In his previous life, Qi Lei had many regrets and often wondered what he would do if he could return to his youth.
Should he follow the trends of the times to accumulate wealth? Or should he take different paths at several critical junctures to embark on alternative life journeys?
However, when he actually found himself in 1998, in the bloom of youth, Qi Lei realized that while these things were important, they were by no means the most crucial.
At this moment, the dusk was brilliantly colorful, not yet shrouded by smog.
His sixteen-year-old hands were as fair as jade, not yet stained yellow and roughened by life.
His flat stomach still had abdominal muscles, not yet merged into a single, glossy, rounded bulge.
Every morning when he opened his eyes, his thoughts were simple—what to play, what to learn—rather than how much money was left in his account, whether the mortgage could be paid, whether his children were well-behaved, or how to care for the elderly.
How to soothe a resentful wife? When would the continuous rise in 95-octane gasoline finally stop? Should he exercise more to escape the horrors of suboptimal health?
Was his new book any good? How many chapters did he need to update daily to get readers to willingly offer their monthly votes and rewards…
None of these concerns existed among the choices of a sixteen-year-old.
Sixteen years old!
It was an age when one could still pine for a girl day and night, when a single exchanged glance could send hormones soaring and make the heart tremble with excitement.
It was an age even God would forgive, a time that even fate would spare!
How precious it was, yet once gone, it could never be reclaimed.
Therefore:
Qi Lei would master the “Wild Ball Fist” in The Legend of Jin Yong’s Heroes to level ten.
He would register a bunch of five-digit QQ accounts when it was still called OICQ, then pick the coolest number to be the most dazzling guy in his friends list.
He would aim for first place in an exam, just once, to be the child other parents praised.
He would develop a crush on a girl at school and experience the purest form of love.
He would farm a “Tiny Chromatic Whelp” in World of Warcraft and wield the Warglaives of Azzinoth.
He would commemorate his youth at a Super Band concert and, twenty years later, still be able to squat on the curb with his buddies, drinking beer and boasting.
He would ensure that his youth in this life had far fewer regrets!
By now, the sky had darkened, and the night sky of the 1990s was dazzlingly beautiful.
Qi Lei gazed out the window, resting his hands behind his head, and chuckled foolishly. This was the youth of the post-80s generation—the youth he wanted!
Of course, dreams detached from economic foundations were nothing but self-indulgence.
As someone reborn, he was no exception. He, too, had to grasp the pulse of the times and accumulate wealth for his life. But that wasn’t everything—it could wait.
However, at this very moment, Qi Lei genuinely needed money.
First, Qi Lei had to go to school, return to campus, and walk a completely different life path from his previous one. That was where the need for money came in.
Before leaving the exam hall, he already had a rough idea of how he’d performed in the high school entrance exam.
What he told his parents wasn’t a lie—his score this time should be between 300 and 400.
For other students, such a score would be a disgrace. But for Qi Lei, it was quite an achievement.
Looking at the historical admission standards for high schools in Shangbei, with a perfect score of 600, scoring just over 500 was enough to get into a key high school, such as the Experimental High School or the high school division of No. 2 Middle School.
The benchmark for the first tier of negotiated enrollment is about 50 points below the key school cutoff, roughly around 460 points.
Commonly known as Minor Price Bargaining, Tang Yi and Wu Ning were likely at this level.
Another 50 points below the Minor Price Bargaining line marks the second tier of negotiated enrollment.
Referred to as Da Yijia, it’s approximately 410 points.
The differences between Minor and Da Yijia extend beyond the cost to include student registration status.
Those in Da Yijia aren’t registered at the key high school but at an ordinary secondary school, essentially studying at the key school as borrowed students.
In simple terms, it’s a way to bypass the rules within policy limits.
Borrowed students benefit from the key school’s teaching quality without occupying its college admission quotas. Even if they don’t get into a good university, they don’t drag down the overall admission rate.
Of course, this had nothing to do with Qi Lei.
He had calculated that, based on his high school entrance exam performance, he’d be lucky to score 400 points at most—still a bit short of Da Yijia, and that would require a stroke of luck.
But even the slightest chance was something Qi Lei couldn’t let slip.
If he really met the Da Yijia score, he was determined to attend the key school no matter what.
Not just for the quality education, but also to fulfill a dream from his past life.
However, the problem was that Da Yijia wasn’t cheap at all! The negotiation fee alone was over ten thousand, and tuition per semester was higher than for regular students.
If his score was close to the Da Yijia threshold or just a dozen points short, backdoor dealings could squeeze him into the Da Yijia category.
That meant pulling strings.
For Qi Guojun and Guo Lihua, this would be another significant burden.
In an era where the monthly income for a dual-income family was just over a thousand, an expense of ten to twenty thousand was substantial for most households.
Although Guo Lihua held a minor position at the grain depot, she still earned a fixed salary. Over the years, they had saved a little, but it couldn’t be much.
Moreover, Qi Lei knew that this very summer, his father had finally had an epiphany and decided to venture into business, meaning their savings were earmarked for important use.
Therefore, considering all this, Qi Lei resolved to find a way to earn some money himself to cover the family’s shortfall, at least to lighten his parents’ load.
This was why he had subtly prepared his mother earlier when coaxing her—so that if he actually brought money home, it wouldn’t shock his parents into a panic, which would be unfortunate.
As for what he could do and how to do it, he needed to think it through carefully.
All evening, Qi Lei lay in bed pondering. When Qi Guojun and Guo Lihua returned and saw him lying down, they assumed he was tired and didn’t disturb him.
Tang Yi and Wu Ning didn’t come over, probably off fooling around somewhere.
The next morning, Qi’s father and mother went to work as usual.
After breakfast, Qi Lei sat in his room, sketching and jotting notes in his draft notebook.
Around nine o’clock, Tang Yi and Wu Ning barged in, leaning on the windowsill to gossip.
“Did you hear? Yang Daqiang came back last night and gave Yang Jinwei a serious beating. He finally admitted that he’s really dating Zheng Xiaoyan. Aunt Wang caused a scene at their place half the night, nearly lifting the roof off.”
Qi Lei replied listlessly, “I heard.”
The commotion next door hadn’t quieted down until after one in the morning, but Qi Lei felt no guilt. Not out of revenge, but because he saw it as rescuing a misguided girl—a good deed, even!
He called Tang Yi and Wu Ning into his room. “Let’s talk business!”
They were suspicious; Qi Lei rarely sounded so formal.
Once inside, one lay on the bed and the other perched on the desk. “Go on!”
Qi Lei paused for a moment. “Let me ask you both a question—have either of you ever earned your own money?”
Tang Yi and Wu Ning rolled their eyes in unison. “Isn’t that obvious? Have you?”
Qi Lei continued, “Then do you know what it feels like to earn money? What it’s like to spend money you’ve earned yourself?”
Qi Lei tried his best to tempt the two.
But Tang Yi and Wu Ning shook their heads vigorously. “No interest!”
Tang Yi declared, “My goal is to live off Old Tang for the rest of my life. Whatever happens, happens!”
Qi Lei conceded defeat. Every trade has its master—he truly had no skill for motivational tactics.
…