Around two in the afternoon, not long after Chen Chuan returned from the gathering, a familiar knock came at his dormitory door. He walked over and opened it to find Cheng Zitong standing outside, beaming from ear to ear.
Calling him radiant wouldn't be an exaggeration in the slightest; his face looked as if it were genuinely about to beam with light.
Chen Chuan's heart stirred slightly. He addressed him as "Teacher" and welcomed him inside.
Cheng Zitong stepped inside with his briefcase tucked under his arm and chuckled. "Little Chuan, I came specifically today to tell you: your application for a slot to Center City has been approved by the Main Academy."
Although Chen Chuan had mentally prepared himself well in advance, hearing it aloud still caused a surge of irrepressible joy to rise in his heart.
Cheng Zitong smiled and said, "The moment I received this news this morning, my first thought was—"
Chen Chuan said sincerely, "Thank you for all your trouble, Teacher."
"No trouble at all, no trouble at all! With good news like this, wouldn't I need to eat a few extra bowls of rice? Look, I only just came from the cafeteria."
Cheng Zitong patted his round belly, sat down on the sofa, pulled a paper from his briefcase, and handed it to him. "Here, take a look."
Chen Chuan took the paper. The text read: "Upon verification by the Wuyi Main Academy and the Disposal Bureau, all qualifications of the student meet the admissions criteria. Permission to attend the Main Academy is hereby granted, with this approval taking effect on the date this notice is received by the student."
Below that were the seals of the Wuyi Main Academy, the Disposal Bureau, and the Review Committee, along with signatures from the relevant officials—a long list of over a dozen names.
It was nothing more than a flimsy sheet of paper, yet over the years, it had barred the vast majority of students from Center City, remaining tantalizingly out of reach.
Now, he held it in his hands, clasping a turning point in his destiny.
After reading it twice, he looked up and asked, "Teacher, it says here that it takes effect the day the notice is received. Does that mean I can head to Center City right now?"
Cheng Zitong nodded. "That's right. With the notice in hand, you can go to Center City at any time. However, this semester is drawing to a close, and there's a lot going on at the end of the year—Center City is no different. Heading over right now would be a bit rushed.
"So my advice is not to be in such a hurry. You might as well wait until after the New Year. Going there means you'll likely be staying for a very long time, so take some time to prepare and settle your affairs here while you're at it."
Chen Chuan nodded.
With a smile, Cheng Zitong produced a stack of tickets from his briefcase and set them on the table. "Admission tickets for this year's academy arena tournament. I saved them specially for you."
Chen Chuan did not stand on ceremony. "Thank you, Teacher."
"All right, go about your business. I'll take my leave. With the end of the year approaching, things have piled up. I got so caught up celebrating today that I left everything untouched."
Cheng Zitong put on his decorative spectacles and rose to leave, humming a tune as he walked with brisk, light steps. He truly was thrilled today.
After seeing him off, Chen Chuan returned and picked up the notice, feeling that he ought to—
Then he changed his clothes, slung his satchel over his shoulder, and headed down from the dormitory building into the open air outside. Though the eleventh month carried a bit of a chill, the sunlight was bright and dazzling, warming anyone it touched.
He went to the bicycle shed, retrieved his bike, mounted it, and set off for home. As he exited the campus, any students who saw him took the initiative to greet him, and he responded to each one. Once clear of the school, he picked up speed, pedaling all the way home in one breath.
He parked his bicycle in the courtyard and stepped inside. Being a rest day, the whole family was there. Nian Fuli had the radio on, tapping his fingers to the rhythm and bobbing his head as he listened to the opera broadcast. His younger cousins were building with wooden blocks, while Yu Wan sat to one side knitting a sweater. Seeing him enter, she said happily, "Chan'er is back! Have you eaten?"
Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Auntie, I've already eaten."
Yu Wan smiled. "Nothing going on at school, is there? If not, stay and have dinner at home tonight."
Chen Chuan said, "All right."
Yu Wan went back to knitting her sweater.
"Auntie," Chen Chuan called softly.
