Impossible in This Lifetime

The bus arrived at the stop.

Yang Jian dropped Wang Shanshan off at home first.

Because they had spoken on the phone earlier, when he and Wang Shanshan reached the entrance of an upscale residential complex, a fashionably dressed middle-aged woman approached them with a frown and an unhappy expression.

"Mom." Wang Shanshan's face lit up with joy.

"You still know how to come home? You were gone all night! Your phone couldn't be reached either. Do you know how worried we were? What if something had happened to you out there? If you hadn't come back today, your dad and I were going to report you missing." Wang Shanshan's mother, Wang Haiyan, scolded her.

"Mom, I'm sorry. Something happened at school, so..." Wang Shanshan lowered her head.

"Enough. You can explain it to your dad later. I want to know who this boy is. Why did he come back with you?" Wang Haiyan asked.

"He's my classmate, Yang Jian. Mom, haven't you seen him at school before?" Wang Shanshan said.

"A classmate? How could I remember all the students in your class?" Wang Haiyan sized Yang Jian up.

"Hello, Aunt Wang. Since everything's fine now, I'll be leaving. I'll visit you another time when I'm free," Yang Jian said.

He did not intend to stay long and was about to leave immediately.

"Wait."

Wang Haiyan stopped Yang Jian. "You're Shanshan's classmate? Tell me, where did you go last night? Why is Shanshan only coming home now? Did you take her somewhere to fool around?"

"Aunt Wang, it's not what you think. Something unusual happened at school after evening self-study yesterday. Everyone in the class was kept at school, and we only just got back. I was worried Wang Shanshan might not be safe on the way home, so I brought her back," Yang Jian said.

"I called Teacher Wang. Nothing happened at school yesterday," Wang Haiyan said.

Yang Jian smiled. "Teacher Wang's phone couldn't be reached at all yesterday. Aunt Wang, you must be joking."

Of course, Wang Haiyan knew Teacher Wang's phone could not be reached. She had only been trying to test the boy and see if there was anything suspicious going on.

She continued, "It was kind of you to bring Shanshan home, and I should thank you. But Shanshan was raised strictly. She has never fooled around outside, nor has she ever associated with any dubious people. And this is an important time in her senior year. She needs to focus on her studies. I hope this classmate won't affect Shanshan's schoolwork in the future."

The implication was that Yang Jian should stay away from Wang Shanshan and not get any ideas about her daughter.

After saying that, Wang Haiyan took two hundred yuan from her wallet and stuffed it into Yang Jian's hand. "You must have had a hard time bringing Shanshan home so early in the morning. You probably haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Aunt Wang will give you two hundred yuan to buy breakfast. Don't think it's too little. Take it."

Yang Jian stared blankly at the two hundred yuan in his hand. Then the smile vanished from his face, and he said calmly, "Thank you, Aunt Wang."

With that, he accepted the money, turned around, and left.

The moment Yang Jian left, Wang Shanshan was nearly driven to tears. "Mom, you went too far! Yang Jian may not do well in school, but he's a good person. What was that supposed to mean, giving him money? Wasn't that humiliating him?"

"What do you know? I was testing that boy. Look at him—he accepted two hundred yuan without even thinking of refusing. You can tell at a glance that he's some poor kid with no ambition. Stay away from people like that in the future. Don't let a few sweet words fool you," Wang Haiyan said.

"You're the one who doesn't know anything! Do you know what happened at school last night? Without Yang Jian, I'd already be dead! Do you think he wanted to bring me home? I begged him to! After what you did, how am I supposed to face him again?"

"A person like that has no backbone. It's better if you never see him again," Wang Haiyan said. "Our family isn't just anyone's family."

"Waaah..." Wang Shanshan burst into tears and turned away.

Still riding the bus, Yang Jian looked at the two hundred yuan in his hand. Of course, he understood what Wang Shanshan's mother had meant by her actions.

There had been contempt in it, along with a measure of humiliation.

Anyone else would probably have exploded by then.

But Yang Jian remained calm and unmoved. Even if he got angry, what could he do?

