Chapter 9: Best years of my life

The members of the SSS never bothered me after that.

Those in my class who were of the Singles Solidarity Society had witnessed my toppling of goliath firsthand with nothing but kicks. I guess you could say I had put my foot down. That dealt their united front a blow, for they no longer had any excuse to deny my supposed worthiness.

As if they had any right to judge me in the first place. They were the ones who arbitrarily decided that I was "trash" and judged who had the right to date Shu Hong Qiu, regardless of her personal opinion on the matter.

Honestly, she had the right to decide who she wanted to date, no matter what other people said. Also, it appeared that everyone was misunderstanding something. Shu Hong Qiu wasn't exactly looking for a romantic partner. Everyone just jumped to that conclusion on their own because she gave me chocolates. But she had never approached me for anything beyond that.

Jeez, people need to calm down.

Right. Back to school life. Then again, I guess one of the greatest fantasies about school life was becoming strong enough to beat up bullies and get back at anyone who was a jerk to you. I had just literally lived out that fantasy.

I should really cherish this experience. Right now, I felt like I was living out the best years of my life. So I might as well enjoy it before I was forced to wake up and return to a hellish nightmare.

Scratching my head, I stepped into the classroom and wondered if the whole thing was a damned dream. There was no way such a thing could happen so conveniently. The whole day felt contrived, somehow. Having one of the four most beautiful girls give me chocolate for Valentine's Day, and then me beating up a bunch of idiots in front of everyone, probably as an excuse for me to show off my strength. Even if this was a redo, it felt…fake.

Maybe I really was dead, and this whole thing was just an illusion while I languished in hell.

Despite flexing my strength in front of everybody, I realized that it had backfired. Everyone was avoiding me more openly than before, either because they were afraid of me or because they jealously harbored a grudge. I sighed in disappointment. Evidently, my goal of making friends and avoiding the fate of an outcast was getting more and more difficult to achieve.

Was I doomed to be a loner forever? Always ostracized by my peers because I was either too creepy or because they were too envious?

Fortunately, I realized that I still had a couple of true friends. They were very few in number, but at least they didn't spurn me like the rest.

"Ming Cong! Where did you learn to fight like that?" Yun Shan was gaping at me when I made my way to my desk. "I never knew you are a martial artist."

"Oh, I learned it from my dad. Actually, I'm very bad."

"I couldn't tell at all." Yun Shan was looking at me from head to toe, and I was aware of what she was seeing. My skinny frame, my huge glasses, and my unintimidating posture. "You look more like uh, a, a…scholar."

She meant to say nerd. No need to hide. I was perfectly aware of what the class thought of me.

"Are you all right?" Lian Hua asked, concerned. Far from being impressed, she was more afraid. That fear was mixed with worry, and I smiled to allay her anxieties.

"Yeah, I'm all right. It's just a fight."

"I…I see." An odd expression came over Lian Hua's face, and she frowned, cocking her head to the side as if trying to remember something. She shut her eyes and shook her head. "For some reason, I have déjà vu."

"What do you mean?" Yun Shan asked.

"Like this isn't the first time I saw Ming Cong fight. I don't know why, but I have a vague impression that he did something similar before…against a more terrifying opponent. But I can't remember who, exactly."

"It's probably just a dream," I said, not wanting to trigger unwanted memories. Lian Hua and the other students who saw the ghost that night had taken the medicine to forget that traumatic experience, and I wanted to keep it that way. "I'm sure all I did was scream."

Don't let such a horrific encounter scar their school life. There were still plenty of fun and enjoyment to be gleaned from our remaining years in high school. Having it tainted by memories of a ghost trying to kill you in a school building was…yeah.

Speaking of which, I was glad I had that settled within one day of returning to the world of the living. Now that I had successfully protected Shu Hong Qiu, I could spend the rest of my time living out a fulfilling school life.

The question was…what should I do next?

Fortunately, I didn't have to worry about myself. Yun Shan had turned to Lian Hua excitedly.

"Oh, aren't you participating in the art contest next week? Have you decided on a theme yet?"

"Not yet. I don't know if I want to participate, though…I don't have the confidence…"

"You really should!" Yun Shan seized Lian Hua's hands and held them tightly. "You'll definitely win!"

"No, I won't. There are too many talented artists entering this competition. I don't stand a chance at all."

"It doesn't matter if you win or lose," I said. "What's most important is that you let loose."

"See? Ming Cong agrees. Just go for it!"

Lian Hua looked hesitant for a moment, and then she finally nodded. Clenching her fists, she looked down at her sketchbook.

"I…I guess I'll give it a shot."

"That's the spirit!"

"But…Yun Shan, you have a basketball match the weekend after the art competition, right? How's practice for that going?"

"Well," the tomboy assured her best friend. She grinned. "Are you coming to watch me play, Lian Hua?"

"Of course!"

