"Before the semester started, your mother carried half a pig over to my house, begging me to keep a close eye on you. Lin Yi, can you please use your brain for once?
In all my years as a homeroom teacher, very few students have dared to fall asleep during morning study. What is it this time, are you rebelling again?
We've barely got a month left until the college entrance exam, are you planning to drop out and raise pigs back home?"
Out in the hallway, Old Hu's spittle was practically flying into Lin Yi's face.
Staring at Old Hu's rapidly moving lips, Lin Yi was completely dazed. Wasn't he just in a car accident?
What was going on?
Only a month left until the college entrance exam?
Could it be rebirth?
Lin Yi bit the tip of his tongue. The pain felt so real—this wasn't a dream!
Everything before him was so vivid: the reactions of his classmates after he was called out of the classroom, the sound of morning reading drifting from inside, and even Old Hu's flying spit.
Real. It was fucking real.
He had actually been reborn!
"You still have the nerve to smile? Every day you trail around behind Jiang Manni like a lost puppy. Just look at her grades, and then look at yourself. Have you no shame?"
Old Hu was still chewing him out, but Lin Yi couldn't suppress the smile creeping onto his lips.
"Old Hu, save some saliva, you've still got a lecture to give later. I know I was wrong, I won't ever dare do it again."
Even though Old Hu was harsh, Lin Yi wasn't angry at all. That was just Old Hu's personality; he was always dead serious and deeply responsible when it came to his students.
A single piece of chalk, a clean pair of sleeves, a three-foot podium, and endless worry—that was Old Hu in a nutshell.
A teacher like this deserved respect, but he was also genuinely terrifying. You never knew when he'd pop up at the back door of the classroom with his death glare. Just ask yourself: weren't you scared?
"Don't get cheeky with me. If I catch you again next time, I'll have your mother drag you back home to raise pigs. Stand right here, and don't go back in until morning study is over."
Old Hu turned on his heel and walked away.
"You got it, Old Hu. When I get into college, I'll definitely treat you to a big feast."
Lin Yi grinned. If it weren't for Old Hu's nagging back then, he might not have even made it into college in his past life.
"Cut the crap. You making things easy for me would be better than anything else, day in and day out."
Old Hu didn't even look back.
"Lin Yi, you've got some nerve."
A voice rang out, and Lin Yi turned around to see a girl standing not far away.
She was wearing her school uniform with a single ponytail. Her face was no larger than the palm of a hand, and her features were exceptionally delicate, with a tiny mole just below the corner of her right eye. She was definitely school-belle material.
Could this be... Yu Shanshan?
Lin Yi stared. Even though the girl before him looked a bit green, he recognized her instantly. Wasn't this the big celebrity Yu Shanshan?
She was taking punishment too?
Probably not a single teacher or student in the whole school would ever guess that this punished girl would grow up to be a household-name superstar.
Before the accident, whenever he told his colleagues that Yu Shanshan had been his high school classmate, nobody believed him.
"You got sent out too?"
Lin Yi walked over to Yu Shanshan, a strange smile on his face.
"Hmph."
Yu Shanshan held out her hand. Good grief, her nails were done up like a white-bone demon's.
"Actually looks pretty nice."
The smile on Lin Yi's face deepened. As expected of a future superstar—she didn't even forget to get a manicure while in school.
"Why'd you get punished?"
Yu Shanshan looked him up and down. *Well, his features are pretty handsome, but this haircut is a bit ugly.*
"Fell asleep by accident during morning study."
Lin Yi smiled faintly.
"Impressive. Weren't you afraid of having nightmares?"
Yu Shanshan teased. Who in the entire senior year didn't know that Old Hu loved to stalk the back door of the classroom?
"Actually, Old Hu is a really good guy."
Lin Yi looked at Yu Shanshan. In his past life, he had barely spoken to Yu Shanshan. It wasn't until he saw her on TV that he had gasped out loud: *Isn't this Yu Shanshan from the next class over?*
He had to admit, that face really was gorgeous.
