Chen Zhu's circle after his rebirth

Generally speaking, a student like Li Jianming could face one of two outcomes:

The first was to be criticized at a school assembly and made to offer a sincere apology in front of everyone, only to receive a fairly mild disciplinary warning in the end.

A lot of thunder, very little rain. The cane would be raised high, then brought down gently.

The second was what had happened this time: before even his own classmates realized what was going on, he had quietly been expelled.

When something like this happened, there was always someone powerful pulling strings behind the scenes.

Of course, the thugs who had actually attacked them fared even worse. They were all arrested within a couple of days, and with the help of the "Great Memory Restoration Technique," some even confessed to burglaries.

Well, that settled it. What might have been six months behind bars now started at two years.

But the incident damaged the school's reputation, and the Gaokao was coming up soon, so the school leadership agreed to keep things quiet.

The head of their year, Cao Jingjun, specifically called Chen Zhu, the person involved, and Wang Changhua, the "unwilling participant," into his office for a talk.

He hoped they would consider the bigger picture, protect the school's hard-earned reputation, and refrain from telling any classmates what had really happened.

Chen Zhu immediately declared that he had always regarded the school as one big family. As the saying went, "The school's honor is my honor, and its shame is my shame." He would absolutely keep the matter confidential.

Cao Jingjun promptly praised Chen Zhu for his strong sense of responsibility and his ability to see the bigger picture.

Wang Changhua was unhappy, and even his agreement came grudgingly.

It wasn't that he minded having been beaten up. What bothered him was coming back to school afterward and finding rumors about "Chen Zhu and Song Shiwei" dating absolutely everywhere.

So I was the one who got beaten up, but Chen Zhu got all the glory?

Once they left the office, Chen Zhu noticed Wang Changhua was in a bad mood. He patted his shoulder and consoled him. "Pick a Sunday afternoon when we're off school. I'll treat you to fish ball noodles at the convenience store."

"What's so great about fish ball noodles?"

Wang Changhua still couldn't muster any enthusiasm.

"Heh."

Chen Zhu chuckled. "I could invite an innocent high school girl who's a hundred and seventy centimeters tall."

"Huh?"

Wang Changhua stopped in his tracks and looked at Chen Zhu skeptically, as though doubting he could pull that off.

Chen Zhu only needed one sentence to put all his doubts to rest.

"When I was at the police station, both Song Shiwei and Yu Xian came to see me."

"Every bowl of fish ball noodles that day is on me, Wang Changhua!"

After the Second Mock Exam ended, time seemed to have suddenly been wound up like a clock. In the blink of an eye, May had arrived.

For the final-year students, May meant there were only thirty-odd days until the Gaokao. Break-time exercises had been suspended, and the weather was growing increasingly hot.

Sometimes, after sitting for too long, their palms would be so sweaty that their pens became slippery. They even had to stand up and tug at their trousers a couple of times, or their underwear would stick to their backsides.

There were fans in the classroom, though their creaking sometimes drowned out the teacher's voice.

Still, they could never match the coolness of a natural breeze suddenly blowing in through the windows.

More students began strolling around the sports field. Some were trying to relieve stress, while other boys and girls worried they might never see each other again after graduation and wanted to express their feelings in the time they had left.

At this point, the teachers all seemed to have gone blind, afraid that an ill-timed intervention might affect the students' performance in the Gaokao.

Amid these lovely, memorable, yet nerve-racking days, the third mock exam quietly arrived.

The third mock exam was purely intended to boost confidence. Or, to put it more plainly, it was mainly meant to boost the confidence of students with middling grades.

It made less of a difference for someone like Chen Zhu. His English score was only a dozen or so points higher than in the Second Mock Exam, finally pushing his total past 670.

Once the third mock exam results came out, the next crucial task was submitting their university preferences.

Since most students had little experience of the wider world, their parents usually made the decisions, with teachers offering advice. Occasionally, close friends influenced their choices as well.

On Sunday afternoon, May 13, there was less than a month until the Gaokao and two days until they had to submit their preferences.

Chen Zhu invited Huang Bohan out to unwind, arranging to meet at the convenience store in Shangxiajiu.

Before they officially started university, the place seemed to have become the natural gathering spot for Chen Zhu and his friends. The bustling shopping street was right outside, and the convenience store had food and drinks.

Most importantly, Yu Xian never chased them out and even treated them to soda.

"Chen Zhu!"

As soon as Huang Bohan sat down, he complained to Chen Zhu, "My parents want me to apply to the computing school at South China University of Technology, but I think my chances are really slim. What should I do?"

