Volume One: High School Days Chapter Thirty-One: The First Day of Junior Year
On the last day of summer vacation, after checking in at school in the morning, Liusheng learned he’d been placed in the fast-track science class for the second year of high school, with Liu Meng as a classmate, while Ren Xiadong was assigned to the slow-track science class.
To appease the still-angry Ren Jing, Ren Xiadong invited her out shopping that afternoon.
Liusheng, meanwhile, went alone to Liuyao World Animation Company, where, on that day, the voice work for The Legend of the Ancients was officially completed. Soon after, Senhai’s side began a wave of publicity.
That afternoon, the hype around The Legend of the Ancients set the entire community of Classic of Mountains and Seas enthusiasts ablaze with excitement.
The next morning, Liusheng donned his school uniform for the first time in two months, mounted his electric bike, and headed toward the school.
As he neared the campus, a girl in his school’s uniform suddenly appeared ahead of him. She walked along the roadside, wiping tears from her cheeks.
As he passed, curiosity got the better of Liusheng. He braked, slowed down, and called out to her, “Why are you crying, classmate?”
The girl kept sobbing, ignoring him completely. Liusheng considered riding on, but noticed other students whispering as they passed. He assumed they were talking about the crying girl, so he used his keen hearing to eavesdrop.
“What a jerk—his girlfriend’s crying like this and he won’t even let her ride his bike with him!”
“Exactly! What kind of guy is that? Who knows how many girlfriends he’s got—not like he treasures any of them!”
Liusheng was instantly petrified. “What the hell is this! I was just passing by and asked a question!” he thought.
But then he reconsidered. “They’re all unfamiliar faces—must be first-year students. The junior and senior uniforms are different. Well, if everyone’s misunderstood, I might as well go with it.”
“Come on, hop on. I’ll take you to school,” he said to the girl.
She hesitated, wiped her tears, glanced at him—he was quite handsome, and had taken the initiative to help. She figured it was worth it and climbed onto the back seat of his electric bike.
On the way, Liusheng asked why she was crying, but she kept silent. With nothing else to do, Liusheng fell quiet as well.
At that moment, Ren Xiadong caught up from behind on his mountain bike. He glanced at the girl and quipped, “Impressive! Your ability to move on is truly profound.”
Liusheng hadn’t noticed Ren Xiadong’s arrival and nearly jumped at the sudden voice.
“Next time, could you let me see you before you start talking?” he grumbled.
The girl on the back seat giggled. Soon, the three of them entered the school. At last, the girl spoke up, “Um… could I… borrow some money from you?”
Seeing Liusheng remain silent, she continued, “If you don’t have any, that’s fine. Thank you for giving me a ride.”
She turned to run off, but Liusheng called her back. “How much do you need?”
Her face brightened. “Four hundred seventy. I lost my textbook fee on the way here today.”
“That’s why you were crying as you walked?”
“My parents are both ordinary workers. All their money goes to my education. There’s nothing extra left.”
Liusheng felt sorry for the girl and handed her five hundred yuan. She protested, “I only need four seventy.”
Liusheng thought she was being a bit stubborn. “I don’t have smaller bills. Why don’t you give me thirty back?”
The girl looked worried but said nothing. Liusheng realized she must have lost every cent. “Just keep it for now. We can settle it later.”
“Thank you! I’ll definitely pay you back!” she said, bowing to him.
Just then, Liu Meng, who had just entered the gate, witnessed the scene. After the girl left, Liu Meng walked over and teased, “Looks like you have quite a few girlfriends. Does Sister Xiaoya know?”
At the mention of Xiaoya, Liusheng’s smile vanished. Ren Xiadong pulled Liu Meng aside and told her everything about Xiaoya on purpose, because only a new love could help Liusheng forget the old.
Realizing the situation, Liu Meng hurried to apologize to Liusheng. Seeing Liusheng ignore her, Ren Xiadong joked, “Haven’t seen you all summer and you’ve grown up, Liu Meng.”
“We’re in our second year now, not little kids anymore.”
Ren Xiadong saw that Liu Meng hadn’t caught his meaning, so he held his hands in front of his chest and said, “You’ve grown up, right?”
Suddenly understanding, Liu Meng shot back crisply, “Get lost!”
“You’ve changed—become more and more of a woman. You used to say, ‘Wanna see for yourself?’ Sigh, now I’ve lost a buddy and gained a girly girl.”
Before Liu Meng could retort, Liusheng said, “Alright, time for class.” Then, looking at Liu Meng, he added, “You really have grown up.”
At Liusheng’s words, Ren Xiadong burst out laughing, while Liu Meng blushed and lowered her head.
Ever since Liu Meng fell for Liusheng, she’d indeed shed her former tomboyishness, becoming gentler and more feminine.
When Liusheng entered his classroom, he saw that two-thirds of the students were from other classes. After the first year, many had dropped out; now there were only two humanities and two science classes, each split into fast and slow tracks.
As Liusheng walked in, Li Dong called out from the crowd, “Here’s that monster who’s always first in every exam—Liusheng!”
