Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 2: Reborn, but where is my system?

"Catch the ball!" A basketball with a strong spin passed into the basket from the three-point line and hit Zhang Chao on the head who was still in a daze, knocking down the 1.8-meter-tall man in one fell swoop.

The students on the court gathered around and saw Zhang Chao lying on his back on the ground. He was not unconscious, but muttering to himself: "Why can't you wait... Why are you so anxious..."

"What are you waiting for? If you wait any longer, the ball won't come in!" The person who just passed the ball was Zhang Chao's good friend Chen Huan. Seeing that he was fine, he complained: "You just stood there like a fool. Just smash it to death!"

Zhang Chao got up from the ground, grabbed Chen Huan's shoulders tightly, and shouted loudly: "I was crushed to death! Haha, but I am alive again!" Then he left the court without looking back.

Chen Huan was startled. After watching Zhang Chao walk away, he said with lingering fear: "The class teacher is right. The pressure of the mock exam is too great. Look, another one has gone crazy. Forget it, let's play basketball. Then who, you can replace Zhang Chao."

Zhang Chao didn't care what others thought of him. He just ran back to the dormitory, went to the bathroom to wash his face, and stared blankly at his 19-year-old self in the mirror.

"I was actually reborn?" Zhang Chao still couldn't believe it.

Originally, Zhang Chao was just a mediocre middle-aged man in his forties. After his business failed, he was forced to pick up his old job and start teaching Chinese again - but he was just a guerrilla tutor.

After saving a lot of money, he was ready to open his own studio. Unexpectedly, it was closed down by the unannounced inspection team of the Education Bureau just after it opened. Not only did he lose all his rent, deposit and decoration costs, but he was also fined 2 yuan.

After paying the fine, Zhang Chao, feeling distraught, walked on the road with a buzzing head. Suddenly, a strong wind blew and a huge billboard fell down. Under the billboard, besides Zhang Chao, there was a mother pushing a baby carriage.

Zhang Chao instinctively rushed forward two steps, pushed them aside, and was crushed under the billboard. The moment he lost consciousness, he saw his short and failed life flashing back in front of him like a revolving lantern.

He couldn't help but stretch out his hand and point to one of the frames of the rapidly changing picture. That frame suddenly froze - it was himself at the age of 2, a student in Class () of Fuhai Gaoguanfu County No. Middle School, sweating on the school playground.

Then, a distant voice asked me if I was willing to be reborn...

Then, he returned to the life in that frame.

The joy of rebirth filled Zhang Chao's body and mind. He felt his young body no longer heavy, his joints no longer ached, and even his hair was as thick as the reeds by the river.

But he soon calmed down. Rebirth is certainly a good thing, but what should I do after rebirth? Is it really like what is written in the novel, using my grasp of future history to engage in business, expand and become stronger, and create greater glory?
He remembered clearly what day it was - Sunday, January 2004, 1.

Tomorrow is the city-wide mock test for the senior year. A group of boys were playing basketball on the court to relax, but Chen Huan dived to save the ball and knocked the Dean of Academic Affairs who was passing by the court to the ground. Not only was he scolded, but the Spalding basketball they had raised money to buy was also taken away, and they didn't return it until graduation.

Zhang Chao suddenly thought of something, went back to his desk, took out the textbook and review outline, read them through, and was so shocked!

Except for Chinese and a small part of the comprehensive liberal arts questions, the rest of the content is like a book of heaven. Zhang Chao was reborn in 2024, 20 years after graduating from high school. He had forgotten all the knowledge except for his job.

He patted his head vigorously and said hello to the void a few times: "Hi... Hello... Bonjour... Moshimoshi..."

Neither the "system" appeared in front of him, nor was there any voice responding to him.

"Shit, no system, no plug-in, no golden finger, no grandfather... I'm fucking naked!" Zhang Chao experimented again and again and confirmed that apart from the memories of the next twenty years of his life, he had no rebirth benefits.

How can you build a business empire and make it bigger and stronger? You can't even get an undergraduate degree!

Zhang Chao sat on the bed and took stock of his memories. He sadly discovered that, with regard to the major trends and events of the next twenty years, except for a small part that he had personally experienced and participated in, he only remembered the outlines and general direction of the rest and lacked a grasp of the details.

Unlike those predecessors who traveled through time, he can not only remember the time nodes of the stock market's transition from bull to bear market, but can even remember the specific increase or decrease of certain stocks.

At this time, the dormitory door was kicked open with a bang. Chen Huan walked in cursing, "What bad luck, I ran into Nun Miejue, there's nothing I can do."

Zhang Chao knew that Nun Miejue was the nickname of the Dean of Academic Affairs. When he saw him holding the Spalding basketball, he was stunned and asked, "Why wasn't the ball taken away?"

Chen Huan was furious: "How can you curse people like that? You don't have a share of this ball? I didn't do anything to her, why did she take my ball?"

Zhang Chao was speechless. Should the historical error correction mechanism be so strong? Or was it just a coincidence?

It was almost noon and other roommates came back one after another.

