As soon as Ji Mian stepped into the shop, the system asked, [Are you really planning to take the university entrance exam?]
Ji Mian replied, puzzled, [Why not? Didn’t you say this is part of the task?]
[No, it's just that, among my previous hosts, few could achieve this.]
After struggling to live once more in another world, who would want to go through the hardships of studying and taking the college entrance examination again?
The system glanced at Ji Mian’s accumulated emotional value, currently fixed at 2200, most of which had just increased. This was easy to understand; six months ago, Duan Zhuang and Sun Qi had just discovered Ji Mian’s crush on Mu Yuman, and at that time, they hadn’t taken Ji Mian’s affection seriously, so his emotional value had naturally remained stagnant.
However, after Ji Mian had said that earlier statement, their attitudes had completely changed.
Ji Mian had been consistently sending various wood carvings to the female lead, and his shy expressions when mentioning Mu Yuman… all of this had laid the groundwork for a sudden outburst today.
Ji Mian needed a total of 100,000 points to gain a new life, and after deducting ten percent, that meant he needed to earn 110,000 emotional value points to leave this small world and embrace a new life.
Having over 2,000 points didn’t seem like much, but considering this world was still unfinished, accumulating that many points was already quite impressive.
The system wanted to praise him, but after a moment's thought, it decided that Ji Mian’s personality would likely lead him to feel proud, so it held back.
Ji Mian really began preparing for school and the entrance exams.
He didn’t want to delay his work at the wood carving shop. At first, he thought about trying to temporarily avoid school and choose self-study instead.
To him, studying and wood carving were almost indistinguishable.
The only difference was that studying required a bit more brainpower.
Ultimately, whether reading or wood carving, the essence was a learning process that demanded patience, self-discipline, and a little talent.
And what Ji Mian lacked least was patience.
As for talent…
After a month of basic review, the system conducted a simple test for Ji Mian. The results showed that his current learning ability was at least at the university level.
However, his knowledge base was only equivalent to that of a middle school student.
[You used to be quite knowledgeable.]
[Really?]
[Mm.] Although Ji Mian’s memories were empty, the logical thinking skills he had trained did not vanish with the loss of his memories.
For someone who had lost all memories, maintaining that level of learning ability was quite remarkable.
[So, I wasn’t a notorious criminal in my past life?]
[Knowledge is unrelated to character.]
[…Oh.]
[I suggest you complete the knowledge up to the first year of high school before September, and then go to school and continue in the second year with the original student’s grade. Your learning ability and patience are sufficient, but for college entrance exam students, it’s more about the time spent studying. With you currently working in the wood carving shop during the day and starting to study only in the afternoon, your study hours compared to other students are completely inadequate.]
Ji Mian fell silent.
His original plan was to continue staying at Duan Zhuang’s place, helping out during the day and then spending time studying at night.
However, he didn’t know much about the efforts required of high school students in this world, and it seemed much greater than he had imagined.
But following the system’s advice would mean returning to school, which raised issues about tuition and accommodation. Plus, he certainly couldn’t stay here any longer with a thick skin.
He would have to find the original owner’s father…
Ji Mian sighed, feeling dejected.
After struggling internally for a while, he came to the first floor of the wood carving shop, picked up the landline phone, and dialed the number from the original owner’s memory.
Half a minute later, the call connected.
Ji Mian felt a tightness in his chest as he spoke the unfamiliar title, “Dad.”
Two seconds passed, and the sound of a dial tone came from the receiver.
The other party hung up the phone.
“…”
Ji Mian didn’t feel discouraged; the tiny bit of tension in his heart completely vanished.
He calmly continued to dial again.
After ten seconds of ringing, the call connected once more.
A rough male voice appeared impatiently on the line: “What do you want? Don’t tell me you’re causing me trouble again?”
After nearly two years of his son’s disappearance, the first thing a father had to say upon reconnecting was not concern but annoyance.
At this point, Ji Mian had an idea of what was happening but still stated his purpose: “I want to go back to school and continue my studies.”
—Beep beep.
The other party mercilessly hung up again. This time, no matter how Ji Mian tried to call back, he couldn’t get through.
“Ugh.” He sighed, feeling defeated.
As expected, it didn’t work.
“Hello.”
A cold voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
Upon hearing that voice, Ji Mian's entire spine went rigid, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
He didn’t understand why he reacted this way; clearly, this was his eldest brother’s voice, which he was most familiar with, and his brother had always treated him well.
He stiffly turned around and, sure enough, saw Duan Zhuang’s face. He held an unlit cigarette between his fingers, his gaze heavy.
He softly said, “Brother.”
Duan Zhuang’s gaze fell on the shop's landline phone. “Your dad?”
“…Mm.”
“You really plan to go back to school,” Duan Zhuang said ambiguously.
It was absurd to believe that a dropout who had been away for two years, and had once been a pickpocket, could turn their life around due to a ridiculous “love”—who would believe that?
In any case, Duan Zhuang didn’t believe it.
What Ji Mian said that day indeed surprised him, but upon reflection, how could it be so easy? This world wasn’t an ideal one; there weren’t that many beautiful fairy tales.
Ji Mian didn’t ponder the deeper meaning behind Duan Zhuang’s words; he simply answered honestly, “Yes.”
“…”
Duan Zhuang met Ji Mian’s gaze. Those light brown eyes were silent, quietly observing him.
He turned away, his brows furrowing in irritation. “...Where will you study?”
“...Huaiyang High School. What’s wrong, Brother?”
"Huaiyang Middle School is not far, just a fifteen-minute drive away."
"?" Ji Mian looked at Duan Zhuang, confused about why he suddenly brought this up.
