With a single sentence, Xie Ci left the group of boys around him in stunned silence.

A few ruffians exchanged surprised glances at Gu Yufeng, not expecting this kid to be so alert. Should they say he was smart or not smart?

Xie Ci had no idea Gu Yufeng had such a strong ability to intimidate.

No matter how you looked at it, he was more serious than this group of dyed-haired, cigarette-smoking, yellow-toothed thugs. At least he was wearing a high school uniform from No. 1 High School.

Trusting these ruffians so much made them question him instead.

Xie Ci: “Are your eyes just for decoration on your face?”

Gu Yufeng: “Are you cursing at me?”

Xie Ci usually didn’t hold back when talking to Gu Yufeng, so he was used to it. Seeing the boy’s wary expression, he seriously added, “No, I’m complimenting you.”

Gu Yufeng: “That sounds like a curse too.”

Xie Ci: “…”

Just back in the country, and his reading comprehension could already score full marks.

From the moment Gu Yufeng started pulling out money, he became the center of attention on this street.

Many students around stretched their necks to look in that direction, silently munching on their popcorn.

Hearing this, some students couldn’t help but laugh.

Since Xie Ci started high school, he had been a hot topic. Most students from nearby schools knew him, after all, he was the “big shot” who was often used as a negative example by teachers in class.

There were many who liked Xie Ci and many who disliked him.

Most of those who hated him were usually well-behaved students, and when they encountered Xie Ci on the road, they would often be scared and take a detour.

Xie Ci was tall and imposing, and when he passed by, it felt like hitting a wall. He always had a cold expression, and his build was sturdier than the average high school boy, making him fierce in fights. You could say he was fully stacked with debuffs.

Under this kind of pressure, ordinary students wouldn’t even dare to talk to him, let alone get within two steps.

“This brother isn’t wrong, Xie Ci is indeed not easy to mess with. Those five thugs are hunched over and look like skinny dogs; even if they teamed up, they might not be able to take him down.”

“He has fresh wounds on his face; he probably got shaken down by those delinquents from the sports school again. No wonder we heard the police sirens earlier.”

“How many times has this happened? His cousin, Chun Chun, is just an idiot, borrowing high-interest loans online and can’t pay them back, always making Xie Ci clean up after him.”

“Who told Xie Ci to be living at his cousin’s house? He can only blame himself for his bad luck.”

The little ruffians, seeing their fat sheep about to be taken away, were quite unhappy. They stepped in front of Gu Yufeng, trying to force Xie Ci back.

“He doesn’t want you to lead the way; why don’t you hurry up and scram?”

Xie Ci ignored him and said to Gu Yufeng, “Come here.”

The group faced off for a moment, and Gu Yufeng raised his hand to check his watch: “I’m in a hurry. Are you sure you can take me to the bus station?”

Xie Ci: “If you had come with me earlier, we would have already arrived.”

Gu Yufeng still relented, and before leaving, he handed the stack of hundred-yuan bills to the group of thugs: “I took up your time earlier; this is compensation.”

The thugs were overjoyed, not expecting to actually get a windfall, grinning as they reached out to take it, only to be intercepted by Xie Ci halfway.

Xie Ci threw the money back to Gu Yufeng, giving the thugs a warning look.

“After being in this line of work for so long, you can’t even tell what you should and shouldn’t take?”

Who in this street didn’t know Xie Ci? Four out of the five boys had fought him before and had ended in miserable defeat.

Seeing Xie Ci’s firm attitude, they shrank back, not daring to make a sound.

Once Gu Yufeng obediently came over, Xie Ci stopped talking and silently walked towards the 625 bus station.

“Those guys are really afraid of you. Are you the boss of that street?” Gu Yufeng asked curiously as he walked beside Xie Ci.

Xie Ci wanted to ask, which part of him looked like a thug?

The question was on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed it back. He was an adult; there was really no need to argue with a kid.

“What’s your name?” Gu Yufeng pressed on.

Xie Ci: “I’m just leading the way; there’s no need to know my name.”

