It had only been a few days since the new school term started, but the image of Xie Ran — once seen by the students of Qixing as a weak and helpless little poor kid — had completely changed on campus.

First, he consecutively beat up the Qixing school bullies who used to harass him, such as Xu Feiyan and Liu Man. Then he quickly mixed with Guan Heng and his group of spoiled rich kids.

It was known that Guan Heng and his group were normally unbeatable and arrogant. Many wealthy and powerful people in Qixing wanted to befriend Guan Heng, but Guan Heng rarely showed a good face to anyone. Who would have thought that someone from Xie Ran’s humble background could actually break into Guan Heng’s circle?

Later, rumors spread saying that Xie Ran gained Guan Heng’s favor because of his excellent gaming skills. Everyone suddenly understood—Guan Heng and his group were obsessed with gaming, so this explanation made sense.

But at the same time, many began to feel sorry for Xie Ran. A kid from such a poor background couldn’t resist the temptation of Qixing’s elite world. To curry favor with Guan Heng, he even took up gaming and spent a lot of time and effort just to get into Guan Heng’s circle.

It was said that Xie Ran’s grades had sharply declined by the end of last semester. If this continued, he might not even be able to stay at Qixing.

However, most people weren’t really familiar with Xie Ran and didn’t care whether he had fallen or not. These rumors were popular only because they involved Xu Feiyan and Guan Heng.

On that Friday, Xie Ran’s class had the first physical education class of the semester.

At Qixing, the schedule included two PE classes a week, but the first one on the first day of school had been used by the homeroom teacher for the opening speech, so the real PE class started on Friday.

In the original owner’s memory, Qixing’s PE class was the one he feared the most above all others.

As an expensive private school, Qixing’s teaching standards claimed to match some aristocratic foreign schools, including a variety of sports like tennis, fencing, and taekwondo—activities usually accessible only to students from well-off families.

Most students at Qixing had been exposed to similar courses from childhood. Even if they hadn’t learned some sports, they could easily hire private tutors to catch up. These courses were no problem for them.

But the original owner’s family couldn’t afford to let him access such sports. Every time PE class came, he felt even more out of place among the confidently chatting classmates.

What made it worse was that these courses required students to buy expensive equipment themselves. The original owner couldn’t afford it and had to attend class in his regular clothes. Although the PE teacher and other students knew his situation and didn’t make things difficult for him, Liu Man and his gang always took the opportunity to embarrass him.

The PE classes in the second year of high school became even harder for the original owner because, during the summer vacation, Qixing had built a riding stable next to the school and officially added equestrian courses. However, even Qixing students weren’t all familiar with equestrian sports, so riding classes were set as electives only.

But to showcase the school’s facilities, the first PE class of the new semester was unified as an equestrian experience at the stable.

Though called an experience, in an environment like Qixing, the students had all prepared full riding gear early.

Before class started, everyone was excitedly changing into riding outfits and gathering to discuss who looked better and more authentic.

Just as the conversation was lively, someone suddenly exclaimed “Wow!” and pointed at a direction: “Look over there.”

Everyone looked to see Xu Feiyan and Liu Man’s group walking toward them. Xu Feiyan led the group, dressed in a perfectly tailored and finely crafted riding outfit. He was tall and handsome, and the clothes made him look heroic and dashing.

Liu Man was in a different class but had PE scheduled with Xu Feiyan, so he habitually encircled Xu Feiyan. Seeing this, Liu Man bumped Xu Feiyan’s arm playfully and said: “Brother Xu, everyone’s looking at you.”

One of their followers added flatteringly: “Of course, Brother Xu looks so handsome today.”

Xu Feiyan only snorted lightly, not caring much.

Before his rebirth, due to social needs, Xu Feiyan had practiced horseback riding fairly well and knew a lot about matching his gear. Now he easily outclassed these inexperienced newbies.

More than superficial attention to gear, Xu Feiyan cared more about his upcoming equestrian performance.

He wanted to impress the Xu family and naturally needed to excel in every aspect.

