I'm back in 1990

Chapter 2: Life's Choices Are More Important Than Effort

In his youthful arrogance, Huang Xiaochuan believed that the world would eventually belong to him. However, after being severely punished by reality several times, he realized that he was just an insignificant speck of dust in this world, not even as good as a frog in a well.

He'd dated a few girlfriends, but finding a life partner in this dazzling, decadent city was harder than going on a pilgrimage to the West. After encountering countless female demons, Elder Huang gave up his fantasy of meeting the Queen of the Women's Kingdom, and so Huang Xiaochuan remained single until the day he was reborn.

At this moment, Huang Xiaochuan looked at himself in the mirror above the sink. The eighteen-year-old Huang Xiaochuan reappeared in the mirror. He was 1.8 meters tall, with deep eyes, a heroic air between his brows, and a touch of scholarly air. He was truly a handsome man.

Since junior high school, Huang Xiaochuan has attracted the attention of countless girls in love because of his face, and he has been receiving love letters from girls all the way up to his senior year of high school.

In his previous life, Huang Xiaochuan was busy with work every day, indulged in wine and women, and neglected exercise. After the age of thirty, his pectoral muscles began to gradually sag, and his six-pack abs gradually turned into a big belly.

Just as Huang Xiaochuan was admiring his youthful body in front of the mirror, his simple security door was opened.

Before the person even entered the door, a dissatisfied voice came in first.

"Huang Xiaochuan, what are you dawdling about for? Does it really take this long to fill a few kettles with boiling water?"

Huang Xiaochuan burst out laughing. He knew who it was with his eyes closed. It was Yu Wei, who lived on the third floor. He was his childhood friend and good friend. If he hadn't been so stupid back then, this kid would have almost become his brother-in-law.

After graduating from university, this guy was assigned to work in Qingjiang City and became a civil servant. He got married and had children, and he didn't miss any of the major life events. A few years before Huang Xiaochuan was reborn, his wife gave birth to their third child at the age of over forty and invited Huang Xiaochuan home for a 100-day celebration.

This kid was very familiar with Huang Xiaochuan's house. After entering, he looked around for Huang Xiaochuan. When he saw that his friend was just like him, a young and impetuous man, Huang Xiaochuan smiled even more happily.

Yu Wei was wearing loose shorts, a simple T-shirt, and flip-flops. His hair was fluffy, with a few unruly strands hanging down his forehead, slightly curled. His handsome face was full of sunshine.

At this moment, Yu Wei also saw Huang Xiaochuan, but his gaze was immediately drawn to the sounds coming from the kitchen.

Then she looked at Huang Xiaochuan as if he were an idiot and reminded him, "Are you deaf? Hurry up and check your kettle, it's about to boil dry."

Huang Xiaochuan panicked for a moment, then suddenly remembered that his elderly mother, Zeng Lijuan, had told him to fill up the several thermos flasks in the house before she went to work that afternoon.

"Damn!" Huang Xiaochuan quickly ran into the kitchen, grabbed a rag, wrapped it around the kettle handle, lifted the kettle off the coal stove, replaced it with a new coal briquette, sealed the stove, poured boiling water into several water bottles, refilled the kettle, and then put it back on the coal stove. Only after doing all this did Huang Xiaochuan have time to carefully examine his friend.

Huang Xiaochuan and Yu Wei were recognized as two handsome young men in the Transportation Bureau's residential compound. Huang Xiaochuan was good-looking, the kind who looked slim in clothes but muscular underneath, with a great physique. Yu Wei, on the other hand, had slightly curly hair, a sculpted face, fair skin, and a somewhat mixed-race appearance, making him very popular with girls.

Upon suddenly seeing his childhood friend, Huang Xiaochuan couldn't contain his excitement and went up to give Yu Wei a big hug.

Unfortunately, his talent was wasted. Yu Wei pushed Huang Xiaochuan away with a look of disgust.

"You're all sweaty, stay away from me. Are you trying to get gay by hugging and cuddling me?" This new phrase was learned by Yu Weigang from Hong Kong and Taiwanese films.

Huang Xiaochuan gave his friend a disdainful look: "Hugging you is an honor for you. I won't touch you even if you ask me to hug you again."

Yu Wei looked impatient: "Enough with the nonsense, are we going swimming or not?"

"Go, why not?" Huang Xiaochuan had already accepted the fact of his rebirth. Since that's the case, he might as well live his life again. This time, he would lie down and live comfortably.

No more 996, no more working overtime, no more being a laborer, no more being exploited.

"You gave me a ride on your bike, but my mom took it."

