On Monday, the moment the morning alarm rang, Leng Shuang got up at once. After washing up and tidying himself a little, he picked up the two steaming meat buns on the table and started eating.

In this life, Leng Shuang had no father. His mother, Leng Yu, couldn't find a man, so she could only use the state's sperm bank to get pregnant and give birth to him.

Maybe she was just especially lucky, but Leng Yu got Leng Shuang.

In the eyes of women of this generation, giving birth to a boy was a bit luckier. If they had a son, the state would give them a certain subsidy. If they only had one child, and that child was a boy, then they were even luckier. That way, after turning fifty-five, they could receive a state pension subsidy. The monthly payment was enough for them to live it up in the suburbs for the rest of their lives.

Of course, there was a condition.

They had to raise the boy properly until he turned eighteen and graduated from high school.

Now, that day wasn't far off for Leng Yu. There were only a little over a hundred days left.

So starting two months ago, she'd already begun enjoying herself.

She left early and came back late, not because she was working, but because she was out playing cards and going to bars. Her life couldn't have been more comfortable. All she had to do was feed Leng Shuang from time to time and make sure he didn't die.

"...Sigh."

Looking at the empty room, Leng Shuang let out a helpless sigh.

His mother had never shown him much affection. The way she looked at him was like she was looking at a golden egg, just waiting for it to hatch so she could harvest the fruit.

"Leng Shuang!! Time for school!"

Just as he finished breakfast, a clear voice came from outside the front door.

"Coming."

With his packed schoolbag in hand, Leng Shuang opened the door.

Standing outside was a delicate and cute young boy. He was half a head shorter than Leng Shuang. His petite body was wrapped in a school uniform, brimming with youthful energy. He looked at Leng Shuang with a bright smile. There were shining dimples on his face, and the little tiger tooth he showed made him look especially adorable.

This was one of Leng Shuang's good friends, Yu Mo. He was basically the kind of bestie girls had in his previous life.

"Hurry up, or if we're any later, those office workers with that gross smell all over them are gonna fight us for the subway." Yu Mo pinched his nose, as if he could already smell the sweaty stench of commuters in the blazing summer heat. His tone carried a trace of disgust.

"Hahaha, let's go."

Leng Shuang chuckled softly, and the two hurried downstairs to catch the subway.

Even though it was only around six-thirty in the morning, the streets that had just woken up already had plenty of people doing tai chi in the open spaces. Quite a few old ladies in sleeveless undershirts held palm-leaf fans in their hands, watching everything happening in the residential complex like intelligence officers for the neighborhood.

"Tsk tsk, no matter how you look at it, those two kids are really pretty. I told Leng Yu before that I wanted to arrange a match with my daughter, but Leng Yue kept turning me down. Kinda regret it."

"Your daughter looks like that and you've still got the nerve? No money, no looks. Who'd want her? Leng Yu isn't stupid. A kid that pretty is obviously meant to marry up. Sell the child off and that's a whole pile of income."

"I kinda regret it too. Just thinking about a kid that pretty getting pinned under some strange woman makes my heart ache. Why can't that person be me? Sigh~"

"Hahaha, you really are something. Old body, young heart."

"------"

The moment the two came down, they quickly sped past the gazes of these neighborhood information agents. Unfortunately, those women had no filter, so the pair still heard every bit of their shameless flirting.

"Look at them, look at them, look at them! Those old fossils aren't even afraid of getting styes! They're that old and their heads are still full of men. They should just choke to death at night!"

Yu Mo turned back and curled his lips in disgust.

"Cough, cough."

Hearing that, Leng Shuang nearly choked.

His good friend seemed to have a huge prejudice against women. His mouth was sharp, and he gave off a real little fairy-boy vibe.

"Leng Shuang, don't you think so too?"

"Right, right, I think so too," Leng Shuang echoed.

"Hehe, let's go." Hearing Leng Shuang agree, Yu Mo seemed to feel much better.

In this world, beautiful boys were an extremely scarce resource. The sight of the two of them walking down the street always drew plenty of attention. Especially Leng Shuang. He was a bit taller than ordinary boys, which made his figure look tall and slender in women's eyes. He also had a nice softness to his body, not skinny like a bamboo pole. Tall and smooth, paired with extremely high looks, he gave off the kind of pure yet elegant charm that was deeply alluring.

Some young women glanced at him while driving and ended up crashing straight into another car.

Yu Mo scoffed at that, while Leng Shuang could only smile helplessly.

About ten minutes later, the two caught the early subway. Just as Yu Mo had said, there weren't many people on the first train, so it wasn't crowded, and they both got seats.

"Hoo~"

After stepping into the subway and sitting down, the two let out long breaths and smiled at each other.

Every Monday, catching the subway was a challenge for them. If they were even one train late, they'd have to squeeze in with the office workers. The second train had several times more people than the first.

And at that point, they often got harassed and ran into certain women on the subway.

After learning that lesson the hard way, the two had sworn they would never take the second train for the rest of their lives.

"Oh right, Leng Shuang, what are you planning to do after graduation?" After catching the train, Yu Mo relaxed a little and started chatting.

