Chapter 1: The Script Is Wrong

April 5, 2008.

Saturday.

Yangcheng No.1 High School, Senior Grade 3 (Class 4) classroom.

Brian Carter spent half an hour and finally confirmed one thing: this wasn’t a dream, nor was it a movie shoot—come on, if filming could make his classmates turn young again, that crew would be out of this world!

Once he was sure he’d been reborn, Brian Carter only felt a moment of nervousness before calmly accepting it.

As a new-century youth well-versed in all things, who hasn’t had some experience with reincarnation?

Even if he hadn’t been reborn himself, there were plenty of stories online—just reading them, you’d know this was the ultimate secret weapon for the short, poor, and ugly to turn into tall, rich, and handsome!

Besides, he had no money, no girlfriend—if being reborn meant he could live a few more years without doing anything, it was a win no matter how you looked at it.

He finally made it to the end of class. The teacher, both familiar and a bit strange, dragged the lesson on for several more minutes before reluctantly leaving.

As for the last thing the teacher said before leaving, Brian Carter just assumed he’d misheard.

“Martial Arts College registration starts next week. Anyone interested, get ready.”

Brian Carter didn’t pay it any mind—he thought he’d heard “liberal arts” registration. College entrance exam registration was always done in advance, but usually the school handled it, so there was no need for a reminder.

The key point: Senior Grade 3 (Class 4) was a science class, nothing to do with liberal arts, right?

But with the whole rebirth thing, Brian Carter couldn’t care less about such trivial matters.

Right now, Brian Carter was thinking about punching Jack Ma and kicking Ma Huateng.

Even though 2008 was a bit late for that, if a reborn person didn’t do something unexpected, could they even call themselves a reborn?

Or maybe he wouldn’t go into business, but into politics instead?

Brian Carter was secretly calculating in his mind, not in the mood to chat with his classmates.

These young folks couldn’t possibly imagine the grand ambitions in his head. From today on, they were no longer living in the same world!

Just as Brian Carter was laying the groundwork for his future, the burly David Clark in the front row suddenly turned around and asked, “Brian Carter, Ethan Brooks, are you guys signing up?”

Brian Carter had a deep impression of David Clark, not because David Clark was ridiculously handsome.

The key was, after graduating from college, at their high school reunion, the freshly graduated David Clark had grown a full beard, almost making Brian Carter think David Clark’s dad had come to the reunion.

Ever since then, Brian Carter had never forgotten this bearded classmate—the feature was just too distinctive.

Lost in thought, Brian Carter didn’t immediately respond.

His deskmate, Ethan Brooks, known among classmates as one half of the “Ordinary Duo,” shook his head and said, “I’m not signing up. It’s just a waste of money. The registration fee alone is ten thousand. There’s no way I’ll pass. With that much money, you could almost cover a year’s tuition and living expenses in college.”

David Clark sighed, “True, but I just can’t let it go. If I don’t try, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

David Clark’s deskmate, also a guy—Brian Carter couldn’t quite remember his name—turned around to join the discussion, his face gloomy. “This is our only chance to leap over the dragon gate, but unfortunately, it has nothing to do with us.”

The three of them sighed and lamented, leaving Brian Carter completely confused.

Sign up?

Was it the “liberal arts” registration the teacher just mentioned?

The registration fee is ten thousand?

This was 2008—if he remembered right, the housing price in downtown Yangcheng was only about 4,000 per square meter. The exam registration cost that much?

Were these guys serious?

Or had they been scammed?

Brian Carter was just about to ask, when his deskmate Ethan Brooks adjusted his glasses and said resolutely, “Even if we don’t take the martial arts exam, taking the liberal arts exam doesn’t mean we’ll never make something of ourselves!

There are martial arts training classes in society too. Once we graduate and earn some money, we can always continue our studies.

Even if we can’t compare to martial arts students, at least there’s still hope!”

As soon as he said this, David Clark’s deskmate got excited too. “That’s right! If you get into a top liberal arts university, after graduation the salary and benefits won’t be low either!”

“I still want to give it a try…” David Clark hesitated. His family was fairly well-off, and he was strong and healthy. He just couldn’t let it go without trying.

Ethan Brooks and the other didn’t try to stop him. Even though the chances were slim, the opportunity was right there—someone was bound to be unwilling to give up.

Though they were all still young, they understood that if they tried to talk David Clark out of it and he missed his chance, it would create a huge grudge.

The three of them were deep in discussion, but Brian Carter was still completely lost.

What was going on?

He swallowed, looked at the three of them for a while, and saw no sign of joking around. At this point, Brian Carter finally sensed something was off.

He was about to ask, but someone else beat him to it.

At the desk next to Brian Carter and his group, two boys had been whispering to each other. Now, maybe because there weren’t enough people in their own discussion, they decided to join in.

Once things quieted down on Brian Carter’s side, a crew-cut boy at the next desk turned around, face full of excitement, and said, “David Clark, Ethan Brooks, did you guys check the news online last night?”