Chapter 3 The Old Man by the Lake

  Guo Ming didn't care much about what others thought of him, but in his teacher's eyes, he was a little rascal who should be respected from afar; in his teacher's eyes, he was an uneducated and useless loafer, completely good for nothing. However, this did not mean that he didn't care about Shui Mengyao's opinion.

  Guo Ming was already 16 years old and had a vague understanding of the things between men and women. When facing Xian Nü-like Shui Meng Yao, he also had fantasies, but he knew that he had no chance to own this girl, so he never joined the ranks of those pursuing Shui Meng Yao.

  Today, Shui Mengyao's slight nod made his heart ache, was he really such a failure?

  Shaking his head, Guo Ming strode towards his own classroom.

  Today all the students were very curious, and Guo Ming, who had always liked to sleep in class, actually listened attentively. However, most of his classmates thought he was just pretending.

  Mathematics teacher Wang is a man in his fifties or sixties who teaches mathematics. Because previously Guo Ming dared to sleep during his class, he felt that his dignity was greatly challenged, but what kind of person is Guo Ming, where would he be intimidated by an old man like him? So Mr. Wang looked at Guo Ming with great displeasure. Today's events are indeed strange.

  He narrowed his eyes and looked at Guo Ming, convinced that he was listening to the class seriously. After a moment of contemplation, he didn't know what else to think about. After finishing today's lesson, it was time for practice.

  Wang Lao Tou wrote a question on the blackboard and shouted: "Guo Ming, you come and solve this problem."

  Guo Ming's heart skipped a beat, although he barely understood the examples in the book, but the examples on the blackboard really stumped him! After just one glance, he was immediately convinced that he wouldn't be able to do it, because he didn't have any idea where to start.

  Wang Lao Tou has already yelled at himself to go, if it were his former self he might have ignored him, but Guo Ming had decided to be a good student and naturally wouldn't do such openly defiant things towards the teacher again.

  Furrowing his brow as he walked up to the podium, the moment he took over the chalk, he saw a flash of sharp light in Old Wang's eyes, and suddenly a surge of anger welled up inside him. It turned out that this Old Wang was seeking revenge, and he wanted to humiliate himself in front of everyone.

  He shot a cold glance at Old Man Wang, and then began to work on the math problem on the blackboard. One minute passed, two minutes passed, three minutes passed, and Guo Ming felt that the students below were getting restless, with scornful jeers rising up. With one person taking the lead, the other students quickly joined in to ridicule Guo Ming.

  "Haha, it turns out he can't do anything."

  "Where? Haven't you seen that I'm seriously reading books today? I've already made up my mind to work hard."

  "Cut, didn't you understand? They're hiding their true strength."

  ……

  ……

  Guo Ming was a bit of a hoodlum, but he had never bullied anyone in his class. Even if someone had offended him, as long as it wasn't something that hurt his pride too much, he could endure it. But there was a limit to this after all. Guo Ming threw down the chalk and turned around to glare at the people who were loudly jeering at him.

  Those people's voices stopped abruptly, they looked at Guo Ming's eyes that were furious due to the bloodshot, and unexpectedly shrunk their heads. Only then did they remember what kind of person Guo Ming was. Although they no longer attacked with words, the disdain in the corners of their eyes was clearly visible.

  Shui Meng Yao looked at Guo Ming's gaze filled with sympathy, she had the heart to defend her, but this occasion was clearly not suitable.

  "Teacher Wang, I don't know," Guo Mingshu said softly.

  "Hehe, never mind, I didn't think you would anyway." Old Man Wang chuckled.

  Kuo Ming's eyes were filled with bitterness as he slowly walked to his seat. He gradually slumped down. In the end, he was still a person abandoned by the entire class. No one here could look up to him, and if he continued to study, it would only bring others' ruthless ridicule.

  Shui Meng Yao looked at Guo Ming with some concern as he lay on his desk, she could feel that Guo Ming had suffered a huge blow.

  The bell rang and Old Wang announced the end of class, and the classroom became lively.

  Shuimeng Yao hesitated for a moment, then finally walked gently to Guo Ming's side. Under the stunned gaze of all her classmates, she patted Guo Ming's shoulder and said softly, "Guo Ming, come out with me for a minute."

  Guo Ming looked at Shui Meng Yao, who was right in front of him, and his heart suddenly started racing violently. She was as beautiful as a goddess from the ninth heaven, and he, an ordinary man, couldn't bear to profane her. Now that she had invited him herself, Guo Ming naturally couldn't refuse. But suddenly, he thought of something and shook his head. He stood up first and walked out. Being pitied by a girl was not what Guo Ming wanted; he wanted his own independence and self-reliance.

  "Guo Ming, are you okay?" Shui Mengyao asked hastily. She was worried that Guo Ming might do something out of line.

  Guo Ming's footsteps paused for a moment, then accelerated as he walked away.

  The whole class is boiling over. Why would a pure and lovely girl take the initiative to care about a hoodlum among her classmates, which triggered a huge and intense discussion. No matter when, the beauty is always the focus, and some people with ulterior motives have already started staring at Guo Ming, this little hoodlum.