"Don't call him," Duan Zhuang took the receiver from Ji Mian's hand and hung it up forcefully. "He wasn't willing to take care of you back then, and he won't change in five or ten years."
Ji Mian pressed his lips together and fell silent.
"I'll pay for your tuition. Go back to school."
Ji Mian was taken aback and raised his head. After staring at him for a moment, he regained his senses and shook his head. "Brother, I don't want to."
He had been living off Duan Zhuang for two years without paying, and even if he wasn't working anymore, he couldn't let Duan Zhuang support his education any longer.
【You still need to work.】 The system quietly retorted.
Duan Zhuang ignored him and continued, "From September of the year before last to June of this year, that's a total of twenty-two months. Working as an apprentice in the shop, no days off, at a monthly salary of four thousand, including room and board, that's a total of eighty-eight thousand in wages."
Ji Mian was dumbfounded. "How can there be that much!"
Duan Zhuang went on, "In the past two years, you only took five thousand for clothes and living expenses, so I still owe you eighty-three thousand. If you want to calculate interest, that's fine too."
"..." Ji Mian felt dizzy, and after a long while, he said, "So, I spent five thousand of your money in the last two years, that's a lot..."
Duan Zhuang: "..."
This brat.
Has his brain been dug out by someone?
"Um—" Ji Mian's face was suddenly pinched.
He looked at the culprit's face, which was so close, with a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Brother?"
"Ji Mian." Duan Zhuang pinched the soft flesh on Ji Mian's face, his gaze fixed on him. "Are you doing this on purpose?"
His fingertips pressed a little hard, and soon left two red marks on Ji Mian's cheek.
Seeing this, Duan Zhuang immediately relaxed his grip. The moment he let go, the act of pinching Ji Mian's face inexplicably changed.
His right hand was resting against Ji Mian's face, nearly covering everything from his eyelashes to his chin with his palm, as if Duan Zhuang was deliberately caressing him, or perhaps Ji Mian was leaning his cheek against his hand voluntarily.
Duan Zhuang wasn't dark; in fact, he was on the fair side among men. But with his fingers on Ji Mian's face, there was an obvious color difference.
He stared at the color difference for a few seconds, and the confusion he felt returned once again.
Ji Mian was still looking at him with those clean eyes, clueless and innocent. "…Brother?"
What did he mean by doing this on purpose?
"…"
Duan Zhuang had never mentioned to Ji Mian that he disliked Ji Mian calling him that.
When they first met, Ji Mian had collapsed on the ground, injured and covered in dirt, pleading for him to take him in.
At that time, he was a bit impatient, thinking that this person was being too clingy, even calling him "Brother" as if trying to get closer.
Now, Duan Zhuang had already gotten used to it, yet he still disliked Ji Mian calling him that. The reason was that the way Ji Mian said it sounded… overly sweet.
"Brother?" Seeing that Duan Zhuang didn't respond, Ji Mian called out again.
The clear voice of the youth had a slightly rising tone at the end, like a fishing hook gently snagging the listener's heart.
Duan Zhuang's throat moved, and inexplicably, he leaned down, almost touching Ji Mian's forehead with his own.
Ji Mian tilted his head slightly, wanting to remind Duan Zhuang that they seemed a bit too close.
He didn't feel uncomfortable, but the warmth of Duan Zhuang's breath on his face was a bit ticklish.
Halfway through, however, Duan Zhuang stopped.
He had caught the bait but, at that moment, lost his direction, not understanding what he was supposed to do.
He stared blankly into Ji Mian's pupils for a few seconds. Before Ji Mian could speak, he let go of his hand and straightened up.
"Where will you live after going to school?"
Why was it assumed that he was going?
Ji Mian wanted to argue but saw Duan Zhuang's expression gradually turning cold, as if warning him that if he dared to say "no," he would…
What would happen? Ji Mian didn't know, but he didn't dare to try.
After a moment, he reluctantly said, "…I'll live in the dorms. I'll come back during holidays."
He didn't want his brother to be bothered by him every day.
Duan Zhuang imagined Ji Mian returning once a month or even every two months, thought for a moment, and said, "You can come back on weekends. I'll pick you up and drop you off."
"Huh?"
Ji Mian's confused voice sounded, then he quickly realized. "Oh oh!"
Right, he still had to come back to work. If he stayed at school all the time, he wouldn't be able to come back to work, so his brother wanted him to come back!
Seeing Ji Mian's face light up with realization, Duan Zhuang knew his intention had once again been misunderstood by this fool.
"…"
Idiot.
Duan Zhuang silently looked at him, saying nothing.
But for some reason, he felt inexplicably annoyed. He couldn't pinpoint why he felt this way and was too lazy to figure it out.
He finally lit the cigarette he had pinched between his fingers.
In reality, Duan Zhuang didn't particularly like smoking, but the smoke that filled his throat numbed his sensitive nerves along with all the irritating emotions.
Since Duan Jin Yan's death, this had been his only way to deceive his brain.
At that moment, Duan Zhuang heard a slight inhalation beside him.
Turning his head, he saw Ji Mian had lowered his head and hadn’t exhaled for a while.
He was holding his breath secretly.
Duan Zhuang's eyelid twitched, and he cursed under his breath, "Little brat."
He gritted his teeth and extinguished the cigarette he had just lit.
As the smoke cleared, he finally heard the young man beside him quietly exhale, sounding a bit anxious, clearly having held his breath for too long.
"…"
Duan Zhuang pretended not to notice and pressed his right hand down on Ji Mian's head, roughly ruffling his hair.
If this goes on,
He'll definitely make himself sick!
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