Chapter 003: Shuangdun Middle School

“Maybe I should just give up on studying and go home to raise crayfish… No, raising crayfish is too mundane. Since I’ve been given a second chance at life, I must elevate my tastes.”

For a while, he mused about the deliciousness of crayfish, then amidst the jolting and crowded bus, Zhang Tan once again contemplated his future.

He had never been an ambitious man. An ordinary person remains ordinary—rebirth doesn’t turn you into someone tall, rich, and handsome. But that didn’t mean ordinary people were without ambition.

Ordinary as he was, he still wanted to improve his style and live a more refined, cultured life.

“If I remember correctly, ‘Legends of Today and the Past’ has both martial arts and fantasy editions. I used to collect them. There’s also ‘Martial Arts Stories’ published in Zhengzhou—these two should be the most popular fiction magazines right now. Oh, and ‘Science Fiction World.’ All of them serialize martial arts, fantasy, and science fiction stories that run counter to traditional literature.”

“So, what kind of novel should I write to earn some manuscript fees?”

“It’s too soon to write web novels from the future—they’d be too novel, and people might not accept them. I should stick to the basics and start with martial arts fiction. But what should I write first? Jin, Gu, Huang, Liang, Wen—those classic martial arts authors—I wonder if they’re still around.”

Without a computer or internet, Zhang Tan found it hard to keep up with information.

“If the martial arts novels I’m familiar with have already been published, I’ll have to come up with something else.”

After half an hour of swaying and bumping along, the bus arrived at Xinya Bus Station. Hoisting his various bags onto his back, Zhang Tan stood at the station entrance. The Xinya Bus Station was located in Shuanggang, and by now, Zhang Tan had no recollection of what Shuanggang looked like. Fifteen years later, Hefei would change every day, but the present-day city was as rundown as could be.

“It feels like everything is waiting to be rebuilt.”

Zhang Tan raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sun.

“Hey, young man, where are you headed?” A tricycle driver, circling the station, pulled up and called out to him.

“To Changyun Bus Station. How much?” Zhang Tan asked.

“Changyun? The one across the bridge?”

“That’s right.”

The driver glanced at Zhang Tan and, with a tone suggesting he’d be taking a loss, said, “You look like a student. Ten yuan and you’re on.”

Zhang Tan’s mouth opened, and suddenly he remembered: back then, when he first came here for school, he didn’t know where Changyun Bus Station was and took a tricycle, ending up charged ten yuan. In truth, Changyun Bus Station was just across the bridge and down one street. A taxi would only cost the base fare—five yuan.

“Sir, you’re taking advantage of a kid, aren’t you? I’ll give you two yuan—if you want to take me, fine. If not, I’ll walk.”

If he hadn’t been laden with bags, making walking inconvenient, Zhang Tan wouldn’t even have considered riding. He actually wanted to get to know what Hefei looked like fifteen years ago.

The tricycle driver grinned, entirely unashamed of overcharging. “You going to school? High school?”

“Yeah.”

“Five yuan, then. Hop on.”

“I said two yuan, sir, and not a cent more.” Fifteen years ago, he’d been scammed, a lesson he’d remembered all this time, and he was determined not to repeat it.

“You’re a tough one…” The driver was a bit embarrassed. “Alright, get on.”

The tricycle crossed the bridge—beneath it lay Hefei’s moat, the Bao River. Hefei was a famous ancient city, inhabited since the Zhou dynasty, once the capital of the Luziguo state. In the Three Kingdoms era, Zhang Liao had led just eight hundred soldiers at Xiaoyao Ford in Hefei to break Sun Quan’s army of one hundred thousand, nearly capturing Sun Quan himself. The children of Jiangdong were so terrified that the mere mention of Zhang Liao’s name made them cry, his reputation shaking the land.

As a child, Zhang Tan would visit Xiaoyao Ford, gaze at the statue of Zhang Liao on horseback, and listen to the elders tell the tale. He often wondered if he might be a descendant of Zhang Liao—they both shared the same surname, after all.

Changyun Bus Station was just as dilapidated. Zhang Tan easily found the minibus to Xiatang Town, which would pass by Shuangdun High School and only cost two yuan.

The road on Heshui Road was hardly better than Hehuai Road—full of potholes, making for a bumpy ride.

Enduring the jolts, traveling through scenery both strange and familiar, worn yet brimming with life, he finally arrived at Shuangdun High School.

Standing before the school gate, with its high center and lower sides, Zhang Tan felt a dizzying sense of traveling through time. Memories, long sealed away, surged back like a tide.

“Fifteen years…”

Soon, he pushed aside his emotions and stepped into the campus.

The main gate of Shuangdun High faced west. Entering, a main avenue with steps stretched ahead, ending at the teaching building, which faced south. On the side wall, large golden characters spelled out the school’s motto:

“Virtue, Aspiration, Pursuit of Knowledge, Service to the Nation.”

To the left of the main avenue was a small lake, with a bridge and a pavilion that looked picturesque. In reality, everyone came here at noon to do their laundry. To the right stood an artificial hill, lush with trees, where students would often retreat at dusk for “study sessions” of a more ambiguous nature.

Shuangdun High School stood apart from the town, out in the countryside. Across the road was the Hefei-Bengbu passenger rail line, the only train route from Hefei to Huainan and Bengbu—a branch of the Beijing-Shanghai line.

Back in the day, groups of students would go to the railway tracks, under the guise of seeking quiet, to read and memorize.

To the right of the school stood the Country Garden Restaurant, essentially opened for Shuangdun High’s students. The left side was even more impressive: the first golf course in Hefei—Yuanyi Golf Course, which doubled as a villa community, separated from the school by only a wall. The freshman dorms faced the villas; from their windows, students could see right into the estate.

Zhang Tan had often climbed the wall to wander inside Yuanyi.

But a round of golf cost ten yuan, which was far beyond a student’s means, so all they could do was watch.

The Yuanyi Golf Course was built by the water, with the Caitang Reservoir behind it—perfect for boating or fishing. Zhang Tan once saw someone reel in a grass carp the length of an arm.

Most importantly, the Yuanyi villas housed the wealthy. Zhang Tan had seen, with his own eyes, Anhui TV’s anchorwoman, Zhou Qun, arrive in a luxury car and enter one of the villas with a middle-aged man.

At the time, rumors abounded that Zhou Qun had married a rich businessman, and it all seemed to fit.

The front faced the railway, left was the golf course, right was the restaurant, and behind Shuangdun High was another remarkable place: the old cemetery, the public graveyard of Shuangdun Town. Climb the fence from the school sports field and you’d be there. To be honest, unless you feared ghosts, it was a peaceful spot—great for studying or a secret rendezvous.

But the girls never climbed the fence, so the place went unused in that way… Back in the day, Zhang Tan had pulled off quite a feat here.

In an instant, every detail about Shuangdun High flooded back into Zhang Tan’s mind.

“To spend three more years here, reading and learning…”

“Meeting those old classmates again—what an interesting thing that will be.”

“Now, time to complete the enrollment formalities!”

――――――――――――――――

Thank you to “Grandmaster Fan Yi” for the generous reward of 10,000 and 1,888 Starting Points.

Thank you to “I Know Nothing” for the 1,888 Starting Points.
Thank you to “Little Fatty in Chaos,” “Little Yao’er’s Cute Fruit,” and “Friend o Health” for the 588 Starting Points.
Thanks to Gongsun Tang for the reward.
Thanks to old friends for their generosity. This new book needs your strong support—please vote and add it to your collections!