Jiangcheng First High School is a key high school in the county.
Freshman and sophomore years are in the front half of the school, the middle is a soccer field and a basketball court, and the back is junior year along with the cafeteria and dormitories.
At that moment, a boy suffering from heatstroke was lying on a bench by the basketball court.
Li Yang felt dazed, as if he was dreaming.
The memory of the previous second was still at the matchmaking corner, vaguely recalling losing his balance and falling.
The next second, he appeared directly on the high school basketball court.
An ice-cold bottle touched his forehead, bringing Li Yang completely back to reality with its authentic sensation.
A donkey face appeared before him, further confirming one thing: he really had returned to being eighteen.
If it were an illusion, he couldn't imagine Wu Tianqi's appearance so vividly, this ugly guy was a solid piece of work; such a bizarre character design could never appear in a fantasy.
Wu Tianqi and him belonged to Jiangcheng First High School's class 17 of junior year, two pieces of trash, two soft spots for class teacher Liu Dayou.
Wu Tianqi, drenched in sweat and panting, said, "You bastard, so weak today, did you dual-cultivate with the Witch Wang Manqi last night?"
Seeing Li Yang suffering from heatstroke, he dashed to the convenience store at a sprint to buy ice water.
Li Yang grinned and said, "Do you have any culture, what does heatstroke have to do with the kidneys?"
Wu Tianqi argued, "There's a big connection, the kidneys belong to Yang, after dual-cultivation, your kidney energy is depleted. Your body involuntarily begins to replenish kidney energy, which stays massively in your body for a short time, causing your heatstroke. So you admit you dual-cultivated with Wang Manqi, right?"
?????
He didn't know why Wu Tianqi was so fixated on this question.
"When did your family study Chinese medicine?"
Wu Tianqi: "No, I read it in novels. I'm telling you, right now you've overdosed on Yang Qi, quickly go find that witch for another dual-cultivation, or you'll explode and die!"
Li Yang took a sip of ice water, feeling a bit better.
Wu Tianqi beside him was chattering incessantly giving him tactics.
Things like harmony of yin and yang, intersections of water and fire.
It always ended with: Trust me, there's no mistake!
"Give me your dorm key, I'm going to lie down for a bit."
Li Yang reached out his hand.
Wu Tianqi's dad was the dean of academic affairs; on the first floor of the dorm building, he arranged a single room for him, living the life of a recluse.
"Haha, fellow cultivator finally believes me, but be careful of my family's elders, they might inspect my abode. After dual-cultivation, remember to clean up a bit."
While speaking, Wu Tianqi tossed the keys from his pocket to Li Yang.
"What about you?"
"I'll continue practicing with other fellow disciples."
Saying that, he waved at the court, someone immediately threw a basketball over, he jumped and shot a super long three-pointer.
Then he murmured softly: Proficiency +1
Li Yang: "..."
He's practicing immortality, and with a panel to boot.
Li Yang got up and walked towards junior year, soon seeing the big iron sign at the entrance of the junior year teaching building; it displayed: 29 days remaining until the college entrance exam of 2014.
Ten minutes later, he returned to Wu Tianqi's dormitory.
The dormitory was simple, just space originally meant for eight people given to one. Without much in the room, it felt a bit empty.
This kind of single room is generally a teacher's privilege, a lot of students would envy it.
He lay in bed, beginning to pick up his previous memories.
While piecing them back together, it was like flipping through pages soaked in water, one careless move and it would be fragmented.
Pieced together bit by bit, he managed to find a rough outline.
Currently, he was living in the dorms, his parents worked construction jobs, his mom would have an accidental injury at a construction site in three months.
This was one reason why he ended up choosing to abandon his studies in the last life despite being able to attend a third-tier college.
The other reason was naturally Wang Manqi.
Thinking of Wang Manqi, he felt relaxed all over.
In the last life, rather than saying he was a simper, it was more about unwillingness.
In the years Wang Manqi went to college, he was truly a simper, because he was waiting for her to graduate.
Most of the money he earned from working was spent on her tuition, living expenses, and gifts.
After Wang Manqi graduated college, using the excuse of preparing for further studies, she dragged him for three years. That's when he started realizing the issue, but had invested so much, there was only a faint hope of things turning out well.
Just like a gambler who lost their fortune but refuses to leave the table.
Unexpectedly, someone even more unrealistic than him made him so angry he was reborn.
Now, he's like being back in the time before entering the gambling den, with all the chips still in hand.
In a sense, did he rob that guy of the ticket to rebirth?
After lying for a while, he felt he had sorted out most things.
Mom's situation didn't have much solution for now; after all, he's just a kid, what right does he have to stop his parents from working?