In recent years, equestrianism had gradually become a new social trend among the elite. Qixing added equestrian courses for this reason.

The Xu family was a rising market power with little tradition in aristocratic sports, eager to shed their nouveau riche image, so they cared especially about this.

Currently, the Xu elders only saw Xu Feiyan as a high school student without much weight in words, with memories of the future he couldn’t yet use.

But if he could show off in high-end sports like equestrianism and bring honor to the Xu family, the elders would surely give him more chances to attend elite occasions. Then he wouldn’t lack opportunities to shine.

Xu Feiyan chose to reveal himself during school equestrian class because Qixing’s newly launched aristocratic course needed publicity. As the principal’s nephew and a younger Xu family member, if he impressed classmates, it would greatly boost Qixing’s reputation—killing two birds with one stone.

The Xu elders would also better recognize his value.

Xu Feiyan smiled faintly at the thought of showcasing his skills to these inexperienced classmates and teachers, relying on the accumulation from his previous life.

Then Liu Man suddenly remembered something, smiled maliciously twice, and sneered: “Speaking of which, that poor bastard Xie Ran surely hasn’t even seen a horse. Brother Xu, we can have some fun with him later.”

Since the first day of school when Xie Ran beat him up, Liu Man had held a grudge, but now Xie Ran had Guan Heng’s backing and Xu Feiyan didn’t intervene, so Liu Man hadn’t dared seek revenge privately. This grievance was suffocating him, and now at PE class, recalling how helpless Xie Ran was during PE in their first year, he thought this was a perfect chance to mess with Xie Ran.

Hearing this, a follower who was also beaten by Xie Ran quickly nodded: “Yeah, that poor bastard probably can’t even afford protective gear. We can really mess him up…”

The two grew more excited, not noticing Xu Feiyan’s gaze becoming increasingly dangerous.

If they hadn’t mentioned it, it would be fine, but now Xu Feiyan recalled how they teased and humiliated Xie Ran during PE in their first year.

If it weren’t for this mess, Xie Ran wouldn’t have held such a grudge against him. Even on the first day of school, if Liu Man hadn’t rushed to bully Xie Ran, causing Xu Feiyan to be beaten and miss the chance to explain and reconcile, things wouldn’t have escalated.

This indirectly caused Xie Ran to mix with Guan Heng’s group.

At first, Xu Feiyan was very angry at Xie Ran’s self-destruction and even thought about forcibly taking Xie Ran back, but after calming down, he decided to wait and give both himself and Xie Ran another chance.

He wanted to show off in front of Xie Ran and let him see who really ruled Qixing. Even if Xie Ran wanted to suck up to the powerful, it should be to rely on him.

He was different from Guan Heng’s spoiled gang and would properly guide Xie Ran back to the right path, encouraging him to be positive. Xie Ran wasn’t inherently bad and would eventually understand his good intentions.

After all, Xu Feiyan still held love and pity for Xie Ran from his past life and wanted to protect him. Hearing Liu Man’s plan to repeat the old trick and mess with Xie Ran, Xu Feiyan suddenly became furious. Without hesitation, he kicked Liu Man hard, knocking him to the ground.

“Brother Xu, what are you doing?” Liu Man was boasting proudly when suddenly kicked, his face pale from pain. But what scared him more was the murderous look in Xu Feiyan’s eyes.

Xu Feiyan glared at him coldly and said: “I warn you all, don’t ever lay a hand on Xie Ran again.”

“Ah?” Liu Man and the others were stunned.

What did Xu Feiyan mean? What was this “don’t lay a hand on Xie Ran”? Didn’t Xu Feiyan lead the bullying on Xie Ran before?

But Xu Feiyan didn’t explain, and Liu Man and the others didn’t dare ask. While confused, the gathered classmates suddenly gasped softly.

Someone said: “So cool!”

“Wow! This looks amazing!”

Following the classmates’ gaze, Liu Man and his gang froze.

It was Xie Ran walking over.

Actually, these days Xie Ran had caused quite a stir in the class, especially among the girls. Since the first day of school, Xie Ran seemed to have undergone a complete transformation overnight, and his image and aura had changed dramatically, suddenly attracting attention.

