To the current Xu Liming, this behavior was childish and ridiculous. But to the Xu Liming of that time, it was the most sincere way to please her she could think of.

Of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing is the best. Xu Liming turned her head to escape, but she didn’t expect two boys to dart out from the side, flanking her. With lightning speed, they shoved a glittering gold gift box and a blooming bouquet of pink tulips into her hands.

The flower-bearers ran off. Now, everyone’s eyes were fixed on her; there was nowhere to hide.

Lin Wan was also staring at her amidst the surrounding whispers. Her face quickly flushed red, her almond eyes full of shame and indignation.

“Xu Liming, are you insane?” Lin Wan said.