Rebirth: How A Loser Became A Prince Charming

Maybe I was wrong from the very beginning. It’s time to go home. Li Diandian, the actor who portrayed Su San, smiled at the unsurpassed beauty. It felt like she had gone back in time to the moment she had won an award in China, back during her prime time.

"Thank you, young man." She stood up and left the restaurant without hesitation.

Goodbye and farewell.

"Qin Guan!" Xu Xiaoxiao gave Qin Guan a quivering thumbs-up. My mentor!

Qin Guan took off his costume and makeup. There was no trace of charm left on his face. He smiled at Xu. "I’ll teach you in my spare time. It’s only a three-minute scene anyway. It’ll be a piece of cake."

Xu would do anything Qin Guan told him to. He considered Qin Guan a talented person hiding in a cave [1]. He would become Qin Guan’s henchman in the future.

After the performance, Qin Guan was very hungry. He followed Xu to his table, where there was a plate of fresh shrimp dumplings. You really invested a lot in this, dear Xu.

The manager ran up to Xu Xiaoxiao with sweat covering his forehead. He pointed to two smartly dressed foreign customers standing beside the cashier. They looked like Wall Street geniuses.

"What’s the matter?" Xu asked the manager strictly, changing his attitude completely.

"They want to give the lady who was on stage a bouquet. And they want her number... Sir, shall we...?" He pointed to the green bills in their hands, implying that there was money involved.

"F*ck off!" Xu pushed the manager off awkwardly. Then he turned back, afraid that Qin Guan would get angry.

However, his mentor was buried in food while his girlfriend convulsed with laughter.

It seems that they encounter such pursuers often...

In Xu’s imagination, Qin Guan was a disciple of a famous Peking Opera master. He had lived an ordinary life, filled with flowers and applause, but still remained indifferent to favor or humiliation.

He was getting closer to the truth now, except that Qin Guan’s identity still escaped him.

The moon rose above the high buildings of New York. Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei left the restaurant hand in hand.

Their long shadows merged together on the ground.

"Cong Nianwei?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have homework?"

"Of course."

"What shall we do then?"

"Run!"

Happy laughter and cheerful voices flew in the air above Manhattan. Their hard-working figures could be seen in the moonlight by the window.

As they were sleeping in their queen-sized bed, Qin Guan received a message on his phone.

It was 1:45 at night. Who the hell is texting me? Qin Guan got out of bed, his bare feet padding on the floor. Their phones were lying on the bedside table next to each other.

Both of them had received messages, but they had missed them in their deep sleep. Qin Guan narrowed his eyes and read the message.

He could read every word, but he didn’t understand. What does "additional work" mean? More homework?

That was why people took drugs. Qin Guan pushed Cong Nianwei awake and told her, "Weizi, my professor just gave me more homework. You also have a message. Is it about homework too?"

Massaging her eyes, Cong Nianwei glanced at her phone. Suddenly, she threw a pillow at him. "Do your homework in the living room. Close the door for me!"

It was only a message about the weather forecast.

The rising sun was peering through the window. Cong Nianwei walked out of the bedroom with a yawn. She found Qin Guan sleeping on the couch with his laptop on his stomach, saliva running down from his mouth.

She massaged his short hair with a smile. "Time to get up!" she told him before she ran to the bathroom. It was important to get to the bathroom first in the morning.

"Are you done with your homework?" she asked amid the sound of the water running.

"Of course. I’m a genius. I finished it all. Then I found some other material to read before I fell asleep."

Qin Guan walked to the fridge in his slippers and discovered that it was empty.

"We could eat out."

"Okay."

In the morning, only breakfast bars were open in Manhattan. Hurried office workers would only stop for their favorite breakfast.

Like all authentic Manhattan residents, Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei followed the crowd flow into the most traditional breakfast bar.

There were simple bagels on sale there. The most typical example was a classic round bagel. Customers cut it into halves and spread thick cheese cream on them. That was the traditional way to eat it.

In the supermarket, bagels were sold for 0.75 dollars each. One could find them everywhere, in both bars and restaurants.

That bar was particularly popular though. Qin Guan believed it was because of the abundance of food offered.

One could get a sandwich, an omelet, floppy pancakes or waffles there. There were also fried eggs, cheese, ham, bacon and hamburgers on the menu. The bar’s rich breakfast was very popular among Manhattan residents.

[1] In Chinese martial art fiction, talented people are modest and always hiding in caves, keeping a distance from earthly things.