Chapter 3  

He walked into the familiar yet unfamiliar high school. The sight of the iconic buildings slowly roused Chen Hansheng’s memories.

He met quite a number of classmates as he walked in. But the moment he wanted to greet them, he would realize that he had forgotten their names.

The only ones beside Wang Zibo that Chen Hansheng had managed to remember were Xiao Rongyi and the boy who stood up for her.

Xiao Rongyu was said to be the most beautiful female student since The First Port City High School was established. At the high school reunion last night, Chen Hansheng had drunkenly confessed to her and ended up getting rejected.

Xiao Rongyu’s reason for rejecting him had always been consistent. She had said that she would not fall in love in middle school, high school, and now, in university.

Port City was quite a small place and almost everyone knew each other. Therefore, it was not surprising that Chen Hansheng’s mother and Xiao Rongyu’s mother knew each other. Xiao Rongyu’s parents worked in the Public Security and Power Supply Bureau, so their family conditions were better.

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But Chen Hansheng was not a loser either. Although he did not like to study, he had pretty average grades. Physically, he was tall and big. Personality-wise, he was not dull. He had even fought with thugs outside of school. His family may not have the best social status, but they weren’t badly positioned either. His parents were civil servants so he never had to worry much about the cost of going to school.

It was because of his background that Chen Hansheng had a hard time understanding why he had been taken back in time and given a second chance. Was it just punishment for drunk driving?

Nevertheless, to him, though there might only be ten years between the ages of eight and eighteen, there was a lifetime of opportunities between the ages of eighteen and twenty-eight.

In fact, Chen Hansheng just had to repeat what he had done before and he could still become an entrepreneur worth hundreds of millions in the future. If he worked a little harder and added a few zeros to his personal assets, it was possible to change the course of his history.

As for the boy who wanted to step on Chen Hansheng to show off in front of Xiao Rongyu, his name was Gao Jialiang. His father was a real estate businessman in Port City. However, business only meant that one could be making money today and losing money tomorrow.

At the reunion many years in the future, Gao Jialang would be toasting Chen Hansheng from a lower position.

…

“Mr. Xu, where is my acceptance letter?”

Chen Hansheng walked into the teacher’s office and called out to a male teacher with a Mediterranean hairstyle.

Mr. Xu’s name was Xu Wen. He was Chen Hansheng’s high school teacher. They had a good relationship, one that allowed them to still call each other brothers even after a fight. When Chen Hansheng had just started working, he could still spare some time to visit him during his hometown visits. However, after a while, they started to lose touch.

Later, Mr. Xu died of lung cancer. Chen Hansheng was overseas at that time, so he could only ask someone to pass his condolences as he didn’t have time to go back and attend the memorial service.

So Chen Hansheng was truly grateful for this opportunity to meet Mr. Xu again.

Mr. Xu turned around and saw that it was Chen Hansheng. He smiled and took out the latter’s copy from the stack of admission letters. As he handed it over, he looked a little disappointed. “I was hoping you could get into the first batch.”

Students like Chen Hansheng did not cause much trouble in school. He was tall and strong, and he could occasionally contribute to the class. Even if the teacher did not have a special preference, they would still like Chen Hansheng.

Chen Hansheng took the admission letter indifferently. “Well, the second batch was the best I could do.”

Wang Zibo, on the other hand, was more respectful around Mr. Xu. “Hello, Teacher Xu. I’m here to collect my admission letter.”

While Mr. Xu was looking for Wang Zibo’s admission letter, Chen Hansheng noticed a pack of Hongjinling. Hongjinling was the best-selling cigarette brand in Sudong Province, especially for the working class. Chen Hansheng’s father also smoked this brand of cigarettes.

“Mr. Xu, you have to smoke less in the future. It’s already stressful to help Grade 12 classes to graduate. Your body might not be able to take it if you keep this up,” said Chen Hansheng as he picked up the pack of cigarettes.

Xu Wen was stunned. Students who came here to get the admission letters mostly said things like ‘Thank you’ or ‘I’ll come to see you more in the future’. But only Chen Hansheng specifically reminded him to smoke less. He even sounded sincere, as if he was an old friend he had not seen in many years.

