Chapter 2

Nie Yan was getting closer to the pharmacy. As he crossed the road, his foot was inexplicably tripped, and he fell, landing heavily on the ground.

Joy turned to sorrow.

Ouch, it really hurts. Nie Yan's hands were numb from the fall, and his knees were scraped and bleeding.

He struggled to sit up, his knees a mess of blood and flesh.

At that moment, a pink Riley hovercar passed by the roadside and came to an abrupt stop not far from Nie Yan. In the small city of Ningjiang, such a high-end vehicle as the Riley hovercar was very rare. This limited edition car, worth 90 million, was not something an ordinary family could afford.

A girl in a white dress got out of the car and ran over quickly.

"Classmate, are you okay?" A clear and melodious voice, filled with concern, sounded in Nie Yan's ears.

Hearing this familiar voice, which resonated deep within his soul, Nie Yan was taken aback. He looked up, and who else could it be but Xie Yao?

Xie Yao was still as beautiful as ever, wearing a white dress with pink lace, her bright eyes sparkling, and her ponytail tied back. Her cheeks still had a hint of childishness, but they exuded youth and vitality.

Nie Yan vaguely recalled the class reunion six years after graduation. At that time, Xie Yao was a successful career woman, dressed in an OL outfit, sexy and alluring.

Time was truly a wondrous thing. It transformed a beautiful and innocent girl into a sexy and alluring woman, and today, it had brought her back to her former self.

After a lifetime, meeting again, this might be fate. Time rewound, bringing the two back to the starting point. The music played softly, and every note was so beautiful and melodious.

Nie Yan remembered that his first encounter with Xie Yao was in a similar scene. His eyes were a bit moist. Xie Yao, it's been so long since I've seen you. Are you okay? In this life, I will never let you go again.

"Ah, your knee is bleeding, and there's a lot of blood." Xie Yao exclaimed, remembering that there were some bandages in the first aid kit in her car. She ran over to get them.

Watching Xie Yao return to the car, Nie Yan recalled that in high school, his favorite thing to do was to follow Xie Yao's graceful figure with his eyes. She had a slender figure, and her white dress revealed her calves, which were as white as fine porcelain. To be honest, Nie Yan's appearance wasn't too bad. After his father's success, their family was well-off, not inferior to Xie Yao's. However, in front of Xie Yao, he never had the courage to speak up.

High school mentality was truly a strange and unpredictable thing. From Cheng Ren's perspective, he was quite immature back then.

Xie Yao brought the bandages and walked over to Nie Yan, cleaning his wound with antiseptic. Her movements were very careful, and her delicate fingers carefully removed the gravel from the wound.

"Why are you crying? A big boy like you, shedding tears over a little injury, doesn't look good at all." Xie Yao teased, massaging the bruise on Nie Yan's knee with her thumb.

When she smiled, a shallow dimple appeared at the corner of her mouth, adding an indescribable charm.

"Just now, when I fell, sand got into my eyes." Nie Yan's cheeks turned a bit red as he made up an excuse. The reason he was crying wasn't because of the injury. Xie Yao's appearance was like a scalding hot water poured over his heart, causing a tumult of emotions, a mix of bitterness and happiness, which he wanted to pour out.

Xie Yao focused on treating the wound on Nie Yan's knee.

Nie Yan looked up at Xie Yao's profile. Her skin was flawless, as white as jade, and a strand of black hair fell over her ear, where a delicate earring hung.

In the past, when they were desk mates, he always liked to sneak glances at Xie Yao during class, never getting tired of it.

Xie Yao was undoubtedly the class beauty. There were other beautiful girls in other classes, but Nie Yan stubbornly believed that Xie Yao was the most beautiful in the entire school.

After meeting here, Nie Yan couldn't forget Xie Yao. Later, when they entered high school, he was surprised to find that they were in the same class and even desk mates. He believed it was fate. It wasn't until ten years later that he realized that even if two people were very compatible, if they didn't seize the opportunity, they could still miss each other. By the time he realized this, it was too late.

"You shouldn't come here alone. Ningjiang is quite chaotic, with many gangs." Nie Yan said with concern. This place was controlled by gangsters, and for a beautiful girl like Xie Yao to come here alone was very dangerous.

"Don't underestimate me. I'm a third-degree black belt in taekwondo. I'll be a fourth-degree black belt when I turn 21. Don't believe me? I can show you." Xie Yao struck a standard starting pose but suddenly stopped, her face turning a bit red. "Never mind, I'm wearing a dress today. But I am really good." Xie Yao was innocent and had no ulterior motives.

Nie Yan smiled, and after chatting with Xie Yao for a while, the familiar feeling returned. This young girl in front of him was indeed Xie Yao, pure, cute, lively, and cheerful. However, after the class reunion after graduation, that liveliness and innocence were nowhere to be found. It seemed that sorrow, when accumulated over time, could change a person so drastically.

Xie Yao looked at Nie Yan. He looked a few years younger than her, with a height of about 1.7 meters. His clothes were a bit dirty, probably from the fall. Although he wasn't particularly handsome, he was still passable. For some reason, Nie Yan gave her a sense of familiarity and closeness, and she found herself talking more.

"Which school do you go to? From your appearance, you seem to be in junior high, right?" Xie Yao thought Nie Yan looked a bit silly and cute, running without looking at the ground. Many boys were like this in junior high, but they matured in high school.

