Early in the morning, the door to the east room swung open from within, and Ah Li stepped outside wearing her lotus-pattern padded jacket.
Usually, she was the earliest riser in the household, but not today.
Out in the courtyard, Runsheng and Tan Wenbin sat across from each other, heads lowered as they honed their scythes.
When Ah Li passed by, Runsheng looked up and gave her a smile. "Morning."
The girl paused for a second before stepping toward the main house and heading upstairs.
Though she had not spoken a word, that brief pause was already the warmest response she could offer.
Pushing open the bedroom door, she slipped inside. The boy was still asleep, so she began admiring the paintings hanging on the walls.
Three were finished. The first depicted Little Oriole.
The woman in the painting did not have blue skin or fangs; instead, she appeared demure and reserved, swaying mid-stride as if about to step right off the paper, lips parted in song, ready to dance.
The second showed a kindly, white-haired old woman basking in the sun in a courtyard, a black cat sleeping in her lap.
The third was of a middle-aged man, though his figure had been deliberately blurred so only his back was visible. The ancient bronze coin hanging at his waist, however, was rendered in exquisite, meticulous detail.
All three paintings had received immense care in their backgrounds.
The first had a hazy, dreamlike aura; the second carried a poignant desolation beneath its warmth; and the third felt thoroughly suffocating.
While Ah Li was studying them, Li Zhuiyuan woke up.
The boy walked over beside her and looked at them with her for a while.
After washing up, they played chess as usual—three boards at once now, which greatly improved the efficiency with which Li Zhuiyuan lost.
"Breakfast is ready!"
Every day, Auntie Liu's shout signaled the official start of the morning.
Runsheng and Tan Wenbin returned together from the fields. It was the autumn harvest, and the fields had been demanding these past few days. Tan Wenbin had made a point of waking early to help.
He had never endured hardship in his life, and the farm work had already raised blisters on his hands. Unfazed, he simply took a needle and pricked them open himself.
Even Li Sanjiang told him to take a break, but Tan Wenbin just grinned.
"It's fine. Zhuangzhuang is sturdy."
***
When morning self-study ended, Li Zhuiyuan and Tan Wenbin walked into the classroom.
A pot of flowers sat on Zheng Haiyang's desk.
The tragedy at his home had been officially classified as a home-invasion robbery and murder. Tan Yunlong had not told Li Zhuiyuan whether higher authorities had sent investigators, nor had he followed up on the details. But sometimes, no news was news in itself.
It meant the three of them had been completely cleared of the incident.
Though they had been there and left plenty of traces that a meticulous sweep could turn up, specialized work required specialized knowledge. Li Zhuiyuan did not know whether Yu Shu had returned or someone else had taken over, but none of them were professional criminal investigators. Besides, their perspective naturally blinded them to the presence and agency of ordinary people in such events.
Lately, Tan Wenbin had been studying with fierce diligence. Except for walking Li Zhuiyuan to the restroom between classes, he spent every break working through problems.
The school was now printing and selling the *Zhuiyuan Secret Papers*, sparing Tan Wenbin a great deal of tedious legwork. His own problem set, however, was custom-made, drafted by Li Zhuiyuan specifically to match his personal pace and gaps in understanding.
Since entering high school, Li Zhuiyuan had barely touched the textbooks. Had his memory not far surpassed that of normal people, his academic standing might have slipped.
Yet his ability to teach others had seen an astonishing leap, almost as if he were attending a teachers' college rather than high school.
Binbin remained his cheerful self—cracking jokes, bantering, and chiming in with Li Sanjiang at the dinner table to keep the mood lively.
Yet during his solitary moments, he grew quiet, always occupied with something at hand.
At school, he took notes and solved problems; at home, he studied the basics under Runsheng. Every so often, he gathered the academic dilemmas and dead-flipper questions he couldn't crack and brought them to Li Zhuiyuan.
Li Zhuiyuan could tell that these were issues Tan Wenbin had truly struggled to wrap his head around, questions that had survived round after round of his own filtering and effort.
Growing up slowly was a blessing in disguise.
Maturing overnight, by contrast, was rarely something to envy.
In the past, when Tan Wenbin claimed he wanted to test into Haihe University, it had sounded more like wishing on a star. Now, he was taking real, measured steps toward that goal, sharper and more focused than ever before.
A retired philosophy professor in the work-unit family compound had once told Li Zhuiyuan that there were two kinds of clever people in this world: those blessed with brilliant minds like his, and those blessed with clear self-awareness.
The former possessed brains that worked impossibly well, mastering anything with ease—a gift of innate genetics that no outsider could imitate, no matter how much they envied it.
Yet the latter were by no means inferior. At a critical juncture in life, they understood what the next stage required, devised a plan, and pursued it with relentless discipline.
Society and life were fraught with fierce competition. Most people were merely shoved into the next arena in a haze of confusion and helplessness. But if someone began planning and preparing two or three years ahead of time, their competitors at that juncture would be few and far between.
Xue Liangliang was a genius of the second kind. His gaze reached not just two or three years into the future, but two or three decades.
Even Li Zhuiyuan often caught himself treating Xue Liangliang's words as forecasts of what was to come. It was not spirit-channeling or prophecy; the man simply had a knack for identifying primary contradictions and discerning objective laws.
