Beijing. Hongyuan Private School.

Today is the monthly rest day for the school, and with the upcoming holiday, all the students are wearing bright smiles.

“I heard the teacher is meeting an old friend, so this rest day will be extended by two days.”

“Really? Finally, we can have a good rest.”

“It’s rare to have so much time; we should really relax. In a few days, the Juyuan Building will hold a poetry meeting. How about we go take a look?”

“Is that true? I’ve heard that the poetry meetings at Juyuan Building are particularly elegant, but unfortunately, I’ve missed them every time. This time, I finally get to catch one.”

“Forget it, I won’t be going; I have matters at home…”

The crowd was buzzing with lively discussions.

Suddenly, one student dressed in brocade seemed to remember something. He turned to the corner where a poor scholar, who had been silent but always wore a warm smile, was sitting and asked with a forced smile,

“Hey, Brother Xie, why are you so quiet today? You used to be the happiest when talking about poetry meetings. Is it because you have matters at home that you can’t attend this time?”

“Brother Xie, we’ve been classmates for many years. If you’re facing difficulties at home, feel free to tell us. We will definitely help you. You are the most talented person in our private school. Without you at the poetry meeting, we might just end up sitting on the sidelines…”

The brocade-clad student smiled broadly, seemingly flattering and joking, but in reality, he was subtly sowing discord.

Around them were young and ambitious students, and most young men were proud and arrogant. Who would want to hear someone belittle them?

If it were the previous life’s Xie Wenyuan, he would probably have swallowed this insult for now. After all, he was still young at that time, just a teenager with naive schemes, and without a powerful family background, how could he dare to offend anyone casually?

But the current Xie Wenyuan would no longer tolerate it. Having risen from the depths of despair in his past life, causing rivers of blood to flow, how could a mere son of a small merchant like Qian Botu dare to step on him to rise? He simply didn’t know how to die.

Xie Wenyuan gently brushed his sleeve, seemingly oblivious to Qian Botu’s malice, and maintained his warm smile, speaking gently like a modest gentleman,

“Brother Qian, you flatter me. As the saying goes, there are always people better than you. Just the other day, Brother Zhou’s essay was praised by the teacher in class, and there’s also Brother Wu’s strategy discussion, and Brother Liu’s mathematics…”

“I’m just a bit talented in poetry; how can I be called the most talented in the private school? Brother Qian, your words are clumsy and should be punished!”

Xie Wenyuan, coming from a poor farming family, managed to pass the scholar examination at the age of 17, which naturally showed he had some exceptional abilities, such as an almost photographic memory.

Even though the scene before him was decades old, he could still recall the details about each of his long-lost classmates. No one dislikes being praised.

Hearing that Xie Wenyuan could name each of their strengths, the previously displeased students instantly felt their bad mood dissipate, filled with goodwill. Brother Xie understands them so well, showing that he truly values their friendship.

In contrast, Qian Botu, the little brat, was just spouting nonsense. As if they were all uneducated!

Immediately, some students chimed in, “Brother Xie is right; Brother Qian, you really don’t know how to speak. Your words are clumsy and should be punished.”

“Exactly! What you just said, Brother Qian, do you look down on me?”

“My poetry isn’t bad either! Even if Brother Xie doesn’t go to the poetry meeting, we won’t just sit on the sidelines!”

The crowd was quite displeased and retorted.

Xie Wenyuan enjoyed power, and in his previous life, to climb higher, he befriended wealthy young masters in school. These students, to varying degrees, had some spoiled attitudes and wouldn’t just swallow their anger.

The situation took a sharp turn; Qian Botu’s attempt to sow discord backfired. Yet Xie Wenyuan still maintained his modest gentleman demeanor, stepping forward to smooth things over.

“Brothers, don’t be angry. Brother Qian’s mouth has always been like this; he has that kind of temperament, so let’s not take it to heart.”

“How about this? Let’s have Brother Qian pay for our trip to the poetry meeting as punishment?”

“I’ve heard that Brother Qian knows the owner of Juyuan Building, so he can surely get us a private room. That way, we won’t have to crowd in the main hall… What do you say, Brother Qian?”

Several students, whose families were relatively well-off, didn’t mind the cost of a meal, but a private room at Juyuan Building was something they couldn’t secure through their connections.

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately stopped attacking Qian Botu and instead fixed their gazes on him with a predatory intensity. It was as if they were saying that if this couldn’t be arranged, it meant Qian Botu looked down on everyone and didn’t want to continue being friendly.

Qian Botu, caught in the spotlight: “…”

What could he do? Not wanting to offend his classmates, he could only force a stiff smile and agree to the arrangement, ending up losing out.

The cost of a trip to a private room at Juyuan Building would easily exceed a hundred taels of silver. It wouldn’t cripple his family, but it would definitely make him feel the pinch! After all, the Qian family wasn’t poor, but they were just a small merchant family.

Qian Botu gritted his teeth, cursing Xie Wenyuan in his heart, unable to understand why the person who used to swallow his anger suddenly became so tough today.

…

Xie Wenyuan couldn’t hear Qian Botu’s inner thoughts, but he could guess what the other party was thinking just by looking at his expression.

Why was he suddenly so tough? Of course, it was because… he had been reborn!

Xie Wenyuan never expected that someone like him, who had been scorned by thousands as a treacherous villain, would have the fortune of being favored by the heavens and reborn back to the past!