The first to come back was Liu Xuyang, the dorm's top student. The reason why he was called "top student" was because he had poor adaptability, so his grades were always unstable. Occasionally he could get above 600, but once the questions were tricky, his scores would immediately drop to 550, or even lower.

Liu Xuyang was holding his freshly packed lunch in his hand. When he saw Zhang Chao and Liu Huan, he immediately showed a look of disdain, sat down at his seat and started eating, and put on headphones to listen to English listening.

Zhang Chao didn't take it seriously, but Chen Huan couldn't stand it and shouted, "Who are you winking at? Believe it or not, I'll smash your head with a ball."

Liu Xuyang glanced at Chen Huan with contempt. He didn't say anything, but his eyes told Chen Huan: "Do you have the guts to try?"

Chen Huan raised the ball and was about to throw it, but Zhang Chao grabbed it. If the ball went over, Liu Xuyang would complain to the class teacher, and Chen Huan, a poor student who couldn't even get 400 points, would at least be put on probation. If Liu Huan got a scratch, he might be expelled.

In ordinary student conflicts, if no one is injured, the most they get is a demerit. But it is different when it comes to students with good grades. Even if they are just "quasi-academic masters", they have the innate qualifications to protect themselves from school discipline, and they are immune to all scumbags and can rebound ten times the damage.

Liu Xuyang had originally raised his hands to resist, but when he saw Zhang Chao hugging Chen Huan, he snorted again and lowered his head to continue eating.

Chen Huan was so angry that he turned around and said to Zhang Chao: "Look at him! Don't stop me, I'm going to kill him!"

Zhang Chao said in a deep voice: "Do you want to be fired? He is deliberately provoking you."

Hearing Zhang Chao's words, Liu Xuyang raised his head, a little surprised, and then smiled disdainfully, as if to say, "So what if you figured it out?"

Zhang Chao pushed Chen Huan to sit on the lower bunk bed, then walked to Liu Xuyang and said, "We have been roommates for three years. Although we are not close, we have no hatred. You are going too far. There is still half a year before the college entrance examination. After the exam, no one will see each other. Let's part ways in peace. There is no need to play tricks on people." Liu Xuyang chewed slowly, and it took him two minutes to finish a mouthful of rice. He drank a sip of water and waited for a long time before speaking, "I don't understand what you said. I didn't say a word when he wanted to hit me. What, is it still my fault?"

Zhang Chao's face turned cold as he recalled many things that happened in the dormitory later. He, Chen Huan, and another roommate who was average in academic performance, Zeng Ming, often had conflicts with Liu Xuyang for inexplicable reasons. Every time, Liu Xuyang went to the teacher to complain as a victim.

As a result, the three of them were repeatedly given "special care" and were finally moved by the head teacher to an old dormitory with eight people. Even the toilet was shared by one floor, and there was no hot water for taking a shower in winter. However, Liu Xuyang got several classmates with good grades as roommates as he wished.

Originally, these memories had faded in his mind, and Zhang Chao thought that the three of them were too naughty. But now that he thinks about it, Liu Xuyang's ambiguous way of adding fuel to the fire is the culprit. He disliked the other three for not being as good at studying as he was, so he tried to get rid of them.

Although Zhang Chao's rebirth did not have the golden finger and the grandfather, the extra 20 years of experience and the understanding of the world and people's hearts were unmatched by high school students of this age. Liu Xuyang's method of ostracizing people was considered clever among students, but in Zhang Chao's eyes, it was as childish and ridiculous as a child playing house.

Zhang Chao smiled indifferently and said, "You just want to get rid of us and let Shen Ming move in, right? Even if you think so, he may not agree. What if you affect Shen Ming's admission to Fudan University? Can you bear the responsibility?"

Unlike Liu Xuyang, Shen Ming is a "real academic master" with his grades remaining stable at around 650 points for many years. He has a clear goal, which is to study journalism at Fudan University and become a great journalist who reports the truth and criticizes current social ills.

Although Liu Xuyang despised Zhang Chao and others for their poor grades, he could not stand others questioning his grades. Upon hearing this, he stood up, clenched his fists, and shouted, "Say it again!"

Zhang Chao still smiled indifferently: "Why, you can't listen to the truth? Your grades are only around 550 points, and you can only get 600 points if you are lucky enough to get the questions you have practiced. And you still want to ask me to come and be your personal tutor? Why, you have to be so thick-skinned that I have to come and teach you."

Liu Xuyang couldn't stand the stimulation. He kicked over the chair, raised his fist, and his eyes turned red.

At this time, Zhang Chao screamed "Ah", then turned over and fell to the ground, leaving Liu Xuyang and Chen Huan lying in the wind, not knowing what had happened.

"Liu Xuyang, you want to rebel!" An angry roar came from the door. The head teacher, Lao Wang, was standing there with his hair standing on end.

Now it was Liu Xuyang's turn to be dumbfounded. He looked at the chair on the ground and the raised fist. His eyes were confused at first, and then he fell into great panic. He even stuttered when he spoke: "Teacher Wang... I... he... I... didn't..."

