Xie Qian’s ability to focus on key points was on a completely different wavelength from Li Mengjiao and Wang Shuang.
The two of them were busy discussing how to deal with Yue Shanni.
If Yue Shanni dared to show up again, Wang Shuang was determined to teach her how to behave. A little delinquent, coming to Rongcheng and not keeping a low profile, yet daring to strut around on Shuang Ye’s turf, hmph, if she wasn’t taught a proper lesson, she wouldn’t know why flowers were so red!
Li Mengjiao couldn’t fathom why Wen Ying had ever been friends with a delinquent like Yue Shanni.
“Was Wen Ying doing charity work?”
Li Mengjiao couldn’t think of any other reason.
Xie Qian meticulously wiped the sweat from his neck, saying nothing. Li Mengjiao was a bit intimidated by him.
“Xie Qian, why aren’t you saying anything?”
“What’s there to say?”
The boy turned his head, his gaze icy and clear.
“Uh…”
Li Mengjiao faltered, muttering, “You could say something, anything. This is about Wen Ying, don’t you care?”
Xie Qian thought about it and felt Li Mengjiao had a point.
“I’ll remind her tomorrow not to pick friends from the rubbish heap.”
“…”
Li Mengjiao choked.
If Xie Qian didn’t have that face, no matter what he said, he’d have been beaten to death by Wen Ying by now, right?
The scariest part was, the moment Xie Qian made that analogy, Li Mengjiao couldn’t help but agree.
That Yue Shanni, wasn’t she exactly like a “friend” picked from the rubbish heap?
Xie Qian picked up his backpack and walked past the crowd of admirers by the basketball court. A bold girl offered him water, but Xie Qian didn’t take it. The girl wasn’t upset, and after Xie Qian said something, she blushed and stepped aside.
Wang Shuang, clutching his mineral water bottle, sank into self-doubt: why had he invited Xie Qian to play basketball? Ever since Xie Qian showed up on the court, no girls had offered him water anymore!
It hadn’t been like this before!
He used to be quite popular!
Wang Shuang sulked for a bit, then suddenly remembered, “Hey, why did Xie Qian just leave? He said we were going to play games together.”
Li Mengjiao shot him a withering look, “You’re fine being a slacker yourself, but can you not drag Xie Qian down with you?”
Did Xie Qian look like someone who played games?
Basketball was for exercise, but what was gaming?
Wang Shuang opened his mouth but couldn’t come up with a retort.
Heaven and earth as his witness, it was Xie Qian who had invited him to game! No one would believe it, probably because Xie Qian was the top student in the grade, while he was 78th from the bottom. He’d definitely be blamed for leading Xie Qian astray… but why had Xie Qian suddenly bailed? They’d been having fun playing basketball. A fleeting thought zipped through Wang Shuang’s mind, too fast to catch, and he smacked his forehead in frustration.
Li Mengjiao panicked, “What are you doing? I call you out, and you start self-harming? If you’re going to hit something, don’t hit your head, you’re already dumb enough!”
“Who’s dumb?”
“78th from the bottom, not dumb enough?”
Wang Shuang hurled his water bottle into the bin with force, “Just you wait, next monthly exam, I’ll keep improving. You, barely scraping 400 points, don’t get too cocky. I might not catch up to Xie Qian, but you think I can’t handle you?”
Li Mengjiao crossed her arms, tilting her head in disdain, “I’ll wait for you to catch up. If you don’t, you’re a puppy.”
Wang Shuang snorted heavily. The two bickered the whole way, never pausing, and by the time they reached the school gate, Xie Qian was long gone.
So, he’d really been ditched by Xie Qian?
That didn’t seem like something Xie Qian would do!
…
When Wen Ying got home, she was lost in thought.
Song Shao was studying at Rongcheng No. 9 High School, something Yue Shanni had told her.
Not today, of course, but in her past life.
Yue Shanni had asked to borrow money from Wen Ying in both lives. Though the timing differed, her spiel was the same, always mentioning Song Shao.
The difference was, just now, Wen Ying had brushed Yue Shanni off with a few words, sending her away angry. In her past life, after lending Yue Shanni the money, Yue Shanni had graciously revealed that Song Shao was at No. 9 High School.
Of course, the timid Wen Ying of her past life hadn’t dared to go to No. 9 High School to find Song Shao.
By the time Wen Ying grew bolder, years had passed. Once, her junior high homeroom teacher had contacted her about a civil dispute case and remarked that, of all the students in Wen Ying’s class, only she and Song Shao had made it big.
Both had come from a small town, carving out successful lives in first-tier cities through their own efforts. The difference was Wen Ying was in Shanghai, while Song Shao was in Beijing.
The teacher also mentioned a 15th-year junior high reunion that Wen Ying hadn’t attended, but Song Shao had.
