pjbooks Chapter 1: [Repeated Chapter 14: I Don't Want to Compromise with Life Anymore]
Chapter 1: [Repeated Chapter 14: I Don't Want to Compromise with Life Anymore]
(The content is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to other works with the same name is purely coincidental.)
Evening, the old town.
In the League of Legends game interface, which had only been open for about ten minutes, Garen was idling in the fountain, seemingly lost in thought.
Liu Zhuohao heard his friend's "friendly" voice through his earpiece.
He stared intently at the screen, his expression blank—not from being bewildered by his teammates' scolding, but from being completely lost in this familiar scene.
Before me was a broken computer with a frame rate fluctuating at 24 frames per second. Next to it were stacks of past college entrance examination papers. Water droplets seeped from the gaps in the old air conditioner and dripped into a plastic bucket on the ground.
Dream?
I've been sitting here for a long time, it's time to wake up.
Surely this isn't a dream?
Liu Zhuohao frantically switched screens on the keyboard, trying to see the current time.
As a result, the crappy computer screen went completely black and it actually froze!
His gaze swept quickly across the table, and when he saw the phone plugged into the host's USB port for charging, he quickly grabbed it, and the moment the screen lit up, he unlocked it without hesitation.
—14 years.
Could this be a rebirth before the college entrance exam?
Liu Zhuohao's hand holding the phone was shaking. With his current level, he didn't even know if he could get two hundred points in the six subjects combined in the college entrance examination!
call!
Fortunately, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the date on it.
Thankfully, the exams are over.
It wasn't a rebirth before the college entrance exam, but the first day after the exam.
At this moment, the results haven't come out yet, and I'm currently in the middle of a crazy holiday.
However, he already knew the result—he barely passed the cutoff score for a third-tier university.
If I were reborn, would I still study?
What a load of crap!
If it happened again, who would want to go to that lousy school!
But whether or not you study is one thing, whether or not you can pass the exam is another.
"Hey, feed me?!"
His childhood friend's roar exploded through his headset, jolting Liu Zhuohao out of his dazed state. "You fucking finish this game! Damn it, I just got my economy going and was about to go for the kill, and you just went AFK!"
"..."
Liu Zhuohao was speechless. If it were himself eleven years ago, he probably wouldn't have gone AFK halfway through a game.
Whether it's my parents calling me to eat or something urgent that requires me to go downstairs or go out, I usually insist on finishing the game.
But now?
Eleven years later, with my electronic impotence, even if nothing happens in the middle of the game, I might just quit halfway through – it's not fun anymore.
"I'm hanging up now, I have something to do."
Liu Zhuohao hung up the phone without any hesitation, then disconnected the voice call, took off his headset, and stood up.
The sound of a chair being dragged outside the door made Liu Zhuohao's heart tighten. He seemed to remember something and hurriedly went out of the house.
Whether before or after her rebirth, the only two people who could always be with her and care for her were her parents.
He walked into the living room, and a pungent, overpowering minty smell filled his nostrils.
The living room contains a 20-inch "antique" television, as well as old wooden furniture and a porcelain coffee table, all worn down by the humid climate of the southern coastal region...
Good heavens, these are all tears of a bygone era.
In Liu Zhuohao's future memories, these old companions will soon be replaced by various smart devices—the old TV will be replaced by a Xiaomi one, the living room will be equipped with air conditioning, and the porcelain coffee table will be replaced by a more upscale model with tea pet stone carvings.
They might even add an oven, microwave, refrigerator, induction cooker...
Are those new things any good?
Of course it works!
But when this slightly dilapidated home reappeared before his eyes, his eyes welled up with tears.
I really felt like I went back to 25 from 14.
As I approach thirty, I find myself transported back twelve years, to a time before I even went to university.
In the living room, the mother, who had just come home from get off work, was sitting crookedly on a wooden chair, awkwardly applying Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Oil to the back of her neck.
The focused yet strenuous look on his face touched Liu Zhuohao's heart.
"...Mom, let me massage your shoulders." Liu Zhuohao, his voice trembling as he tried to hold back his burning eyes, walked over.
Chinese people have always expressed their affection for their families in a subtle and reserved way.
He once hesitated for a long time before daring to say the words, but now he says them smoothly and boldly.
"Need not."
The mother waved her hand, "You've finally finished the college entrance exam, go and have some fun."
She's always been like this.
And it wasn't just the mother; the father was the same way.
When a son is away from home, he reports only good news and not bad.
Parents are no different. When asked, they always say "it's nothing" and have been doing so for the next ten years or so.
Liu Zhuohao didn't care about any of that, picked up the bottle and poured it out: "Where's my dad?"
His movements were not unfamiliar.
Because I knew I would develop cervical spondylosis in a few years, I gradually became familiar with this technique—a common ailment among modern people.
"What time is it? Of course we're at work, where else could we be?"
His mother was still refusing, reaching out to make him stop, "Go do your thing, I'm just a little tired these past few days, my neck is uncomfortable, I'll just put some liniment on it and it'll be fine."
"Oh, right, Dad doesn't get off work until six o'clock."
Liu Zhuohao continued working, his tone becoming earnest, "...You have cervical spondylosis, which is difficult to cure. The condition is already quite serious. If it really doesn't work, go to the hospital. We can do some traction; maybe that will help."
For the next ten years or so, both my parents and I had this problem.
Although I know that as long as I get more rest and do appropriate exercise, the symptoms of cervical spondylosis can be gradually relieved.
But there's no other way; I need to make money.
