Do You Believe in Love?

As Chen Guiliang spoke with Bian Guanyue, several boys headed toward the back rows.

But they were too embarrassed to reveal their true intentions, so they only stopped beside their friends' desks. They pretended to chat while secretly glancing at Bian Guanyue.

Xie Yang did the same, except he could get closer because he was good friends with Chen Guiliang.

"Chen the Hero, you changed seats?"

That bastard Xie Yang was making pointless conversation. Without looking sideways, he walked past Bian Guanyue as though he had no interest in her at all.

But when he was only one step away from Bian Guanyue, Xie Yang suddenly lifted a hand to sweep back his stylish hair, swinging his head in a very rhythmic motion.

The hair hanging over his forehead was flicked precisely behind his ear.

He thought the move was especially dashing and handsome. It would definitely catch the girls' attention!

Unfortunately, Bian Guanyue never looked at him even once.

Chen Guiliang, on the other hand, was amused by his flamboyant display.

Under Xie Yang's utterly disappointed gaze, Bian Guanyue picked up her backpack and left the classroom.

Zheng Feng seized the chance to follow her. He lacked the nerve to get too close and stayed several meters behind her the whole time. He imagined squeezing onto the same bus as Bian Guanyue, where countless coincidences could happen.

For example, there could be too many students boarding, making the bus crowded and cramped. He could bravely shield Bian Guanyue with his body, protecting her from being harassed.

Zheng Feng followed her all the way out of the school gates and, sure enough, saw Bian Guanyue heading toward the bus stop.

Then he was dumbfounded.

Several taxis were parked by the roadside. Bian Guanyue opened the door of one, got into the back seat, and said, "Driver, take me to Back Street."

Watching the car drive away, Zheng Feng consoled himself. Taxis were expensive. She couldn't possibly take one every day.

Only four or five students remained in the classroom.

Xie Yang lowered his voice and said excitedly, "Damn, she looked even prettier up close. Chen the Hero, don't you dare compete with me for Bian Guanyue."

"Don't you like Zhou Jing?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Xie Yang made excuses for himself. "Zhou Jing loves studying too much. She reads and does exercises all day. She has no time to date, so maybe she isn't right for me."

Chen Guiliang mocked him. "You only know how to crush on girls from afar. If you dared say a few more words to a girl you liked, I'd respect you as a real man. What, are you hoping Bian Guanyue or Zhou Jing will chase after you first?"

"Get lost! What the hell do you know?"

Xie Yang immediately flew into an embarrassed rage, as though Chen Guiliang had stripped him naked.

Didn't he have any pride?

But then, hadn't Chen Guiliang been the same way around girls in high school?

Deep down, he had been extremely proud and arrogant.

Yet his upbringing and his dire financial circumstances had also left Chen Guiliang with profound insecurity.

He couldn't even afford to take a girl out for a meal, so what love was there to talk about?

Therefore, Chen Guiliang had never had a girlfriend throughout his entire student life. After graduation, he had been busy making a living and had even less time or energy to think about romance.

It was only after he had passed thirty, when his life improved and his salary became quite substantial, that he began going on blind dates to settle the matter of marriage.

The woman had been quite satisfied with him. She only asked for a bride price of sixty-six thousand yuan, yet brought a car worth over two hundred thousand yuan as her dowry. They had also jointly paid for the marital home—this was perfectly normal in Sichuan and Chongqing.

His wife had been a teacher at a prestigious elementary school, a local of Hibiscus City, reasonably attractive, and from a well-off family.

Before marriage, she had seemed cultured and understanding. Only after marriage did her personality flaws emerge. She nitpicked every trivial matter and argued over every inconsequential issue. She also loved comparing her husband with the husbands of her best friends, colleagues, and relatives. Every other sentence was, "Look at so-and-so's husband."

Chen Guiliang felt less like a husband and more like an elementary school student being scolded by a teacher all day, constantly compared with other people's children.

