In his previous life, he knew for a fact whether or not Bai Weixi had any regrets.
Having graduated from a top-tier university and blessed with good looks, Bai Weixi lived a good life, later marrying a Modu (Shanghai) native. Although she didn't marry into an ultra-rich family, it was still a decent one. Her in-laws were said to be civil servants who owned a car and a house.
As for him, unable to make it in Modu, he could only return to his hometown in disgrace, which made him look even more like a clown. Although she was very scheming and scummy, looking at it objectively, Bai Weixi was a top-tier manipulator with very clear goals. And she had succeeded, living a better life than most of her classmates.
In this life, making her regret won't be easy. Li Yuan shook his head inwardly, searching for an excuse to change the subject.
"Hey, handsome guy, your estimated score must be out, right? Think you'll make the cutoff for a first-tier university?"
When it came to the college entrance exam, Wang Shuai showed little enthusiasm, his spirits low. "You know my grades. Forget a first-tier university; I'd be thanking heaven and earth if I can get into a decent second-tier one."
"Yuanzi, what about you? You've always been in the top three of our class. How did you do? Think you broke 600?"
Although their class wasn't an "Olympiad class," it was still one of the best among the regular ones. In this year's college entrance exam, the class had an undergraduate acceptance rate of over 50%, with ten students meeting the cutoff for first-tier universities. He ranked third in the class, right behind Bai Weixi, whose scores in Chinese and English were much better than his.
"Scoring above 600 shouldn't be a problem, but I still haven't decided on a major."
"By the way, handsome guy, the university isn't as important as the major. You have to choose the right one. It's best to avoid fields like biology, chemistry, environmental science, and materials science."
Li Yuan vaguely remembered that Wang Shuai had studied chemistry in college, a major that was just as much of a dead end as his own.
Wang Shuai nodded. "My cousin is a junior in Jinling. I'll ask for his advice after the scores come out. He says Jinling is pretty nice, so I'm debating whether I should go there for school."
"What about you, Yuanzi? Jinling, Luzhou, Beijing, or Modu?"
Jinling, the capital of Su Province, was also nicknamed "Huijing" because so many people from Northern Anhui lived there. The drive wasn't long either, only about three hours. Consequently, most students in their class planned to apply to universities in Luzhou or Jinling.
"I haven't decided yet. I'll wait and see my score," Li Yuan said.
...
Around two in the afternoon, Li Yuan finished meeting with five of his classmates and now had 12,000 yuan in cash tucked in his pocket. At the time, this amount of money could almost buy you a toilet in Modu.
The county town had about seven or eight sports lottery shops, mostly located near schools or on busy streets. With 12,000 yuan in hand, Li Yuan went to the lottery shops near the Second, Sixth, and Fourth Middle Schools and bought basketball lottery tickets for the next day's games.
Checking the time, Li Yuan boarded a bus heading home. It's still early. I have enough time to make a trip home and get back.
In 2008, the shuttle buses were privately owned. To get home from the county town, you either had to drive yourself or take one of their buses. In his previous life, he had personally witnessed a group of men from the bus service beat up a taxi driver who was picking up fares from a nearby town. The industry operated in a gray area—highly profitable, but with deep and murky dealings.
His family home was a modest two-story building by the provincial road, constructed just two years ago.
He didn't feel the nervous anticipation common to those returning home after a long absence. Other than there being fewer buildings along the road, it wasn't much different from how he remembered it in his previous life.
In front of the rolling shutter door, his younger sister, Li Zixia, was playing with her pet cat. Seeing Li Yuan approach, she greeted him with a curious look. "Brother, what are you doing back? I thought you were staying in town for a few more days."
Li Yuan smiled as he walked up to his sister and pinched her slightly thin cheek. At fifteen, she was still growing, and her face felt soft to the touch. "I had to come back for something. Where are Mom and Dad?"
"Hmph, you pinched me again." Li Zixia turned her head away and pointed toward the back of the house. "They're in the back, watering the vegetable garden."
His parents worked away from home most of the year, only returning for the Spring Festival. The family's land, measuring just over an acre, had been handed over to his paternal uncle to farm. Rural families liked to plant vegetables in their front and back yards—cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, radishes, green beans, bok choy, and so on. Usually, it was more than enough to feed the family.
Compared to how they looked more than a decade later, his parents' appearances hadn't changed much; they were just younger.
"Mom, I need some money," Li Yuan said, walking straight up to his mother, Xia Qin. She had always been in charge of the family's finances.