After saying that, Gu Yufeng seemed to sense the awkward atmosphere and stopped talking.

Twenty minutes later, Gu Yufeng looked at Xie Ci in confusion: “Aren’t we there yet?”

Xie Ci snapped back to reality from his troubled thoughts, looked around, and silently turned back: “We passed it.”

Gu Yufeng: “…”

From Gu Yufeng’s angle, he stared deeply at Xie Ci’s back, slowly following behind.

When they reached the 625 bus station, Xie Ci spotted a Porsche parked by the roadside from a distance. Next to the car stood a middle-aged man in a black suit, sweating profusely in the twenty-degree weather, holding a phone, talking while looking around anxiously.

Xie Ci recognized him; he was the driver for Gu Yufeng’s dad, surnamed Zhou.

Seeing them, the man immediately came over.

“Young Master, you finally made it! If you hadn’t come soon, I would have called the police!” Old Zhou panted, his tone a mix of worry and respect.

After speaking, he noticed Xie Ci beside Gu Yufeng and his expression turned a bit wary: “Who is this?”

Xie Ci didn’t speak, but Gu Yufeng explained, “I got lost; he brought me here.”

Upon hearing this, Old Zhou quickly bowed to Xie Ci in thanks.

Now that he had delivered Gu Yufeng, Xie Ci turned to leave but was called back by Gu Yufeng.

Gu Yufeng: “I haven’t paid you yet.”

Are you a money-spending fairy? Xie Ci thought to himself, but replied casually, “No need.”

Gu Yufeng: “You have a cut on your mouth; should I take you to the hospital?”

Xie Ci: “No need.”

Gu Yufeng blocked him with his hand, his tone not heavy but his attitude very firm: “I don’t like owing people favors.”

“He already thanked me; we’re even.” Xie Ci sidestepped Gu Yufeng’s hand and walked away without looking back.

Watching Xie Ci walk away, Gu Yufeng’s expression darkened.

Old Zhou subtly noticed the change in Gu Yufeng’s mood, worried but not daring to ask, he opened the back door and quietly reminded, “Young Master, it’s time to go home.”

Gu Yufeng climbed into the back seat, casually tossing his backpack aside, looking through the rearview mirror at the shrinking figure.

From start to finish, that person had no intention of looking back even once.

“Are you in a bad mood? Did someone bully you?” The blond man in the passenger seat turned around and asked Gu Yufeng in English.

The man looked to be in his thirties, a life assistant to Gu Yufeng’s mother, who had flown back with Gu Yufeng from Country D to help with his daily affairs.

“Walking alongside a sour face for so long, who would be happy?” Gu Yufeng leaned back, raising his arm to cover most of his face, his tone much colder than when he was facing Xie Ci.

Xie Ci clearly didn’t want to deal with him, almost sticking a sign on his forehead that said “I don’t want to see you again.”

Seeing Gu Yufeng a bit down, the man pondered: “Did you specifically take a detour from the airport just to see him?”

Gu Yufeng brushed his hair back and looked at the passenger seat: “Did my mom not teach you not to ask about things that aren’t your business?”

In that moment their eyes met, the man felt as if he was pierced by the sharpness in Gu Yufeng’s gaze, and he couldn’t help but panic.

This kind of oppressive feeling from someone in a high position, he had only felt from the old master.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Gu Yufeng had changed a bit these past few days.

On the sidewalk, Xie Ci walked a distance before suddenly stopping.

When he turned back to look, that car had long disappeared into the flow of traffic.

The disparity in their identities meant they lived in completely different worlds, and avoiding the same mistakes couldn’t be simpler.

Like treating any stranger who passed by, as long as he was willing to let go, even someone who had once been incredibly important could become a stranger again, with no further connection.

At this moment, Xie Ci finally felt the reality of being reborn.

Rebirth meant he could change many things.

To him, Gu Yufeng was an important partner, a strong competitor, and a friend who could speak the truth.

Even if his moral bottom line was low, he couldn’t harm the other person twice.

