I've been reborn, I'm definitely going to become an internet celebrity!

Chapter 53: [Finally, an opportunity!]

As noon approached, the steps in front of the bookstore became scorching hot.

Liu Zhuohao squatted in the shade inside the bookstore, fiddling with the back cover of an action camera.

The shop door was open, and intermittent voices mixed with the sound of traffic drifted in from outside.

"...My parents feel that in a family like ours, even if she goes to school, we won't be able to arrange a good job for her in the future, so they don't really want her to continue her studies."

It was Huang Weixiong's voice, a little muffled, as if through a layer of cloth.

Liu Zhuohao paused for a moment, didn't look up, and took out the battery to replace it.

Another voice rang out; it was Li Zekai, filled with doubt:

"But this high school is considered above average around here. Anyone who can get into this school must have good grades. If they just work a little harder..."

The rest of the sentence was left unsaid, but the meaning was clear: at least a second-tier university would be possible.

There was silence outside for a few seconds, broken only by the soft click of a lighter.

"My parents..." Huang Weixiong's voice rang out again, his tone somewhat subtle, "They think that apart from those top-tier schools, all other universities are pretty much the same."

As they spoke, a smell of smoke drifted over on the wind.

Liu Zhuohao placed the camera, now with its battery changed, on his lap, pulled a soft cloth from his bag, and began wiping the lens. The cool glass surface reflected the rows of bookshelves in the bookstore.

"But I definitely won't agree." Huang Weixiong's voice was lower, but clearer than before, with a stubbornness in it. "Anyway, I can earn money now, I'll figure out how to pay for her tuition and living expenses in the future."

Liu Zhuohao slowed his movements as he wiped the lens. He then put the velvet cloth back into the bag.

"They have no idea how important this degree is..." Huang Weixiong paused, then lowered his voice even further, almost as if talking to himself, "If I had this piece of paper, I..."

That's where the conversation ended abruptly.

Liu Zhuohao didn't move, waiting silently.

He could feel a cautious gaze cast in from the doorway, lingering on his back for a moment before quickly retreating.

It was completely quiet outside, with only the faint sounds of the marketplace in the distance.

Is such that.

In this world, there are people like Cai Jiahao's parents, and there are also people like my own parents, who grit their teeth and lift their children up to a higher level.

But there are also cases where, even though a child is already at a good starting line and there is a path ahead, they are still pulled back by the hand behind them, forcibly dragged back under the pretext of "reducing the burden on the family".

There's nothing new under the sun.

I can only say that everyone has their own difficulties.

The school bell rang out unexpectedly in the distance, its crisp sound breaking the midday gloom.

Almost simultaneously, a smiling question came from beside me:

"Are they waiting for a group photo?"

Liu Zhuohao looked up and saw the bookstore owner squatting down next to him with a smile.

"Fine, you're something else..."

He glanced at him sideways. "Your hearing is pretty sharp, isn't it?"

"What are you saying? Your stall is right in front of my door, it's hard for me to pretend I didn't hear you." The bookstore owner offered me a cigarette. "Thanks to you, my little bookstore is much more lively than before."

"Students used to rush to the Chenguang Stationery Store in front, but now they come here to buy a pancake and just stop by here."

Liu Zhuohao took the cigarette. "It's a win-win situation. If you're really sincere, you can waive my rent."

"No, definitely no, you don't need to give it to us anymore."

The bookstore owner chuckled, "But since you've already paid for these two months, I won't refund you. At most, I'll just skip breakfast and patronize your stall every day. That'll be doing you a favor, won't it?"

One looked to be over forty, and the other was less than twenty at most, yet they got together and chatted quite enthusiastically.

Liu Zhuohao put the cigarette in his pocket but didn't light it; it was almost time for school to end.

"I mentioned it to my son the other day, and he knows about that website you've been working on," the bookstore owner continued, "He specifically looked it up and said your videos are pretty decent, and you're quite capable online..."

Liu Zhuohao didn't respond, but glanced at his food truck in the distance.

The bookstore owner's nephew passed away a few days ago; he couldn't hold on.

As it turns out, he just wanted to get a taste of the soup, but he couldn't get any without fighting for it.

Those students would rather wait a while, or even go to other stores, than buy from him.

Why? Liu Zhuohao knew perfectly well, but he was too lazy to say it out loud.

Anyway, I've already given away those few words of advice that the bookstore owner gave me in exchange for lowering the rent.

But what about them? They didn't take a single word to heart!

Liu Zhuohao shook his head, putting this mess behind him.

He stood up, craned his neck and looked towards the street corner. There were already three or five figures rushing towards him in a hurry.

Some of the faces were quite familiar—

In my second year of high school, I was slacking off. Summer Solstice is not yet here, and the Tenth Vongola!

The moment Liu Zhuohao saw those faces, what popped into his mind wasn't their real names, but their IDs on Bilibili.

Also on my mind were the shy, hesitant way they approached me to exchange "secret signals" when I first set up my stall two months ago.

More and more people gathered; they were all students who had greeted each other when they passed by in the morning and arranged to come over after school.

Liu Zhuohao cleared his throat, raised his voice slightly, and began to speak with a smile:

"Hey, almost everyone's here! We've all been waiting for school to start!"

"You all remember, right? If I put this up here two months ago and the number of followers exceeded a thousand, there would be a gift. Several boxes of Xiangpiaopiao cookies were placed here, and I would give them to whoever bought them."

"This number of followers was broken during the holiday, and we've already sent out a batch of gifts, but I thought that since the start of the school year is festive, we should make up for it again so that the students who missed it last time won't feel like they missed out."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the group of young faces:

"By the way, I really, really want to take a group photo with everyone as a memento. I'll also upload the photo to Bilibili's video platform. If you don't mind being on camera, come over and take a photo with us."

A burst of laughter and chatter immediately erupted from the crowd.

Amidst the commotion, Liu Zhuohao's gaze passed over the swaying heads and landed a little further away, where several students were pushing and shoving a middle-aged man with thinning hair, awkwardly moving him toward them.

The middle-aged man looked very uncomfortable, as if he had been kidnapped.

Until his eyes met Liu Zhuohao's.

The awkwardness on the middle-aged man's face slowly faded, replaced by a helpless look that said, "Well, kid, so it was you who caused this trouble."

Liu Zhuohao quickly jogged over to meet him, his words sincere yet tinged with a rare touch of emotion:

"Teacher Chen! I'll use this method to invite you here and give you a surprise!"

"I really feel that this group photo just doesn't feel right without you."

Finally, he muttered, "I always felt something was wrong."

Before which?

That was in a past life.

When I was not capable, I would only dare to lower my head and walk around when I met my teacher on the street, for fear of being recognized and letting them know that I had let them down for the hard work they put into raising my grades in high school.

And then what? Later, he gritted his teeth and opened a shop, making it decent enough, but the teacher-student relationship had long been worn away by the years. He no longer had the chance to go up to his teacher and say, "Teacher, let me treat you to a meal."

Now, finally...

Teacher Chen glanced at him, then at the excited, beaming faces of the students around him, and finally sighed, a faint smile of helplessness appearing on her lips as she said, "You... I've hardly ever supported your business, and I'm almost embarrassed to even show my face in your photo."

Liu Zhuohao's smile suddenly vanished, and his expression became more serious: "Teacher Chen, when I was in high school... you didn't give up on me. I only gradually realized later that you didn't actually have to do that."

Teacher Chen's helpless expression froze instantly. Her mouth moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but the words were blocked by an even more complicated emotion, and she remained silent for a long time.