Chapter 3

At 10:40 PM, when he got home, Bian Xuedao didn't want to read any books or do any problems. He turned on the light, lay down, and soon fell asleep.

When his mother came in to bring him milk, she saw that Bian Xuedao was already asleep, so she gently turned off the light for him.

At 3 AM, the moonlight slanted through the glass, casting a mysterious and cool light into the room.

Bian Xuedao woke up.

He really hoped that when he opened his eyes, he would see his home in 2014, but what he saw was a poster of Yang Cen妮 with long hair on the wall. Under the white moonlight, Bian Xuedao was genuinely startled.

As he thought, he realized he had forgotten a lot of important information.

For example, the winning numbers for the Double Color Ball lottery on August 12, 2014, were 1, 7, 8, 11, 21, 31, and 1. If it were a regular set of numbers, Bian Xuedao might not have remembered, but this set was so distinctive and regular.

For example, he knew the complete route maps of Subway Lines 1 and 2 in Songjiang City, and the plans for Lines 3, 4, and 5.

For example, he had seen detailed gold price trend charts from 2003 to 2013 while reviewing manuscripts.

For example, he knew that around 2003, housing prices in China started to rise, and in his hometown, Chunshan City, 160 kilometers away from the provincial capital Songjiang City, the first peak in housing prices was in 2006, and the second peak was in 2009.

For example, he knew that the stock market had a major bull run from 2005 to 2007.

For example, he knew that Liu Xiang would win a gold medal, Guo Degang would become famous, Li Na would gain recognition, Mo Yan would win the Nobel Prize in Literature, what the Beijing Olympic torch looked like, the simplified design of the China Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo, the winners of several World Cup and European Cup tournaments, and how many foreign players Guangzhou Evergrande had bought to dominate the Chinese Super League...

For example, he knew the composition of the municipal leadership in Songjiang City, the governance ideas; the promotion and demotion of officials in Beijiang Province, where Songjiang City was located, over the next ten years; and the national governance policies and trends.

At this moment, Bian Xuedao realized that his nine-year media career and seven-year career as a newspaper reviewer, especially the mandatory reading nature of the review work, had provided him with a huge wealth of information for his rebirth.

Holding the winning numbers for the Double Color Ball lottery, Bian Xuedao was full of confidence and began to wonder what his future life trajectory would be like.

After recording some key information in his notebook, it was already dawn.

In 2001, Chunshan City had no trace of smog. The sky outside the window was clear blue, and early birds were chirping and flying around, looking for food.

Bian Xuedao felt the vigorous vitality and surging strength in his body, which was a feeling that his body, after years of night shifts and lack of exercise, did not have.

His father had just bought fresh fruit from the morning market, and his mother was cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Seeing his busy parents, he thought about how, in a few years, they would no longer be in their prime, plagued by various illnesses, with his mother's pension and savings going to hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics, and his father worrying about whether he would be forced to delay retirement.

He clearly knew that in this society, although diplomas were devaluing day by day, they were still indispensable. To change his fate and ensure his parents had a comfortable and worry-free retirement, his first step was to pass the college entrance exam and get a good score.

After eating a few bites, Bian Xuedao realized he didn't know the start time of the morning self-study class, so he left early. When he arrived at school, the playground was almost empty, with a few sports enthusiasts jogging and stretching, and a few boys practicing shooting at the goal. Seeing someone playing soccer, Bian Xuedao felt a bit itchy, but it was clearly not the time.

Finding his class, he saw that three students were already sitting and studying, two girls and one boy, who was Zhou Hang. The timetable on the wall showed that Bian Xuedao had arrived over an hour early.

Bian Xuedao recalled that Zhou Hang's family lived in a nearby town, and he had been boarding at the school since high school. They had reorganized classes three times during high school, and their relationship was average.

With only a month left before the college entrance exam, his family, not wanting him to be short of money, had given him 50 yuan. After sitting at his desk for a while, Bian Xuedao took out a few English multiple-choice questions and went to Zhou Hang.

"Hey, Zhou Hang, can you help me with these English multiple-choice questions?"

Bian Xuedao's goal was to establish contact with Zhou Hang before the exam seat numbers were announced. Although time was tight, it was not impossible. After all, Zhou Hang did not know that in 40 days, Bian Xuedao would have something important to discuss with him, and they currently had no mutual interests.

For the first contact after his rebirth, and during the precious morning, asking a few simple English multiple-choice questions was the best choice. He didn't want to take a few complex math problems to Zhou Hang, as it would take Zhou Hang ten minutes to explain, and he wasn't sure if Zhou Hang was a helpful person. If not, it would be hard to approach him in the future.

The first time he asked for help went smoothly, as Zhou Hang was easy to approach. Before the morning self-study class started, Bian Xuedao went to Zhou Hang again to ask for help with two geography multiple-choice questions.

Bian Xuedao's review work had given him an extraordinary ability to concentrate. Combined with his political perspective from years of working at a daily newspaper and his adult understanding, he found it much easier to study political and historical textbooks.