Mr. Xu was a little touched. Teachers nowadays were either underappreciated or were not dedicated enough. It was hard for both to exist. But there were still students who cared about him so much. This made him feel a little warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Xu Wen started to regret that he had not cared enough about Chen Hansheng in the past, so he immediately agreed. “I’ll definitely smoke less in the future.”

“Easier said than done.” Chen Hansheng conveniently put the pack of Hongjinling in his pocket. “I’ll be the first to make sure you keep your word. So, I’ll be confiscating this pack of cigarettes.”

Mr. Xu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He was not expecting this student to be so concerned as to take things into his own hands. However, he really liked this kind of relationship. Wang Zibo’s respectful attitude only made everyone feel constrained.

Mr. Xu wasn’t the only teacher in the office, and Chen Hansheng and Wang Zibo weren’t the only students there either. The group of students who rode bikes just now was also around. When they saw Chen Hansheng put the cigarettes into his pocket, Gao Jialiang unhappily said, “If such a person can get into university, wouldn’t he just lower university standards?”

A female student decided to stand up for Hansheng. “Chen Hansheng’s grades are usually good. The reason he smokes is probably because-”

The girl caught herself before she could say ‘because of a rejected confession’. Thankfully she did not blurt that out as Xiao Rongyu was around too.

It would have been better if she didn’t talk at all because Gao Jialiang only became more displeased. “He has never been a good person. He fought with gangsters outside of school!”

Gao Jialang was about to continue insulting Chen Hansheng but the latter decided to walk over. “Oh, you’re all here too.”

Gao Jialiang turned his back towards him, so Chen Hansheng just greeted the others. When he saw the envelope in Xiao Rongyu’s hand, he chuckled and asked, “Which school are you going to?”

“Donghai University.”

Xiao Rongyu asked, “What about you?”

“What a coincidence. I’ll be in the School of Finance and Economics across the street from you. I guess we’ll be neighbors in the future.”

Chen Hansheng didn’t expect Xiao Rongyu to be his future neighbor. It was quite a pity back then, now that he thought about it. There were plenty of beauties in the School of Finance and Economics that he had completely forgotten about Xiao Rongyu, the super beauty.

At this time, Gao Jialiang disdainfully said, “Donghai University has a score of 985 and the School of Finance and Economics is only a second-tier school. I would hardly say you’ll be neighbors!”

Gao Jialiang was also going to be studying at Jianye. He would be in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. But his campus was a few hours away from Xiao Rongyu’s. Thus, it was obvious that he was just jealous that Chen Hansheng would be closer to her.

Chen Hansheng chuckled. ‘If you continue to go against me, I might just take Xiao Rongyu away from you. Then, let’s see how you’ll wail.’

Thinking of this, he happened to see the Siemens mechanical watch on Xiao Rongyu’s wrist. Chen Hansheng asked, “What time is it now?”

Xiao Rongyu subconsciously looked at her wrist. “5:25 pm.”

“It’s a pretty watch. Did you buy it during the summer vacation?”

Chen Hansheng held Xiao Rongyu’s fair hand and pretended to look at the time, but it was intentional. Gao Jialiang looked at him until he was on the verge of tears. ‘F*ck, Chen Hansheng failed to confess last night so he’s decided to just let go of his dignity and go full-on?’

Xiao Rongyu also pulled back and glared at Chen Hansheng.

Chen Hansheng took advantage of the situation and decided not to linger anymore. He called out to Wang Zibo and left behind a group of people who were both shocked and dismayed.

It was exactly 5:30 pm. The school’s loudspeaker began to play a song. Since it was the day students collected their admission letters, they intentionally played Xu Wei’s “Blue Lotus.”.

[Nothing can stop it,

Your yearning for freedom,

A career in the wild,

Your heart is free,

…

Blooming and never dying,

Blue lotus…]

The sight of his juniors as the song played in the background put Chen Hansheng in a very cheerful mood.

“High school is still the best time of one’s life. It’s a pity that I’ve already graduated!”