Soul Returns to Hong Kong: From Tailor Shop to Richest Woman

September flew by. Life in Form 1 at Boya College was much more structured and rigid than Lin Ying had imagined.

We arrive at school at eight in the morning, have half an hour of morning self-study, and then have one intensive class after another.

We lined up for lunch in the cafeteria, and the school bell rang promptly at 3:30 pm to dismiss us. Every subject teacher set extremely strict rules: the homeroom teacher, Zhou Yawen, was the strictest in enforcing English, checking our spelling every morning.

Ms. Huang's math class was filled with in-class quizzes; the Chinese teacher, without fail, required students to submit a reading note every week.

After a month, Lin Ying realized for the first time that junior high school was actually quite easy.

The last period that morning was a class meeting; Zhou Yawen walked into the classroom carrying a stack of forms and wearing high heels.

"Quiet."

Zhou Yawen placed the form on the podium: "Starting in October, the school will officially open extracurricular classes. Pass the forms around. There are rules at the school; Guanjin Middle School has limited resources, and each student can only register for a maximum of two classes! Don't be greedy; once you register, you must stick with it. Anyone who feels it's too hard after two classes and then drops out will have their final grade deducted!"

A quiet murmur immediately arose from below.

"They even have home economics classes!"

"I want to sign up for dance, but I heard there's a test..."

"My mom told me yesterday that I must sign up for English recitation."

Tang Xueqi took the form passed down from the front and moved closer to Lin Ying's desk: "Lin Ying, what do you want to apply for?"

Lin Ying glanced at the form; there were quite a few categories: music, dance, painting, home economics, math olympiad, science, and English recitation. Compared to the microcomputer literacy classes that St. Paul's Elementary School often outsourced, this place did seem rather simple.

Lin Ying directly ticked the boxes next to "Olympiad Math" and "Science".

Tang Xueqi saw through her choice: "Seriously? You're already sick of doing all those math worksheets from Teacher Huang, and you still want to sign up for the Olympiad? I'm planning to sign up for painting and home economics. In home economics class, I can learn to make soup and desserts, and I can sit and eat during class—it's so comfortable."

Lin Ying nodded in agreement: "It's great, it suits you perfectly."

Tang Xueqi was initially cheerful, but after thinking about it for a couple of seconds, she felt something was off about what he said: "Are you making fun of me for being lazy?"

"No." Lin Ying handed the filled-out form to the front row. "I mean, at your age, you know how to choose things that make you happy."

With the arrival of October, the extracurricular classes officially started, and Lin Ying's life was finally less boring.

Math Olympiad classes are scheduled after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while science classes are on Wednesdays.

The math Olympiad class teacher's surname is Liang. He is a male teacher with gray hair who usually teaches Form 9.

In the first math Olympiad class, Mr. Liang didn't hand out handouts; instead, he turned around and wrote three problems on the blackboard. The first two were complex sequences with patterns, and the third was an extremely tricky geometric proof.

The other dozen or so girls who had signed up for the math olympiad were all biting their pens, racking their brains trying to figure out how to draw auxiliary lines. Five minutes later, Lin Ying had already closed her notebook.

In mid-October, Teacher Liang took out an old textbook and handed it to Lin Ying's desk: "With your brain, it's a complete waste to just do thinking transformation questions from elementary school to high school. Take this book back and look through it. If you don't understand something, come to my office."

Lin Ying glanced down and saw the titles "Junior High School Physics Fundamentals" and "Basic Chemistry Experiments" printed on the covers. She asked, "Teacher Liang, aren't physics and chemistry subjects formally taught in Form Three?"

"It's only in Form Three that it's tested!" Teacher Liang slammed his hand on the table. "But you can understand it now, so why waste two years waiting?"

The situation was similar in science class. Although Boya's equipment consisted of only microscopes, beakers, and simple circuit boards, Lin Ying took it extremely seriously. In her previous life, she had seen all sorts of cutting-edge theories from her sickbed, but the chances of actually touching these experimental instruments were almost zero.

The first time Lin Ying heated chemical reagents with an alcohol lamp, the students around her shrank back in fright at the rising flames. Lin Ying, however, remained calm, steadily holding the test tube, her eyes fixed on the changing markings as the liquid inside boiled and churned.

The young teacher, Ms. Feng, stood to the side watching and said, "Your hand is so steady, it's not like a child's."

"My dad is a jade carver. I've watched him cut jade since I was a child, so I'm used to it," Lin Ying said, finding a perfect excuse.

After listening, Teacher Feng nodded repeatedly: "No wonder. The worst thing when doing experiments is shaky hands and a racing heart. With your talent, you'll definitely be in the science class in the future."

And so, I absorbed knowledge intensively every day, occasionally went back to the New Territories with my mother on weekends to supervise the progress of the construction of the Dingwu residential complex, and sometimes wrote some novels.

It wasn't until a Sunday afternoon in November.

A light winter rain was falling outside Taikoo Shing; He Dazhu went to work in Yau Ma Tei early in the morning, Lin Lanying took Lin Qian back to Sai Wan to prepare for class tomorrow, and Lin Ying was left alone at home again.

She was sitting in front of the computer, having just finished checking the process parameters of an ancient soap-making technique, when the landline phone in the living room rang.

Lin Ying got up, walked over, and picked up the microphone: "Feed?"

"Ah Ying, it's me!" Su Zhihao's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Second Uncle," Lin Ying glanced at the clock on the wall, "it's raining so hard outside, how come you have time to call today?"

"I just got my hands on something amazing!" Su Zhihao exclaimed excitedly. "It's a serialized novel that's already been published. I just got the film and television adaptation contract signed. I'd like you to take a look at it and see if it's likely to be made into a TV series."

