Chapter 6: Cherry Trees and Lost Years

I’d only just transmigrated! How could I know Chase from high school? Still doesn’t make sense. So he told me a story.

Back in his first year of high school, Chase’s grandfather fell ill at the nursing home. His parents were busy, so Chase volunteered to take half a semester off. He already knew everything at school anyway. The road to the nursing home was lined with cherry trees, and at that time of year, the petals were everywhere. He didn’t like that road. Until one day, while biking past, a white canvas shoe fell from a tree and landed in his basket. He braked hard and looked up. A girl in an oversized blue school uniform peered down through the branches, her messy hair and big eyes forming a guilty, crescent-moon smile. “Can you throw my shoe back up?”

Only me.

He did as she asked. She put on her shoe and climbed down. Her jacket was bulging. When she unzipped it, there was a little rubber ball inside. The girl tossed it over the wall, where a bunch of kids cheered. “You brats, if you kick it out again, I’m not helping!”

She smoothed her hair. “I’m Harper Madison. Thanks for your help!”

Classic Harper.

That’s how Chase met his first friend in Maple Heights. This girl, Harper, was always cheerful, but often said strange things like, “If I had to time travel, why’d it have to be to high school? The universe hates me!”

He never stood a chance.

“Why did I have to land in the science track? Physics, chemistry, math—they’re all out to get me!”

Relatable.

Chase figured she was just stressed about grades and offered to tutor her. Before he knew it, he became her personal homework slave. He tried to teach, but she just wanted to read comics. “Just wing it—I’ll only be here for six months at most, so what’s the point?”

She’s got priorities.

“Don’t look at me like I’m a hopeless case—I’m a top student in the humanities, okay!”

Chase could only sigh. “Where are you going?”

No clue.

Harper scratched her head. “No idea. The system glitched and sent me here. According to the plot, I should be sent to the talent show timeline soon.”

Wild.

Chase understood. “You want to be a star.”

He’s quick.

“You need a degree to be a star. When you’re ready, come find me—I’ll sign you up for an arts prep class.”

Not much has changed.

Harper: “You know about that?”

He’s got connections.

Chase nodded. His family had an entertainment company, though it wasn’t doing well. If Harper wanted to be a star, he’d have to take it more seriously. …Harper invited him to dinner. “I’ll make chicken! A feast.”

This should be interesting.

Chase believed her, only to find she’d boiled the whole chicken at once. “You just boiled it whole?”

Epic fail.

“Yeah. Don’t judge—it all tastes the same.”

Chase sighed again, realizing he’d better learn to cook. Later, his grandfather took a turn for the worse. Chase waited at the hospital, hands clenched white. Harper rushed in. “I skipped class to be with you.”

Tough times.

His parents were always busy, and he’d grown up with only drivers and nannies. He thought he was tough, but only then did he realize what it meant to have someone by your side. The doctor brought out the consent forms. After Chase signed, Harper was shocked. “Your name is Chase Bennett???”

Plot twist.

“I thought you said it was Chase Carter?”

“That’s the name Grandpa gave me. My parents didn’t like it, so they changed it.”

Makes sense.

But Harper was still reeling. “Crap, I became friends with the protagonist. I messed up the plot—I can’t be the villainess now!”

Uh-oh.

In her world, she’d already died. If she couldn’t transmigrate, she’d really be gone. “Don’t worry. Your grandfather will be fine.”

Stay positive.

Harper decided to go with the flow and comfort her friend. “Listen, I’m from the future. I know the plot.”

He’s rolling with it.

Harper often said things he didn’t understand, but she never lied. Chase nodded, feeling a bit better. Sure enough, a few hours later, the doctor said the surgery was a success, and Grandpa would recover. At that moment, Harper finally got a system notification: “Timeline corrected. You’ll leave the story tomorrow.”

Here we go.

Harper hesitated, but told Chase. From then on, her body would be controlled by the system—her actions would become those of the foolish villainess from the novel. The plot couldn’t be changed; if it veered too far, she might never get to this world. Her fate was in Chase’s hands. “I have something unbelievable to tell you, but it’s all true!”

Heavy stuff.

“In the future, you’ll fall for a girl named Savannah Parker…”

No pressure.

Chase clenched his fists. “I won’t like her.”

Stubborn.

Harper shrugged. “You haven’t met her yet—the novel says you fall at first sight!”

Famous last words.

“Hey, don’t interrupt. Just listen!”

Let her finish.

…Chase frowned, still a handsome but immature boy, but with a gaze already too mature for his age. Old soul. “Got it. I’ll make sure everything follows your plot.”

He means it.

“Then you have to come back soon.”

See you in five.

Harper nodded. “No problem. If all goes well, we’ll meet again in five years.”

He’s serious.

“I won’t let go of you!”

Curious.

Chase asked one last question. “What did you originally look like?”

Not much has changed.

“Pretty similar—just short hair…”

Bittersweet.

That night, he walked her home and sat on the bench outside her building all night, under the streetlights. The next morning, he saw a familiar girl come downstairs, walk right past him, not recognizing him at all. She’s gone. He wandered back to the nursing home, past the cherry trees. The petals were gone, branches bare. Seasons change. …Later, things played out as Harper described. He met Savannah and helped her from behind the scenes. The only difference was, when Savannah confessed, he coldly rejected her. Savannah’s pointed chin was streaked with tears. “You’re lying! You did all this for me—how could you not like me?”

He waited.

Chase had his secretary send her away. “If you let Miss Parker in again, you’re fired.” Strict boundaries.

Harper also entered showbiz, but the girl he knew never showed up. She said they’d meet in five years—it’d been eight! Liar!

Still missing.