Everyone knew Liusheng—not just a top student, but a notorious troublemaker. Most dared not approach him, but Li Dong’s boldness showed they were friends.
The other students quickly distanced themselves from Li Dong, afraid of offending him and getting on Liusheng’s bad side.
Liusheng shrugged at Li Dong, as if to say, “That’s your own big mouth—don’t blame me if you end up friendless.”
Tao Nan was also in this class. She was supposed to study humanities, and Liusheng had switched to humanities before just to be closer to her, although he’d been in the slow track then.
Now, Tao Nan was in the science track too, thanks to Liusheng’s efforts in bringing Li Dong and Tao Nan together.
When the bell rang, students sat wherever they liked since no seats had been assigned yet. But the teacher’s first order of business was to arrange seats according to the previous term’s exam results.
Within this class, Liusheng ranked first, Tao Nan second, Liu Meng third, and Li Dong fourth. So their seats remained unchanged from the previous year.
In the third class—the slow-track science class—Ren Xiadong was still napping in the back corner. He was clever enough to know that as a poor student, he was a thorn in the teacher’s side, so he’d already bribed the homeroom teacher to look the other way. Otherwise, how could he dare nap on the very first day?
It wasn’t until the second period in the afternoon that Liusheng, about to go train on the sports field, was stopped by his homeroom teacher. The teacher didn’t want Liusheng’s athletic pursuits interfering with his studies, believing he could easily get into a top university without sports.
To secure his daily training, Liusheng promised the teacher he’d be first in every exam; if he ever slipped, he’d give up sports.
As he left, Liusheng said, “We’re electing class officers in the fourth period. Please make me the sports rep.”
The teacher had wanted to make Liusheng class president, but worried that might upset him and affect his studies—so he agreed.
Producing a top university candidate brings honor and bonuses to a homeroom teacher, so even if a good student says the wrong thing, the teacher will find an excuse to let it slide.
As for Liusheng, before he’d been reborn, he’d been a poor student in high school—sports had been his everything, a passion and a sentiment. No matter how many times he relived this life, he would never give it up.
After training, since it was the first day, there was no evening self-study. Liusheng changed and left the campus. Outside, a flashy yellow sports car was parked by the gate, with a black car beside it. Recognizing the license plate, Liusheng knew the second car belonged to Ren Xiadong.
Curious, Liusheng approached. The driver’s window slid down, revealing Zhou Yi, Ren Xiadong’s driver.
Spotting Liusheng, Zhou Yi hurried out of the car. “President Liu, you—”
Before he could finish, Liusheng made a “shh” gesture.
Zhou Yi immediately caught on. “Low profile, low profile,” he said.
Just then, the students began pouring out. Despite his lax attitude toward schoolwork, Ren Xiadong was always first out the gate.
Approaching, he said to Liusheng, “I’m seeing a movie with Ren Jing today.”
Liusheng pointed at the car. “How are you going to explain that?”
“I know, I know—keep it low profile.” He pointed at Zhou Yi. “This is my brother.”
As the three joked, Liu Meng emerged. Ren Xiadong shook his head, commenting, “What a transformation.”
Liu Meng saw them, and as Liusheng waved to greet her, she turned her head and hurried off.
Just then, the door of the luxury car opened and a man in a suit, holding a bouquet, dashed after Liu Meng.
As he ran, he called out, “Liu Meng, wait! I came to pick you up after school!”
Far from Liusheng and the others, the man caught up to Liu Meng, took her by the arm, and started pleading with her.
Liusheng switched on his eavesdropping again.
“Liu Meng, give me a chance. I’ve been chasing you all summer!”
“Let go of me. We’re not suitable.”
“I’ll give you anything you want—I just want you.”
“I’m a high school student, you’re in college—it’s not appropriate.”
“I can drop out and stay by your side every day. I’ll listen to you in everything.”
Annoyed, Liu Meng yanked her arm free. “I already like someone!”
The man lowered his voice. “Who?”
She looked toward Liusheng. He realized she was in trouble again—beautiful girls are always pursued. He waved her over.
Liu Meng ran to his side, took his arm, and said, “It’s him!”
Liusheng and Ren Xiadong both thought a fight was imminent—even Zhou Yi rolled up his sleeves. But the man extended his right hand. Liusheng did the same and they shook.
“I’m Wang Chen, only son of the CEO of Nanbei Group. Pleased to meet you. But I won’t give up on Liu Meng just because of you. Please take good care of her, or I might just steal her away. May I ask your name?”
Expecting a confrontation, Liusheng was taken aback by Wang Chen’s words, which left a deep impression.
“Liusheng,” he replied.
“Liusheng—good name. Remember me: I’ll be your lifelong rival in love. Sooner or later, Liu Meng will leave you for me!”
With that, Wang Chen drove off in his luxury car.
“What the hell! Such a softie—I thought we were going to fight!” Ren Xiadong exclaimed.
Liusheng chuckled. “He’s no ordinary person. He looks like a spoiled rich kid, but there’s something about his bearing that inspires respect. He’s bound for great things. If possible, I’d like to get to know him better. He could be an excellent business partner.”