Chapter 1: Eighteen Again

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

Qin Guan was reborn and sent back eighteen years in time.

He was having a pancake at the dining table when he realized what had happened. He was so shocked, and the scallion pancake his mom had made for him was so resilient hat small pieces landed on his face as he tore at it with vigor.

A scallion escaped and landed on his hair, the sauce splattering right in his nostrils.

Qin Guan’s dad, who was sitting across from him at the table, glanced at him calmly and turned a page on the newspaper that stood between them like usual.

His dad looked really young. He had few wrinkles on his face as he was just over 40, the very prime of his life. He was reading a newspaper while eating. He seemed really good at multitasking, unlike 18 years later when he would have poked himself in the face with his chopsticks if he’d tried to do the same thing.

Qin Guan touched the sauce on his face and looked at the dishes on the table. There was fried oyster, shredded cucumber and millet congee. He turned towards his mom, who was making pancakes in the kitchen. He thought that she still looked attractive.

Qin Guan got up and walked to the bathroom. He turned on the tap and washed his face by the sink. When he’d cleaned all the sauce off, he thought to himself, “Take things as they come. That’s the spirit.”

Lifting his head, Qin Guan grabbed a towel off the shelf. He chanced a glimpse at the mirror and lowered his head, then raised it back up.

“Oh my God! Who is that?”

In the mirror, there was a man with thin rosy lips, pretty white teeth, and a Roman nose. If he ignored the scallion on his hair, he looked like a complete toy boy. No, a lady-killer.

Qin Guan grinned, and the man in the mirror smiled as well, revealing his bright white teeth. Qin Guan looked in the mirror and removed the scallion from his hair. He looked around, and then put his hands down his blue-and-white school trousers and touched his penis. “There it is! Good, I’m still a man.”

Qin Guan had always had more male hormones than most people. At 18, he already had whiskers on his face.

Thanks to his stubble, pot belly, his chest and leg hair, the fact that he wore a vest and shorts, and of course his favorite pastime of watching TV with his legs spreading wide, Qin Guan looked like the very definition of a sloppy guy.

Now his body had changed, and Qin Guan, who was just beginning to accept that he had been reborn, was confused once again.

“Was I reborn or did I travel through time? How come my appearance has changed?”

Before Qin Guan could think it over, his mom’s voice rang out through the house.

“Qin Guan, are you full? You’re going to be late for class!”

Qin Guan was aware that 18 years ago he had still been in high school. He popped his head out and took a look at the calendar in the living room. It was March, 1998. Jesus, it was only several months before the College Entrance Examination!

Qin Guan hastily toweled his face and ran to his bedroom. He grabbed his schoolbag and swept all the test papers that had been on his desk inside it.

Snatching his bike key off the desk, he walked into the living room, picked up the rest of his pancake and shoved it into his mouth, lisping, “Mom, I’m out.”

He put on his green cotton jacket and ran down the stairs.

Qin Guan reached the entrance of the building and got on his bike. It was an old 28-inch-diameter that made all kinds of noise but had a nonfunctional bell.

As he headed to school, he finished the rest of his pancake and thought to himself, “What were the questions on the College Entrance Examination? I can’t remember. Forget it. Should I ask Zhou Jing to come play a video game? Yes, definitely.”

Wow, did it feel good to be young.

Qin Guan’s high school was one of the best in the province. The campus was swarming with straight-A students.

Qin Guan had taken a lot of blows since enrolling there. He had gradually gotten used to it, but with so many straight-A students around, former straight-F students had to work extra hard. However, thanks to their influence, Qin Guan had managed to get accepted into a respectable technical college.

Although he would have to go through the suffering of the College Entrance Examination one more time, Qin Guan did not feel stressed at all. He would just follow the steps of the straight-A students like last time. He would need to change his major, though. There were hardly any cute girls at technical colleges, a fact that Qin Guan had always complained about before his rebirth.

Riding over another slope, Qin Ran could finally see the school gate. There were more students on the road, all in blue-and-white or red-and-white uniforms. Panting for breath, Qin Guan stopped at the base of the slope. He wheeled his bike up with one hand, while he used his other hand to push the last piece of pancake into his mouth.

If there was anything bad about his rebirth, it was his physique. He might be taller, but he was rather thin. Looking at his small ribs, Qin Guan let out a sigh. He decided his priority would be to work out.

Qin Guan was wheeling the bike forward when he passed by a group of girls. The girls giggled and ran alongside him for several steps.

One of the girls looked back and whispered to the girl next to her, “Wow, he looks so cute, even while eating a pancake!”

The other girl whispered back, “The school hunk? I sure envy that pancake!”

Qin Guan listened in. He was so surprised to hear the word pancake that he nearly spat out the sauce before swallowing it. From what he remembered, high school girls were quite shy. How come they suddenly wanted to switch places with a pancake?

When the girls walked away, Qin Guan wheeled his bike forward and entered the campus. He went to the bike shed, locked his bike and walked into the teaching building.

Qin Guan went to the third floor, into Class 8, Grade 3, and found his seat. It was the one by the window, in the second row from the back. He knew his way around well, so he reached his seat fast and dropped his schoolbag on the desk. How good it felt to relive that!

In less than five minutes, the bell rang. Watching the head teacher come in, Qin Guan felt his eyes water. He had not seen her in years, but the elderly lady was still as plump as ever.

Qin Guan took a look at the seat behind him. It was empty. Zhou Jing, who always sat in the back row, was late again. As Qin Guan was thinking about him, a tall boy rushed through the door and bumped right into the head teacher.

The teacher saw it was Zhou Jing and started yelling at him, “You’re late again, Zhou Jing! How many times have you been late? You know the rule, go stand in the corner!”

Zhou Jing did not say anything. He left his schoolbag in his seat and went to stand in the corner. Under the guidance of the head teacher, the straight-A students started their routine morning self-study. When the teacher was not looking his way, Qin Guan twisted his head back, pouted his lips at Zhou Jing and whispered, “Did you stay up late last night reading about martial arts and chivalry fiction?”

Zhou Jing looked shocked that Qin Guan would initiate a conversation with him. Stuttering, he answered, “Are you talking to me?”

Qin Guan felt confused.

“Yes,” he said.

Zhou Jing sniffled and said, “You’ve been buried in books for the past three years. You’re always ashamed to be seen with straight-F students like me, because you think we’ll damage your image and reputation. Now you’re talking to me first. Did the sun rise in the west today? Maybe it does once in a blue moon!”

Qin Guan felt horrible. How the hell had this version of Qin Guan behaved at school before his rebirth?

The way Zhou Jing had described him chilled Qin Guan to the bone. He turned to Zhou Jing again and said, “I had a brain fade for two and a half years, but now I’m feeling better. I’ll make it up to you. Let’s go to an arcade this weekend.”

Zhou Jing looked excited. “I’ll take your word for it. Your treat, though,” he added quickly.

Qin Guan grinned and formed the victory sign with his fingers before turning back to his book.

Chapter 2: Crushing on Cong Nianwei

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

English was the first class after their morning self-study.

Qin Guan took out his textbook. “Merlin had tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each of his shoes.”

As Qin Guan read, he gradually started feeling sleepy.

“What am I going to do?”

As a science geek who had worked on the machine manufacturing industry for more than ten years, Qin Guan had always felt extremely distressed during English class.

While he read the words on the textbook again, he thought that every single one of them sounded familiar, yet he could not remember their meaning. Qin Guan recognized his carelessness in not using English for so many years.

For a science student, the five compulsory subjects in the College Entrance Examination included Math, Physics, Chemistry, English and Chinese. Qin Guan was quite confident in his Math, Physics and Chemistry.

However, Chinese and English were a big pain for him. It had been ten years, and he had forgotten almost everything that he had ever learned. Apparently, in the next few months Qin Guan would have to focus on Chinese and English in order to learn fast.

Looking at the number 122 on the blackboard, which stood for the days to go before the College Entrance Examination, and watching his classmates work so hard, Qin Guan thought that he should feel really sorry for himself if he did not take advantage of this second opportunity to get admitted into a prestigious university in the capital.

Picking up his book, he started from the first page and began to recite very hard.

English, Chinese, English. No matter what the class was this morning, these two subjects were what he would study on his own. At the end of the day, when he looked up from his desk dizzily, he was amazed.

Just in one morning, he had read eight English texts and recited around 250 words. Thinking back, he found that he had already memorized 230 of them. As for the four ancient Chinese pieces of prose, he was able to recite every word of them. Was this a stroke of luck brought by his rebirth that would always help him along? Qin Guan was thrilled. That was fantastic!

The morning classes were over around noon time. Students in Grade 3 didn’t get any breaks. They only got an hour and a half off for lunch. Qin Guan did not want to waste it. He turned his head back, kicked the leg of Zhou Jing’s desk and said, “Do you want to ask Fatty Li for handmade noodles?”

Both Zhou Jing and Li Jian, who had just come over, paused.

Was Toy Boy Qin Guan really talking to them?

Other students moving around in the classroom had paused, too. A 5’9’’ guy with dark skin, a 5’2’’plump one, and a tall thin guy like a stick. They made quite the picture.

Qin Guan did not seem to be aware that he was a looker. He dragged along Li Jian, whose body consisted mostly of fat, and told Zhou Jing, “Old Zhao Ramen. My treat.”

They passed by all the girls of the class, who were glaring at them as if wanting to say, “These two dare get invited for ramen by the Prince Charming? How I envy them! I want to go with too. What’s so special about them and they got so lucky?”

The two boys followed Qin Guan and walked off the campus.

Old Zhao Ramen was a small noodle restaurant by the high school’s side entrance. It was known among the students for its affordable and delicious noodles.

As their noodles were getting served, Qin Guan could not wait to pick them up with his chopsticks and suck them into his mouth. Broth, white noodles and red chili oil. Yes, that was heaven.

Watching Qin Guan eat his noodles unrestrainedly, the two boys, who were sitting across from Qin Guan and shoveling noodles into their mouths, gave him inscrutable looks. As they watched him lift one of his legs onto the rung of the chair and suck his noodles, they could no longer help but be persuaded.

“Qin Guan, we all know that you are upset, but you can’t give up on yourself just because you got rejected. It’s fine if you want to hang out with us, but how could you not care about your image anymore? It’s the only thing you ever talked about.”

Raising his head from his noodle bowl, Qin Guan looked at a loss while he asked, “What rejection? I have not given up on myself.”

His words confirmed Zhou Jing and Li Jian’s suspicions. They both said compassionately, “You told the monitor yesterday that you had fallen for her, but she turned you down.”

Qin Guan spat out his noodles.

“What? I told the monitor that I had fallen for her?”

Zhou Jing and Li Jian nodded sympathetically. Sniffling his nose, Qin Guan thought of their monitor. Her hair was usually pulled into a neat ponytail and her big eyes were always twinkling. Suddenly, he felt very upset.

The one thing that he’d wanted the most, but had not dared do in his last life, he had done in this one and he had failed. Damn! He could not get over it.

For someone as careless as Qin Guan, this second chance at life was not a big deal, neither were the changes in his appearance. That girl with the big eyes, though, was like a dream for him.

Who didn’t have one or two friends that they’d had a crush on when they were young? It was fine. He had said it, and he’d gotten rejected.

Looking at the empty bowl in front of him and turning to his two best friends who obviously cared about him, Qin Guan felt moved. He pretended not to care and said, “Crap! How is it even possible to be devastated over a little girl that’s still in her puberty? I forgot about it already.”

Feeling proud of his words, Qin Guan watched Li Jian wink at him. Qin Guan felt happy. “Such a good friend. Always entertaining me.”

Qin Guan got up, pinched Li Jian’s cheek and said, “You agree with my theory, too, right? Good boy.”

Zhou Jing sighed. Sometimes he worried about Qin Guan’s EQ. He poked at him with his finger and pointed behind Qin Guan’s back.

Qin Guan twisted his head back. Oh, no… It was the little girl. The monitor was standing right behind him, holding a tray of fried noodles with beef in her hand, her eyes twinkling and looking adorable.

Before Qin Guan could feel good about himself, a tray of fried noodles had landed on his head. The monitor gave him a smile and asked the owner for one more tray of fried noodles. “Who’s a little girl now?”

The owner popped his head out of the window and shouted, “One more tray of fried noodles with beef!”

The patrons in this small noodle restaurant were all students from their high school. They had all witnessed the scene between the Prince Charming and the straight-A girl, and were not planning on keeping it a secret.

Qin Guan was not mad, despite the fact that a mass of noodles hung right on his face. He held it up to his mouth and sucked it in. He had not expected the gentle monitor to turn out to have such a hot temper. He had to have her. He just had to.

Ignoring the noodles on his head, Qin Guan grinned at her. She had such beautiful sparkling eyes.

“I like you more now. What am I going to do?”

Seeing this extremely silly side of Qin Guan, the young monitor thought that he was very down-to-earth after all. Nothing like the hypocrite she’d always thought he was.” For some reason, she blushed.

Flipping her ponytail, she ignored him and went to get her noodles.

Qin Guan felt happy. He had a chance with her. He would handle the College Entrance Examination first, and then he would handle the prettiest girl in class.

He meant what he had said.

The rest of the months flew by, with Qin Guan giggling towards the monitor from time to time over his books. When he had nothing to do, he would tuck himself into bed, close his eyes and recall bits and pieces of his day.

He was very happy. It felt good to be back in high school. To start his life over and chase after the girl of his dreams… If he won Cong Nianwei’s heart, he would not have lived his life in vain.

TBC...
Source: Rebirth: How A Loser Became A Prince Charming - NovelSprout.com

Chapter 3: The Days Before the College Entrance Examination

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

Qin Guan led a busy life.

Every day before dawn, he would go out and ran several laps around the small park in his neighborhood. If there was anything that Qin Guan was unsatisfied with, it was his weak physique.

He was too thin. Any man who did not have body hair had to at least have some muscles.

Only by exercising more could he get more toned and have a healthy physique. Just because he was sloppy, it did not mean that he could not be physically strong.

Qin Guan’s classmates found that he had changed. He was no longer as aloof and unapproachable as he used to be.

