Chapter 112.3 – I’m really dead (3)

Translator: Xena

The English teacher here was prettier than his real-world English teachers during middle school, high school, and college. She was beautifully dressed, wore light makeup and was very friendly. However, it was useless. He still couldn’t muster any interest or motivation.

“444, is there any way to suddenly turn me from an underachiever into a top student?”

The system replied, “Yes.”

Chen You quivered. “What? Tell me now!”

The system told him, “You do as I say. ”

Chen You immediately perked up. “Okay, go ahead.”

The system said, “First, lie down on the table, put your hands on it, put your head on it, and close your eyes.”

Chen You said, “You want me to sleep? You’re not going to wait for me to fall asleep so you can teach me some secret technique, are you?”

The system said, “There is no secret method. You will dream when you fall asleep.”

Chen You asked, “And then?”

System, “…” After being with a mentally retarded host for so long, it was nearly mentally retarded too.

Chen You suddenly realized. “You’re saying that I can only achieve my transformation from an underachiever to a top student by dreaming, right?”

The system was gratified.

Chen You lay on the table. “You find all kinds of ways to insult me, that’s really something.”

He saw the school grass spinning a book on his finger. Brother, I really want to borrow your brain.

Sheng Qing had said he arranged tutors for him, causing Chen You to feel a headache coming.

The bell rang for class and the English teacher came in wearing her little leather shoes. As usual, they had to do word dictation.

“ABCDEFGHIJKL… what comes after that?”

Forget it, Chen You covered his face with the English book. What to do, I’m already a useless dog.

This time, his prayer was answered. Chen You was not called up and neither was Xiao Langgou. As everyone knew, if he went up, there would definitely be no surprises or accidents.

When it was time for answering questions, the English teacher only called on the boys in the class. Chen You was not a stranger to this phenomenon. It was just a matter of personal preference.

He sat in his seat, taking notes by copying the sentences on the blackboard with a pen in his hand. Everything went in one ear and out the other. At the end of the class, a single fart wasn’t retained and he felt like he could ascend to heaven.

Xiao Langgou also had notes, but compared to Chen You’s densely packed notes, his were very empty, with just a few short sentences and one or two words.

“What? Want to see it?”

Forget it, even if you show it to me, I won’t understand your intentions. Chen You shook his head and continued to write his own. He suddenly thought of the little yellow dog. “School Grass, can you lend me some money?”

Xiao Langgou pointed out, “What did you call me?”

Chen You said, “School grass. Are you not?”

Xiao Langgou said unnaturally, “Yes, I am, but when you call me directly like that, I feel a little…”

Chen You said ahead of him, “Shy. I understand. I won’t call you that next time.”

Xiao Langgou, “…”

He pulled a handful of crumpled change from his pocket and when he was about to ask how much, he thought of something else. “What do you want the money for?”

Chen You said, “For something.”

Xiao Langgou thought the little crybaby had a secret. “Your family is so rich, so where’s your pocket money? You didn’t bring any because your backpack couldn’t hold all the extra stuff?”

No, my dad only pays attention to academic achievers like you, and doesn’t care about trash like me. Chen You said, dead serious, “The money belongs to my dad, not me.”

Xiao Langgou blurted out without thinking. “That’s character. I like it.”

He paused in counting the money, looking embarrassed. “I just said that casually.”

Chen You didn’t care at all. “Don’t worry, don’t feel pressured, I also just listened casually and didn’t take it seriously.”

Xiao Langgou asked stiffly, “How much?”

Chen You said, “Fifty or sixty is enough.”

Xiao Langgou estimated and grabbed all the change on his desk. “Here!”

Chen You sorted out the bills one by one and it amounted to a total of 125 yuan. He returned the change to the school grass. “I’ll borrow 100 yuan. I’ll pay you back when I have money.”

“Up to you.”

Xiao Langgou jumped over the table, walked like the wind, and soon disappeared in the corridor.

After a while, Chen You heard discussions coming from the corridor. He walked over and looked down. There was a handsome man and a beautiful woman, very pleasing to the eyes.

Downstairs, Xiao Langgou, who was talking to a pretty girl, looked up and saw a small pink hairpin among a row of heads. He scoffed lightly. He didn’t know what was going on, but his breathing felt suffocated and not smooth.

“I went to your class and found out that he was your deskmate, Sheng Xia. He looked scary before, appearing neither human nor ghost, but now he seems like a different person and is much more lively.”

The pretty girl told Xiao Langgou, “Hey, Juanzi likes cute boys like your deskmate, introduce him to her.”