"He's already gone, you don't need to suck up to him anymore."
Yu Shanshan smiled like a little fox, her eyes brimming with teasing amusement.
"You don't understand. Old Hu scolds me because he thinks I'm still worth saving. If he stopped scolding me and stopped caring, that would mean he'd given up on me for good."
Lin Yi genuinely felt that way. From elementary school all the way through college, Old Hu was undoubtedly the most responsible teacher he'd ever had.
He still remembered how, after the college entrance exam, his parents threw a thank-you banquet and handed Old Hu a huge red envelope, but Old Hu refused to take it no matter what: "I'm his homeroom teacher, it was only my duty."
"What's your relationship with Jiang Manni from our class? I always used to see the two of you together."
A flash of cunning crossed Yu Shanshan's eyes. The reason she was standing out in the hallway right now was because Jiang Manni had snitched on her.
"We live in the same neighborhood. Did you forget someone else?"
Lin Yi's emotions didn't fluctuate in the slightest. Since Jiang Manni felt Qiyue was so important, he would just grant them their wish.
Since the heavens had rarely given him a second chance at life, he would never repeat the same old mistakes.
"Qiyue?"
"Yeah. Usually, there were three of us."
"Let me tell you a secret: Qiyue and Jiang Manni are dating. The only reason they always dragged you along was because they didn't want people to find out. When you get right down to it, they were just using you as a tool."
Yu Shanshan kept her voice very low. Jiang Manni had gotten her punished, so she was definitely going to return the favor.
"How do you know that?"
Lin Yi's gaze sharpened. Even though he had already decided to let those two be, a strange feeling still stirred inside him.
If what Yu Shanshan said was true, everything finally made sense. No wonder Jiang Manni had been so heartbroken when Qiyue went abroad.
"Last time during PE class, I wasn't feeling well and asked for leave to go back to the classroom. I happened to see Jiang Manni sitting on Qiyue's lap."
Yu Shanshan said it as if it were the absolute truth.
"Why... why are you telling me this?"
Lin Yi took a deep breath. If he had known this in his past life, he certainly wouldn't have gotten together with Jiang Manni. After all, in his heart, Qiyue had been his friend too.
But looking at it now, those two hadn't necessarily felt the same way.
"I'm just giving you a heads-up so you don't keep getting used by them."
Yu Shanshan's gaze flickered away defensively.
"Oh."
Lin Yi didn't show the slightest trace of emotion on his face.
"Aren't you even angry? If I'm lying to you, may I crawl on the ground."
Yu Shanshan was a little disappointed. Shouldn't something like this be extremely hard to accept?
Did Lin Yi already know about it ahead of time?
Lin Yi smiled without answering. Leaving Jiang Manni aside for a moment, Qiyue hadn't even bothered to tell him when he returned to the country—did he even have any reason to be angry?
It was his own poor judgment of character that had kept him in the dark. Sure, those two had acted rather shabbily, but most of it was just because he had been stupid.
If he had figured it out sooner, none of that melodramatic nonsense later on would have happened.
"Hmph, I can't tell if you're just very broad-minded or what."
Just as Yu Shanshan finished speaking, the class-ending bell rang.
"I'm heading back to the classroom."
Lin Yi turned and walked away. Even though he didn't know why Yu Shanshan had decided to tell him this, judging by her behavior just now, she definitely hadn't meant anything good by it.
An eighteen-year-old girl wore her little schemes practically written across her face.
"Hey, want to add me on WeChat?"
A spark of amusement flashed in Yu Shanshan's eyes.
"You actually dared to bring your phone to school?"
Lin Yi paused in his tracks.
"Are you adding me or not?"
Yu Shanshan smiled slightly. She didn't have many virtues, but she was fiercely vindictive. Since Jiang Manni had dared to cross her, they could just hurt each other.
Lin Yi pulled out his phone and pulled up his QR code.
*Ding~*
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