Brian Foster said with some dissatisfaction, “I know you feel bad about being rejected after confessing, but we’re good brothers—whatever’s on your mind, you can talk to me.”

Brian Foster also thought that just now Chris Brooks did it on purpose, trying to save face.

Chris Brooks didn’t know how to explain either, so he just patted Brian Foster on the shoulder: “Getting into college means you’re already an adult. Suffering alone is an excellent quality of adulthood.”

……

Chapter 3: Turns Out We’re Still Neighbors

Walking once again into the familiar yet unfamiliar campus, it was only under the stimulation and guidance of those iconic buildings that Chris Brooks’s memories slowly began to awaken.

Along the way, he ran into many classmates. Sometimes Chris Brooks wanted to greet them, but when he opened his mouth, he forgot their names.

But as for Julia Bennett and the guy who just came out showing off, Chris Brooks already remembered who they were.

Julia Bennett was said to be the most beautiful female student in the decades since Port City No. 1 High School was founded. At last night’s senior class reunion, Chris Brooks confessed to her under the influence of alcohol, and of course, was rejected.

Julia Bennett’s reasons never really changed. Back in middle school, she said she wouldn’t date in middle school; in high school, she said she wouldn’t date in high school; finally, after graduating high school, she changed it to not dating before graduating college.

Port City is small, and you never know where there might be all sorts of connections. For example, Chris Brooks’s mother and Julia Bennett’s mother know each other. However, Julia Bennett’s parents work at the Public Security Bureau and the Power Supply Bureau, so her family is a bit better off.

Of course, Chris Brooks was never a loser. His grades were above average, he was tall and well-built, not gloomy at all, and he’d even gotten into fights with local punks outside school. His family wasn’t rich, but definitely not poor either. In short, he never had to worry about school expenses growing up.

Logically, someone like him shouldn’t have any reason to be reborn. He wondered why he was chosen—was it to punish him for drunk driving?

But as the saying goes, from eight to eighteen is ten years, but from eighteen to twenty-eight is a lifetime.

Actually, even if things went on as usual, Chris Brooks could become a multimillionaire in the future. But if he worked a bit harder, maybe he could add a few more zeros to his assets and even change the course of history.

As for the guy who just tried to show off in front of Julia Bennett by stepping on Chris Brooks, his name is David Harris. His father is a real estate businessman in Port City, but business is always up one day and down the next.

At the class reunion more than ten years later in his previous life, when David Harris toasted Chris Brooks, the rim of his glass was always three inches lower.

……

“Old Clark, where’s my admission letter?”

Chris Brooks walked into the teachers’ office and called out to a male teacher with a balding head.

Old Clark’s name is Henry Clark, and he was Chris Brooks’s homeroom teacher in high school. They got along well, and sometimes even joked around like brothers. When Chris Brooks first started working, he’d still make time to visit him when he went back home, but as things got busier, he forgot.

Later, Old Clark died of lung cancer. At the time, Chris Brooks was abroad and could only ask someone to deliver a condolence envelope; he didn’t even have time to attend the memorial.

So for the “real” Chris Brooks, seeing Old Clark again after being separated by life and death was actually a bit exciting.

Old Clark turned around, saw it was Chris Brooks, and smilingly pulled out his admission letter from a stack, saying with some regret, “I thought you’d get into a top-tier university.”

A student like Chris Brooks caused little trouble, had above-average grades, was tall and strong, and occasionally contributed to the class. So even if teachers didn’t have a special fondness for him, they couldn’t dislike him either.

Chris Brooks took the admission letter nonchalantly: “Second-tier is fine, that’s about my level anyway.”

Brian Foster was much more respectful: “Hello, Mr. Clark, I’m here to get my admission letter.”

While Old Clark was looking for the admission letter, Chris Brooks glanced at his desk and saw a pack of Red Jinling cigarettes. Red Jinling is the best-selling cigarette in Sudong Province, aimed at the working class—Chris Brooks’s dad smoked them too.

“Old Clark, you should smoke less from now on. The pressure of teaching a graduating class is already high, and if you keep smoking, your body might not be able to take it.”

Chris Brooks said as he picked up the cigarettes.

Henry Clark was taken aback. Most students who came to get their admission letters just said “thank you” or “I’ll come visit you more often”—empty pleasantries. Only Chris Brooks specifically reminded him to smoke less, speaking as sincerely as an old friend he hadn’t seen in years.

Old Clark was a bit moved. Teachers nowadays are “one piece of chalk, two clean sleeves, three-foot podium, four seasons of hard work.” Not all of them pursue the ideal of “students all over the world,” but when a student really cares about you, it still feels heartwarming.

Henry Clark even felt he hadn’t cared enough about this handsome young man before, and readily agreed, “I’ll definitely smoke less from now on.”

“Saying it doesn’t count.”

Chris Brooks casually slipped the Red Jinling into his pocket: “I’ll help you keep an eye on it—this pack is confiscated.”

Old Clark couldn’t help but laugh and cry. He hadn’t even received a fruit basket from this kid, and now he’d lost a pack of cigarettes. But he really liked this kind of relationship. Brian Foster’s respectful attitude made everyone feel restrained.