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Sure enough, compared to that old hag Fate, he would always be a loving father generous with cheat codes and protagonist halos!

With a long sigh, Tang Shi shook his head and tossed aside those ill-timed complaints. Then he turned around, dug out all his middle school textbooks, and began a life of reviewing, doing homework, and previewing lessons all at once.

Rome wasn't built in a day. Though years of experience had failed to teach Tang Shi much else, they had taught him that miracles never happened overnight. There were still two and a half years until the college entrance exam. He had enough time to make up for the knowledge he had missed—and enough chances to change the regrets of the past.

In the living room, Mother Tang carried a plate of freshly cut fruit into Tang Shi's room. Seeing her son studying so seriously, she felt gratified, but also faintly worried—

It was always like this. Whenever exam results came out and her son felt he had done poorly, he would study diligently and obediently. But that never lasted more than a month. Then his little urge to read extracurricular books would start stirring again, rising from the ashes, and his schoolbag and the space beneath his bed would once more be taken over by those idle books. Mother Tang knew this perfectly well, but she spoiled her child too much to bring herself to use the parents' favorite method these days—"bamboo shoots fried with meat"—to "communicate" with him at the crucial moment. So the same scene repeated day after day, until all hope in Mother Tang's heart had vanished.

At ten-thirty that night, Tang Shi finished all his homework, made a review schedule, completed part of his review and preview work according to the plan, then pulled out some scratch paper and continued filling in the outline for Prosperous Tang Strategy. Used to the feel and speed of fingers tapping on a keyboard, he found the slow process of scribbling across paper with a ballpoint pen especially unfamiliar. After writing only a few words, his fingers hurt from the pen digging into them, and his wrist felt sore as well. Tang Shi sighed and helplessly shook his head at his work efficiency, which had slowed by several times.

Luckily, the overall framework of the outline had already been sorted out. Tang Shi planned to visit the electronics market during lunch break tomorrow to buy a USB drive, then go to an internet café to download some materials. On Sunday, he would go to the library and fill in the remaining information. It would be a massive undertaking, but fortunately, Tang Shi was in no hurry.

Setting aside the half-finished, messy outline, Tang Shi pulled out another sheet of scratch paper and wrote the first chapter of Prosperous Tang Strategy. With his previous memories, recreating it went as smoothly as driving down a familiar road, without the slightest snag. In just over an hour, three thousand words had sprung onto the page.

When the hands of the clock pointed to midnight once more, Mother Tang entered his room right on time and urged Tang Shi to sleep. Tang Shi obediently got up, put away his books, set his alarm, washed up, and went to bed. The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Tang Shi woke to the deafening blare of his alarm clock. At five in the morning in early summer, the sun had already begun to rise. He pulled open the curtains and found the sky outside fully bright. Granny Zhou, their neighbor, was trembling along the alley behind the window, carrying a bag of fried dough sticks, a bag of soy milk, and half a bag of plums. Seeing Tang Shi pull back the curtain and poke his head out, she smiled and said, "Little Shi, you're up so early. Where's your mother?"

Tang Shi pointed toward his own courtyard and said with a smile, "She just finished making the buns. She's getting ready to set up her stall."

Granny Zhou sighed at that and said, "Your mother really hasn't had it easy. She raised you all by herself. You need to study hard and be filial to her when you grow up."

Tang Shi nodded repeatedly in agreement. People in this era had a strong sense of human warmth. Neighbors interacted often and warmly. Even if they occasionally argued, as long as they had not fallen out completely, they would still nod and exchange a few pleasantries upon meeting. Not to mention old brothers and sisters who had become as close as family. Such feelings were not limited by distance. For instance, before Tang Shi's family relocated, they had been close with a neighbor surnamed Fang. Because he and Father Tang shared similar interests, they had stayed in touch even after moving away. Later, that neighbor had gone abroad to work as a cook to make a living. After learning that Father Tang had died of illness, he reminisced about the past and wept bitterly. He even made an overseas phone call to comfort Mother Tang. More than ten years later, when Uncle Fang's son got married, he still remembered to send invitations to Mother Tang and Tang Shi.

