Off to Vocational College They Went

On the day we chose our college majors, the influencer who was the school's heartthrob held a livestream and announced that he had decided to lead the anti-rat-race movement and would choose to attend a vocational college.

The whole class followed him.

Seeing the rapidly increasing number of followers, he smiled smugly. "They can do these low-class jobs if they like. I'll change my choice back to Harvard University at the last minute."

I tried to dissuade him, but this would cause network congestion.

My girlfriend slapped me. "You nerd! Who are you to tell our idol, Zach Simpson, what to do?"

In my previous life, I spent half an hour dissuading them, and only then did the students change their college choices.

However, Zach failed to change his application due to network lag and was admitted to a vocational college instead. He could not bear the blow and jumped into the river to commit suicide.

The students who had entered prestigious universities collectively vented their anger on me.

At the class reunion, they poured 99 bottles of beer down my throat and locked me in the karaoke's freezer.

"Who cares about the prestige of a prestigious university? You'll just be working for someone else after graduation anyway!"

"Why did we follow Zach in the first place? Wasn't it to break this damn rule?"

"Zach was leading us to realize our dreams! If you hadn't interfered, I would already have gone to a vocational college with him!"

They spoke disdainfully of prestigious universities, yet not one of them chose to drop out.

I froze to death in a dark, cold freezer, my eyes wide open.

Years later, they became elites in their respective fields, while my parents could only weep looking at my portrait.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day Zach was livestreaming in the classroom.

This time, I promised I would not interfere. Instead, I wished them a happy vocational college experience.

Zach Simpson confidently said to the livestream camera, "Let me tell you one thing. I've decided to apply to a vocational college."

The comments section was instantly thrown into an uproar.

Zach was a famous, handsome, and highly accomplished student who scored 1400 on the college admissions test, but now it seemed that he wanted to attend a vocational college. It felt like he had lost his mind.

Zach added, "I'm not crazy. I'm being rational! Education doesn't equal intelligence, nor does it equal dignity. My grandma has cleaned the streets for 30 years. Her broom is as noble as a professor's pen. Some people sit in offices, while others pour coffee. I'm willing to pour coffee because it's a form of honorable labor. We're different from the moment we were born. Why should we live according to a set template? I want to tell all of society that people are all the same! The college admission test is just a game set by humans, and I'm not playing it anymore."

After he finished speaking, the livestream instantly gained 100,000 new followers, and the topic "Anti-rat race king, Zach Simpson" topped the ranks.

The classmates in the classroom were all in tears.

"Zach is so amazing! Don't you think he's being very rational? Independent, avant-garde, and fearless of societal pressure!"

"He dares to say what we dare not. He's the new George Orwell!"

My girlfriend, Sophie Jordan, had red hands from clapping, and her eyes were filled with tears. "Royce Linwood, what do you think? Are you particularly moved？ Which vocational college do you want to go to?"

I stared at her.

In my past life, she tricked me into going to the karaoke bar under the pretense of a class reunion. She was also the one who encouraged the whole class to get me drunk, made me kneel in the karaoke hallway, and finally shoved me into the freezer.

I calmly answered, "I want to apply to Harvard."

She slapped my face. "You academic fool! You're a sophisticated egoist. I must have been blind to have fallen for you!"

A girl nearby pushed me too. "He's heartless and single-minded. He doesn't understand Zach's core values! Zach is breaking down class barriers, yet he's just clinging to his crappy Harvard dream."

The class arts representative showed me her phone, her eyes red. "I changed my application to Remington and my grandma posted on her social media saying that she's proud of me. You have no idea what it feels like to be approved by your family!"

Just then, Zach paused his livestream. He reached out, and Sophie quickly handed him a cup of coffee.

Zach took a sip and spat it out immediately. "Holy crap! I only drink it without sugar, and this has sugar added to it! Those vocational school idiots who make coffee can't even read properly! I'll continue my livestream later and change my application back at the last minute. When the acceptance letter comes, I'll say Harvard's president begged me to enroll. If I capitalize on this wave of attention, I'll have over ten million followers!"

The class monitor was the first to react, clapping and laughing. "Zach is truly a strategic genius! Those who go to vocational colleges are all idiots. Zach played along with them and they actually took it seriously? Hilarious."

Zach smugly waved his phone. "It's the number one trending topic, and those poorly educated people are still praising me. What a bunch of idiots."

The whole class burst into laughter.

"Are they good enough? Are they?"

"Do they really think we're like them? Hilarious!"

"The anti-rat-race is for peasants. We're going to prestigious universities and reaching the summit!"

Their attitude changed faster than lightning.

I chuckled and said nothing.

How boisterous…

And to think I actually wanted to save these idiots in my past life.