The esoteric “Shilan School History: Divine Man” records that Lu Mingfei, a man who spent six years in middle school embarrassed and cowardly, a complete failure. According to his cousin Lu Mingze, Lu Shenren had a tragic life: his parents abandoned him, and he’d been absent from the country for seven or eight years. Fostered with his uncle, he was a voracious eater, a complete foodie… In the elite-heavy Shilan Middle School, such people were like weeds growing by the roadside, trampled upon intentionally or unintentionally.
At the Sophie Lad’s plaza , Lu Mingfei sat alone in a private room… holding a toilet seat.
Damn it! Attending a literature club dinner like this? He looked like some foreign monk holding an exotic weapon ready to cause trouble!
He had been quite excited, but as soon as he entered, he was politely stopped by the waiter and immediately dumbfounded, “Out! Our restrooms here are all squat-style, no need for your toilet seat.”
Lu Mingfei knew it looked bad, but he had no choice. Auntie’s orders were absolute; even Uncle would kneel on the keyboard if he disobeyed. Who was Lu Mingfei to defy such an order? Besides, the hardware store was quite far from Uncle’s place, and after calculating, he realized there wouldn’t be much time left if he rushed to buy the seat, so he had to come directly to the gathering. He even ran all the way here, wearing the toilet seat around his neck… feeling as if he were wearing a piece of holy armor. In the end, he was the only one to arrive on time.
“Can’t these people be a little more reliable?” Lu Mingfei thought irritably.
Besides irritation, there was nervousness. He hadn’t seen someone in a long time and didn’t know what expression to use. There are two common reactions when people are young and ignorant about love. One is to pick a girl in the class who isn’t very attractive but is the best among the worst and call her their dream girl, even imagining marrying her in the future. The other is to think they would make a good actor in front of that special girl, trying hard to smile in a way that would dazzle her, without realizing they are born with a face that isn’t meant for smiling.
Luckily, Lu Mingfei didn’t have a face that couldn’t smile. If one were to compare him to a vegetable, he would be more like celery left out too long in the sun…
The door opened, and in came someone short and plump, his round belly straining against his belt.
“What kind of setup is this? Carrying a toilet seat?” The person was startled by Lu Mingfei’s look.
“Xu Yanyan?” Lu Mingfei recognized him.
It was one of the twins in his class. At the literature club’s farewell party, when Zhao Menghua confessed to Chen Wenwen with an “I love you” light display, Lu Mingfei played the “i,” and the Xu brothers played the “o.” A year without seeing each other, and Xu Yanyan had grown even more like an “o.”
Xu Yanyan sized up Lu Mingfei, “You alright, man?”
“I’m fine.” Lu Mingfei felt a bit wooden, still practicing his long-awaited reunion smile internally.
Xu Yanyan seemed a bit scared, sliding into his seat cautiously while keeping an eye on Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei was a legend at Shilan Middle School.
As the top-ranked aristocratic school in the city, Shilan Middle School had no shortage of legends. Level ten in piano, level eight in pipa, level six in English—they were as numerous as fish in a river. Every year, four or five students graduated with scholarships to study abroad in the U.S. or Europe. The school even produced athletes for the national swimming team and martial arts experts of “Wu Ying level.” There was a guy who looked like a hero, specialized in dual swords, dashing and wealthy, getting chauffeured around in a Lexus. Seeing him with two practice swords strapped to his back, the red tassels flying over his shoulders, sitting with perfect posture in the back seat of a luxury car… It was hard not to become a legend.
But ever since Lu Mingfei rose to prominence at Shilan, all other legends faded away.
The Chronicles of Shilan
“…His grades were naturally terrible, and he had a loose tongue. You’d never know what kind of nonsense he’d spout next. During class, he’d either stare at the window with a vacant smile or hide in the back row taking a nap, drooling all over the desk.”
No one ever attended parent-teacher conferences for him, probably because his uncle and aunt found it too embarrassing.
In Shilan Middle School, a place where the strong gathered, people like him were weeds on the roadside, stepped on by everyone either intentionally or unintentionally.
His only talent was playing StarCraft. He managed by using “training matches” as an excuse to get free internet and drinks at the internet cafe. Anyone who wanted to learn a few moves would just say, “Lu Mingfei, let’s hit the internet cafe after school. I’ll cover the fees and even get you a bottle of milk drink.” He’d come over with no dignity, eager and shameless.
But legends are legends for a reason; they often rise suddenly like a meteor across the sky.
Before graduating, during the farewell party of the literature club, everyone cheered as golden boy Zhao Menghua finally confessed and held hands with beauty list leader Chen Wenwen, mocking Lu Mingfei for having had feelings for someone as well…
Then an angel descended, wielding a sword!
An exceptional girl under Lu Mingfei’s banner pushed open the door, her beauty lighting up the room. She brought along a group of beautiful girls, as well as Lu Mingfei’s various fancy outfits. They all bowed their heads humbly in front of Lu Mingfei, before finally taking his arm and leaving in a Ferrari.
Everyone kept talking about the girl’s looks and presence—so charming, so fierce, with flowers and blades, dancing in the same space. The boys of Shilan were in awe and jealous, while the girls felt like they couldn’t compare to even a glance from her!
After that, Lu Mingfei shed his unlucky fate, and his life underwent a dramatic transformation. News soon spread that Lu Mingfei had received the highest scholarship ever awarded at Shilan Middle School, to attend Cassell College, an exclusive private university in the United States. The college was extremely strict, having rejected all the elites of Shilan in interviews, but it seemed they practically begged Lu Mingfei to enroll. Later, their principal even sent a letter full of praise to the principal of Shilan, thanking them for cultivating such an excellent student. Comparing that letter overflowing with compliments to Lu Mingfei’s barely passing grades, the principal of Shilan found life a bit surreal.
Xu Yanyan secretly observed Lu Mingfei. After a year apart, he was still dressed the same—wearing an oversized white T-shirt, large shorts, and a pair of fake Nike sneakers.