Jiang Chenyu poked his head out the back door, puzzled, “What is Old Xie up to again? He was invited for tea so early in the morning.”

“Maybe he just went for tea,” Gu Yufeng said as he put down his book and pulled out his chair to sit down.

Jiang Chenyu glanced back at him, “You can tell cold jokes too, huh?”

In the office, Xie Ci thought he was about to be lectured again. He had made too many mistakes recently and couldn’t guess which one they would talk about today.

“Xiao Xie, come sit,” Xiang Haibin said, pulling a stool for Xie Ci and even getting him a cup of hot water to place on the table.

Xie Ci: “…”

This setup didn’t seem like they were planning to let him go back to class.

“The first chemistry class this morning is a new lesson,” Xie Ci sat down and bluntly reminded him to keep it short and not to ramble on too long.

Xiang Haibin sat across from him, hands resting on his knees, and after organizing his thoughts, he began, “So, back when you were in middle school, you won first place in a math competition. After you entered high school, you slacked off, so I didn’t bring it up again. But your scores in the recent math exams have been quite good, so I wanted to ask if you still want to participate in the math competition?”

Xie Ci was relieved to find out he wasn’t here to be criticized. He took a sip of the hot water.

Seeing that he wasn’t saying anything, Xiang Haibin thought he lacked confidence and added, “You haven’t had any serious training in the past two years, so the competition will definitely be challenging for you. But since the school has this spot, I want you to give it a try. Who knows? If you work hard, you might win a prize and get a recommendation to Qingbei.”

“That sounds easy for you to say,” Xie Ci put down his cup and didn’t rush to agree.

In his previous life, he was afraid of complications and didn’t achieve a single decent score until just before the college entrance exam, so he naturally had no chance with competitions.

The spots for competitions were limited, and Xiang Haibin was actually willing to take this risk for him.

“What’s wrong? No confidence?” Xiang Haibin, seeing him hesitate, became a bit anxious, “I’ll help you prepare all the competition materials. If you encounter any difficulties, just let me know.”

Xie Ci didn’t understand, “Isn’t it more stable to let someone who already has good grades participate?”

“You ranked first in the recent monthly exam. Who else has better grades than you?”

Seeing that Xie Ci was still reluctant, Xiang Haibin continued, “Actually, the school leaders feel the same way. They hope to encourage you to participate. We all think you have great potential. It might be a bit tough, but it’s just this year and a half, and it’s worth it.”

Xie Ci: “…”

It sounded like they were sure he would get good results if he participated.

Just then, Fang Sizhe knocked and entered, placing the collected papers on Xiang Haibin’s desk. Hearing the conversation, he chimed in, “Old Xie is going to participate in the math competition?”

Xiang Haibin quickly said, “Xiao Fang, this kid lacks confidence. You should help me persuade him.”

Fang Sizhe patted Xie Ci on the shoulder, “Go for it. It’ll be nice to have a buddy during training.”

Xie Ci wasn’t really opposed to the competition; he just hadn’t been in high school for too long and was worried he wouldn’t adapt to the intense training, wasting the opportunity.

After some persuasion from the two, Xie Ci finally agreed.

Since the opportunity was right in front of him, he might as well give it a shot.

“I’ve shown you the training content for the competitions over the past two years, so don’t worry.”

As they left the office, Fang Sizhe said to Xie Ci, “Old Xiang isn’t stupid. He must think you can do it to let you participate.”

A boy walked out of the office right behind them and shot Xie Ci a fierce glare, “Anyone can participate in the competition.”

Xie Ci recognized him; this boy had glared at him not long ago.

“What’s your problem?” Fang Sizhe grabbed the boy’s arm, “Apologize.”

The boy shook him off angrily and walked away.

Xie Ci: “Who is that?”

Fang Sizhe looked surprised, “You don’t know? He’s Jiang Shuo, the second in the grade.”

Xie Ci was confused, “Do I have a grudge against him?”

Fang Sizhe replied, “Because of you, he’s now third in the grade.”

Xie Ci: “…Is that it?”

These kids at this age were truly unreasonable.

During the break between the second class, Jiang Chenyu excitedly ran over to Xie Ci’s seat, “Old Xie, did you see the news?! That Mingjian Gallery has been shut down for rectification. It seems they were deceiving and misleading consumers.”

