Pursuing Her Best Friend after Confession Failed-Chapter 26 - 25: My Rank is Not What it Used to Be
This life’s college acceptance banquet was somewhat different from the previous one. In his previous life, he had attended just an ordinary, non-elite university, which wasn’t very remarkable. This time, however, he had scored a spot at a prestigious 985 university, receiving far more congratulations and praise than before.
"Mao Nan, you should learn from your cousin. Stop chasing celebrities all day. If you can even get into a good university, we’ll be thanking the heavens."
"Kaikai, learn more from your cousin Yuan. Stop wasting all your time in internet cafes playing games; that’s a dead end. You need to focus on your studies. If there’s a problem you don’t understand, ask your cousin for help."
"Just look at Li Heng’s kid; he’s truly made something of himself, getting into a prestigious university. He’s definitely going places in the future."
"That Daxia University, it’s in Modu, right? Yuanzi will be a city dweller from now on, too."
"Li Heng and Xia Qin really went all out this time. The cigarettes are the 45-yuan-a-pack Chunghwas, and the liquor is the 5-year-old Ancient Well Tribute that costs over a hundred a bottle. This whole table of food must be four or five hundred yuan..."
"If your kid got into a prestigious university, you’d spend just as much..."
On this day, Li Yuan became the proverbial "other people’s kid" that all the relatives and neighbors talked about.
The smiles on Li Heng and Xia Qin’s faces never disappeared, lasting from dawn till dusk. That night, to celebrate, they even spent over two thousand yuan on fireworks that lit up the star-filled sky.
"Brother, the fireworks are so beautiful. When I get into university, I want you to set them off for me, too." Li Zixia sat beside Li Yuan, cupping her small, pointed chin as she stared dreamily at the sky full of fireworks, her eyes filled with longing.
Li Yuan patted her little head. "When we’re home for the New Year, I’ll let you set off as many as you want!"
"Hehe, bro, you’re the best." Li Zixia squinted, hugging Li Yuan’s arm. "Bro, you’re going to Modu in a few days. So when can I go to school in Modu?"
Ever since Li Yuan told her he would transfer her to a school in Modu, she had taken it to heart, wondering every day when she would finally be able to go. Girls, especially teenagers, always held a deep fascination for big cities. In a big city, you could go to concerts, visit the zoo, or explore the aquarium—things that were hard to enjoy in a small county town.
"Once I’ve gone to Modu and bought a house, you can come over to study."
I should buy a house as soon as possible. The Beijing Olympics are over, so housing prices could soar at any moment. The sooner I buy, the sooner I can rest easy.
"Brother, when are you going? I want to go, too," Li Zixia said, her bright eyes filled with anticipation.
"The day after tomorrow. Once I get my driver’s license, the four of us will go together."
After saying that, Li Yuan felt more strongly than ever that he needed to buy a car.
「Two days later.」
The driving instructor notified Li Yuan that his license was ready and told him to pick it up at the county’s Vehicle Management Office. Early the next morning, Li Yuan took the rural bus to the county’s No. 1 Middle School bus station, where Xu Zhi, Yang Zhen, and Wang Shuai had also arrived early.
"Yuan, it’s been days! I missed you to death," Wang Shuai declared with cheesy sentimentality as he came over and threw his arms around Li Yuan.
Li Yuan shuddered. "Get off me. Why would a stinky guy like you miss me?"
Xu Zhi flashed a wicked grin. "So, what you’re saying is, it would be fine if a gorgeous girl missed you?"
Li Yuan raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Isn’t that obvious? Who doesn’t like beautiful women?"
It’s been over two months since I was reborn. Honestly, in the dead of night, I’m starting to feel pretty desperate. It’s been tough on my good old hand, and I’m tempted to go ’support’ some impoverished college students. But I can’t be that casual about my first time in this life.
He turned to Wang Shuai. "Right, handsome guy? You like beautiful women, don’t you?"
