Political Science: Seven days, rote memorization, with a foundation—this amount of time is enough.

Mathematics: Five days, focus on main formulas, one set of mock exam papers each day, identify and fill in gaps.

In addition, getting up early for morning runs—even though you can usually pass the PE score just by putting in some effort, Ryan Carter's exercise isn't for the grades, but to cherish his current youth, a body not yet damaged by indulgence. He wants to nip all bad habits in the bud. The word "health"—only those who have experienced it know that it's something no amount of wealth or status can buy back.

All in all, it probably won't even take a month for him to fully master all the knowledge from junior high.

A fulfilling, unprecedented new life is thus beginning...

Chapter 7 Youth

"Ryan Carter, Ryan Carter, I've called you several times and you still won't come out. Are you really studying? What are you doing, stop pretending—let's go out and play! That Intel Tribe place has a new game, 'Phantom of the Ancient Tomb'! It's super fun, you have no idea!"

Shawn Hughes opened Ryan Carter's room door and poked his head in. Standing outside was the smiling Lana Foster. For Shawn Hughes's visit, Lana Foster was very enthusiastic too—after all, they were her son's best friends. Sometimes she found these friends a bit annoying, always "sticking together" and affecting their studies, but on the other hand, seeing the kids play together, she felt it was good for them to have normal social lives.

Today was Saturday. Except for Flynn Carter, who was uneasy and went to work overtime at the tech institute, she was also at home. She went out to buy groceries and stopped by the department store. When she came back, she found that Ryan Carter really hadn't left his room at all, just shut himself in to read and study. Shawn Hughes had actually called several times today, but Ryan Carter had refused every time.

Now that Shawn Hughes had come over in the evening, she let him in, thinking maybe it wouldn't hurt for Ryan Carter to go out and play for a bit.

Ryan Carter lifted his head from the desk, and distant memories flooded his mind. Back then, internet cafes weren't even called internet cafes yet—they were called things like Internet Relay Stations, Intel Tribe, E-Club Salon, and so on, all very early names. The internet in this era was about the same as in his previous life, just getting started, not many people online. Aside from chatrooms and BBS, the only real online games were text-based MUDs, which were mostly the domain of adult netizens. Students like Shawn Hughes and most others just used the computers at internet cafes as single-player game machines. Most people still played single-player or LAN games.

In the internet cafes, it was basically a bunch of people staring wide-eyed at what would now be considered painfully crude pixelated graphics, playing with great enthusiasm. Sometimes, when things got intense, a crowd would gather around, pointing and commenting.

Nostalgic as it was, for Ryan Carter, who was now making a study plan, all of this had to be put aside.

Shawn Hughes was very surprised by Ryan Carter's change. "Hey, you really are studying... You actually took that bet seriously... Not to be mean, but with just over a month left, you think you can make a comeback? What a joke..." Being so familiar with Ryan Carter, Shawn Hughes didn't care about expressing his doubts right to his face, nor did he care about Ryan Carter's expression at the moment.

At this point, Lana Foster appeared at the door, puzzled. "What bet?"

Ryan Carter glanced at Shawn Hughes, who immediately laughed awkwardly, "It's nothing, Auntie, just some joke from class..." After some coaxing and fibbing, they managed to fool the ever-curious Lana Foster.

As the sound of Lana Foster watching TV in the living room drifted in, Shawn Hughes realized he probably couldn't persuade his best friend, so he sulkily rummaged around Ryan Carter's room. "So, do you have any new comics or good novels lately? Since you're not going out, it's no fun for me to play alone. Let me borrow a few to read tonight..."

"Are you a bandit?" Ryan Carter replied without looking up, "Just take them yourself... But you have to return them! How many books have you 'borrowed' from me before?"

Shawn Hughes, looking sheepish, rummaged through Ryan Carter's bookshelf and said, "Oh right, tomorrow night we're going to Evelyn Lee's house. I ran into her today, she'll probably call you soon. I heard she also invited Summer Young and some people from the government compound next door," Shawn Hughes paused, then added casually, "And, um, that Old Grant, Rose... you know who I mean..."

"Rose Grant! She's coming too."

That little pause from Shawn Hughes, and the ripple in his heart, were immediately picked up by Ryan Carter, who knew his best friend all too well. For the first time, he turned his head to look at Shawn Hughes.

"Old Grant?" Ryan Carter asked in confusion.

Shawn Hughes seemed a bit uneasy, as if trying to hide his inner turmoil, and stammered, "You know, the one we met before when we were playing in the government compound... Rose Grant..."

Ryan Carter narrowed his eyes. A girl who spoke standard, melodious Mandarin, who made others feel inferior in her presence, appeared in his mind.