After so many years of struggling in society, all the knowledge from books has long been forgotten. In just these two short months, there’s no way I could get into a second-tier university again.

David Thompson never thought about giving up on studying just because he was reborn. Not for anything else, but simply because his parents worked themselves to the bone to support his education—he couldn’t let them down.

The The Thompson Family family wasn’t wealthy. David Thompson’s parents rented a small stall at the county market to sell seafood. Every night, they had to leave at two or three in the morning to buy goods, and wouldn’t get home until eight or nine at night after closing up. All year round, except for a few days off during the New Year, they barely had any free time.

The couple worked themselves to exhaustion all year just hoping that David Thompson could get into a good university, find a good job, and marry a good wife.

They couldn’t even bear to buy boxed lunches for lunch, always bringing food from home in the morning to eat with pickled vegetables.

In his previous life, after more than ten years of hard work and frugality, the old couple managed to save up some money, planning to leave it for David Thompson to buy a house and get married. Unfortunately, no matter how they calculated, they never expected their own bodies would give out from exhaustion.

At that time, David Thompson had just graduated from college. Both parents were diagnosed with serious illnesses one after another. Not only did all the family’s savings get spent, but in the end, David Thompson even sold the old house in the county to pay for their treatment. Sadly, his parents still couldn’t hold on and passed away one after another.

The two elders worked hard their whole lives without enjoying a single day of happiness. Before they left, they wept bitterly, apologizing to David Thompson for not being able to leave him any savings, and even selling the house that was their only shelter, leaving David Thompson all alone in the world.

Thinking of this, David Thompson couldn’t help but feel a wave of sadness. Then he remembered that he had been given a second chance at life, finally having the opportunity to make up for it. In this life, he absolutely couldn’t let his parents suffer again, and even more so, couldn’t let them leave him so early.

During those years drifting through society, David Thompson might have seemed glib, but who could understand that constant sense of loneliness? In the years after his parents’ passing, just as they had worried before they died, David Thompson truly became a wandering soul in the bustling city.

No one knew that the strong front David Thompson put on in public would break down at his parents’ graves during the family reunions of New Year’s Eve, where he would cry his heart out, nearly fainting from grief several times.

In his previous life, the people David Thompson felt most sorry for were his parents. Sadly, the dead are gone, and there was no chance to make it up to them.

Now that fate had shown him mercy and given him another chance, David Thompson was determined to fulfill his parents’ wishes.

Getting into a good university was the first thing David Thompson had to do. Although he hadn’t done particularly well in his previous life, he remembered the day he received his college acceptance letter—the old couple had smiled through tears of joy. That was probably the happiest moment of their lives.

This kind of happiness was far more important than how much money he could make. Of course, David Thompson would never take away his parents’ joy and happiness.

Fulfilling this wish wasn’t exactly easy, but it wasn’t impossible either.

Although his memory was fuzzy, the college entrance exam was a major hurdle in life.

David Thompson wasn’t capable of remembering the exact exam questions from over a decade ago, but as long as he worked hard to find similar question types from various books and materials, he could still recall some of them. If he put in the effort to review over these two months, even if he didn’t do exceptionally well, maintaining the level he had in his previous life shouldn’t be too hard.

Thinking of this, David Thompson couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, then started to zone out, his mind wandering to all sorts of random things.

What’s the first thing to do after being reborn? No one needs to teach you—you know you have to make money.

Without money, how could his parents enjoy a good life? Without money, how could he find a good wife and live well? Money might not be everything, but without it, nothing works.

What could make money in 2004?

Stocks?

Sorry, in his previous life, David Thompson had never touched them, nor did he have the capital to do so. Other than knowing that Baidu, Tencent, and Apple would rise, he didn’t know anything else.

Lottery?

Ahem, even though David Thompson had bought quite a few tickets and dreamed of getting rich overnight, who in their right mind would remember the winning numbers from the last draw, let alone from more than ten years ago?

After thinking it over, buying property for appreciation seemed like a sure bet, but even the cheapest houses required capital. Without money, nothing could be done.

Thinking of this, David Thompson gritted his teeth in frustration. He really had wasted his previous life—after years in sales, all he’d learned was how to talk.

Fortunately, there were plenty of opportunities in those days. As long as he found the right direction, maybe he wouldn’t become the richest tycoon, but living in wealth and comfort shouldn’t be too hard.

With that thought, David Thompson relaxed again. He glanced up at George Brooks, who was still muttering away, his thoughts drifting further and further, until everything went black.

Of course, this time David Thompson didn’t time travel—he just fell asleep under hypnosis.

……

“Dongzi, wake up!” William Clark patted David Thompson on the shoulder. “School’s over. When Old Brooks left, his face was green. You’ve really got nerves of steel!”

David Thompson rubbed his sleepy eyes and said nonchalantly, “Anyway, we’re graduating high school in two months. Old Brooks isn’t going to eat anyone.”

With that, he picked up his backpack and got up to leave. As he left, he patted William Clark’s watermelon-shaped head and said with a grin, “Watermelon head, good luck, hahaha…”

William Clark touched his own head in confusion. It wasn’t until David Thompson had left that he snapped out of it and cursed, “Watermelon your ass! Call me watermelon head again and I’ll smash you next time!”

“Hahaha…”

Laughter echoed through the classroom.