After each class, he would ask other straight-A students for help with his homework, not ashamed at all to learn from his inferiors. He had gotten bold, generous and unconstrained, and he was no longer punctilious. Everyone thought that under his arrogance Qin Guan had a kind heart that enjoyed life to the full.

Without realizing it, Qin Guan began getting increasingly popular among his classmates. Boys who had never associated with him before became best friends with him one after the other, more and more girls got closer to him, and of course, he kept getting an increasing number of contemptuous looks from Cong Nianwei. But why did he feel so happy?

More than three months flew by in this manner.

The exam period came. Through multiple inquiries and investigations, Qin Guan had discovered that Cong Nianwei had given up on the college recommendation of the school and would take the College Entrance Examination, aiming for Tsinghua University in the capital.

He gritted his teeth. With his current progress, he was much better than he used to be in his past life, but he was still a long way from getting admitted into Tsinghua University. If he wanted to keep Cong Nianwei away from other boys, then he would have to take measures. If he could not go to the same university, he had to at least go to the same city!

Since he had always wanted to study finance, Qin Guan aimed for the Capital University of Finance and Economics. It was in the same city, so he would not feel far away from her.

On July 7, 8, and 9, Qin Guan took his exam admission ticket, a 2B pencil and a pencil case filled with pens, and headed bravely to the examination room that would determine his future.

The first exam was Chinese. His focused learning over the past few months had played a decisive role. He found that 98% of the multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions were on things that he had learned. He had no difficulty answering them.

His textbook knowledge was imprinted on his mind. He could remember it all clearly. It was not difficult for him at all. The reading part was quite easy as he answered the questions with standard practice. The writing part was even easier, because that’s when Qin Guan played his trump card— he cheated through his memory.

More than ten years had passed. Qin Guan had long forgotten the questions on the examination papers, but he could still remember the topic of the writing part. Qin Guan turned his examination paper to the last page and read the topic:

Tenacity: A Quality to Pursue

Overcoming Vulnerability (Alternative Topic)

Qin Guan was ecstatic. He had guessed right. The Chinese writing topic of the College Entrance Examination had not changed. He felt reassured. He had answered all the questions on the Chinese examination paper, and there was still more than 30 minutes left.

Qin Guan checked his paper carefully, and when there was still fifteen minutes to go before the end of the examination, he submitted his paper and walked out of the examination room.

The Chinese exam was a really good start to Qin Guan’s College Entrance Examination, which meant that he would now be more confident when taking the rest of the subjects.

Math, Physics, Chemistry, none of them could stop Qin Guan. When he had written the last word on the English writing exam, his hand, which was still holding his pen, trembled slightly. It was over. He had finished this battle that could determine his future, and he was both happy and excited!

The scorching heat of July could not diminish Qin Guan’s happiness. “I did really well. Do you know that, Cong Nianwei? I like you so much. I want to see you again!”

Qin Guan submitted his examination paper, ran out of the campus and spotted the girl with the big eyes who was leaving through the school gate. Qin Guan waved wildly at her and shouted, “Cong Nianwei, what are your plans for this summer?”

As soon as Cong Nianwei walked out of the examination room, she saw a tall thin boy with white skin standing on the other side of the road. He was waving at her under the scorching sun.

The sunshine shone down on the boy’s face making his sweat glisten. He was grinning rather unattractively, showing his white teeth, but Cong Nianwei felt that nothing in the whole wide world could hold a candle to him.

Qin Guan was surrounded by boys who were making fun of him, but the girls across the road looked really jealous. In that moment, Qin Guan felt time stand still and all sound disappear. All he saw was Cong Nianwei slowly walking towards him.

She crossed the road and went up to Qin Guan. Looking at his mouth, she said, “I will go back to my grandma’s this summer. But next year, I’ll be waiting to see you and give you an answer.”

Qin Guan felt his heart beat fast, as if a flower were growing in it, bright and beautiful. For some reason, he was moved. “Okay,” he answered slowly, “This time next year, no matter where you are, I will come find you.”

Qin Guan said goodbye to her and went back home in a daze. Watching their absent-minded son, his parents assumed that he had not done very well in his College Entrance Examination. They were too afraid to ask him about it though, in case he became even more upset.

Instead, they decided to comfort him in a more subdued and mild manner. Qin Guan did not explain anything to them. He had already forgotten about the College Entrance Examination and had begun to fantasize about his future. In his heart, he had a dream.

He would need to take good care of himself to get the girl of his dreams, and then convince her to marry him. They would have a few kids together, and keep them close. He would live a happy life with them and earn a lot of money.

Chapter 4: Graduation Party

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

It was late July when the students could finally check out their examination results. Under the gaze of the whole family, Qin Guan’s mother tremblingly dialed the last digit.

A mechanical voice rang out from the receiver: Register Number 3799… Score: 689. She had gotten through on the first try.

Lest they should have misheard the score, Qin Guan’s mother hang up and dialed the number again: 689. It was true.

Qin Guan’s first choice was Capital University of Finance and Economics. No doubt he had surpassed the minimum admission score.

Qian Guan’s parents were overjoyed. They had thought that Qin Guan had failed the College Entrance Examination, and it had turned out to be a big surprise for them. They were more than thrilled.

Qin Guan’s parents were proud to spread the news right away, wishing to let all their friends and relatives know.

Qin Guan became the most annoying kid in the family. He was both handsome and studious, so all his relatives’ kids were gnashing their teeth at how unfair it was.

When the results of the College Entrance Examination came out, it was quite natural that some people would be happy while others would be sad.

The College Entrance Examination was not such a big deal for Class 8, Grade 3 which was full of straight-A students. When Qin Guan went back to school to submit his college application, he met with his head teacher who informed him of the date and time of their graduation party.

On the day of the party, everyone in class showed up. They were all dressed casually instead of wearing their school uniforms. Now that the tense atmosphere of the College Entrance Examination was gone, everyone could enjoy themselves, fool around, drink and eat.

Li Jian produced two boxes of beer out of nowhere and poured a glass out for everyone. He saw all these straight-A students with their thick glasses staring at the beer, their eyes showing that they all clearly itched to have a glass.

Qin Guan suddenly understood why people with super high IQs were always described as devious, secretly cunning and wickedly smart.

After drinking three glasses of beer, the Class President, who was the one wearing the thickest glasses, suddenly slapped his glass on the table. His blurred vision and flushed face betrayed how drunk he was.

Qin Guan thought he was about to witness the most honest student in class make a drunken fool of himself when suddenly the Class President started accusing him, “Damn you, Qin Guan! I hate you the most out of the whole class!” Hearing his loud voice, everyone went quiet all of a sudden. “What did you have going for you in the past besides your good looks? You were an absolute unsociable hypocrite and your grades were below average. You were just a hypocritical bastard. But despite that, you were still recognized as the school hunk. You even dared tell Cong Nianwei that you liked her, which made me hate you even more…”

The Class President stuttered. He got increasingly emotional until he somehow ended up crying.

Despite the snot and tears on his face, the Class President went on, “But how can you do this? Couldn’t you just stay true to your old ways? Why did you have to get funnier and funnier? Now our classmates have started to talk to you. Your performance has been getting better, and the teachers also seem to like you. But even so, I can’t give up! Cong Nianwei, I like you too. I like you more than he does. Qin Guan, I hate you!”

By now everyone was looking at the most honest student in class crying at the wine table.

Qin Guan believed that this was a typical case of alcohol making a coward temporarily brave. He was about to start laughing when voices began to ring out all around him.

“Wang Ping, it was me who wrote you that love letter in Grade 2. I like you,” said Bu Lu, who sat in the first row.

“Qu Mei, I have been taking advantage of your weakness for three years. You know what I’m talking about.”

Qu Mei pretended convincingly that she didn’t know what he was talking about.

The head teacher was like an old monk during meditation. He ate and drank as if nothing of importance was going on, completely ignoring all these crazy boys.

The girls all remained very calm. The eight boys who had spoken with Dutch courage ended up feeling like cowards instead and retreated like scared birds. It got strangely quiet in the room.

Suddenly there were glasses clanging and tinkling, and the Vice President stood up. She was so emotional that she knocked over her own chair. She was a slender girl with fair skin. Lots of boys in class had a crush on her.

She puckered her lips and picked up her chair. Before everyone’s eyes, she suddenly approached Qin Guan, clutched his shoulders and kissed his cheek. Then she returned to her seat as if nothing had happened.

The room had gotten even quieter. Qin Guan looked around and all he saw was ferocious stares. He was about to say something when he saw eight girls stand up and start to bombard the Vice President with words.

“You’re so cunning!”

“That’s right! You should have warned us before you did that!”

“I had wanted to do this for such a long time, and now you stole my thunder!”

The girls quickly ran over to Qin Guan. Some grabbed his hair while others tore at his clothes. They each gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Qin Guan quickly slipped under the table.

The head teacher glanced at the dishes on it. “Ah, the braised intestines with brown sauce taste really good at this restaurant.”

The girls did not let go. They started tearing at Qin Guan’s clothes to claim him for themselves.

Peeping through the table legs, Qin Guan saw Cong Nianwei looking at him angrily.

He was about to sit up when fists started beating on his head like raindrops. It was the boys.

“Beat him. I can’t stand it anymore.”

“Give my girl back! I’ll fight you to the end!”

All at once, dishes, beer glasses, roast chicken and vegetables came his way.

An increasing number boys and girls surrounded Qin Guan.

“Sir, take a picture for us.”

“Yes. A group photo,” they told the head teacher, who did not seem disturbed and remained focused on his food.

The head teacher wiped his mouth and took a Seagull SLR camera out of his bag. He zoomed in a quite professional manner before shouting to his students, “Over here! One, two, three!”

Time stood still right then and there. The girls were inside it and the boys were outside. They were all either beating or dragging the boy under the table, and he was trying hard to lift up his head, grinning wide and bright.

“From this day on, my classmates will start drifting apart and our best and most innocent time will be over. I wish all my high school classmates academic success and a smooth journey in life.”

TBC...
Source: Rebirth: How A Loser Became A Prince Charming - NovelSprout.com

Chapter 5: The Moneymaking Barbecue Stand

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

It was the end of July and the weather had been getting increasingly hot. Cicadas were singing merrily outside the windows.

Qin Guan was lounging in a chair, his face buried in a watermelon. He was thinking about his life and how he would make a living.

When it came to making money, Qin Guan was at a loss. He had been an engineering student in his past life, and every day he’d had to deal with excavators, battering rams and road rollers.

Now that he had been reborn though, he did not want to carry on with his old business. However, he could not recall any winning lottery numbers, nor did he know anything about the stock market. What else could he do?

“Others would have acted more boldly given the chance to be reborn. I have been very cautious.”

Qin Guan sighed. Even though he had the opportunity to start over, he was not able to make money in an easy, smart way.

He spat out the watermelon seeds filling his mouth. He went out in a pair of flip-flops, heading to the foundry where his cousin worked. He wanted to ask him to make him a barbecue cart using waste sheet iron.

Walking out of the foundry, Qin Guan realized that he would need help. He called Zhou Jing and Li Jian from the small grocery store next to the foundry. These two boys had no goals in their lives. They already knew that they had barely passed the minimum score for admission into a respectable college in the College Entrance Examination. One of them stayed at home, bored, with little to do except eat and sleep; and the other read smut, trying to catch up on all the chapters he had missed during the College Entrance Examination period. Listening to Qin Guan’s plan on the phone, the two boys could not bear to stay at home anymore. They all agreed to meet in the farmers’ market.

Holding two chemical fertilizer sacks with the word “urea” on them, the three boys bargained heatedly with the owner. In the end, they bought two wholesale sacks of charcoal and hundreds of bamboo sticks that they planned to use as skewers.

Li Jian asked the elder niece of his mother’s elder aunt’s younger cousin to help them set up a stall at the night market, and Zhou Jing brought some tables and short stools from the recreation room of the Bureau of Retired Officials where his father worked.

The three boys had put together all their pocket money to buy all those things, but they still had more than 300 yuan left. That meant that they could also afford to buy the ingredients. Everything was ready except for the barbecue cart.

Qin Guan’s cousin was very efficient. He delivered the cart to Qin Guan in less than three days. Qin Guan’s parents were staring at their son as if he was a monkey, but Qin Guan calmly fastened the cart, ready to start work the next day.

The iron cart was equipped with a brazier where one could make fried noodles by lowering the iron plate, and on its right side there was space for hanging a coal stove where one could fry kebabs using an oil pan.

It could match any modern multi-functional automatic barbecue cart.

Everything was ready.

The next day, at four o’clock in the morning, Qin Guan borrowed a tricycle from the factory his mother worked at and rode to the market.

Chicken, pork, mutton, all of these were must-haves. Garlic, chili, onion and potatoes were also essential for roasted dishes. “There are even wholesale cold noodles! Great. We also need cooking oil and seasonings.”

Qin Guan bought a tricycle worth of groceries. By the time he was done, he had very little money left.

It was already after seven when Qin Guan struggled to ride the tricycle successfully back home.

He proudly called Zhou Jing and Li Jian to wake them up and ask them to come and help.

When Zhou Jing and Li Jian showed up at Qin Guan’s home with a case of bed head, Qin Guan had already taken the ingredients out from the bags and put them in large bowls.

Looking at a living room full of ingredients, Zhou Jing said anxiously, “Who can handle the meat? I’ve never been inside a kitchen.” Hearing this, Qin Guan felt very self-satisfied. As a sloppy bachelor for years, he’d had to cook so he wouldn’t have to eat instant noodles every day.

Qin Guan shook his head complacently and began to assign tasks, “Zhou Jing, you distribute the ingredients, and skewer the meat and vegetables. Li Jian, you come and help me.” Then he rolled up his sleeves and walked into the kitchen.

Qin Guan laid a piece of mutton on the chopping board. The kitchen knife danced in the air as the mutton was sliced into small strips, stacked neatly on the board.

Qin Guan put the sliced mutton into an iron bowl, saying loudly: “Ready!”

Then Zhou Jing and Li Jian began the first step of their business: skewering the meat.

In just one morning, the three boys made several hundred kebabs and put them away pack by pack. As long as they managed to clean and cut the vegetables in the afternoon, they would be ready to start their business.

After lunch, they packed everything up and lied down haphazardly on Qin Guan’s small bed.

