Reborn not to be a beast of burden, I set the rules.

Ye Ming didn't want to take the lead, but if it would be a good opportunity to humiliate Wang Chao, he was willing to do so.

Besides, if Wang Chao continues to lead the class like this, Class 3 will definitely be at the bottom.

Being at the bottom right after being reborn is not a good sign.

The instructor glanced at him: "Why don't you give it a try?"

Fine.

Without further hesitation, Ye Ming stepped out of the line.

The afternoon sun was scorching, and the heat from the playground rose up, casting his shadow short and solid beneath his feet.

He stood three meters in front of the line, turned around, and faced the whole class.

Thirty-two faces, some nervous, some expectant, and some simply there to watch the spectacle.

Wang Chao stood at the back of the line, his face flushing red and then turning pale, his lips pressed tightly together.

Ye Ming didn't look at him.

Although he is of average appearance, it doesn't mean he doesn't care about his image.

For ordinary people, face is more precious.

If you're going to do something, do it properly.

He first glanced at the positions of the entire class.

The second person from the left in the third row stood half a step forward. The first person from the right in the fourth row shrank back a bit.

I practiced all day and still couldn't see it.

"The second one from the left in the third row, move forward half a step. The first one from the right in the fourth row, move back one step."

The two of them moved, and the whole formation was complete in an instant.

He glanced at the queue again.

There was a boy in the front row who always swung his arm too high, his elbow almost poking the person next to him in the face.

A girl in the back row was taking big steps, and she was falling further and further behind the people in front of her.

He walked over.

"You're swinging your arm too high, lower it a bit." He reached out and pressed the boy's elbow. "Around this position."

The boy nodded and tried once. It was still too high.

"Lower it a little more, yes, like that." Ye Ming took a step back and looked around. "Try taking a couple of steps."

The boy took two steps, and this time he got it right.

He then walked over to the girl in the back row and said, "Your strides are too big; you can't keep up with the people in front of you. Slow down and follow in their footsteps."

The girl was a little nervous, and her first kick was still big.

Ye Ming didn't urge him, but followed along by taking a step: "Smaller, even smaller. Okay, this is the step, remember it."

He returned to the front of the line and took a deep breath. A hot breeze blew in from the other end of the track, carrying the smell of the synthetic track.

"Forward!"

He stepped out with his left foot, and the whole class followed him, taking their first steps in unison.

After practicing all morning, the third squad had a drill competition in the afternoon and came in third place in the whole company.

The instructor glanced at Ye Ming during his comments: "To lead the team like this right from the start is quite good; you have a certain talent for command."

His classmate next to him patted him on the shoulder: "Dude, that's awesome!"

Ye Ming chuckled; this was the highest praise a boy could receive.

Wang Chao stood at the back of the line, his face flushing red and then turning pale, his lips pressed tightly together.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Ye Ming retreated to the back of the group and caught a glimpse of Wang Chao's appearance, which made him feel much better.

The fourteen-day military training finally came to a close with a performance on the morning of the fourteenth day.

The marching drills, the formation inspections, and the leaders' speeches—the orderly footsteps reflected the sweat and growth of the past ten days.

Instructor Li Feng shouted "Attention!" for the last time, saluted the whole class, then turned and left without looking back.

Some people's eyes reddened, and some secretly wiped away tears.

Ye Ming stood in the group, watching the instructor's departing figure.

it is finally over.

That afternoon, the English diagnostic test started on time.

Just as Ye Ming found a seat and sat down, a voice came from next to him: "Hey, are you from Class 3 of Humanities? We seem to be in the same formation?"

Turning around, I saw a pretty girl with delicate features, soft eyebrows and eyes, and regular facial features. She was the kind of girl whose appearance was pleasing to the eye, but whose face I couldn't quite remember afterwards.

It's Su Qing.

Ye Ming nodded politely: "Mm."

"My name is Su Qing, what's yours?"

"Ye Ming".

Su Qing smiled and started a conversation, talking about the trivial things that happened during military training. Ye Ming responded casually, but his thoughts drifted for a moment.

This was also an exam in his past life. Su Qing took the initiative to add him on QQ, and the two chatted for a while. He almost thought it was a sign of affection.

I later found out that she had always had a boyfriend.

In order to pursue her, Wang Chao from the next dormitory deliberately exposed her vague feelings in public, making him look like a clown who interfered in other people's relationship.

Memories flashed by.

Ye Ming's gaze towards Su Qing softened.

It's not disgust, just estrangement.

Unaware of what was going on, Su Qing smiled and suggested, "Let's add each other on QQ after the exam, so we can keep in touch."

Ye Ming nodded calmly: "Okay."

Add it if you want.

