Going back to 18, demanding 30,000 yuan in compensation from the school beauty.

I was lying in bed at night.

After careful consideration, Lin Zhao finally confirmed one thing.

—In my original timeline, the song "Father" was released in 2011!

The reason he remembers it so clearly is because he didn't have a father, so he listened to the song many times in private.

At that time, he failed to get into university after graduation, and his stepfather and biological mother went bankrupt and were unable to support him to repeat his studies.

He was too lazy to learn, so he simply plunged into the labor market.

My first job was playing guitar in a nightclub.

I played it for a year, and then one night when a customer smashed a bottle over my head, I heard this song for the first time.

It was definitely 2011.

But now, in this parallel world, this song has appeared a year earlier.

The singers were still the Chopstick Brothers, and they also had a song called "Old Boys," which was also a huge hit.

Without careful observation, it's impossible to tell that they are two different worlds.

But Lin Zhao discovered something fishy.

That evening, I used my new phone to search on Baidu without worrying about data usage.

My suspicions have finally come true.

Even when placed within the same time dimension, the two worlds are completely different in many ways.

The trivialities of life cannot be compared, after all, the growth trajectories of the two Lin Zhaos are completely different.

The only comparable level is the macro level.

For example, the entertainment industry.

In this era, many singers and movie stars exist in both worlds simultaneously, such as Jay Chou, JJ Lin, and Mayday.

However, many well-known works and names have simply disappeared.

For example, Xu Song, a mainland China's own superstar and a mysterious online singer.

Lin Zhao is very certain that Xu Song became popular in the early 2000s.

But now, this person cannot be found on the internet.

At this point, Lin Zhao was finally certain that the two different choices she made when she was six years old had, after years of fermentation over time and space, brought about changes that had affected the entire world.

At least that's the case in the entertainment industry.

In places as far away as Hong Kong and Taiwan, the impact is not yet obvious, but in mainland China, there are already many discrepancies.

Some voices have disappeared completely, and some names have never been heard of.

The butterfly effect is terrifying.

Upon discovering the bug, Lin Zhao felt utterly horrified.

"Since the trajectories of the two worlds are so different, as someone who has crossed time and space, can I use the resources of the other world to manipulate things here and easily shock the entire entertainment industry?"

Lin Zhao thought about it again and again and felt it was very feasible.

Of course, he suppressed the thought as soon as it popped into his head.

I've experienced the entertainment industry, worked hard in it, and even stood at the top of the pyramid.

Because I once possessed it, the mystique has long since faded.

In contrast, he longed for the college experience, which he had never tried before.

Therefore, even after discovering the cheat, Lin Zhao was not in a hurry to use it.

Instead, they counted down the days, eagerly awaiting the start of school.

"University, university, just thinking about it makes me feel so good..."

……

Time flew by and it was March 12th.

With two days left before the start of the semester, Lin Zhao packed her luggage and prepared to head to school for registration.

Sun Jiajun and he booked the same train.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Science and Technology of China are located in the same university town, not far apart, and have the same start date.

The two good buddies happened to be going to register together, and they used each other as an excuse to dissuade their parents from seeing them off from afar.

The late summer heat was fierce, and the sunlight was so bright that people couldn't open their eyes.

No matter the time of day, my body is always covered in a sticky layer of sweat.

The dilapidated county train station was filled with the stench of stale instant noodle boxes, which masked the atmosphere of parting.

"Keep your ID card and phone safe. Your bank card and admission notice are in the innermost compartment of your backpack. Use your backpack as a pillow when you sleep at night, but don't sleep too soundly..."

Sun Jiajun's mother got a trendy perm this summer because her son was admitted to a prestigious university, and Lin Zhao teased her that she looked like a golden lion.

Xie Meijuan looked worried and kept talking to her son while holding his hand: "Oh right, Mom put five hundred yuan in your schoolbag. Buy some extra water for the journey. Don't buy too many snacks, and eat less instant noodles. There are boxed meals on the train; buy some and eat with Xiaolin. Drink plenty of water, and call Mom when you get to school. If you need anything, discuss it with Xiaolin..."

Xie Meijuan had so much to say, and seemed determined to keep talking until the train boarding inspection.

In contrast, the Lin family father and son on the side were unusually quiet.

Listening to the earnest words of advice beside him, Lin Haidong felt that as a father, he should also say something to his son who was going on a long trip for the first time.

After trying for a long time, I still couldn't say a word.