Wang Shuai nodded emphatically. "A fair maiden is a gentleman’s desire. We’re simply learning from the ancient sages."
Li Yuan scoffed. "Please, handsome guy. You’ve gone far beyond the masters. If the ancient sages heard about your deeds, they’d have to bow in reverence."
"Yuan, c’mon, tell us! What has our handsome guy done?" Xu Zhi asked, his curiosity piqued.
"You’ll have to ask the handsome guy himself. He’s the one who hides on his balcony with binoculars to spy on the school’s hotties the second class ends. Not only that, he even made a ranking of the girls in every class, grading them on their figures, grades, looks, and style..."
Wang Shuai jolted and leaped in front of Li Yuan, clapping a hand over his mouth. "HOLY CRAP! Yuan, my dearest brother, can you please just shut up?"
Li Yuan chuckled. "So you’ve got the guts to do it, but not to admit it? Only you could think of using binoculars to spy on girls at school."
Wang Shuai stared at Li Yuan, his face flushed with embarrassment. "Yuan... no, Adoptive Father! I’m begging you, please stop talking."
Xu Zhi and Yang Zhen, having gotten the gist, perked up. "Handsome guy, are you our brother or not? Spill it!"
"Hey, handsome guy, you know your bro Yang here has always been good to you, right? So how about you let me... take a look at that ranking list of yours?"
Wang Shuai, held firmly between Xu Zhi and Yang Zhen, was on the verge of tears. He shot Li Yuan a resentful glare. "That’s my private treasure, guys. You can’t expect to get something for nothing."
"Damn it, you little brat! You actually want to charge us? You’re asking for it! Brothers, get him!"
"Hurry up and tell me, who’s number one?"
Wang Shuai covered his face. "Stop hitting me! DAMN IT, Xu Dazhi, I give up! You’re a real Liu Jia! My damn handsome face is going to be ruined by you! When we get to college, you have to compensate me with a beautiful senior!"
"A senior? My ass!" Xu Zhi sneered. "With an attitude like yours, even if I introduced a senior to you, could you handle her?"
"Hah! Who are you looking down on? I can break a full-court press while dribbling with one hand. No matter how big, I can handle it," Wang Shuai grinned, his mind clearly in the gutter.
Xu Zhi looked at him with disgust. "You son of a bitch, can’t that pig brain of yours think about something wholesome for once?"
"Get lost! You already have Yuchen. A well-fed man can’t understand a starving one’s hunger."
Tired of bickering with Wang Shuai, Xu Zhi turned to Li Yuan, who was watching the show with his arms crossed, and gave him a mysterious smile.
"Yuan, there really is a great beauty who’s thinking about you. Want to know who it is?"
Li Yuan boasted playfully, "Really? Quick, introduce her to me. Let this old monk save her soul and have a late-night discussion with her about the sutras of blissful Zen."
"Cut it out. I know you too well. You’re all talk. If you actually got a chance, you’d run faster than a donkey."
Xu Zhi scoffed. How could I not know Li Yuan? He’s a complete and utter innocent, a BOY with a dirty mind but no courage. To think he had such a great opportunity in high school, sitting next to her for over a year, and he still couldn’t seal the deal. He even got rejected when he confessed after the college entrance exams. It’s laughably pathetic.
Li Yuan was speechless. "A scholar who has been away for three days must be looked at with new eyes. It’s been much longer than that. My skill level has already ascended to the heavens."
Half-convinced, Xu Zhi showed him a text message on his phone.
"Yuan, your game really is on another level. You’ve even got our school beauty wrapped around your finger."
"Seriously, I’m starting to suspect that after the college entrance exams, the school beauty confessed to *you*, and you’re the one who rejected her."
Li Yuan looked at the text on Xu Zhi’s phone. It was from Bai Weixi, and it read:
"Hi Xu Zhi, could you please tell me what day Li Yuan is going to Modu? Thank you, smiley face jpg!"