Yes, he was a cunning and treacherous bad guy. Xie Wenyuan never denied this; he wasn’t a good person. To climb to a higher position, he could use any means necessary, sacrificing and exploiting everyone around him.

In his previous life, he indeed did this, gaining high official status and wealth, but the glory was too fleeting, just a fleeting illusion, and in the end, his downfall was nothing short of tragic.

Selfish, treacherous, greedy for power and profit were all labels others used to scold him. He didn’t manage to leave a name in history, but he did manage to gain infamy, ensuring that when future generations mentioned “traitorous officials,” his name, Xie Wenyuan, would surely come up.

Regret? No. Xie Wenyuan did not regret it. The officialdom was a cruel and dark place where it was a matter of life and death. He didn’t want to be an ant; what was wrong with working hard to climb up?

How many of those who reached high positions were truly clean? To suppress opponents, who hasn’t done a few shameful things or used underhanded means? He was just more ruthless.

It was all just the principle of the victor taking all. True kindness and those who can’t tolerate sand in their eyes have only one ending in the big dye vat of officialdom: death.

Just like his extraordinarily talented cousin who crossed over, who did so many things for the country and the people, yet because he was too upright, in the end, he was still a victim of the treacherous rabbit’s death and the hound’s cooking, wrongfully imprisoned and executed, dragging the entire Xie family down with him!

Therefore, Xie Wenyuan did not regret carrying the label of a traitorous official in his previous life. His only mistake in his past life was being too impulsive, too eager for quick success, and choosing the wrong camp.

If it weren’t for these flaws, with his schemes and talents, who knows what his ending would have been!

And now. He was reborn at the age of 18, before everything had begun.

—

Xie Wenyuan had just been reborn yesterday. As a genuine ancient person, the reason he knew terms like rebirth and crossing over was entirely due to listening to his unfortunate cousin’s ramblings while in prison in his previous life.

It was also then that he learned that his suddenly smart cousin wasn’t hiding his talents or having an epiphany; rather, he had a different soul from another world inside him.

Speaking of his past experiences, Xie Wenyuan felt that aside from having poor eyesight, he didn’t regret his actions. He was indeed a downright bad person.

But he was unrepentant! Because of his various experiences in his past life, Xie Wenyuan clearly understood that one can be kind, but one really can’t be too upright; those who see things in black and white usually don’t have a good ending.

The Xie family was just a poor farming household. With so many grandchildren, why was Xie Wenyuan the one sent to study?

Was it because the elders favored him? No. It was all part of his parents’ planning. Among the several uncles and aunts in the family, there were certainly smart people, but only his parents were the sweetest talkers, able to please the grandparents.

His mother even planned early during her pregnancy, hiring wandering Taoists to come and tell fortunes, claiming that she was a blessed person and that all her children would have great fortunes. The grandparents, being superstitious, naturally became happy and valued him after hearing this.

His mother was indeed cunning, but the result was that he was born chubby and healthy, and when he grew up, he could attend the private school. His uncles were honest and unambitious, resulting in his cousins having to do hard labor and eat coarse food.

Of course, Xie Wenyuan’s good life was also due to his own efforts. And he indeed had a smart brain; with hard work and talent, he passed the scholar examination at 17!

In the bustling capital, it wasn’t uncommon for young scholars, but they were mostly wealthy young masters taught by famous teachers and with rich family libraries. For someone like Xie Wenyuan, who relied solely on the private school teacher’s guidance without any other resources, to pass the scholar examination at 17 was truly a testament to his genius.

With such talent, he naturally couldn’t avoid being proud in his youth. Moreover, in order to expand his network, he often interacted with those from wealthy families, attending various poetry meetings and banquets, becoming dazzled by the glamorous world, and being stimulated by the disdain he faced while trying to curry favor with the powerful.

His inherently not-so-upright character eventually went astray. Thus, when his family faced difficulties, and his uncle and cousin were injured while hunting in the mountains and needed money for treatment, he chose to stop them to continue his studies.

This led to his uncle and second uncle feeling disheartened, and under the persuasion of his cousin who had crossed over, they split the family. Xie Wenyuan admitted that he was selfish at that time.

But it cannot be denied that his choice was undoubtedly the most beneficial decision for the Xie family. After all, he was already a scholar and was about to take the imperial examination to change his family’s fortunes. If he were to give up due to any influence, it would be a pity.

He didn’t think there was anything wrong with sacrificing his uncle’s leg for his future and the Xie family’s change of fortune. There is no perfection in this world; everything has its trade-offs, right?

He was the smartest person in the family, and once he succeeded, the family would surely live well. Everyone thought this way!

Even now that he was reborn, Xie Wenyuan still felt the same. He was indeed profit-driven, and there was nothing to argue or whitewash.

If there were no accidents, after the split, with the grandparents having money, and his parents and younger brother not dragging him down, and with his talent and abilities, his future would surely be bright.

But if there were no accidents, then an accident occurred! After the split. His previously honest cousin suddenly became smart. Not only did he quickly make money and live well, but he also revealed an astonishing talent for studying, becoming the talk of the town.

This made Xie Wenyuan, who had abandoned his injured uncle, look like a joke.

The author has something to say: ~ Reading Reminder: The protagonist is not kind; he is truly a scheming cannon fodder, a top-notch villain in his past life, and will use any means necessary to achieve his goals, with 800 eyes watching. If you don’t like it, please leave early!!!

(The protagonist loves the recipient, marriage first and love later; before falling in love with the recipient, he is purely career-minded. The whole story is sweet and refreshing…)