The next morning, Lin Zhe got out of bed by himself, forcing himself through the pain to dress on his own.
Although the simple process of getting up and dressing left him drenched in sweat, and both his arms trembled from muscle spasms, at least he was spared the embarrassment of being naked while someone fussed over him.
Though Lin Zhe had been used to being waited on in his previous life, after regaining the ability to move on his own, he strangely regained his sense of shame.
“At this rate of recovery, I should be able to get out of bed and walk soon, but who knows when I’ll be able to play soccer like before.”
Lin Zhe sat in his wheelchair, breathing heavily, his heart longing for the school heartthrob who used to chase the wind. His soccer skills weren’t exactly superb, but occasionally they could make girls scream with excitement.
Being a school heartthrob, the key was being handsome—what do girls know about sports anyway?
Knock knock knock.
“Zhe, time to get up!”
His sister Lin Xi knocked on the door, then came in with Aunt He to help him get up.
Then the two of them found Lin Zhe sitting in his wheelchair, covered in sweat. Aunt He asked in astonishment, “Zhe, did you get up by yourself?”
Lin Zhe smiled and said, “Yep! I feel like I’ve recovered a lot more than yesterday. Maybe I’ll be fully healed soon.”
Lin Xi’s nose stung with emotion, and she quickly pressed the back of her hand against it. “Yes, you’ll be healed soon. That’s really… wonderful…”
Seeing Lin Xi’s eyes turn red with emotion, Lin Zhe quickly said, “Sis, we have a lot to do today! Let’s not dawdle!”
“Right, right. Let’s eat first, then we have to go to the provincial capital, Linjiang, to claim the prize…”
Since both of Lin Zhe’s second-prize winnings exceeded one hundred thousand yuan each, they couldn’t be claimed at the Sucheng lottery center. They had to go to the provincial welfare lottery center over a hundred kilometers away, which was a bit of a hassle.
Lin Xi wheeled Lin Zhe into the living room, where Aunt He had already made breakfast. As for Aunt He’s husband, Uncle Yan, and her son Yan Xiaoliang, they had gone to stay at Yan Xiaoliang’s grandfather’s house the night before, freeing up a private room for Lin Zhe.
A paraplegic’s psyche is very fragile. Aunt He’s family was kind, and they did their best to protect Lin Zhe’s dignity in every way.
During the meal, Lin Zhe firmly refused Lin Xi’s attempts to feed him, leaving his sister feeling a little wistful, yet also deeply gratified and moved.
Seeing that Lin Zhe’s hands, though clumsy, were clearly much better than yesterday, Lin Xi carefully asked, “Zhe, since your hands are starting to recover, should we take the National College Entrance Exam this year, or take a year off from school and take it next year?”
“The college entrance exam, huh… it doesn’t really matter…”
Lin Zhe felt a pang of guilt. In his previous life, he had never taken this world’s “gaokao.” He had drifted through twenty years and suddenly transmigrated to this point in time, and he’d long forgotten most of the exam material. If he actually took it and couldn’t even score triple digits across three subjects, how could he hold his head up?
[Go to college! Otherwise you’ll miss out on lots of pure, innocent girls!]
Before Lin Zhe could refuse Lin Xi, a flood of memory images appeared before his eyes again, flashing by at high speed before finally settling on a certain day after the gaokao in his previous life.
In a cramped rented apartment, sunlight streamed down through a worn-out window, falling across three exam papers.
Back then, Lin Zhe had only recently transmigrated over, and he had planned to take the National Unified Exam the following year through a special channel. But after looking at that year’s exam papers, he gave up on the idea.
Too hard. An academic loser from another world didn’t deserve to enter the exam hall.
But this lifetime… was it going to be an open-book exam?
Lin Zhe remembered the questions from all three sets of exam papers with perfect clarity. As long as history stayed on track, he could theoretically take the top spot in Sucheng Province.
“Fine! I’ll give it a try, but no guarantee I’ll get in!”
Lin Zhe made up his mind—if the exam papers turned out to be different, he would immediately fake fainting and drop out.
After all, last night’s first prize had flown away; he didn’t dare assume he could actually become the top scorer.
………
Sucheng No. 2 Middle School was one of Sucheng’s key schools, with consistently high rates of advancement to higher education.
Lin Zhe had been injured at the start of the year, and Lin Xi had arranged a leave of absence for him. So if he wanted to take this year’s National Unified Exam, he would need to communicate with the school first.
It was class time when they entered the school. Lin Xi pushed Lin Zhe to the Academic Affairs Office, and the leave procedures were handled smoothly. Lin Zhe’s homeroom teacher even encouraged him, telling him not to feel any pressure—if worst came to worst, he could just try again next year.
But as the siblings walked out after finishing the paperwork, a small incident occurred.
A fashionably dressed woman arrived at the Academic Affairs Office, leading a girl with a pure, elegant air about her.
This girl was special—though her looks were only a nine out of ten, her aura was a full twelve. When Lin Zhe had seen her in his past life, he had momentarily mistaken her for that fairy sister from Lanxing.
And Lin Zhe knew this girl.
Not only did he know her—their relationship was very special, and his impression of her was extremely deep.
Liu Yufei, the original owner’s girlfri before Lin Zhe transmigrated. In his past life, Lin Zhe hadn’t returned to Sucheng No. 2 after transmigrating, so he hadn’t seen her again until several years later.
Lin Zhe looked at the girl, who was clearly a bit taken aback, and smiled sincerely.
“Yufei, long time no see!”
