October 8th.
Tang Qing carried his school bag.
Standing at the entrance of the classroom of Senior Three, Class Two.
Watching his classmates, whose faces were familiar but whose names he had forgotten, pass by him, he didn't enter the classroom. However, many of his classmates greeted him, which he responded politely.
Why didn't he go in?
Because Tang Qing totally couldn't remember where his seat was.
Three years of high school.
Class teacher Shen Mei rearranged the seating based on academic performance several times. More than ten years had passed, he just couldn't remember. And those classmates, he could hardly remember their names, so how could he so brazen as to ask them?
Although he didn't remember where his seat was.
But he clearly remembered that he shared a desk with Wang Yan all year in the third year of high school. As long as she arrived, he absolutely wouldn't be wrong.
"Old Tang, what are you doing standing here stupidly?"
Li Kai's voice came from behind, and a big hand climbed onto Tang Qing's shoulder, reminding him that there were two stairways in the school, one at the main entrance and the other on the side of the restroom.
This guy probably just finished using the restroom. Considering how seldom high school boys washed their hands after using the restroom, Tang Qing quickly shook off the hand on his shoulder, then turned around and casually said,
"I'm waiting for someone."
But after saying that, he regretted it, because that was the excuse he made to other students just now. Using it to deal with Li Kai was like giving him a rotten egg to throw at you.
As expected.
Li Kai started acting out again.
"Waiting for whom? Wang Yan? You sly fox, still in denial,"
Li Kai teased, for some reason, he recently enjoyed mocking Tang Qing, seeking a balance of sorts. After all, this guy kept his secrets well, misleading him for so long.
A living, breathing fat cat was right in front of him.
If only he had a net.
He would like to catch one and keep it at home.
"You guessed right, I have urgent business with her, look, your deskmate is looking at you. Go on in." Tang Qing fibbed a little and successfully diverted Li Kai's attention.
Only his deskmate could keep him in check at this moment.
As soon as he heard that his deskmate was looking at him, Li Kai immediately turned his gaze towards the classroom.
Maybe it was a coincidence, but their eyes met. Li Kai instantly felt his heart rate quickening and lowered his head in a bit of nervousness, stupidly walking in and completely ignoring Tang Qing.
Tang Qing remembered where Li Kai's seat was.
That's because Li Kai moved seats a few times, but he was always in the second row.
Latter on, Tang Qing even gave him a nickname, "Forever Second Place", frequently teasing him during gatherings. Plus, Chu Lan, whom Li Kai had a crush on, was quite pretty, thereby allowing Tang Qing to recognize him at first glance.
Tang Qing knew.
Li Kai, this joker, never confessed his feelings to Chu Lan from beginning to end.
Even after he had money, he still didn't. Tang Qing couldn't help being curious, and asked him, since you like her, and your conditions aren't bad either, why won't you pursue her?
Li Kai's response at the time was so mind-blowing it caused Tang Qing to become speechless.
Li Kai's exact words were:
"Before, I was just too shy, but now I've realized that having one person to have a crush on in my heart is enough, for the purest beauty to stay in my heart, until I get old. I don't want to destroy this memory, so I don't want to have her."
That was the reason Li Kai gave him back then.
It totally shattered his world view.
The playboy also had such a pure side.
"Hmmph, trying to best me."
Tang Qing whispered smugly.
Having got a hold on Li Kai's weak point, Tang Qing felt utterly elated when he used it.
"Tang Qing, why are you standing at the door?"
At this moment, a familiar voice sounded in Tang's ear. Hearing it, he felt a jolt go through him and turned his head slowly and somewhat stiffly to see Wang Yan, dressed in a school uniform, standing behind him, looking at him with a sweet smile.
Wang Yan was only seventeen.
But her charming face was difficult to hide.
She hasn't gone to university yet, and she didn't wear makeup. Her skin was pure and so fair it seems to glow with a pinkish hue. She simply tied her hair back, it was simple and refreshing.
When Wang Yan went to university, she started to wear makeup.
Already naturally beautiful, with makeup on, Wang Yan became stunningly beautiful, drawing numerous suitors. However, she was too preoccupied with Tang Qing to give those suitors the time of day, constantly hovering around Tang Qing.
Wang Yan's father was quite the boss.
But he didn't have made it big yet.
Supposedly during high school, he was still running a decoration company. He would step into the field of real estate the following year and onwards, his assets skyrocketed. Before Tang Qing's rebirth, his net worth was in the tens of billions.
The richest man in Qingyan City.
And as his only daughter, Wang Yan was indeed a rich and pretty girl.
"I... I just got here... was... was just chatting with Li Kai." Seeing Wang Yan again, Tang Qing started to stutter, looking for an explanation that doesn't seem too awkward.
He certainly couldn't say he was waiting for her.
"Let's go inside, hurry up and turn in homework, class is about to start." Wang Yan did not notice Tang Qing's slip-up and walked straight into the classroom.
"Okay."
Tang Qing followed right behind Wang Yan to his seat.
At a glance, he saw three big characters on his desk.
--- Tang Wangwang.
Tang Qing couldn't help but laugh and cry. He suddenly remembered that these words were carved onto the desk by Li Kai while he was absent. Wang Yan had been an accomplice, and they teased him for many years afterward.
Looking at the crookedly chiselled writing and the faint figure of a dog etched in the back, Tang Qing couldn't help but feel sentimental. Such beautiful memories.
...
What followed.
Was the normal classroom routine.
After just one day, Tang Qing couldn't stand it. Staring at the discontented faces of the teachers all day long, it felt like a year by the end of a 45-minute session.
