Doing It Over Again [Rebirth]

23: Villagers

Although the reporters from the Guo City TV station had seen photos of Shen Shao, they almost didn't recognize him when they saw him in person. In real life, Shen Shao looked taller and more handsome than on TV.

"Hello, Student Shen Shao." The reporter, Liu Zhong, had a kindly personality. He didn't neglect etiquette just because Shen Shao was young, but shook hands with him seriously. "I'm Liu Zhong, a reporter for the 'Daily Living' segment on Guo City TV News. This is our cameraman, Peng Jie. We'll be imposing on you all day today." In his eyes, a genius student like Shen Shao shouldn't be treated the same as an ordinary teen.

"You're welcome, Uncle Liu." Shen Shao turned to the cameraman and greeted him, then asked, "Do you want to start now?"

Liu Zhong nodded. "You don't have to worry about us, just do what you normally do." What they wanted to shoot was Shen Shao's daily life in school.

"That's fine." Shen Shao smiled at them. He and his two friends pushed their bikes through the school gate. Liang Cheng and Zhou ZeYu weren't used to having a camera on them, but they did their best to ignore the black box that was following.

As Liu Zhong walked behind Shen Shao, he saw that many people in No. 3 High School knew the young man. In the short distance from the school gate to the bicycle parking lot, multiple students greeted Shen Shao. Some called him 'senior', some called him 'Shao Ge', and others called him 'Shen Shao' by name. Although they used different names, Liu Zhong could tell how familiar they were with Shen Shao and how much they valued him.

"Shao Ge, want to play a game during PE this afternoon?" A boy from the neighboring class came over and patted Shen Shao on the shoulder. A moment later he noticed Liu Zhong and his colleague. At first he was startled, and then he turned his head and threw a sentence to Shen Shao: "See you this afternoon."

"Didn't they lose to us last time? Now they're back." Zhou ZeYu watched the boy as he walked away. He put his hand on Shen Shao's shoulder. "We'll beat them again this afternoon."

Shen Shao glanced at him and said noncommittally, "Assuming we're not busy during PE."

The three arrived at the classroom, put the books they needed on their desks, and began their day of study.

When Liu Zhong saw this, he asked Peng Jie to take shots of Shen Shao reading a textbook. Then, with a sense of discretion, they left the classroom. No. 3 High School was willing to let them film, but it was mostly as a favor to Shen Shao. Otherwise a small local station like theirs wouldn't be allowed to spend an entire day filming in the province's best high school.

The school's serious attitude towards Shen Shao made the reporter respect Shen Shao even more. In his opinion, Shen Shao had a promising future and would probably become an important person someday. Because of this, when he interacted with Shen Shao, he instinctively spoke to him with respect.

During the break between classes, Liu Zhong noticed that Shen Shao wasn't buried in his books. Whenever it was time for recess, Shen Shao would chat and hang out with his classmates instead of reading. During lunch, Shen Shao invited them to eat in a neat and clean restaurant outside school. Then, half-joking and half-serious, he said, "Uncles, both of you came all the way from our hometown. Let me treat you, OK?"

Liu Zhong had learned about Shen Shao's family situation before he came here. How could he agree to let this child pay for his meal? Not to mention that the station had approved plenty of activity funds for the trip. To be honest, their intention was to find a way to buy Shen Shao some learning supplies and things for daily life. In the end, he forced Shen Shao to give up the idea of treating them, giving the reason that "if you don't let us pay, you're looking down on us".