The salty life in Life of Pi

Chapter 1 New Life
“One last check”

Wu Xianyu put the luggage at the door, turned back to the room and did a final check of the water, electricity, doors and windows to make sure nothing was missed. He closed the door, carried the luggage to the entrance of the community, put the luggage in the trunk of a taxi that had been waiting for him, opened the back door and got in the taxi.

"Master, Elite High School"

"okay"

The driver in the front row pushed down the "No Passengers" sign and casually glanced at Wu Xianyu in the rearview mirror, then started chatting.

"Young man, are you moving?"

"No, I've started school and I'm going to boarding school in high school."

"School starts?"

The driver seemed not to have expected this answer. He took advantage of the red light to half turn his head and glance at Wu Xianyu. With his shaved head and silver-rimmed glasses, he didn't look like a student at all. It would be more believable to say that he had just come out of an elevator.

Wu Xianyu also noticed the driver's look and explained helplessly

"I went to school in northern Jiangsu before."

"Oh~ no wonder."

The driver suddenly realized what was going on, turned around and drove, looking for a topic to talk about.
"You are lucky, you are going to school in Jiangzhou. It is much easier here than in Su Province. It must have cost a lot of money."

“I didn’t spend any money, I got in through connections.”

Wu Xianyu responded incoherently. The driver was not surprised to hear this answer. He just said "tsk tsk" twice.

"Your parents are pretty impressive if you have this connection. Why don't you see them sending you to school?"

"They died and it was the government that helped me get transferred to a selective school"

Wu Xianyu's voice was heard without much emotion. The driver in the front seat's hand trembled, and his throat suddenly felt dry. He was a little afraid to look at the boy behind him. He glanced at him secretly in the rearview mirror. He looked calm, but his eyelids were drooping. The driver felt as if his chest was blocked.

Wu Xianyu didn't notice the driver. He was just a little listless after waking up so early. In fact, he was somewhat relieved about the death of his parents. After all, his soul was not from this world.

He was struggling in the sales industry in 2024, but when he woke up, he traveled back to the body of a boy with the same name. When he was staring at 2014 on his phone, someone suddenly came to him and told him a piece of news that he didn't know whether it was good or bad.

The original owner's parents had passed away, and when he took their belongings in a daze, the person who came to inform him meant that he was too shocked and couldn't react.

Later, he was taken to Jiangzhou and away from the environment that his original owner was familiar with. This made Wu Xianyu feel relieved. At least no one would find out that there was anything wrong with him.

The driver in the front seat saw that Wu Xianyu seemed to be lost in his memories. He wanted to say something several times, but in the end no sound came out. The ability to chat, which he was proud of as a driver, was of no help at this time.

Fortunately, Wu Xianyu's home was not far from Elite Middle School. The driver parked the car as close to the school gate as possible and got out of the car to help Wu Xianyu take down his luggage. Wu Xianyu smiled and said "thank you".

"Master, how much is it?"

"Hey, forget it, it's just the starting price, just go in."

Before Wu Xianyu could say anything more, the driver stepped on the accelerator and drove away from the school gate.

Wu Xianyu scratched the back of his head, wondering what was wrong with the driver.

After leaving the school area, the taxi driver stopped the car at an intersection, waved away a customer, and lit a cigarette for himself.

Wu Xianyu was just about to walk towards the school gate with his luggage when he passed a car and suddenly heard a voice.

"Look at other people, they can register by themselves, but you have your parents to help you, yet you are still hesitating here. Miaomiao, why don't you learn from them and be more independent?"

Wu Xianyu looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was a family of three. The one who spoke was a woman. When she saw Wu Xianyu looking over, she greeted him with a smile on her face.

"The young man is really energetic"

Another voice came over.
"Wow, classmate, you are so cool, where did you get this haircut?"

Wu Xianyu looked at the short-haired girl in front of him and answered casually

"Aliang Style"

"Aliang Hairstyle? Why haven't I heard of this barber shop?"

"Well, there's a barbershop in northern Jiangsu. They can give me a haircut like mine for 5 bucks. They're very experienced."

Wu Xianyu felt that the girl in front of him looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her. Since he had plenty of time, he simply stopped and started chatting with her.

Hearing Wu Xianyu's explanation, Lin Miaomiao frowned.
“It’s so far, but it’s quite cheap.”

"It has to be cheap. After all, there are at least a few hundred people in a school who go there to get their hair cut."

"Ah? Why?"

Wu Xianyu did not continue to tease, but winked at Lin Miaomiao
"Your parents are waiting for you, come over quickly"

Lin Miaomiao turned around and found that both her parents were looking at her eagerly. She immediately shrank her neck, walked over with a wry smile, and picked up some luggage consciously.

When I looked towards the school gate again, Wu Xianyu was no longer there.

