Lubei Middle School in Wuzhaoyin City was one of the "top six" middle schools and could even rank among the top thirty on the entire Empire River Star.
However, Empire River Star was a "fourth-class colonized planet," so the entire planet only had six large cities, with a total population of about one billion—far less than those "first-class colonized planets" with populations easily reaching hundreds of billions.
The natural environment on a first-class colonized planet was almost identical to the mother planet, habitable without needing any transformations.
Chen Gu changed magnetic rail transit trains twice and arrived at Lubei Middle School in just over ten minutes.
Standing at the school's entrance and watching the "students" hurry in, Chen Gu couldn't help feeling an odd sense of strangeness. The original body had attended school here up to senior year, but that was over forty years ago. The school hadn't changed much, and it slowly blended with some of Chen Gu's "memories."
As for the real Chen Gu, high school... that was a distant yet familiar place where many unforgettable things had happened.
Chen Gu gave a wry smile to himself. Who would have thought I'd actually come back to attend high school again.
There was a small house at the school entrance. Old Liu, the gatekeeper with eagle eyes, spotted Chen Gu mixed in with the students. "What are you doing?!" he demanded.
Chen Gu presented his enrollment documents and, honestly playing the role of a transfer student, said, "I'm here to register."
Old Liu checked the documents very seriously—of course, he couldn't understand a thing. He then contacted someone inside the school. Not long after, a lean, middle-aged male teacher came out and said to Old Liu, "He's in my class. I'll take care of it."
The middle-aged teacher first took Chen Gu to the academic affairs office to complete the enrollment procedures. During this process, Chen Gu learned that this teacher, surnamed Dai, was the homeroom teacher of Class 9 in the senior grade.
Teacher Dai then took Chen Gu to his office and closed the door. Sitting behind his desk with a stern face, he spoke to Chen Gu seriously, "I know who you are. Although I don't know why you were released early, you must cherish this rare opportunity to start anew!
"Get rid of all those bad habits you had before. I won't be prejudiced against you. But if you're still the same and don't think of repenting, there's no place for that kind of bad student in my class...
"I don't care who your dad is, I will definitely have you expelled!"
Chen Gu slowly bowed his head. After Teacher Dai finished speaking, he suddenly raised his head. His eyes were brimming with tears, and his voice was heavy with deep guilt and an intent to reform. "You don't need to say any more, Teacher. I know I was wrong! For forty years, I couldn't even see my father for the last time before he passed away..."
"Back then, I was just young and ignorant, but such a long time is enough for reflection. Rest assured, I am different from before. My father's dying wish was for me to study hard and get into a good college—I definitely won't let him down."
As he said this, Chen Gu clenched his fists tightly in front of him, expressing his determination.
Teacher Dai was startled for a moment. However, a child who knows his mistakes and corrects them deserves to be earnestly educated and given a second chance, especially since he was still young.
Teacher Dai was somewhat gratified. "Good, where there's a will, there's a way. With such determination, I believe you definitely won't disappoint your father."
"Come on, let me take you to the class to meet your classmates."
This time, Teacher Dai's attitude had softened considerably as he led Chen Gu out of the office. If he had seen Chen Gu lightly wipe the tears from the corner of his eyes with a finger, then nonchalantly flick them several meters away... he might have been so angry that he'd drag Chen Beiliu out of his coffin to give this son a lesson.
Along the way, Teacher Dai kept showing concern for him, asking things like, "School has been in session for a month and a half now. If you can't keep up with the coursework, tell me, and I'll arrange for someone to help you catch up."
"Where are you living now? Are you accustomed to reintegrating into society and your life?"
"Do you have any special skills? The school has many support programs for students with talents, and they can also earn extra points for college admission."
Walking proudly in front, Teacher Dai felt a sense of accomplishment. He had just had a "heart-to-heart" talk that had seemingly turned a criminal, sentenced by the Supreme Court to Soul Imprisonment, into a reforming prodigal son. Being a teacher, what greater achievement could there be in life?
While warmly engaging with Chen Gu, he was thinking to himself, With my abilities, I should qualify to compete in the 'Top Ten Teachers' selection on Empire River Star in three months, shouldn't I?
And Chen Gu, following behind, was also reflecting. Was that a bit overacted? What's been going on with me lately? Even if it's because of soul transmigration, my acting skills have slipped quite a bit.
Could it be that I'll be classified as part of the "exaggerated school" in the acting circle in the future? Anyway, it's better than being part of the "roaring school."
The teacher and student, each with their own thoughts, unknowingly arrived at the classroom door. Introducing a transfer student was routine. Of course, Chen Gu's "real identity" had to be concealed. The others were simply told that he had transferred from another school.
Then, Chen Gu was assigned a seat against the wall, in the second-to-last row. The good students sitting in the front showed no interest in such a transfer student, as the pressure from the impending college entrance exams was overwhelming.
However, a few girls in the class occasionally glanced his way. After all, Chen Gu had an acting background, so naturally, his appearance was impeccable.
After a few classes, Chen Gu already had a basic understanding of the education in this world. At least at the high school level, it wasn't difficult for him.
By the last physics class of the morning, he had already started to eagerly answer questions.
