Rebirth begins with studying hard

Chapter 1 People Can Change

"Brother Feng, thank you for getting me out of that predicament today!" Lu Jie said gratefully, downing his beer in one gulp.

"We've been classmates for three years in high school, it's too formal to say that." Li Feng waved his hand and raised his glass as well.

Lu Jie looked at Li Feng, who exuded composure and elegance, resembling a social elite, and then glanced at his own reflection on the table, which only conveyed a sense of decadence and failure. He smiled bitterly to himself.

In the afternoon, because the store issued another sales target that could not be met, he couldn't help but complain, "They're making us spend money to buy more cards again."

As a result, the deputy manager, who had long disliked him, seized on this and gave him a stern reprimand and flattery, as if he were about to do something to him.

He knew the other party was deliberately trying to mess with him, and he felt humiliated but helpless.

After life had worn down his edges, he could only bow his head and remain silent.

At this moment, the senior executive who was on a store visit arrived.

Unexpectedly, the market operations leader who could make everyone in the store tremble with fear, and even the district manager wishing he could kneel down and lick his boots, was actually his high school classmate, Li Feng.

Li Feng helped him out of the predicament. After understanding the situation, he called over the store manager and the district manager and regional manager who were accompanying him on the store tour. Just like the deputy manager had scolded him, he berated everyone.

Afterwards, the regional manager, who was high and mighty in Lu Jie's eyes, personally apologized to him on behalf of the store management team, and the deputy manager who had wronged him was punished on the spot for dereliction of duty.

He felt a sense of relief.

But more than anything, there was a sense of melancholy.

After get off work, he invited Li Feng to dinner, just as a polite gesture, not expecting someone of Li Feng's stature to honor him with a meal.

Unexpectedly, the other party agreed immediately:

"We haven't seen each other since high school graduation, we should get together."

Lu Jie put down his wine glass: "Brother Feng, you actually managed to get into the Anhui market, that's amazing... a position that most people wouldn't even dare to dream of."

"It's not that amazing. It's mainly because I had a leader who appreciated me, and it just so happened that the company was expanding," Li Feng said with a smile.

"By the way, what have you been doing all these years? I remember you went into the digital business, and I heard it was doing quite well..."

Lu Jie gave a wry smile: "It was alright at first, I made some money."

"Later, online channels became increasingly dominant, making it harder to do business offline."

"Even when business was good, I didn't save much money. When I tried to transform the business, I encountered some problems, and the business failed."

Li Feng said, "Then... how did you end up working in the service team at the store? With your communication skills and experience, you could easily have applied for a management position..."

Lu Jie said bitterly, "After graduating from high school, I went straight into business and didn't go to university... so I don't meet the management team's requirements."

Li Feng fell silent.

Although the recruitment requirements for the store management team have been lowered from a bachelor's degree to an associate's degree, a full-time associate's degree is still the minimum requirement.

Lu Jie smiled and said, "Brother Feng, what about you?"

Li Feng said, "After graduating from university, I went to work at a store. As the business expanded, I had the opportunity to move up the chain. Then I got married and had children. My experience was quite simple, and there's really nothing to talk about. It was very ordinary."

Lu Jie looked on with envy: "It's not simple at all, it's amazing."

"If only I had studied harder back then, gone to university, and found a good job after graduation, things would have been much better."

"A stable job, marriage, and children—a simple life is the best."

Li Feng smiled and picked up his wine glass.

The two of them cleaned up completely.

"When I met my classmates a couple of years ago, we talked about campus romances, and you were the first person I thought of. You're the only one in our class who's still with his high school sweetheart."

"Come to think of it, you've been with that girl from the next class for almost ten years. I remember she was..." Li Feng thought for a moment, then remembered her name:

"It's that really pretty Song Qian. I remember you two were such good friends back then. Liu Jing from our class, who had a crush on her, was so envious."

Hearing this name brought back some unpleasant memories for Lu Jie.

He raised his glass in a toast, downed it in one gulp, and forced a smile as he said:

"Victoria Song and Liu Jing got married."

Li Feng was initially surprised, then realized he had misspoke and quickly said, "I'm sorry..."

Lu Jie shook his head and interrupted, "Brother Feng, don't misunderstand, I'm not dating Song Qian."

"I'm dating Ding Yiming."

Li Feng was surprised again. He thought for a long time but couldn't match the name with any of his high school classmates.

Lu Jie said, "Song Qian's best friend, the one who always comes to my class with her..."

Li Feng immediately remembered her; she wasn't exactly beautiful, but she was pretty: "Oh... I remember now, she was quite nice too."

How old are your children? Are they boys or girls?

Lu Jie gave a bitter smile: "We broke up."

Li Feng exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? You broke up?"

Lu Jie was silent for a moment: "She passed the civil service exam, and then they broke up... How could someone like me, who didn't even go to university, be worthy of someone with a government job?"

