Chen Yang, interrupted in the middle of their conversation, looked over in annoyance. It was Xue Chen, the lead singer of "The Wanderers," dressed in a denim outfit and with long, flowing hair. He was smiling broadly at Ning Qiaoqian, completely ignoring Chen Yang standing beside her.
Ning Qiaoqian didn't even glance at Xue Chen, and said curtly,
"No time!"
Xue Chen was taken aback. He was used to Ning Qiaoqian's attitude, so he still persisted, saying,
"Let's go together! Boss Luo from Impression Jiangnan will be there tonight. Qiaoqian, your bartending skills are so great, why don't you get to know Boss Luo? He'll definitely give you a high…"
Ning Qiaoqian interrupted the chattering Xue Chen impatiently, saying,
"Are you deaf? Didn't I say I'm busy? And from now on, please call me by my full name! Are we that close?"
Then Ning Qiaoqian turned around, affectionately patted Chen Yang's shoulder, and said,
"Little Yang, you should hurry up too. If you're lucky, you might even catch up with Su He!"
Ning Qiaoqian also realized that Chen Yang's earlier excuse about having something to do was just that—an excuse. After saying this, she ignored the embarrassed Xue Chen and went straight behind the bar. "An eye for an eye," Chen Yang thought, choosing to ignore Xue Chen as well. He waved to Ning Qiaoqian behind the bar from afar, then walked out of the bar without looking back, completely disregarding Xue Chen.
As soon as Xue Chen turned around, his face contorted with rage. He walked to the bar entrance, watching Chen Yang's retreating figure, his eyes blazing with jealousy. Chen Yang's performance had brought the bar to its peak, and this overbearing behavior made Xue Chen very uncomfortable. Coupled with Ning Qiaoqian's icy indifference towards Xue Chen, while showing concern and intimacy towards Chen Yang, the stark contrast fueled Xue Chen's resentment towards Chen Yang.
After a moment of complex thought, Xue Chen took out his phone and dialed a number. After the call connected, Xue Chen wore a fawning smile, as if the person he was talking to was right in front of him:
"Brother Qing! It's me, Xue…yes, yes, the one who sings…I'm performing at Brother Zhou Weiqiang's bar right now. Let me tell you, I saw a beautiful girl here, absolutely your type…um, she's a college student! Very pure! Why don't you come over and take a look sometime…Hey! Brother Qing, you're too modest. If you liked that girl, Brother Qiang wouldn't be so disrespectful…Alright! It's a deal then! Goodbye, Brother Qing!"
Hanging up the phone, Xue Chen stared at Chen Yang's retreating figure, a hint of resentment on his face.
Chen Yang rushed as fast as he could, but couldn't catch up with Su He. However, he managed to get back before the dormitory building locked. It was nearly midnight. Chen Yang tiptoed into the dormitory and was surprised to find that his three roommates were still awake, sitting on their beds, each with a look of indignation on their faces.
"What's wrong, guys? You all look so awful!" Chen Yang asked, putting down his bag.
Most university dorms, regardless of gender, have a ranking system, usually based on age. Chen Yang's dorm was no exception. The eldest of the four, a straightforward and generous man from Northeast China, certainly had the air of a leader. Chen Yang was the third oldest.
Han Song sat up in bed, annoyed, and said:
"Today, the fourth guy got into a fight with Hu Tian from the Physical Education department at the sports field over who got the field. Hu Tian was very arrogant, saying that if they had the guts, they should settle the issue on the field. He issued a challenge: a five-a-side football match next Saturday, and the loser has to apologize and avoid the other guy from now on!"
The fourth guy, Cao Xiao, was tall and thin, a typical introvert. Besides various online games, Cao Xiao's biggest hobby was playing football. Whenever he had free time, he'd rush to the school's football field. His dream was to become China's Maradona, a dream shattered when he failed to get into a professional football academy at the age of thirteen.
Hearing Han Song's words, Cao Xiao was reminded of unpleasant memories and said angrily,
"Hu Tian is so unfair! Xiao Lei and I got the field first, and the game was only halfway through! He came and wanted to clear the field, saying it was for the school team's training! Just because they're on the school team doesn't mean they're so great!"
Second in line was Chi Yunfei. He wore thick glasses, looked refined and unassuming, and had an air of indifference to worldly affairs. He was also the top student in the dormitory. While others in college liked to chase girls, he preferred to spend time in the library, reading all kinds of books, and usually spent his spare money on books.
Just as Cao Xiao finished speaking, Chi Yunfei adjusted his glasses and slowly said,
"Fourth brother, they need the field to practice, just give way! Why argue with them? It won't hurt you to play a little less."
At this moment, Han Song chimed in,
"Second brother, you don't understand. Fourth brother just got a girlfriend, didn't he? He was watching us play today! He's a grown man, and in front of his girlfriend, how could he possibly swallow this insult?"
Chen Yang understood immediately. He knew about Cao Xiao's relationship not long ago. Han Song had even organized a drinking party for the dorm buddies to celebrate. For a guy like him to find a girlfriend was a stroke of good luck. No wonder Cao Xiao wouldn't budge today; it turned out his girlfriend was making him lose face!
