Waking up in the morning ready to go to school everyday, still feels very novel to me. I often feel scared, thinking to myself 'I don't want to open my eyes, I'm scared that this was all a dream'. But when I do open my eyes and look at this tiny room of mine, I feel warm in my heart as I get ready for another day in this new life of mine.
I know that this is not a dream. This is a path to a better future. There are so many plans I still have for the future, that I can't allow this to be a dream.
Today however, on the day of my High School entrance exams, I didn't feel scared in the morning like I usually do and, on the contrary, I felt excited? I opened my eyes and smiled to myself as I got out of bed.
I walk towards the bathroom, brush my teeth and freshen up as I look at myself in the mirror.
'The exams will only last for 2 days. After I finish all of them, I will make a trip to a hair salon to finally cut off this burdensome bush of hair!'
After planning out the itinerary for the next 2 days, I begin to think about how to earn some quick money during these summer holidays...
But there really isn't much a 16 year old can do... I don't want to be a model because it's obviously a shame for someone with looks as good as mine to work as a model and let everyone look at me like I'm some doll on a display or an animal in the zoo. This is definitely way below me!
I also know that there isn't many jobs that will allow me to work only at summer. From what I remember, there is a pet shop next to my middle school that has a summer part time job advertisement. Maybe I should check it out after the exams.
What if I also write a book? I want to be shameless and write some of the novels I read online that became popular a few years later. Since I'm in 2015 now, there still aren't many good novels out in the market, so I should just use my amazing memory and copy someone's work hehehe.
'En, en, I quiet like this shameless approach to earn some quick money! Why am I doing this? Because I must be a genius if I have such good memory, so why not use it to check if I really remember all the details of the novels I read? This is obviously a gift from God, so, as a Male Lead I should do my best hehe'
After I planned everything in my head, I walked towards the kitchen and made a very sumptuous breakfast. In fact, I was in a very good mood so the sumptuous breakfast became a feast as I made much more than usual, and since I can't eat so much, I will just treat is as leftovers and give them to the dogs.
'Haha, did you think I would be merciful since today is high school exams day? No. Fucking. Way! This family can fend for themselves for all I care'
I quickly take my pencil case that has all the equipment I need, together with my ID and the small entrance exam ticket in one hand and the bag with leftover breakfast in the other.
I slowly head towards the examination hall as I enjoy the summer morning breeze. I changed my original path and walked through an alley where you can usually find some stray dogs and cats hiding around. I walked for a while until I met a dead end. When I looked around I saw a few small dogs hiding around the area, trying to squeeze into the corners that are the warmest.
I walked slowly, trying not to alarm these pitful babies toomuch, since as stray animals, they are usually very alert towards strangers. I stopped 2 metres away from them and put all the breakfast on the floor, quickly unpacked it and backed away, threw the trash away into the recycling and looked at one of the dogs slowly moving towards the food, still very alert.
"It's okay, it's okay, you can eat it, don't be scared cutie pie" I whisper as gently as I can when I see the dog hesitate.
After he tested the food, he started eating even more, and so, the rest of the dogs and cats have also come forward when they realise that they can eat it. I happily stayed for another 10 minutes until the last bit of food has been eaten by these cuties and threw away the disposable containers. I then bid these animals a goodbye and walked towards the exam hall, in an even better mood.
At the entrance to the hall, I can see many middle school students saying googbye to their worried parents. I feel quiet sad that there isn't anyone with me until I spot a familiar figure walking towards me.
"Teacher Rong, what are you doing here?" I say, quiet surprised to see him in this place.
"Obviously, I'm here to send off my favorite student Han Xue Wei, towards his examination classroom haha! I am not on the list of the teachers who will stay as invigilators so I decided to come over and cheer for you." He looks at me, felling even more nervous than me
I suddenly feel very warm I'm my heart, as there were never many people who would care about me like Teacher Rong does. This gives me even more determination to treat him as a close kin in the future...
"Ah..Teacher..."I say quietly, using all my will in order to not let the tears fall down from my watery eyes" I am very thankful for what you did for me.. Don't worry, in the future, this student will not forget about you!" I say and bid him a goodbye as I walk into the hall.
I quickly find my seat and quietly sit down. I look around and see tens of worried and anxious teenagers who like me, have come to take the exams, and their parents on the verge of walking into the exam hall with them.
As soon as everyone sat down, the invigilators have come to check our equipment as they gave out out the exam papers.
The first exam which takes two hours is Chinese. As I look at the questions, I quickly write the answers since this just feels like the practice questions I've been doing for the last 3 months. As I write, 1 hour has already passed and there is only one question left. This question however, had me stumped for a moment before I started laughing in my mind.
*If you could live your life again, how would you do it?*
I then quickly started writing as this is probably the easiest question I have seen on this paper. It took me a whole hour to finish this and I myself am very proud of this masterpiece that took me about 8 pages to finish.
'I really think that the examinators who check my paper will think of me as a once in a millennium genius when they read this kekeke ^o^'
After the timer set for 2 hours rang, we stopped writing, some people having satisfied faces while some wanted to hide and cry in despair.
We all gave our papers back and began walking out of the hall towards the toilets for a quick 15 minute break. I sat on the bench outside, right next to the entrance to the hall, took a sip of lemon water and closed my eyes to enjoy the morning sun. After around 10 minutes, everyone started walking back towards the hall so I naturally followed them in, sat down in my seat and waited for the invigilators.