The moment Chen Guiliang was fired by his boss, the family conflicts finally erupted completely.

Divorce.

The only fortunate thing was that housing prices in Hibiscus City had skyrocketed during those two years. Selling the marital home had actually earned them a profit.

After becoming single again and later achieving financial freedom, Chen Guiliang had also found himself some young models. At first, he had been quite excited, but after doing it a few more times, he found it boring.

His parents pushed him to remarry, so he gritted his teeth and went on several more blind dates.

He was dissatisfied with every single one.

He had not only lost his passion for dating, but even his interest in settling for a marriage of convenience.

As for physical needs, money could solve those completely. With a wave of his hand, young girls would come flocking over. What family or feelings was there to talk about?

"Chen Guiliang, Xie Yang, remember to turn off the lights when you leave!" class monitor Li Rui shouted from the classroom doorway.

"Got it," Xie Yang replied impatiently.

The classroom was empty, with only the two of them left.

Chen Guiliang said, "The school gates haven't closed yet. I'm going out to buy some things."

Xie Yang stylishly tossed his hair, no longer dwelling on what had just happened, and walked shoulder to shoulder with Chen Guiliang, hands in his pockets.

They hurried to a shop outside the school, where Chen Guiliang bought shampoo and other daily necessities.

It was hard to go from luxury back to frugality. He needed to wash his hair again and really couldn't get used to using soap.

When they returned to the school gate, the guard had just locked it.

The school guard, like the cafeteria ladies, had also been one of Chen Guiliang's "enemies."

Forty-year-old Chen Guiliang no longer held grudges against a school guard. "Sir, could you open the gate for me?"

The guard was actually a little flattered.

That crazy student who always caused trouble had called him sir for the first time ever?

"Come in." The guard held a cigarette in his mouth as he took out his keys and unlocked the iron gate.

Actually, it would not have mattered if the guard refused. Chen Guiliang could have simply climbed over the wall.

"Thanks."

After entering the school, Chen Guiliang did not head straight back to the dormitory. Instead, he walked toward Artificial Lake.

He came to the lakeside, found a stone bench, sat down, and stared blankly at the pitch-black water.

There was something wrong with this young body!

During evening self-study, when Bian Guanyue sat beside him, the fresh scent of her shampoo and body wash drifted over, and Chen Guiliang had stirred like an animal in heat.

Damn it, puberty hormones were so rampant that even his brain was becoming a little hard to control.

"Xie Yang, do you believe true love really exists?" Chen Guiliang suddenly asked.

Xie Yang swept back his hair. "Of course I do."

Chen Guiliang said, "What do you think about me having a relationship during the rest of high school?"

"Chen the Hero wants to date?" Xie Yang's curiosity instantly peaked. "Which heroine do you like? The prettiest girl in our class is Zhou Jing, and now there's Bian Guanyue too. Ou Yafei from Class 12 next door is also very pretty, but unfortunately, I don't really have a chance to talk to her."

Chen Guiliang looked down on him. "You idiot, you only care about faces. Zhu Xiaoya has the best figure in our class."

Xie Yang disagreed. "Zhu Xiaoya only has big boobs. She isn't that pretty."

Chen Guiliang could not be bothered arguing with a virgin.

He suddenly realized what he ought to do.

It did not matter whether he won an award in the New Concept Writing Competition.

Failing the College Entrance Exam would not be a big deal either.

Having been reborn, he should make up for his greatest regret.

What was his greatest regret?

Of course, it was having lived half his life without ever experiencing a pure love affair unrelated to money.

So who should he pursue?

Chen Guiliang's high school crush had been Ou Yafei from the class next door.

She had a pretty face, dressed well, and looked like a little seductress.

Back when he was in school, every time Chen Guiliang passed Class 12, he would secretly peek inside. As long as he could catch a glimpse of Ou Yafei, even if it was only her back, he would be satisfied.