How was anyone supposed to live like this?
That wasn't the end of it.
What followed was a message that struck him like a bolt from the blue.
--- The Monthly Exam is next Tuesday.
Correct.
The Monthly Exam is next Tuesday.
Meaning there are only four days left before the exam.
Hearing this, Tang Qing was in chaos. Wasn't this going to be a disaster if he didn't score well? Would he not be exposed? They would definitely ask for a parent-teacher meeting, and he would surely have to kneel.
Wait!
Kneeling!
Damn!
That's the way to go!
He absolutely couldn't allow himself to take the exam normally.
He believed that given another month, he should be able to pick up most of the knowledge he had before. After all, the foundation is still there, and he has the background of university and postgraduate study, and his mind is much smarter than before.
This could be seen from the review of the last few days.
Regardless of his comprehension skills or memory, they had significantly strengthened, but there was still some distance from the level he had at this time in his past life. So even if he performed exceptionally, he would not be able to pass this monthly exam.
Moreover, their school's monthly exams were not held in their own classrooms, but were mixed with junior third-year students preparing for their high school entrance exams. Everybody around him was a third-year student, so cheating was out of the question.
At that time, all he needed was a little accident.
So he wouldn't have to take the exam.
As for what kind of accident...
Tang Qing looked at his right hand and silently apologized. He initially planned to fake a stomach ache, but a stomach ache wouldn't last for two full days of exams, and the hospital wasn't a charity.
Plus, there was the matter of his uncle.
He needed to be cautious, very cautious.
Without some substantial injury, he would not be able to deceive his uncle. He planned to injure his right hand. This plan would not only trick the teachers but also, most importantly, his uncle.
And so,
Tang Qing endured four hellish days.
...
"Teacher, my hand is injured, I'm afraid I won't be able to take the exam today." Tang Qing called the head teacher from the hospital, pretending to be in pain. was he still the protagonist in all of this?
On his way to the exam, Tang Qing purposely hit a cement utility pole with his fist.
With previous experience, he controlled the angle.
He did not hurt his fingers.
It was his wrist. He had done this before. This minor injury only took half a month to heal. It was quite painful at first, but when he arrived at the hospital, it only hurt when he moved the joint.
After the doctor set the bone, stabilized it, and applied the plaster,
he was left with only a slight throbbing pain. However, he had to rest for a period of time ahead.
On the bright side, he could use this as an excuse to escape half a month of homework.
Thinking about it, it seemed quite worthwhile.
The only problem was that it wasn't convenient for him to live his everyday life. He couldn't even eat by himself. But it didn't matter, he had a younger sister who could feed him once he got home. Given her character, she definitely wouldn't refuse, Tangqing was quite pleased with this plan.
"What happened? Is it serious?" Shen Mei, the headteacher, asked anxiously.
"I was hit by someone riding past me this morning, and they ran away. My wrist was a bit injured, I'm currently getting a plaster cast in the hospital. The doctor said it will take half a month to recover, but it's nothing big." Tang Qing explained.
"It's good that it is not serious, do your family know?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Mei also breathed a sigh of relief; as long as it was not a permanent injury, it was alright.
"They don't know yet, they're at work now, I don't want to bother them," Tang Qing hurriedly dissuaded the headteacher. His uncle and aunt are at work, he doesn't want their work concentration to be disrupted. He would tell them when they returned home at noon.
"Did you bring money with you, if not, I'll bring you some."
Shen Mei knew about the jobs of Tangqing's uncle and aunt - one was a police officer and the other a teacher. Both were busy with their full-day schedules. It was best not to disrupt them if it was unnecessary. Moreover, since the doctor had confirmed there was no serious problem, there shouldn't be anything to worry about.
"I'm a bit short, thank you so much, teacher." Tang Qing didn't refuse.
Not long after,
Shen Mei personally arrived at the hospital.
Seeing that Tang Qing indeed had injuries and hearing the doctor's advice that he needed to rest for a while, she no longer doubted him. She only reminded him to be careful in the future. In the end, Shen Mei ensured to send Tang Qing downstairs before leaving.
It was still early,
and no one was home.
His uncle and aunt were at work, and the cousins were at school. Qin Shiqi did not attend the same middle school as Tang Qing. She was in the seventh school, the same school as Qin Shiyu. Once they came out of the neighborhood, they had to go either left or right.
If they walked together every day,
then he would have been utterly helpless.
Coming home early, Tang Qing did not play around. He diligently began to read. Although he escaped this exam, he felt suffocated. He could only dodge the exam by self-harm. It was simply a first-class embarrassment.
Shame.
At noon,
His aunt and uncle were greatly shocked when they came back.
They could only urge him to be careful in the future.
Anyway, his grades in the last monthly exam were pretty good. No matter what happened, they couldn't have dropped significantly. The whole family saw Tang Qing's hard work over this period of time. One exam couldn't prove much, so they didn't take it too seriously.
And so,
Tang Qing managed to cunningly avoid the exam, which was a relief. Next, he had to study hard. If he ever repeated this episode, he would be too embarrassed to meet his family and friends.
However,
the injured Tang Qing received unbelievable treatment.
No need to do homework, someone fed him food, the reason being that he wasn't skilled at using chopsticks with his left hand. However, he was a bit taken aback when the usually carefree Qin Shiqi also fed him. He found this rather strange, but it did have a warm feeling.
However,
If he knew that he was only being fed by Qin Shiqi because she saw him as a pet and was just playing with him, he wouldn't have thought this way.
And so,
Tang Qing started his 'miserable' life in his senior year.