Chapter 1: After Wandering Half a Life, Return Still as a Youth

Guangfeng High School, Grade 11 (Class 1).

The math teacher was vigorously writing quadratic equation formulas on the blackboard, and the students below were all attentively watching the board.

In the spacious classroom, only the sound of chalk tapping on the blackboard could be heard, tick-tock, tick-tock...

In the last row of the classroom, a boy was also staring at the blackboard like the other students. However, if you looked closely, you would notice that his body was trembling slightly, his eyes fixed on the blackboard as if trying to see through it to the classroom on the other side.

After a while, the boy picked up the ballpoint pen on his desk with his right hand, gripping it somewhat awkwardly as he wrote something in his notebook, seemingly trying to control his trembling body, wanting to appear as calm as the other students. But the shaking tip of the pen betrayed him.

If there were a close-up of his face at this moment, you would clearly see the boy’s youthful face, slightly contorted from excitement, his lips slowly turning pale and quivering gently.

Obviously, the boy was suppressing his emotions to the limit, but as the ballpoint pen snapped...

"Ah!"

A high-pitched shout echoed through the entire Grade 11 (Class 1).

The setting sun slanted westward, its afterglow falling on the outer wall of Class 1, enveloping the boy standing in the corridor.

William Brooks instinctively reached for his pocket, then gave a helpless smile as he looked at his clean, unstained fingertips, lost in thought.

Before being kicked out of the classroom by the teacher—or rather, to be precise, ten minutes earlier—his memory was still in the future, sitting in front of a computer, furiously typing line after line of text.

"In 2019, I was an online writer and wrote two books... In January 2008, I was a Grade 11 student at Guangfeng High School..."

Rebirth—this word was not unfamiliar to William Brooks, but when it truly happened to him, he still couldn’t control his excitement.

He tried, like many protagonists in rebirth stories, to hide his emotions, but he found he couldn’t do it. The moment he confirmed his rebirth, his body began to tremble uncontrollably with excitement.

He was so excited that his stomach even started to cramp.

When he could no longer control his emotions, he let out a roar, and then was promptly kicked out of the classroom by the teacher!

Rebirth—impossible not to be excited. Thinking of having a chance to make up for past regrets, he even wanted to howl at the sky three times.

How many regrets are there in life?

When you were in elementary school, the neighbor’s child got into college. You heard your parents say that Tsinghua and Peking University were the best universities in the country. As a little kid, you wondered whether it was better to go to Tsinghua or Peking University.

Later, as you grew older, you learned about liberal arts and sciences, and decided that if you studied science, you’d go to Tsinghua; if you studied liberal arts, you’d go to Peking University.

In the end, you thought Tsinghua was too big and easy to get lost in, so you firmly chose Beida Qingniao.

At sixteen, you watched Transformers and were captivated by the cool sports cars. At that time, you thought your future ride would be a Ferrari or at least a Porsche.

At twenty-one, you set your sights on a Mercedes or BMW.

At twenty-five, you felt that a joint-venture car costing a hundred thousand or so was more suitable for you.

By thirty, you no longer cared about status—just having a car of your own was enough.

At thirty-three, you felt grateful just to find an empty seat on the bus.

That year, it wasn’t that you couldn’t afford a car, but you had a mortgage to pay, kids to raise, and during the crowded rush hour, you comforted yourself by saying the subway was faster than driving.

Every time you passed the CBD, looking at those luxuriously decorated shop windows that made you hesitate to enter, watching the roaring, flashy sports cars speed by—these were all dreams you once made under a brilliant blue sky.

And that girl with a red scarf, who walked past your window by your desk, smiling, but you never dared to confess to her.

Willows swaying, a gentle breeze—those brilliant yet regret-filled youthful years.

Trying to calm his excitement, William Brooks didn’t stay in the corridor outside the classroom, but instead began to walk around the campus. Only by walking could his emotions gradually settle, and he could also recall memories in his mind.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, William Brooks wandered aimlessly, a thoughtful look on his face, occasionally breaking into a silly grin, which he quickly suppressed when he saw other students passing by.

January 2008!

Grade 11 (Class 1).

This was the school’s top liberal arts class. Although by this time the Ministry of Education had repeatedly ordered schools not to set up key and regular classes, most schools still divided students into key classes. Years of experience had taught teachers that a good learning environment was essential.