For the whole day, Bian Xuedao read, understood, and memorized.

When he was tired, he quietly observed Zhou Hang, trying to figure out his personality and preferences, and observing his social circle. Apart from asking for help twice before the morning self-study class, he didn't approach Zhou Hang again. He didn't want to appear too abrupt, and his intuition told him that Zhou Hang was a sensitive person.

During the evening self-study class, while his mind was wandering, Bian Xuedao suddenly thought of a problem: the information in his notebook was shocking. What if someone else saw it? What if it brought unknown trouble?

No, he couldn't just write it down plainly. He needed to be discreet and find a way to make it incomprehensible to others.

For the whole night, Bian Xuedao designed a recording method that only he could understand, combining Arabic numerals, English, pinyin, Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, increasing and decreasing sequences, reversals, and colors.

At midnight, after successfully integrating a set of winning lottery numbers from 13 years later into a string of strange symbols, Bian Xuedao buried a black notebook at the bottom of his bookshelf.

The next morning, Bian Xuedao arrived early again. After sitting in the classroom for 10 minutes, Zhou Hang entered. Bian Xuedao politely greeted him. Half an hour later, he went to Zhou Hang with a few English questions he was genuinely confused about. He noticed that Zhou Hang's attitude was much more natural today.

During the afternoon break, Bian Xuedao went to Zhou Hang again to ask a few questions, observing his attitude and personality. He had little contact with Zhou Hang during high school and knew little about him, especially after a gap of over ten years.

The first high school in Chunshan City had no cafeteria. Students either went home, brought their own food, or ate at the nearby snack street. The lunch break for third-year students was sufficient, but the dinner break was tight. There was enough time to eat, but not enough to go home.

Boarding students like Zhou Hang probably had a long-term meal contract with a nearby restaurant. After class, Bian Xuedao followed Zhou Hang out of the classroom, keeping a distance to avoid losing him. He felt more exhausted than he ever had while chasing a girl.

The restaurant where Zhou Hang ate had a mediocre environment, with a TV hanging from the ceiling playing "Slam Dunk" on VCD. Students sat at tables, eating and watching, occasionally commenting.

Bian Xuedao casually served himself a few dishes and squeezed in at a table next to Zhou Hang. His goal was to increase his visibility in front of Zhou Hang and get familiar with him.

A few classmates from the same class soon joined them, calling out to Bian Xuedao and Zhou Hang, and they all sat at the same table.

The main character at the table was Peng Hong, whose grades were at the bottom of the class but whose family was very wealthy. His mother was a doctor, and his father was a powerful section chief in the Land Bureau. After working, Bian Xuedao had met Peng Hong twice, once driving an Audi and once a Land Rover. He heard that after failing the college entrance exam, Peng Hong had served in the military for a few years and then bought a position in the Songjiang Land Bureau.

With only 40 days left before the college entrance exam, other students were either studying hard or feeling anxious and unable to focus, but for Peng Hong, it was a "wonderful" time.

As the exam approached, students developed a strange sense of indulgence. Previously well-behaved girls, under pressure, started going to internet cafes, karaoke bars, and nightclubs to relieve stress.

In the school toilet during the afternoon break, Bian Xuedao overheard male students discussing how a girl in the grade, who was both smart and attractive, had recently been "deflowered" by Peng Hong in a nearby motel.

Peng Hong, while eating and watching TV, shouted, "Boss, change the disc!"

When Zhou Hang went to get more food, Peng Hong leaned over to Bian Xuedao and asked with a smile, "Bian Xuedao, are you eager to go to college? I heard you've been asking Zhou Hang a lot of questions lately. Your grades are good enough to get into a bachelor's program. I've already planned it out; I'll have a good time for another month, and then my old man will probably scold me."

Bian Xuedao was puzzled. How did Peng Hong notice him in just two days?

When Zhou Hang returned, Peng Hong muttered to two close classmates, "We can't choose our seats for the exam, and they don't tell us the exam room arrangements in advance. If I could sit next to Zhou Hang or another top student in our school during the exam, that would be great. At least I wouldn't get scolded at home."

A fat boy named Du Gao, finishing the last bite in his bowl, said, "What are you thinking? Sit next to each other? Next to a top student? My sister took the exam two years ago, and she said there were hardly any students from the same school in the same exam room."

Bian Xuedao understood. Although Peng Hong seemed carefree, he still wanted to go to college. After all, there were more attractive girls in college. He must have fantasized about sitting next to a top student like Zhou Hang during the exam to get a boost.

Since he had the same idea, it made sense that Peng Hong noticed him approaching Zhou Hang.

Top students might be a bit precocious. Zhou Hang listened calmly to Peng Hong's conversation, as if it had nothing to do with him. Of course, there was another possibility: everyone knew that the chances of students from the same class sitting next to each other during the exam were extremely low, almost negligible.

After eating, Peng Hong asked the boss for five cans of cola. They each took one and walked back to school.

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