Chapter 122 - Past and Present Lives (Part II)

“My Rebirth Legend Without Ads”

“Carrying you, carrying you all the way to the end...” Under the setting sun, a young man dressed in sportswear softly hummed this subtly sentimental song as he looked at the beautiful girl on his back, a smile lighting up his face.

“Brother Xiao Qiang, I have a competition tomorrow. Will you come to watch? The guys in your dorm are all clamoring to go. I really hope you can come too,” the girl on his back said, her face radiant with a gentle smile, bathed in the glow of the sunset.

“Heh, Shan Shan, I’m afraid I can’t make it tomorrow. Didn’t you forget? Tomorrow is Su Xin’s first day taking the postgraduate exam. I need to see her come out of the exam room to feel at ease,” the man said gently, shaking his head. But as the words left his mouth, the expression on the girl’s face gradually changed.

“Is Su Xin the only one in your heart? Then why don’t you confess to her? Are you afraid of being rejected?” The girl’s words struck the man with a sudden, almost fearful hesitation. He remained silent.

“Su Xin, all you ever think about is your Su Xin. Xiao Qiang, I hate you!” The girl, seeing that the man said nothing, angrily jumped off his back, her voice thick with resentment. “And what about me? What am I to you?”

“Shan Shan, don’t be like this. You’re my sister, my most cherished sister,” the man replied, seemingly unaware of his mistake, looking confused.

“Sister... so I’m just your junior... Xiao Qiang, you’ve never seen me as a woman, have you?” The girl’s face filled with sorrow as she forced a bitter smile at the man before dashing forward.

“Shan Shan? What are you doing? Your leg isn’t healed yet... Shan Shan!” The man chased after her, confused by her sudden anger. He vaguely sensed it had something to do with Su Xin, the girl he liked, but he couldn’t understand what he had done wrong by caring for Shan Shan like a sister.

But in the blink of an eye, he understood. A speeding truck came rushing toward them, and only then did he finally realize that the girl he had always treated like a sister actually loved him. But by the time he realized it, it was far too late...

“Crash!” The heavy sound of shattering glass jolted me awake from the memories of my past life. Yes, the girl standing before me was none other than the one deep regret from my previous life—the junior from university, Cheng Shan. I never imagined that after rebirth, I would meet her again!

Cheng Shan was a girl I met by chance after my first year in university. She was beautiful and elegant, and her singing voice was enchanting. She had always been the famed campus belle of the Software Department. By coincidence, I learned she was from the same hometown as me, City C, so I took a special liking to her and gradually saw her as my little sister. One fateful day, she injured her leg rushing to a music company audition, so I carried her all the way there. But because of my foolishness, she lost her life. In my past life, I wronged both Su Xin and Cheng Shan. Perhaps fate has granted me a second chance, as I have met her again in this new life. Initially, I worried that since my rebirth brought excellent grades and I would likely attend a different university, I might never cross paths with her again. But to my surprise, I met her right here in City C. How could I not be astonished and bewildered? Since I failed her before, this time I must make it up to her.

“Stop smashing! You hooligans and thieves! If you don’t stop, I’ll call the police!” The present-day Cheng Shan, clearly unaware of who I was, looked on helplessly as her brother’s clothing store was being wrecked by a group of thugs led by a blond-haired ruffian. Her face was etched with pain and despair, tears welling in her large eyes.

“Oh? You want to call the cops? Well, little lady, I forgot to tell you—our boss, Uncle De, is friends with the mayor. The cops here have to call him ‘Brother’ when they see him. You dare mention the police in front of me? What a joke!” The blond thug casually lit a cigarette, as if exhausted from the destruction, and sat down, tapping his aching arm while directing his men. “Hey, be quick about it. If you see clothes you like, grab a few pieces. After all, they’re gonna get ripped anyway. Better to have them torn than worn by someone else.”

“Yes, boss!” The henchmen cheered and smashed with even greater enthusiasm.

Seeing that her warnings were ignored, Cheng Shan grew desperate. She ran up to the blond thug and pounded on his shoulder, crying, “You scoundrels! My brother won’t let you get away with this! You scoundrels...”

“Hey, you filthy bitch, how dare you lay hands on me? I’ll beat you to death!” The blond thug snarled, glaring fiercely as he grabbed her tiny fists and, with a vicious slap, struck Cheng Shan across the delicate face.

Cheng Shan’s face instantly went pale at the blow. Everyone knew what such a slap meant. Of course, I would never allow his filthy hands to touch Cheng Shan’s beautiful face. At the exact moment the blond thug swung his hand, my body moved.

“Smack!” Just as the thug was smugly watching his hand get closer to the girl’s face, his arm was suddenly seized by a powerful force he could not resist. His hand froze midair, unable to move an inch closer.

“A grown man who only knows how to bully women—what kind of skill is that? Got the guts to mess with me?” I smiled lightly as I spoke to the blond thug, pressing down harder on his arm without letting up. “Hello, Huang Mao, long time no see. Looks like you’ve improved recently—started smashing things instead of stealing them?”

“You... you’re that guy...” Huang Mao finally recognized me, feeling the increasing pain in his arm. He snorted coldly and gritted his teeth, “Kid, you think you can meddle here? This is my turf. Didn’t you get beaten last time? Are you brain damaged or something? You’re out of your mind... ah!”

Before he could finish, I twisted my hand sharply. His arm snapped with a crisp crack. Amid his screams, I sneered, “A dog that barks isn’t fierce. Let me cripple your biting paw first. Huang Mao, today we’re settling old scores and new grudges all at once. I’m eager to see you beaten like a pig on your own turf. That’ll be a beautiful sight.”

“You... you...” Huang Mao clutched his useless arm, sweating cold sweat, unable to speak. His face turned ashen as he shouted at his men, “You bunch of useless trash! What the hell are you smashing for? Hurry up and help!”

“Boss! Boss!” As soon as Huang Mao cried out, the other thugs immediately charged toward me with hostile shouts. I grabbed the panicked Cheng Shan and pulled her gently behind me. My body surged with the energy of the Purple Yang Divine Skill.

With a series of cracking sounds like breaking bones echoing from my clenched fists, I faced the rushing thugs, the cruel smile on my lips growing ever colder. They were still thugs, but I, Xiao Qiang, was no longer the same man I used to be. These mere punks were simply marching to their deaths.