That was the deep friendship of the older generation. Unfortunately, Tang Shi and Uncle Fang's son had been quite close as children, but after more than ten years with little contact, their relationship had faded considerably. By then, they were no more than nodding acquaintances.

Tang Shi was lost in his memories when Granny Zhou, after muttering to herself for a while, took out two handfuls of plums from her plastic bag and placed them on the windowsill. Smiling, she said, "These plums were bought fresh this morning. They're big and sweet. Take them to school and eat them."

Back then, their hometown still had the custom that one must not refuse a gift from an elder. If a neighboring adult gave you something and you refused it, it would make you seem distant. If it got serious, it could even make people mistakenly think, Do you look down on me? So Tang Shi did not decline. He merely thanked Granny Zhou with a smile, sweet-talked her with a couple of pleasant words, then reached out and put the plums on the table.

Granny Zhou checked the time, figured that her son, daughter-in-law, and eldest grandson were probably awake by now, and slowly carried her breakfast onward.

That exchange took more than ten minutes. By the time Tang Shi hurriedly washed up and got dressed, Mother Tang had already moved the bamboo steamers and insulated containers onto the tricycle. Tang Shi quickly pushed his bicycle after her. Seeing this, Mother Tang frowned and said, "You don't need to come with me. Go back and sleep a little longer."

At seven in the morning, after insisting on accompanying Mother Tang while she sold buns all morning, Tang Shi entered the classroom just as the bell for morning self-study rang. He passed rows of desks to reach his seat. He had barely sat down and had not even opened his schoolbag when Lu Hengzhi eagerly sidled over and whispered, "What happened to you this morning? I went looking for you, but nobody was home."

Hearing that, Tang Shi slapped his forehead and said to Lu Hengzhi, "Oh, I forgot about that. I helped my mom sell buns this morning, so I got up a little early."

Lu Hengzhi's eyes lit up, and he immediately pressed, "Then since you behaved so well, did Aunt Tang agree to our thing?"

Tang Shi let out a dejected breath and shook his head. "Don't mention it. I didn't even get the chance to bring it up last night before my mom shut me down. I think we should wait a few days before talking about it again."

Lu Hengzhi grew anxious and hurriedly said, "In a few days, it'll—"

"Ahem, ahem—" Before Lu Hengzhi could finish, Old Yu, the homeroom teacher at the front of the classroom, suddenly cleared his throat heavily and strode over to stop beside Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's desk.

The two immediately settled down and obediently stared at their textbooks, reading along with the morning session. After three to five minutes, Old Yu finally left with his hands clasped behind his back, his stern old face cold as he swayed away step by step. Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi exchanged a guilty glance and said nothing more.

The thirty minutes of morning self-study quickly passed. First period was math. After reviewing, previewing, memorizing formulas, and doing practice problems the previous night, Tang Shi found that his thoughts were much clearer when he listened to the lesson again. After the teacher finished explaining the new material and he followed along with several exercises, Tang Shi discovered that the math problems he had once regarded as fierce beasts were not nearly as difficult as he had imagined. He felt much better.

After class, the students swarmed over like a hive, chattering nonstop as they asked Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi whether they planned to sign up for the auditions for Dance Miracle. They had actually discussed the matter before morning self-study, but they had been talking to Lu Hengzhi then. Now that the other person involved had appeared, everyone naturally had to go over it again. After all, school life was too simple and dull. There were hardly any fresh topics for casual conversation.

The noisy barrage of voices gave Tang Shi a slight headache. Fortunately, break only lasted ten minutes, and second period was the homeroom teacher's Chinese class. The instant Old Yu entered the classroom, the students scattered like birds and beasts. Old Yu swept his gaze over the inexplicably excited students and coldly snorted.

