On the playground, Yu Shao was listening to his classmate pour out his heartbroken declaration about love.
"Love is just bullshit!"
The whole thing started after entering high school, when this classmate felt that his girlfriend, whom he had been dating since middle school, had become hot and cold toward him.
If it were an experienced man, he would tell you that if the water keeps going hot and cold while you're showering, someone else must be sharing your water supply.
But this classmate obviously didn't understand this principle, so he found a middle school friend who attended the same high school as his girlfriend to inquire about her recent situation.
Then, he got exactly what he asked for—news that his girlfriend seemed to be having an affair with a muscular sports student from the same school. Furious, he immediately picked up his phone and started questioning his girlfriend.
In the end, he successfully heard his girlfriend's goodbye, as firm as iron. In the darkness, he felt the illusion of being scorched by blazing sun.
During the morning break exercises, he began pouring out his troubles to the male classmates around him, declaring that he was now a mature man who had tasted the bitterness of love.
"Women, that's just how they are."
"They used to love you to death, then they turn around and find someone new. When you ask them, they say they still love you, but you hurt their heart—making it all about how it's never their fault."
"Never mind, there are so many beautiful girls in our school. Let's find one prettier than her and post it on social media to show her!"
"What's the point of dating? We won't eat the bitterness of love."
A group of sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys began discussing women and love with great authority, all trying to console their heartbroken classmate.
Yu Shao hadn't said anything the whole time, just watching with interest from the sidelines, finding it quite entertaining.
"Ring ring ring!"
At that moment, the class bell suddenly rang, and a male student immediately jumped up, exclaiming: "Holy shit, Li Kang's math class is next!"
Hearing this, all the boys suddenly woke up as if from a dream, spreading their legs and running toward the teaching building. The heartbroken classmate immediately forgot about his melancholy and ran the fastest.
Li Kang was their math teacher and homeroom teacher, whose catchphrase was "Stand up and listen to the lesson." Being late to his class usually didn't end well.
When the group of boys reached the corridor, they saw Li Kang carrying his thermos cup, also heading toward the classroom. When he saw they weren't in the classroom yet, he looked up and gave them a sharp glance.
The boys' scalps went numb, and they all quickened their pace, flying into the classroom like lightning, finally managing to get in before Li Kang entered.
"Class begins!"
"Stand up!"
"Good morning, teacher!"
Li Kang opened his thermos cup lid, first took a sip of water to moisten his throat, then began the lesson. This math class covered algebra and functions.
Below, Yu Shao listened absent-mindedly to the lesson, suddenly thinking again about his classmate's breakup and that frantic run to avoid being late, and couldn't help but show a mysterious smile.
"This is youth..."
It was strange for a high school student to sigh about youth, but Yu Shao was truly reflecting on these green and tender years, because these bitter and innocent years should no longer belong to him.
No one can simultaneously possess youth and the experience of youth, unless he has been reborn.
So, Yu Shao was someone who had been reborn.
He was originally a professional Go player who had represented his country multiple times in Go championships, winning numerous honors. Although his playing strength in his previous life wasn't at the very top, he still ranked in the top five.
Upon waking up, he found himself transported to this parallel world, becoming a first-year high school student named "Yu Shao."
Returning to sixteen years old, Yu Shao hadn't yet decided what he wanted to do. Currently, he just wanted to properly enjoy this period of unrestrained and flamboyant youth.
After all, in his previous life, he had started learning Go from childhood, and by sixteen or seventeen, he was already a professional player, spending all his time studying game records and playing matches.
When he later achieved fame and success, looking back, youth had already quietly slipped through his fingers.
When romance writers say youth slips through fingers, it's to highlight literary talent and create atmosphere, describing youth like flowing sand; when risqué writers say youth slips through fingers, it might be some euphemistic reference.
But when Go players say youth slips through fingers, it really means youth has literally slipped through their fingers.
After class, Li Kang had just left the classroom with his thermos cup when several boys immediately rushed out after him, and the classroom suddenly became noisy and bustling.
"Yu Shao, let's go to the bathroom together."
Someone called Yu Shao to go to the bathroom together. For some reason during student days, boys always went to the bathroom in groups, as if they couldn't pee without company.
"I won't go, afraid of striking you down."
Yu Shao shook his head, declining his classmate's invitation to compete with the heavens.
The boy was confused, and after realizing what was meant, he was about to get angry, but the next moment, he seemed to suddenly see something and immediately shut his mouth, staring straight out the window.
Not just him—all the boys in the classroom suddenly lowered their voices by several octaves, their eyes consciously or unconsciously glancing toward the corridor outside the window.
In the corridor outside the window, a beautiful girl in a blue and white school uniform was carrying a thick stack of homework books, gracefully walking past the window of Class 7, Grade 1.
Her skin was very fair, and even the small section of her arm showing while holding the homework books was as white as snow. Her black long hair was tied in the low ponytail commonly seen among high school girls, and her features were so delicate that they seemed to brighten Class 7's classroom.
The girl was backlit, her profile and hair seeming to be outlined with golden threads, making her appear both serene and sacred.
There's a type of girl who's naturally born to make men suffer from love, because you fall for her at first sight, but you also clearly know there's no possibility between you two.
Obviously, this girl carrying homework books was exactly that type.
It wasn't until the girl's figure disappeared that the boys reluctantly withdrew their gazes.
"Softly, she left, just as she softly came."
The boy who had earlier invited Yu Shao to the bathroom was inspired to poetry, reciting a line with somewhat melancholic temperament.
"Aren't you going to the bathroom?" Yu Shao glanced at him and asked.
The boy shook his head and said, "I'm done."
Yu Shao was shocked and immediately looked at his crotch: "What did you say?!"
"You misunderstood." The boy shook his head and said with deep emotion: "I mean, Xu Zijin... she has no pee break."
Yu Shao was stunned. He felt like he had just been schooled by a high school student, realizing he might have underestimated the unique swagger of high schoolers, who could say things that even shocked him.
Xu Zijin was the girl who had just passed by the window. She was the math class representative of the neighboring Class 6, Grade 1, and had as many secret admirers in school as fish crossing a river, but very few actually dared to pursue her.
After all, Xu Zijin was not only beautiful but also had excellent grades, and was even said to come from a quite well-off family, which was enough to make most suitors feel inferior and retreat.
In Yu Shao's memory, it seemed his predecessor was one of Xu Zijin's many secret admirers.