This change wasn’t in appearance—Xie Ran had always been good-looking, but previously his clothing was too plain, and he was shy and silent, always keeping his head down studying, making him almost invisible at school. Later, he became famous only because Xu Feiyan bullied him, which made classmates avoid him even more.

This semester, Xie Ran was a completely different person. His clothes weren’t luxurious compared to Qixing’s many designer brands but surprisingly suited him very well, highlighting his strengths.

What really shocked people was his aura. He no longer kept his head down all day. The timidity in his eyes was completely gone, replaced by an unignorable sharpness.

At this moment, even more so.

Contrary to Liu Man’s expectations, Xie Ran didn’t come to riding class wearing his faded, misshapen regular clothes as he did in first year. Instead, he wore a neat and proper English-style riding outfit, almost like a casual suit: a light-colored shirt paired with a slim vest outlining a slender waist, and knee-high leather riding boots that made his legs look longer.

The sixteen-year-old boy wasn’t fully grown yet, his features were delicate and youthful, but his gaze held a sharpness beyond his age, making his exquisite looks appear bold and fierce.

When he walked over calmly, he looked like a noble from a painting, radiating an undeniable nobility.

He was dazzling and eye-catching, making Xu Feiyan’s breath catch.

In the previous life, Xu Feiyan had bought many expensive bespoke outfits for Xie Ran, making him look like a prince.

But Xie Ran had never shone as brightly as he did now.

Xu Feiyan suddenly realized that the aesthetic he had liked before might not have been the best for Xie Ran, Xie Ran could be even better.

Fortunately, he had been reborn and had the chance to have this better Xie Ran.

Xie Ran naturally noticed the surprised gazes but didn’t care much. Being noticed like this was too common for him.

In fact, he didn’t take the equestrian class seriously. To him, riding was just one of his basic social skills. The riding outfit and protective gear were all chosen and ordered directly by Meng Feixuan according to his habits.

For these small things, his system never needed him to worry.

But he didn’t expect Xu Feiyan to dare talk to him.

Xu Feiyan reached out to stop Xie Ran and, getting close, noticed Xie Ran was wearing a tiny Bluetooth earphone.

Xu Feiyan was a bit puzzled. Since school started, Xie Ran had often worn earphones, which Xu Feiyan thought was just Xie Ran’s novelty with a smartphone. He hadn’t expected him to wear it during riding class.

The confusion passed quickly, and Xu Feiyan didn’t care much. He had many things he wanted to say to Xie Ran: “Xie Ran, let’s talk…”

From Xie Ran’s earphone came Meng Feixuan’s voice: “Lüè lüè lüè lüè lüè!”

Xie Ran: ?

Seeming to understand Xie Ran’s confusion, Meng Feixuan automatically explained after the “lüè” sounds: “This is intelligent voice shielding, helping the master block unwanted sounds.”

“…” Xie Ran remained expressionless and just glanced sideways at Xu Feiyan.

He didn’t understand this person with future memories’ behavior. According to the original owner’s memory, he and Xu Feiyan had died together, so Xu Feiyan should have died by his hand.

But since Xie Ran’s transmigration, Xu Feiyan had repeatedly tried to approach him and hadn’t given up even after being beaten twice.

Xie Ran couldn’t analyze the motive and didn’t plan to.

Maybe Meng Feixuan would be interested?

Xie Ran temporarily didn’t plan to fight Xu Feiyan a third time. Such things required moderation. But he was too lazy to talk and raised his foot to walk around him.

At this moment, Liu Man suddenly shouted: “Brother Xu, watch out!”

Then he jumped out and forcefully pushed Xu Feiyan aside. Xu Feiyan, caught off guard, was pushed to the ground, falling dirty and disheveled. He angrily shouted: “What are you doing!”

Liu Man pointed at Xie Ran’s slightly raised leg: “He was going to kick you again!”

Xie Ran: “…”

Classmates: “…”

This school bully was totally unnecessary.