“When did that happen?” He really couldn’t remember anything about borrowing money.

“And you still call yourself my brother? Don’t you have any shame?”

“Hey, what kind of attitude is that, young lady?”

Edward Bolton was about to argue with her when a punk with dyed yellow hair rode up on a roaring Honda motorcycle and pulled up next to Edward Bolton: “Xiaoyue, let’s go, Mr. Carter will take you out for some fun.”

Without a second thought, Edward Bolton climbed onto the bike. William Bolton shouted, “Where are you going?”

“None of your business!”

William Bolton could only watch helplessly as the motorcycle sped off into the distance.

Back home, he got another round of nagging from his mom. From her nagging, he learned that he was a recent graduate from the School of Media at Pengcheng Normal University, failed his postgraduate entrance exam this year, and was currently unemployed at home.

His younger sister Edward Bolton was about to start her senior year of high school, his older sister Charles Bolton was also in Pengcheng, had lost her job two years ago, and opened a snack shop. As for his dad David Bolton, his mom hadn’t mentioned him at all—could he really be dead? William Bolton finished a big bowl of homemade noodles amid his mom’s nagging, then, under the urging of her flip-flops, completed all the chores: washing pots, dishes, wiping the table, and sweeping the floor.

William Bolton’s life reset began right in this smoky, bustling shantytown.

In the afternoon, his mom went to help out at his sister’s shop, leaving him to fend for himself.

As soon as his mom left, his phone rang—it was an unfamiliar number.

He answered, and a pleasant female voice came through the receiver: “William Bolton, where are you?”

“At home!”

“Come out for a bit!”

“Who are you?”

“So stingy. I know I hurt you, but… hey, just come out, there’s something really important I need to tell you in person. Two o’clock, I’ll be waiting for you at Starbucks in Wanda Plaza, East District.”

“Who are you?”

“Keep pretending, go on. I’m Henry Foster.” The other party was clearly annoyed.

“Where? Send me the location.”

There was a pause on the other end, then after a while: “Didn’t you block me?”

“……”

He hung up and checked his phone, but couldn’t even find the WeChat app. Then he remembered it was 2011—WeChat had just launched and wasn’t popular yet. It wouldn’t blow up until two years later. He did have QQ on his phone, but after several failed password attempts, William Bolton decided to give up. In his past life, he’d never really tried hard at anything.

It was already one in the afternoon. He decided to go, curious about what kind of woman could have hurt him.

Wanda Plaza in the East District was right on Metro Line 1. He’d barely ever taken the subway in his life, but after getting off at the station, he easily found Starbucks, pushed open the door, and walked in. The air conditioning was strong, and the aroma of coffee beans filled the air.

William Bolton looked around and spotted a girl in the distance wearing a white baseball cap, a red T-shirt, and jeans, looking back at him. Her hair was straight, her skin was fair, her eyes were big, and her figure was pretty good. By his strict standards, she’d score about 80 points. Their eyes met, and seeing that William Bolton didn’t react, she had to wave at him.

Only then did William Bolton confirm that she was the one who’d asked to meet. He walked over and sat down across from Henry Foster, taking a closer look at this suddenly reappeared ex-girlfriend.

Henry Foster had already ordered two coffees, one for him. William Bolton picked it up and took a sip. The cappuccino was a bit sweet—he preferred black coffee. Clearly, this so-called ex-girlfriend didn’t know him very well.

“So, what do you want?”

Henry Foster nodded, rummaged through her bag, and handed him something. William Bolton thought it was a stir stick at first and almost stuck it in his coffee, but Henry Foster stopped him just in time. Looking closely, he realized it was a pregnancy test.

Henry Foster’s face turned a little red. “I think I’m pregnant…”

“What’s your pregnancy got to do with me?” William Bolton blurted out without thinking.

Henry Foster stared at him in shock, but the shock quickly turned to anger. She gritted her teeth and said, “William Bolton, you’re not going to own up to what you did?”

“But…”

“I know we’ve broken up, but breaking up doesn’t mean you can just shirk your responsibility.”

William Bolton blinked, feeling a bit wronged. Damn it, how come I don’t remember sleeping with you?

“You don’t have to be scared. I’m not trying to cling to you. Just come with me to the hospital, let’s get this sorted out, and then we’ll go our separate ways.” In fact, Henry Foster was more worried that William Bolton would cling to her.

“That’s it?”

“What else do you want? I already gave you a chance—it’s your own fault you didn’t take it.”

“You! You dumped me?” William Bolton was getting closer to the truth. This was a brand new experience—he’d always been the one to dump others before.

“I know I wronged you, but I can’t tie my future to someone so unambitious. Besides, your family’s situation…”

“What did my family ever do to you?”

Henry Foster sighed, not wanting to waste any more time on this topic.

“Are you done with your coffee?”

William Bolton nodded, stood up, and decided to take responsibility for his youthful recklessness and go to the hospital with her. A man should never back down on matters of principle. But the key thing was—why didn’t he remember any of this at all?