The Time-Traveling Simp Chapter 1

After Chase finally became my boyfriend, he was ruthless in hunting down "the other woman."

He would throw a fit if I ate with a colleague.

He would cry if I said hello to a neighbor.

When my ex got hit by a car and I went to visit him, Chase went absolutely berserk.

Suffocated by his possessiveness, I got into a huge argument with him outside the hospital room.

"I was just delivering a fruit basket!" I yelled.

"Yeah, well, I used the 'pretending to be sick' trick to get you in the first place!" he shot back, his eyes rimmed with red.

"Don't think I didn't hear him! He just said if he had another chance, he'd cherish you and wouldn't let me take advantage of the situation."

"Nora, if we did it all over again, I wouldn't be the 'other man' either! A man needs dignity this time!"

As he wished.

The next day, everything reset to the day my ex first introduced Chase to me.

* * *

Last night, Chase stormed out with red eyes, slamming the door.

He always runs away when we fight. I was used to it.

Thinking he'd soothe himself and come back乖乖 tomorrow, I climbed into our king-sized bed and slept peacefully.

When I woke up, I was lying on a twin XL mattress in a college dorm.

My roommate pulled back the curtain.

"You up? Your boyfriend texted me saying you weren't replying and asked me to wake you."

I picked up my phone, bewildered.

A message from Ethan popped up instantly.

Ethan: Still sleeping? Get up and put on makeup.

Ethan: My roommate is treating us to dinner today.

Staring at the word "roommate," my heart skipped a beat.

I recalled Chase's tearful face last night and the words choked in his throat.

"Nora, if we did it all over again, I wouldn't be the 'other man' either! A man needs dignity this time!"

After a few seconds of silence, I replied.

Me: Sorry Ethan, I'm not feeling well today. Apologize to your roommate for me.

Ethan called immediately. I hesitated, then answered.

"What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

The voice of teenage Ethan wasn't much different from my memory.

I made up an excuse and hung up.

Lying in bed, I tossed and turned.

This year, Ethan and I were the model couple everyone envied.

No one expected things to get so ugly six months later.

My head was a mess, so I got up to take a hot shower.

When I returned, my roommate turned to me.

"Your phone kept ringing. No caller ID, so I didn't answer."

I walked over and picked it up. Seeing the familiar number, my heart missed a beat.

It rang again. I swiped to answer.

The person on the other end was silent, like they were in a standoff.

I didn't speak either.

Finally, ten seconds later, Chase gritted out a few words.

"Nora Quinn, good for you!"

He hung up.

I climbed back into bed and rubbed my temples.

Clearly, Chase had traveled back too.

Because the Chase of this time didn't know me yet and wouldn't have my number.

We were supposed to meet at dinner tonight, introduced by Ethan.

But I didn't go.

And he was angry again.

But this time, I wanted to give him a chance to choose again.

In our past life, Chase and I were together for three years. He spent two and a half of them angry.

I didn't mind, but I often saw him sitting up at night crying.

I was worried he'd die of anger eventually.

The next day, Ethan called, saying he was downstairs at my dorm.

I hesitated, then asked, "Are you alone?"

Ethan paused. "Yeah, who else?"

I couldn't describe the feeling.

Chase didn't come. It seemed he also accepted that everything was back on track.

"Thanks for breakfast."

I took the food. Ethan reached out to ruffle my hair.

"Why so polite today?"

But my subconscious dodge made things awkward.

Ethan's eyes darkened for a second, then returned to normal.

"I have a basketball game this afternoon. Come bring me water."

As a girlfriend, bringing water to declare sovereignty seemed mandatory.

But Ethan never used to let me go.

I remembered clinging to him and whining, "Are you afraid other girls will get jealous?"

Ethan had pushed me away gently, guilt written all over his face, but back then I was too blind to see it.

"I..."

I didn't want this "honor" anymore.

While I was thinking of an excuse, Ethan leaned in.

I stepped back abruptly. The darkness in his eyes deepened.

"Babe, what's wrong with you today?"

I laughed dryly and changed the subject. "What water do you want?"

Seeing me agree, his expression improved.