"Buy me a can of Jianlibao and I'll give you a ride on my bike." Huang Xiaochuan took the opportunity to make a bargaining move. This kid had two older sisters and was the only boy in his family, so he was more spoiled by his parents and had more pocket money than Huang Xiaochuan.

Yu Wei remained as generous as ever: "No problem, all expenses for today are on me."

Sweating profusely, Huang Xiaochuan emphasized again, "It has to be ice-cold."

Yu Wei grew impatient again: "I know, why are you being so long-winded today?"

On the way to the swimming pool, Yu Wei, sitting on the back of the bicycle, asked Huang Xiaochuan, "Have you decided which school to apply to?"

The college entrance examination just ended yesterday. If I remember correctly, my score should be 599. There are many test takers in Jiangnan Province, and the difficulty is high. The total score for the college entrance examination is 710 points. Getting 599 is already the best Huang Xiaochuan can do.

In my previous life, I chose a key university in Shanghai. At that time, there were no 985 or 211 universities; universities were only divided into "key universities, ordinary undergraduate universities, and junior colleges".

The top students from Jiangnan Province mostly went to Tsinghua and Peking Universities, while the less successful ones generally chose Shanghai and Nanjing Universities. Huang Xiaochuan and Yu Wei were no exception, mainly due to the influence of their parents. Think about it, parents constantly nag their children about how great Shanghai is and how good Nanjing is; this subtly influences their children's choices.

More importantly, Qingjiang is much closer to Shanghai than to Beijing, making travel to and from the city more convenient. You have to understand that in those days, it was really not easy for ordinary people to travel far.

Huang Xiaochuan smiled and immediately made a decision in his mind. He decided to fill in his college application according to his father Lao Huang's advice. After all, with the huge bug of being reborn, it didn't matter what he studied!

Seeing that Huang Xiaochuan did not reply, Yu Wei continued to analyze for his friend: "You went back to school this morning to estimate your score. Didn't you say you could get around 580? According to last year's cutoff score, you can apply to a key university in Shanghai."

Huang Xiaochuan countered, "And you? How did things go with your discussion with your family?"

Yu Wei's score was slightly lower than Huang Xiaochuan's. Huang Xiaochuan remembered that Yu Wei's college entrance examination score was 572, which was enough to apply to a pretty good university. However, Huang Xiaochuan knew that in his previous life, Yu Wei applied to the Shanghai Customs College on the advice of his family. With that score, applying to the Customs College, which was still a junior college at the time, would have been a piece of cake!

So, as soon as Yu Wei graduated in 1993, he was assigned back to the newly established Qingjiang Customs, where he began a leisurely civil servant career.

Ignoring advice, Huang Xiaochuan applied to a key university in Shanghai with a score of 599 to study international trade. In the early 1990s, colleges and universities began to gradually reduce job assignments and encourage graduates to choose their own jobs. Huang Xiaochuan then found his own way and went to work for a foreign trade company.

I was too young and naive! I was beaten down by society countless times, and it was too late for regrets.

"My dad wants me to apply to the Customs College in Shanghai. His old comrade-in-arms is in that school. My dad specifically called to ask, and he said that based on my estimated score, there won't be any problem for me to apply to the Customs College."

"Great, then let's apply to the Customs College." Huang Xiaochuan agreed.

"My sister called and mentioned you. She asked me to tell you that based on your estimated score, you can apply to their medical school. She wants you to think about it."

Huang Xiaochuan did not respond to Yu Wei's words. Instead, Yu Wei's mention of his sister reminded Huang Xiaochuan of something heartwarming.

Yu Wei's eldest sister, Yu Xiang, was admitted to the Second Medical University of Shanghai three years ago for an eight-year undergraduate-doctoral program. She will be a senior this summer. Medical students usually have to do internships at the affiliated hospital of the college during the summer after their junior year, so they don't come back for the summer.

This older woman was three years older than me, and it seemed that in my previous life, she had even thrown me a bouquet of flowers during my university years. Unfortunately, I was too stupid to accept it and instead fell in love with a younger girl from the same school. I really didn't know how good older women were when I was young, and I mistook a young girl for a treasure.

Of the three siblings in the Yu family, Yu Wei is actually the best-looking. Yu Xiang's appearance isn't outstanding, but she's definitely the kind of person whose beauty grows on you, and the intellectual beauty she exudes is something most people don't possess, which is what makes her so attractive.

However, for some unknown reason, Yu Xiang never married in her previous life.

He couldn't miss her again in this life. Just thinking about having a famous gynecologist as a wife would make his future life even more comfortable! With that thought, Huang Xiaochuan pedaled his bicycle as fast as he could.

My future brother-in-law shouted from the back seat, "Go for it!"