And Teacher Dai was their physics teacher. Seeing this, he felt reassured. The achievement of a distinguished teacher salvaging a misguided youth is pretty much accomplished!
When the lunch break came, Chen Gu quietly hid in a corner—not because he didn't want to interact with his classmates, but because he ate so much that he was afraid of startling everyone.
Cultural studies in the morning, physical training in the afternoon.
Since encountering the Alien Insect Race, humanity's sense of crisis had sharply increased. They realized that there might be a multitude of "opponents" in the vast Star Sea. Consequently, the status of soldiers greatly rose, making military schools a popular choice for students.
Consequently, all schools began cultivating graduates with excellent qualities from an early age, which led to the emergence of this dual-focused educational model of both literature and martial arts.
The physical training course was divided into two parts: one for physical fitness and the other for tactics.
As for physical fitness, even if one couldn't eventually enter a military school, they could still develop a healthy physique—plus, with young children being naturally active, this was very popular.
The tactics course, on the contrary, was quite different. Many felt that unless one became a general, the course was rather useless. They believed that if one really managed to get into a military school, they could learn tactics then.
In the afternoon, two physical fitness classes included various exercises and competitive sports. During the entire training, Chen Gu maintained a low profile. Compared to the Star Battle Instructor prep training he had done in the morning, this was child's play; he didn't even break a sweat.
Chen Gu controlled his abilities, keeping all his performance metrics at a moderate level.
Chen Gu wasn't very interested in the tactics class either. Griffin had an extremely high aptitude for tactical command. During the memory-attachment process, Chen Gu was influenced and learned a lot as a result.
Today's tactics class teacher was a bald, short old man dressed in a coarse tweed checkered suit. Striding in with his hands behind his back, he started the class, "Today, let's discuss some famous historical examples of 'strategical deception' that were successfully employed in battles."
"Strategical deception?" Chen Gu's interest was piqued immediately. Griffin Wester, that straightforward man, always disdained anything like "strategical deception," even though he was quite capable in this area.
By the end of the class, the other students were practically nodding off, but Chen Gu sat upright, eyes shining.
This teacher… really knows his stuff, Chen Gu muttered to himself, listening attentively. The teacher could talk freely about the myriad battles in human history. The details he recalled were extremely accurate, including the numbers for both sides' troop strength, firepower, and casualties.
When class was over, the old man shuffled out as he had come, not paying particular attention to the only student who had listened attentively. He simply didn't care whether the students were listening or not; he was pleased with his own lecture.
As the school bell rang for the end of the day, students swarmed out.
Chen Gu mingled with the crowd and headed out of the school gate, where several people were loitering and scouting. Seeing Chen Gu, they nudged each other and approached him together.
"Hey!" The leader raised his chin rudely at Chen Gu. "You, come with me."
Chen Gu was taken aback, sizing up the other person before recognizing him. "It's you…"
The person's face turned red with anger, interrupting Chen Gu with a shout, "Listen to me! Don't you ever come to Lubei Middle School again, or you'll be sorry!"
Chen Gu narrowed his eyes, noting that Teacher Dai was making his way through the crowded stream of students with suave moves, quickly approaching. He couldn't help but smile silently without responding.
"Did you hear me clearly?!" The other person thought he was being disrespected and, growing angrier, bellowed as he advanced.
But our beloved Teacher Dai, with his pair of comforting hands, grabbed the instigator from behind by the collar. "Chen Zili, what do you think you're doing!"
A hint of mischief flashed across Chen Gu's face, quickly replaced by an expression of sorrow and indignation. "Teacher," he pleaded, "he… he won't let me go to school. I… I need this chance. It's only in school that I can turn over a new leaf and live a different life…"
Teacher Dai grew even angrier. Holding Chen Zili, he comforted Chen Gu, "Don't be afraid; I'm here."
He turned to Chen Zili and delivered the ultimate threat, "Call your parents—"
A look of utter dejection spread across Chen Zili's face…
Chen Gu walked away, reflecting. The performance just now seemed a bit better, portraying the feelings of a wayward youth unable to fully control his own destiny with a mix of obvious regret and subtle restraint—brilliant! Indeed, too much is as bad as not enough; just the right amount is all that's necessary.
Yes, I indeed have the potential to be a big shot!
After basking in self-admiration for a while, his face gradually took on a bizarre expression. The hell… am I being bullied by my own grandson?
That's right. When Chen Zili appeared, Chen Gu had recognized him. The boy bore a resemblance to Chen Jixian, and apart from this grandson, no one else in the school had any reason to trouble him.
But this grandson didn't inherit my talent for acting. He bluffed with an outward show of toughness but had no intention of actually hitting me; he was just putting on a brave front to intimidate me.
"I'll make you regret it"—how outdated a threat. Even if you're not eloquent, you should at least be able to shout "I'll beat you up every time I see you."
Chen Zili's subtlety in expression and emotional control was too poor; Chen Gu saw right through him.
Chen Gu returned to his apartment complex and noticed that the flashy, luxurious maglev car was gone. Just as the elevator reached his floor, he heard his neighbor's child being punished mercilessly, accompanied by wails and heart-wrenching cries.
A few neighbors were discussing, "I heard they have to pay hundreds of thousands of Starshields in compensation!"
"The other side is also tough, threatening to call the police and sue…"
"Heh!"