But the filter surrounding that unattainable dream girl had shattered long before his rebirth.

After achieving financial freedom, for some unknown reason, he had deliberately contacted several former classmates and asked around in detail about Ou Yafei.

He would have been better off not asking!

According to those former classmates, Ou Yafei had plenty of scandalous baggage.

It turned out that the goddess Chen Guiliang had secretly loved had gotten an abortion during the summer vacation of her second year of high school.

During college, Ou Yafei had tried to seduce a professor in order to secure a postgraduate recommendation and had been slapped in public by the professor's wife.

After graduation, she supposedly became someone's mistress, though that information was unconfirmed.

Later, she married a boss. Some said she had taken the position from his mistress, and her husband was over twenty years older than her. She quit her job to become a full-time housewife and showed off luxury goods on Moments every few days.

Learning all that made Chen Guiliang feel as sick as if he had swallowed a fly.

Xie Yang tossed his hair stylishly and said without a shred of self-awareness, "We're friends, so we can compete fairly and see who wins Bian Guanyue first."

Chen Guiliang said, "How about we compete to see who gets into Tsinghua University and Peking University?"

"Do you know how to have a conversation?" Xie Yang asked unhappily.

Chen Guiliang thought Bian Guanyue was not bad.

But they had barely interacted in his previous life, and they lost contact after graduating from high school.

There were rumors that Bian Guanyue had gotten married and gone abroad.

There were also rumors that Bian Guanyue had come out, had been living in Magic City ever since, and had even adopted a Kid.

The two versions were completely contradictory, and no one knew which was true.

Chen Guiliang let out a grand sigh. "Sigh, in this huge No. 2 Middle School, I can't find a single girl worth pursuing. Maybe I'm just too outstanding. I draw my sword and look around, only to find myself lost in emptiness!"

Xie Yang flicked his hair again and complained, "You're the one who's really good at acting cool."

Chen Guiliang strolled along the lakeside. Past the wisteria trellis ahead and through a grove of camphor trees lay the dormitory.

Xie Yang silently followed him, still comparing Zhou Jing and Bian Guanyue in his mind. He discovered that he was a devoted man. After all, he had secretly loved Zhou Jing for so long. Though he had begun to transfer his affections, he still could not let go of his "old flame."

As they drew closer to the wisteria trellis, rustling sounds came from beneath it.

They could even faintly hear soft panting.

It was probably a pair of lovebirds having a secret tryst. They surely did not dare go all the way, but hugging, groping, and fondling each other was enough to satisfy their cravings.

Xie Yang lightened his footsteps and snickered softly. "Heh heh, something's going on."

"You want to peep? Be careful you get a stye," Chen Guiliang said.

"I'm just taking a look," Xie Yang said.

Cough, cough!

In the pitch darkness, Chen Guiliang suddenly coughed twice and barked in a rough voice, "Which class are you from? Why aren't you back in the dormitory yet?"

In the quiet night, the shout was like a clap of thunder.

The couple beneath the wisteria trellis thought a teacher had arrived and immediately fled in separate directions.

One ran toward the boys' dormitory, while the other ran toward the girls' dormitory.

When disaster struck, they flew apart.

Chen Guiliang stood there gleefully and said, "I don't even have a girlfriend yet. Anyone daring to date at school deserves to die."

Xie Yang found it amusing. He stamped in place, making heavy footsteps to imitate someone chasing after them. "Stop! Don't run! Getting caught in a puppy-love relationship means expulsion!"

The pair of lovebirds sped up again in fright.

"HAHAHAHA!"

The two lunatics laughed smugly by the lakeside.

In high spirits, they returned to the dormitory. The moment they entered, Li Yulin from Bed Five said, "Damn, you finally came back. Wang Yu and I were on a date at Artificial Lake just now, and we nearly got caught by a teacher. Fuck, that was close. Good thing I ran fast!"