That shattered Gu Yufeng from that night, he didn’t want to see that version again.

“Old Xie!”

A shout came from behind, and Xie Ci turned around to see a boy in a No. 1 High School uniform riding a bicycle towards him.

The boy wore a pair of high-prescription frameless glasses, his bangs blown apart by the wind, but the disastrous hairstyle couldn’t hide his handsome and well-proportioned face.

This was Fang Sizhe, the class monitor of Class One, and Xie Ci was not unfamiliar with him.

In his previous life, Fang Sizhe was elected as the mayor of Lanhai City, and they had collaborated quite a bit, making him one of the classmates he had the most contact with.

“Old Xie!”

Fang Sizhe rode up beside Xie Ci, abruptly using his foot to brake against the ground, speaking quickly, “I heard you skipped the exam, and I guessed it must be related to those guys from the sports school. Are you okay?!”

Xie Ci: “I’m fine.”

Fang Sizhe turned around and walked back with Xie Ci: “Old Xiang is furious and is calling around looking for you. You better think of a way to deal with it.”

The class teacher, Xiang Haibin, was a strict and stern old man who had once been a headache for Xie Ci.

This old man held a certain prejudice against him, possibly simply because of his poor grades, and he often looked at him with disapproval.

“He’ll just call me to the office to chat; what can he do?” Xie Ci didn’t take it seriously.

Fang Sizhe: “You think too lightly. He can talk for one or two hours; who can stand that?”

Xie Ci: “Idle time is still idle time.”

Fang Sizhe couldn’t help but glance at Xie Ci again.

“You didn’t used to say that.”

In the past, he would be delayed from doing his part-time job because of after-school talks, but now it was different.

Although he was out of money, he had plenty of time.

Suddenly thinking of something, Xie Ci asked Fang Sizhe: “Was it you who called the police earlier?”

Fang Sizhe looked confused: “No, I just finished my physics exam and came to find you after hearing the news.”

Xie Ci felt a bit puzzled.

Could it be some chain reaction triggered by his rebirth?

Did someone see the situation in the alley and report it in advance?

In the luxury car, Gu Yufeng took out a phone that was supposedly out of battery and turned off, but when he lit up the screen, it showed 89% battery left, with dozens of missed call notifications below.

Just as he unlocked the screen, another call came in.

Gu Yufeng casually answered, and a woman’s furious voice came through the phone.

“Suddenly coming back to the country without a word, not even a heads-up! Not answering your phone! Gu Yufeng, are you trying to rebel?!”

“Mom, watch your language.”

Gu Yufeng moved the phone a bit further away, “Didn’t I ask Luo Bo to notify you?”

A dissatisfied voice came from the passenger seat: “I’m called Roberson, not Luo Bo.”

On the other end of the line: “Playing the silent treatment, huh? Do you know how much disruption your sudden departure will cause? You must fly back by tomorrow afternoon!”

Gu Yufeng looked out the window at the rushing scenery, his tone relaxed and casual: “I’m not going back for now; I’m planning to focus on studying, so don’t arrange anything for me.”

The call fell silent for three seconds, then the furious voice returned, along with a string of unrepeatable curses.

Gu Yufeng hung up directly, went to the call log, and blacklisted his own mother.

The second entry on the page was the police call.

“Old Zhou, where is my dad now?” Gu Yufeng tossed the phone aside.

Old Zhou respectfully replied, “The master is in a meeting at the company. If it weren’t for an important meeting today, he would have personally gone to the airport to pick you up.”

Gu Yufeng thought for a moment, habitually turned the ring on his ring finger, but found it empty. He then rested his chin on his hand, looking a bit impatient: “Not going home; let’s go to the company first.”

Saying this, Gu Yufeng turned to Roberson in the passenger seat: “I want to transfer to City No. 1 High School; find someone to handle it. Also, help me investigate a person.”

Roberson asked excitedly: “That cool guy from earlier?”

Gu Yufeng’s tone turned slightly cold: “Chen Zhanpeng, a high school student.”