Volume One: High School Days Chapter 53: Lele Appears Ahead of Time

On May Day after the start of the semester, the employees of Liuyao World Animation Company released their self-produced animated film. This time, Liu Sheng and his friends did not attend the premiere; with Xiao Ya gone and Ren Jing absent, no one wanted to bring up painful memories for Liu Sheng and Ren Xia Dong. So, no one suggested watching Liuyao's new movie.

The school had a three-day holiday for May Day. Liu Sheng was sleeping soundly in Liu Meng's apartment when Liu Meng suddenly pushed open his door. Seeing Liu Sheng startled awake, Liu Meng asked, "What exactly do you feel about me? All this time, you still haven't said you want to be with me!"

Liu Sheng hesitated for a long while, finally squeezing out, "Just focus on your studies!"

Liu Meng slammed the door shut and returned to her own room.

Not long after, Ren Xia Dong entered, saying to Liu Sheng, "Brother, you're smart, but when it comes to relationships, you're a total fool!"

"Let's not talk about that. It doesn't matter. Let's go out for a walk."

Ren Xia Dong nodded after hearing Liu Sheng's suggestion.

Once outside—

"Damn it! I regret coming out with you!" Ren Xia Dong complained to Liu Sheng as they stood at the entrance of the Book Tower.

Liu Sheng wanted to learn more, to find something for his bored self to do.

Inside the Book Tower, he spotted two familiar figures, sitting and reading intently. They were Li Dong and Tao Nan.

"What a coincidence?"

Hearing Liu Sheng's voice, both looked up at him, then glanced at Ren Xia Dong, saying, "I can understand Liu Sheng coming here, but Ren Xia Dong—are you here for comic books?"

"Damn it, let me tell you two, I'm here for manga, not comic books!" Ren Xia Dong replied, a little annoyed.

Liu Sheng glanced at the book in Tao Nan's hands, absorbed a page instantly, and exclaimed, "Brilliant!"

Li Dong asked, "What's brilliant?"

Liu Sheng explained, "The book Tao Nan is reading—it's a suspense novel. The motive and method for murder are ingenious!"

Tao Nan, delighted, asked, "You like suspense novels too?"

"I hadn't paid attention before, but now it seems I've fallen for them!"

Liu Sheng then sought out the librarian, who helped him find over a hundred suspense novels.

Thanks to his rapid reading, Liu Sheng finished them all in no time, then muttered to himself, "I'm going to make a suspense animated movie!"

With this idea, Liu Sheng hurried out of the Book Tower with Ren Xia Dong.

Back at his place, Liu Sheng turned on his computer, gathered all the tools needed for animation production, and used his unique ability to speed up the process. With his mind working hundreds of times faster than ordinary people, flexible thinking, and sharp intellect, he completed a suspenseful animated movie in just twenty minutes!

The plot was a tale of vengeance, tightly woven with twists and turns, beginning and end perfectly linked, and the ending impossible to predict until the last moment. It was filled with chilling suspense.

After finishing, Liu Sheng exclaimed excitedly, "I'm truly a genius! To come up with such a suspenseful story—hahaha!"

Ren Xia Dong heard Liu Sheng laughing in his room and came in, asking, "Did you take the wrong medicine?"

"No! I just forgot to take it! Come see my new work! I secretly worked on it for a month!" Liu Sheng lied, fearing Ren Xia Dong might suspect something.

After watching, Ren Xia Dong was still tense from the scenes and said, "Even without voice acting, it was nerve-wracking! With voice acting, it would scare me to death. I must admit, you're a genius!"

At that moment, there was a loud door slam outside. Ren Xia Dong said, "Looks like Liu Meng has gone out. You really hurt her feelings! What a scoundrel you are!"

"Let's not talk about her. Come on, let's go celebrate!"

Ren Xia Dong asked, "Celebrate you successfully breaking Liu Meng's heart?"

"Celebrate the birth of my new work!"

With that, the two headed to the nearest barbecue stall.

"Boss, menu please," Ren Xia Dong called to the owner, who was busy tallying accounts. Hearing the request, the owner quickly brought the menu over and asked, "What would you like?"

At the next table, three beautiful women sat. One of them called out, "Boss! We came first, didn't we? You should let us order first!"

The owner, caught between the tables, stood awkwardly with the menu, unsure whom to serve first.

"So what if you arrived earlier? Did you call for the boss? We called first!" Ren Xia Dong retorted, irritated at the three women.

Liu Sheng looked up at them. When he saw the woman who had spoken, he was stunned, then burst out laughing.

"What's wrong with you? Haven't you seen pretty girls before? Why are you laughing so lewdly?" the woman snapped at Liu Sheng.

Liu Sheng remembered being drunk by this woman several times in the past.

She was Ren Xia Dong's second girlfriend, Li Xiaohui, nicknamed Lele.

"What's going on? She shouldn't be here yet. She’s appearing two months early. She and Ren Xia Dong were supposed to get together in summer. Maybe they met in May and got together in July?" Liu Sheng wondered, but couldn't figure it out. Since she was here, so be it.

So, Liu Sheng said to the three women, "It's just about who orders first. Why fuss over such trivial matters? Let’s share a table—my treat. How about it?"

Ren Xia Dong was astonished; he never expected Liu Sheng to act this way. It wasn't his style—Liu Sheng, no matter how easygoing, wouldn't flirt with women on the street.

Ren Xia Dong asked Liu Sheng, "What's gotten into you? Are you that desperate? You’d hit on anyone?"

Liu Sheng said to the three women, "Come, let's have a drink together. My treat!" He knew Lele could drink, famed for never getting drunk, and was destined to be Ren Xia Dong's girlfriend.

