Doing It Over Again

Life after school started was simple. In his previous life, he had studied for self-examination and often read books at home, so picking up junior high school knowledge wasn't difficult. On the contrary, he found the current curriculum even simpler than what would come later, at least there weren't endless Olympic math problems being assigned as regular homework.

As an adult familiar with social interactions, befriending a group of teenagers wasn't particularly challenging. So even though he was known as the top student in the entire grade, he would still play basketball with other boys and exercise.

The school's playground had a cement surface, without the so-called rubber track - just dirt tracks. Basketball hoops stood in the middle of the field, and ping-pong tables made of bricks were set up in the corners of the track - this was the entirety of the experimental middle school's physical education facilities. As for the football fields, tennis courts, and swimming pools that many schools would have in the future, they had none of those.

However, the students were mostly content. They could play exciting games of ping-pong on those brick tables - almost every student during this period knew how to play ping-pong, just with varying levels of skill. Those who enjoyed badminton didn't even need proper courts; with just a pair of rackets costing less than ten yuan and a line drawn to mark the boundary, they could have great fun.

The world of teenagers was innocent - they would beam with joy during PE and music classes, while their enthusiasm during breaks would noticeably differ if they had Chinese, Math, or English classes.

After nearly two months of school, Shen Shao's image as a serious student who remained well-integrated with his peers had become firmly established in the minds of both teachers and classmates in Class 1. When curious students from other classes asked about him, his classmates would mostly speak of him with admiration, rarely showing jealousy. In youth, people speak from their feelings rather than self-interest, and their likes and dislikes are clear. It's only with time that this black-and-white sense of right and wrong gradually becomes polished smooth, turning into social sophistication.

Regardless of what the future held, Experimental Class 1 now faced their biggest challenge: midterm exams. This was their most important test since entering the school, and crucially, there would be rankings across the entire grade, with results posted on the bulletin board. This added invisible pressure on them. As a result, they spent less time playing in recent days, staying in their seats studying during breaks except for bathroom visits. As the saying goes, even last-minute preparation helps, and they couldn't let down the reputation of the experimental class.

Students who had entered the class through "back doors" were especially nervous, as those ranking in the bottom ten of the class this semester might be transferred to regular classes. Being demoted from the experimental class to a regular class would be extremely embarrassing.

Someone had approached Shen Shao with questions, and after receiving detailed explanations, other classmates began seeking his help with difficult problems too. Some of the high-performing students, despite knowing the answers, would pretend not to know - weren't they just worried others would perform too well after learning? Why didn't Shen Shao have such petty concerns?

Shen Shao hadn't expected that more and more classmates would seek his help during breaks; eventually, he felt like he had become the class's junior teacher.

"Hey, have you heard?" Yang Hongqiang leaned in mysteriously toward Shen Shao. "The regular classes are saying our experimental class is just for show, that our grades aren't much better than theirs!"

"Well, many students in regular classes do have good grades," Shen Shao felt that dividing students into tiers wasn't ideal, but given the national circumstances, he had nothing more to say. The regular classes' dissatisfaction with the experimental class was normal - after all, no one wants to admit being inferior to others.

"Even their best grades are nothing compared to yours," Yang Hongqiang, since becoming Shen Shao's desk mate, had developed what he called an endless admiration for him, like a flowing river. Good grades, good looks, even excellent at sports, loved by teachers and classmates alike - who else in the class could achieve all this?

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Yang Hongqiang didn't know that such people would be called "male gods" or "life winners" in ten or twenty years.

"Instead of thinking about all this, you should focus on getting good grades in the midterms," Shen Shao pulled out his math textbook from his drawer. "Next class is math, be careful - Teacher Yang might call on you to answer questions."

Yang Hongqiang immediately deflated. Looking at Shen Shao's neat notes in his math book, then at his own blank pages, he suddenly realized why the other was the top student in class - at least he was very dedicated to his studies.

The daily school life had been peaceful until someone spread rumors that Shen Shao was an orphan without parents and extremely poor.

Given that Shen Shao was known throughout the grade as an outstanding student, gossip about him spread quickly among many students, with various embellished versions circulating.

When Class 1 students heard these rumors, some didn't believe them, while others whispered about them behind his back. Many students in the class came from well-off families, and they had never noticed any signs of Shen Shao being poor. In fact, their interactions had led them to believe he came from a well-educated family.

So after the midterm exams, many students became hesitant around Shen Shao, and fewer sought his help with questions. Though Shen Shao had heard these rumors, he wasn't concerned - such talk couldn't affect him anyway.

On Friday afternoon, just before the weekend, Yang Hongqiang, who had been holding back for several days, finally couldn't resist asking his seemingly carefree deskmate: "Shen Shao, is what the other classes are saying about you true?"

