Chapter 3: First Superpower—Photographic Memory

“Chu Nan, hurry up and apologize to He Qianqian and Tian Jiaojiao!”

The speaker was the class study committee member, Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao ranked in the top five academically in the class, and it was a given that he would definitely get into a prestigious university.

He also liked He Qianqian. Chu Nan clearly remembered the day of graduation when Zhang Hao handed He Qianqian a love letter, but unfortunately, she didn’t accept it.

After graduating from university, Zhang Hao supposedly married a wealthy and beautiful woman and even invited Chu Nan to the wedding. However, Chu Nan didn’t attend, knowing that if he went, he would inevitably face all kinds of mocking from Zhang Hao.

Such incidents had been ongoing from middle school through high school. Zhang Hao never stopped mocking Chu Nan for daring to like He Qianqian, for being average in academics, coming from a modest family, and for imagining that a toad could desire a swan.

In short, Chu Nan disliked this kind of person. He never expected this usually reserved guy to suddenly jump out now, clearly intending to make a fool out of him and gain favor with He Qianqian.

But obviously, he had the wrong target.

Now, having lived his life over again, Chu Nan was no longer that clown.

With a smile, Chu Nan said, “Apologize? Why should I apologize? What have I done?”

“You made those two cry and still say you didn’t do anything? Apologize now, or I’ll tell the head teacher,” Zhang Hao said righteously.

Upon hearing this, Tian Jiaojiao cried even louder, as if she had just been slapped.

Chu Nan chuckled and said, “Wait, what’s your relationship with those two?”

Zhang Hao hesitated before replying, “Of course… we’re classmates?”

“Classmates? I’m afraid you like He Qianqian and the others, right? Otherwise, why are you the only one stepping forward?”

“You’re talking nonsense! How could I possibly like them…” Zhang Hao suddenly paused, as if his mind went blank.

“Well? If you don’t like them, do you hate them?” Chu Nan pressed.

Zhang Hao’s face changed drastically. “Don’t say that! How could I hate them?”

“That’s settled then. You secretly like them but won’t admit it. You should be straightforward like I was before—being a simp meant I at least got to exchange a few words while helping them get meals, unlike you who’s just staring from afar through the air,” Chu Nan said aggressively.

Zhang Hao’s face twisted. “You pervert! High schoolers shouldn’t even be in relationships.”

Chu Nan sneered. “So you admit you like them? Saying high schoolers shouldn’t date but actually wanting to and not daring to. How cowardly! Does that look like a man?”

Zhang Hao gritted his teeth. “You’re the coward! What’s wrong with me liking them? We’re all…”

Before Zhang Hao could finish, Chu Nan interrupted, “He Qianqian, Tian Jiaojiao, did you hear that? Zhang Hao likes both of you, he wants to have it both ways, he…”

“Chu Nan, are you trying to get yourself killed?!” Zhang Hao shouted, losing control, grabbed Chu Nan by the collar, ready to throw a punch.

“Enough! This is a classroom. If you want to flirt and fight, take it elsewhere. We’re preparing for the college entrance exam; don’t disturb others studying.” At that moment, the usually quiet class monitor Jiang Yuwei spoke up.

She slammed her textbook on the desk forcefully, her cold voice carrying an intimidating weight.

Her sudden outburst shocked everyone, especially since it came from someone so reserved, and Jiang Yuwei was the class monitor after all.

Students in the advanced class generally respected their monitor and dared not start a fight casually.

Soon, the classroom fell silent.

Chu Nan smiled and gently pushed Zhang Hao’s hand away. “Hey, buddy, let go. We’re all adults now. Fighting is a different matter.”

Zhang Hao’s face was ashen as he released his grip, but he was determined not to let this go easily.

...

“That was the first time I saw the monitor get angry. It was terrifying,” Yang Jingtian said, still shaken.

Chu Nan rested his chin on his hand, gazing out the window, lost in thought, clearly uninterested in answering such a dull question.

