Chi Ting checked the closet. Once he opened it, the rabbit gentleman doll fell out as expected, and the school uniform tie was placed neatly in its original place.
He asked casually when he went downstairs to eat, and Chi Yuan’s answer completely confirmed it. He had indeed started another ordinary day like December 29th.
As he went out, the door of the next room opened, and Gloria came out. She still looked at him with the same vigilant eyes.
Chi Yuan’s enthusiastic voice broke the awkwardness. “Hello, Gloria. Are you going to school too?”
Gloria responded, and they walked into the elevator together. They slowly reached the first floor and went their separate ways.
“Ah Ting, please stop teasing Gloria when you have nothing to do.”
Chi Ting heard Chi Yuan say this and responded with an unclear emotion. “Yes.”
“It is just in front. We’re almost there,” Chi Yuan said as she quickened her pace. In the midst of the clear sound of her high heels, Chi Ting looked to the side with foresight and saw the figure walking the dog downstairs.
The dog still had the black metal bracelet on its paw.
After getting in the car and looking out the window, he could see an old lady taking her granddaughter to school, a child running with balloons, elementary school students crossing the road hand in hand, and a delivery man who was hurriedly delivering food… Every scene that appeared in his field of view was exactly the same way as the day before.
There was no virtual barrier that should be seen on the map boundary. Both the vehicles and pedestrians coming and going seemed to be busy with their own affairs. It looked so plain and fulfilling.
But the more fulfilling it was, the more subtle this type of life became.
A cycle.
There was no doubt that he was caught in a very strange cycle.
He was reliving an ordinary and mundane day belonging to Ah Ting.
“I’ll pick you up after school.” Chi Yuan left these words and drove away.
Chi Ting looked up and glanced at the pink building not far away. He lifted the strap of his bag onto his shoulder and walked towards the school gate with other students.
He arrived at the classroom, and the day’s schedule hadn’t changed as expected.
The teachers came in one after another. The course content and process of each day’s study remained exactly the same. Even the students who were called upon to stand up and answer questions were exactly the same as the previous times.
Chi Ting sat at his seat. His eyes were fixed on the blackboard in front of him, but his thoughts were obviously not here.
By now, everything was clear.
The most important rule in this instance was the loop.
In this way, combined with the contents of the diary, he could finally draw a rough conclusion.
At first, Ah Ting was indeed a very ordinary person living in the world. He got up on time every day, went to school on time, and left school on time. He lived a repetitive life with his sister.
Gradually, he started to discover the weirdness of the world he lived in. He started to feel panicked and terrified. Then once he gradually became aware of the existence of ‘it’, all time completely stopped, and he was completely left on the day of December 29th.
It was only by finding ‘it’ that he could break free from the current predicament and get out of here completely.
So, if he was in a world where time was stuck in a repetitive cycle, how could he identify the existence of ‘it.’
Chi Ting looked up and silently scanned everyone in the classroom.
Was ‘it’ his classmate in this classroom, a teacher in the school, or somewhere outside the school?
The only thing that could be judged now was that since it could attract Ah Ting’s attention, it must exist somewhere he could reach.
If everything here was caused by it, then it was obvious that it shouldn’t be controlled by the cycle of this world. In other words, apart from him who was now ‘Ah Ting’, it was the only existence in this world that could still have independent thinking.
If this logic was correct, did it mean that all he had to do was find someone who behaved differently every day?
Chi Ting withdrew his thoughts and started to recall one by one how each person had behaved when he met them before.
The day passed quickly. The bell rang for the end of the class, but there were still no obvious gains.
Chi Ting turned his head and saw the girl outside the window.
He walked over and received another love letter that she shyly handed over.
“Thank you for liking me.” Chi Ting didn’t open it in a hurry. He simply thanked her and turned to leave while the girl was stunned.
It was the busy time to get out of class. Once he left the school gate, Chi Yuan was already waiting there.
Chi Ting opened the back door and got in. As expected, he saw the promotional posters of Cindura Restaurant and the Starry Sky Arcade.
Chi Yuan noticed his gaze. “Oh, it is a flyer that someone handed on the street. Just put it aside.”
“Yes,” Chi Ting didn’t reach out to take it. He just looked out the window.
He carefully observed every scene he saw on the road, trying hard to remember them in his mind.
After returning home, everything was as peaceful as the day before.
