Dandelions on the Playground

When the cold seawater swallowed his mouth and nose, the last thing Zheng Qingye saw was the flashing police lights on the shore. At the age of thirty-five, his hard-working academic paper was plagiarized by his tutor. His girlfriend of five years took away all his savings and disappeared. He was also labeled with academic misconduct by fabricating evidence, and he was reduced from a rising star in the academic world to a street rat overnight. His consciousness sank into darkness and suddenly exploded, and the dazzling sunlight made it difficult for him to open his eyes. The teacher's chalk dust fell from the podium, and September 15, 2012 was written on the blackboard. He touched the desk tremblingly and saw the face in the mirror with pimples still on his face - he was seventeen years old again. His heart was beating wildly, and the betrayal and pain of the future were still burning in his bones. He gripped the pen so tightly that his knuckles turned white. This year was the summer when he met his "beloved". It was also the whirlpool of pain that was hardest for him to forget. When the bell rang, he did not rush to the basketball court like in his previous life, but went straight to the library. Running his fingertips over the familiar bound volume of the journal, he clearly remembered that the core argument that would be plagiarized in the future was hidden in a certain inconspicuous essay. This time, he wanted to write his own footnotes with his own hands. On the way to school, the figure that broke his heart passed by him, and Zheng Qingye didn't look away. The sea breeze blew over the young man's thin shoulders, carrying a salty hope. This time, he wants to turn all his debts and disappointments into medals for the future.