Ch 47 (Part 1): Rebirth of the Tool Man in a Pampered Protagonist Novel

Xie Zheng is actually a person with high IQ but low EQ.

Moreover, due to the factor of being a lone star, Xie Zheng has grown up without any emotional experience. It’s not an exaggeration to say that even an elementary school student would probably be better at pursuing romantic relationships than him.

Therefore, Xie Zheng is completely unaware of the changes that have occurred in his so-called “youngster” mentality towards Fang Ziyang.

In his view, he now realizes that Fang Ziyang is different from what he imagined. He is actually a very “naive and straightforward” kid, so it’s normal for him to develop a fondness.

Besides, Fang Ziyang is Tang Xun’s younger brother, and since Tang Xun is currently busy with work at the laboratory, what’s wrong with Xie Zheng taking care of his younger brother?

Moreover, Fang Ziyang is also his secret admirer.

Although he hasn’t decided whether or not to develop a relationship with Fang Ziyang, how could he harden his heart towards someone who likes him so sincerely?

At the very least, it’s alright to treat him nicely. After all, the young man doesn’t know that Xie Zheng is the owner of the ring, so it won’t cause any misunderstandings.

So, to sum it up:

Xie Zheng doesn’t think there’s anything strange about his current behavior. He even experiences significant changes in his mood based on a single sentence from Fang Ziyang. He simply sees him as a likable “junior” and thinks it’s okay to treat Fang Ziyang well because he finds him appealing.

After posting on social media, he resumed his usual serious appearance in the car.

However, his action of taking out his phone and tapping on it completely betrayed his inner thoughts. When he saw the rapid appearance of likes, praises, and comments in his post, he felt very happy.

He used to not understand why so many people liked to post silly photos on social media, but now he finally understands.

The feeling of receiving likes and praise seems quite enjoyable.

Of course… it would be even better if the young man he specifically mentioned left a comment. Xie Zheng wondered when the young man would see it. He thought the selfie he took was pretty good.

Xie Zheng contemplated in his heart.

He had no idea what kind of shock this post of his had caused outside or how many jaws it dropped.

Although Xie Zheng also had WeChat, he usually only used it to receive various work-related files and messages from employees and business partners. His social media was entirely managed by his secretary, and all the posts were work-related with no trace of personal life.

As for chatting with people…

Well, Xie Zheng basically didn’t chat with anyone about things other than work. If there was something important, he would just make a phone call. Real conversations with friends only happened face to face.

After all, for someone like Xie Zheng, who was a workaholic, chatting on WeChat was purely a waste of time.

So it’s easy to imagine the impact of Xie Zheng’s subtly flirtatious selfie and the accompanying text “Had a meal with a little friend, very happy.”

Who was this “little friend” mentioned by Xie Zheng? Who could be so impressive to invite Xie Zheng out and make him show off?

And Xie Zheng said he was happy?

Heavens, this must be an illusion. Xie Zheng, who always had an expressionless face that revealed no emotions, saying he was happy?

And this social media post, no matter how you looked at it, it had the scent of a peacock showing off its feathers to attract a mate…

So, over on the other side, Secretary Li, who was sitting at the dai pai dong (open-air food stall), quickly received a barrage of WeChat messages.

Secretary Li opened his phone and checked the messages.

Then, he went to his boss’s social media account… and his expression made him question his life choices.

Secretary Li felt certain that his boss had been possessed!

He didn’t recognize this extremely flirtatious person at all!

As for Fang Ziyang, who was mentioned in the post…

Sorry, but with a soul age of twenty-eight and a focus on studying and seeking revenge, what is this thing called a social media post? Isn’t it more enjoyable to find ways to deal with his enemies rather than looking at others flaunting their cars, houses, and relationships?

Indeed, there was a special reminder feature for WeChat Moments, but you had to scroll through the posts to be reminded!

So Fang Ziyang not only didn’t scroll through the Moments but also didn’t even touch his phone. With a table full of spicy crayfish, saucy ribs, stir-fried pig intestines, and beer in front of him, how could he have the mood to check his phone? When it comes to eating, nothing is more important, regardless of how big the world is.

By the time they finished eating, slightly intoxicated, Fang Ziyang was sent home. After taking a casual shower, he immediately fell asleep.

And then, the next morning, Fang Ziyang continued to study intensively, working through practice questions while trying to resist the temptation of playing with his phone and slacking off. However, for a soul that was already twenty-eight years old and mature like Fang Ziyang, such distractions simply didn’t exist.

So…

Xie Zheng, who couldn’t stop poking at his phone day and night, causing his eyes to turn bloodshot, was surrounded by a gloomy atmosphere for a long time.

…

Fang Ziyang didn’t pay much attention to Xie Zheng’s changes.

To him, the rumors were clearly not reliable. He used to think that Xie Zheng was mighty and terrifying, but that was solely because he didn’t understand the unknown reasons behind it.

Now that he understood, he realized that Xie Zheng wasn’t that intimidating after all; in fact, he had a hint of innocence and naivety.

Yes, genuine naivety.

Of course, this description excludes Xie Zheng’s work abilities. Fang Ziyang was referring to his innocence in terms of worldly matters.

Xie Zheng was truly a straightforward and pure person, although some of his behaviors were so self-righteous that they were laughable. But it couldn’t be denied that this version of Xie Zheng seemed quite cute and innocent, despite it not matching his outward appearance.