Qin Guan said bitterly, “Others make money with no effort at all. Why do we have to be so miserable?”

Li Jian stated the obvious, “We’re useless high school graduates. Some would say we’re not even strong enough for manual work. And now we have our own barbecue stand. That’s already amazing. I told our other classmates from high school and they were so jealous.”

Qin Guan quietly wiped his tears. “It’s because you’ve never read stories about rebirth. People lead lavish lives after being reborn! They have good friends and date beautiful girls. They leave their remote villages to become businessmen. They start up their own companies, buy shares in the stock market and invest in venture capital.”

But he himself was tired like a dog just by setting up a stand, and he had even gotten rejected by the girl he liked. Why was his life so different from others’?

Qin Guan got up. As a strand of hair hung down his face, he realized that he had not cut his hair since the College Entrance Examination and it had gotten rather long.

Qin Guan kicked the two boys on the bed and said, “Let’s go to my cousin’s and have a haircut. We’re now businessmen. We have to pay attention to our image.”

Qin Guan’s cousin was 20 years old. She was a senior hairdresser at a new hair salon downtown, and was trying to learn the latest hairdressing trends in Guangdong Province.

The three boys strolled into the hair salon. There were few people there in the afternoon. Qin Guan’s cousin planned to practice her skills on his hair.

Zhou Jing and Li Jian sat behind his chair and watched Qin Guan’s cousin move the scissors up and down. They took a glance at Qin Guan and found that he was very handsome with his new hairstyle. He would definitely make all his friends jealous.

Suddenly, they heard Qin Guan’s cousin scream, “Whoops, my hands slipped!” Then they saw Qin Guan’s scalp.

“Ha ha!” Instantly the two boys felt satisfied. It was like Buddha himself had granted their wish.

Qin Guan’s cousin tried to correct her mistake, but it only got worse. She did not stop until it was obvious that the hair could not be salvaged.

Qin Guan flicked his hair and looked at his choppy hairstyle in the mirror. It was so uneven that he could not even bear to look at it. Moments ago it had been too long, and now it was all gone. Instead, he had a silly buzzcut that was missing two spots for technical reasons.

He had turned from a Prince Charming into a woodlouse in mere seconds.

All day long, Zhou Jing and Li Jian could not help laughing at Qin Guan, even while he set up the stand in the night market.

Zhou Jing and Li Jian kept laughing while they unloaded kebabs and took vegetables down from the cart. Qin Guan did not care. He grinned and rubbed his short hair.

“Well, this sure must feel cool in the summer.”

Qin Guan lit the charcoals in the brazier, put the oil pan on top of it and prepared the iron plate. It was almost dark and the lights in the night market were on.

More and more people flocked there to have a fun summer night.

Qin Guan took out several kebabs and roasted them on the fire.

Oil dripped onto the burning iron plate from the newly bought mutton, producing puffs of smoke and giving off a sweet smell.

In just a few minutes, several people were already approaching the stand.

“New stand. Let’s try it. Ten mutton kebabs, ten pork kebabs, and two lamb kidneys, please.”

“Wow, there’re even cold noodles! Two more bowls of cold noodles. For here, please.”

The three boys got busy right away.

Qin Guan was in charge of roasting, frying and stirring, Zhou Jing made the cold noodles, and Li Jian cleaned up the stand and served the food and drinks.

As it got darker, business got even better. The three boys were kept busy. They saw customers come and go, and when they finally paused for breath, they realized that it was already late night.

There were fewer and fewer people on the street. Other vendors around them started to pack up to call it a day.

After they cleaned up the last table, the three boys sank down on the stools.

Qin Guan shook the metal bucket that held the beer and filled three glasses. He took one glass and drank it up.

The other two boys emptied their glasses in one gulp as well and belched contentedly. Then they all turned their attention to the moneybag around Qin Guan’s waist.

Qin Guan looked around, took out a big pile of change from the bag, and counted it out with them.

There were over 600 yuan in total. If they deducted the cost, they had earned 300 yuan in one night.

Looking at the big pile of money in front of them, they all gasped in excitement. Their fatigue was suddenly gone.

In 1998, the average salary was around 800 yuan. Now each of them could earn that much in little more than a week.

Qin Guan shook his head. He looked at the two excited boys who were cleaning up the stand and wondered whether he could make sufficient money before the new school term started to get the things he wanted. One of them was a cell phone. The newly released Nokia 5110 looked pretty good. Although it was a bit big, it would look nice in a colored case. The second thing he wanted was a computer. He had to buy one because he would be going to college. The cheapest laptop cost more than 8,000 yuan. It seemed that he could only afford a desktop.

As he rode the tricycle home under the myriads of stars in the sky, Qin Guan thought about his future business and let out a sigh. He had to work hard. He still had a long way to go.

Chapter 6: A Prince Charming With A Choppy Hairstyle

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

Qin Guan had been running his business at the night market for eight days. More and more customers visited his stand, and the three boys had their hands full.

They were too busy to notice how weird their customers behaved.

The stand attracted an increasing number girls. It was a common occurrence for a group of female students to hang out by their stand and drool all over Qin Guan while they had some food. The reason was simple. The day that Qin Guan had started his business, a female student had visited the night market to buy some draft beer for her father, and she had seen this cute boy selling barbecue. She had taken a closer look and recognized him right away.

“Gee, isn’t that the hunk from my high school?”

She had been staring at him for years from a distance, and now she was only half a meter away from him. It was like a dream come true for her.

The girl held onto the plastic bag with the draft beer while she stood by the barbecue stand, staring at Qin Guan to her heart’s content. Her father had hot beer for the first time that night.

When she arrived at home, the girl was still exhilarated. Wanting to share her happiness, she called dozens of her girlfriends to brag about her story of seeing the Prince Charming, which was not going to remain a secret for much longer.

That was how the news had spread. Now every student in the neighborhood knew that the graduate Prince Charming was running a stand in the night market.

Those who lived near the market came to buy barbecue and take a look. They believed that if they didn’t go, they would never get to see the Prince Charming again considering he had already graduated.

The small stand was swarming with girls every day. The Prince Charming still looked cute despite his choppy hairstyle.

When the girls saw that his new hairstyle could do nothing to undermine Qin Guan’s good looks, they all agreed that he definitely had to be the cutest school boy in all high school history.

Many years later, when junior girls would look at some boy on their cell phone screens and say that he was really cute, older girls would eye the boy critically and say, “I bet he wouldn’t still look that cute with a choppy hairstyle. Our high school Prince Charming was way cuter. You must have heard of Qin Guan, blah blah…”

Qin Guan’s moneymaking business ended in very a peculiar way.

A few days before the new school term, Qin Guan lended his barbecue cart to his cousin to help him earn some extra money on the weekends.

Zhou Jing and Li Jian came over to Qin Guan’s house very early to split their profits. They put all their profits of the past month together and carefully counted the money. They were surprised to find out that each of them would get more than 2,000 yuan.

Two thousand yuan was a fortune for any student in 1998.

Zhou Jing and Li Jian were jumping up and down in excitement, but Qin Guan let out a sign.

That money was not enough to buy him a good computer. But considering the fact that computers still ran on Windows 95, Qin Guan felt relieved. He was going to ask his parents to help him buy a cell phone.

On August 29, 1998 was the Chinese Valentine’s Day.

It was a sunny Saturday, and Qin Guan’s parents stuffed the last piece of clothing into their bulging baggage before they went shopping for Qin Guan’s first cell phone.

They arrived at the Zhenhua Commercial Building, the largest shopping mall in the whole city. At that time, the cell phone counter on the first floor was considered an absolute luxury.

Qin Guan knew his way around very well, so he led his parents to the counter. There were few famous cell phone brands in China back in 1998. Nokia, Motorola, Siemens, Ericsson and Mitsubishi. These were all the brands that were available, and they cost quite a lot. Qin Guan and his parents observed every model carefully, but in the end, Qin Guan still decided to buy the Nokia 5110. It had a long standby time, a bright color, and was so shockproof it could even serve as a weapon when necessary.

Taking out the red envelope with the money his parents had given him plus the money he had earned working at the night market, Qin Guan paid over 5000 yuan for a blue Nokia 5110.

Customers in the mall were surprised that the couple would be willing to buy their son such an expensive cell phone when Qin Guan’s mother began to brag, “Well, my son was admitted into the Capital University of Finance and Economics, blah blah… He earned this cell phone through his own hard work during the summer, blah blah.”

Under the admiring gaze of everyone, she was shoved out of the mall by Qin Guan’s father.

On August 29, Qin Guan and his parents dragged their luggage to the train station and got on the train heading to the capital.

After one night’s journey, they arrived safely at the Beijing Station on the next day around noon.

Qin Guan arrived at his university on Sunday, which was peak time for freshmen registration. Qin Guan’s parents went to the Dean’s Office to pay the tuition fees while Qin Guan forced his way to the Student Reception Center to inquire about his dormitory.

When Qin Guan and his parents met up again, they were all sweaty and out of breath.

Together, they headed to Qin Guan’s dorm. Qin Guan put his luggage on his bed while his mother automatically started unpacking. She made the bed, hang up a mosquito net, dusted the closet and set the table. In less than an hour, she had cleaned up the whole room and put everything away.

Looking at the compact dorm room, Qin Guan realized that this was where his battle would begin.

There were six beds in total, three upper and three lower, a wall-mounted TV, a long table, three stools and six metal lockers stacked together, all in pristine 1990s style.

Qin Guan’s bed was the lower one nearest to the door. Mounted on the wall beside it was a telephone. It seemed that he could not open the door and answer the phone at the same time.

Except for the upper bunk above his bed, all the other beds were filled with stuff. Clearly his roommates had checked in earlier.

Qin Guan’s parents looked at the dorm furniture, feeling rather satisfied with the place their son would live from now on.

When he had finished unpacking, Qin Guan decided to visit the restaurant. He would then find a hotel for his parents, and buy a washbasin, a thermos and other essential items.

After Qin Guan had made a hotel reservation for his parents, he returned to his dorm, which was now packed with people. Before Qin Guan could greet anyone, the door was opened again.

Amid clanking and jingling, eight people streamed inside the room. A little boy standing in the middle of the group was shoved inside.

A fashionably dressed woman was the first to approach the empty bed. She touched the bed beam and frowned slightly. Then she took a look at the closet.

The dorm was fully packed. Qin Guan was pushed to the side, but he didn’t feel annoyed. He dragged out a stool from behind a table and sat down to watch along with everybody else.

The woman was giving out instructions. Some people started unpacking the baggage while others began making the bed. She turned to the little boy behind her and said, “Is there nothing good here? Six people have to share one room, and look at how narrow the bed is! You’ve never left home, never even helped with any chores. You’re still a kid. Our home is around here, so how about I go and apply for commuting for you?

The little boy, who was undoubtedly a tsundere, was thinking to himself: “I’m old enough now! How could you say this in front of everyone? I want to die of embarrassment.” He yelled at his mother, “I’m already 16! I’m a college student! You’re driving me nuts! I can handle it by myself!”

“How can you not understand? I’m doing this for your own good. Now I feel terrible,” the little boy’s mother was thinking to herself. Out loud she said, “Okay, calm down. As long as you like it, I’ll be fine.” Then she turned to a woman who looked like a nanny and said, “Hurry up! Put away the clothes and clean the bedstead.”

While he looked on, Qin Guan started to introduce himself to his other roommates.

The boy who slept on the upper bunk near the window was Mu Lejiang from Northwest China, and right under his bed was Ye Dong from Northeast China. Both boys were majoring in International Trade.

Qin Guan liked Mu Lejiang and Ye Dong from the moment he met them. They both had a robust physique and sparse stubble, and appeared to be hearty laughers. Qin Guan knew that they were his kind of people. Only sloppy guys with a lot of body hair were real men.

The two boys whose beds were opposite Qin Guan’s appeared quite gentle. The lower bunk belonged to Wang Lei from the Water Towns of Southern Yangtze River, who wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and had a soft voice. He and Qin Guan were in the same Accounting class.

The upper bunk belonged to Li Jie, a Cantonese boy from the Department of Economics and Management. Short though he was, he seemed capable and smart.

The three boys were talking animatedly when they saw that all the little boy’s stuff had been cleaned up.

The boy’s mother came over and told Qin Guan, “Oh, so you’re another one of Xiaoyang’s schoolmates. You must have been admitted to the Beijing Film Academy.”

The little boy’s mother held Qin Guan’s hands and observed him for quite a while. Qin Guan felt puzzled. Behind him, Wang Lei could not help laughing out loud.

Perhaps feeling that she had gone a bit too far, the boy’s mother hastily let go of Qin Guan’s hands. She dragged the little boy to the front and said, “Xiaoyang is younger than you. Since you will all be living in the same dorm, would you please help take care of him and forgive him any mistakes he makes?”

Even the most careless of parents loved and planned for their kids.

Xiaoyang’s roommates all promised her politely. Then Xiaoyang insisted that his family leave. When they did, Xiaoyang sank onto a stool and wiped his sweat, saying, “I’m Liu Xiaoyang from Beijing. I turned sixteen this year.”

Liu Xiaoyang was truly younger than his roommates. He was fairly smug because he had been skipping grades since primary school, and he was currently majoring in Finance at the Capital University of Finance and Economics. Apparently his goal was to become a part of the social elite.

Their dorm consisted of two sloppy guys, an aspiring socialite, two gentlemen, and a sloppy handsome boy. They were all easy-going and quickly felt right at home with each other after spending some time talking and laughing. Noticing that it was almost dark, the six boys decided to have their first dinner party.

TBC...
Source: Rebirth: How A Loser Became A Prince Charming - NovelSprout.com

Chapter 7: Buying A House in Beijing

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

Qin Guan went out of his dorm. He was planning on buying an EasyOwn phone number at the convenience store downstairs. Only when he got to the store did he realize what year it was. At that date in time, phone numbers were sold on consignment, not at such small stores.

To buy a phone number, he had to register at a China Mobile business hall. Qin Guan let out a sigh.

Having been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Liu Xiaoyang felt frustrated. How could he forget to buy a cellphone? It would make his life much more convenient.

Qin Guan called his parents from a public telephone and told them that everything was settled and there was nothing to worry about. He said he would sleep in his dorm that night and visit the hotel the next morning.

