Guo Wenfeng let out a slight sigh, looked down at the textbook spread out on the table, and then let out another sigh. His heart was filled with complex thoughts. The reason was that he had been reborn, reborn on May 9th, 1986.
How did he get reborn? Even Guo Wenfeng himself couldn't figure it out. Perhaps God had dozed off, or perhaps destiny was playing a joke on him. In any case, all he had done was take a nap, and then he had traveled back thirty years from the future to the present. The memory of the specific date and time only occurred to him because of the angry glances Lin Xue, the school beauty who sat across the aisle, kept throwing at him.
Years ago, or rather, thirty minutes ago in his current time, Guo Wenfeng impulsively handed Lin Xue a love letter right before class. Consequently, things didn’t turn out well- an annoyed Lin Xue handed the love letter to the headteacher.
Then? The whole incident spread across the whole year of first-year high school students, and Guo Wenfeng, as the "toad" craving a "swan's flesh," ended up all alone for his entire high school life, unable to make even a single friend. He did work hard afterwards to gain admission to a top university in a cut-throat competition where only 13 percent of the students got recruited. However, his personality became incredibly introverted and eccentric. His life was, predictably, full of ups and downs. Only when he approached his fifties and his temper mellowed down did his career finally take off. But, before he had even started to enjoy the fruits of his labor, he found himself back in time.
"Alright, students, that's it for today's lesson. Class dismissed."
After a ring of the bell, the headteacher Li Zhishan, who never overstayed, patted the chalk dust off his hands, gave some instructions, picked up his lecture notes and headed toward the classroom door. At that moment, Lin Xue suddenly stood up, holding a piece of paper, ready to leave her desk.
"Lin Xue, can you spare me three minutes?"
Lin Xue's action was sudden. But before she could even take a step, Guo Wenfeng preemptively left his desk, blocking her way while sincerely asking her.
"What else do you want to do now?"
Lin Xue was quite angry, and rightfully so. Since the start of high school, people have been disturbing her tranquility. One of them even had the audacity to give her a love letter face to face. How would she focus on her studies like this? Angry and perturbed due to her parents fighting for the past few days, she decided to make an example to stop these annoyances from happening. Therefore, even though Guo Wenfeng's handsome face showed nothing but sincerity, Lin Xue had no intentions of letting it go.
"Don't be angry, I just want to clarify a misunderstanding. If not three minutes, can you spare just one minute?"
Lin Xue's voice echoed loudly, drawing all the students' -who were preparing to go outside for activities- attention instantly. Despite this, the subtle smile on Guo Wenfeng's face was unchanged.
"Move aside, let's talk outside."
After all, Lin Xue was a girl. Her thick skin couldn't compare with Guo Wenfeng, a reborn who had experienced decades of hardship. As the focus of their classmates' attention, her exquisite face instantly became flushed. She was indeed scared off by Guo Wenfeng's thick-skinned persistence. Out of annoyance, she had to compromise.
On the playground, the young boys and girls who had an earlier break had already caused a ruckus, leaving only a little space under the flagpole. Once Lin Xue had quickly walked to the base of the flagpole, she abruptly turned around. With her blazing eyes, she glared at Guo Wenfeng who had followed her. She didn't say a word of reproach, but it was evident she had no intention of forgiving Guo Wenfeng for his impulsiveness.
"Lin Xue, first off, I must apologize. It's not wrong to like someone, but it is definitely out of line to force one's feelings onto others. That is my mistake, and I hope you can forgive me."
Apologies must be sincere, or they would surely backfire. Given Guo Wenhong's life experience, he wouldn't make such an elementary error.
"Hmph."
Lin Xue's anger was still raging, even though Guo Wenhong's apology was heartfelt, she had no intention of letting him off the hook so easily. With a disdainful grunt, she pointedly turned her head away.
"Well, some mistakes might look serious at the moment, but after ten, or even many more years, when you look back, they will just appear like a beautiful misunderstanding. I hope that my small mistake, many years from now, will bring a smile to your face. I guess you can then say the teen years aren't wasted. That's my apology. I hope you, classmate Lin Xue, won't mind. If it's possible to have that letter back, I would be truly grateful. Thank you."
He looked at the young beauty in front of him, who at this point was giving him the cold shoulder, and couldn't help but laugh.
"No."
Once Guo Wenhong finished speaking such philosophical words, Lin Xue couldn't help but turn around to give him a serious look. After a moment, she pouted and stubbornly responded.
"Okay then."
Having said all he could, if he still couldn't make her understand, Guo Wenhong wouldn't force it anymore. He gave a shrug and started walking back towards the classroom. After all, hasn't he come through life like this? Guo Wenhong didn't believe that, after accumulating so many years of experience, he couldn't get through a minor setback.
"Wait a second."
Lin Xue obviously didn't expect Guo Wenhong to be so straightforward in his exit. She unconsciously called after him. But as soon as the words slipped out, she seemed to regret it. A blush rapidly spread across her attractive face.
"Is there something else?"
Although somewhat surprised at Lin Xue's shyness, his mindset was no longer those of young lads. Guo Wenhong casually asked.
"For the final exam, if you can rank in the top ten of the class, I will return the letter to you. Otherwise..."
Looking at the handsome and refined face of Guo Wenfeng, the blush on Lin Xue's face intensified instantly. As if possessed, she initiated an agreement. However, she was too shy to finish her words.
"Hmm? What does she mean? But, top ten …"
"Alright, then it's settled."
Although he was quite surprised that Lin Xue would suggest such an agreement, Guo Wenfeng didn't mind. Was it worth his concern? As an adult, looking back at junior and senior high school knowledge was trivially easy. Not to mention that he was a graduate student from a renowned university in his past life. Even if there were less than two months left until the final exam, Guo Wenfeng was confident that he could outperform a bunch of kids.
"Humph, what an overconfident fellow."
Guo Wenfeng left quite straightforwardly, but Lin Xue couldn't maintain her composure. It was known that Guo Wenfeng's academic performance had always been among the bottom group in their class. It would be as challenging as climbing Mount Everest to improve to the top ten in less than two months. If he failed to fulfill the agreement, Lin Xue did not know how she would deal with that letter...