A few minutes later, we got our mathematics papers and began writing.
This was my routine after lunch and the next day as well. After completing my mathematics paper, it was time for chemistry, followed by physics. After the first day of the exams, I went back to the library with my sketchbook and art supplies as I finished my first drawing in this life.
I finished my drawing when it was nearing 10PM and suddenly realised that there is someone standing in front of me.
I loked up and saw that it was a very petite lady who was around 40 years old. She had a very kind smile on her face and I recognised her as one of the workers from the library.
"Hello young man, I'm a worker in the library that you often visit" She said in a lovely voice that gave off a motherly feeling.
I looked up at her and nodded in confusion, probing her to continue speaking.
She immediately understood what I meant and said "The boss of this library saw you drawing yesterday through the window, and today he looked at your drawing while passing by. He is a very shy old man, so he asked me to come and talk to you instead"
"He said that he wanted to buy this drawing of yours and put it on display of our library because it is a very magnificent drawing that gives off a peaceful feeling when you look at it, just as if you were physically sitting in the library enjoying an afternoon tea and reading a book" She smiled even brighter as she gestured and talked about her boss and how he complimented me today.
I would lie if I said I wasn't touched. Many people bought my drawings at a low price in my last life, but I never got any detailed praises from them. It may be because back then, I just drew for the sake of earning money and now, I can actually put my soul into it if I do it for enjoyment.
I instantly stood up and bowed to show my thanks. "Thank you auntie. Tell your boss that I am very touched as I never thought that someone would want to buy a drawing that was done purely for killing time" I smiled in gratitude and continued "However, I can't sell this to your boss. I will directly give this to the library. This drawing is worth practically nothing so there is no need to spend any money on it." I said as I handed the drawing back to her.
She looked at me, a bit conflicted since her boss told her to pay for the drawing. I however, insisted that she takes it for free. " Auntie, don't feel bad, take this drawing for free and tell your boss that this is my gift for him. The next time I draw something he takes a liking to, I will sell it to him, is that okay?"
I smile sweetly at her and use the best weapon that no one can resit. My cuteness(^o^).
After gifting her the drawing i went back home, took a shower and quickly fell asleep after this long day.
The next day, morning and afternoon were both the same as yesterday. I made too much breakfast and gifted the leftover to the little animals and walked to take the exams.
The second day of exams ended with English, History and Politics exams. The tests were like a piece of cake for me. I remembered most of the answers so I should probably do a good job. I talked with the worried Teacher Rong for a while and assured him that I did not fail the exams as we walked to a nearby noodle restaurant to eat.
I then bid goodbye to him as I looked at the time. It's already 5PM.
'I should go and find a good hair salon nearby. It's time to show off my beauty to the world. I will also feel more conformable as this thick hair in summer heat is very annoying.'
I looked around for a while and found a good salon in one of the alleys. When I walked in, I saw that this hair salon is indeed decent. It's very clean and has a peaceful atmosphere.
As I wandered about, a foreign hair dresser came over and took a look at me. She then put on her professional smile as she greeted me.
"Hello customer, my name is Sammy, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes, Hello, I would like to get a haircut" I said and she immediately told me to sit in a chair.
"What kind of haircut would you like?"
"Get rid of my bangs because they are too long and too thick. It's better to move them up or to the sides. Also, my hair itself is very bushy so I would like to cut it shorter and reduce its volume. I don't want anything too short, just cut off the parts that block my face"
She immediately started working while complimenting my hair "Wow, your hair is very soft and silky to the touch. It's impossible that you dyed your hair so it must be a natural colour. It's very beautiful, Asians usually have black hair don't they?"
"Yes, this is a trait i got from my father who is half-Korean, half-American"
"Your dad must be a lady killer then haha"
I smile faintly and mumble "Yes, he definitely was..."
After what took around 45 minutes, from washing my hair to cutting it off and washing it once again as well as styling it, Sammy gasped in shock when she looked at my reflection in the mirror in a daze.
When she snapped out of it, I was already standing up from the chair. "Young man, your dad definitely has to be a lady killer if you look like this. Your mum must be one-of-a-kind beauty too... You definitely got the looks of a top model!"
"Thank you, can I pay now? How much is it?"
"No, no, this is not good. I won't take any of your money if you pose for me for some photos. I will put them up in my shop as an advertisement."
'Heh, I Knew that she will definitely react like this. But sorry, this brother here has to dissapoint you as I won't engage in such acts of modelling that you mortals support hahaha!'
"I'm sorry but I don't plan to be a model. I don't feel comfortable with people looking at my pictures in public." I apologise as politely as I can and she reluctantly accepts my refusal.
"It will be 200RMB all together, young lad, I gave you a little discount so come back here if you need a haircut again or change your mind about the photos!" She says and I pay as I mourn for my now, empty and dead wallet. Thank god I will get my monthly 1,000RMB tomorrow.
I walk out of the hair salon, feeling refreshed as I think 'It's time to check out this pet store advertisement. I'm in dire need of money and I can't just live off 1,000RMB a month!'
'It is also time to slowly put my plan with the will into action! I cannot wait to see the faces of the Lu family, when they try to bribe the prinicpal and at the end, realise the will and money are not there hahahaha.'