Xiao Langgou glanced at her sideways. “Sheng Xia doesn’t look like a boy at all. He cries all the time, whines all the time, and just a bunch of annoying things. How can someone like that kind of guy? Is Juanzi blind?”

The pretty girl smiled ambiguously. “Watch what you say, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, understand?”

She brushed her long hair aside and said, “How about this? I’ll let Juanzi write a letter to your deskmate first, and then the two of them can get in touch step by step. If they get along well, we can then play matchmaker for them.”

Matchmaker? Xiao Langgou put his hands behind his head and walked slowly into the corridor. I don’t have time for that.

Girls are sometimes more efficient than boys.

Before school was over, the pretty girl came to Xiao Langgou and asked him to pass the love letter to his deskmate, Sheng Xia. She even said that she’d give him a kiss if it worked out.

Xiao Langgou received love letters every day, but this was the first time he had to forward it to someone. “Forget about the kiss. I don’t want to be chased across the streets by your dad with a kitchen knife.”

Pretty girl, “…”

Xiao Langgou returned to the classroom and threw the love letter to the little crybaby. “Yours.”

Chen You was tidying up his desk. When he saw the letter on the desk, he was stunned. “Who wrote it?”

Xiao Langgou said, “A girl.”

What a pity. Chen You opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper from it. The scent of jasmine hit him in the face. There was no common love letter content like “You are my destiny in this life, we are destined to be together” written on the paper. It was just the standard sentences: Nice to meet you, my name is so-and-so. I hope we can be friends.

Xiao Langgou asked, “Happy?”

What’s there to be happy about? This Brother was a sunny and handsome young boy back then, very popular in school. But this Brother’s fate was a pit and I was shy, so I didn’t develop well. When I got to college, I found that my preferences had become a bit strange. Ai, that was a huge pit.

Chen You stuffed the letter back into the envelope, put it inside a book, and ran off after the last class.

Seeing this, Xiao Langgou followed him. After following for a while, he felt that something was wrong with him, so he turned a corner and went to play billiard.

Chen You went to the veterinarian. The little yellow dog was in much better spirits than at noon. The area around his eyes was cleaned very well and the nurse was very nice.

He asked the doctor about the little yellow dog’s condition and stayed for more than an hour until it was dark.

“Laifu, I’m going home. The road in the mountain is not easy to walk on. To be honest, I’m a little scared. Please pray for me.”

Chen You muttered to himself for a while, kissed the little yellow dog on the head, and walked out the door. “444, I think I like puppies more than before.”

The system was silent.

Chen You could only talk to himself. He walked out of the vet and suddenly stopped.

“My sixth sense is telling me that someone is following me.”

The System said, “It’s your Daddy.”

Chen You breathed a sigh of relief. It’s okay then. Just follow, he won’t do anything bad.

When Chen You got off the taxi back to the Shengs’ house, it was pitch black around him and there was no one in sight.

The driver took the money and left. The only sound that remained was Chen You’s slowed breathing.

The original really had it rough.

He looked around. Damn it, the person who followed him was really not a good person. If he wanted to follow him, he should have followed him all the way home. Why did he stop following him halfway?

“444, talk to me.”

The System asked, “What do I talk about?”

Chen You heard the mountain breeze. “It doesn’t matter what, just don’t leave me alone, I’m scared.”

The system suggested, “Let me play a song for you.”

Chen You quickly said, “Okay, okay, okay, I want to listen to Heroes’ Song.”

The next second, an intense and high-pitched prelude sounded in his mind.

“Great rivers flow east, stars in the sky follow the Big Dipper, hey hey, follow the Big Dipper!——”¹Got this translation in the comments of this vid haha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnFx0ekk-qc

Chen You shouted to the night sky as he shifted his schoolbag upwards. He jumped up and down on the spot, and when he was ready, he headed up the mountain.

Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, there’s no ghosts. There are no ghosts in the world, it’s all fake.

“Young Master Xia, why are you only back now?”

“Ah—”

Chen You screamed, backed away, and fell to the ground. “Are you a human or ghost?”

Footsteps approached from the right, and a wind-dried old face floated out from the darkness. The butler was wearing dark clothes, which were relatively black, and his eyes were wide open.

“It’s me, Young Master Xia.”

Chen You was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and became limp. “Butler, why are you scaring me?”

The butler’s face twitched. “Young Master Xia, it was Madam who asked me to come here to pick you up.”

Is that aunt so kind?

As if. The original walked to and fro by himself throughout his three years of junior high school and for more than a year of high school.

