Chapter Three: Three Days Apart, a New Man Emerges

Inside the office of the third-year class, Zhou Xuan, Xu Shaoyun, Zhou Lin, and the three other students who had just intervened all stood respectfully before their homeroom teacher, Ms. Liu.

“Speak! What happened? You’re in your final year—still fighting? Do you not want to study anymore?”

Ms. Liu’s face was icy cold, her gaze furious as she looked at them.

How could she not be angry?

She had just announced the results of the previous monthly exam, urging them to reflect on why their scores were so poor. She’d only stepped out for a moment, and Zhou Xuan and Xu Shaoyun had gotten into a fight at the back of the classroom.

Not only did they neglect their own studies, but they disrupted others as well. Truly disappointing.

Within two minutes, several students explained what had happened.

Ms. Liu nodded, her expression softening slightly, and dismissed Zhou Lin and the three other students back to their classroom.

Zhou Xuan’s face was calm, quietly observing Ms. Liu’s handling of the matter. Although hitting someone was wrong, it was Xu Shaoyun who had insulted him first, and even brought Zhou Xuan’s family into it. That was what pushed Zhou Xuan beyond his limits.

He’d only slapped him once; they wouldn’t expel him for that. Once he did well in the high school entrance exam, having the disciplinary record removed would be easy.

Ms. Liu looked at Zhou Xuan and sighed inwardly. Her disappointment was plain on her face. “Zhou Xuan, I can’t believe you’ve started hitting people. You used to have such good grades in your first year, but now you’re doing worse and worse every time. What am I supposed to say? Ranking 250th is your own doing, the result of your lack of effort.”

She paused, then turned to sternly rebuke Xu Shaoyun, “Xu Shaoyun, what’s wrong with you? If you don’t want to study, at least don’t disrupt others. Look at what you’ve done to what should have been a peaceful study period!”

“Ms. Liu, you’re right, ranking 250th is my own fault. But even if I’m 250th, not just anyone has the right to mock me. And I won’t tolerate anyone insulting my family. How could I not retaliate?” Zhou Xuan argued, reasoning his case.

“Ms. Liu, I only said a couple things—I didn’t mean to insult anyone…”

“Ms. Liu, calling someone an idiot—what else is that but an insult? As the saying goes, ‘Those who insult others will be insulted in turn.’ That’s from Mencius.”

“….”

“Enough! Still arguing here? Do you want to be expelled?” Ms. Liu’s voice grew sharper, her expression intimidating.

This was their final year, a crucial moment. As their homeroom teacher, she didn’t want this incident to escalate to the school administration.

After thinking for a moment, Ms. Liu spoke seriously to Xu Shaoyun, “Xu Shaoyun, you started by insulting someone’s parents, then Zhou Xuan slapped you. The main responsibility lies with you. So, I’ve decided to let this matter rest. For the rest of this year, behave yourself. Go back to class.”

Xu Shaoyun was still dissatisfied, “Ms. Liu, so I just got slapped for nothing?”

“What more do you want? Looking for a disciplinary action?” Ms. Liu’s expression turned cold, her words final.

Xu Shaoyun had no choice but to leave, glancing resentfully at Zhou Xuan as he went.

Zhou Xuan was secretly pleased at how Ms. Liu handled it, feeling that she favored him a little more.

“Zhou Xuan, you have one year left. With your foundation from the first year, I believe you still have a chance to catch up. Why not try? You might even get into No.1 High School,” Ms. Liu said, unable to hide her disappointment at Zhou Xuan, who had once ranked tenth in the grade.

Thinking of the help Ms. Liu and Ms. Wang, the English teacher, had given him in the past, Zhou Xuan felt a wave of emotion. Without them, he wouldn’t have gotten into No.1 High School in his previous life, nor gone on to university.

Sadly, his playful nature never changed, and he failed to study properly in both high school and university, ending up without a good job or a promising future.

Now, reborn, he would not repeat those mistakes. With confidence, he promised, “Ms. Liu, thank you! I will catch up; I won’t let you down.”

“It’s good that you think so! All right, go on. You were wrong today too—reflect on it. If this happens again, the consequences will be much more serious.”

Ms. Liu didn’t know if Zhou Xuan truly intended to change or was just saying what she wanted to hear. She’d spoken to him so many times throughout the second year, always receiving the same assurances, yet his grades kept falling. She was close to giving up on him, though as homeroom teacher, she still hoped for a miracle.

Zhou Xuan looked at Ms. Liu, silently vowing: Ms. Liu, this time it’s real!

Just as he stepped out of the office, he heard the kind of mockery he least wished to hear at that moment.

“Ms. Liu, Zhou Xuan has said those words countless times. Do you still believe him?”

“That’s right, Zhou Xuan is a veteran at this now, even got into a fight today. I don’t see much hope.”

It was Ms. Li, the math teacher, and the physics teacher. They had once cared deeply for Zhou Xuan and hoped his grades would improve. But after several disappointments, they no longer paid him any mind, and it was no wonder they had lost faith in him.

But Zhou Xuan did not blame them. Perhaps to prove himself, or perhaps to announce his new self, he turned back and appeared at the office door, speaking to the teachers.

“Teachers, my past mistakes are mine. I did not study well and let you down. Here and now, I apologize to you all. But I believe, after three days apart, you should see me with new eyes. I will show you—a brand new me.”

After Zhou Xuan left, the office was silent.

“What did I just hear?”

“Zhou Xuan actually apologized to us.”

“Is this a declaration? Or will it be another thunder with little rain?”

“‘After three days apart, see with new eyes!’ I’ll be watching his scores in the next monthly and midterm exams!”

“Ha…! There aren’t so many miracles in this world…”

Walking through the corridor, Zhou Xuan looked up at the starry sky outside the window.

Tonight, the sky was clear, the Milky Way crossing the darkness, starlight sparkling.

With decades of knowledge from the future, it would be easy to become top scorer, let alone master the junior high curriculum. And Zhou Xuan held a greater secret, one that could propel the nation and humanity forward.

In 2059, a Chinese scientist named Ling Zhongxing accidentally discovered a special substance. When combined with several other medicines according to a precise formula and consumed, it could promote development of the brain’s domain.

Just like Ling Zhongxing’s name, China ushered in a great national revival.

By 2073, the biography documenting Ling Zhongxing’s discovery of the brain development agent and the crude formula used at the time became the symbol of the Chinese Dream, widely celebrated and circulated throughout the world.

Everyone studied Ling Zhongxing’s story, hoping to find miracles and create the future as he did.

Of course, Zhou Xuan never harbored such ambition—he had simply read it several times out of curiosity. As a result, he knew the process of discovering the brain development agent inside and out. As long as he could find those special materials, Zhou Xuan could manufacture it decades ahead of time, to serve his own business empire.

Returning to the classroom, Zhou Xuan found everyone looking at him as if he were a stranger, filled with amazement.