She had merely been meddling, relying on the "like" mentioned in Julian’s suicide note from her past life.

Her throat felt achingly tight. Clara used all her strength to hold back the tears, turned around, and left.

The next two days were the weekend. Monday was the final day Clara had left in her eighteen-year-old self.

Before leaving the house in the morning, she took one look at the only remaining red page on the calendar on her desk and let out a deep sigh.

Today, no matter what, she had to tell Julian those things.

Even if... he didn't believe her.

The school held an assembly in the playground every Monday.

When Clara rushed to school, the assembly had already begun.

She hurriedly joined her class line, just wanting to ask Quinn if Julian had come today.

Unexpectedly, as she looked up, she saw Cherry and Julian both standing on the stage.

Before she could process what this meant, the principal’s stern voice echoed through the entire campus via the speakers.

"Julian from Class 1, Grade 12, and Cherry from Class 5, Grade 12—the two of you are involved in puppy love and have repeatedly violated school rules! The school has met and decided: Cherry will receive a major demerit, and due to the severity of Julian’s actions, he is directly expelled!"

Chapter 7

Clara was stunned to the core, looking up at the two people on stage in disbelief.

Neither of them felt like a big deal had happened; they looked completely indifferent.

The crowd below was whispering, and after the principal finished, he had all the teachers lead their classes back to their rooms.

Clara followed the line, her eyes fixed on Julian’s direction, wanting to go ask what was going on.

But Julian skipped even the step of returning to the classroom to pack his things; after coming down from the stage, he left the school directly.

What on earth was happening? In her past life, clearly, nothing like this had ever occurred.

Clara turned to ask Quinn: "What exactly happened?"

Quinn lowered her voice: "I don't know either. I only heard that Julian and Cherry were caught on a date off-campus, and combined with Julian skipping class for several days, that’s why this decision was made."

Just then, it was time for Clara’s class line to move toward the teaching building.

Clara, however, gripped her palms tightly and didn't move.

Quinn pulled her: "What’s wrong, Clara?"

In the next second, Clara broke away from her and, without hesitation, turned to chase in the direction Julian had left.

"Clara? Clara!"

Quinn shouted anxiously behind her, but Clara didn't stop, and she couldn't care about the rest of the school staff and students.

Because she knew, if she didn't chase after him now, she would never have the chance to tell Julian about the things from twelve years later.

"Julian! Julian!"

Clara chased out before the gatekeeper had time to close the school gate, only to see Julian getting into a black car.

Her shouts failed to make the car stop; it started up and quickly pulled away.

But Clara didn't give up, putting every ounce of her effort into the chase.

Heaven had given her a chance to start over; it definitely wasn't for her to repeat the old path.

In her past life, she was near thirty, yet she still didn't dare to voice her inner thoughts, didn't dare to walk that narrow bridge; submission to her mother had been etched into her very bones.

Those countless moments of not being able to breathe were, in fact, not unsolvable.

As long as she were a little braver, a little more candid, she could unlock the answer to that problem.

"Julian!"

Finally, at a street corner, Clara’s legs gave out and she fell to the ground.

Julian’s car drove past the corner and disappeared from sight.

Clara looked at the empty intersection, tears streaming down her cheeks like broken beads.

Her resentment toward herself and her regret reached their peak at this moment.

Why hadn't she spoken up sooner? There were so many moments where she could have told Julian, reminded him to be careful—even if Julian didn't believe she had traveled back in time, even if...

Suddenly, a shadow fell over her.

Clara froze. Before she could look up, she heard Julian’s helpless voice.

"Clara, what on earth should I do with you?"

Clara looked up to see the car had returned, and Julian was standing right in front of her.

"Didn't I tell you not to interfere in my affairs?"

Clara regained her senses and spoke anxiously: "But I have something I must tell you..."

Before she could finish, Clara saw one of the bodyguards behind Julian suddenly step forward, one hand hidden behind his back, seemingly gripping something.

At this moment, at this very second, she couldn't explain why.

But acting purely on instinct, she pushed Julian away with all her might—

"Pff—"

A silvery blade pierced into Clara’s body. She opened her eyes wide in shock, the pain so intense she couldn't make a sound.

Julian, who had been pushed aside, turned back to see this scene, his face turning pale in an instant.

"Clara?!"

Chapter 8

Clara fell into Julian’s arms. Through her blurred consciousness, she saw other bodyguards step forward to subdue the man with the knife. She breathed a sigh of relief before looking up at Julian.

“Thank goodness… you’re okay.”

For the first time, Julian was utterly panicked: “Don’t talk, I’m taking you to the hospital right now!”

He carried her into the car and ordered the driver to head to the hospital.

But they were blocked by the Julian family’s bodyguards: “Young Master, you cannot go to the hospital. Your flight is about to take off; you must go to the airport immediately.”

Julian’s eyes were red: “Are you blind?! Don’t you see she’s injured…”

The bodyguard interrupted him: “Her injuries aren’t life-threatening. We will send her to the hospital, but you must get out of the car and head to the airport to go abroad.”

Clara was in so much pain she was nearly fainting, but she heard every word.

She grabbed Julian, her lips trembling.

Julian immediately pressed his ear against her lips: “What do you want to say? Tell me.”

Clara spoke slowly, word by word: “I came from twelve years in the future. Twelve years from now, on December 30, 2025, someone will break your hands and drive you to a mental breakdown and suicide.”

“You must be careful, you have to be careful… I’m fine, don’t worry about me, go to the airport now.”

Julian’s lowered eyelashes fluttered: “I’m not leaving. I want to go to the hospital with you, to see you safe and sound…”

Clara softly interrupted him: “Julian, I love you.”

A sudden silence fell over the car.

Clara fought back tears, forcing a smile: “We will see each other again, believe me.”

“When you come back from abroad, we will reunite. Twelve years from now, we will be together, and we will be very happy.”

Julian trembled slightly: “Promise me you aren't lying. Promise me you will wait for me.”

Clara nodded through her tears, but she could no longer speak a word.

Finally, Julian let go of her and stepped out of the car alone.

The bodyguards made immediate arrangements for the driver to take Clara to the hospital.

Before the car door closed, Clara took one last look at Julian.

As her tears fell, she apologized in her heart.

I’m sorry, Julian, for lying to you.

Clara slowly closed her eyes, as if drifting into a long, long dream.

…

It is unknown how much time had passed when Clara woke up from the darkness.

She opened her eyes to find herself, remarkably, in a cafe.

After a brief moment of confusion, she recognized the place.

She picked up her phone to confirm; the date read—December 31, 2026.

She had indeed returned to the day after Julian’s near-miss, the day she was meant to be set up on a blind date by her mother.

Looking back, fate had truly been changed by her intervention.

After taking the knife for Julian, she had been taken to the hospital; because the wound wasn't critical, the surgery was quick.

When she woke up after the operation, her usually overbearing mother was weeping by her bedside.

Later, after the college entrance exams, her mother stopped forcing her to study finance and let her choose the design major she loved.

As for Julian… in the twelve years since he went abroad, they hadn’t met even once.

Fate had changed, yet it hadn't changed completely.

However, the most important thing had been accomplished.

Clara searched for Julian’s name on her phone several times; there was no news of him having his hands broken or committing suicide.

It seemed they had avoided that outcome.

In an instant, Clara’s eyes stung, and she nearly broke into tears.