When he asked this, students in front and behind turned their attention to Shen Shao, clearly interested in the answer.

"You mean the rumors about my mother's suicide and my father running away with another woman?" As it was almost time for the weekend break, Shen Shao was packing some textbooks to take home. Hearing Yang Hongqiang's question, he paused, then lowered his head and said in a dejected voice: "What they're saying is all true. I'm living off the money my mother left behind for school and rent. If you look down on me and don't want to be my friends, I won't blame you."

"How-how could we look down on you," Yang Hongqiang stammered nervously, "That's not what I meant at all, I just... I just care about you, really!"

"That's right, don't be sad, none of us think any differently of you," said Yang Xiaoxia, the girl sitting in front, whose family was in business. Though her grades weren't particularly good, she had gotten into the experimental class through her family's connections. "We just couldn't believe it, that's all."

Shen Shao knew he was somewhat taking advantage of these children's sympathy, but in this situation, this approach was gentler than making formal explanations or telling everyone how pitiful he was: "That's good then. I was just worried that after knowing all this, you wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore."

Several classmates looked at Shen Shao's bright smile, and though they were too young to understand the soft, tingling feeling in their hearts, they instinctively felt even more fondness for him. They became more determined not to let him feel troubled by the outside rumors and began consoling him with their childish words.

Shen Shao looked at his classmates and couldn't help but smile - this kind of childlike innocence and kindness was truly precious.

Since third-year students didn't have extra classes this week, first and second-year students also didn't need to attend evening self-study on Friday. Therefore, first and second-year students loved it when third-years had monthly breaks, as it meant they could skip two classes.

When school let out in the afternoon, countless students poured out of the experimental middle school on their bicycles. Shen Shao, carrying several books, watched these energetic students with a smile as he walked toward his rented room.

Just as he arrived downstairs, he heard some news that a family was selling their old house. The house was 110 square meters in total and was being sold for just over 25,000 yuan, including all the furniture and appliances. However, since many rural residents were still focused on earning money to build two-story houses, and they believed living in the city meant paying for water and not being able to farm for sustenance, few people were willing to spend tens of thousands on a house. After all, twenty or thirty thousand yuan represented almost all the savings for many families.

Shen Shao, however, was somewhat interested because he remembered that this area would be requisitioned for development two years later, and the relocated residents would receive substantial compensation. Even those dilapidated tile-roofed houses in the corners would receive significant compensation.

At this time, even the average price per square meter for commercial housing in the Capital City was only two to three thousand yuan, let alone in their backward small county town. So the price of 25,000 for a second-hand house was indeed relatively high by current market standards.

When Shen Shao approached the homeowner to discuss buying the house, they couldn't believe that a teenager would be capable of purchasing property. However, seeing Shen Shao's serious attitude as he negotiated the price, they reluctantly engaged in the conversation, albeit half-heartedly.

Unexpectedly, this young teenager actually bought the house for 23,800 yuan, and after completing the property transfer procedures, the homeowner didn't question how Shen Shao had so much money. They were just happy to tell him about their dutiful daughter, how developed the Capital City was, and how they would soon be moving there to live.

Shen Shao listened quietly, and when it was time to part, he casually asked if anyone else in the neighborhood was selling their house, mentioning that his relatives were interested in buying a couple of properties.

The landlord was delighted at this prospect, thinking they could earn some commission by acting as an intermediary. They immediately promised to help Shen Shao connect with several homeowners within a few days, though warning that some houses weren't as good as theirs.

Since Shen Shao was buying these houses primarily for future demolition compensation, he wasn't concerned about their condition. So the next day, with the landlord's help, after viewing the properties, he began negotiating prices with these homeowners and ended up purchasing three more houses, along with a somewhat dilapidated tile-roofed house for 5,000 yuan.

After receiving the property transfer documents, Shen Shao was particularly grateful that there were no housing purchase restrictions at the time - anyone with money could buy as many houses as they wanted. Moreover, there were no regulations preventing minors from owning or registering property rights; otherwise, even knowing about this opportunity, he would have only been able to watch from the sidelines.

Back home, he removed his non-prescription black-framed glasses and took off his bat-wing shirt, looking at the several property certificates in his hand, letting out a long sigh of relief.

He posted some rental notices outside - there was no point in letting the houses sit empty when they could be rented out to supplement his monthly living expenses.

Every little bit helps, especially since he wasn't particularly wealthy at the moment.

After the weekend, the biggest concern for the experimental middle school students was that their midterm exam results would soon be released. If they performed poorly, their fate after the parent-teacher conference would surely be miserable.