Chen You slowly got up from the ground, looking very touched. “Grandma is so kind to me.”

The butler said, “Madam Xia is naturally thinking of you.”

He took a step back. “Young Master Xia, let’s go.”

Chen You patted the dirt off his body. “Butler, when are we going to turn on the street lights here? It will be easier to walk at night.”

The butler said, “I will pass on Young Master Xia’s idea to Madam.”

Chen You immediately said, “It’s not an idea. Don’t tell my grandma about it.”

The butler answered yes.

Neither of them made a sound after that. There was only the sound of shoes stepping on branches and leaves, and slightly rapid breathing.

Chen You slowed down his pace and stared at the back of the old man’s head. The other party had spent most of his life in the Sheng family and must know a lot about the dark side of the Sheng family.

To be honest, the gossip in the mansion was much more exciting and terrifying than what could be seen on TV.

“Young Master Xia, today is the Master’s birthday.”

The butler suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse and a little eerie amidst the quiet mountain road.

Chen You was startled. “I know. My dad took me to visit my Guang-Didi and Jing-Didi during the day, and we celebrated his birthday together.”

The butler said, “Then the Master must be very happy.”

Not at all. Chen You didn’t say anything.

He was still thinking about how to deal with it if the butler wanted to test him, but fortunately, the other party did not make any more sound.

Madam Sheng’s life was not tedious. She has many old sisters. One of them had a mahjong event today and they haven’t come back yet.

After entering the door, Chen You changed his shoes and went to the kitchen, took a box of milk from the refrigerator, and went upstairs.

He turned on his computer and went online to check the city’s pet forum. The doctor said Laifu was not a stray dog, so it was very likely that his family was thinking of ways to find him.

Maybe I’ll post on the forum for help.

Chen You flipped through more than ten pages but didn’t see any posts looking for Laifu. He scratched his head, glanced at the diary next to him, and picked it up to flip through it.

I’ve read this yesterday. What was it about?

Chen You took another sip of milk and read a few paragraphs. He finished the glass of milk but had nothing in his mind.

The next morning, while having breakfast, Chen You said, “Grandma, I want a cell phone.”

Madam Sheng was drinking millet porridge elegantly. “What do you want a cell phone for?”

Chen You then said what some kids would say, “All my classmates have it, so I want it too.”

Madam Sheng seemed to have sneered at him for a moment. She said in a kind tone, “If you rank in the top 30 in the final exam this time, Grandma will buy it for you.”

Chen You then asked, “Grandma, is it the top 30 in the class?”

Madam Sheng said, “The whole grade.”

Chen You is really dead.

Top 30 in the whole grade?  Are you kidding me? My best grade is around 30th or 40th in the class.

He went out with his schoolbag. There was a car parked outside. From behind came Madam Sheng’s voice, “Xiao Li will pick and drop you off to school from now on.”

So good? Chen You couldn’t help but wonder what the aunt was thinking, which might be related to Sheng Qing’s sudden attention to him.

A few days later, Chen You was picked up by Sheng Qing’s secretary at school and taken to a cafe.

When he got there, Chen You realized that he was there to see his tutors.

There were six teachers. One of Chinese, Mathematics, English, politics, history and geography. Four men and two women.

Chen You went in and greeted the people one by one under Sheng Qing’s introduction.

The six teachers were very nervous and ill at ease. After asking about Chen You’s academic performance, they remained silent. They were much more nervous than Chen You, as if they were there to apply for a job.

Sheng Qing went to the bathroom and Chen You followed him.

A man with a strong aura and extraordinary handsomeness was like a walking diamond, attracting the attention of people around him.

Chen You saw a woman talking to Sheng Qing at the corner. They had just bumped into each other and now it seemed like they were chatting each other up. The woman had a pretty face, outstanding temperament, and perfect body curves.

If a beauty “accidentally” bumped into you, any normal man would have a reaction.

But Sheng Qing didn’t.

He has an icy face, which caused one to shiver all over.

As soon as the woman left, Sheng Qing rubbed his brows and said, “Come out.”

Chen You walked over to the corner and looked at the man silently, again and again.

Dad, you’re really calm and peaceful, just like a tired bird returning to its nest.

Scratch that, you’re not a tired bird, you’re an old bird that has huge wings that can soar into the sky, but you can’t fly, ai.

Sheng Qing glanced down and asked, “Any problem?”

Chen You said in his heart, Yes, Dad, you have a big problem.

• 1
  Got this translation in the comments of this vid haha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnFx0ekk-qc ↩︎