Chapter 1

"If we have not discovered any time travelers from the future in our lives, then it means that humanity went extinct before we could invent a time machine." — Hawking.

Li Ye kept his head lowered, staring blankly at the dilapidated desk in front of him, his gaze fixed for a long time.

This was a double desk, covered in deep, clearly man-made gouges.

The shapes of these marks were chaotic and disorganized, the ink stains within them likely coming from different students across different eras.

The layers of overlapping colors rendered a mixed hue, filled with an abstract artistic flair, as if condensing the boring pasts of countless green youths.

On the desk lay a test paper—not the kind printed by mechanical lead type, but the "mimeograph test paper" Li Ye had only ever heard of from his parents' lips.

A mimeograph test paper was made by first carving characters into thin wax paper with a metal stylus, then using a manual mimeograph machine to press ink through the wax paper onto sheets of white paper.

This type of test paper was crudely made, and the ink was prone to smudging, but it was cheap and convenient, making it extremely popular in the eighties.

That's right, the eighties.

Li Ye slowly raised his head, looking at the portrait of the leader above the blackboard, which was filled with the atmosphere of the era. He still couldn't believe his soul had transmigrated to a parallel 1981, becoming a repeating high school student with the same name.

The yellowing walls, the chalk-dusted blackboard, the decrepit desk, and the sight of classmates who all looked so "earthy"—all of this dealt a powerful mental blow to Li Ye, so much so that even after being in this world for quite a while, his soul and memories had yet to fully merge.

Li Ye reached out, and a section of an arm belonging to a young man was immediately revealed from his sleeve.

The skin was firm and elastic, the muscle lines were long and shapely, and the blue veins beneath the epidermis were faintly visible.

With such a low body fat percentage and such good skin, if this were his past life, he wouldn't have been able to achieve this even after donating a fortune to a gym and encountering six or seven beautiful trainers for hundreds of private lessons.

Li Ye, who had once regretted his early graying hair due to staying up late, couldn't help but sigh inwardly... Youth, it really is wonderful!

"Hu Man, not a single person in our class got this question right. Have you figured out how to do it?"

"I don't really understand hyperbola problems like this either. I think it should be..."

"Right, right, right, that's what I thought at the time too, but I ran out of time and didn't finish it..."

"That method is wrong. That's exactly how I solved it, and I didn't get a single point..."

The intense discussion buzzed behind Li Ye's head, pulling his attention back from his chaotic thoughts.

【Transmigrator Rule #1: Adapt to this society, starting with the people around you.】

Li Ye turned his head, looking through the gaps between a few classmates, and quickly grasped the bottom line of that hyperbola math problem.

Seeing several classmates frowning and scratching their heads in frustration, Li Ye leaned in, grabbed a pen, and began listing the formula.

"Actually, this problem is very simple. We already know the right focus of hyperbola c1... Point m (3, t) is on hyperbola c1, so we can list the formula to find t squared, and then..."

Silence. A silence so profound you could hear a pin drop.

Li Ye hadn't even finished listing the formula before he was forced to stop.

Because the classmates who had been discussing so heatedly just a moment ago were all looking at him with strange expressions, as if they were looking at a rare animal.

A few seconds later, Hu Man, sitting behind Li Ye, reached out, grabbed the pen from Li Ye's hand, and silently pulled it back.

This pen was hers, a Hero brand fountain pen, and she really didn't like it being borrowed by others.

As for the other classmates who had participated in the discussion, they all turned their heads to continue their talk, showing no intention of paying any attention to Li Ye.

This is damn awkward!

I kindly tried to explain the problem to you all, and this is the attitude you give me? Treating me like an invisible person?

"Li Ye, you got it wrong yourself, and you still have the nerve to explain it to Hu Man and the others? What was that saying again? Right, a blind man riding a blind horse!"

The sarcastic words came from the last row of the classroom.

Li Ye paused, glanced back, and saw a boy whose clothing and hairstyle were incredibly dated, his face full of "chuunibyou" energy.

He Weiguo, a repeating student who had failed for two years. Relying on the fact that one of the teachers was his distant uncle, he was a troublemaker who would tease his classmates whenever he had the chance. Not worth the effort.

Li Ye turned back to look at his own mimeograph test paper again.

28 points.

Two red, scrawled numbers stood proudly on the paper that reeked of ink.

Sigh.

Li Ye remained silent.

Even in those years when he was addicted to World of Warcraft and Honor of Kings in his past life, he never scored such an outrageous grade, did he?

Looking at those wrong answers, he was even more speechless.