As the three women prepared to join them, Liu Sheng said to Ren Xia Dong, "I'm doing this for your own good."

"For me? If you really..." Before Ren Xia Dong could finish, the three women had already sat down.

Ren Xia Dong looked at them and said, "You really came?"

"What, you don’t want us to drink with you? Do you know how many people are after us? Sitting next to you is your honor, and you dare complain?" Lele, though petite, had quite a temper.

Seeing Ren Xia Dong at a loss for words, Liu Sheng smiled inwardly, thinking, "Good, finally someone who can keep Ren Xia Dong in check."

Watching them bicker, Liu Sheng called the owner and said to the two, "You can exchange contacts and argue later. Let's focus on ordering now."

He handed the menu to them.

"Start with a pound of meat skewers," Ren Xia Dong said.

Lele snatched the menu and said, "Why are you so stingy?"

Then she told the owner, "Three pounds!"

The owner watched them argue, unsure how much to bring, and looked to Liu Sheng for guidance. Liu Sheng understood and said, "Let’s compromise—two pounds for now."

Once all the food was served, Ren Xia Dong and Lele kept bantering. Liu Sheng opened a beer and said, "You two are really like star-crossed lovers!" He thought to himself, "In the end, you two didn't stay together, but so what? Lele is destined to appear in Ren Xia Dong's life. For both, it's just part of the journey. As long as you’re happy!"

"Who's a star-crossed lover with him (her)!" Ren Xia Dong and Lele shouted at Liu Sheng in unison.

Liu Sheng noticed their perfect timing, and saw the other two women laughing as well. He said to Ren Xia Dong and Lele, "Enjoy your time together. Don’t wait until it’s over to regret not cherishing it."

The other two chimed in, "I think you two were enemies in a past life, here to settle debts in this one."

Liu Sheng poured drinks for everyone and said to Ren Xia Dong, "You’re of age now. Take some time to get your driver's license. That’s all I can hint at!"

Liu Sheng knew their first time would be in a car, so he subtly hinted to Ren Xia Dong. He recalled how, before his return, Ren Xia Dong had always boasted about this, proud of it.

Liu Sheng also knew Lele had graduated junior high, born in '94 like Ren Xia Dong, so he asked, "What do you do for work now?"

"No work talk while drinking! Let’s drink," Lele said, eating as she spoke and raising her glass to Ren Xia Dong, "Want to compete?"

Ren Xia Dong rose to the challenge, "Afraid of you? Don’t say I bully you. If you get drunk, I won’t take you home—I’ll let you sleep on the street!"

Liu Sheng didn’t know much about Lele’s job, only that she had one, and at the time he was still a student, so he hadn’t asked much. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have understood.

Lele had no time for anyone else, fixated on out-drinking Ren Xia Dong. Even when Ren Xia Dong’s admirers called, he ignored them, determined to outdrink the bold Lele.

Later, Liu Sheng learned from Lele’s colleagues that she worked as a receptionist at a small company and had just resigned—she wasn’t happy there. The two colleagues were celebrating her resignation with her.

After learning the details, Liu Sheng said, "Youth is capricious—if you’re unhappy, you quit. No pressure at all!"

He then remembered his pre-return self, burdened by work, plagued by headaches, but still persevering—because he needed money.

Ren Xia Dong ended up so drunk his words slurred, while Lele was unfazed and eager for more. Ren Xia Dong clasped his hands in defeat and said to Lele, "I concede, I can't keep up," and gave Liu Sheng a look, asking him to take over.

Liu Sheng avoided his gaze, pretending not to notice, knowing Lele could drink ten times more than himself. If she didn’t call it quits, she’d keep going.

Seeing Ren Xia Dong out of commission, Liu Sheng asked Lele, "I heard you quit—what are your plans?"

"I want to work at Liuyao World Animation Company. I love anime, and all their recent works are world-class. Today they even released a new animated movie, but I couldn’t get tickets. Such an excellent company can’t do without me!"

Liu Sheng laughed at her praise for his company, feeling recognized as owner of Liuyao World Animation.

After laughing, he asked, "When are you planning to start? What would you do there?"

Ren Xia Dong, swaying, decided it was his moment to show off, and boasted, "Beg me—I have a way to get you in!"

"You? Please! I’d rather rely on my family's pig!" Lele retorted, then said to Liu Sheng, "I sent in my résumé, but it's been a week with no reply. Looks like education matters!"

Liu Sheng quickly pulled out his phone and messaged the HR manager, Yang Fan’s mother: "First thing on the 4th is to hire Li Xiaohui. She sent in her résumé before."

When it was time to part, Ren Xia Dong, urged by Liu Sheng, added Lele as a friend. He asked her name, and she said, "I’m Lele."

"Lele? Is Le your surname?"

After Ren Xia Dong voiced his question, Lele didn’t answer, instead asked, "What’s your name?"

Ren Xia Dong replied seriously, "I’m Xiaoxiao."

Lele was taken aback, then said, "Don’t make fun of my lack of education. Is there a surname Xiao?"

"I’ve never seen a surname Le in the Hundred Family Surnames either!"

After that, Liu Sheng quickly interjected, "There actually is, but it’s rare, and she definitely isn't."

"How do you know I’m not? Do you know me?"

Seeing Lele getting serious, Liu Sheng hurried to cover, worried she’d realize he was from the future, and said, "Very few people are surnamed Le, and there’s none in Xinghai City. From your accent, you’re not from out of town, so I guess you’re not Le."

"Fine, my nickname is Lele, but I’m really Li Xiaohui."

Ren Xia Dong, seeing Lele’s sincerity, said, "I’m Ren Xia Dong. I’ve noted it in my phone—don’t forget me. Next time, I’ll drink with you. Today, I’m not in shape!"