Gritting his teeth, Alan Cooper pulled himself together and once again began his boring attempts.

Go back! Return! Retreat! Backward! BACK!

Suddenly, as Alan Cooper lay there, he felt his body move. But when he blinked and looked around, he could only shake his head helplessly—nope, still no reaction.

Just as he was about to give up, with a creak, the small room’s door opened without warning.

His mom poked her head in and said to her son, “You read your book by yourself. I’m going over to Aunt Xu’s for a bit. I heard her son is also taking the civil service exam this year, and at the same test site as you. I’ll see if he can help tutor you a bit. Xiao Dong is really good at studying.”

Alan Cooper was stunned, “Huh?”

The same words, the same tone.

This was clearly a scene that had happened about fifty or sixty seconds ago!

Seeing her son’s big reaction, his mother blinked nervously and said in a low voice, “I know you care about saving face, but her son Xiao Dong almost got a perfect score on the administrative aptitude test in last year’s national exam. If he explains things to you, your chances of passing will be a bit higher.”

Alan Cooper said blankly, “That’s not what I meant.”

His mom looked at his expression, “So, should I go?”

After his mother left, Alan Cooper slapped his own forehead hard. It worked, it actually worked!

Suppressing his excitement, he quickly grabbed a small orange plastic alarm clock and stared unblinkingly at the time, silently chanting the “spell” again.

Go back! Return! Retreat! Backward! BACK!

Alan Cooper kept muttering like this from afternoon until evening, and after eating, from evening into the night. Finally, his persistence paid off. At 12:02:28 a.m., time reversed again, going back to 12:01:28—a full minute!

The joy in Alan Cooper’s heart was beyond words.

He knew the alarm clock’s time might be off, so he quickly turned on the old 29-inch CRT color TV.

In the upper right corner of a late-night military program, there was a time display—23:59:19.

It took about nineteen seconds to turn on the TV and switch channels, which meant that the moment he used “Return” was exactly midnight. Blinking, he boldly speculated: could this “Return” be centered on midnight, usable only once per day, and each use would take him back exactly sixty seconds?

God!

If that’s really the case, then fate is really looking out for him!!

Chapter 3【Evelyn Carter】

Noon.

11:40.

His mom was busy washing vegetables and cooking in the kitchen. After helping her pick two stalks of celery, Alan Cooper had nothing else to do, so he wandered into the living room and stared at the TV. Right now, Alan Cooper was desperately hoping today would pass quickly, so he could test tomorrow whether the time-reversal ability would still work. If it didn’t, all his excitement would have been for nothing.

Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong.

The doorbell rang.

Alan Cooper went over and twisted the handle. A gentle waft of perfume greeted him, and through the security door, a stunningly beautiful face appeared—it was Evelyn Carter from next door, apartment 302. Soft eyes, long lashes, fair little face—she was absolutely enchanting. Today, Evelyn Carter wore a light-colored office outfit, her shapely hips forming a curve under her skirt, long legs wrapped in sheer stockings, and white high heels on her feet—she exuded the charm of a mature woman.

“Uh, please come in.” Alan Cooper didn’t dare look at her for long, hurriedly opening the door to let her in.

“Hehe, I’m just dropping by.” Evelyn Carter’s alluring, shapely legs stepped inside—tap, tap—the sound of her heels was soft and pleasant.

His mom came out of the kitchen, “Yunxuan, you’re here? Day off today?”

Evelyn Carter glanced toward the kitchen with her captivating eyes and smiled warmly, “A day off. Sister Luan, you’re cooking, right? Don’t bother, why don’t you and Xiaobin come eat at my place later?”

His mom was a bit taken aback, “No, no, I’ve already chopped the vegetables.”

Evelyn Carter thought for a moment and lowered her eyes, “Well… I just bought some groceries, so I’ll bring them over and cook a few dishes here. Let’s all eat together.” Before Alan Cooper and his mom could say anything, Evelyn Carter turned and went home, bringing over several bags of meat and vegetables. She also took a white shirt from another bag, held it up to Alan Cooper, and then smiled with a dimple, “Auntie bought you a shirt. I don’t know if it fits, hmm, hmm, looks good, try it on. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll exchange it.”

Alan Cooper said awkwardly, “You really didn’t have to buy me clothes.”

Evelyn Carter blinked her lashes and playfully tapped his nose, “Come on, change.”

In the past, Evelyn Carter would at most chat with Alan Cooper—she would never have done something so intimate. Alan Cooper blushed, but thinking that he could get this close to his goddess, he couldn’t help but feel secretly excited. Unable to resist Evelyn Carter’s urging, Alan Cooper awkwardly took off his T-shirt and put on the casual white shirt.

Evelyn Carter smiled as she buttoned it up for him, “Mm, mm, it fits well.”