The next second, Tang Shi, once again caught in the crossfire, met Old Yu's murderous stare with an innocent expression.

After the bell rang, Old Yu called on students as usual to stand and recite the text. Unlike usual, he made an exception and called Tang Shi's name. Fortunately, Tang Shi had reviewed the lesson the night before and recited it fairly fluently. This surprised Old Yu, who had been prepared to give Tang Shi a thorough scolding if he failed, and the displeasure in his heart eased slightly.

After Tang Shi answered several more questions fluently, Old Yu nodded with a gentler expression, waved for Tang Shi to sit down, and said, "A student's duty is to study. Although the country is now promoting reduced academic burdens and repeatedly ordering schools not to put too much pressure on students, advocating quality education and well-rounded development, I'm responsibly telling you that all of that is empty talk. The college entrance exam is a thousand armies fighting to cross a single-log bridge. If your grades don't improve, you won't even get through the gates of a good school. If you can't attend a good university, you won't find a good job in the future. If you graduate without even a decent job, your life is basically over. So I advise certain students here to settle down and study honestly. Don't entertain unnecessary fantasies. Being a star isn't easy, and not just anyone can do it. Instead of wasting your time on that, you might as well review your lessons properly. After all, your chances of getting into college are far greater than your chances of becoming a star!"

That speech set the entire class laughing. Some outgoing students who liked responding to teachers during class retorted, "Teacher, that might not be true. Look at Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi—they're both so handsome, and they can sing and dance. Maybe they really can become stars!"

Old Yu was thoroughly unconvinced. Shaking his head, he rebuked them, "Being handsome won't put food on the table. You children are too naïve. Becoming a star isn't nearly that easy."

Old Yu had meant to throw cold water on them and make everyone calm down, but instead, his words immediately sparked a lively discussion. For ordinary people, becoming a star and entering the entertainment industry was always something distant yet extraordinarily captivating. Besides, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi were considered notable figures at No. 1 High School. Their grades were not particularly good, but they were handsome and talented. Tang Shi could play guitar, sing, dance, write, and play basketball. On top of all that, Lu Hengzhi could sing Peking Opera and write calligraphy. Their active presence could be seen at every school anniversary, freshman welcome event, and interclass basketball game, so they had gathered quite a few supporters.

Tang Shi sat obediently below, watching his classmates excitedly discuss how, after the two of them became stars, they might directly film television dramas, hold concerts, and be invited to Hollywood in the United States to make movies. He could not help feeling a headache coming on. Their words were innocent, childish, and utterly unrealistic, but wasn't youth all about holding unrealistic fantasies in one's heart and passionately believing that one could save the world alone? Listening to the classmates around him chatter about their dreams, Tang Shi had to admit that he, too, felt a faint flicker of anticipation.

After all, he had already won the grand prize of reincarnation. It was only natural for Fate to treat him a little better, wasn't it?

Watching the students in class continue fantasizing like wild horses that had broken free of their reins, Old Yu helplessly shook his head. He grabbed the blackboard eraser and sharply rapped it against the board to restore order, then began the lesson.

For the rest of the morning, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi became the focus of attention for both teachers and students. This was most obvious in the fact that every teacher lectured them earnestly for a few words in each class—some warnings, some encouragement, and some outright disapproval. During morning exercises, they were thoroughly gawked at by the entire school. Even at noon, when they went to the cafeteria for food, the auntie serving the dishes encouraged them in Mandarin thick with a rustic accent. "When you go sign up, tell us. We'll watch too, and we'll definitely support you."

Tang Shi looked at the food on his tray, which was twice his usual portion, with a face full of dark lines and felt an immense pressure.

What did it mean to bear the heavy burden of revolution on both shoulders? This was it.

Seeing that, Lu Hengzhi grinned and laughed. "You know, the people at our school really are enthusiastic. With so many people supporting us, even if we don't dance as well as the professionals, we can still compete in popularity, right?"