  It's just past nine, and Guo Ming is riding his bicycle to the park in the county. Perhaps due to today's gloomy weather, there is only one old man in his seventies or eighties fishing alone by the lake in the park.

  Kuo Ming put down his bicycle and walked towards the old man. As a young punk with an advantage, Kuo Ming thought that fishing could still cultivate his sentiment. Anyway, he was bored and idle, so he went over.

  But as he walked towards the old man, a strange feeling suddenly surged up in his heart. This emotion was actually a heartfelt respect. Guo Ming looked at the float on the lake obediently.

  Time slowly passed, one hour, two hours, the sky suddenly thundered with a loud noise, the accumulated dark clouds finally burst, and big drops of rain fell from the sky. The rain fell on the two people, Guo Ming suddenly woke up, what had happened to him just now, it seemed that he had fallen into a state of desirelessness. There was no worry, nor joy, only a calmness towards the world.

  In just a moment, Guo Ming's body was half wet, but he found it strange that the old man didn't move at all, his eyes still staring at the float in the water as if it would never move.

  Guo Ming stood up and said softly: "Grandpa, it's raining heavily now, why don't you leave?"

  The old man seemed not to have heard Guo Ming's words and continued doing what he was doing just now.

  Guo Ming saw the old man's thin clothes and hastily took off his own to block the rain for him. He didn't know why he wanted to do this, it was just an instinctual desire to act. This seemed like a joke played by the goddess of fate. Without Guo Ming's actions today, perhaps he would never have had a chance to make a big impact.

  Life's encounters are so simple, in life you have countless opportunities, as long as you can grasp them, then you will be able to succeed.

  Half an hour later, Guo Ming felt his arms were almost numb, and he had been drenched to the bone, his hair was almost like a pot lid covering his head. The icy clothes made him shiver all over, and his whole body was covered with goosebumps. His whole body couldn't help but tremble.

  Finally, his hands could no longer bear the numbness and he withdrew them. A deep sense of fatigue immediately set in, Guo Ming furrowed his brow, this feeling was really unbearable.

  The old man stood up with a faint smile, and an unimaginable look burst out in Guo Ming's eyes, because the rainwater had strangely changed direction and slid to both sides. What was this situation? Growing up under the red flag, Guo Ming had his first doubts about science.

  Could it be that this old man is a martial arts master? Well, there's no other explanation.

  Just as he was about to kneel down and pay homage, a sudden surge of gravity struck him, his chest cavity churned, and an indescribable sharp pain deeply invaded his brain. Then he felt like he had fallen into the water. What's going on? He hadn't offended him, had he? These were Guo Ming's last thoughts. But he didn't have a chance to ask the old man why he did this again, because he fell into a deep coma.

  The old man threw away his fishing rod and muttered to himself: "Alas, why do you treat me so well? I don't know if what I'm doing is right or wrong."

  After finishing speaking, the old man turned around and left, no longer caring about Guo Ming who had already fallen to the bottom of the lake.

  It seemed like a long, long time ago, Guo Ming seemed to have heard his mother's crying voice, and he forcibly opened his eyes. What entered his vision was his mother with tears streaming down her face like pear blossoms in the rain, and beside her, his father had a deep frown on his face. The surroundings were white walls, and there was also a faint smell of medicine.

  "Where is this?" was Guo Ming's first thought.

  "Tomorrow, you'll wake up," said Guo Ming's mother happily.

  "Mom, how did I end up in the hospital?" Guo Ming touched the bandage on his head, puzzled.

  Guo Zheng then hurriedly came to his son's side and anxiously asked: "Ming Er, what exactly happened? How did you end up falling into the lake?"

  I fell into the lake. Guo Ming quickly mobilized his brain, and what had just happened replayed in his mind again, but strangely, those things didn't have a single deviation, playing back as clearly as a 3D movie. Guo Ming didn't take it to heart, but instead fell into deep thought. He knew that if he told his parents about this, they would absolutely not believe him, and he didn't plan on doing so either. In his heart, he vaguely sensed that this seemed to be an important turning point in his life.

  "Ah!" Guo Ming's mother slapped Guo Zheng then and scolded, "Ming Er, he just woke up, wait until he recovers before asking him."

  "Hehe, it's my fault." Guo Zheng hurriedly apologized. His son was able to wake up so quickly, which was a huge joy for him. He also let go of some things now. Regarding what happened to his son today, he inquired about some things and found that he had been neglecting his son's education. Now it's too late for him to strive for greatness again. Fortunately, his son's nature is not bad, so it's okay if he just lets him take over his position in the future.

  Looking at his son, Guo Zheng said seriously: "Tomorrow, you can rest well and don't worry, from now on Dad and Mom will never force you to study again."

  Guo Ming's mother looked at Guo Zheng in confusion, saw his eyes flicker slightly, as if he understood something, and lowered his head to say: "Ming Er, you are still very weak, rest well."

  Guo Ming was indeed very tired, and upon hearing this, he closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.