They’d been classmates in the same junior high, with only academic differences back then. By the 15th year after graduation, their classmates, now in their thirties, had mostly settled into their life paths. The race of the first half of life had already sorted winners from losers.
Some dropped out after junior high, struggling into their thirties, worn down by life’s hardships, supporting families, too afraid to upset their bosses. You’d never guess they were once the rebellious types who argued with teachers.
Some became small business owners, some married and divorced, then remarried. Some worked precarious jobs in private companies, others secured stable government posts, and some became teachers.
Generally, without good grades or family connections, few could break free of their original circumstances.
Wen Ying had staged her comeback after university, while Song Shao’s bright future had already shown signs in junior high. In high school, Song Shao won national competitions, earned a spot at a top university, studied abroad on a full scholarship, and returned to secure a Beijing hukou through talent programs. Every step was steady, the kind that made slackers weep with envy.
Even their junior high teacher said Song Shao had helped so many classmates, but at the reunion, few dared approach him.
Song Shao was still approachable, but those who’d stayed in their small town felt they were worlds apart, inferior in his presence.
This included small business owners worth millions or tens of millions.
In their small hometown, being a millionaire in your early thirties made you a standout.
But that was only in a small town.
Businesspeople with a few million didn’t have the social status of salaried intellectuals. Song Shao was the most intellectual of Wen Ying’s junior high classmates. Even if Wen Ying had attended that reunion, she couldn’t have outshone him. Wen Ying wasn’t an intellectual; she often mocked herself as a money-grubbing cultural hooligan.
When her teacher compared her to Song Shao, Wen Ying felt quite embarrassed.
Back then, she’d felt some regret.
She should’ve gone to the reunion, if only to see Song Shao and finally say the “thank you” and “sorry” she owed him.
Sensing her regret, her teacher gave her Song Shao’s contact details.
Wen Ying planned to call him at the right moment.
That call never happened before her rebirth.
Soon after getting Song Shao’s contact, news of Xie Qian’s tragedy hit, leaving a small hole in Wen Ying’s heart. She lost her spark, forgot about Song Shao, and moved on.
Now, sitting at her computer, Wen Ying racked her brain but couldn’t recall Song Shao’s phone number.
Even if she did, what good would it do?
That was his number from over a decade later; it probably wouldn’t work now.
Wen Ying logged into QQ.
After moving to Rongcheng, she’d left her junior high class group and deleted Yue Shanni and a few others from her QQ friends.
Now, awkwardly, she needed to rejoin the group.
Because, damn Yue Shanni, in her past life, she’d only said Song Shao was at No. 9 High School, not which class!
Wen Ying spent ages digging out her junior high yearbook, finding the class monitor’s contact, and finally rejoined the group.
The class monitor was much warmer than before, likely because Wen Ying was now at a provincial key school.
“Our class only has three people studying in Rongcheng: you, Song Shao, and Yue Shanni!”
Wen Ying couldn’t care less about Yue Shanni.
She rejoined the group to connect with Song Shao.
In front of the class monitor, Wen Ying didn’t reveal her true intentions. Thanks to Yue Shanni and others, everyone thought Wen Ying had a crush on Song Shao. Wen Ying didn’t mind these high school rumours, but she didn’t want to trouble Song Shao.
She wanted to thank and apologise to him, not cause him problems!
After rejoining the group, she found Song Shao’s QQ number and sent a friend request.
As expected, Song Shao didn’t accept right away.
Smartphones weren’t ubiquitous yet, and logging into QQ required a computer. Who knew when Song Shao would see the request?
More importantly, would he even add her?
Wen Ying wanted to say the timid, insecure Wen Ying was gone, replaced by a bold new version, but then she remembered *The Legend of Zhen Huan* hadn’t aired on the mainland yet. Song Shao wouldn’t get the reference and might think she was nuts, making him even less likely to accept!
Tapping at her keyboard, Wen Ying kept it real, “Hi Song Shao, it’s Wen Ying. I need to talk to you. Can we be friends?”
That whole night, Wen Ying was lost in memories. For once, she didn’t message Xie Qian, didn’t say goodnight.
Xie Qian studied late, his phone on the desk, not buzzing once.
He felt he really needed to have a serious talk with Wen Ying.
What was so great about puppy love?
Teenage romances rarely lasted. What about the emotions invested, the energy spent?
High investment, low return—smart people wouldn’t bother. Xie Qian couldn’t decide if Wen Ying was clever or foolish; her intelligence seemed to fluctuate.
Sometimes she felt reliable, more mature than her age, other times she was scatterbrained, making him uneasy.
But the next day at school, before Xie Qian could approach Wen Ying, she came to him, “Let me ask you something. If someone upset you and wanted to apologise with a gift, what would be appropriate?”
At first, Xie Qian didn’t catch on, unwilling to admit he was pettily upset.
Then it hit him—Wen Ying wasn’t planning to give him a gift… this was for Song Shao?!