Xia Qin didn't refuse immediately. Instead, she asked, "What do you need money for? How much?"
Li Yuan replied, "Mom, I need 4,000 yuan. My classmates and I made a plan to sign up for driving lessons now that the exams are over."
Xia Qin was taken aback. "Driving lessons cost 4,000? That's so expensive! You just graduated high school, isn't it too early to get a license?"
His father, Li Heng, walked over. "If he wants to get it, let him. Didn't Gangzi from next door get his last year?"
Taking the driving test during the break after the college entrance exam was standard procedure. In his previous life, he had gotten his license while at Modu University, and it had cost him several thousand more.
Li Yuan took the chance to explain, "Several of my classmates have already signed up. We'll just be idle after the exams anyway."
Xia Qin thought for a moment and didn't say anything more, simply turning to go upstairs and get the money.
Li Heng reminded him, "Yuanzi, when you're learning to drive and taking the test, don't be so rigid. Remember to buy the instructor two packs of Yuxi cigarettes. He might teach you an extra trick or two."
Li Yuan was speechless. But that's just how society works. It took him many years of struggle in his previous life to grasp that reality.
"Dad, I know."
His father, Li Heng, didn't smoke and rarely drank. His hands were covered in thick calluses, formed by years of exposure to the wind, sun, and the harsh cold of the northeast.
Looking at his son, Li Heng seemed to want to say something but ultimately remained silent. He just held the water hose, quietly watering the vegetable garden.
The two of them rarely talked. In his previous life, his own personality had made him reluctant to communicate with his parents. There was already a generation gap, and they were gone most of the year. As a left-behind teenager, he really had nothing to talk to them about besides asking for money.
Li Yuan felt a heaviness in his chest as unpleasant memories from his past life resurfaced.
"Dad, in a few days, I'll take you and Mom to the hospital for a full check-up."
His father's reaction was just as he'd expected. "I'm perfectly healthy. Why do I need a check-up?"
Li Yuan frowned. "Mom has stomach problems, and you have high blood pressure. Just get a check-up so I can go away to university with peace of mind."
"Then just get one for your mother. There's nothing wrong with me," Li Heng said after a pause, his voice heavy.
A short while later, his mother, Xia Qin, returned. She had wrapped a roll of bills in tissue paper and handed it to Li Yuan.
"Yuan, here's 4,000 yuan. Take it for your driving lessons," she instructed. "Will you stay the night before you head back to town?"
Li Yuan took the cash, which smelled faintly of cooking spices. This was money his parents had earned penny by penny, pushing their cart through streets and alleys from dawn till dusk.
"Dad, Mom, my classmates are waiting for me in town. I have to go."
Seeing her son return and leave so hastily, Xia Qin felt a lump in her throat, her eyes welling up with tears. "Yuan, be careful on the road," she called out, her voice thick with worry. "Hold on to your money, and watch out for pickpockets!"
"Mom, I know! The bus is here, I'm leaving now!"
With that, Li Yuan took the money, boarded the bus right outside their door, and hurriedly departed.
Xia Qin started to complain, "That boy's spending has gotten out of hand these last two years. Once he gets to university and starts dating, he'll probably spend tens of thousands a year."
Li Heng sighed. "As long as he studies hard, it's fine. Our family has no power or influence. If Yuanzi doesn't study hard, he'll end up like us, doing manual labor for the rest of his life. It's okay for him to spend some money; he knows what he's doing. We'll just have to be more frugal from now on."
"You haven't bought a single new piece of clothing all year," Xia Qin said with a frown. "I just hope Yuan can get into a good university this time. If he can find a wife in college and bring her home, our mission will be complete."
Li Yuan's grades had always been good, much better than most of his peers in the village. The vast majority of the neighbors' children just muddled through junior high before dropping out to find work.
...
Conning money from his parents made Li Yuan feel a bit ashamed, but to earn his first pot of gold, he could only console himself.
To make money, you need a thick skin and a black heart. Since I've been reborn, I'll make sure they can hold their heads high and be proud of me in the future.
The newly black-hearted Li Yuan took the bus and arrived back in the county town without incident. He went straight to the lottery shop by the Eighth Middle School and exchanged the 4,000 yuan for a sports lottery ticket.
Back in his rented room, Li Yuan began calculating the next day's profits. Today, through a combination of "borrowing" and "deceiving," he had secured 20,000 yuan in capital. At 1.6 odds, he stood to make a net profit of 12,000 yuan after the games ended tomorrow.