Xie Ci looked up from his homework, “Where’s the news? Let me see.”

Jiang Chenyu glanced around like a thief and secretly handed his phone to Xie Ci, “My dad sent it to me.”

The screen displayed a chat window.

Dad: 【Oh no, that Mingjian got investigated. I just heard a few days ago that they were suppressing small artists, and now they’re in trouble. Looks like someone powerful stepped in.】

Me: 【What the hell! Who?】

Dad: 【I don’t know. Now I really don’t know where to buy Jianyan’s paintings. Your aunt has asked me several times.】

Me: 【Will Mingjian go bankrupt?】

Dad: 【How would I know?】

Me: 【What’s the point of telling me if you don’t know anything? You’re just teasing me!】

Xie Ci glanced at the chat content and looked over at Gu Yufeng, waiting for Jiang Chenyu to leave before speaking, “Did you do this?”

Gu Yufeng flipped through his book without looking up, “I’m just an ordinary high school student from out of town. How could I have the ability to take down a big player in just a few days?”

Mingjian Gallery was relatively well-known in the country. They had been so unscrupulous in their tactics to oppress artists, and after he clearly stated he wouldn’t renew the contract, their words hinted at “if you don’t renew, you won’t survive in the industry.” There had to be some capital backing them.

Even if Gu Yufeng was truly reborn, his current identity was just a minor high school student, which limited his ability to act. It wasn’t easy to pull something like this off.

After thinking it over, Xie Ci could only think of one person who had the ability and willingness to do this.

“You guessed right.” Gu Yufeng seemed to know what Xie Ci was thinking and spoke leisurely, “Some old man got angry at home because he couldn’t get Jianyan’s paintings. When he heard that Jianyan was being cheated by the gallery, which had caused him to run empty-handed for two years, he got so mad that he took down their nest.”

Xie Ci: “…Did you tell him?”

Gu Yufeng: “I asked his secretary to look into some things. Naturally, he couldn’t hide it from him.”

Yesterday, Gu Yufeng received more investigation materials sent by Lin Ying, indicating that the owner of Mingjian was closely connected with the Xie family, but it was still uncertain whether the Xie family was involved in the gallery’s operations or if it had anything to do with Xie Qian.

Gu Yufeng thought of Xie Jinlin’s face, which resembled Xie Ci’s, and decided not to tell Xie Ci until he figured things out. Once family was involved, things could get very complicated.

Thinking of this, Gu Yufeng tentatively asked, “Who is your grandfather? What’s his name?”

In their previous lives, they rarely talked about each other’s personal matters. Even the fact that Jianyan was Xie Ci’s dad was something he only learned recently.

He hadn’t cared before, only investigating Xie Ci’s preferences and experiences. Now he realized they didn’t know much about each other.

If he could pay more attention to Xie Ci, would that mean there wouldn’t be any issues with Xiao Fang?

Xie Ci: “I just recognized my dad, do you think I would know who my grandfather is?”

Gu Yufeng: “…”

It was hard to argue against that.

Taking advantage of the time before class, Xie Ci sent a message to his dad and Yang Le, reminding them to pay attention to safety recently.

With Gu Yongnian taking action, they wouldn’t have to worry too much about their dad’s case. However, with Mingjian being sanctioned and unable to compete with the Gu family, they might turn their attention to his dad. Those people had no bottom line and could do anything.

After sending the message, he noticed Gu Yufeng resting his chin on his hand, staring at his book but not turning a page for a long time, as if he was deep in thought. Xie Ci looked at him, feeling a bit confused.

If Gu Yufeng was really reborn like him, what should he do?

If he let the other person know he was also reborn, would the other party just turn around and leave, going back to D country?

In his previous life, it was Gu Yufeng who had cut ties with him decisively and without mercy, not just in personal matters but even in business, he had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with him.

When he heard the news and went to the island to save someone, they had already been out of contact for thirty-two days.

Even though they often weren’t home, they would still contact each other from time to time for various reasons.

He didn’t know why Gu Yufeng had followed him to Yi Zhong. Was he also looking for some answers from him?

But since he could stay here, it meant that the current situation still had value for Gu Yufeng to remain.

