Even Love Has an Expiration Date—Don’t Chase Me Now - Chapter 1:

Chapter 1: Rebirth—A Ruthless Rejection of the Campus Belle

[Shinan, help me.] 

[I was wrong, Shinan. He’s a scumbag in disguise.] 

[I’m hiding in the restroom. My body feels so hot. Please come quickly.]

The urgent voice messages kept playing from the phone. Bai Shinan was drenched in sweat, flooring the accelerator as he blew through red lights. The car engine roared, echoing his frantic emotions.

Mu Yuwei, you idiot. How many times did I tell you not to go? Yet you still went behind my back to meet that man.

He was Bai Shinan, 24 years old, just graduated and had been working for two years. The voice messages were from his girlfriend, Mu Yuwei.

Mu Yuwei was the campus belle during high school. Many envied him for winning over such a high-ranking flower, but only he knew how lowly he had to act in this relationship.

They had been dating for six years and had only ever held hands. Every time he wanted to take things further, Mu Yuwei would use marriage as an excuse to brush him off.

Bai Shinan had endured it all. He had chased her for three years in high school and dated her for another four years in university. Mu Yuwei had practically defined his entire youth.

But one thing finally broke him—Mu Yuwei insisted on meeting a scandal-ridden male celebrity in a one-on-one offline session and refused to let him accompany her.

That celebrity was someone Mu Yuwei had idolized since her teen years. Even after numerous scandals, she believed they were all smear campaigns by his rivals and remained devoted. She never missed a single concert, her phone wallpaper was his photo, and her unlock password was his birthday…

“I know you don’t believe in Brother Haotian either, but the truth speaks for itself. This time I’ll prove it to you that all the rumors are just slander from the media against Brother Haotian.”

Her words still echoed in his ears. She had wanted to prove that the celebrity was innocent by meeting him offline. The result was now obvious.

Bai Shinan slammed the accelerator to the floor. It had been ten minutes since the last message from Mu Yuwei. No matter how furious he was, he had to hold it back and rescue her first—after all, she was still his girlfriend.

Boom!

A violent crash knocked him unconscious. Golden stars danced in front of his eyes. Strange… why did it feel like the sky had suddenly turned dark?

Piercing sirens rang out around him, and someone shouted for an ambulance, for fire suppression, for help…

At an intersection, a speeding car crashed into a truck loaded with steel bars. The steel pierced through the driver’s chest, killing him instantly.

In his final moments, Bai Shinan’s memories flashed through his mind like a film reel—
His first shock at seeing Mu Yuwei during the opening ceremony.
Three years of tireless devotion in high school.
Four years of humiliation and compromise in university.
Giving up a high-paying job in the capital after graduation, all for her…

All of it boiled down to one thought—if only he had never met Mu Yuwei.

Bai Shinan, dead, aged 24.

…

“Bai Shinan!”
“Bai Shinan!”
“Bai Shinan, are you even listening? If you keep acting like this, I’m leaving!”

A domineering young lady’s voice grated on his nerves. 

Was he not allowed peace even in death? 

Annoyed to the limit, Bai Shinan finally opened his eyes. Light returned to his world.

He was greeted by a sunset bathed in blood-red hues. A pretty girl in a blue-and-white school uniform stood by the classroom window. The cool spring breeze lifted her hair gently, as if stirring ripples in the air—like a painting.

But the impatience on the girl’s face ruined the serenity. The peaceful scene shattered inch by inch. Bai Shinan’s consciousness fully returned.

He remembered this moment. It was 2012. Three months before the college entrance exams. March 14—White Day. He had chosen this day to confess to Mu Yuwei, and it was the day she became his girlfriend.

But hadn’t he died in a car crash? Was this a dream?

He raised his hand, trying to touch Mu Yuwei’s cheek, to see if she was real.

“Pa!” Mu Yuwei slapped his hand away. The sound alone hurt, and Bai Shinan grimaced from the sting—but what he felt more was the joy of being alive.

“Bai Shinan! What do you take me for? You’re not even my boyfriend yet. Even if you were, you’d still need my consent!”

Mu Yuwei was furious that he tried to take advantage of her.

Bai Shinan ignored her temper and looked around. It was his high school classroom. Right, he had arranged to confess to her after class today.

So… he had been reborn?

“Bai Shinan, are you even listening to me?” Mu Yuwei noticed that he’d been distracted the whole time. He was the one who wanted to confess, yet he looked completely disinterested.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Did you just say I’m not your boyfriend yet?”

“It’s good that you know! It’s already late now. Even if you agree to my conditions, I’ll need to reconsider.”

Mu Yuwei folded her arms. Even while angry, her delicate face was stunning.

Her words jogged his memory. At this point, he had just confessed, and she was laying down her three conditions.

First, during the relationship, Bai Shinan must not cross any physical boundaries unless Mu Yuwei agreed.

Second, he must not interfere with her personal relationships or flaunt his status as her boyfriend.

Third, he must keep a distance from other girls and report in advance if contact was unavoidable.

These were the conditions she set to be his girlfriend. And the beginning of his life’s nightmare. Until the moment he died, these humiliating rules bound him.

Bai Shinan slapped himself. 

What was he thinking back then? 

Why did he even agree to such terms?

“You don’t have to hit yourself. I’m not that petty.” Mu Yuwei assumed he was trying to appease her with action. After all, Bai Shinan had always loved her like a fool.

“Heh. Finished talking?” Bai Shinan sneered, his eyes calm and distant. Mu Yuwei looked to him like a complete stranger.

“Bai Shinan, what kind of attitude is that?” Mu Yuwei was startled. She barely recognized this version of him. The Bai Shinan she knew would never speak to her like that.

“This is just how I am. If you like it, good. If not, tough luck. From now on, you walk your wide road, I’ll cross my narrow bridge. We’ll go our separate ways and never speak again.”

Without looking back, Bai Shinan walked toward the classroom door. If anyone wanted to take on that tragic role, they could go ahead. If he had even a sliver of regret, may he be hit by a car the moment he stepped outside.

“Bai Shinan! Come back!” Mu Yuwei, for the first time, felt like something was slipping out of her control. She couldn’t care about pride anymore and shouted, “If you walk out now, don’t expect me to ever speak to you again!”

But all she got was the image of his carefree back as he left, and a line of poetry—

“I stride out laughing toward the sky. How could a man like me be destined for obscurity?”