Wang Shanshan's family was well-off, and she was pretty. She normally had nothing to do with a loser like him, so when he suddenly brought her home, of course her parents would reject someone like him and try every way possible to push him away.

Even if he got angry to her face, he would only be making a fool of himself. It was not like he could jump up and beat Wang Haiyan over two hundred yuan.

Besides, to the current Yang Jian, this was nothing more than a trivial matter. He had not saved Wang Shanshan because he wanted anything from her.

"Being a good person really isn't easy. No wonder even ghosts have started appearing."

Yang Jian rubbed the back of his hand, laughed at himself, and slipped the two hundred yuan into his pocket.

When he got home, he fell onto his bed and immediately fell asleep.

He was simply too exhausted.

The other students also returned home one after another. Even after something that huge, they still had to go home, didn't they?

At that moment, Zhang Wei returned to his family's villa.

He had not lied. He really was a rich second-generation heir. He was merely low-key in daily life and had not developed the habits of a spoiled wastrel.

"Why are you back so late? Your phone couldn't be reached either. What were you doing all night?"

The moment Zhang Wei entered, his father, Zhang Xiangui, heard the door open and came out of his room, staring at him with a stern expression.

Zhang Wei shrank his neck. "School... I went out with friends."

He wanted to say that the school was haunted and that he had been tormented half to death, but it sounded too much like an insult to his dad's intelligence. In the end, he kept it to himself and chose to lie.

"You went out? Don't do this again next time."

Zhang Xiangui did not criticize him too harshly. He merely said casually, "After breakfast, remember to go to school. Don't be late."

School?

Zhang Wei's eyes suddenly contracted as he said in terror, "No, I'm not going to school."

"If you're not going to school, what do you plan to do?" Zhang Xiangui asked.

"Anything is fine, as long as I don't have to go to school," Zhang Wei said.

Go back to Seventh High School? Was he tired of living? That place was haunted. He had barely escaped a few hours ago. Going back to school would be suicide, wouldn't it?

No, even if he killed himself, he would never go back to that school.

"Are you asking for a beating? You dare skip class?" Zhang Xiangui glared at him. "The college entrance exams are coming up. Taking leave at a time like this—do you not want to get into university?"

"Dad... I'll tell you the truth. That place is haunted. You can't go there," Zhang Wei said.

"Haunted? I think you've lost your mind. Come on, I'll take you to school. If it really is haunted, I'd like to see it. Your dad has never seen a ghost in his life." Zhang Xiangui grabbed Zhang Wei's hand.

Zhang Wei immediately shook him off and jumped back, angry and alarmed. "Let go of me! I said I'm not going, so I'm not going! Even if I, Zhang Wei, die—even if I die outside, jump from here, or have a gun pointed at my head—I will never set foot in Seventh High School again for the rest of my life."

"I mean what I say. Dad, if you don't believe me, try me."

"Fine, don't go to school. But from now on, you won't get a single cent of allowance. Support yourself," Zhang Xiangui said angrily.

"..." Zhang Wei fell silent and turned to head back to his room.

Zhang Xiangui said, "If you have the guts, stay in your room and don't come out."

A moment later, Zhang Wei came out holding two books. "Dad, I'm going to school."

"Mm." Only then did Zhang Xiangui nod in satisfaction.

After leaving home, Zhang Wei sneered.

School?

Impossible in this lifetime. Not in the next life either.

Who said carrying books meant he had to go to school? Couldn't he go to an internet café instead?

"Today, I, Zhang Wei, am going to get twenty chicken dinners at the internet café!" Zhang Wei shouted as he arrived at the entrance.

But not long after Zhang Wei got online.

Two special personnel came looking for him.

"Are you Zhang Wei, a student from Seventh High School?" one of them asked.

Zhang Wei froze for a moment. Then he crossed one leg over the other and put on a profound expression. "Big Brother, you've got the wrong person. My name is Yang Jian. Zhang Wei is my classmate."

"Your ID information was registered at the front desk. There's no mistake. Come with us. There's a case that requires your assistance in an investigation."

"..." Zhang Wei was uncertain and alarmed, but he was soon taken away.