He still didn’t know why Gu Yufeng had cut ties with him. Now that he had let him go, he felt a bit unwilling.

Thinking of this, Xie Ci deliberately put down the water pen in his hand and subtly rubbed his right wrist.

“Does it hurt?” Gu Yufeng came back to his senses and turned to look at Xie Ci, “Did you spray any medicine yesterday?”

Xie Ci replied seriously, “I did, but it still feels a bit sore.”

Gu Yufeng beckoned with his hand, “Give me your hand.”

“No need, it feels much better now,” Xie Ci said, picking up his pen again, but Gu Yufeng snatched it away.

Gu Yufeng pressed on a few acupoints on his hand, his voice low and teasing, “Don’t you care about yourself? The right hand is very important for a man.”

Xie Ci: “…Can you be serious for once?”

“I am serious. It’s your mind that’s too dirty,” Gu Yufeng shot back, but his grip was just right.

Xie Ci watched him massage his hand. Even in his previous life, he rarely had the chance to enjoy such treatment.

Before clarifying Gu Yufeng’s identity, it was better to keep things as they were for now.

After school in the afternoon, the PE teacher organized specialized training for those participating in the sports meet. Xie Ci practiced the 200-meter sprint on the track a few times. During a break, he saw Gu Yufeng practicing high jump not far away.

Gu Yufeng had a tall and well-proportioned figure, and with his long legs and good flexibility, he had a significant advantage in high jump.

After watching for a while, it was clear that among the ten or so people practicing, Gu Yufeng had the best results.

During another jump, Gu Yufeng leaped into the air, clearing the bar. As he did, his shirt fluttered in the wind, revealing a glimpse of his toned waist, which caused the girls watching to squeal.

Xie Ci: “…”

Gu Yufeng got up from the soft mat, fanning himself with the collar of his shirt as he walked around the bar, asking the PE teacher, “Did I touch it?”

The PE teacher replied, “No, there’s still space.”

He was about to line up when he caught sight of Xie Ci coming over from the track, wearing a cool short-sleeve shirt, but his forehead was covered in sweat, “Finished practicing?”

Xie Ci’s gaze swept over the hem of his shirt, “Tuck your shirt into your pants.”

Gu Yufeng: “…Huh?”

Xie Ci: “Your underwear is showing.”

Gu Yufeng looked puzzled as he lifted his shirt to check, “Where is it showing?”

Xie Ci directly reached out, pulling up his waistband until he couldn’t pull it any higher, “Cover your stomach, be careful not to catch a chill.”

Once he was satisfied and looked up, he met Gu Yufeng’s narrowed eyes.

“Are you messing with me?”

Seeing that he was unhappy, Xie Ci turned to leave, “Good luck with training.”

Just as he took a step away, a pair of hands reached out from behind him, slipping under his shirt to pull up his waistband.

Xie Ci pressed down, warning, “Gu Yufeng.”

Gu Yufeng ignored his resistance, wrapping his arms around Xie Ci’s waist from behind and whispering in his ear, “You should also experience the feeling of a wedgie.”

Xie Ci: “…”

When Jiang Chenyu and the others finished their run and turned around, they saw Xie Ci and Gu Yufeng tugging at each other’s pants in broad daylight.

Jiang Chenyu was dumbfounded, “…Is that Old Xie? Has he been possessed by a monster?”

Fang Sizhe said, “Good thing I’m nearsighted; I can’t see clearly.”

After the training ended, they didn’t have time to return to the dormitory and went straight to the classroom for evening self-study. The sweat was dried by the wind, leaving only a salty smell.

Finally, when class was over, a group of them rushed back to the dormitory to shower.

Gu Yufeng sat on a chair, took off his shoes and socks, and went out with a change of clothes.

When Xie Ci took off his socks, he discovered that Gu Yufeng’s stinky socks had been mistakenly stuffed into his shoes.

“…”

Isn’t this guy supposed to be a neat freak?

That night, Xie Ci lay in bed, unable to sleep.

Now that he thought about it, if the messy, childish, boundary-less kid on the upper bunk was the reborn Gu Yufeng, then where did the elegant and mature Gu Yufeng he remembered go?

Was this kid really the Gu Yufeng he knew?