“Hey, Old Chu, are you even listening to me?”

“Yeah, I’m listening. What’s up?”

“I said it’s the first time I saw the monitor lose her temper. It was scary.”

“Oh, it’s okay.”

“Why do you sound so indifferent?”

“That’s her problem. Does it do any good to care?” Chu Nan shrugged.

Right now, all he wanted was to earn money and buy a cellphone. Only with one could he conveniently access information from this era and recover some of his lost memories.

As for Song Yuwei, she was excellent academically, beautiful, and came from a decent family. There was no chance of any connection between them. Whatever she thought was none of his business.

A beauty that’s yours is yours; one you can’t have, you’ll never get. Money was more practical. With enough money, beautiful women would naturally come your way.

Besides, many beauties are better than just one—that’s a man’s nature. Chu Nan believed this wasn’t a choice he needed to make.

In his previous life, he had wanted to be a devoted, traditional good man but still ended up a virgin. This time around, he might as well be a scoundrel; at least then, he wouldn’t be thirty and still untouched.

“Old Chu, you really changed after just one nap, didn’t you?” Yang Jingtian said in surprise.

“Did I? Am I not the same as before?”

“How could you be? By the way, you mentioned earlier that I jumped into the river out of love—what’s that about? Are you cursing me?”

“Nah, it’s nothing. Just someone was too pure-hearted, had a girlfriend in college and spent nearly 100,000 yuan on her over three years. Then he caught her clapping with another man in a hotel room, broke down, and jumped into the river. What else could happen?”

“That’s right, when he jumped, he left a message wishing his girlfriend happiness. It moved someone to tears and laughter, but unfortunately, they still couldn’t stop him…”

Chu Nan smiled, eyes tinged with reminiscence. Looking back, he and this close friend were truly kindred spirits. At least he was better off—he never took his own life over love and had moved on early, while his friend was just sinking deeper.

“Wait, that person? Was that me?” Yang Jingtian froze, disbelief written all over his face.

“Yes.”

“Are you kidding? You think everyone’s like you?”

“Yeah, yeah. People used to mock me for being a love fool, saying love is a grave and pitying me. But when it happened to them, they were even bigger simps... getting cheated on. Some people are really pitiful.”

“Stop talking nonsense,” Yang Jingtian said skeptically. “How do you even know I dated in college, and that I was a simp as you say?”

“Well, that’s what God told me,” Chu Nan said with a grin.

“Hmph, just full of hot air!” Yang Jingtian refused to engage but was already daydreaming. “Could it be that a beauty really likes me in college? That I might have a sweet romance?”

For a moment, a sparkle appeared in Yang Jingtian’s eyes as he began to look forward to his university life.

Watching him daydream and smile foolishly, Chu Nan sighed. This guy really hadn’t changed—wearing his emotions on his sleeve.

Well, at eighteen, most people probably acted like this, unlike those hardened men in their thirties who always kept their emotions hidden.

In the class, only Jiang Yuwei seemed unreadable with her aloof mask, making it hard to guess her mood.

Soon, it was time for class.

This lesson was still math. To appear obedient, Chu Nan started paying attention to Zhang Liangying’s lecture.

She was teaching vectors, but to Chu Nan, it sounded like a foreign language—completely incomprehensible.

Sighing, he flipped through the textbook out of boredom. But as he did, he realized the numbers seemed to flow like a river, seeping into his mind without loss.

Yes, they were being poured directly into his brain.

It was as if a piece of paper covered in writing lay before him, visible whenever his eyes were open. Unless he was illiterate, forgetting was impossible. More astonishingly, he didn’t even need to see the paper; closing his eyes, the knowledge still filled his mind.

This discovery stunned Chu Nan. Thinking it was an illusion, he opened and closed his eyes again, but the images—like film frames or the clacking of a typewriter—were forcibly etched into his memory, as deeply ingrained as his mother tongue, unforgettable in this lifetime.

“Could this be my cheat code—photographic memory?!”