Chapter 3

After saying this, Gaowendi glanced at Zhou Shuo, signaling him to take a stance. Zhou Shuo had no choice but to grit his teeth and say, "Today's interest group activity ends here. Follow Director Gao to study on your own!"

Only then did Gaowendi nod in satisfaction and stride out of the computer lab, leading the way.

The students lowered their heads, one by one taking off their shoe covers and silently following behind him in a line. As the last one, He Youyou secretly ran up to Zhou Shuo's side, waving her fist and whispering, "Teacher Zhou, keep it up, defeat the big evil Gao!"

After saying this, He Youyou hurriedly caught up with the group and walked out of the computer lab, leaving Zhou Shuo standing there in a daze.

Zhou Shuo sat back down, shook his head helplessly, and continued to type away on the keyboard. This was his habit; once he started a task, he always wanted to finish it. Regardless of whether he would use it in the future, he planned to complete the program. Programming was like singing Peking Opera; if he didn't write code for three days, his brain would rust.

Time always flew by when he was programming. Before he knew it, the school bell for the lunch break rang. Zhou Shuo looked at his watch and estimated that he could finish the subroutine in another ten minutes. He wasn't in a hurry to go for lunch and continued to focus on coding.

When he finished the last line of code, he stood up and stretched. Turning around, he suddenly froze.

The thirteen students of the computer interest group were all standing quietly behind him. Some held lunch boxes in mesh bags, others carried steaming buns in plastic bags, and some just had a piece of bread in their hands...

He Youyou stepped forward and asked loudly, "Teacher Zhou, the lunch break isn't considered study time, right?"

Zhou Shuo felt a sense of relief and smiled, "No, of course not."

He Youyou then asked, "Can we continue to study computers?"

Zhou Shuo beamed and replied, "Yes, of course!"

"Yay!" The students cheered and rushed to their respective computers like fledglings returning to their nests.

Hearing the noise in the quiet teaching building, Gaowendi poked his head out of the office and looked around. Then he slammed the office door shut.

Gaowendi, holding his enamel teacup, paced back and forth, thinking angrily.

"It seems the plan needs to be accelerated. I can't let this little Zhou steal the students' attention. Otherwise, when the new teacher comes, it will be hard to manage the class..."

There was another thought that Gaowendi was even embarrassed to complain about in his mind. He knew his nephew's computer skills. He was afraid that if the students spent too much time with Zhou Shuo, they might become better than his nephew, and then how could his nephew teach? He didn't want his nephew to become a laughingstock at the school.

By the time school was over in the evening, Zhou Shuo was about to leave the school gate on his big 28-inch bicycle when He Youyou suddenly appeared from somewhere, catching up to Zhou Shuo's bike.

He Youyou nervously looked around, leaned in, and whispered, "Teacher Zhou, have you thought of a way to deal with that bad guy Gaowendi?"

Zhou Shuo waved his hand and frowned, "Director Gao is also your teacher. How can you call him a bad guy?"

He Youyou stomped her feet, mimicking an adult, "Oh, my Teacher Zhou! He wants to drive you away, and you're still so lenient? This is a political struggle, do you understand? You need to be decisive!"

Zhou Shuo was both amused and exasperated, "You little rascal, what's in your head?"

Zhou Shuo thought, the girls nowadays are really something. He was only six or seven years older than her, but what did he know when he was in high school? He was just a freshman, spending all his time studying and playing. He couldn't even remember all his teachers' names, let alone pay attention to these political struggles. She was talking about political struggles and being decisive, as if she knew everything.

He Youyou turned her head in a huff, "You're saying I'm young again! Humph, forget it, I won't talk to you. You're like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, not recognizing a good heart!"

After saying this, He Youyou made a face at Zhou Shuo, stepped on the pedal of her light yellow bicycle, and with a light push of her red shoe, she nimbly rode away.

Zhou Shuo shook his head and got on his black 28-inch bicycle, riding slowly home.

Zhou Shuo now lived in a family apartment allocated by Xiu Cheng 266 Factory. Both his parents were employees of the factory, and they had been living in this 40-square-meter apartment since the 1970s, for nearly twenty years.

The corridor of the apartment building was where each household's kitchen was located. When Zhou Shuo reached the second floor, his mother saw him and smiled, "Son, you're back. How was work today? Are you tired?"

Zhou Shuo walked over with a half-watermelon he had bought on the way, familiarly putting it in water to cool, and said, "Not tired at all. Wow, what's that smell? Is it braised fish today?"

