"Do you know who the most useless man in the world is?"
"It's you!"
"Look at yourself. Do you even act like a man?"
"You haven't made any money, and you've achieved nothing in your career! You have no ability, and you have no talent!"
"You can't even afford to support your wife, you don't take care of your child, and all you know how to do is drink every single day!"
"You’re pushing forty! You’re half-buried in the dirt already! Wake up!"
"..."
Wu Hua had just finished arguing with his ex-wife. Feeling depressed, he went to the riverside alone to drown his sorrows in alcohol. He had gone to visit his seven-year-old daughter earlier that day, only to be turned away by his ex-wife and subjected to a barrage of insults.
The first half of Wu Hua's life could be described as smooth sailing. His father was the director of the Wujiang City Railway Bureau, and his mother was the head of the Railway Workers Hospital; he was, for all intents and purposes, a child of privilege. After graduating from university, he joined Wujiang Station. By twenty-six, he had become the deputy station master—the youngest in the country at the time. Especially during the nineties, when the railway was the backbone of the nation, he held the power to allocate cargo cars and was riding high on his success. He married the daughter of a district deputy secretary in Wujiang City; it was a match made in heaven, celebrated by all.
However, the good times didn't last. A major scheduling error led to a collision between two freight trains, resulting in tens of millions of yuan in economic losses, three deaths, and seven injuries. As the person primarily responsible, Wu Hua was immediately stripped of his post and eventually reassigned to a technical school as a deputy principal. From that day on, Wu Hua sank into despair. He began using alcohol to numb his pain, developing a drinking problem that earned him the contempt of everyone around him. Meanwhile, his wife caught the wave of the economic reforms, successfully transitioning into a businesswoman, and she could no longer tolerate her spineless husband. Their marriage soured, eventually ending in divorce.
Wu Hua, consumed by frustration, had come to the riverside to drink. Life is but a dream, and even if one feels regret, there is no way to turn back time. He was drunk on his way home when the blinding white headlights of a heavy truck heading toward him caused him to wake up with a start—but it was too late. He only felt his body become weightless, dancing with the wind.
When Wu Hua regained consciousness, he was in a hospital. But the hospital was incredibly old; the IV stands were the old-fashioned wooden kind, and the room had an outdated decor, just like scenes from his childhood memories. He struggled to sit up, which stirred a middle-aged woman sleeping by his side. She lifted her head, startled by the movement.
Wu Hua froze. What greeted his eyes was his mother as she looked in her youth—forty years old, with the trendy permed curls of that era.
"Son, you're finally awake! You scared me to death!" Wu Hua's mother, Wang Shufen, threw herself over and hugged her son tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Mom? How did you get so young?" These were the first words Wu Hua spoke after his rebirth.
"Xiaohua, don't scare Mom like that. Did that high fever burn your brain?" Wang Shufen hurriedly reached out to touch her son's forehead.
Wu Hua was dazed, but through their conversation and by looking into a mirror, he finally confirmed that he had been reborn. He had returned to 1990!
After his mother left, Wu Hua's heart surged with excitement. Memories flashed through his mind—so many regrets, so many opportunities! This was an era where heroes emerged. He never expected that Heaven would truly take pity on him and send him back to his youth in university.
Living a new life, he would never be a failure again!
Although the ward Wu Hua stayed in appeared simple by modern standards, the private room was a perk reserved for high-ranking cadres, a benefit only possible because his mother was the director of the Railway Workers Hospital. He had spiked a forty-degree fever the previous night and had been rushed to the hospital in a delirious state; it took expensive imported medicine to wake him up. However, no one knew that the body of Wu Hua now housed the soul of a mature man, one who possessed the foresight of several decades of history.
"Xiaohua, are you feeling better today?" A young nurse walked in to change his IV drip.
Wu Hua looked at those beautiful, long-lashed eyes and suddenly remembered: this was Li Yaqian, the older sister of his good friend Li Dabao.
"Huh? Sister Yaqian, how did you end up being a nurse here?" Li Yaqian was a famous beauty in the neighborhood back then, and in his student days, Wu Hua had worshipped her like a goddess.
"I just graduated and came here for my internship. I've only just started, and I’m already taking care of you—it’s fate." Li Yaqian was very familiar with Wu Hua; she had often taken him and Li Dabao out to play when they were little, so she spoke to him quite casually.
"With such a beautiful sister taking care of me, my illness is already cured." Having discovered his rebirth, Wu Hua was in a great mood and had regained the carefree, cocky attitude of his youth.
"Go on with you! What kind of nonsense are you spouting, you little brat? Careful or I’ll poke you with a few extra needles!" Li Yaqian blushed, chiding him playfully. Girls in that era were very innocent; a little bit of flirting would make them blush, unlike the girls of the future who had heard every dirty joke in the book.
After regaining his health, Wu Hua’s fever subsided, and after two days of rest, he was discharged and returned home. It happened to be the last few days of summer vacation, so he didn't need to go to school and just laid low at home, though the old-fashioned electric fan wasn't doing much in the summer heat.
Now that he had been reborn, Wu Hua began planning his new life. However, there was so much future information that he felt overwhelmed and didn't know where to start. He was now a freshman who had just been admitted to Wujiang University, and with only a few days left of summer break, he was preparing to report to school.
Just as he was organizing his thoughts and planning his future at home, his childhood friend Li Dabao came over to hang out. Li Dabao didn't wait for an explanation, pulling Wu Hua out the door and whispering mysteriously that he had discovered a great place. Li Dabao's excitement stirred up Wu Hua's own repressed childhood memories. Well, since he was here, he might as well enjoy it. Experience the joys of childhood once more—it wouldn't hurt.
Wu Hua followed Li Dabao, and they gathered a few other childhood friends—Dashuang, Xiaoshuang, and Xiaoqizi—to go play on the river levee. The group was incredibly excited, running and laughing all the way along the riverbank. Back then, there was no air pollution, and the air felt exceptionally sweet.
Just as the group was playing and horsing around, a young girl ran out of the nearby flood-control forest, running anxiously while screaming for help!
"Hey, isn't that Wang Xiaofang?" Li Dabao realized that the girl running for her life and screaming was their classmate, Wang Xiaofang.
Seeing Wu Hua and the others on the levee, Wang Xiaofang sprinted toward them, gasping for air, her face filled with panic and anxiety. Shadowy figures could be seen moving within the woods, though they hadn't caught up yet.
"Hurry! Hurry and save Zhang Rui! If you're too late, those guys will bully her!" Wang Xiaofang stamped her foot, nearly in tears from worry.