Misreading the question, wrong formulas—and when he finally got the logic right, he made a calculation error. With this level of ability, where did he get the courage to repeat a year? Wouldn't it be better to go to a factory and screw bolts?

But Li Ye remained silent, while the guy behind him was relentless.

"Li Ye, are you still hoping to get into the capital to find Lu Jingyao? Your Chinese is pretty good, can you explain to me... what 'a toad wanting to eat swan meat' means?"

"Hahahaha~"

Inside the silent classroom, a burst of laughter erupted.

It wasn't just the back row; even the boys beside Li Ye let out snickers of suppressed laughter.

Hu Man, who had taken back her pen, and several other girls, all had their brows furrowed, showing expressions of indignation.

And in Li Ye's mind, a sharp pain like a needle prick flashed for an instant.

After the soul transmigration, Li Ye's brain had become like a computer. Whether it was the subtle memories of his past life or the mental legacy left by the original owner, everything was stored on a hard drive, ready to be retrieved clearly whenever needed.

A series of images flashed through Li Ye's mind, showing him the past interactions between the original owner and Lu Jingyao.

"The first sword upon reaching the shore, slaying the beloved first?"

Li Ye shook his head and laughed it off.

In this day and age, even educated youth returning to the city can be heartless, let alone someone who has leaped over the dragon gate to become a "government official."

"Brother, go in peace! It's not worth it for a woman like this."

Li Ye had rich experience in "failing and fighting again" in his past life. He had seen plenty of trashy women and manipulative "tea-bitches." The foolish behavior of being hurt by love had nothing to do with him, and he didn't want to get into any pointless arguments over it.

And with Li Ye's low murmur, that strand of obsession that had pierced his heart vanished like smoke.

However, the tree wants to be still, but the wind will not cease.

Li Ye's calm and composure made He Weiguo in the back row feel provoked.

He simply stood up, walked to Li Ye, and reached out to grab Li Ye's test paper.

"28 points, not bad! You went up 7 points after repeating for a year. If you repeat for two years, you'll go up 14 points, repeat for three years... Lu Jingyao will have graduated by then... Hahaha... Ow... Ow, ow... Let go, let go..."

Li Ye's hand gripped He Weiguo's hand, bent two of his fingers backward, and then slowly stood up, looking coldly at He Weiguo as he grimaced in pain.

"Let go... Sss... Let... go... Damn... Lu Jingyao..."

He Weiguo's fingers were already nearly deformed by Li Ye. He wanted to explode and fight back, but the pain in his hand left him weak and powerless.

And compared to the physical pain, the panic in He Weiguo's heart was even more intense.

If it had been more than half a year ago, He Weiguo wouldn't have dared to provoke Li Ye; Li Ye's fists were not just ordinarily hard.

Although the original owner looked thin, he wasn't a weak boy who couldn't withstand a gust of wind.

Li Ye's father and grandfather had both been soldiers. His grandfather had practiced martial arts in his youth and later trained many disciples.

Li Ye had been toughened by his grandfather since he was a child. He might not have been a master of a legitimate school, but he had never really lost a fight since he was little.

But ever since He Weiguo discovered Li Ye's "Achilles' heel," he felt as if he had grabbed the nose rope of a bull, able to show off however he wanted.

This Achilles' heel was Lu Jingyao.

After Li Ye started repeating, whenever someone used Lu Jingyao to provoke him, he would get into a fight. And after every fight, rumors would spread through the school that "Lu Jingyao got into a university in the capital and dumped Li Ye."

There were no entertainment options in this era, so the power of gossip was immense. Every time, Li Ye was so embarrassed he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Moreover, fighting in school was, after all, bad behavior. If you fought too hard, you'd have to call your parents. After several times, not only did his family complain about Li Ye, but even the teachers looked at him differently than before.

At seventeen or eighteen, one's mind is at its most sensitive. The once kind boy finally became insecure, withdrawn, and depressed, able only to swallow his angry roars in his chest.

He wanted to get into university, he wanted to go to Beijing; he couldn't ruin his pure and precious love by causing trouble.

But suppressed tolerance only invites intensified bullying.

Aren't you good-looking? Aren't you liked by girls? Aren't you still just someone I can knead and mold as I please?

You damn show-off, if I don't bully you, who do I bully?

He Weiguo, who had been jealous of Li Ye for a long time, found an opportunity to show himself off.

When Li Ye's grades were good, he would say sarcastically: "Yo, yo, yo, are you trying to get into the capital to find Lu Jingyao?"

When Li Ye's grades were bad, he would gloat: "With your lousy grades, you still want to find Lu Jingyao?"

Every time He Weiguo deliberately provoked a conflict and watched Li Ye clench his fists in suppressed frustration, he felt as sweet as if he had drunk honey.

