nChapter 2: Crushing on Cong Nianwei

nTranslator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

nEnglish was the first class after their morning self-study.

nQin Guan took out his textbook. “Merlin had tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each of his shoes.”

nAs Qin Guan read, he gradually started feeling sleepy.

n“What am I going to do?”

nAs a science geek who had worked on the machine manufacturing industry for more than ten years, Qin Guan had always felt extremely distressed during English class.

nWhile he read the words on the textbook again, he thought that every single one of them sounded familiar, yet he could not remember their meaning. Qin Guan recognized his carelessness in not using English for so many years.

nFor a science student, the five compulsory subjects in the College Entrance Examination included Math, Physics, Chemistry, English and Chinese. Qin Guan was quite confident in his Math, Physics and Chemistry.

nHowever, Chinese and English were a big pain for him. It had been ten years, and he had forgotten almost everything that he had ever learned. Apparently, in the next few months Qin Guan would have to focus on Chinese and English in order to learn fast.

nLooking at the number 122 on the blackboard, which stood for the days to go before the College Entrance Examination, and watching his classmates work so hard, Qin Guan thought that he should feel really sorry for himself if he did not take advantage of this second opportunity to get admitted into a prestigious university in the capital.

nPicking up his book, he started from the first page and began to recite very hard.

nEnglish, Chinese, English. No matter what the class was this morning, these two subjects were what he would study on his own. At the end of the day, when he looked up from his desk dizzily, he was amazed.

nJust in one morning, he had read eight English texts and recited around 250 words. Thinking back, he found that he had already memorized 230 of them. As for the four ancient Chinese pieces of prose, he was able to recite every word of them. Was this a stroke of luck brought by his rebirth that would always help him along? Qin Guan was thrilled. That was fantastic!

nThe morning classes were over around noon time. Students in Grade 3 didn’t get any breaks. They only got an hour and a half off for lunch. Qin Guan did not want to waste it. He turned his head back, kicked the leg of Zhou Jing’s desk and said, “Do you want to ask Fatty Li for handmade noodles?”

nBoth Zhou Jing and Li Jian, who had just come over, paused.

nWas Toy Boy Qin Guan really talking to them?

nOther students moving around in the classroom had paused, too. A 5’9’’ guy with dark skin, a 5’2’’plump one, and a tall thin guy like a stick. They made quite the picture.

nQin Guan did not seem to be aware that he was a looker. He dragged along Li Jian, whose body consisted mostly of fat, and told Zhou Jing, “Old Zhao Ramen. My treat.”

nThey passed by all the girls of the class, who were glaring at them as if wanting to say, “These two dare get invited for ramen by the Prince Charming? How I envy them! I want to go with too. What’s so special about them and they got so lucky?”

nThe two boys followed Qin Guan and walked off the campus.

nOld Zhao Ramen was a small noodle restaurant by the high school’s side entrance. It was known among the students for its affordable and delicious noodles.

nAs their noodles were getting served, Qin Guan could not wait to pick them up with his chopsticks and suck them into his mouth. Broth, white noodles and red chili oil. Yes, that was heaven.

nWatching Qin Guan eat his noodles unrestrainedly, the two boys, who were sitting across from Qin Guan and shoveling noodles into their mouths, gave him inscrutable looks. As they watched him lift one of his legs onto the rung of the chair and suck his noodles, they could no longer help but be persuaded.

n“Qin Guan, we all know that you are upset, but you can’t give up on yourself just because you got rejected. It’s fine if you want to hang out with us, but how could you not care about your image anymore? It’s the only thing you ever talked about.”

nRaising his head from his noodle bowl, Qin Guan looked at a loss while he asked, “What rejection? I have not given up on myself.”

nHis words confirmed Zhou Jing and Li Jian’s suspicions. They both said compassionately, “You told the monitor yesterday that you had fallen for her, but she turned you down.”

nQin Guan spat out his noodles.

n“What? I told the monitor that I had fallen for her?”

nZhou Jing and Li Jian nodded sympathetically. Sniffling his nose, Qin Guan thought of their monitor. Her hair was usually pulled into a neat ponytail and her big eyes were always twinkling. Suddenly, he felt very upset.

nThe one thing that he’d wanted the most, but had not dared do in his last life, he had done in this one and he had failed. Damn! He could not get over it.

nFor someone as careless as Qin Guan, this second chance at life was not a big deal, neither were the changes in his appearance. That girl with the big eyes, though, was like a dream for him.

nWho didn’t have one or two friends that they’d had a crush on when they were young? It was fine. He had said it, and he’d gotten rejected.

nLooking at the empty bowl in front of him and turning to his two best friends who obviously cared about him, Qin Guan felt moved. He pretended not to care and said, “Crap! How is it even possible to be devastated over a little girl that’s still in her puberty? I forgot about it already.”

nFeeling proud of his words, Qin Guan watched Li Jian wink at him. Qin Guan felt happy. “Such a good friend. Always entertaining me.”

nQin Guan got up, pinched Li Jian’s cheek and said, “You agree with my theory, too, right? Good boy.”

nZhou Jing sighed. Sometimes he worried about Qin Guan’s EQ. He poked at him with his finger and pointed behind Qin Guan’s back.

nQin Guan twisted his head back. Oh, no… It was the little girl. The monitor was standing right behind him, holding a tray of fried noodles with beef in her hand, her eyes twinkling and looking adorable.

nBefore Qin Guan could feel good about himself, a tray of fried noodles had landed on his head. The monitor gave him a smile and asked the owner for one more tray of fried noodles. “Who’s a little girl now?”

nThe owner popped his head out of the window and shouted, “One more tray of fried noodles with beef!”

nThe patrons in this small noodle restaurant were all students from their high school. They had all witnessed the scene between the Prince Charming and the straight-A girl, and were not planning on keeping it a secret.

nQin Guan was not mad, despite the fact that a mass of noodles hung right on his face. He held it up to his mouth and sucked it in. He had not expected the gentle monitor to turn out to have such a hot temper. He had to have her. He just had to.

nIgnoring the noodles on his head, Qin Guan grinned at her. She had such beautiful sparkling eyes.

n“I like you more now. What am I going to do?”

nSeeing this extremely silly side of Qin Guan, the young monitor thought that he was very down-to-earth after all. Nothing like the hypocrite she’d always thought he was.

" For some reason, she blushed.

nFlipping her ponytail, she ignored him and went to get her noodles.

nQin Guan felt happy. He had a chance with her. He would handle the College Entrance Examination first, and then he would handle the prettiest girl in class.

nHe meant what he had said.

nThe rest of the months flew by, with Qin Guan giggling towards the monitor from time to time over his books. When he had nothing to do, he would tuck himself into bed, close his eyes and recall bits and pieces of his day.

nHe was very happy. It felt good to be back in high school. To start his life over and chase after the girl of his dreams… If he won Cong Nianwei’s heart, he would not have lived his life in vain.

n