Yu Wan looked up.
Chen Chuan looked at Nian Fuli as well. "Uncle." He took off his satchel, walked a few steps, and set it on the table. Seeing this, Nian Fuli instinctively reached out and turned down the volume on the radio.
Chen Chuan took out the notice and handed it to Yu Wan. "Auntie, this is an admission notice for the Wuyi Main Academy in Center City. I'll be going to the Main Academy in Center City to study."
"Center City..."
Yu Wan looked dazed at first, but then, as if realizing something, she hastily reached out with both hands for the notice. Halfway there, she wiped her hands on her apron before carefully taking it.
When she saw that line of text on the notice, a wave of heartfelt joy washed over her body and mind, yet at the same time it felt as though she had suddenly lost something. Tears welled up and spilled from her eyes.
Nian Fuli stood up, walked over to Yu Wan, and put an arm around her shoulder. He glanced at the notice, looked up, and said, "Center City..."
He chuckled. "Back when I was in the army, my old company commander always told me his greatest wish before enlisting was to go to Center City and see the world. Little Chuan, testing into Wuyi College was like stuffing a gold brick into your pocket, but now going to Center City—that's using the gold brick as a stepping stone." He gently squeezed Yu Wan's shoulder. "Yu Wan, the boy has made something of himself. We should be happy."
Yu Wan wiped away her tears. "Right, we should be happy. Chan'er, what do you want to eat? Auntie will make it for you."
Chen Chuan smiled. "I've eaten plenty of good food at school and outside, but what I love most is still the chicken soup you stew, Auntie."
"Right..." Yu Wan stood up, wiping the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. "Auntie will go make it for you right now."
Nian Fuli said, "On any rest day, whether you come back or not, your auntie always buys a chicken to stew."
Chen Chuan hummed in acknowledgment. He took the tickets Cheng Zitong had given him out of his bag and handed them over. "Uncle, these are admission tickets for this year's arena tournament."
"Good stuff."
Nian Fuli took them. Even as a brigade captain, he wouldn't have been able to get his hands on these. It was just a pity he had been promoted a rank, making it rather awkward to go show them off in front of Wei Laohu now.
Chen Chuan looked at his younger cousins. "Come on, your cousin's taking you out to play today."
"Ooooh!"
The two little ones hadn't really understood what was being talked about just now, but hearing this, they cheered and ran over to Chen Chuan, tugging on his pant legs while looking beseechingly at Nian Fuli.
Nian Fuli waved his hand. "Go on, play. Go have fun with your cousin."
"Yay, we're going out to play!"
Chen Chuan bent down, gathered them close, opened the door, and shepherded the two little ones outside.
Nian Fuli followed them out, watching Chen Chuan lead the two hopping, skipping kids out of the courtyard. Yu Wan stepped outside as well, standing beside him to watch.
Nian Fuli remarked, "Back when we brought Little Chuan home, he was only about Xiao Lu and Xiao Mo's age, wasn't he?"
"Mm, he was so small back then."
Nian Fuli mused, "Little Chuan was young back then, but how long has it been? Feels like in the blink of an eye, it's already time for him to spread his wings and fly."
"It makes me think of Second Sister. When she left back then, she went so far away too. I just hope Little Chuan doesn't walk the same path she did."
Nian Fuli said, "Little Chuan is different. The boy has a head on his shoulders."
Yu Wan nodded softly. Looking at the swaying branches outside the courtyard, she crossed her arms and said wistfully, "When I was little, my mother told me that in grown-ups' eyes, children are like kites in the sky. You watch them soar into the clouds, but that string clenched in your hand... you just can't bring yourself to let it go."
Nian Fuli turned to shield her from the wind and gestured repeatedly toward the house. "All right, let's head inside. It's cold out, don't just stand here. When kids grow up, they all find their own way of living. You don't need to worry yourself so much."
Chen Chuan took the two little ones to a nearby children's playground and spent the afternoon playing with them, buying them plenty of snacks.
When they came out, Nian Mo licked his candied hawthorn skewer, looked up, and asked, "Cousin, are you going on a long trip? Will you be gone for a really long time?"