Chi Ting finished washing up and sat at the head of the bed. He reviewed everything he had experienced today. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anything wrong based on his existing memory.
He thought for a moment before turning his attention to the diary on the desk.
If nothing unexpected happened, the content should change again after he woke up.
Once December 29th began again, could he leave some mark on the new day?
Chi Ting found a piece of paper, scribbled a few words on it, and put it on the table.
His eyes swept over the calendar, and he thought for a moment. Once again, he tried to tear off the page representing number 29 and throw it into the trash can.
Once he was done, he lifted the quilt, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes.
The peaceful night passed again.
The first thing Chi Ting did after opening his eyes and getting up was to look at the desk.
As expected, the note he placed there yesterday had disappeared. Even the page of paper he had torn off was perfectly restored to its original state. On the calendar on the other side, the data of December 29th was displayed neatly.
Obviously, he was back to the beginning of the day.
It seemed that the previous attempt had failed. He couldn’t leave any clues for himself when he returned to a new day.
There was no support from any items and no way to get notifications through records. It seemed that the only one he could rely on in this instance was himself.
Chi Ting sighed helplessly. He got up and dressed. Then he walked over skillfully, took out the diary, and turned to the last page.
Not surprisingly, the content had changed again.
[December 29, 20XX, sunny.
See ‘it?’ It is right there, looking at me.
I can’t go on like this. Haven’t you noticed yet? If I continue like this, I’ll ■■■■! Hurry up, there is no time!!!]
As always, the eye-catching and dazzling font color directly caught the eye.
What surprised Chi Ting was that part of the content of this diary had obviously been erased.
He wanted to identify it, but in the end, he had to give up with regret.
From this perspective, Ah Ting must’ve realized something again but was noticed by ‘it’. So, it refused to pass on the message in this way.
But what exactly would it be?
He hadn’t discovered it yet… did he have to discover something through such experiences day after day?
The sound of footsteps outside the door interrupted Chi Ting’s thoughts. He sighed softly and pressed the handle accurately without waiting for the door to be opened.
Chi Yuan was still holding her hand out and was obviously caught off guard by Chi Ting’s sudden opening of the door. Then she heard Chi Ting slowly say, “Why are you still wasting time here? Hurry up, or you will be late today!”
Even the tone and expression were imitated exactly. Chi Ting smiled gently. “Are you going to tell me this, dear sister?”
Chi Ting was stunned for a long time. Then she looked at Chi Ting with some doubt. “Um… you know. Then why don’t you hurry up?”
“I got it. I’ll put on my school uniform tie and be right there,” Chi Ting responded before turning to walk toward the closet.
The moment he opened the door, the rabbit gentleman doll fell out from the other side again. He lowered his eyes, glanced at it, and picked it up to put it back. He took out his tie and put it on properly. He thought for a while before taking something out of the drawer of his desk, putting it in his pocket.
He went downstairs and had breakfast. Then Chi Ting followed Chi Yuan out.
He looked back as if he had foreseen it. Sure enough, as he was waiting for the elevator, the door of the next room opened with a click.
This time, Chi Ting had already walked over. He saw that Gloria was about to hide after seeing him, so he reached out and grabbed the girl by the collar, bringing her to him with ease.
Their eyes met, and Chi Ting suddenly smiled. Before the other person could speak, he took out something from his pocket and handed it to her. “This is a small gift to apologize for teasing you before. Do you like it?”
Gloria was obviously stunned. She saw Chi Ting’s sincere gaze, so she blinked slowly. Even so, she reached out to take the pendant of a little man. “I like it.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Chi Ting smiled and patted her on the head. “I have to go to school now. I’ll play with you when I’m free.”
Gloria stared at Chi Ting for a long time. She only turned around and walked away when the elevator arrived. She looked as if she was very confused about this person’s sudden change of character.
After coming out of the apartment lobby and heading to the parking space, Chi Yuan said, “Ah Ting, don’t tease Gloria…”
There was a sudden pause in her words. “Hmm? You didn’t seem to tease her today. Why would I say that?”
“Yes, why?” Chi Ting responded nonchalantly. He glanced at the middle-aged man walking his dog not far away. He grabbed the hot dog left over from breakfast and threw it over casually as he walked by.
For a time, there was a burst of barking from the dog.
Without looking any further, Chi Ting sat in the back seat. The car started and he slowly looked outside.
It was indeed another peaceful and beautiful new day.
So, what should he do today?
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