He Weiguo believed he was already the "big brother" of the whole class, able to gain the admiration of everyone, especially all the girls.

But now, looking into Li Ye's eyes, He Weiguo couldn't help but feel his heart jump with fear.

Too calm.

Where was the insecurity, pain, and anger in Li Ye's eyes? There was only terrifying calmness and indifference.

At this moment, He Weiguo felt that the Li Ye in front of him was as terrifying as the tigers in the provincial zoo.

Tigers look lazy and non-aggressive, but that's because they're full and too lazy to move.

When a tiger truly locks eyes with you, the suppressive gaze of a predator at the top of the food chain can amplify the fear in your heart until you're forced to cross your legs to avoid losing control of your bladder.

It is no exaggeration to say that Li Ye, having lived two lives, crushed He Weiguo in terms of mental strength. He couldn't kill the other person with a look, but they were simply not on the same level.

He Weiguo was scared; he was truly scared.

He was afraid that the hot-headed youth who could break bricks with one hand had returned.

"The teacher is here!"

Just as the classmate's warning fell, a thin, small old man appeared at the classroom door.

"What are you doing? Are you all asking for a beating?"

The group of students watching the spectacle immediately scattered like birds and beasts, rushing back to their seats to play the part of good students.

In this day and age, there was no such thing as "corporal punishment." Teachers didn't have any "loving guidance" for disobedient students; standing in the corner was light, and a slap across the face was the correct way to open the lesson.

Students who were punished didn't dare tell their parents. If their parents found out, they would give the student a second, intensified round of education, adding injury to injury.

"The teacher is here, you... let go..."

He Weiguo saw his savior and began to struggle violently to break free, hoping to confuse right and wrong and frame Li Ye as the "aggressor."

Li Ye released He Weiguo's hand, simply bowed slightly to the old man, and sat down.

Back in the Celestial Empire in his past life, Li Ye had also suffered bullying in school. He naturally knew how to deal with this kind of thing.

The less you make of it, the less of an issue it is; the more afraid you are, the more trouble you'll have.

The old man paused; Li Ye's calm and composure clearly surprised him greatly.

He had a deep impression of Li Ye. Logically, Li Ye should be nervous and at a loss right now, and most students would have that reaction.

But looking at Li Ye now, he didn't look like a normal student at all, but more like a sage who had experienced the storms of life.

"Class monitor, what is going on here?"

Hu Man stood up and replied: "Teacher Hu, just now He Weiguo was mocking Li Ye... mocking him for doing poorly on the test. Li Ye only did poorly this time because he had a fever..."

This time it was Li Ye's turn to be surprised.

This little girl who had just snatched the pen from his hand was clearly taking his side now.

"I'm sick" was the universal, foolproof excuse for a failing student.

Of course, the original owner had indeed had a fever recently, and it was so high that it had burned his soul away and replaced it with another.

But He Weiguo immediately interrupted: "Li Ye only got a fever after the test..."

"Enough!"

Teacher Hu impatiently interrupted He Weiguo and said sarcastically: "He Weiguo, you still have the nerve to mock others? Get back to your seat."

He Weiguo returned to the back of the classroom resentfully, not forgetting to glare at Li Ye, with an "I'll get you later" attitude.

Li Ye wasn't afraid!

Who among the children of this era hadn't fought?

Fight one punch to avoid a hundred punches.

The combat value of this body was quite high. As long as he didn't cower, dominating Suzuran wasn't just a dream.

As for the teacher's attitude, Li Ye believed that once he showed his true colors as a top student, the school would understand his plight.

"This mock exam was a bit difficult, but it was closer to the real college entrance exam. Many students only scored ten or twenty points..."

"Of course, grades don't represent everything. Some students still have huge potential, such as student Li Ye."

"Although he only scored twenty-eight points, which seems a bit low, it's a big improvement over before. As long as he continues to work hard, there's still hope for him to pass the preliminary exam, and getting into a college or technical school isn't impossible."

【What?】

Li Ye was a bit stunned.

28 points... a big improvement? A bit low?

Dear Teacher Hu, you are truly too tolerant and too good at comforting people.

But you say I might get into a high school or technical school? And it's "possible"?

What kind of joke is this~

Although the college or technical school that high school students get into is different from the technical school middle school students get into, I am a second-tier sprint-type player who fought my way out of a sea of books and mountains of test papers in the new century. You want me to get into a technical school?

If I don't get into a national key university, I'd be letting down all those years of guidance from my physical education teacher. *** **Chapter 2: A Full Tiger Is Also Not to Be Trifled With**