Its full name was the School of Computer Science and Engineering, one of South China University of Technology's strongest schools. Computing was still one of the most sought-after majors at the time, so its admission scores were very high.

As Chen Zhu remembered it, even the lowest score needed to get into that major was over 620. Big Huang's three mock exam scores had been 600, 598, and 613, so he had virtually no chance of getting in.

Chen Zhu thought for a moment, then said, "What about the electronics and information school? Has your family considered that?"

Its full name was the School of Electronic and Information Engineering. It mainly studied electromagnetic waves, communication circuits, digital signal processing, and so on. It wasn't as popular as the computing school, but plenty of companies, especially state-owned enterprises, offered its graduates jobs.

That was the major Chen Zhu had studied back then. After graduating, however, he had turned down those offers because he thought the pay at state-owned enterprises was too low and the work too restrictive.

Who could have imagined that he would later become a civil servant, earning even less and enjoying even less freedom?

"Electronics and information?"

Huang Bohan scratched his head. "My parents don't really know much about that major. What do you think of law?"

Law was another long-established major at South China University of Technology, and its admission scores were nowhere near as high as computing's. But Chen Zhu was against it.

If Huang Bohan really went to law school, he would be retracing his old path. He had chosen law back then and met the woman who had almost ruined his entire life.

"The law school's good, and with your attitude toward studying, you'd definitely have no trouble passing the judicial examination. But..."

Chen Zhu countered with a question. "What about after graduation? That line of work requires you to communicate, debate, and even argue to get your points across. Do you think it suits you?"

"That's true..."

Huang Bohan began wavering again.

In fact, when it came to submitting university preferences, many students were like Huang Bohan: they came from families of modest means but had good grades. With limited access to information and nobody to guide them, they ended up choosing a major their parents thought would make it "easy to find a job."

After graduation, however, they discovered they weren't suited to that work at all, and by then it was too late for regrets. It might not ruin their entire lives, but they would certainly be miserable and unhappy.

That was why choosing a major had to be a rational, informed decision. "Easy to find a job" could only be one factor. They also had to consider their personalities and even how their family backgrounds might help their future careers.

While Huang Bohan was hesitating, Zhao Yuanyuan pushed open the door, carrying a cute little yellow bag.

Yuanyuan was exceptionally polite and began greeting everyone as soon as she entered. "Hi, Chen Zhu, Bohan, Yu Xian, and you too, pretty lady. Good afternoon!"

The "pretty lady" was Wu Yu, who had also come to help at the convenience store that day.

"What month was Zhao Yuanyuan born in?"

Huang Bohan asked quietly, "Why does she address everyone like they're older than her?"

"She'll only be seventeen after finishing the Gaokao this year."

Since they were childhood friends, Chen Zhu knew a little about her situation. "She skipped two grades in primary school," he explained.

"Damn!"

Big Huang looked at Zhao Yuanyuan with noticeably more respect. In high school, students with good grades tended to enjoy higher status within their little social circles.

"Yu Xian!"

Within two minutes of sitting down, Zhao Yuanyuan called sweetly, "Could I trouble you for two bowls of fish ball noodles?"

Hearing that made Huang Bohan feel a little hungry too. He was going to order a bowl himself and asked whether Chen Zhu wanted any.

Chen Zhu shook his head. "Wang Changhua will be here in a bit. I'll eat with him."

"Chen Zhu!"

Zhao Yuanyuan overheard him and asked curiously, "Who's Wang Changhua? A boy or a girl?"

Huang Bohan knew Wang Changhua too. After all, he came to compare answers with Chen Zhu after every exam, not to mention having been mistaken for Chen Zhu and beaten up a little while ago. Huang Bohan answered with a chuckle, "A guy who really loves showing off."

"How much does he love showing off?"

Zhao Yuanyuan picked up a fish ball and popped it into her mouth, making her already chubby cheeks even rounder.

"Um... how do I put this?"

Chen Zhu thought for a moment, then said, "If we spotted a flaw, we might say, 'I found a bug.' Changhua would say, 'I located a whoopsie.' That's roughly the vibe."

Although Chen Zhu hadn't directly described Changhua's personality at all, the example immediately told Zhao Yuanyuan exactly what sort of person Wang Changhua was.

A guy who loved showing off but always managed to do it wrong.

(Some wording in this chapter seems to have triggered the filter, so it keeps getting held for review. There'll be another chapter at eight tonight!)

(End of chapter)