In addition to cervical spondylosis, I developed stomach pain due to my irregular sleep schedule and anxiety, my father's trachea became increasingly weak due to the aftereffects of pneumonia, and he coughed frequently. My mother also became increasingly sensitive to wind, and a minor cold could drag on for more than half a month...
Do they have any other serious illnesses hidden in their bodies?
do not know.
Neither I nor my parents dare to go to a reputable tertiary hospital for a checkup.
No one dared to touch on this issue.
Whether it's joint pain or headaches and fever, they all follow an unspoken rule—they simply buy a few packets of herbs from a small traditional Chinese medicine clinic on the street.
Has Liu Zhuohao never thought about being nicer to his parents?
Of course there is.
Let alone myself more than ten years from now, even when I was eighteen, I still fantasized that when I grew up and made money, I would take them to the hospital for a check-up so that they could live to be a hundred years old.
But the problem is, our economic conditions don't allow it!
After entering the workforce, he finally understood why his parents, despite having some savings, were always hesitant to go to a proper hospital when they were unwell.
The savings book in my parents' drawer was for dealing with "what ifs"—it was the last bit of security for this family.
The more you save, the more confident you'll feel!
So, ten years later, when his mother casually said on the phone, "I'm just a little dizzy, it's an old problem," he learned to speak the same language as his parents.
"Mom, then you should get more rest."
He didn't dare say another word.
That phrase, "Go get it checked out," carried immense weight!
The fear behind it is a chain reaction—if the outcome is bad, the medical expenses could crush the peace that this family has carefully maintained for decades in an instant.
Liu Zhuohao cannot bear the consequences of those words.
It's not that I'm unwilling, it's that I can't!
"Why go to any hospital? They're just rip-offs!" the mother instinctively retorted, then her anxiety became palpable. "Did the results come out? Did you do poorly?"
"Not yet, it'll be a while. Um, I have something to discuss with you guys over dinner tonight." Liu Zhuohao paused for a moment before finally saying, "I might not be planning to go to university. I'm thinking of setting up a stall and trying out some small business."
Upon hearing this, the mother's back instantly stiffened, as if she had turned into a plaster statue.
The mother's back stiffened instantly: "No way! These days, even sweeping the streets requires a diploma!"
"No, Mom, don't panic, let me explain." Liu Zhuohao laid out the reality of the situation. "With my grades, I'll only get into a third-tier university at best. The tuition is ridiculously expensive, and when I look for a job, I might be sitting at the same table as someone with a vocational college diploma!"
He's someone who has memories of the next decade or so, and he knows all too well that this diploma will have limited use in a future that's all twisted and turned.
In my past life, my parents scrimped and saved, and I even worked part-time, almost incurring student loan debt.
Although domestic interest rates are almost zero, unlike those abroad, Liu Zhuohao was unwilling to incur debt if he could avoid it.
The family spent over 100,000 yuan to support his studies, but the job he did had absolutely nothing to do with his major!
The main reason is that there are too many people!
Moreover, it's not just a matter of "maybe" that they'll be sitting at the same table as junior college students. In the future, private third-tier colleges will be just like junior colleges!
Even 17 years later, many places have successively abolished the third-tier college system, and many people still say that as long as you pay money, you can get in!
When the topic of "tuition fees" came up, the mother fell silent, her brows furrowing.
Liu Zhuohao knew what she was thinking. She cared about her reputation. All her relatives and friends' children were going to college, so how could her son not be?
But he has already made his decision.
If we go back to this day more than a decade ago, he could not possibly go to university again, even if he studied very hard this time.
But in reality, it's meaningless.
Furthermore, if he really needs such a diploma in the future, he can obtain it through adult college entrance examination.
To put it bluntly, among those who will become famous in the future, who has a low level of education? Are they all really academically gifted? They all got there later!
If I can truly develop myself based on my "prophecy" about the future, my future diploma will definitely not be from a third-tier university.
Maybe, those prestigious universities are all possibilities.
after all--
The future belongs to the era where traffic is king!
When Liu Zhuohao realized he had traveled back more than a decade to today, his first thought was—I want to become an internet celebrity!
If this choice were made today, and the author were to write an urban novel, the author would most likely be ridiculed by readers as "misleading the youth" and accused of promoting bad ideas.
After all, in most people's minds these days, a college degree is very important.
But if we were to go back to 2014, what would you do if you could go back 10 or 25 years from now?
"Don't worry about the money, we have plenty!" the mother suddenly said, her tone resolute and carrying a sense of facing certain death.
Liu Zhuohao felt helpless. Did he not know whether his family had money or not?
Back then, in order to get my child into this third-tier university, my parents stopped paying social security contributions until they were close to retirement, at which point they resumed paying them.
Of course, my family isn't exactly poor; we don't need to apply for subsidies, but we're not rich either.
—An ordinary family.
They are not the kind of ordinary working-class family who own a house and a car, eat out during holidays, and occasionally travel as a family.
Instead, they are an ordinary family whose parents' combined income is six or seven thousand yuan, they own a house in the old city, and if they cook at home, they can eat meat every meal. They basically don't have any extra time to travel to other cities throughout the year.
"Yes, yes, yes, our family is rich!"
Liu Zhuohao didn't argue back, but went along with her words, "But you see, studying is for making more money in the future. Now I'm planning to set up a food truck and sell breakfast at the school gate. Maybe if I really succeed, then why bother studying? I can make money right away."
--make money.
After returning to his hometown more than a decade later, the first people he worries about are his parents.
After that, all I could think about was making money.
He didn't want to experience that kind of life where he had to constantly compromise with life and give up his principles because he didn't have money.
But after a long silence, the mother could only manage to utter one sentence: "We'll talk about it when your father gets back."