He took a deep breath of the aroma, his mouth watering. He couldn't resist reaching for the fish, but his mother slapped his hand, pretending to be angry, "You greedy boy, this fish isn't for you."

She then whispered mysteriously, tugging his ear, "Let me tell you, I've set you up with a match, the second daughter of Aunt Liu! Aunt Liu and her daughter are coming over tonight, so you need to behave!"

"Ah!" Zhou Shuo shouted, "A match?"

"Mom, I, I, I'm still young, right? No need to rush, right?"

Zhou Shuo stammered, thinking, "Oh my God, I just came back to life this noon, I haven't even washed my face or brushed my teeth. This is too sudden!"

Zhou's mother slapped the back of his head and huffed, "The second daughter of the Lao Li family is sought after by many. Don't shout so loud, or someone else might hear. Besides, you're already 24, still young? In the past, you'd already have a child in school!"

Zhou Shuo complained, "But this is too sudden. I'm not mentally prepared."

Zhou's mother glared at him angrily, "What else do you need to prepare? By the time you're ready, the opportunity will be gone! Behave yourself tonight, got it?"

Seeing his mother's anger, Zhou Shuo quickly raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay, I'll follow the Empress Dowager's decree!"

Zhou's mother kicked him into the room and shouted, "You rascal, always joking!"

Entering the room, Zhou Shuo's father hadn't returned yet. Zhou Shuo opened the door to his bedroom, looking at the familiar scene.

The room was about six to seven square meters, with very simple furnishings. A single bed was placed by the north window, with a sky-blue bedspread and neatly folded bedding. Next to the wall was a desk and chair. This was where Zhou Shuo studied. The desk, made of plywood, was piled high with calculation paper, and two layers of bookshelves were nailed to the wall above, filled with books.

This was where Zhou Shuo had lived and studied for over twenty years. Every corner, every item, was as familiar to him as his own body.

Pulling out a chair and sitting down, Zhou Shuo began to recall the interpersonal relationships he could use now. Gaowendi's actions today made him feel under pressure. If he wanted to stand his ground at the school, he needed to take action!

Zhou Shuo pulled out a piece of paper and bit the pen, thinking for a long time...

Finally, he threw the pen on the table with a "slap" and rubbed his temples in frustration: "Damn, no powerful relatives at all! Even twenty years later, I can't do this. What social skills, backdoor favors, and gift-giving, I'm a technical person, my emotional intelligence is negative!"

Zhou Shuo leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling, and sighed, "What to do? Should I just give up?"

Before he could come up with a plan, Zhou's mother knocked on the door and called from outside, "Rascal, come out and tidy up, Aunt Liu and her daughter will be here soon!"

Zhou Shuo quickly tidied up the table, put away the clutter, and opened the door to go out.

He helped his mother sweep the floor, set the table, and served the food. The sound of Zhou's father and two women talking came from the corridor.

Zhou's mother opened the door and called out, "Old Zhou, you're back. Come, son, this is Aunt Liu!"

Zhou Shuo stood by the table and politely greeted, "Aunt Liu, hello!"

A middle-aged woman in her forties walked in from behind Zhou's father. Although she had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and some gray hair, she was graceful and dignified, a true beauty. Beside her was a girl in a white dress, with a braid tied with a pearl flower, thick eyebrows, and bright, curious eyes, a true beauty in the making.

"Oh, hello, hello!" Aunt Liu smiled and then pulled the girl beside her, "This is my second daughter, Li Zhi! Come, this is Aunt Zhang, and this is your brother Zhou, whom you met when you were little! He's a college student now!"

Li Zhi stood obediently beside Aunt Liu and sweetly said, "Aunt Zhang, hello, Brother Zhou, hello! Thank you for having me!"

Zhou's mother looked Li Zhi up and down, smiling, "No trouble, no trouble! Don't stand there, come in, come in!"

The Zhou family's house was small, and the living room was already crowded with the table and chairs. The table was set with a fish, three meat dishes, and a few vegetable dishes. The five of them sat down at the table.

Zhou's mother patted Aunt Liu's hand and said, "Oh, in just a few years, your Li Zhi has grown into a young lady! It's truly enviable!"

"Ha, what's there to envy? Boys are better, girls are a lot of trouble!"

Zhou Shuo, watching this sudden match-making scene, felt completely lost. With memories from over twenty years ago, how could he remember everything clearly? Was this a butterfly effect caused by his rebirth, or had there really been such a match-making session before, and why did he have no memory of it...

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