Never expected to meet again in this way!

“What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and sit properly, or when the class monitor comes, he’ll start nagging again!” William Harris saw Michael Bolton in a daze and quickly said.

Several years had passed, and Michael Bolton had long forgotten where he used to sit, but that didn’t stop him from finding his seat, because his old deskmate was truly eye-catching—even after all these years, he still remembered clearly.

Very soon, his gaze landed on a seat by the window, where a girl of about seventeen or eighteen sat upright. Her slightly fitted school uniform showed off her perfect figure, her jet-black long hair was stunningly beautiful, her clear and bright eyes carried a hint of childishness, her nose was straight, her skin smooth as snow, and her thin lips were a lovely shade of pink.

She was half-turned, gazing out the window, her eyes a bit dreamy—no one knew what she was looking at!

That was his deskmate, Olivia Reed!

Olivia Reed, like David Thompson, was an outlier in this class!

Although in recent years there had been a strong emphasis on well-rounded education, grades were still an important standard for measuring students, so it was rare for ordinary classes to produce any campus-famous stars.

But there were two exceptions: David Thompson was on the school basketball team, handsome, with good grades, generous, and had always been the secret crush of many girls.

But compared to Olivia Reed, he still fell short. Michael Bolton and Olivia Reed were classmates in their first year of high school, and Olivia Reed had always been the top student in the class. Later, Michael Bolton was assigned to the liberal arts class in the second year, while Olivia Reed was in the science class. Unexpectedly, after half a semester, Olivia Reed transferred over and even became his deskmate. Although no one knew why she switched classes, Olivia Reed’s grades remained outstanding—even the science class students couldn’t surpass her scores.

No matter when, Olivia Reed was always the center of attention, whether for her outstanding looks or her top-notch grades—she was impossible to ignore.

In his previous life, Michael Bolton was also one of Olivia Reed’s secret admirers. He had a crush on her from the first year to the third year of high school but never confessed. But that was in the past—after going through college and a few years in society, Michael Bolton’s mindset had already changed.

Michael Bolton calmly sat down next to Olivia Reed, put down his backpack, and glanced at the class schedule on the desk—the first period was Chinese.

It was already the end of the first semester of senior year. Elective courses were already few and far between, let alone purely recreational classes like art or PE.

Having lived through this once, Michael Bolton didn’t feel the usual heaviness of senior year, because he knew that, in fact, students had the least burdens—what society demanded was far more than what students faced.

After getting his books ready, Michael Bolton began to consider what he should do after being reborn. As for academics, he didn’t worry much. It was like looking back at elementary school problems after entering middle school—they suddenly seemed easy. After all, he had gone to college, and his perspective was different from that of a high schooler. Besides, he was quite intelligent to begin with—he just used to slack off and not study, otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten into a top class at a key high school.

Not aiming for Peking or Tsinghua University, but for an ordinary first-tier university, he still felt quite hopeful.

After having gone to college once, he no longer had those obsessions. Those students who studied hard for twelve years—wasn’t it all just to get into a good university?

A good university isn’t completely useless, but in reality, it’s not as useful as people imagine. Unless it’s a prestigious school like Peking University, Tsinghua, or Fudan, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s a first, second, or third-tier university—employers can’t tell the difference. Only a small percentage can get into top schools. A diploma is just a decorative piece of paper; what matters is what you actually learn in college, not just the diploma itself.

Getting into a good university, for the current Michael Bolton, was more about fulfilling his parents’ wishes. He himself wasn’t that eager; instead, what he would do in the future was already right in front of him.

Chapter 3 Michael Bolton’s Advantage

Having been reborn, a gift from the heavens, Michael Bolton naturally wouldn’t be like his classmates, just fooling around until graduation and only worrying then—that would be a waste of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

They say being reborn is the ultimate cheat, invincible, unstoppable, beauties in your arms, building a financial empire—but to Michael Bolton, that’s all nonsense. In terms of grades, he was at the bottom of the class; in terms of looks, he could tidy up and look a bit handsome, but nothing stunning—why would any beauty throw herself at him? If one really did, he’d wonder if someone was playing a trick on him.

As for money, he only had 130 yuan on him—building a financial empire was even more of a joke.

How did those reborn predecessors make money?

Lottery tickets? Forget it. In his previous life, Michael Bolton had never touched them—he didn’t even know how many numbers were drawn in a lottery. Besides, even veteran lottery players rarely remember that kind of thing!

So that path was a dead end!