Qin Guan’s roommates had already decided where to have dinner before Qin Guan had finished his call. Diagonally across their university, there was a street where many roadside snack booths were located. It was a good place to have barbecue. They went to the street and found that the booths had just been set up. There were various kinds of food, including kebab, cold noodles, boiled pork giblets with baked wheaten paste, and beef noodles. The boys went up to a kebab booth and ordered 100 kebabs and five draft beers. Liu Xiaoyang was not allowed to have draft beer because he was still underage, so he did not have to bring his ID card.

Liu Xiaoyang wanted to have some beer, but his protests were suppressed by his roommates. While they were waiting for their kebabs to be served, Ye Dong and Mu Lejiang took out two packs of cigars from their pockets and passed them to their other three roommates, ignoring Liu Xiaoyang. Feeling left out again, Liu Xiaoyang started to get pissed off. He yelled, “What about me? Why can’t I have one?” Ye Dong glanced at him scornfully and said, “Grow some pubes first.”

Qin Guan spat out his beer with a puff. “This one’s certainly got a personality! I like that!” Qin Guan and Wang Lei declined the cigars, but Li Jie took one.

Ye Dong took a deep drag on his cigar. He was suddenly touched out of nowhere and said, “You won’t believe it, but I was actually a poor student. I was very naughty in junior high school. I never studied hard and I was always getting into fights with others. All bad boys would smoke at the time. Later on, I was disqualified from high school. My dad took two bottles of wine to beg the help of one of his primary school classmates, who happened to be my high school principal. He hoped that I would get to go to high school, even if we had to pay extra money. When he got back home, I cried. F*ck! He had never begged anyone for help before, but he’d done that for me. At the time, I was thinking that I had to make something out of my life so my dad would never have to beg anyone’s help again.” Ye Dong took another drag and puffed out a smoking ring.

“When I was admitted into this university, my dad had tears in his eyes. Seeing him so happy, I felt that all my hard work in high school had finally paid off.”

The boys did not speak. Their hearts felt heavy. The owner served them their kebabs. Ye Dong pounded his hand on the table and said, “Let’s drop it and have dinner.”

Leaving courtesy aside, each of the boys grabbed a handful of kebabs.

Qin Guan had a bite and found that they were truly yummy. Kebabs and roasted lamb’s kidneys were one of Beijing’s local specialties.

A whole lamb’s kidney was cross cut down the middle and both sides were roasted till they turned brown. Wrapped in thick mutton fat, the kidneys tasted delicious.

The boys were too busy eating to talk. More than 100 kebabs were eaten in a flash.

Qin Guan wondered why Li Jie, a thin little boy from South China, was such a heavy smoker. He asked Li Jie about it.

Li Jie did not mind his asking and he replied, “My family runs a small store and I used to be the keeper. Smoking is a must in business, you know.”

Li Jie’s Mandarin was a big headache for all his roommates. They knew that southerners were bad at learning languages though, so they tried their best to understand his Cantonese Mandarin.

It finally hit Qin Guan that he was actually the most mysterious of his roommates. He was being too deceptive. He just sat down and kept silent, looking like the son of an aristocratic family. His silliness would no longer remain a secret if he behaved or talked normally. It would make for a very funny contrast.

This was the third time Qin Guan had to explain to his roommates that he was really the biological son of his parents, and that there was no chance that he had been abandoned at birth by an aristocratic family. He was at a loss because of his roommates’ imagination.

Bonding over food was the best way to build a friendship. After the meal, they began to pal around with each other. In order to get to know each other easier, they lined up by age.

The oldest one was Ye Dong, the wild boy from Northeast China, who was very much like a bandit leader.

The second oldest turned out to be Qin Guan. Although he did not like being the second oldest boy in his dorm, he could do nothing about it. He could not change his age.

The third oldest was Mu Lejiang, a rough boy from Northwest China. He had denied the rumor that kids went to school by camel in his hometown the moment he had met his roommates.

The fourth oldest was Wang Lei, a man of letters from the South of the Yangtze River. Qin Guan found that Wang Lei talked the least, but he looked very smart. Devious was the best word to describe him.

The fifth oldest was Li Jie, a small shrewd businessman from Guangdong Province, whose ultimate goal was to achieve academic excellence and turn his family-run store into a listed company.

The youngest one was Liu Xiaoyang, a rich tsundere local who was difficult to deal with, indicating that his status in the dorm would be as low as his age rank among his roommates.

After wining and dining, the boys returned to their dorm. They took a quick shower, turned off the lights and went to bed.

Qin Guan lay in his bed in the dark. His thoughts drifted to his past life. By this time, he had been admitted to a technical college. His rough looks had made people think he had retaken his courses many times. Usually, most of the students in a technical college were taciturn boys who were immersed in their own world. Qin Guan had lived in the same dorm for four years, but he had talked very little with his roommates.

Now, he’d been admitted to one of the best universities of finance and economics. Students majoring in finance eventually became articulate, whether they had that inclination or acquired the ability by hard work. Qin Guan had a lot to talk about with his roommates and he believed that was a good start.

The next morning, he got up early according to his timetable. He picked up a towel and went to the washroom.

Yes, it was a washroom. At the time, dorms were not equipped with a private bathroom, so there was a public washroom on every floor.

The row of taps above the long washing sink looked quite spectacular.

Facing the sink, Qin Guan squeezed some toothpaste out and started brushing his teeth. While he brushed, he thought about his plan for the day. His courses would officially begin tomorrow. His parents were staying in Beijing for a very short period of time and would go back home that night.

Qin Guan’s plan was quite tight. Thinking of this, he spat the foam out of his mouth. He had to be quick and go meet his parents early.

Qin Guan walked out of the washroom and went back to his dorm. It was quiet there as all his roommates were still asleep. He walked on tiptoe and put away his toiletries. Then he closed the door carefully, went downstairs and headed for the canteen.

Inexpensiveness was the best characteristic of university canteens in 1998. Qin Guan arrived there very early. The senior cooks had hardly opened the sales window when Qin Guan passed his meal ticket to them.

The second canteen was very big. There were two metal buckets in the hall. The workers opened the lid and a blast of hot air floated up. This was the free soup served by the canteen. When finishing the meal, students could take the ladle and scoop some up for themselves. Qin Guan bought three standard breakfasts: soya-bean milk, deep fried dough sticks and tea-boiled eggs. It only cost him 3.6 yuan in total with a free takeout plastic bag. Qin Guan put his breakfast into the bag and strolled toward the hotel where his parents were staying.

No four-star hotel had yet been built near the Capital University of Finance and Economics. There were only some small bungalows in the area and the hotel where Qin Guan’s parents were staying, which was the nearest one to the University. It was humble, but clean enough.

After breakfast, Qin Guan took his parents to Xizhimen, just like they had planned earlier. Seated at the second ring of Beijing, it was only three kilometers away from his University and the first stop of the day.

There were not many cars on the street. Yellow minibuses came and went. You always needed to pay the driver 10 yuan, regardless of the mileage.

They saw no high-rises on both sides of the street. Residential quarters here were all six-storey high. Qin Guan knew his way around well and led his parents to the sales office.

At the time, Beijing was going through an era of a large-scale development. The city’s population was not soaring and migrant workers had not swarmed in yet.

People could be allocated a house by their employers and commodity houses were still an unfamiliar concept for them. Beijingers did not want to buy more houses because they already had a free house to live in.

Qin Guan’s parents though did not hesitate in buying one. Perhaps it was because they were not locals and owned no house there, but they did not reject Qin Guan’s proposal to buy a house near his University.

They took a look at all the houses for sale and excluded high-end flats and prism high-rise buildings out of their purchase plan.

Chapter 8: Military Training

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

In the end, they ruled out all the houses except the ones in the earlier stages of construction, where the workers were still building the foundation, and the first floor had not been built yet. All the sales manager could provide was a drawing of the structure of the houses.

Qin Guan was still thrilled. He knew this residential block would be the best block in the neighborhood. First, it was at a good location, right between the Capital University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) and Xizhimen, and the same distance from the subway and the University. Secondly, the houses there were affordable. Houses under construction were usually less popular than existing ones, and since it was off season, the sales manager promised that they could get a five percent discount off the original price if they paid the deposit on site. Third, with a stroke of luck, Qin Guan knew that this residential block would prove to be the most cost-effective one in the neighborhood, and would be assigned as school district housing.

Houses there cost 1,800 yuan per square meter. Qin Guan picked a two-bedroom apartment facing south, which would allow more sunlight and fresh air in. The building was in the center of the block, away from the street, providing a quiet environment. The seventy-square-meter apartment cost little more than a hundred thousand yuan. Qin Guan felt powerless as his mom spent all their savings on it.

“It’s incredibly cheap! We should buy more! This is really worth it, even if I have to make monthly loan payments.” Whatever he said though, his parents would not agree to him taking out a loan.

“This boy is too naughty! What is he going to do with so many apartments? It’s not like apartments can multiply.” Having hardly ever been in debt, Qin Guan’s parents would never agree to getting a bank loan to buy more apartments.

They felt quite uncomfortable just at the thought of Qin Guan having to borrow money from the government.

With a big smile, the sales manager prepared the house-purchasing contract for them and informed them that they would not get the property deed until the construction was completed.

Undoubtedly, Qin Guan’s name would be on the deed as the owner of the apartment. After all, he was the one who was going to live in Beijing. His parents did not want to come all that way just to help keep the apartment clean for him.

Qin Guan felt a little relieved after signing the contract. Perhaps he would not be the world’s richest man, but he had to at least buy an apartment, otherwise he would be too embarrassed to say that he had been reborn.

Qin Guan’s next plan was to help his parents realize their dream in visiting to Beijing: to visit Tiananmen Square and to go to the busiest shopping street. Qin Guan had inherited his foodie attitude from his parents. After paying tribute to Chairman Mao with them, he took a cab to Hepingmen where Quanjude, the most famous roast duck restaurant, had its headquarters. At the time, Quanjude was such a household name that even little boys from small towns like Qin Guan’s yearned to eat there.

Qin Guan and his parents went to Quanjude and had a duck feast.

The duck there was carefully selected and smoked using special fruitwood. The senior chef skillfully handled the duck and put it in order.

There were pancakes, cucumbers, white onions and roast duck sauce. Qin Guan dipped the duck with the skin into the sauce and held it with a pancake. Adding some sliced onions and cucumbers, he wrapped the pancake up and ate it. He tasted the crisp duck skin, the tender meat and the sweet sauce. What a delicacy it was…

After having a full meal, Qin Guan and his parents moved on to their next stop, Wangfujing.

Wangfujing was home to several old, famous shops, but the goods there were not cost-effective. The shops aimed mainly at tourists.

Qin Guan tried to persuade his mom not to shop there, but he failed, so all he could do was join her in bargaining. Sales assistants in shopping malls were too difficult to deal with, unless one was a self-employed businessman, but Qin Guan decided to give it a shot anyway.

Wangfujing was like a zoo and Qin Guan’s bargaining made the owners gnash their teeth. In the end, his mom bought a lot of quality goods at low prices.

She could not stop buying things, and she did even more shopping later in the company of her husband and son.

When Qin Guan saw off his parents at the train station, he realized that they had bought a whole suitcase of souvenirs. Qin Guan’s parents felt both worried and relieved. They left Beijing by train as Qin Guan waved them goodbye.

The military training began on September 1st. After a running exercise in the sports stadium, Qin Guan woke up his five roommates, and together they went down to the dining hall to have breakfast.

His roommates were puzzled. They did not know why Qin Guan had woken them up so early to eat. Qin Guan pretended to be wise as he said, “You’ll thank me later.”

His roommates all gave him the finger and shrugged off his uprightness. After breakfast, they all went to their respective classrooms.

Together, Wang Lei and Qin Guan arrived at the classroom for Class 1 of the Accounting Major. As they walked, Wang Lei suddenly told Qin Guan, “Does that mean that we can’t eat during military training?” Qin Guan was impressed by Wang Lei’s IQ. He should not have underestimated the boy with the golden glasses.

Qin Wang nodded and replied, “No. But I guess it depends on whether we still have the strength or mood to satisfy our appetite by then.” Upon hearing that, Wang Lei pushed his glasses up and said, “I’ve got a lot of high-calorie food in my luggage.”

Once again, Qin Guan was impressed by Wang Lei. Feeling deep admiration, Qin Guan walked into the classroom with him.

Their classmates were already there. There were twenty three girls and seven boys in the class.

When the two boys sat down, Qin Guan found himself feeling like a giant among dwarfs. It made sense that the girls would outnumber the boys in an accounting class, but why did all the other boys look so thin and short?

Since the new school term had begun, Qin Guan had grown two centimeters and was now 183 centimeters tall. After exercising for half a term, his muscles had also started to get toned. He was no longer as skinny as he had used to be.

Now he had the proper body fat percentage and sufficient muscles that didn’t make him look too strong or too weak. Combined with his broad shoulders and slim waist, his figure formed a perfect inverted triangle, his narrow hips and long legs making him look like a star.

As he sat in the middle of the classroom, he was like a big lightbulb attracting everyone’s attention. It was not just the girls. The boys also had their eyes focused on him.

They were all gnashing their teeth. They had heard that many girls majored in Accounting, and that was why they had chosen the major themselves. Now that Qin Guan had showed up though, they felt like wolves approaching a flock of sheep, only to find a dragon among them. How could they get along with it? They’d have to set up a trap for it.

Qin Guan was feeling quite uncomfortable with everyone staring at him. Finally, their counselor walked into the classroom and did a roll call. Seeing that everyone in his class was present, he led them to the bus stop near the sports stadium.

The bus moved slowly out of the main entrance, heading for the military training area in the suburbs.

After arriving at the garrison military camp near the border, the counselor handed the troops over to the instructors in charge of the military training. The students were divided into girls and boys and taken away separately.

There were less than ten boys in the Department of Accounting, so the boys from two classes had to be grouped into one team.

The boys and girls were led to their dormitories by their instructors. The moment they put down their luggage, they were forced to go to the sports stadium. Before they could even take a break, their first-day training had begun. They had to remain standing.

Although it was September, there was still a spell of hot weather in Beijing at the beginning of autumn. As they were exposed to the scorching sun, everyone felt dizzy and sleepy.

