"Wrong! Wrong! Ma'am, we're really wrong!"
"Please, have mercy, let us go!"
The sharp-mouthed shopkeeper and the two thugs with dyed yellow hair had long lost their earlier arrogance. They were all kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Liu Yutong walked over to the shopkeeper and looked down at him from above.
"Boss, you said it yourself earlier — damaged goods must be compensated at double the price. What, are you backing out now?"
The sharp-mouthed shopkeeper felt deeply wronged inside: If you keep this up, I'll really call the cops!
You smashed my sign and still want me to pay up — is there any justice in this world?
Has everyone lost their sense of right and wrong?!
"No, no, no! I was just joking, just joking, ma'am. That bracelet really isn't worth anything — it's a cheap street-stall trinket, three for ten bucks. No need to compensate, really!"
"That won't do."
"Rules are rules. You can't just change them on a whim."
Liu Yutong bent down, picked up the bracelet — now snapped into two pieces — and dangled it in front of the bald shopkeeper's eyes.
"Tell you what, I won't make things hard for you."
"This bracelet — since you sold it for twenty-five hundred, double the compensation for damage would be five thousand. I'll pay you that."
"But..."
She pointed at the sign that was broken in half: "This sign is worth far more than your bracelet. At ten times the value, that's twenty-five thousand. Damaged, double the compensation — that's fifty thousand."
"Fifty thousand minus five thousand — you still owe me forty-five thousand."
"I didn't get the math wrong, did I?"
The sharp-mouthed shopkeeper: "..."
How was he supposed to answer that?
Liu Yutong tossed the bracelet at him and held out her hand again. "Pay up."
The bald shopkeeper was on the verge of tears. "I... I don't have that much money, ma'am."
"Really?"
"Really!"
Liu Yutong took a step back and glanced at Yun Cheng behind her. "Yun Cheng."
"Here." Yun Cheng rolled up his sleeves, expressionless.
The bald shopkeeper's face changed dramatically, and he quickly begged for mercy again: "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! Ma'am! Granny! Please, have mercy, let me off the hook — I won't dare do it again! Never again!"
There was no pity in Liu Yutong's eyes. "When you were bullying her just now, why didn't you say, 'Let her off the hook'?"
"Besides, how many people you've swindled on this street — you know that better than anyone. Running into me today is just your bad luck."
The bald shopkeeper opened his mouth but could say nothing.
Liu Yutong gave Yun Cheng another order: "Call some people over to keep these three under control. Gather up all the fake-goods purchase receipts from their shop, and deal with it as it should be dealt with."
"Yes." Yun Cheng immediately made a call to summon backup.
After handing off the matter, Liu Yutong finally came over to Xu Yi.
"You alright?"
The senior schoolmate from her previous life hadn't cried when she was surrounded by those men, but now being asked this by Liu Yutong, she felt her nose sting.
She quickly sniffled and thanked her repeatedly.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"My name is Xu Yi. I'm a law student at BS University. What's yours?"
"Liu Yutong. HS Province, Finance University."
"Miss Liu, thank you so much! If it weren't for you just now, I really don't know what I would have done."
Xu Yi bowed again. "I... let me treat you both to a meal!"
Liu Yutong nodded and accepted right away. "Sure!"
"But I'd like to eat at your school cafeteria."
Xu Yi was taken aback, clearly not expecting that request, but then smiled. "Alright, then I'll take you to the campus. Our cafeteria's dan dan noodles are known to be amazing."
"Let's go!"
The group quickly made their way to two black Mercedes parked by the roadside.
Xu Yi looked at the two black cars without much surprise — she had already guessed that this Miss Liu was probably some wealthy heiress.
After all, she was out with two bodyguards, so riding in Mercedes made perfect sense.
Soon, they arrived by car at the university gate.
The main entrance of BS University was an ancient gray stone archway, its lintel carved with bold, powerful characters said to have been personally inscribed by a historical figure.
Xu Yi led Liu Yutong through the archway and down the straight ginkgo avenue, entering the campus.
Lined along both sides of the road were many old, aged teaching buildings — gray bricks, dark tiles, their walls covered in thick ivy, a lush expanse of green against the dark red window frames, giving off a sense of history.
"Our school has a long history. It traces back to a school founded before the founding of the nation. Through several mergers, it became what is now BS University." Xu Yi introduced as they walked, a note of pride in her voice.
Liu Yutong nodded. As she saw those familiar buildings, a trace of nostalgia surfaced in her eyes.
She knew this place all too well.
In her previous life, she had spent four full years here.
During autumn and winter, the ginkgo avenue would turn into a golden tunnel, breathtakingly beautiful — so many people from outside the campus would come specifically to take photos.
That intersection ahead, turning left, led to the library, where she once pulled all-nighters studying for the bar exam, dozing off at the desk when she was tired, then splashing water on her face and continuing to memorize legal provisions.
Further down was the cafeteria, where she loved the dan dan noodles.
About three yuan a bowl, the lady serving food recognized her and would always add an extra scoop of crushed peanuts.
And that red building for the law school — the debate club was on the third floor. She had once taken second place in the provincial intercollegiate debate tournament with her teammates there.
Later, after graduation, she had been reborn back into 2007.
And now, in this life, she had returned to her old alma mater in the most unexpected way.
"Miss Liu? Miss Liu?" Xu Yi noticed Liu Yutong was lost in thought and waved a hand in front of her face.
Liu Yutong snapped back to reality. "What is it?"
"You zoned out just now. Did you think our school is too plain?"
"No, it's just... it feels familiar."
"Familiar? Have you been to our school before?"
"Maybe I've been here in my dreams."
"In your dreams? Really? Then maybe you've dreamed of me too."
"Maybe I actually have."
"Hahaha... Miss Liu, you sure know how to joke."
"So, you're from Finance University — what's your major, by the way?"
"Business Administration."
"Business Admin, huh. That's nice too."
The two chatted casually, until Xu Yi suddenly asked: "You know, it's strange, Miss Liu — I feel like I've heard your name somewhere before. It feels so familiar, like we've met before. But I'm absolutely sure this is the first time we've seen each other."
"Really?"
"Maybe you saw me in the news." Liu Yutong said casually.
"News?" Xu Yi was even more puzzled.
A college student at Finance University — how would they end up in the news?
But she didn't press further. She showed Liu Yutong and the others around the campus for a good while, and as the sky gradually darkened, she led them toward the cafeteria.
"Come on, dinner's on me!"
BS University had several cafeterias, and the one they came to was the largest on campus.
Xu Yi led them up to the second floor and found a seat by the window. "What do you two want to eat? I'll go buy it."
"Anything's fine—just get whatever you recommend," Liu Yutong said.
"Okay, our cafeteria's dan dan noodles and brown sugar glutinous rice cakes are especially good, and the bon bon chicken is a must-try. I'll grab a few things; you guys sit and rest for a bit."
With that, Xu Yi got up and headed to the counter, and Yun Cheng followed along to help carry the trays.
Liu Yutong sat in her seat, her gaze sweeping across the students coming and going in the cafeteria. For a moment, she felt a strange sense of being out of sync with time.
Nothing had changed.
The longest line still stretched in front of the dan dan noodle window, the serving auntie's hand still shook with that familiar little tremor every now and then, the "Clean Plate Campaign" slogan still hung on the wall just as she remembered, and the old TV set in the corner was still broadcasting the evening news.
So many places, so many details—exactly as they had been in her past life's memory.