"What am I planning to do after graduation? Xiao Mo, do you really think I won't get in?" Leng Shuang asked with a strange look.

"Of course you won't get in. You're only a little better than me. Your chances are probably lower than winning the lottery." Yu Mo's vicious mouth showed no restraint at all.

Leng Shuang glared at Yu Mo's cheek unhappily. "Is that how you talk to a friend?"

"Hehe, I'm just being realistic. So? Did you get your temporary residence permit for Sakura City sorted out?"

"Yeah."

Seeing Yu Mo's meaningful smile, Leng Shuang answered helplessly.

He really didn't have much confidence, so he'd gotten the paperwork done early. Once he graduated, he'd go straight to work.

But he still wasn't willing to accept it.

He had already failed once in his previous life.

In this life...

Was he really going to fail again?

"No matter what, I have to try once. Maybe... maybe there's still hope?"

A light flickered in Leng Shuang's bright eyes. He clenched his fist, as if he could already see a sliver of hope for his future.

"You really won't give up till you hit the Yellow River, huh? I know myself clearly. With just a little over a hundred days left, I don't even want to review anymore. I'd rather just enjoy myself. In the end, us men still have to rely on women anyway. So while there's still time, I should see which girl has the most potential and get into a relationship with her. Oh, right!"

Yu Mo's eyes lit up, like he'd just thought of something. He looked at Leng Shuang with a sly grin. "Leng Shuang, do you have someone you like?"

"Ah?!"

Hearing that, Leng Shuang froze. His eyes darted around. "N-no, of course not. Where would that even come from? The college entrance exam is almost here. Who has time to think about that stuff?"

Leng Shuang avoided Yu Mo's meaningful gaze, but his ears, which had turned slightly red from panic, were fully exposed in front of him.

"Let me guess who it is..."

"I said no already. The college entrance exam is what matters most!"

"You're still pretending? Your ears are red, you dishonest little thing! If the girls at school found out you already liked someone, I wonder how heartbroken they'd be. Tsk tsk tsk. They probably wouldn't even be in the mood for the exam anymore. Hehe, I'm gonna tell them all about this!"

"Don't!" Leng Shuang said hurriedly. "You'll affect their performance."

It didn't really have much to do with him, but Leng Shuang was still afraid that some people might actually do badly on the exam because of him.

If that really happened, he'd feel awful.

"Aww, our great campus beauty Leng is so kind at heart~ If it were me, I'd send every girl an ambiguous letter one week before the exam, trick them all onto the field, and humiliate them hard... Mm, just imagining that scene is exciting~"

"Come on. If I really did that, they'd probably hate me to death."

Leng Shuang imagined the scene too and couldn't help shaking his head.

That kind of little-devil stunt was something a well-behaved and soft-hearted person like him really couldn't do.

"Anyway, don't go telling people, okay? I seriously can't handle something like that."

Leng Shuang's expression turned serious as he warned him.

"Fine. Back to the point, Leng Shuang, you should answer me now. Who's the person you like?"

Meeting Yu Mo's curious gaze, Leng Shuang's eyes shifted away. He hesitated for a while, then finally let out a helpless sigh.

"Lin Mo."

"Lin Mo?!"

As if he'd just heard some explosive news, Yu Mo cried out in shock and stared at Leng Shuang in disbelief.

"Shh! Keep your voice down!"

Leng Shuang hurriedly covered Yu Mo's mouth. His eyes swept around the subway, like a thief who had almost been caught red-handed.

Some of the people nearby were looking at them too, but thankfully, they were all early-rising office workers. There weren't any students from their school.

Only after confirming that did Leng Shuang let go of Yu Mo's mouth and shoot him a slightly resentful look.

"Wait, that can't be right. Shouldn't the one you like be Hikawa Yuriko? How is it Lin Mo, that honest little airhead?"

Ignoring Leng Shuang's resentful stare, Yu Mo lowered his voice and voiced his confusion.

"Huh?" Now it was Leng Shuang's turn to be confused. "Why would you think I like Hikawa Yuriko?"

Hikawa Yuriko sat in front of Leng Shuang. She had a head of pink hair. He'd heard it was natural, not dyed, so it looked especially soft and glossy.

On top of that, Hikawa Yuriko had a seductive oval face, and her figure had developed earlier than most. While the girls around them were still flat as washboards or barely budding, Hikawa Yuriko already had the beginnings of a full, lush chest.

It could be said that Hikawa had a very beautiful pair of boobs.

But Leng Shuang was a relatively conservative person. Once he'd developed feelings for Lin Mo, he had no intention of giving any extra affection to anyone else, even if Hikawa Yuriko really was outstanding in terms of appearance...

"I noticed you always like staring at Hikawa Yuriko."

"This..."

Leng Shuang froze for a moment.

Thinking back, he really did like looking at Hikawa Yuriko's soft, flowing pink hair.

Mm, and that beautiful budding shape too.

At that moment, Leng Shuang frowned, as if he'd suddenly realized something.

If even Yu Mo had noticed, then didn't that mean other people might have noticed too, like...

Hikawa Yuriko herself!!