Chen Chuan smiled. "You even know about that?"
"Qian'er did the same thing when he went on a long trip. He took us out to play for a long time, but then he didn't come back for ages."
Nian Lu corrected him, "You have to call him Older Brother! Mama said it's bad manners not to."
"If he doesn't give me treats, I won't. If he gives me treats, I will."
Chen Chuan chuckled; the kid was certainly practical. He checked the sky and saw it was getting late, so he took his cousins back home. Before dinner, he asked Yu Wan, "Auntie, is Older Cousin coming home this year?"
His aunt said, "I don't know. In previous years a telegram would have arrived around this time, but nothing has come yet this year. That boy has no sense of time. Lao Nian, why don't you send a telegram to hurry him along?"
Nian Fuli said, "I'm not hurrying him. Leave him be. This year our family will celebrate the New Year together just like always."
Chen Chuan smiled inwardly, knowing Nian Fuli was just acting tough—in reality, he was probably sending telegrams and waiting for replies day after day.
After dinner, he spent the night there and returned to the school early the next morning. Now that going to Center City was settled, there was no need to overthink things. He would make good use of this time to improve himself as much as possible and prepare for Center City.
Yet just one day later, the school's Admissions Preparation Office posted the admission list for this year's Center City Main Academy at the school gate.
In the past, those who could go to the Main Academy were all recommended students, having nothing to do with the ordinary students around them. But this time was different. The name stood out prominently:
"Wuyi College, Second-Year Student, Class A Student, Chen Chuan."
The announcement immediately caused a sensation both inside and outside the academy, because for a very long time, no student other than a recommended student had ever gained admission to the Center City Main Academy.
Whether Class A students or Class B students, everyone had long accepted that this privilege belonged exclusively to recommended students and had nothing to do with them; even they themselves had long stopped entertaining such thoughts.
Yet once Chen Chuan's name appeared there, everyone could feel that from this moment on, everything seemed different. The ripple caused by this news even drew back some students who had just graduated, as well as alumni who had graduated years ago, to crowd around and look.
Standing beneath the notice in the display case, Tai Dongwei stared at the name and the official seal. "Who would have thought? Do you think students like us might all be able to go to Center City in the future?"
Beside him, Deng Fu said, "Us? You and I have already graduated, so we have no chance. But Junior Geng might still have a shot. Regardless, he has an unlimited defense license now, and few in his year are better than him, so his chances are pretty good. It's just that our having joined the Mutual Aid Society is a point against us."
Geng Zheng thought for a moment and said resolutely, "I'm going."
His family relied on medicine from Center City for treatment. Now that the Mutual Aid Society route was cut off, although some could be bought on the black market, solving the problem once and for all meant he had to go to Center City.
Tai Dongwei looked up at the notice and said wistfully, "I really envy Junior Chen."
Deng Fu said leisurely, "Don't envy him—envy won't get you anywhere. He earned that himself. If you could wipe out the Mutual Aid Society and overturn Molan Company, you could go to Center City too."
Tai Dongwei asked in surprise, "I know about the Mutual Aid Society, but Molan Company... wasn't that the higher-ups making a move?"
Deng Fu said meaningfully, "You really think it had nothing to do with Junior Chen? Let me put it this way: for this Junior Chen to dare face the Tribunal and confront all those powerful families tied to Molan Company, could he really have done that without something backing him? Think about it."
Both Tai Dongwei and Geng Zheng were taken aback. They turned it over in their minds and found that it did seem to make some sense.
After a while, Geng Zheng couldn't help asking, "Molan Company fell, but I heard other companies are taking over Molan's assets. When that happens, will another 'Molan Company' and 'Mutual Aid Society' appear?"
"Yes. Absolutely," Deng Fu answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Then what do we do?"
Deng Fu said, "What can we do? At worst, just slaughter them all over again."
"Then doesn't that mean nothing has changed?"
Deng Fu turned around, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked away from the crowd. "Nothing changed, yet everything changed!"
Chapter 228