"Then I'll do my best not to let you down! I can't show you my lame side!"

"Hang on." I raised my hand. "I know about the basketball match, but I haven't heard about the art competition?"

"Oh, it's not organized by the school." Yun Shan wrapped an arm around Lian Hua's shoulders. "They're holding a painting contest at You Xi amusement park this weekend. You should come too!"

"Hmm, I guess I will. I'll stand on your hill."

That was what being a student was about. Hanging out with friends, taking part in competitions for our hobbies, enjoying ourselves over the weekend.

Balancing school with play. Having a ghost to slay. Every dog has his day. I've nothing more to say.

To make this truly the best years of my life, I shouldn't hold back. The previous time around, I screwed everything up by being obsessed over a girl and stalking her, which led to my (admittedly deserved) death. Now that I had a chance to relive my school life, I was going to start by righting all the wrongs I had committed, and enjoying myself to the max!

"It's decided then!" Yun Shan raised a hand for a high five, and I exchanged it.

When I trudged to my desk shortly after that, I found Tong Xue shrinking away from me. The poor guy was stuck sitting in front of me, so there was no escape. He quaked visibly, minimizing his profile by slouching as low as possible.

"What are you trying to do?"

"N…nothing!" Tong Xue jolted up in panic, waving his hands frantically. Then he lowered his head to the point where his forehead audibly slammed against my desk. "I'm sorry!"

"For what?"

"For…eh, wait, what?" Tong Xue stared at me dumbly. He looked as if he realized how huge of an idiot he was. Grinning, he then shoved himself back and shook his head. "N…nothing! If you aren't mad at me, then it's all fine!"

"Why? So you want forgiveness for leading the SSS to lynch me? How naïve can you be?"

"Wah! So you know about that, after all!"

Of course I did. Did he think I was blind and deaf? He was the one who dragged me into the SSS meeting in the first place.

It occurred to me that they were the ones who had invited Hen Xiong over to try and beat me up, only to be extremely terrified when that plan backfired on them.

"How do you want me to deal with you guys?" I asked in a chilling tone. Tong Xue shuddered and he was kowtowing once more, his forehead pressed against my desk. I grimaced, thinking of the greasy smear he would leave behind. Ugh. "Would you prefer if I tear out your eyes?"

Tong Xue actually jumped at that, his eyes wide. I grinned.

"Nah, I'm only kidding."

He relaxed visibly.

"It's your hands I'm breaking."

"NOOOO!!!!!"

I didn't pay much attention to his dramatics. Instead, my gaze was drawn to the commotion at the entrance of our classroom.

Gao Fu Shuai had returned, along with Shen Ai Qing and her entourage. Their mood was unusually subdued, the normally chatty girls as quiet as a tomb. Apparently, someone seemed to take umbrage. They looked as if someone had just dropped a bomb.

The moment they saw me, they had a sort of deer in the headlights look, and they steered clear. The girls began whispering agitatedly to each other, casting surreptitious glances in my direction and paling whenever I turned to stare at them.

Seemed like the news of my victory over Hen Xiong had spread throughout the school. Even if they hadn't witnessed it firsthand, they had heard of it.

Weirdly enough, Shen Ai Qing was bristling. She clung to Gao Fu Shuai, who looked really uncomfortable, but he didn't shrug her off. Instead, he put up with her intimate company while keeping his head lowered. It was as if he didn't dare meet my gaze.

"Hah!" Tong Xue crowed, momentarily forgetting his fear for a second as he reveled in the misery of others. "Seems like they regret making fun of you now!"

I didn't know they made fun of me…if they did, they didn't do it directly to my face. What I didn't know wouldn't hurt me, so I pretended not to hear that.

Honestly, what they thought of me didn't matter. The only opinions that mattered were those belonging to the people I regarded as my friends. Tong Xue didn't count, considering he and the SSS almost lynched me. If it weren't for my martial arts training, they might even have succeeded. And I would have ended up as the next Yoshii Akihisa.

"What's their problem?" Yun Shan snapped. As her seat was closer to Shen Ai Qing's as well as the rest of her group, she could catch their words. When I shot her a questioning stare, she bristled. "They're complaining about how you caught the attention of Shu Hong Qiu from class 2-3. Even after they already decided to publicly dump you in front of everyone if you had decided to give Valentine's gifts and confess. How shameless."

"Don't worry, it's all fine," I assured her. "They didn't cross the line. Whatever fault is mine. I certainly won't pine."

Yun Shan gave me a look, and I raised both of my hands hastily.

"Anyway, let's just look forward to this weekend. I hope Lian Hua wins because she is a godsend."

"Yeah, I had better see you there." Yun Shan smirked. For a moment, I wondered if she was going to threaten me, but she suddenly recalled what I did against both the SSS and Hen Xiong, and she refrained. Instead, she pondered thoughtfully. "Say, Ming Cong…have you ever considered participating in a martial arts tournament?"