Brian Carter stopped in his tracks and glanced at the graceful figure in front of him. She was a short-haired girl with a cute appearance, not very tall—just over 1.6 meters—standing more than half a head shorter than him. At this moment, she had to look up just to meet his gaze, and her slightly upturned, pretty face was flushed crimson with a captivating shyness. A few scattered freckles dotted her unremarkable nose, which not only didn’t detract from her beauty, but instead made her look even more genuine and charming.

Brian Carter calmly took the letter, opened it even more deftly, and began reading it right in front of the girl.

“Ah~”

This action startled the girl. Her adorable face turned as red as a ripe persimmon, flustered and bashful, but she still forced herself to stand her ground, looking straight at Brian Carter, her eyes full of anticipation.

“We’re not suitable.”

A few minutes later, Brian Carter folded the letter and handed it back with a calm expression.

The girl’s face instantly turned pale, and her body trembled even more violently.

“You’ll find someone better than me.” Brian Carter placed the letter in her hand, whispered softly, and strode away.

That letter just now was a love letter.

Did he receive a love letter on this day that year? He honestly had no recollection.

In his memories of that life, he didn’t even answer his mother’s call today, and at this very moment, he didn’t seem to be on this road at all.

Besides, during those years in high school, quite a few girls had pursued him. Thinking back, some directly asked for his phone number, some got it from others and sent him texts, or confessed through mobile QQ and the like. As for handwritten love letters, those were actually rare in those days, but there were probably a dozen or twenty girls who had taken the initiative to pursue him in various ways.

And that’s just counting the ones who confessed directly and made everything clear. If you include those who simply added him on QQ, or did nothing but secretly had a crush, there would probably be even more.

This wasn’t an exaggeration—he really did have a good-looking face, inheriting excellent genes from his parents. At eighteen, Brian Carter was not only tall, but also had delicate features, a handsome face, rosy lips and white teeth—the very image of a heartthrob. Every year, he was the most attractive guy in his class, and there was hardly anyone in the whole school more handsome than him. Plus, his aunt’s family lived in a southern coastal province, and his cousin often mailed him the latest trendy clothes, so even though he was often scolded at home by his father, at school he was definitely the epitome of tall, handsome, and cool.

In that life, he usually responded to such situations with indifference, barely bothering to say a word.

Because back in high school, all he cared about was acting cool and looking good. Even though he had someone he liked—and liked her quite a lot—he always felt that, since he was often pursued by girls, it would be too embarrassing to take the initiative himself. So he never confessed, at most just showing off or striking poses in her presence, hoping to catch her attention. After the college entrance exam, what awaited him was a dramatic upheaval in his life.

That good-looking face, in his previous life, only gave him a brief period of pride in high school, and was useless ever after. During his years of self-destruction, he binged on food and drink, was addicted to smoking and alcohol, kept irregular hours, and never went out, shutting himself away in a cramped space. Not only did he quickly look much older, but he also gained weight rapidly. It wasn’t until he started cultivating and reached a certain level that he gradually regained his youthful looks, but by then he was already in his thirties or forties, and whether he was good-looking or not no longer mattered at all.

This was just a minor episode—Brian Carter didn’t care at all, and continued on his way out. It took him about ten minutes to reach the school gate.

“Xiao Zheng, come out quickly.” At the same time, a beautiful woman standing on the freshly swept road outside the school gate waved at Brian Carter with a smile. She looked about thirty-five or thirty-six, neither tall nor short, dressed elegantly and appropriately, her graceful demeanor carrying a hint of nobility.

That was Mrs. Carter. Mrs. Carter looked a bit younger, but that was due to good self-care—she had already reached the age of forty this year. Brian Carter’s father was a bit younger; Mr. Carter was only thirty-seven this year, and back then, he and his mother had been in a sister-brother relationship.

Glancing at his mother, Brian Carter averted his gaze slightly, as his eyes suddenly stung with emotion, but his steps quickened a little.

Yanhe County No. 1 High School was under strict closed management—even students who lived nearby couldn’t go home except on holidays. But as Brian Carter was waved over from outside, he walked out calmly, and as he passed the guard room, the guard inside greeted him with a beaming smile.

After all, his father was the top figure in Yanhe County—the biggest one, at that.

Not many people knew this; the guard certainly didn’t. But he definitely knew that the woman who often came to see Brian Carter and brought him meals—Mrs. Carter—was someone important.

“Let me see—ha, our Xiao Zheng is even more handsome now. You must be even more popular with the girls at school, right?” As soon as Brian Carter came out, Mrs. Carter came up to him, looking him up and down with a warm, radiant smile.

Standing in front of his mother again, seeing that face etched into his soul up close, Brian Carter once more felt a pang of sorrow, almost brought to tears.