When lunchtime came around, Wang Lei understood why Qin Guan had asked them to eat as much as possible in the morning. Being dizzy had made them thirsty and caused them to lose all appetite for food.

Qin Guan bought some food and stuffed it into his mouth desperately. He knew that if he ate nothing, he would be starving in the afternoon.

After a whole day’s training, the boys threw themselves onto their beds and started snoring loudly. The first day of their military training was over.

On the second day, their task was to learn how to make their beds. They had to make them as square as tofu. Anyone who failed to do so would be punished. They would get penalty points, but most importantly, they would have to do the cleaning while everyone else was taking a break. No one wanted to have to do that.

The third day’s task was official standing training. As the saying goes, the body is the capital of revolution. This was especially true for Qin Guan. While all the boys stood there awkwardly, he was standing straight like a tree. The instructor praised him and nominated him as the acting leader of the team.

By now, Qin Guan’s classmates had been convinced that there was more to him than just his good looks. He was standing there firmly under the scorching sun, a true role model for everyone.

Yet meanwhile, Qin Guan was thinking, “Will the lunch in the canteen still taste as bad? I haven’t washed my underwear in two days.” His mind was wandering aimlessly.

Almost all the instructors got used to inviting this muscular, handsome boy to demonstrate the standard military standing posture for their teams. Qin Guan was like a giant panda on an international show. He was asked by all the instructors to demonstrate the whole day.

Their next training was fierce military boxing. Once again, the instructor was surprised to find that Qin Guan had learned it quickly and could do it perfectly, given only a few instructions.

By a stroke of luck, Qin Guan’s extraordinary memory had helped him do military boxing as perfectly as he had remembered the exam answers. He found that with his amazing memory, he could replay his instructor’s boxing moves in his mind over and over again, so he was able to adjust his body and muscles accordingly. In the end, he could perfectly imitate the instructor’s every move. That was why Qin Guan had done so well in boxing without any difficulty.

The firearms training was the last task for the freshmen, suggesting that the military training was about to end. The army instructor went up to Qin Guan and had a friendly, in-depth conversation with him.

The instructor fully believed that Qin Guan could not achieve his full potential if he studied accounting, and he told him that he was welcome to join the army.

Hearing the man’s unreasonable suggestion, Qin Guan’s counselor replied calmly, “Only in the entertainment industry could Qin Guan achieve his real potential.”

The instructor was suddenly at a loss for words. He had been thoroughly discredited and felt deeply sorry for Qin Guan.

At the end of September, the students returned to the CUFE campus like a group of African refugees.

Qin Guan’s skin had not changed too much, except for a slight redness. All the girls were jealous of his fair skin, but they had finally accepted that there were some people that were just born beautiful.

Qin Guan had believed bronze to be the right skin color for a rough man, but the tanning results had proved him wrong. Where was his masculine appearance? His fair skin only made him look like a toy boy.

Qin Guan and his roommates went back to their dorm room. Their new textbooks and meal cards had been handed out, and they were now waiting for the National Day Holiday, knowing that their college life had officially begun.

Everyone got seven days off during the National Day Holiday. Being a Beijinger, Liu Xiaoyang was dragged back home by his mom after he failed to protest.

The hometowns of the other five boys were all too far away from Beijing. Seven days off was not enough time for them to enjoy a good holiday at home since they would have to spend half the holiday travelling.

Qin Guan had bought a used variable speed bicycle before the holiday. He rode the long way to Tsinghua University, hoping to surprise Cong Nianwei, only to find that she was still in the middle of her military training. Disappointed, he rode back to his own campus and got laughed at by his roommates.

Smart as Qin Guan was, when it came to his relationship, he acted like just as big of an idiot as everyone else.

However, depression seldom brought down Qin Guan, who was very careless and insensitive. The National Day Holiday was coming and he had a lot to do. He was not one to remain idle, so he began to put into action his moneymaking plan.

TBC...
Source: Rebirth: How A Loser Became A Prince Charming - NovelSprout.com

Chapter 9: The Troublesome Student

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

Qin Guan had thought that he could pool the wisdom and help of his roommates for the holiday discussion, but it turned out that they all had their own plans.

Ye Dong, the oldest boy, would be busy with his work at the Students’ Union. Recently, he had gotten to know the Secretary of the Liaison Department. As an ambitious young man, Ye Dong was determined to dedicate himself to servicing his university.

Mu Lejiang, the third oldest boy, had already purchased a complete set of field equipment and joined the Camping Society. He was ready to follow the path of his forerunners and travel around China.

Li Jie, the fifth oldest, had made four dinner appointments with his fellow townsmen, planning to set up his own fellow countrymen association.

Wang Lei, the fourth oldest, smiled and told Qin Guan, “I’ll join you. I have no plans.”

“How can you have no plans, Wang Lei? I’d hoped for your wisdom and help!”

Qin Guan knew he had to make the plan himself. He thought over what he could do and figured out a plan. To carry it out, he had to be easy to reach, so he took the time to buy an EasyOwn SIM card at Xizhimen. He did not care about the cell phone number, so it only cost him 80 yuan.

Qin Guan memorized the phone number and asked Wang Lei to write an ad. The ad said: “Fierce Grade 3 of High School is approaching. Wanna help your kid win from the starting line? Wanna provide them with a first-hand examination experience? Hire a top student from the Capital University of Finance and Economics with 688 in the College Entrance Examination. Excel at the exam and bring your triumphant kid home!” Qin Guan had actually gotten 689 in the College Entrance Examination, but he deducted one point because 6 and 8 were both considered lucky numbers in China.

Under the curious gaze of the staff at the printing agency, Wang Lei made dozens of fliers and went to the entrance of the High School Affiliated to the Capital University of Finance and Economics.

Yes. That was Qin Guan’s plan. He had decided to do some tutoring, so he began to publicize his business before the holiday.

When Wang Lei arrived at the entrance of the university, he saw Qin Guan surrounded by parents and talking about his tutoring classes excitedly.

By the time he passed the fliers to Qin Guan, the latter had already convinced two parents to register their kids for his classes.

The two boys handed out all the fliers in just one morning, and shared the registration fees. The two of them would tutor three students.

It occurred to Wang Lei that Qin Guan was crystal clear about the tutoring business. At the time, tutoring had not become a corporate chain business yet. Usually, college students either found a tutor on their own during their spare time, or sought help from small part-time agencies. Tutoring fees ranged from 15 to 20 yuan per hour, yet Qin Guan had charged the parents 25 yuan per hour. That was a real surprise.

At first, Wang Lei had just decided to give it a shot because he had nothing to do during the holiday. He had not expected to get such a high fee for tutoring.

The two boys shared the tutoring tasks. They were busy for six days during the holiday. They had done a great job. Every day they had four hours of tutoring. They went to two different houses, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The students all lived nearby. This way, they were able to earn nearly 100 yuan a day. Tutoring was easy for them. Plus, they still had time for themselves.

Wang Lei was thrilled to discover that six days of tutoring could earn him a month and a half’s living expenses. It seemed that he had underestimated Qin Guan.

While the two boys were making their schedule for the class, their other roommates heard the news. They were all awfully regretful. Who’d have known that it would be so easy for students to earn money? If they had, they wouldn’t have made other plans.

Qin Guan and Wang Lei started tutoring as scheduled. The parents had initially just wanted to give them a shot, but they were quite satisfied with the two tutors. They had not spend their money in vain after all.

As top students of CUFE, Qin Guan and Wang Lei had a good knowledge of high school subjects and were both patient enough with their students.

The holiday was just coming to an end, when Qin Guan got a phone call from a mother living in the neighborhood. She had seen Qin Guan’s flier on the school bulletin board. However, she told Qin Guan that her kid was not attending the High School Affiliated to CUFE, but the Tiesan High School of Xicheng, one of the most notorious high schools in Beijing.

The mother asked Qin Guan to tutor her kid at her house in the evenings. Her house was close to CUFE and her kid just needed two-hours of tutoring for a certain period. She was not willing to talk too much about her kid on the phone. Instead, she invited Qin Guan to her house. “Come over and you won’t be sorry,” were the last words Qin Guan heard on the phone, which was enough by itself to convince him to pay a visit.

After finishing his tutoring classes for the day, Qin Guan received deep gratitude from his students. He was feeling delighted as he rode his second-hand bicycle to the residential block nearby.

A graceful woman opened the door. She seemed surprised to discover that the tutor was so young. She took a look at the boy’s appearance. She seemed to have believed that all top students were ugly.

As soon as Qin Guan sat down, he heard a cracking noise from another room. “Mom, let me out! I’ve promised my classmate to go shopping with her!”

The mother sighed and told Qin Guan, “I know I’m being rude, but I was only wondering if you could tutor my daughter. I have no other requests. I just want you to make her focus back on her studies.” Tears shined in her eyes as she added, “She used to be such a good girl, but since she started going to Santie High School, she has been hanging out with rascals and staying out late. Her teachers don’t care about that sort of things, and she doesn’t listen to me. I have to try every way I can.”

Qin Guan felt scared. He realized this girl would be hard to deal with, so he decided to turn the woman down.

The mother seemed to guess his answer, and said, “If you’d give it a try, I’ll pay you 50 yuan an hour, no matter the outcome. Just getting her to stay at home instead of fooling around will be good enough for me. I don’t expect her to be able to go to college someday. As long as you can come and tutor her every weekend, you’ll get an extra bonus of 500 yuan for half the term. What do you say?”

“Yes, absolutely!” Qin Guan was thrilled. “Please don’t worry. I’ll take care of it,” he answered heroically. Qin Guan would never refuse such a good deal, but he could not guarantee that the girl would make any progress.

The mother looked moved as she took Qin Guan to a room that was locked from the outside. Banging noises were coming from the inside.

When the woman opened the door, Qin Guan saw a girl that looked like an angry bird. He could tell that she was pissed off. She was about to start yelling at her mom when she noticed Qin Guan standing behind her. All of a sudden, the girl’s expression became dumbfounded. She stood by the door stupefied as her mom and Qin Guan entered the room.

The mother asked Qin Guan to take a seat and said to her numb daughter, “Jiajia, what are you doing? Come and say hello to Mr. Qin. He is your new tutor.”

Hearing her mom, the girl turned her head and stared at Qin Guan. Without blinking, she shuffled to her bed and fixed her eyes on the young man in front of her.

The mother went on, “Mr. Qin is a top student at CUFE. I’ve asked him to help you with your studies, so you need to be good student…”

Fed up with her mom’s chattering, the girl waved her hand and said, “Got it! I’ll be good!”

The mother felt gratified. Turning to Qin Guan, she said, “It’s still early. How would you feel about starting today?”

Qin Guan got up and replied politely, “No problem. I’ll try and see how well she studies right now.”

The mother was quite pleased. She got up and left the room to avoid disturbing Qin Guan’s lesson.

With mixed feelings, Qin Guan turned back to the girl, who was looking him up and down from the bed. No wonder she looked like an angry bird. She was undoubtedly difficult to deal with.

Qin Guan noticed that the girl had red hair. Her peers seldom had their hair died at the time. Smart Cantonese hairstyles had not gained popularity in Beijing yet, so her hair looked truly shocking to him. Her ripped jeans, white sneakers, nose ring and tattoos reflected her trendy personality, which did not match her age at all. Qin Guan sighed to himself. He was already regretting accepting the job.

The girl was unaware of Qin Guan’s thoughts as she poked his arm and said, “Hey, I’m Huang Jiajia. What’s your name?”

Qin Guan picked up the textbook from the desk. It was so brand new, its sharp edge could give him a paper cut.

“I’m Qin Guan. From now on, I will come and tutor you every weekend in the evening for two hours. Are you okay with that?”

Huang Jiajia was thrilled. She had become obsessed with her cute young tutor. “He’s so cute and his voice is so charming. I love him so much!”

Hearing what Qin Guan had said, Huang Jiajia bounced up from the bed. She grabbed a chair and sat down close to Qin Guan.

“Mr. Qin, what’s so interesting about that book? Come and chat with me. Is it true that you’re a student at CUFE? Where are you from?” As she talked, she moved closer to Qin Guan.

Qin Guan was not attracted by the pretty young girl in front of him. He was still thinking of how he could help her get back on track.

“Let’s see how well you’re doing at school.” Ignoring the girl’s pretty face, Qin Guan opened the book and turned to page one.

“Phew!” Huang Jiajia looked bored as she went back to her bed. Looking at Qin Guan, she sneered, “Who likes studying? I hate books! They’re nonsense!”

Qin Guan was thinking of how he could persuade this troublesome young girl to study, while Huang Jiajia was thinking to herself: “My tutor is so handsome and romantic. He is gentle and well-cultivated. If I give up studying and lose all ambition, he’ll be heartbroken! His melancholy eyes betray his sadness about my future. He must be really upset to see such a beautiful young girl go astray. Fine, I’ll study for his sake.”

That was a sudden change of heart, if there ever was one.

Chapter 10: Cong Nianwei’s Suitor at Tsinghua University

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

Qin Guan was still thinking about what strategies he could use when Huang Jiajia grinned and went back to her seat, saying, “Okay. You poor thing, I’ll be a good student, alright? But to be frank, I’m really bad at studying. You can use any method you like.”

“Ah…” Qin Guan opened his mouth like an idiot. “I haven’t tried any of my strategies. This girl changed attitude too fast. Anyway, it’s good that she’s willing to learn something.”

Qin Guan took down all the high school textbooks from her bookcase and prepared a quiz for her. When he calculated the results, he fell into a strange silence again.

The girl had scored 3 out of 100 in Math by getting one multiple choice question right. She had probably just guessed it instead of calculating it herself. In Chinese, she had scored 70 marks, which was good enough for her to pass. In English, she had gotten a 50, which had been way out of Qin Guan’s expectations. He had thought that she would not even get one exercise right. Last but not least, she had scored 12 in both Physics and Chemistry.

Qin Guan let out a sigh. He knew he had a long way to go.

He stood up and smiled at Huang Jiajia. “Today was just about getting to know you. I think I have some basic knowledge of you now. I’ll come after dinner next Saturday, alright? I’ll make a plan for you, and we’ll study together according to that plan.”