Lin Zhao saw through her father's embarrassment, sighed softly, and took the initiative to speak: "While I'm not home, don't just eat whatever you can find. Eat at the cafeteria if you can, and if you don't want to cook at home, just eat out, even a bowl of noodles will do, okay?"

Lin Haidong tilted his head slightly, feeling that something was off about the scene. He thought to himself, "Shouldn't the father be instructing the son?"

But he nodded nonetheless and mumbled, "I understand."

"Don't work so hard. You're just a teacher with a fixed salary. The students don't even care about their grades. What's the point of trying to outsmart them every day? You'll exhaust yourself, and they won't even appreciate it. They might even be cursing you behind your back. What's the point?"

"……Um."

"Also, if you find a suitable person, just go for it. But when someone is kindly introducing you to someone, you act like you've been stepped on the tail and that's not right..."

"???"

"I'm serious, what are you doing, tilting your head like that?!"

Lin Zhao stood with her hands on her hips, her face stern; she was truly angry.

Lin Haidong felt increasingly uneasy about the situation, but was inexplicably stunned, and finally nodded.

Mr. Sun was dumbfounded.

After his two sons went through the ticket gates and entered the station, Sun Qingcheng lit a cigarette for Old Lin and said with a smile, "Teacher Lin, your son... he'll be extraordinary in the future!"

That sounds like sarcasm.

But only men can tell that this is the most sincere and genuine praise.

Lin Haidong wanted to say a few words of modesty.

Looking back on the summer vacation, he felt from the bottom of his heart that his son had grown a lot and had developed many admirable qualities and abilities that even his father found astonishing.

Lin Haidong felt genuinely proud.

Looking down at her new, breathable, soft, and comfortable shoes, Teacher Lin finally couldn't suppress her smile.

"Jiajun is doing well too, and the children are all doing well..."

The two men smiled at each other, while Xie Meijuan stared at the crowded entrance, her eyes filled with tears.

……

The train started moving, heading towards Shanghai.

Inside the sleeper car.

Lin Zhao found a bed, chased away the barefoot old lady who was eating sunflower seeds on the bed, and packed her luggage, working up a sweat.

Sun Jiajun stared blankly out the window.

"Oh my~"

Lin Zhao greeted him, asking rather irritably, "What are you doing, playing Lin Daiyu?"

Sun Jiajun glared at him, his face full of resentment.

Lin Zhao frowned, feeling as if this guy had called him a "deadbeat"!

"No, you're already homesick after just boarding the train?"

"...No!" Sun Baobao denied it to the death.

"No, it wasn't me who told you to apply to Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Didn't you yourself say that your score was too high for Jiangnan University and that you could only apply to universities outside the province?"

"..."

Knowing he was being unreasonable, Sun Jiajun curled his lip and said, "Aren't you annoying? Bring me the food, I'm starving!"

Lin Zhao looked at the suitcases and backpacks he had piled up in the aisle.

He tilted his head, indicating that he had given up.

I handed the snack bag to the young master and then dutifully put his suitcase on the shelf for him.

"Linzi, everyone online says that Shanghai is a place where every inch of land is precious and where people indulge in debauchery. Will we go astray in the future?" Sun Jiajun asked sincerely as he ate potato chips.

Lin Zhao narrowed his eyes without raising his head.

"Won't!"

Why?

"Only the rich have the right to indulge in a life of luxury and pleasure; you're only fit to toil like an ox!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Sun Jiajun couldn't understand the jokes from more than ten years later.

Lin Zhao unscrewed a bottle of Coke, gulped it down, and burped, "What I mean is, you poor wretch, stop daydreaming. No matter how developed or rich Shanghai is, it has nothing to do with you. Just focus on your studies, get your certifications, and if you have extra money, go to Disneyland; if not, go to the library. Before graduation, send out lots of resumes, find a good job and try to stay in Shanghai. Then your parents can use all their savings for a down payment on a house, and you can honestly pay the mortgage. In five or six years, when property prices rise, sell the house, go back to your hometown, get married, have kids, and the remaining money will be enough for a carefree life... Understand, young master?"

Sun Jiajun was completely stunned, his eyes wide open, unable to utter a word for a long time.

Lin Zhao thought he had listened to some of what he was saying.

However, less than half a minute later...

"Sigh, do you think if I start a company in the future, I'll be able to surpass Robin Li?"

Sun Jiajun's eyes gleamed, and he asked with hopeful eyes.

Lin Zhao: "?"

Destroy it all, I've had enough!