5. It Was Him Again!

“He’s the captain of our college basketball team. How could he not be famous?” Felicity explained.

Once again, Ayleen was left speechless upon hearing this fact about Sea that she had never known before.

Oh, just finding out that Sea Finley was attending the same university as her had already been a huge surprise.

And now she was learning yet another fact, Sea Finley had already been famous back then.

So why hadn’t she known?

Ugh, the more she thought about it, the more helpless Ayleen felt.

Most likely, her past self had been too focused on her studies to pay much attention to what was going on around her.

Ah, she also felt a little regret that she hadn’t known about Sea. If only she’d known and remembered that he was also a graduate of the same university as her, she wouldn’t have felt so awkward meeting him during the announcement of the film adaptation of one of her novels that night.

She recalled that night again and furrowed her brow when she remembered that Sea had glanced at her.

Oh, no. She needed to correct that. She and Sea had looked at each other.

Hm, could it be that he remembered me?

Wait, but how could that be? It was clear that in their previous lives, she and Sea had never even spoken to each other.

It didn’t seem like there was any good reason for Sea to remember her.

Ayleen quickly dismissed the thought that had just crossed her mind.

“I’ve heard he just broke a few female students’ hearts all at once,” Elizabeth said in a low voice.

Felicity cleared her throat softly and whispered, “No one’s ever seen him with a girl. Well, I mean … he’s really handsome but doesn’t care about … women. A lot of people think he’s ….”

The girl shrugged, not continuing as if she didn’t want to gossip.

Meanwhile, Ayleen could only give them a shocked look.

What were her friends thinking? Ayleen shook her head, staring at them in disbelief.

Jasper, noticing the shock clearly etched on Ayleen’s face, immediately said, “That’s exactly why … you’d better just get that handsome guy out of your head.”

Ayleen blinked in confusion, staring helplessly at her friend. “What else do you mean?”

Jasper just grinned in response, having absolutely no intention of answering Ayleen’s question.

However, when Ayleen turned to her other best friend, the young girl was actually willing to speak up.

“What Jasper means is … you clearly don’t stand a chance at all, Ayleen. He … how could he possibly like you? So … forget about him. Just find another guy,” Elizabeth said with a reassuring smile.

“You … there’s no way he’d even notice you,” Felicity replied, seeming to agree wholeheartedly with what Jasper and Elizabeth had said.

Oh, Ayleen immediately understood and quickly spoke up so they wouldn’t get the wrong idea, “You’re misunderstanding. I don’t have a crush on him.”

“Not at all,” Ayleen added, making a cross with her hands.

But, strangely, the emphasis on her last sentence made Elizabeth smile dismissively, clearly not believing Ayleen.

“Are you sure?” Jasper asked with an irritating smirk.

Ayleen really wanted to kick Jasper’s leg. But, in reality, she didn’t go through with an action that would be considered rude. She could only let out a sharp sigh.

At that moment, she tried hard not to look in the direction of Sea Finley, who was sitting just a few meters away from her.

She didn’t know what was happening to her, but she felt that the man’s presence in a year she’d never expected made her so curious.

However, she chose to push those thoughts aside for the moment. She tried to get through the day while still appearing normal in front of her friends.

She didn’t remember everything that happened that year. After all, it had been ten years ago.

Obviously, she couldn’t possibly remember the finer details, except for a few important things, such as the arrival of a new professor in her department.

“He’s really handsome, isn’t he?” Elizabeth murmured softly, clearly teasing her best friend on purpose.

Felicity smiled mockingly, “Is that all there is in your head—handsome guys and not-so-handsome guys?”

Elizabeth snorted in annoyance, while Ayleen suddenly said, “I’m heading home.”

“Where are you going?” Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Somewhere,” Ayleen said, immediately standing up, intent on leaving as soon as possible.

Jasper narrowed his eyes, looking suspicious.

Ayleen rolled her eyes and said again, “It’s an emergency.”

“An emergency? Do you need help?” Jasper asked sincerely.

Ayleen waved her hand, gently declining. She quickly walked away before her friends could ask any further questions.

Oh, she had to calm down. She needed time to process everything.

She remembered a few things clearly and began walking with long strides.

Back then, she didn’t own a vehicle yet and always relied on public transportation to get around.

So, she hurried to the nearest bus stop, which was only a few hundred meters from her faculty building.

As far as she could recall, back then there were no payment codes like there were in 2025, so she made sure to have the exact fare ready.

As soon as she boarded the bus, she walked straight to the back without hesitation. However, once again, she discovered something that took her by surprise.

The woman in her thirties—trapped in the body of a girl in her twenties—stopped walking before reaching her favorite seat.

Her feet froze suddenly. Her eyes locked onto the young man sitting in that seat. The young man, wearing a black shirt over a black T-shirt, had white earbuds in his ears, creating a striking contrast.

It was him again.

Sea Finley.

She silently repeated the name of the young man who, in the future, would become the main character in her novel.

Why am I running into him again? Isn’t this happening too often? Ayleen wondered.

Without realizing it, she hadn’t taken her eyes off the tall man and had been staring at him for several seconds without blinking.

The man Ayleen was staring at, his brow furrowed, suddenly looked back at her and furrowed his brow.

He took his earbuds out of his ears and asked without looking away, “What’s up? Want to switch seats?”

What does he mean? Does he know I want to sit there? Ayleen thought, confused.

Ayleen blinked, instantly snapping out of her reverie.

Her face flushed with embarrassment. Biting her lower lip, she asked in return, “Switch seats? You mean … I should sit in that seat?”

“Yes,” Sea replied.

Ayleen was about to answer, but before she could, Sea had already stood up from the seat.

“Go ahead!” the man said casually, completely unfazed.

But instead of sitting down right away, Ayleen remained standing, not moving a muscle. She looked dazed.

Sea said, “Sit down! The bus is about to leave.”

Ayleen blinked once more and quickly sat down in the seat previously occupied by the young man, who then sat across from her.

Ayleen really wanted to ignore it, but a sense of curiosity gnawed at her. She turned to look at the man, who was no longer listening to music.

As if he knew he was being stared at, Sea rolled his eyes and asked, “What’s up?”

Ayleen hesitated slightly. But her curiosity overcame her hesitation, and she opened her mouth to ask, “How … did you know I wanted to sit here?”