Lao Wang shouted angrily, "What do you mean you didn't have it? I saw it all, Liu Xuyang, you are so arrogant! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help Zhang Chao up!"

Chen Huan watched the whole process from the side, dumbfounded. Then he reacted and quickly stepped forward and pushed Liu Xuyang away: "No need for you, I'm worried." Then he helped Zhang Chao sit up and leaned against the edge of the lower bunk.

At this moment, Zhang Chao's eyes were closed, his breathing was as thin as a thread, and his lips were tightly pursed, even turning a little pale.

Chen Huan took the opportunity to say loudly, "Zhang Chao was not beaten to death by Liu Xuyang, was he? Teacher Wang, call an ambulance quickly, Zhang Chao is dying."

Old Wang had a gloomy face. He first shouted away the students who were gradually gathering around him, and then closed the dormitory door. He glared at Liu Xuyang, whose legs were already shaking, and walked over to Zhang Chao and squatted down.

He first opened Zhang Chao's eyelids and took a look, then checked Zhang Chao's breath, and then said in a deep voice: "It's nothing serious, he just held his breath for a while. Go get me a glass of water."

Then he pressed his thumb nail against Zhang Chao's philtrum and was about to pinch it hard when Zhang Chao woke up slowly.

His eyes were blank for a while before they gradually focused. After seeing the person in front of him clearly, he asked in confusion, "Teacher Wang, why are you here? Why am I sitting on the ground?"

Chen Huan just came over with some water and quickly explained, "You and Liu Xuyang just had an argument. Liu Xuyang started to fight and knocked you out. It was only because Teacher Wang came to our dormitory that he stopped the attack."

Liu Xuyang suddenly became anxious and defended himself, "You, you are slandering me. I didn't hit him, I really didn't. I just stretched out my hand and he fell down!"

Lao Wang ignored them and only asked Zhang Chao: "How do you feel now? Where does it hurt? Can you stand up by yourself?"

Zhang Chao said, "It hurts here." He pointed to his head and looked carefully. There was a red mark just under the hair near his forehead, which was slightly swollen.

Then he held onto the edge of the bed and the ladder, and barely stood up. He swayed a few times and almost shook Lao Wang's heart out.

Chen Huan looked at the red mark, resisted the urge, and did not turn back to look at the Spalding basketball. In his heart, he gave Zhang Chao several thumbs up.

Liu Xuyang was also confused. He looked at the red mark on Zhang Chao's forehead in disbelief. He almost suspected that he had mastered internal skills and could hurt people from a distance. He wanted to explain, but didn't know how to start.

Lao Wang looked back at Liu Xuyang and said nothing, but his meaning was clear: "What else do you have to say? The red marks can't just grow out on their own, right?"

However, as the class teacher, at this critical moment before the senior high school mock exam, the most important task now is to maintain the stability and unity of the class. If Zhang Chao makes a scene at this time, the class will probably explode, and Liu Xuyang will definitely be punished.

Fortunately, Zhang Chao looked fine. Lao Wang thought for a moment before speaking: "Well, you look fine - that's good. It's normal for classmates to have small quarrels, don't go too far. Liu Xuyang went too far today, I asked him to apologize to you. Liu Xuyang, come and say sorry."

Liu Xuyang reluctantly moved in front of Zhang Chao and said in a mosquito-like voice: "I'm sorry."

Old Wang frowned and wanted Liu Xuyang to speak louder, but was stopped by Zhang Chao: "Teacher Wang, Liu Xuyang was just impulsive and didn't mean it. I'm basically fine now."

This time, Zhang Chao only wanted to give Liu Xuyang a small punishment and a big warning, and he didn't really want to do anything to him, after all, he was just a student. Zhang Chao, who was already 40 years old at heart, didn't want to bother with a child. This time, he showed a little bit of the popular 18-fall magic skill of touching porcelain more than a decade later, which probably scared Liu Xuyang enough, and he would not dare to do anything bad again in the future.

Old Wang heaved a sigh of relief, and confirmed that Zhang Chao was indeed fine, then he stood up and prepared to leave. He warned Liu Xuyang by the way: "Conflicts between classmates must never escalate to the level of physical contact. Whoever starts a fight, I will deal with him!" Hearing Liu Xuyang nodding like a chick pecking at rice, Zhang Chao sneered in his heart:
I didn't see you deal with him. But what if the person lying on the ground just now was Liu Xuyang, and it was me or Chen Huan who did it?

Just as Lao Wang was about to open the door, he suddenly remembered something and turned to Chen Huan and said, "I almost forgot why I came here. Bring the basketball here. It's confiscated for the time being and will be returned to you after graduation. The Dean of Academic Affairs has filed a complaint with me, saying that the students in Class 2 are not doing their job properly and are still playing basketball when they are about to take the first mock exam."

Chen Huan could only give the basketball to Lao Wang with a bitter face.

This ball still couldn't escape the fate of being confiscated...

(End of this chapter)