Wu Xianyu walked into the school one step ahead of time, stood in front of the sign at the school gate and searched for a while, and soon found his class

"Class 1, Grade 1, huh? Lin Miaomiao, the girl just now seemed to be named Miaomiao, I wonder if they are the same person."

Thinking about all sorts of things, Wu Xianyu came to the boys' dormitory, found his name, and skillfully made his bed. Just as he lay down on the bed to rest, another person came into the dormitory with a travel bag hanging on his body, a suitcase in one hand, and a basketball in the other.

Seeing Wu Xianyu, he took the initiative to extend his hand to say hello

"Brother, you're done so quickly. Hello, my name is Jiang Tianhao."

Wu Xianyu got off the bed, held Jiang Tianhao's hand and paused as usual, then showed a professional fake smile.
"Well, hello, my name is Wu Xianyu"

Jiang Tianhao was stunned, and belatedly withdrew his hand, looking at Wu Xianyu in surprise.

"Brother, why are you acting like an office worker with such a fake smile on your face?"

Wu Xianyu touched the corner of his mouth and then revealed an awkward smile.
"Ha, it's just a reflex, don't worry about it"

Jiang Tianhao made the bed for Wu Xianyu while chatting with him.

"It's okay, I understand. After all, my dad took me to meet all kinds of people during the summer vacation. I also had a fake smile on my face at that time. I saw that your parents didn't come either. Are they like my parents, busy with business and forgot about it?"

"Uh, this."

After what happened to the driver in the morning, Wu Xianyu was a little hesitant about whether to tell the real reason. While Wu Xianyu was hesitating, Jiang Tianhao had already jumped down from the upper bunk and patted Wu Xianyu on the shoulder.
"Okay, no need to explain. We are both strangers in this world. I happen to be familiar with this place. I will take you to the Political Education Office to pay the fee. I will also introduce you to the cafeteria auntie. I tell you, if you make the cafeteria auntie happy, she won't even shake when she serves you food."

Political and Educational Office

Jiang Tianhao brought Wu Xianyu to pay the fee. He demonstrated by handing his ID card and admission letter to the teacher, then consciously showed the payment code and turned to Wu Xianyu.
“It’s that simple”

After signing his name on the POS receipt, Jiang Tianhao consciously made way for Wu Xianyu.

"It's your turn now. Let's go to the cafeteria. As a junior high student at Elite High School, I can tell you responsibly that the food in our cafeteria is absolutely good..."

Before Jiang Tianhao could finish, the teacher in charge of payment returned Wu Xianyu's ID card and said to Wu Xianyu without picking up the POS machine.
"Student Wu, you are a free student, you don't need to pay any fees, we have already arranged your admission."

"what?"

Jiang Tianhao opened his mouth in shock when he heard the teacher's words. He walked out of the Political Education Office side by side with Wu Xianyu and looked at Wu Xianyu in surprise.

"Tsk tsk, I didn't realize you're such a top student."

"Oh? How do you know I'm a top student?"

Wu Xianyu looked at Jiang Tianhao with interest. Jiang Tianhao had an expression that he had expected, and proudly put his arms around Wu Xianyu's neck.
"Hehe, I was promoted from the junior high school of Elite Middle School. As far as I know, the free students of Elite Middle School are either children of teachers or those who got in based on their academic performance. Your parents are too busy to send you to register, so you are definitely not a teacher. It can only be that you got in based on your academic performance. How about it? Does it feel like a detective?"

Wu Xianyu looked at him with pity.

"Except for the fact that all the answers to the process were wrong, the rest was pretty much like a detective."

"Huh? How is that possible? Then why are you a free student?"

Seeing Wu Xianyu avoiding the question, Jiang Tianhao was so anxious that he scratched his head.

As he walked to the end of the line and was about to walk out of the corridor, Wu Xianyu saw the little girl he met at the school gate and greeted her with a smile.

"hello"

"Hey, it's cool guy, hello, you're so quick, you've already paid the fee."

"Yeah, let's not chat any more. I'm going to eat. I heard the food in the cafeteria is good. Bye."

Watching Wu Xianyu walk away, Lin Miaomiao couldn't help swallowing her saliva. Seeing her daughter's useless appearance, Wang Shengnan couldn't help rolling her eyes. She pulled Lin Miaomiao, who was about to leave the team, and took out a bag of small bread from her bag.
"Eat your fill first, and then you can go eat after you pay the bill."

As Jiang Tianhao walked into the cafeteria, the aroma of food hit him in the face. Wu Xianyu couldn't help but take a breath. He hadn't smelled this kind of smell for a long time. In his previous life, he had never eaten such a big pot meal since he graduated from college.