"A TV series?" Lin Ying was somewhat surprised. Su Zhihao had previously tasted the sweetness of tens of millions in box office revenue from movies. TV series had a slow return on investment, a long shooting cycle, and required begging for broadcast slots from TV stations, making it a completely different track.

"Yes, it's a TV series," Su Zhihao said straightforwardly. "I think this script is excellent; it's definitely going to be a hit. But I'm not sure about the details. Could you give your second uncle a look?"

Lin Ying immediately asked, "Is the contract completely signed and locked in?"

"It's locked in! The copyright is entirely in my hands!" Su Zhihao laughed smugly. "The copyright fee for this book isn't expensive. These writers don't understand the market. If we wait for talent scouts from those big TV stations to see the business opportunity, I won't have a chance to snag this bargain!"

Lin Ying's heart skipped a beat: "Okay, send me the original book. I'll read it when I have time."

"No need for the weekend, I'll be there in half an hour."

Lin Ying was taken aback: "So fast?"

"I just finished signing a formal contract with this author at a tea restaurant in Wan Chai," came the sound of a car door slamming shut from Su Zhihao's end. "It's on the way, we'll be in the Eastern District soon."

Less than half an hour later, the doorbell rang.

Lin Ying opened the door and saw Su Zhihao wearing an expensive custom-made suit, with fine water droplets still clinging to his shoulders. He was carrying a black leather briefcase.

"Second Uncle, your timing is really accurate." Lin Ying put away the slippers she had prepared.

"In business, speed is key." Su Zhihao changed into slippers as he entered, glanced around the living room, and asked, "Is Mrs. Lin not home?"

"Mommy took Ah-Him back to Sai Wan."

"That's perfect!" Su Zhihao breathed a sigh of relief, quickly walked to the sofa and sat down. "Don't let her see it yet. If your mother sees the title of this book, she'll definitely kick me out with a feather duster."

Lin Ying paused as she went to the kitchen to pour water, and asked curiously, "What name is so serious?"

Su Zhihao coughed lightly, unzipped his leather briefcase, and carefully took out three thick physical books, laying them flat on the mahogany coffee table.

The cover is a striking dark red, with four glaring characters printed on it: "Night Taboo".

Lin Ying walked over with a water glass, her gaze falling on the four large characters, and the entire living room fell silent for a long time.

She looked at Su Zhihao sitting opposite her and said, "Second Uncle, have you made enough money and switched careers to make these kinds of erotic late-night action movies?"

Su Zhihao had just picked up his water glass when he almost spat it all over the coffee table: "What kind of action movies are you watching! You're just a junior high student, what kind of nonsense are you thinking about all day long!"

Lin Ying pointed to the dark red cover: "It's called 'Night Taboo,' a name that's hard not to think of late-night Category III films."

"The title is a bit ambiguous, but it's catchy!" Su Zhihao quickly explained, his face flushed red. "But it's definitely not what you're thinking! This is a suspenseful romance film, you understand? Suspense, plus romance!"

Seeing Lin Ying's still skeptical expression, Su Zhihao added, "It does contain a few scenes of explicit romantic entanglements that aren't really suitable for kids like you, but the overall suspenseful story is extremely gripping!"

Lin Ying looked at him and quietly reminded him, "Second Uncle, I'm just a child too."

Su Zhihao rolled his eyes, speechless, and waved his hand dismissively: "Don't give me that. Are you some kind of ordinary kid? You're smarter than me. I asked you to help me with the overall story's framework, core conflict, and suspenseful plot points, not to learn those messy romantic subplots!"

Lin Ying stopped teasing him, walked to the coffee table, sat down, and casually flipped to the first page of the first volume.

The paper was slightly yellowed and the layout was very dense. Lin Ying had only flipped through it casually at first, but after reading less than two pages, she discovered that the author had an extremely strong control over the words.

Lin Ying read through more than ten pages in one go before saying, "Second Uncle."

Seeing her serious expression, Su Zhihao asked, "How is it? Is it good stuff?"

"From what I can see so far, the writing is very strong and the suspense is well-established," Lin Ying commented objectively. "But whether it can be adapted into a TV series depends on whether the continuous conflicts in the last three books are enough to support dozens of episodes."

"Okay, here's the book. Take your time reading it, no rush." ​​Su Zhihao rubbed his hands together.

"Actually, there's something else I wanted to do in person today, besides delivering the books," Su Zhihao gossiped. "Ah Ying, I'm only telling you this, so please don't go around telling anyone else."

Lin Ying raised an eyebrow: "Second Uncle, you're from Kowloon City, when did you start speaking in such roundabout ways?"

Su Zhihao asked cryptically, "Your current school is called Boya Academy, right?"

Lin Ying put down her book: "Yes. What does it matter?"

"This is huge!" Su Zhihao slapped his thigh. "I secretly checked the background of the original author of this book. This author, whose mind is full of suspenseful murder cases, is a teacher at your Boya Academy!"

"What's the author's name?" Lin Ying asked immediately.

"The contract clearly stipulates that her real name must be kept confidential," Su Zhihao said helplessly. "She insisted on it. She wore a hat and mask throughout the signing process today, and signed under an agent's name and a pseudonym. Her real name is only kept in my lawyer's memo. But you saw her pseudonym, it's called Night Returner."

A person returning home at night.

A female teacher at Boya College.

For some reason, the first person that came to Lin Ying's mind was none other than her homeroom teacher, Zhou Yawen.

Lin Ying looked at Su Zhihao and tentatively asked, "Second Uncle, tell me honestly... was this person who came home late a woman, and happened to have the surname Zhou?"

Su Zhihao tactically lowered his head and took a large gulp of hot tea: "I didn't say anything! I definitely didn't say her surname was Zhou!"