Li Feng was taken aback: "Ah...didn't you two date for ten years...?"

Lu Jie downed his drink in one gulp, choking a few times because he drank too fast. Whether from choking or something else, his eyes reddened slightly.

"Yes, we've been dating for almost ten years..."

"She was in a junior college at the time, and her family didn't support her to take the entrance exam for a bachelor's degree. I supported her by paying for tutoring, tuition, and living expenses."

"After working for a year after graduation, she wanted to take the civil service exam. I told her to quit her job and focus on preparing for the exam. She prepared for two years and passed."

"I considered her family... but what does it matter?"

"The first sword strike after landing will be to slay the one I desire."

Li Feng opened his mouth, but didn't know how to respond, so he remained silent.

Lu Jie finished his drink again: "Sigh, I'm not good enough for her... But if she broke up with me, so be it. If she doesn't like me, she doesn't like me either."

"After she passed the civil service exam, she often told me that her family and colleagues had introduced her to blind dates, and how good the other people were. Then she would say that she couldn't refuse and had to go on blind dates with so-and-so."

"I thought she was just putting on an act, but after the breakup, I found out that she had been dating her blind date for a year."

Li Feng was silent for a moment, then comforted her, "She's not good enough for you."

You'll definitely meet someone better.

Lu Jie downed the wine in his glass in one gulp again: "Over the years, I've come to understand."

People change.

"Ding Yiming was such a nice person when we first started dating, but she's become more and more materialistic."

"Victoria Song is beautiful and has high standards, but in the end she actually married Liu Jing, whom she looked down on."

"This is so much fun..."

After drinking several glasses of wine, his eyes were a little blurry. He raised his glass again and said:

"Brother Feng, please excuse me. It might be inappropriate to talk about these things, but I couldn't help but say them when we were talking about the past."

Li Feng downed his drink: "Don't say that..."

Even though he considered himself to have high emotional intelligence, he didn't know how to comfort Lu Jie at this point, so he could only drink with him until they became the last table in the store.

After the meal, Lu Jie put Li Feng in a taxi, while Li Feng, wanting to save money, decided to take the bus home.

Sitting on the metal bench at the bus stop, he picked up his phone and casually browsed WeChat. Somehow, he opened the chat window with his mother.

The last record was from several years ago.

[Video - No response]

[Video - No response]

[Video - No response]

Son, are you asleep? Can you video chat with Mom? Mom wants to see you.

My son, I'm not feeling well. I long to see you again.

[Video - No response]

[Mom has saved some money over the years for your wedding. It's in a card in the bottom drawer of your bedroom. The PIN for the card is your birthdate.]

I hope you and Yiming will be happy together and have a lovely baby. I really want to see you get married and see my grandchildren.

[Audio - 32'']

—Text excerpt: Son, Mom really wants to go back to the past, to hold you while you sleep, to sing you lullabies. Do you remember when you were little, every night when you were sleeping, you would say you were afraid of the dark and couldn't fall asleep, and I would hold you and coax you to sleep.

[Audio - 38'']

—Text excerpt: Mom will sing you the nursery rhyme you used to like to listen to, right? Little swallow, wearing a flowery dress, comes here every spring. I asked the swallow why it comes, and the swallow said, "Spring is the most beautiful here."

[Audio - 22'']

—Text excerpt: Little mouse, climbed the lampstand, stole some oil, couldn't get down, the cat came, and it tumbled down.

[Audio - 36'']

—Text excerpt: Son, from now on, eat breakfast in the morning, don't eat cold food, dress warmly before going out, drink plenty of water, drink less cola and milk tea, protect your eyes when using your phone, don't look at it in the dark, go to bed on time, and take care of your health to avoid getting sick.

[Audio - 8'']

—Text excerpt: Son, Mom is tired.

[Audio - 17'']

—Text excerpt: Don't be sad, Mom will become many things around you and always be with you.

As he watched, his eyes reddened and his eyes welled up with tears.

During that time, he was out of town dealing with wearable devices. That night, after finishing his social engagements and drinking quite a bit, he slept very soundly.

I only saw these dozen or so WeChat messages from my mother after I woke up in the morning. I rushed back, but my mother had already left.

It was then that he learned that his mother had late-stage lung cancer.

To save money, my mother has always opted for palliative care.

To avoid worrying him, I never told him.

Recalling this, he covered his face with his hands, tears streaming down his face.

His career is failing, his love life is failing, and he hasn't even been able to fulfill his filial duties.

"I'm such a failure."

"If only I had listened to my mother and studied hard..."

In his daze, he heard a screeching sound of brakes, and when he looked up, he saw a car with the words "Dayun" on it rushing towards him.

Is this... an incredible stroke of luck?

He felt a strange sense of relief and relaxation, then everything went black and he lost consciousness.