Although Nie Yan was only 18 years old, he had the mentality of a 28-year-old. Meeting Xie Yao again, he was no longer the naive and ignorant boy he used to be. His mind had been tempered by time, giving him a sense of calm and composure.

"Who says I'm in junior high? If it weren't for the family planning policy, my son could already buy soy sauce." Nie Yan joked, believing that one shouldn't be so rigid and dull.

"Your son can buy soy sauce? You're just boasting." Xie Yao was amused by Nie Yan's words and laughed.

"I'm 18." Nie Yan said.

"You're 18? I can't tell. We're the same age." Xie Yao was surprised.

Due to poor nutrition, Nie Yan still looked a bit young, standing at about 1.65 meters. He only grew to 1.8 meters after his senior year when his family's financial situation improved. He still looked a bit childish, like a junior high student, which made him a bit frustrated.

At least he had the soul of a 28-year-old, but being called a junior high student was a bit embarrassing. "That's because my face looks younger."

"Short is short, don't deny it." Xie Yao giggled, finding Nie Yan quite interesting. The boys in her class either acted timidly in front of her, not knowing what to say, or were overly aggressive, which she found repulsive.

After chatting for a while, Nie Yan felt more at ease in front of Xie Yao, occasionally making witty remarks that made her laugh.

Looking at Xie Yao's smiling face, Nie Yan recalled the past. It was his senior year, and he and Xie Yao were desk mates for a year. He always thought they were from different worlds and that there would be no connection between them. He silently liked Xie Yao and was almost always willing to do anything for her, but he never expected her to remember him. Unexpectedly, at graduation, he received a gift from Xie Yao, perhaps indicating that she had a place for him in her heart.

It was a photo of her at 12 years old, when she was still a chubby little girl. Only the closest friends would give such a photo.

After graduation, Nie Yan couldn't forget Xie Yao, and they occasionally kept in touch.

Nie Yan, reborn, was determined not to miss this opportunity again.

Meeting again, Nie Yan felt a bit dazed. In this life and the previous one, he and Xie Yao had an unbreakable bond.

She secretly looked at Nie Yan's face. Although he wasn't particularly handsome and looked ordinary at first glance, his face, though still a bit childish, had a certain steadiness, possibly due to his personality.

"My name is Nie Yan, with the character for 'ears' and 'speech'." Nie Yan looked into Xie Yao's eyes.

Xie Yao's face turned red, and she avoided his gaze.

"My name is Xie Yao." Xie Yao said.

Nie Yan's gaze shifted to Xie Yao's lips, which were a light pink, soft, and alluring. In high school, Nie Yan would never have dared to look at Xie Yao's face so closely; he could only secretly admire her beauty from a corner.

"My dad is still waiting for me. I have to go back. It was nice chatting with you today. Remember, you can't remove the bandage until tomorrow." Xie Yao reminded him, standing up.

Nie Yan moved his knee, and it still worked, just a superficial injury.

"I'm fine, I can walk. You go back. Thanks for today." Nie Yan said, though he wanted to talk to Xie Yao more, he walked to the side calmly. In the future, he would attend a prestigious school in the city, and there would be plenty of opportunities to interact with Xie Yao.

"I'll go first, then."

"Bye." Nie Yan smiled and walked away, heading towards the nearest pharmacy. He couldn't help but feel a bit sad, as after this brief meeting, they would part ways again.

Xie Yao got into the hovercar and started it.

Nie Yan looked back, and Xie Yao's hovercar had already left. In his previous life, their encounter wasn't as smooth as today. Back then, he couldn't even speak to Xie Yao, and after she bandaged his wound, she left. But that brief encounter left an indelible impression on him, making him remember her for years.

Rebirth was truly wonderful, as everything could start anew. Nie Yan thought about the future, where everything he had might be taken away by Cao Xu, and a strong sense of urgency arose in his heart. He needed to become stronger to protect everything he had.

Thinking of Cao Xu, Nie Yan's heart grew cold. It was a deep-seated hatred that led him to shoot Cao Xu in the head without hesitation in his previous life.

What he could do now was to enter Faith as soon as possible and establish himself there. Faith was different from other games; it was a second world for humans, a game that changed the entire world. In Faith, Nie Yan could achieve what he wanted.

After buying some cold medicine and taking it, he felt much better, and his fever subsided. The medicine was quite effective.

Leaving the pharmacy, Nie Yan headed to a nearby department store to buy a game helmet.

The department store was filled with a wide variety of items, mostly smart products, some of which Nie Yan couldn't even name. The store operated on an unmanned sales system; one just needed to swipe a card to get the desired item.

After searching for a while, Nie Yan finally found the counter selling game helmets. Various colors and styles were displayed on the wall, with three models and thousands of styles to choose from.

The cheapest one cost 1,300 credit points, while the most expensive one was over 1.2 million credit points.

The higher the price, the better the configuration. For now, Nie Yan could only afford the lowest configuration.

It was said that besides game helmets, there were also limited edition game pods that required pre-ordering, costing over 60 million credit points.

For now, Nie Yan could only dream about them.

Nie Yan swiped his card and received a light blue helmet, completing the identity binding. After the binding, only Nie Yan could use this helmet.

Faith had only been open for seven days, and the highest level players were only at level 5. He still had plenty of time to catch up.

As a reborn person, he should crush all opponents with overwhelming force. This was a matter of momentum. He would stand at the peak and look down on all others.

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