"Got it! Even if you lose, you can't lose face! So fourth brother agreed to a match on the field next weekend!" Chen Yang said with a smile. "That's right! We can't let our girlfriends laugh at us!" Cao Xiao said.
"But aren't you going to make an even bigger fool of yourself in front of your girlfriend next weekend? They're on the school's soccer team!" Chi Yunfei bluntly poured cold water on his enthusiasm.
Han Song nodded with a worried expression:
"That's the problem. Hu Tianxia will definitely invite his teammates from the school team to play against us next week, and on our side, only Lao Si, a few guys from room 305 who played with us today are willing to help out. But to be honest, our skill level is still far inferior to theirs!"
Han Song hadn't considered Chi Yunfei and Chen Yang. Chi Yunfei was always focused solely on his studies, completely oblivious to anything else; sports were practically foreign to him. Chen Yang—or rather, Chen Yang's ex—was similar; the difference between him and Chi Yunfei was that he neither liked sports nor much of his studies.
When the topic of personnel came up, Cao Xiao's eyes suddenly lit up. He looked at Chen Yang and excitedly said, "Boss, I almost forgot! Third Brother's footwork is pretty good! I saw it with my own eyes the other day! I think Third Brother could be our secret weapon!"
Cao Xiao began to describe to Han Song, his words flowing freely, what he had witnessed a few days prior.
It was the day Chen Yang was reborn. He had asked for leave from work, citing an injury, to rest in his dormitory. Actually, he was gathering intelligence on the Hongyan Club's forum. The diverse information was giving him a headache, so he stood up to relax. He happened to see the soccer ball Cao Xiao had placed in the corner of the dormitory and went over to juggle it with interest.
In his previous life, Chen Yang was a fervent soccer fan. His idol was Ronaldinho, and he often imitated Ronaldinho and other star players' signature moves by watching videos. Thanks to his genius brain, he could quickly and perfectly mimic Ronaldinho's "cow tail," Zidane's "Marseille turn," and Ibrahimovic's "scorpion kick." Back in the Air Force, Chen Yang and his fellow soldiers rarely lost a game of football.
That day, Cao Xiao skipped class to play video games and witnessed Chen Yang juggling the ball. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Cao Xiao would never have believed that Chen Yang, who hadn't played football in almost three years, possessed such exquisite ball control. That day, he excitedly bombarded Chen Yang with questions, which Chen Yang brushed off.
Today, Cao Xiao was blinded by anger and hadn't thought about this at all. Han Song's words had suddenly reminded him that he had a guy in his dorm with top-notch footwork!
Hearing Cao Xiao's words, Han Song was also intrigued. Han Song's biggest worry was that Hu Tian and the school football team would play freely, turning his team into a sieve, scoring 10-0 or 15-0—that would be a huge laughingstock. If Chen Yang's footwork was truly as exquisite as Cao Xiao described, then at least his team would have one point of attack that could threaten the opponent, preventing them from launching a full-scale attack, thus avoiding a humiliating defeat.
Thinking of this, Han Song said happily:
"Third brother! We didn't know you had such athletic talent! We've lived together for three years, and we always thought you were a lazy, clueless otaku! No doubt about it, you're in next weekend's competition!"
Chen Yang said with a smile:
"Absolutely! Brothers united, their strength can break gold!"
The group lay on the bed chatting. At first, everyone was very excited. Han Song and Cao Xiao were discussing tactics for next week, while Chi Yunfei and Chen Yang occasionally chimed in. Gradually, their voices grew softer, and soon the dormitory was filled with the sounds of snoring.
Chen Yang, however, was still wide awake. He had been reborn for three days, and it was time to seriously consider his future plans. Currently, his main source of information was the Hongyan Club forum, but increasing evidence suggested that the playboy Chen Yang didn't exist in this world. This further fueled Chen Yang's desire to investigate more deeply. Of course, Chen Yang didn't yet have the conditions to conduct a more in-depth investigation.
After much deliberation, Chen Yang came to a conclusion: his most urgent task was to earn some money to terminate his indentured contract with the bar and then resign. He simply couldn't get used to working for someone else, especially with the vast knowledge he had accumulated in his previous life, coupled with his three years of precognitive advantage. What couldn't be better than working for someone else?
However, in this life, he was just a poor student, and he spent almost all his spare time working at the bar. Where could he possibly get six thousand yuan—a "huge sum"—to pay off his debts in such a short time?
Chen Yang fell into deep thought.
Singing was one option. Chen Yang believed that if he were willing to switch to being a resident singer, the boss, Zhou Weiqiang, would be more than happy to oblige, and the pay would certainly be good. He could definitely pay off his debts in one to two months. But Chen Yang still thought it was too slow, and while singing occasionally was fine, the idea of performing on stage all the time was something he couldn't accept.
Thinking about singing suddenly sparked a brilliant idea in Chen Yang's mind. He realized it was a shortcut to making money, and his spirits lifted instantly. Chen Yang sat up abruptly, pulled out paper and pen from his bag, turned on the bedside lamp, and began writing furiously under the covers…