Moreover, it was undeniable that Xie Zheng was very lenient!

Fang Ziyang wasn’t used to being treated like a child, being referred to as an “elder” by Xie Zheng and having him take care of him on behalf of his brother.

He wasn’t really eighteen years old, so being treated like a child made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

But he couldn’t argue with Xie Zheng. Xie Zheng always found various self-righteous reasons to make him listen, and unfortunately, Fang Ziyang couldn’t refute them. He had just reached adulthood, and he didn’t possess the advantages of an adult yet.

So, in the end, Fang Ziyang could only agree to Xie Zheng’s request and send him a video before going to bed every night, pretending to be obedient and assuring him that he hadn’t gone out anywhere.

Only then did the eighty-year-old Grandfather Xie calm down!

…

After dealing with Xie Zheng, Fang Ziyang became even more focused on his studies.

With the college entrance examination drawing closer, he not only received tutoring at home from Li Xiao but also made occasional visits to school.

His purpose was to participate in the school’s regular assessments.

Fang Ziyang’s intention was not to show off how amazing he was but rather to dispel any doubts that might arise from his future exam results.

After all, due to the deliberate influence of Yan Tong and Fang Yandong, his academic performance in high school was not good. Not to mention scoring high, even passing the exams was rare for him. He was the typical rich second-generation slacker who didn’t like studying.

If he was to excel in the college entrance examination with such an image, others might not suspect that he had been reborn, but they would definitely question whether he had cheated!

Although the college entrance examination was heavily regulated, nothing is perfect. His identity as a rich second-generation was filled with speculation in the eyes of ordinary people. To them, someone with his background could do whatever they wanted, and cheating in the college entrance examination was not impossible.

Fang Ziyang wasn’t afraid of being investigated, but he didn’t like trouble and didn’t want someone to use these suspicions against him.

Therefore, it was necessary for him to regularly participate in the school’s assessments before the college entrance examination to showcase his true abilities. Although it would shock people, he could attribute his previous lack of motivation and poor performance to laziness rather than genuine incompetence. After all, the world wasn’t lacking in “talents” with such “personality.”

In fact, Fang Ziyang had concerns.

His concerns stemmed from the fact that in his previous life, there was a scandal where several rich second-generation individuals bribed and leaked exam questions with the help of the director of the H Province Education Bureau.

At that time, the matter caused a huge uproar. Those involved in the scandal faced the consequences, but many innocent rich second-generation individuals were also implicated and suspected. Those who had mediocre academic performance but performed exceptionally well in the college entrance examination became the primary targets of scrutiny and verbal abuse. Only after the police intervened and cleared their names did they manage to escape, but they still had an extremely tough time.

Fang Ziyang had performed poorly back then and luckily managed to avoid the situation; otherwise, he would have been subjected to even harsher criticism.

However, at that time, he did have doubts about Yan Tong’s performance…

It wasn’t because he subjectively disliked him and denied his achievements and abilities. It was because he genuinely found Yan Tong’s performance dubious!

From what he knew: Yan Tong had already been in this world for a long time and had forgotten most of the knowledge taught in school.

After transmigrating, Yan Tong constantly tried to snatch his golden finger, opposed him, and flirted with various men as potential backup plans. So, he didn’t have much energy to spare for studying. Yan Tong’s academic performance had been hovering around average during their three years of high school.

Therefore, when Yan Tong achieved high scores in the college entrance examination and was admitted to a prestigious university in Beijing, Fang Ziyang was genuinely surprised and suspicious.

After all, although Yan Tong wasn’t a rich second-generation, he had men around him who were capable of helping him. Yan Tong’s character wasn’t particularly trustworthy, and it wouldn’t be strange for him to do some shady things to achieve his goals.

Of course, this didn’t rule out the possibility of him genuinely performing exceptionally well.

So, Fang Ziyang wasn’t sure if Yan Tong had been involved in the bribery and cheating scandals with those rich second-generation individuals in his previous life.

He didn’t dare to directly confront Yan Tong because of this, but he could try to provoke him and stimulate a response.

Based on Yan Tong’s envy and disdain towards him, Yan Tong would definitely not allow himself to be outperformed. Since Yan Tong had spent three years trying to discourage him from studying, it meant that Yan Tong definitely didn’t want to see him get into a good university.

So…

When Yan Tong learned that Fang Ziyang had suddenly become motivated and showed remarkable improvement in his academic performance during recent mock exams at school, he panicked.

He didn’t understand how the situation had suddenly reversed, and all his efforts to undermine Fang Ziyang seemed to be in vain overnight. Not only did he fail to sever Tang Xun’s connection to Fang Ziyang, but he also ended up facilitating the reunion between the brothers!

This truly made Yan Tong feel depressed.

However, he wasn’t completely resigned to his fate. So what if Tang Xun recognized Fang Ziyang as his brother? The current Fang Ziyang was no longer the radiant protagonist from the book.

Without his golden finger and the aura of a top student, even with Tang Xun as his support, Fang Ziyang’s future achievements would be limited. He would be a useless side character.

Moreover, he had already snatched away several people who liked Fang Ziyang, which meant that the remaining supporting male characters who could have helped Fang Ziyang would definitely stand on his side.

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