Glancing at the dishes in the cafeteria, Wu Xianyu couldn't help but be amazed. It was worthy of being Jiangzhou, which was benchmarked against Shanghai. This high school cafeteria was comparable to some small buffets. This reminded Wu Xianyu of his previous high school cafeteria. There was no meat in the fried potatoes and meat, the eggs in the scrambled eggs with tomatoes were very chopped, and each person only had one chicken leg.

Collecting their thoughts, Wu Xianyu and Jiang Tianhao walked to the end of the line and started queuing. Not long after, they got their meals and found a seat near the aisle to sit down.

Wu Xianyu picked up a piece of scrambled eggs with cucumber. It tasted good. Although it was not as to his liking as what he made himself, it was still an excellent dish as part of a big pot meal.

“Wow, there are chicken legs too.”

Lin Miaomiao, wearing a brown jumpsuit, walked over from somewhere. When she saw the food in front of Wu Xianyu, her eyes widened.

Wu Xianyu swallowed the food in his mouth and looked up at the little girl, smiling.

"Yeah, you like to eat meat? Then I advise you to go get your meal quickly, otherwise the chicken legs will be gone soon."

Looking at Lin Miaomiao's back as she trotted towards the food window, Jiang Tianhao retracted his gaze and looked at Wu Xianyu with a strange look.

"Brother, why do you like this type of girl?"

"Tsk, what's in your head? I just chatted with her for a few words. I don't even know her name."

Wu Xianyu looked at Lin Miaomiao's back and thought of his sister in his previous life. Because the second child policy was implemented, his parents gave him a younger sister when he was fourteen years old, but his sister was quiet and not so outgoing.

I shook my head and put all the things from my past life out of my mind. I had already come here, and thinking about those things would only add to my sadness.

Just as the two of them were concentrating on eating, a figure suddenly sat down next to Wu Xianyu. Jiang Tianhao had just picked up a piece of meat and hadn't put it into his mouth when he saw the little girl sitting next to Wu Xianyu in a familiar manner. She immediately looked at Wu Xianyu with a look that said "you lied to me".

Wu Xianyu didn't see the look in Jiang Tianhao's eyes. He was shocked by the little girl's appetite. The rice was so big that it was sticking out. All three dishes were meat dishes. If it was an adolescent boy, Wu Xianyu would definitely not be so shocked, but this was a little girl.

Feeling the gaze, Lin Miaomiao quickly quickened her movements, swallowed the food in her mouth, and reached out to Wu Xianyu.
"Hello, we have met several times but have not yet formally met. My name is Lin Miaomiao."

"My name is Wu Xianyu. Can you finish this?"

Wu Xianyu's hands touched and then separated. Lin Miaomiao also shook hands with Jiang Tianhao and they got to know each other. Jiang Tianhao didn't talk as much as before. This time he looked at the two of them with a sly look and kept quiet.

"It's no big deal. I, Lin Miaomiao, may not have other advantages, but I will never waste food."

After saying that, Lin Miaomiao took a few more mouthfuls of rice until her mouth was full.

Watching the food in front of Lin Miaomiao decrease little by little, Wu Xianyu opened his eyes.

When the meal was almost over, Lin Miaomiao took a sip of the pickled mustard and egg soup from the bowl, and suddenly looked at Wu Xianyu as if she remembered something.

"By the way, what you said at the school gate, why would hundreds of students go to the same barber shop to get their hair cut?"

Wu Xianyu touched his hair, couldn't help but smile, and looked at Jiang Tianhao

"Haozi, do you know why?"

Jiang Tianhao looked at Wu Xianyu's round hair, exuding imagination

"Well, is there a club in your school where everyone has this hairstyle?"

Wu Xianyu twitched his lips and didn't continue to keep the secret. He spread his hands helplessly.
"Because it is required by the school, all the boys in our junior high school have this hairstyle. Anyway, this is the only hairstyle we can have. We might as well go directly to the barber shop near the school. After all, they are experienced and can cut much better-looking hair than other barber shops."

Although Wu Xianyu had no memory of his previous life, he knew why the first time he saw this hairstyle in the mirror. After all, he also studied in northern Jiangsu in his previous life.

"Damn, isn't this the same as the prison's requirements?"

"Hey, that's what you said, it has nothing to do with me"

Wu Xianyu pointed at Jiang Tianhao who was sighing, picked up the plate and walked towards the sink. The two people behind him followed and walked out of the cafeteria together.

After waiting for a while at the entrance of the cafeteria with Lin Miaomiao, Jiang Tianhao came over with three bottles of iced Coke and handed one to each of them. Lin Miaomiao was overjoyed and couldn't wait to take a sip.

"In this kind of weather, you should have a bottle of iced Coke"

The weather in September was just at the peak of the autumn heat, so the few of us didn't chat outside for long and went back to our respective dormitories.

(End of this chapter)