Huang Jiajia was still obsessed with the smile Qin Guan had just given her. She nodded numbly as she showed him out.

Jiajia’s mother was sitting restlessly in the living room. When she saw Qin Guan and her daughter come out, she ran up to them right away.

Qin Guan smiled at the mother and said, “Let’s call it a day. I’ve got some knowledge about Huang Jiajia now. I’ll come for class next Saturday.”

Seeing that her daughter was not protesting, the mother replied delightedly, “Okay! See you then!” She picked up 100 yuan from the table and gave it to Qin Guan. “This is for you. Thank you, Mr. Qin. Please take good care of Jiajia.”

Qin Guan accepted the money. He believed he deserved as much considering what a handful this student was.

Under the loving gaze of the mother, Qin Guan rode his bicycle away, heading back to his dorm. The next day, he would take the day off to do some shopping. By then, the new term would officially begin.

What was the best choice for an undergraduate? Some would say that it was single life, while others would insist that it was fervent love. They were both wrong. Single life and fervent love were both just illusions. The best choice was studying hard!

Freshmen had lots of basic common courses as well as a few specialized ones. Thanks to Qin Guan’s amazing memory, these courses were a piece of cake for him. He was reviewing his lessons while the lecturer was teaching so that he did not have to review them again after the class. Qin Guan did not allow himself to waste any time. He had to pass the College English Test-Band 4 (CET 4) in advance, or he would feel sorry for himself. He had been reborn after all.

Qin Guan planned to pass the CET 4 during that term. The biggest difference between high school English and college English lay in the vocabulary, but memorizing English words was very easy for him.

Qin Guan had made a plan to get his life back on track. He had sat down and thought about his life. “It seems that I forgot something. Oh, yes. It’s been more than half a month since the new school term began. I forgot to meet Cong Nianwei. Is there a chance that she has become some other guy’s girlfriend by now?”

Qin Guan hastened to check his timetable. He realized that he had no class in the afternoon. Why wait then? “Let’s go! Tsinghua University, I’m coming!”

It was October. During that time of the year, Beijing always enjoyed a clear sky and crisp wind. A speeding bicycle was seen on Tsinghua Road. The breeze blew up the rider’s white jacket, revealing his black vest. The rider’s bright smile brought out vigor and liveliness in everyone walking down the road.

Qin Guan arrived at Tsinghua University and parked his bicycle. He asked about Cong Nianwei and was told that she was having class at the lecture hall.

Qin Guan did not mind waiting as long as he could see her. He locked his bicycle and lay on the stone bench in front of the lecture building. He felt a gentle breeze blowing on his face. It was such a nice afternoon that he slowly fell asleep.

Qin Guan had no idea how long he had been sleeping, when he was suddenly woken up by someone. Through the daze of sleep, he sat up and tried to recognize the vague image in front of him. It seemed familiar. He blinked and fixed his eyes on the image again, realizing that it was Cong Nianwei.

Qin Guan stood up in a hurry. He wiped the corners of his mouth to make sure that he had not been drooling. That was good. “Is your class over?” he stammered.

Cong Nianwei stared at him with her big eyes. She looked surprised as she said, “Why did you sleep on the bench?”

Qin Guan was about to reply when his instinct warned him. He looked around and saw a boy and a girl standing behind Cong Nianwei.

He pretended that nothing was on his mind as he replied, “I came here to see you. I heard that you were having a class, so I waited here and ended up falling asleep.”

Hearing that, the girl behind Cong Nianwei burst into laughter. Cong Nianwei looked a little angry and embarrassed. She took a glance at Qin Guan and then turned her to the girl, “This is Qin Guan. He’s my high school classmate.”

The girl looked as if she knew everything and needed no further explanation. She said, “Right. High school… classmate.”

Despite feeling ridiculed, Qin Guan gave out a silly laugh. They were having a good time when suddenly a mistimed voice rang out behind Cong Nianwei, “Cong Nianwei is always so kind to everyone, even to her high school classmates.”

Cong Nianwei frowned, but said nothing. The girl behind her unpleasantly took a step forward. She tucked her arm into Cong Nianwei’s, trying to avoid the boy.

Qin Guan looked at him. His first impression of the boy was very bad. As he stood behind Cong Nianwei, his arrogance made Qin Guan feel quite uncomfortable.

The two boys looked straight at each other, as if there were sparks in their eyes.

The boy, who was named Chi Hailin, thought that this was not the most auspicious day for him. Having been an unusually lucky boy since a very young age, he had lived up to everyone’s expectations by being admitted into Tsinghua University, one of the best universities in China. He had been an honor roll student and had been often praised by his teachers, but he had never showed any interest in any girls wearing glasses during his high school days. He had believed that those girls were complete nerds and that he would meet his ideal girl in the near future. From the first time he had seen Cong Nianwei after going to college, Chi Hailin had been confident that he had finally found his girl. The guy currently standing between him and his girl was detestable.

Chi Hailin thought this boy was very tall. “He must be over 180 cm.” He looked at himself and realized he was at least 20 cm shorter than him. What’s more, the boy’s good figure, broad shoulders and long legs were much more pleasant looking than his own short legs. Chi Hailin turned his eyes to Qin Guan’s face. “Gee! What a handsome face! This guy has perfect eyebrows, deep eyes and a Roman nose. He’s just like a movie star! Sh*t!” Instantly, Chi Hailin felt much smaller than the guy standing in front of him.

Noticing Chi Hailin’s facial expression, the girl beside Cong Nianwei could not help laughing out loud. “Chi Hailin, are you having a facial paralysis? It seems like you’re having an early age stroke. You’re truly weak.”

Qin Guan glanced at the girl with gratitude and secretly gave her a thumbs up.

Hearing the girl’s insult, Chi Hailin felt outraged. “Liu Chang, can’t you be a little nicer?” He pointed at Qin Guan’s face and said, “We’re both college students, so we should not judge a book by its cover.” Then he added maliciously, “Instead of idling away in other universities, why don’t you read some more and study harder?”

Chi Hailin believed his words were forceful enough to destroy this potential rival. Cong Nianwei had been feeling awkward, but hearing what Chi Hailin had said, she smiled and told the two boys, “Let me introduce you guys. Qin Guan is my high school classmate studying at CUFE. By the way, don’t you have class in the afternoon, Qin Guan?”

Seeing that Cong Nianwei was asking about him, Qin Guan immediately went closer to her and said in a friendly manner, “No, I don’t. I haven’t seen you for months, so I couldn’t concentrate enough to study.”

Cong Nianwei looked a little annoyed as she replied, “Come off it! I haven’t agreed to being your girlfriend.”

Qin Guan did not get mad. He walked forward with the two girls, the three of them talking and laughing.

Chi Hailin had gone numb upon hearing about CUFE. He was aware that Qin Guan was superior to him in looks and stature, but he had thought that he at least had a better educational background. However, it turned out that they were both top students. He felt discouraged. As he watched Qin Guan walk away, he thought to himself, “I have a bright future ahead of me. When I succeed in my career, I’ll be able to compete with you again.” Upset as he was, he walked back to his dorm.

As they were walking, Liu Chang said that she had some matter to attend to and left. Before she did, she winked at Qin Guan and whispered, “Do it!”

After Chi Hailin and Liu Chang had left, Qin Guan unlocked his bicycle and took a walk with Cong Nianwei along the road on the Tsinghua University campus. They watched the gentle breeze blow the willow twigs by the roadside. Neither of them talked. They were too busy enjoying the nice, peaceful afternoon.

In the evening, Qin Guan unabashedly free loaded at the canteen of Tsinghua University with Cong Nianwei. Everybody could tell he was living off the girl. Qin Guan saw the contempt in other people’s eyes, but he still acted like he was unaware of it ad had a big meal.

Despite having been criticized and scorned by Cong Nianwei the whole afternoon, Qin Guan felt delighted because she had agreed to him coming to see her once a week. If she was in a good mood, she could probably do some shopping or have a cup of tea with him.

Qin Guan grinned happily in excitement. He felt that his life was almost as perfect as he had thought it would be.

TBC...
Source: Rebirth: How A Loser Became A Prince Charming - NovelSprout.com

Chapter 11: Landai Club

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

Soon, the weekend came again. It was time for Qin Guan’s tutoring session. Taking the materials he had prepared, Qin Guan headed to Huang Jiajia’s home. When the door opened, Qin Guan was so scared, he nearly plopped down on the ground.


There was an angry bird with dark eye-circles standing in front of him. In order to welcome her Prince Charming, Huang Jiajia had meticulously put on smokey-eye makeup, the most popular makeup trend at the time. She was wearing low-rise jeans and a batwing-sleeved blouse that let her bellybutton show. With her silver-colored lips and dark eyes, Huang Jiajia believed that she was Miss Beauty herself.

Qin Guan calmed himself down. It was certainly hard to please the good customers. Lightening his mood, he began his tutoring for the day.

Huang Jiajia was getting impatient, but for the sake of Qin Guan’s good looks, she held her temper in check and tried to be a good student.

Finally, after half an hour’s class, she gave up. She put her jaw on Qin Guan’s arm and pouted like a spoiled child. “Mr. Qin, how about we study tomorrow? It’s Saturday! It’s girls’ night at the Landai Club. Let’s go and have some fun!”

Qin Guan lifted her jaw up and gently moved it away from his arm. Huang Jiajia felt like her jaw had been broken. Seeing that Qin Guan had gone on tutoring as if nothing had happened, Huang Jiajia rubbed her aching jaw. Her eyes had started to water. Irritated, she plumped out her cheeks as she thought to herself, “So you don’t like shy girls. Just wait and see how naughty I can be then!”

Huang Jiajia smirked and told Qin Guan. “Look at me, Mr. Qin.” Qin Guan was puzzled. He turned to her and saw Huang Jiajia put her hands on the lower hem of her blouse and lift it up, the pink bra she was wearing underneath showing.

Huang Jiajia was a minor still going through puberty. Her breasts were partly visible through her pink bra, giving off a smell of youth and vigor.

Qin Guan almost choked on his own drool. “Jesus! What are you doing? Pull your shirt down!” He hastened to cover his eyes with his hand, but there was still a gap left between his fingers.

Hearing Qin Guan’s scolding, Huang Jiajia felt satisfied. She moved closer to him and said, “I can pull it down, but you have to promise me one thing.”

Qin Guan shook his head as he said righteously, “I have my principles. Don’t you think I’ll promise you anything without careful consideration!”

Huang Jiajia smirked again. She moved forward, and Qin Guan was forced to back up until he reached the door. He’d been planning on leaving the room, but he was too afraid of being mistaken for a rascal by the girl’s mother and being turned over to the police. He was caught in a dilemma.

Huang Jiajia went on, trying to persuade Qin Guan, “I promise you that I’ll be a good student, just not today. I have somewhere to be, so you have to listen to me and help me get out.”

Qin Guan was getting furious. He scolded her in a low voice, “I can’t find any excuse to convince your mom that you should go out! It’s too late!”

Huang Jiajia blinked at Qin Guan and pulled her blouse down. Clapping her hands, she said, “No need to worry about that. It’s a deal!” Then she ran to the living room merrily and pouted to her mother, “Mom, I’ve finished my class for today, and Mr. Qin said I was really a quick learner. It’s Saturday. I promised Li Lin that I would sleep over at her house tonight so we could review the class together. Can I go out, mom? Please!”

The mother hesitated before turning to Qin Guan. Noticing that Huang Jiajia was still holding the lower hem of her blouse, Qin Guan was quite clear that he was being threatened by the young girl. He gave a forced smile and nodded, suggesting that he agreed with Huang Jiajia.

The mother was quite shrewd, though. She made a phone call to Li Lin’s before agreeing. “Oh, okay. No worries.” When she hung up the phone, she expressed her approval with a nod.

“Yay!” Huang Jiajia jumped up from the couch and picked up her handbag from the table, ready to go. Suddenly she went back and told her mother, “It’s getting late. Can I ask Mr. Qin to walk me there?’

Her mother thought it was a good point, so she asked Qin Guan to take her daughter to Li Lin’s.

Qin Guan and Huang Jiajia left the house. Qin Guan walked quietly ahead, feeling very annoyed. He could not believe that he was being threatened by this little girl, who was so much younger than him.

Huang Jiajia stared at Qin Guan as she walked behind him. She was drooling as she watched him walk fast with his long legs. Wiping her mouth, she said, “What’s the hurry? Let’s take a cab.”

Confused, Qin Guan turned back to her and asked, “Doesn’t your classmate live nearby? Why take a cab?”

Haung Jiajia looked proud of herself as she replied, “Oh, Li Lin’s parents are traveling abroad. Her cousin answered the phone. I’ve promised to go to Landai Club tonight with the girls. Come on, don’t be stupid. Let’s go!”

Qin Guan did not come to his senses until he was inside the cab. Why am I taking her to Landai Club? I could have gone back to my dorm!

Huang Jiajia took no notice of his facial expressions. She took out her compact mirror from her handbag and made her eye circles even darker.

The little yellow cab drove for over 20 minutes before they arrived at Landai Club.

Landai Club was one of the most famous clubs in Beijing between 1997 and 2003. It was close to the Beijing Film Academy, so it was always packed with people at night.

Every Saturday, women would come to the club and have fun for free. That night, a small dance band had been invited to perform an opening show, giving even more life to the small club.

As they got off the cab, Qin Guan and Huang Jiajia saw two girls in the distance wearing even heavier makeup than Huang Jiajia. The three girls got together and hugged, chatting and laughing excitedly. The girl named Li Lin even came over and said hello to him.

Qin Guan felt great pressure being surrounded by these fashionably dressed-up girls. In his past life, he had always dressed simply. It was cool in October, and he was wearing blue jeans and a pair of brown leather shoes made of sheep skin. He felt like a square peg in a round hole around those girls.

Qin Guan decided to seize the opportunity and get away. He was about to turn around when Huang Jiajia dragged him closer and said, “Come have fun with us!”

Qin Guan frowned. He took on a serious tone as he told Huang Jiajia, “I only promised you one thing, and I kept that promise. Take care of yourself. I gotta go.”

Huang Jiajia wanted to add something, when she realized that her friends were being harassed by some strange guys.