I'm not replying to any messages this time. Let's see who can do anything to me.

As the bell rang to signal the end of the exam, Ye Ming had just stepped out of the exam room when he heard a clear shout behind him.

"Ye Ming!"

Xu Wei jogged over, waving her phone in her hand, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Quick, quick, give me your phone number, and add me on QQ too! That way we can contact each other if needed!"

Ye Ming was momentarily stunned.

This girl always manages to ruin my resolve.

But he still recited a string of numbers as she said it.

Xu Wei carefully saved it and wrote three words in the note: "Ye is such a good person".

After saving the money, she looked up at him and smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents: "Okay! If I need your help in the future, you have to help me. You can't renege on the 'good person' title you claimed!"

Ye Ming was taken aback.

This girl's got some skills; she dared to set a trap for me.

He nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "Alright, I won't renege on the debt."

He cursed inwardly: "That brat, every time she appears, she makes my heart skip a beat."

She was the one who saved him in his past life, and she's the one who's giving him the "friend zone" card in this life too.

"Friend zone"? Doesn't exist.

We need to find a way to return this card.

This scene was witnessed by Su Qing, who was walking out of the examination room.

She stepped forward and said to Ye Ming with a smile, "By the way, you haven't registered for QQ yet, which we were talking about earlier."

Ye Ming nodded calmly and gave his QQ number.

Whoever sends the most messages is the clown.

Su Qing saved the file, then glanced at Xu Wei, her tone softening slightly: "You two...are you very close?"

Xu Wei said casually, "We met during military training. He helped me out." She then waved to Ye Ming, "I'm leaving now, talk to you later!"

As she turned around, she glanced at Su Qing.

Just one glance, very quickly, so quickly it was as if I hadn't even looked.

Then she left.

Su Qing nodded, smiled and said, "Then I'll be going now," before turning and leaving.

Ye Ming stood there for a moment.

We need to find a way to remove the "good person" label.

As night fell, the lights in dormitory 204 of Taoyuan Dormitory 7 were turned off.

Zhou Lei breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally, training's over! Now I can play whatever I want, right? I'm going to play games for a few days straight!"

Lin Hao said slowly and deliberately, "I'd like to join a club and make some friends. I've heard the photography club is pretty good..."

Chen Mo scratched his head: "I want to familiarize myself with the major courses first, so I don't fall behind later."

He turned to look at Ye Ming, "Ye Ming, what about you? What are your plans?"

Ye Ming paused for a moment: "Let's take a look first."

If you ask, it means "I'll take a look first"; if you ask again, it means "I haven't thought it through yet".

Chen Mo didn't press further, and turned over: "Okay, then let's go to the library together sometime."

The group chatted casually, their voices gradually fading away.

Ye Ming's thoughts, however, sank into a trance.

He recalled his past life, the nuclear-powered donkeys and horses that never stopped running in that government agency.

He looked at the 19-year-old body before him, the air of 2009, and his life that had been lost and regained.

In this life, I will never be a tool to be exploited in the workplace.

He recalled the bright, sparkling eyes Xu Wei had when she ran over earlier.

The bottle of water was still on the corner of the table, with water droplets condensing on the plastic bottle.

He stared at it for two seconds.

This girl is really something else, why do I keep thinking about her?

After a while.

Although she is poisonous, she is my benefactor from a past life, the only person who came to save me.

It must be protected.

But to protect others, you must first stand firm yourself.

He needs a fulcrum: money.

Sufficient money is enough to make him say "no" to everything that is unreasonable.

What can make money?

The vague thoughts in my mind gradually became clearer—"Life Restart Simulator".

That web-based mini-game that launched with zero advertising in later years and amassed a huge amount of traffic in just a few days.

In 2009, internet traffic was far scarcer and more valuable than it is today.

Once you create it and generate traffic, you can make your first fortune.

He had figured out his strategy: pure web-based games, start a personal website, follow all the proper procedures, obtain ICP registration and software copyright. Once the traffic builds up, he'll package it up and sell it directly to large websites or game companies.

The moment the thought formed in his mind, he froze.

I'm a liberal arts student, I can't program.

How do you create a website? How do you develop a game? How do you write code? How do you set up a server? How do you obtain an ICP license? How do you apply for software licenses?

These are details I didn't research when I was writing novels in my previous life.

The road ahead seems clear.

But every step is a high wall that you have to build from scratch.

My roommate's snoring gradually began.

Chen Mo's breathing was even, Zhou Lei occasionally ground his teeth, and Lin Hao turned over and then fell silent again.

Ye Ming was not sleepy.

A liberal arts student is tasked with creating a web-based game from scratch.

The first step is a mountain.