Liu Yufei froze for a moment, then smiled and greeted him back: “Hello, Lin Zhe… long time no see. How have you been?”
Lin Zhe found it a little strange—he felt that Liu Yufei’s smile seemed somewhat unnatural.
“Pretty good. What are you here at the Academic Affairs Office for?”
“My mom found me an excellent tutor. I’m here to request leave.”
“Really? So you’re planning to…”
Just as Lin Zhe was about to say something, the fashionable woman cut in: “Excuse me, student! We have some business to take care of. Could you step aside, please?”
Lin Zhe raised an eyebrow, and the smile vanished from his face.
He and his sister weren’t blocking the doorway of the Academic Affairs Office at all. Liu Yufei and her mother could easily walk right in. What did “step aside” mean?
Recalling what Liu Yufei’s mother had done in his past life, Lin Zhe formed a guess, and an undisguised disgust welled up inside him.
“Ms. Liu, is a doorway this wide not enough room for your frame? Is your waist forty-six inches?”
The cold, disgusted look in Lin Zhe’s eyes made Liu Yufei’s mother deeply uncomfortable.
She was a shrewd, tough woman who prided herself on her excellent judgment of people and her powerful presence, but the young man before her gave her a feeling she couldn’t counter.
“It’s truly hard to believe that Yufei has a classmate like you.”
Liu Yufei’s mother pulled her into the dean’s office, and as Liu Yufei brushed past Lin Zhe, she kept her head down, biting her lip, her eyes hesitant.
Lin Xi pushed her brother out of the school gate, and while they waited for a taxi by the roadside, she suddenly said, “Zhe, some people are meant to be missed. Don’t take it too much to heart, and don’t be sad.”
“What do I have to be sad about?”
Lin Zhe chuckled softly. “In these days since my accident, if she had come to see me even once, or called me even twice, then I would care, and I would be sad.”
“But as things stand now, I’m just relieved that I rejected in advance what would have been a lifetime of entanglement.”
“You really don’t care?” Lin Xi turned her head from behind to sneak a look at her brother’s reaction.
“Of course. Your brother here is destined to be the king among flowers. A single daisy? Not worth my attention.”
Lin Zhe admitted that Liu Yufei was indeed very pretty, but in his previous life, Lin Zhe had seen plenty of beautiful girls—each one lovely in her own way, like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums.
Never mind that he was a paraplegic; he had played the field extensively.
…………
Lin Zhe and his sister waited ten minutes without hailing a taxi, but they did manage to wait out the Liu mother and daughter.
Liu’s mother glanced sideways at the Lin siblings, then suddenly walked over.
“There are some things I’d like to discuss with you. There’s a café over there—let’s have a seat together.”
Lin Xi wanted to refuse, but Lin Zhe said with a faint smile, “Sure. Being treated by Ms. Liu would be our honor.”
A few minutes later, the Lin siblings and the Liu mother and daughter sat facing each other, the atmosphere extremely delicate.
Liu’s mother spoke first: “I know your name is Lin Zhe. I heard Yufei mention you before, but children will be children—I never forbade friendships between classmates.”
“You’ve been watching TV these days, I assume? Our Yufei starred in Pink Pink Family, and the ratings have been extremely high. She’s already been recommended for guaranteed admission to the Capital Film Academy.”
“And in your condition, can you even get into university? You’ll probably be stuck in Sucheng for the rest of your life. The distance between you is just too great…”
[The dignity of a reborn one shall not be violated. Are you willing to be admitted to this world’s top arts academy and fully activate the ‘Kujingganlai’ system?]
“Can’t it be fully activated now?”
[Only after enduring enough bitterness does one earn the right to taste the sweetest sweetness. Do you accept the activation conditions?]
“I do!” Lin Zhe’s gaze was calm as he quietly confirmed the task in his heart.
Meanwhile, across from Lin Zhe, Liu’s mother kept rambling on: “Our Yufei has already debuted, and she’s signed with Somi, a world-class agency. The company requires its female artists to be spotless, and Yufei’s image doesn’t allow for any scandal.”
“So I hope you, Lin Zhe, won’t misunderstand your relationship and bring unnecessary trouble to Yufei. And don’t use your one-sided understanding to pester our Yufei. You wouldn’t want to ruin Yufei’s future, would you?”
Lin Zhe suddenly raised his hand, spreading his five fingers in front of the rambling Liu’s mother, making a “stop” gesture.
Then he looked at Liu Yufei and asked coldly, “Classmate Liu, is this what you want?”
Liu’s mother said somewhat angrily, “Of course this is Yufei’s wish. Didn’t you understand what I just said?”
But Lin Zhe ignored Liu’s mother, staring only at Liu Yufei.
Liu Yufei pressed her lips together and lowered her head, saying quietly, “I’ll listen to my mom.”
Lin Zhe nodded and said earnestly to Mama Liu, “I think you’ve all misunderstood. Liu Yufei and I aren’t close, and we won’t have any dealings in the future. From now on, don’t ever come to me asking for favors just because we were once classmates.”
“……”
Lin Zhe and Lin Xi left, leaving Liu Yufei and her mother stunned.
Only after a long while did Mama Liu say furiously, “Who does he think he is? As if I would ever come begging to him? How laughable~”
“Why are you hanging your head? Lift it up. Someone like him doesn’t deserve to leave even a shadow in your heart…”
“Alright, I know, Mom…”
Mama Liu was still furious, but she had no idea that in the previous life, they really had come begging to Lin Zhe—and out of consideration for his former “white moonlight,” he had genuinely given them a helping hand.