Since ancient times, there had been a lot of terms referring to guys flirting with girls. In some areas, it was called chasing girls, while in other places they called it picking up hot chicks. In Beijing, people would call it courting.

Clubs were usually filled with both good and bad people, and they were the perfect place for people with excessive hormones, who did not know what to do with them. People went there to have fun, court girls, or get into a fight, which was pretty common for people in clubs.

Qin Guan knew that he could not just pretend he hadn’t seen anything and leave. He walked up to those guys and stood in front of Li Lin, facing them as he said, “Lin Lin, your dad has asked you to get back home.”

The guys left the girls alone. After all, the girls were too young for them, and they seemed like good students, despite the fact that they were dressed attractively.

The guys laughed and walked away. The girls were too young to protect themselves, and Qin Guan was worried about them. Fine. I’ll stay with them, just in case.

Fun time started at 8 p.m. The moment the doors opened, the ladies in the two queues all swarmed in for a warm-up dance. Huang Jiajia and the other two girls did not move. They were still waiting for Qin Guan by the counter.

By the time Qin Guan had forced his way through the crowd, almost all the ladies had already gone into the club. Tickets to Landai Club were not expensive. The price from Monday to Friday was 10 yuan per person, and on the weekends it was 15 yuan.

Qin Guan escorted the girls into the club. The atmosphere inside was really different from outside. The club was like a big melting pot full of hormones. In the dim, flickering lights, men and women jostled against each other, the hot dancing on the stage making everyone restless.

Before Qin Guan could stop them, Huang Jiajia and the other two girls had pushed their way to the center of the club joyfully.

The club was playing Captain Jack-Sir Yes Sir, a popular song in 1996, and everyone was shaking their heads and butts crazily on the dancing floor.

Qin Guan got out of the crowd and took a seat by the bar. He turned to a waiter and said, “ A Corona, please.”

The waiter served him his beer. Qin Guan took a sip, and leaned against the counter as he watched the people dancing in front of him.

He was about to take a second sip when two girls sat down next to him. They both had red lips and were wearing leather skirts. They were not wearing any silk stockings, and their high heels swayed slightly with their legs.

The girls tugged at Qin Guan’s shirt and drew circles on his chest with their fingers. One of the girls pouted at him. “You here alone, hottie?”

Qin Guan gently pushed them away as he looked towards the dance floor. Then he smiled and told them, “No, I have a girlfriend.”

Upon hearing that, the two girls immediately stopped flirting with him. They just gave him a charming smile and walked away.

Yes, local girls were indeed straightforward.

There were two more stages by the side of the club, which had been prepared for the big show at midnight. The dancers on the stage had been invited from dance clubs, or were students of the Beijing Dance Academy who were working part-time jobs at the club.

A couple was currently standing on the stage, dancing to the music. Their every move showed their bare desire. It was like all their cells were urging people, Follow us! Let’s dance!

Qin Guan stared at the stage. His amazing memory helped him memorize every move of the leading dancer. He took a glance around the whole club and kept everyone’s moves in mind.

With so many people dancing, the club was getting even warmer than usual. Qin Guan felt a wave of heat, and undid a button on his shirt. Suddenly, he saw Huang Jiajia quarreling with the others.

Qin Guan let out a sigh. Fretted, he scratched his head and forced his way through to her.

Chapter 12: The Dance Competition and The Fight

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

Huang Jiajia and her two friends looked like angry crickets as they quarreled with a little girl. The little girl, who was glaring at them, seemed much weaker than Huang Jiajia without a man by her side.


The girl was pointing at Huang Jiajia and shouting, “I did step on you! So what?”

Huang Jiajia’s face was red. She looked completely pissed off, and she refused to back down. “You should apologize! You stepped on me three times, b*tch!”

A man behind the girl stepped forward. He moved away the girl’s finger and winked at Huang Jiajia, acting as a peacemaker. “Let it go. It’s no big deal, right? Why bother fighting about it?”

The girl got even more furious when she saw her boyfriend wink at Huang Jiajia. “I picked a fight for you, you bastard! Your eyes have been all over this b*tch ever since you saw her! You even moved closer to her while you were dancing. How do you expect me to let it go?”

As he watched the girl glare at Hunag Jiajia, Qin Guan realized it was jealousy that had led to the fight. He dragged Huang Jiajia behind his back to get her away from the girl.

The girl rolled up her sleeves. She had been about to pull Huang Jiajia’s hair when she saw Qin Guan step in between them. Confused, she raised her head. All of a sudden, her arm paused in mid-air. She looked dumbfounded. The surrounding spectators had also gone silent.

At the time, fighting was not a rare occurrence at clubs. Everyone loved to watch people fight. Whenever there was a fight, everyone would stop dancing just to watch.

All the boys were thinking to themselves, “Who sold this guy a ticket and let him in? Have you seen his looks and figure? How can I compete against him? Sh*t!”

The girls, on the other hand, were thinking, “Hey, hottie! Look at me! I’m much hotter than that little girl behind you. I have plump breasts and a slim waist. I can give you everything that you want.”

The security at the club stayed out of the fight. As long as there was no real fighting inside the club, they did not give a damn.

Noticing that Qin Guan had attracted so much attention, the peacemaking man got jealous. He could not wait to vent his pent-up frustration. The man, whose nickname was Little Charmer, was quite well-known at the Landai Club. His good looks and bad-boy attitude made him really popular among the girls. This time though, Qin Guan had stolen his thunder.

Little Charmer could not tolerate that. He looked at Qin Guan, who was obviously feeling out of place at the club, and said in an irritated tone, “We’re all here to dance. Just forget about it, it’s no big deal.” It seemed that Little Charmer had totally forgotten about his initial intention to flirt with Huang Jiajia.

Qin Guan was about to answer when Huang Jiajia could not help yelling, “What if I stepped on you? Would you be fine with that?” Realizing that Huang Jiajia was not as weak as he had thought, Little Charmer got excited.

Fighting between Beijingers was a lot of fun. People usually made an appointment with their opponents and spoke out their names respectively before the fight started. During a small-scale fight, if one party tried to make peace and the other party agreed, they would compromise and the fight would end. If the other party refused to do that though, then fighting would be inevitable.

Little Charmer told Qin Guan enthusiastically, “Damn, she’s not backing down! Fine, I won’t take advantage of you. Since we can’t fight here, let’s have a dance competition.”

As a frequent dancer at the club, Little Charmer knew that Qin Guan was not a regular there. He was pretty confident that he could win. He was actually planning on humiliating Qin Guan with his dancing abilities.

Some spectators were jeering at Little Charmer while others looked jealous of him. They were all urging him on, “Go! Be a man! Don’t be afraid!”

As she saw the eager crowd, Huang Jiajia felt a little worried. She tagged at Qin Guan’s sleeve and whispered, “Let it go, Qin Guan. You can’t win.”

Qin Guan did not answer. He undid another button on his shirt, rolled up his sleeves, and asked Little Charmer, “Who goes first?”

Little Charmer was stupefied. After a while, he pouted at Qin Guan and then looked at the two stages. “Together,” he replied. “Are you okay with that?”

Having watched the scene, the club manager played a faster song and the leading dancer walked down from the stage.

Qin Guan and Little Charmer walked to each of the two stages. The spectators shouted, “Let’s dance!” and started dancing to the song.

Little Charmer joined the crowd, starting to dance right away. To be frank, he was a very good dancer. The crowd shouted “Bravo” at him repeatedly.

Qin Guan was taking his time. He took out a fluorescent spray from Huang Jiajia’s handbag and sprayed some to his front and back. Suddenly, his perfect figure shined under the dim lights, making up for his simple outfit.

Qin Guan put down the spray. He had not even started dancing yet, but all the girls had already surrounded his stage and were screaming over his attractive body.

The first part of the song was finished, and the second part began. Qin Guan started to dance. He raised his hands up and snapped his fingers. His hips moved, and his shoulders, legs and feet followed. One move after the other, Qin Guan danced faster and faster to the song.

The crowd went crazy in an instant. Everyone started screaming. In the dim yellow light, all everyone could see Qin Quan’s fluorescent body dancing to the rhythm.

Qin Guan was just as good as Little Charmer. His various moves coordinated perfectly with the music.

Anyone could tell who was the better dancer. Qin Guan danced as gracefully as a knight while Little Charmer danced like a mad idiot.

As he saw Qin Guan’s beautiful moves, Little Charmer stopped dancing. Gnashing his teeth, he walked down from the stage and dragged his girlfriend behind him as he exited the club.

Qin Guan went on dancing until the song ended. His forehead was wet with sweat. “Bravo!” he heard the crowd shouting. Satisfied, he walked down from the stage and went up to the bar to have a mouthful of cold beer.

Qin Guan sat down by the counter to take a break. He had experienced the preciousness of youth during that hot dance and he knew that this lifestyle was not for him, although he did enjoy it occasionally.

As he rested, the manager played a slow song. The people who had not been satisfied by the former hot dance started to dance cheek-to-cheek with their partners.

After dancing to their heart’s content, Huang Jiajia and the other two girls walked up to Qin Guan and asked for three cans of cola. Qin Guan took a look at his watch and realized that it was already 10 p.m. “It’s too late,” he told Huang Jiajia. “Let’s call it a day, alright?” Before Huang Jiajia could protest, Qin Guan went on to say, “May I dance with you? We need to talk.”

Realizing that Qin Guan was serious, Huang Jiajia nodded and walked to the dance floor with him.

Qin Guan put his hands on Huang Jiajia’s waist and asked her to follow his lead. While they danced, he said, “Is there something you want to say to me?”

Huang Jiajia looked at Qin Guan innocently. “Oh, you mean about tonight? Wow, you were just amazing!”

Qin Guan slowly said to her, “You’re still a high school student. I really hope that you won’t come here anymore.”

Huang Jiajia did not answer. She wanted to move closer to Qin Guan, but he pulled a dance move to avoid her.

“If you keep fooling around, then I think my job as a tutor is done. Now you have to go back home,” Qin Guan said. Huang Jiajia had not had enough time to figure out what was going on when Qin Guan dragged her off the dance floor and told the other two girls, “It’s getting late, I have to go. Let’s call it a day. You have to take Huang Jiajia home.”

The three girls were terrified of Qin Guan. They just nodded and walked out of the club with him. Qin Guan walked them to the street, intending to get a cab to take them home.

As they were waiting for the cab, a group of people suddenly came over. Qin Guan saw Little Charmer walking in front. He had been waiting for Qin Guan outside for a long time. After being humiliated that night, he had called in all his friends in the area to teach Qin Guan a lesson.

Qin Guan and the girls were led into a small alley near the club, where a man was squatting down on the ground smoking.

When they entered the alley, Little Charmer’s friends gathered behind him. The girls were too frightened to say anything. They dragged at Qin Guan’s sleeves as they looked at the guys in front of them.

Qin Guan did not panic. If these people had been from Northwest China, he would have already fled with the girls, but since they were just Beijingers, he thought he could give it a shot.

Little Charmer stared at Qin Guan and yelled at him arrogantly, “You bastard! You kept me waiting for a long time!”

Qin Guan sighed deeply with a straight face before he said, “In accordance with Act 160 of the Criminal Law of 1979, anyone who gathers a crowd with the intention of fighting, picks up a fight, insults women, or carries out any other immoral activities that disrupt public order, shall be convicted to fixed-term imprisonment of no more than seven years, be arrested, or be put under surveillance.” He panted for breath as he added, “Chasing, intercepting, abusing or threatening other people is considered equal to picking a fight.”

Little Charmer looked at Qin Guan as if he was dumb. “You idiot! You…” Before he could finish his words, the man smoking in the alley started choking from laughter.

TBC...
Source: Rebirth: How A Loser Became A Prince Charming - NovelSprout.com

Chapter 13: A Fight Between Rough Men

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

The man stood up and blew a smoke ring before he came over and asked Little Charmer, “Who is this guy? This is getting interesting. He’s talking about laws with you guys!”


Qin Guan did not take the man’s sneering seriously. He just went on, “I don’t know what’s on your mind. You think this petty thing humiliated you, so you wanna punish me? You dare not kill me. You’re all locals, so you must know that the police knows you quite well. If I end up in the hospital because of you, you’ll be sent to jail. If don’t though, you won’t be satisfied. So why don’t we fight?

The smoking man was stupefied. Qin Guan went on to say, “A man must bear the consequences of his own actions. I’m alone, yet you ask others for help. Is that because you’re too weak, or because you want others to commit your own crimes for you?”

Hearing that, Little Charmer got a little worried. He turned to the smoking man and said, “Boss, back me up. This guy is talking nonsense.”

The smoking man threw his cigarette butt to the ground and snuffed it out with his shoe. Then he turned to Little Charmer and said, “Since it’s no big deal, we’ll stay here and cheer for you. You need to settle this on your own, though.”

This was how Beijingers acted. They were well-educated and stood by their own principles.

The man’s words instantly eased Qin Guan’s nervousness. He had guessed right. In his past life, he had known a labor contractor from Beijing, who had been a well-known local boss. He had told Qin Guan over dinner once that Beijingers had their own principles. After a fight, you could even chat with your opponent and become friends with him, as long as your differences were not irreconcilable.

Qin Guan waved at Huang Jiajia, suggesting that the girls back off. Little Charmer took off his jacket and revealed his muscles.

The two young men started fighting in the middle of the alley. Qin Guan had never fought with anyone in his past life. Although he was stronger now thanks to his frequent exercising, he was still at a disadvantage because he had no fighting experience.

Little Charmer launched three punches, and the third one hit the corner of Qin Guan’s mouth. His lips started bleeding, the blood dropping to the ground along the corner. The girls covered their mouths with their hands. They dared not scream, in case Qin Guan got distracted. They had already come to know the consequences of their behavior.

Qin Guan was in a daze for a bit. He dodged another punch heading for him and puckered his lips, feeling a bloody smell rushed into his mouth.

Irritated by the smell, Qin Guan went back to his sloppy style. “Results are everything. Graceful fighting is nonsense!” Suddenly, Qin Guan became violent. He rushed up to Little Charmer and clutched him by the shoulders, inertia causing both of them to tumble to the ground.

