SLWP Chapter 3

After the evening self-study bell rang, students flooded out of the classroom like a tide.

Today, Chen Xu was on duty, so he waited for his classmates to leave while leisurely solving the last of the math problems. Since his rebirth, his high school memories seemed much clearer, and he no longer felt awkward handling these problems.

He had always been a top student, his pen smoothly detailing the solution process with hardly any pause.

After finishing, he looked up to find the classroom empty.

Rubbing his neck, Chen Xu picked up the mop and bucket and headed out, only to see Ji Chunxiao leaning against the railing with a look as if someone owed him two million dollars.

Chen Xu was truly puzzled. Logically, at this time, they shouldn’t even know each other. Could it be some butterfly effect from his rebirth that had caught this young master’s attention sooner?

That seemed unlikely.

After all, in his previous life, it had always been him following Ji Chunxiao around, tirelessly catering to his every whim, enduring even the most unreasonable demands.

There was no reason for Ji Chunxiao in this life to suddenly take a proactive interest in him.

Thinking it through, Chen Xu decided he must be imagining things, and that running into Ji Chunxiao recently was just a coincidence.

He withdrew his gaze, planning to pass by Ji Chunxiao without giving him another look. As they brushed past each other, Chen Xu thought he saw Ji Chunxiao frown in disbelief and frustration.

Chen Xu felt a sharp bump against his shoulder.

Water from the bucket splashed out, wetting his school trousers.

Typical of the young master, his terrible temper was as predictable as ever.

Chen Xu bit his lip and endured it.

Without saying a word, he picked up the bucket again and walked on with a blank expression.

Watching Chen Xu disappear around the corner of the corridor, Ji Chunxiao couldn’t shake off his feelings of anger or perhaps indignation, and he remained lost in thought for a long time.

What’s going on, what’s going on, what’s going on!

Why! Chen Xu! Not even a glance at him!

Having been reborn at seventeen, Ji Chunxiao initially thought it was trivial, as everything would proceed as it always had. Even if it happened a hundred times over, it would be the same.

Chen Xu would still fall hopelessly in love with him, doting and spoiling him, doing everything for him.

Back then, his friends joked that Chen Xu was his ‘fawning dog.’ Ji Chunxiao found the term distasteful and wanted to argue, but upon reflection, he thought it fitting.

Wasn’t Chen Xu exactly that—his fawning dog?

Because Chen Xu loved him.

From the age of seventeen, this conclusion had taken root deep in Ji Chunxiao’s heart.

Like a scientist, mathematician, or astronomer, he considered himself a scholar of Chen Xu, having derived the basic laws of their relationship.

He called them Chen Xu’s Three Laws.

The First Law: Chen Xu loved him deeply.

The Second Law: Chen Xu was his fawning dog.

The Third Law: Chen Xu would always be by his side, impossible to drive away.

After observing for another five years, Ji Chunxiao had no doubt about the accuracy of these laws.

He believed in them as firmly as he believed in materialism, gravity, and the conservation of energy.

No matter the time or place, these laws were always applicable.

A mere rebirth was trivial to Ji Chunxiao; his wife would still be madly in love with him.

But the reality seemed to deviate from Ji Chunxiao’s expectations.

Initially, Chen Xu didn’t pay much attention to him, and Ji Chunxiao, overly confident, assumed it was just because they hadn’t met in this timeline yet.

After all, they had only become deskmates in their third year of high school in their past life, and now it was only the second semester of their second year.

But no matter, Ji Chunxiao thought. Sooner or later, when Chen Xu saw him, he would fall in love.

So the young master lowered himself to start making advances towards his future wife.

Bumping into him on the sports field, staring at him during school meetings, even following the same route home in the evenings.

To others, these might seem like provocative acts, but Ji Chunxiao thought he was being utterly romantic.

In this life, his wife would surely love him even more.

Unfortunately, things did not go as hoped.

Chen Xu simply ignored him.

As if he couldn’t see Ji Chunxiao at all, showing no signs of being smitten.

Once or twice might be okay, but being consistently ignored, Ji Chunxiao was completely outraged.

What in the world was going on!

Was this world even real? It absolutely contradicted Chen Xu’s Three Laws!

Ji Chunxiao, always coddled and spoiled by Chen Xu, was now filled with grievances, anxiety, and confusion. He felt like grabbing Chen Xu and shaking him, demanding an explanation for why he no longer liked him!

Meanwhile, Chen Xu, diligently cleaning the mop, had no idea that simply not talking to Ji Chunxiao could upset him so much.

In their previous relationship, Ji Chunxiao had always been aloof, accustomed to Chen Xu’s adoration.

Back then, Chen Xu thought Ji Chunxiao was the one secretly helping him, viewing him through a profoundly favorable lens.

Even when Ji Chunxiao acted up, displaying his terrible temper, Chen Xu saw him as tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and followed his commands without complaint.

Ji Chunxiao asked for water, and he brought it. He asked for his sweat to be wiped, and he did it. Eventually, Chen Xu even took over cooking for Ji Chunxiao, handling all three meals a day.

So obedient and compliant, Chen Xu brought out Ji Chunxiao’s worst traits—it seemed almost a disservice not to take advantage of such docility.

Even if he went too far, Chen Xu wouldn’t get angry. At most, he’d be upset for a few minutes, then come right back and cuddle up to him.

That’s when Ji Chunxiao knew, no matter what he did, Chen Xu would always be there.

“He loves me,” Ji Chunxiao thought.

To be favored is to be fearless, and that was exactly Ji Chunxiao as a young master.

Once he understood Chen Xu’s feelings, he didn’t hold back at all, becoming even more unreasonable.

He always made those absurd demands, then watched as Chen Xu struggled, eventually figuring out how to fulfill them.

Chen Xu loved him that much, was always willing to indulge him.

Every time Ji Chunxiao realized this, he felt utterly satisfied, as if his heart was swelling to burst.

He just wanted to be unreasonable because that was the proof of Chen Xu’s love.

Ji Chunxiao thought they would continue like this forever.

But with this rebirth, his wife didn’t recognize him and even seemed uninterested in him.

This was the hardest thing for Ji Chunxiao to accept.

Chen Xu’s love was as fundamental to him as any basic law of the planet; it was essential for his survival.

A world where Chen Xu didn’t love him was unthinkable, unimaginable.

Ji Chunxiao was desperate to find out what was wrong, why his wife had changed so drastically in this life.