Making money quickly wasn't realistic, not to mention having no capital, there are still two months until he turns eighteen, plus he has to take the college entrance exam.
"Strive to get into a good university so that my parents can host a graduation banquet."
"If it's Qingbei... that would be even better."
Li Yang had the answers to this year's national exam paper in his mind; after all, this was considered one of the greatest regrets of his life, something he would review almost annually.
Over time, the sequence of answers became ingrained in his soul, but it largely amounted to mechanical memorization, a level of shallow understanding.
"Practice problems! Target Qingbei!"
His thoughts were simple, as Jiang City didn't have many who got into Qingbei each year. If luck was off the charts, there might be two, but usually, it was just one, and occasionally, none at all.
As long as he could get into Qingbei, the county's only listed company, Green Water Group, would reward him with 200,000, the county government with 50,000, and the school with 30,000.
He only had a few hundred yuan in hand right now, and earning 280,000 in a short period seemed harder than reaching the skies.
Moreover, this bonus might become a reason for him not to let his parents go to work.
He picked up a mirror, taking a look at himself inside.
In two months, he'd be an eighteen-year-old fresh meat. Though not dazzlingly handsome, not enough to make women stop in their tracks, the combo of ion-permed hairstyle and that cool, handsome vibe wasn't bad at all.
Without this little capital, he wouldn't still have women proactively approaching him in the matchmaking market at thirty-two.
At this moment, he was under no pressure, and his eyes brightened.
Just then, his phone vibrated.
He looked at the P6 in his hand, which was the first phone of his life.
Not a particularly good phone, as it overheated terribly.
It was Wu Tianqi calling.
"I just saw the Witch pass by and sent her to find you."
Li Yang was taken aback.
"Why are you calling her here?"
"Comrade, aren't you urgently needing to practice with the Witch now?"
"Doesn't necessarily have to be her."
Li Yang certainly had issues with Wang Manqi, but now he felt relieved, considering he was largely to blame in his previous life.
Besides, he and Wang Manqi weren't a couple at this point.
Free of burden, he looked at many things in a new light.
With no worries, he could face any challenge gracefully.
"Don't believe your nonsense. Only Jiang Banxia is a tad prettier than that Witch in the whole school. If you don't confront the Witch, can you go after Jiang Banxia instead?"
"Hmm? She's the one then!"
Under the influence of the information, a figure flashed in Li Yang's mind.
Jiang Banxia from his class, top of the year.
Grade 12 science classes 16 and 17, classified as elite classes.
Li Yang's performance in the first semester of Grade 10 was excellent, so naturally, he ended up in these classes during the class division in the second semester.
Initially, he was starting with a top-tier university, aiming for the best-in-category 985-level institutions, but later his mindset faltered, and his grades plummeted significantly.
There were quite a few math problems he only knew the answers to; the methods were incomprehensible to him. Seeking help from good learners was the quickest approach.
"Hello... what are you saying? If you dare to touch Jiang Banxia, Liu Dayou will plaster you into a wall. Do you believe it? After all, he's counting on Jiang Banxia to get into Qingbei to secure his position as head teacher of the Grade 12 elite class."
"Don't believe it!"
Jiang Banxia didn't get into Qingbei, and indeed no one from Jiangcheng First High School did this year.
Just then, a knock on the door sounded.
Li Yang hung up the phone and went to open the door.
Eighteen-year-old Wang Manqi stood at the doorway, her white T-shirt highlighting her full figure, and tight jeans perfectly contouring her slender legs. Her skin was rosy, her brows like paintings, and her features delicate.
She was so beautiful that a glance would make people fond of her. Some with lower self-esteem would feel intimidated upon seeing her.
But now, Li Yang remained calm.
Wang Manqi said coldly, "Why are you looking for me? I've already said many times, before university, I won't consider dating."
Li Yang smiled and nodded, "I called you over just to talk about this. You're so outstanding, and as an ordinary guy now, I'm not qualified to pursue you. I'll focus on studying to improve myself and won't consider dating."
With that, he promptly closed the door.
These words were spoken by Wang Manqi when she graduated university; at that time, he mentioned marriage, and Wang Manqi used this as an excuse, only replacing dating with marriage.
He was extremely moved at that time.
In inequal romantic relationships, whoever invests first loses.
Much like stock trading, if you don't stake, no matter how volatile the market is, you won't be anxious.
Once you invest, you've fallen for it.
Without placing a bet, elongate your journey!
Wang Manqi looked in disbelief at the dormitory door that was so close.
What did this guy say?
"Then let's delete each other!"
"Hmm, I've already deleted you!"