The smoking man was about to light a cigar when he saw Qin Guan’s move and unconsciously pressed the lighter into his hands. The flame jumped up and almost burned his hair. He hastened to move the lighter away and press it again. After lighting his cigar, he turned his head and saw the two young men clutching at each other hard and rolling about in the small alley.

The alley was still an alley though, so they kept bumping against the walls on each side all the time.

Watching the two young men rolling about on the ground like flipping pancakes, Huang Jiajia could not help laughing out loud, despite the fact that there were still tears in her eyes.

Qin Guan became desperate. His eyes flashed red as he decided to maintain his good image. He gave Little Charmer a kick, and Little Charmer kicked him back.

By the time Qin Guan had narrowly gained control over Little Charmer, both their clothes were wet with sweat and mud. They made for a very funny scene.

The smoking man laughed out loud and patted Qin Guan on the back. “Hey, buddy. For my sake, let Little Charmer go. From now on, I promise you that Little Charmer will not cause you any trouble. If you’re in the area and you get into trouble, call me and I’ll help you.”

Qin Guan agreed. He loosened his hands and rose to his feet. As he dusted himself off, he said, “Alright. You’re a Boss, right? Actually, it was no big deal. We can just let it go.”

The Boss, whose name was Bu Qinglu, was delighted by the respect Qin Guan had showed him. He patted Qin Guan’s shoulder once again and said, “Okay. Next time you come here, it’s my treat.” Then he asked his friends to take away Little Charmer, who had been pretending to be dead on the ground.

Qin Guan led the girls out of the alley without saying a word.

Huang Jiajia pursed her lips. Qin Guan’s fair skin had turned black and blue, and there were still bloodstains on the corner of his mouth. Seeing her handsome, gentle tutor get so rough, she suddenly felt that what she had longed for had been worthless. She felt a little lost. She was somehow afraid that Qin Guan would not want to tutor her or see her anymore.

As she thought of that, Huang Jiajia anxiously tugged at Qin Guan’s shirt and whispered, “To be honest, clubbing is boring. I’ll be a good student from now on. Will you still tutor me?”

Qin Guan felt relieved. Huang Jiajia’s smokey-eye makeup had been ruined by her tears, but he tried to keep a straight face as he said, “Alright, but it will depend on your performance. It’s too late today. You girls go back home and we’ll talk about it next time.”

The girls looked at Qin Guan and nodded like chickens. Then they took a cab and headed back home.

When the girls had left, Qin Guan could no longer put up a brave front. He grimaced in pain and flipped the dust off his body. “Jesus, it hurts so much. And they say a punch won’t make you feel anything. Liars!”

The next morning, Qin Guan got up from his bed in a daze. He was hurting all over his body and for the first time, he had slept in.

His roommates had already used the washroom. When they saw Qin Guan, they were all shocked. Rubbing his eyes, Qin Guan asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Wang Lei could not help asking, “What did you do last night? Didn’t you look in the mirror when you got up?”

Qin Guan did not figure out what was happening until Liu Xiaoyang passed him a mirror from the upper bunk. Qin Guan took the mirror and had a look. Gee! He was pretty sure even his own mom would not recognize him if she’d been there.

Actually, Qin Guan had not been severely injured, but as a rookie, he had not known how to protect his face during a fight.

Little Charmer’ punches had been really cunning and accurate.

The first punch had hit Qin Guan’s eye, the second punch the corner of his mouth, and the third one his cheekbone. When Qin Guan had gone back to his dorm, he had already had three nasty bumps on his face. Instead of bringing down the swelling with cold compresses, Qin Guan had tumbled into bed and gone straight to sleep. As a result, the right side of his face now looked like yeast bread, and his left eye was just like a panda’s.

Ye Dong, the oldest boy in the dorm, could not bear to look at Qin Guan. He got out a bottle of tincture of capsicum from the box under the bed and skillfully applied it on Qin Guan’s face.

Qin Guan briefly told his roommates about the previous night.

Ye Dong and Mu Lejiang did not say anything, but Liu Xiaoyang, the youngest boy, seemed quite interested in fighting. “Gee, why didn’t you ask me for help? I’m a top warrior…”

Hearing that, Ye Dong started mocking Liu Xiaoyang, “We have no such rules in my hometown. We don’t ask questions, we get straight to the fighting. Asking for help! It’s fighting, guys! A real fight doesn’t wait.”

Liu Xiaoyang replied disdainfully, “You don’t get it. Rules are a must in the world of Beijing gangsters.”

Ye Dong put the lid back on the bottle and yanked Liu Xiaoyang, saying, “You seem pretty excited about fighting. How many times have you fought?”

Suddenly, Liu Xiaoyang looked like a deflated rubber ball. He seemed very upset as he said, “None! They complained that I was too young. I’ve never gotten a chance. Plus, my mom is basically my shadow. I haven’t even watched a fight!”

Mu Lejiang said nothing. He ruffled Liu Xiaoyang’s hair before he walked out of the dorm.

Before everyone left, Ye Dong said, “Freshman Party is on tonight. Keep it in mind. It’s in the university auditorium.”

They all promised to meet there and then headed to class.

Qin Guan also went to class, despite his swelling face, which had become the talk of the town. Wang Lei, the fourth eldest boy in Qin Guan’s dorm, was laughing all the way through the class. Indeed, Qin Guan’s face looked nothing like his previous good looks.

The students on the right of Qin Guan could only see the malformed side of his face. The girls were feeling worried and sorry for their Prince Charming, while the boys seemed to gloating.

The students on the left of Qin Guan could see the pretty side of his face. With the dark circle around his left eye and his fair skin, he looked exactly like a giant panda, the most protected animal in China. Seeing that image, the boys and the girls on his left could not help laughing.

When the class was finally over, Qin Guan decided not to leave his dorm for the rest of the day. His roommate Wang Lei brought his food to the dorm.

When it got dark, the boys headed to the university auditorium together. No one in Qin Guan’s dorm put on a performance that night. None of them had been born to be artists, but they were a good audience.

When all the seats were occupied, the curtain parted. The host and hostess showed up on the stage and gave an opening speech. Qin Guan enjoyed it very much.

There was group dancing, solo dancing, a choir, an instrumental performance, etc. Most acts had a solemn atmosphere about them. To the boys, the party seemed too boring. They could not figure out why Qin Guan had enjoyed it so much. Qin Guan, though, knew that such a solemn performance would be quite rare in the near future. The Freshman Party was sure to be full of garish acts and crazy dancers.

Chapter 14: Eggs Laid by the Red Flag

Translator: May Wiggins Editor: Efydatia

Qin Guan’s roommates did not want to keep watching the show. They were bored and wanted to leave, but suddenly they backed up when they saw several people carrying a drum kit, a keyboard and two speakers to the stage.


The performers were all well-dressed, and the lead singer was in olive green, looking like a soldier about to sing a military song.

After they tuned up, the performers played the electric guitar as an opening prelude, and the auditorium instantly became vibrant. The lead singer said, “Hello everyone! This is Eggs Laid by the Red Flag.”

“The sudden opening is actually not abrupt

Now is the time and we know what to do

The red flag is still fluttering without direction

The revolution is still alive, and the old chaps are getting more active…”

The lead singer had a hoarse voice as if he’d been smoking too much. It actually made him sound like the perfect rock and roll singer.

The boys in the audience were cheering. Hands held high, they followed the rhythm and started to rock together.

Qin Guan and his roommates stood up as well. Liu Xiaoyang even jumped onto his chair. When the song was finished, the audience was fully pumped up.

Rock and roll was a code those days. Everyone had a soldier in their heart. People would fight hard for their dreams and future with indomitable will.

It had grown colder at the end of October. Qin Guan put on his jacket and set off for his first official tutoring class with Huang Jiajia. At 6:30 p.m., he showed up at the door of Huang Jiajia’s home. When he walked into the house and saw Huang Jiajia sitting by her desk, he was shocked.

Her hair was not red anymore. Instead, it was black and shiny, dangling down her shoulders in two braids. She was not wearing any makeup either. This was the first time Qin Guan had seen Huang Jiajia with no makeup on. He recalled the first time he had seen her. She’d had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and her dark, dense eyelashes had looked like two tiny brushes. Her lips had been painted thick and red, making her look totally flamboyant. Yet now she was wearing a long pink T-shirt with a round collar and a pair of brown overalls. She looked like a good girl and a studious student.

Qin Guan did not say anything. Giving her an encouraging smile, he opened the textbook and started the class at an appropriate speed, “Here it means… Yes, call by value from here.”

During the whole class, Huang Jiajia listened to Qin Guan carefully without any complaints.

When Qin Guan finished the class for the day, Huang Jiajia grimaced and said, “Mr. Qin, what did you think of my performance today? I’ll work even harder.”

Qin Guan was glad. This would help him make money much more easily. He had 4 hours of class a week and he would get paid 50 yuan per hour, so every month he would make 800 yuan just by tutoring Huang Jiajia.

Qin Guan did not show his joy. As he walked out of the house, he told Huang Jiajia, “You need to keep it up. One good performance doesn’t mean anything. Perseverance is what’s important.” Then he closed the door and left. He was quite busy. He had a kebab appointment with Wang Lei, and the next morning they would go to the China World Mall.

Beijing had been expanding gradually with economic growth. Business areas were various systems formed amid that expansion, and Wangfujin and Xidan were among the earliest ones in Beijing. The China World Mall was an emerging, vibrant business area that had become the home of many new industries and fashionable brands, such as Motorola and IBM.

Qin Guan and Wang Lei were currently at the foot of the China World Towers, the very center of the China World Mall. The two boys had seen the ad of a company on the CUFE billboard, and that was why they had come here. The ad had been different than the rest, which was why it had aroused their interest.

Qin Guan and Wang Lei took the elevator to the consulting company on the 10th floor. The receptionist led them to a meeting room, where they saw a lot of people their age. Qin Guan believed they were also students applying for the part-time job.

When everyone was seated, a supervisor came into the room and handed out material to each of the young students.

The business of the consulting company was quite interesting. It helped retailers and traders of fast moving consumer goods find part-timers and sales promotion staff. It also did market research for some companies. This kind of business met the demands of foreign companies entering the Chinese market, thus consulting companies had become quite popular at the time. The company Qin Guan had visited was one of the oldest and the best in Beijing.

Qin Guan and Wang Lei read the material carefully. The positions included supermarket promotion specialists for sodas and snacks, and staff for a wine shop. Qin Guan noticed that these jobs were all on weekends, from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. in the morning and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the afternoon. Wages would be paid daily in accordance with the standard rules, and the payment for the sales promotion staff was 50 yuan per day. The wine shop staff would get a daily payment of 100 yuan. Of course, those employees were required to have a good image and figure. There would also be an interview for the job.

Qin Guan pursed his lips. The wine shop staff was the highest paying position among the three, although the payment was only as much as his tutoring fees. Half a loaf of bread was better than none though after all, so he decided to go to that interview. Wang Lei asked the supervisor, and he unexpectedly got a part-time job as a telephone researcher. From that day on and every weekend, he would work in the company as a telephone salesperson.

When the two boys walked out of the meeting room, Qin Guan told Wang Lei curiously, “You have a sharp mind for business. Why are you studying accounting?”

Pushing his glasses up, Wang Lei asked back, “You are so handsome, why do you study at CUFE?”

They both laughed. They parted at the corridor when Wang Lei was taken by the supervisor to the office of the telephone sales personnel. Qin Guan and several girls were taken to another office, where the interview would take place. Qin Guan was the only boy in the group. Curious about why a boy would apply for that position, the girls chatted and laughed among themselves. Qin Guan felt helpless. “Fine, I know this is something new, but you shouldn’t stare at me like I’m a monkey. Yes, I mean you. Don’t point your fingers at me!”

Qin Guan was feeling quite awkward when the door suddenly opened. Three elegant interviewers took a seat at the table. Qin Guan applied for the promotion position of Grand Bateau, a kind of middle-end wine imported from France.

The promotion staff would serve the wine at exhibitions around Beijing. It was not cost-effective for exhibitors to hire professional models for the promotion, so the wine agent had come up with the idea of picking several college students for the job.

The last interviewees had not impressed the interviewers. They thought college students had no working experience and their age did not match the maturity of the wine.

The Chinese name of the wine was Longchuan. A general had made that particular wine for Napoleon, his leader during the Napoleonic Era. The wine was not expensive, but it had a dignity and elegance to it, so it was usually hard for college students with no experience to convey its connotation.

The interviewers seemed a little bored. In low spirits, they said, “Next.”

It was Qin Guan’s turn. When he stepped forward, the interviewers sat up instantly. Although they did not know about Qin Guan’s temperament, they were all captivated by his face.

They asked him some basic questions, including his college and age, and Qin Guan took his time in answering every single one, not showing any nervousness.

The interviewers exchanged a look and told Qin Guan to move two steps forward. They noticed that he was neither overbearing nor servile. They nodded and told him, “Good. Take this blank resume, go to the third room on the left and give it to the director of the exhibition.”

Qin Guan took the blank resume and bid the interviewers goodbye with a nod before pushing the door open and leaving the interview room. When he opened the door of the third room on the left, he saw a big glass wine table in the center with several goblets and two bottles of open Bateau on it.

There were already several tall fair ladies standing orderly by the desk next to the glass table. At the other end of the room, an old frowning tailor with a tape around his neck was measuring the size of a woman.

An assistant with freckles standing by the door saw Qin Guan walk into the room with a blank resume. She had a bundle of pens in her hand, and she handed one to Qin Guan. Pointing at a small round table at the corner of the room, she told him, “Yes, second round of interviews. Fill in the resume over there and then give it to me. I’ll give you a number tag. Then you can go to the desk and wait for the final interview with the sales director.”

Qin Guan moved the pen around in his hand. He was surprised to find that there was a third round of interviews after this one. “The final round? Why is this so complicated? It’s a part-time job after all,” he told the assistant.

The assistant’s face turned quite serious. It seemed as if this was an important task to her as she explained to Qin Guan, “We’re recruiting short-term part-timers because we don’t have much time to prepare. We have no choice. Vinexpo China is next week, followed by the China International Wine and Spirits Exhibition. They’re both well-known exhibitions in China. We have to take this seriously.”

TBC...
Source: Rebirth: How A Loser Became A Prince Charming - NovelSprout.com