Though telephones were available now, making calls was inconvenient, and they had little to chat about directly anyway, so the two kept to their habit of corresponding by letter.
In his previous letter, Li Zhuiyuan had mentioned publishing the problem booklet, sharing Tan Wenbin's ideas with Xue Liangliang.
In his reply, Xue Liangliang praised Tan Wenbin as a commercial genius, declaring that this industry was bound to become a massive blue ocean with vast prospects. In Chinese culture, valuing education was an instinct; no matter how much ordinary families pinched pennies, they would never skimp on their children's schooling.
Xue Liangliang had added that if Tan Wenbin ever wanted to pursue it as a business, he would gladly invest. He also suggested not limiting the venture to personal branding, recommending instead that they leverage the prestige of the Nantong education and examination brand to partner with top secondary schools, turning the entire city into a hallmark.
When Li Zhuiyuan relayed the advice, Tan Wenbin listened in stunned silence for a long time before slapping his thigh.
"Damn, that guy is a visionary!"
Yet when Li Zhuiyuan asked if he wanted to pursue it, Tan Wenbin shook his head.
He wanted to go to university. He wanted to keep learning.
Now that he had stepped onto this boat, he wanted to sail far, see the distant scenery with his own eyes, and reach that destination.
To drive the point home, he added with a grin, "Besides, both my parents work for public agencies. I don't need to worry about providing for their retirement."
It made sense. Someone who had looked genuine horror in the face and still kept an optimistic, forward-looking heart was not the type to bury himself solely in the pursuit of wealth.
***
Li Zhuiyuan did not have lunch with Tan Wenbin that afternoon. Instead, he boarded a coach bus parked on campus, stocked with assorted snacks and drinks.
Principal Wu led the delegation once again, with Teacher Yan assisting, as the bus departed for Jinling for the provincial Mathematics Olympiad.
The other six students on board spent the entire trip snacking and chatting, full of excitement.
Li Zhuiyuan ate just enough to line his stomach, then leaned back against the window, watching the scenery drift past.
Noticing this, Wu Xinhan came over and asked if the food was not to his liking.
Li Zhuiyuan shook his head and replied frankly that he was simply used to good living conditions from before.
The response took Principal Wu aback, but a warm smile quickly spread across his face. To a stranger, it might have sounded like boasting, but anyone who knew the boy could hear the unvarnished honesty in it.
Anyone who rose to the position of principal knew how to handle people; the only difference was deciding who was worth the effort.
Consequently, he found himself quite fond of this straightforward boy. Around him, there was no need for pretension, and it was never exhausting.
Wu Xinhan helped recline the boy's seat so he could lie down and rest. The school had rented the coach specifically for this reason, doing everything possible to spare the contestants travel fatigue.
***
Upon arriving in Jinling, they checked into a hotel.
Everyone else stayed in standard double rooms; Li Zhuiyuan was given a single.
None of the others felt it was unfair. The six students knew full well that they owed their qualification in the municipal rounds to the boy's guidance.
At the moment, Li Zhuiyuan was lying on his bed, reading Wei Zhengdao's book.
A knock sounded at the door.
As Li Zhuiyuan swung his legs off the bed to answer it, Principal Wu's voice came from across the hall: "Who are you?"
"I'm Xiao Yuan's older brother."
"Older brother?"
Wu Xinhan and Teacher Yan shared the room directly across from Li Zhuiyuan's.
Right now, Teacher Yan was in another room having the six students work through Olympiad papers—not as last-minute cramming, but simply to keep their rhythm sharp for tomorrow's exam.
Principal Wu had kept his door wide open so he could keep an eye on Li Zhuiyuan's room, watching over him like a giant serpent guarding its treasure.
Li Zhuiyuan opened the door and broke into a smile when he saw who it was.
The visitor was Xue Liangliang.
Haihe University was located right here in Jinling.
Only after handing his student ID over for Principal Wu's inspection was Xue Liangliang granted passage past the giant serpent's checkpoint to meet his treasure.
Closing the door behind him, Xue Liangliang chuckled. "Xiao Yuan, your principal really treats you like a prized jewel, doesn't he?"
With that, he leaned down and pinched the boy's cheek.
"Come on, let me absorb some of this prodigy's spiritual essence so I can advance my cultivation and ascend to immortality a little sooner."
"Then you shouldn't be draining me, Brother Liangliang."
Xue Liangliang choked on his words.
"What's that in your hand, Brother Liangliang?"
"A few Jinling specialties. I know you can't be bothered lugging big bags back home, so I picked up some snacks for us to share."
He pulled several treats from the bag, including a portion of salted duck.
Li Zhuiyuan picked up his chopsticks and tasted a piece.
"How is it?"
"Delicious."
"I could never get used to it myself," Xue Liangliang said with a shrug. "Though around here, every public agency and private firm hands out salted duck for the holidays."
"People have different tastes. I prefer lighter flavors."
Apart from its saltiness, the duck was remarkably mild.
"Hey, you know what? When I first read your letter saying you were in your senior year of high school, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Then I wondered if you'd written the wrong character. Why didn't you tell me earlier that you'd been in the Special Class for the Gifted Young?"
"I did tell you."
"Did you?" Xue Liangliang stroked his chin. "I must've spaced out. So you're taking the college entrance exam next year?"
"Yes."
"So... want to be my schoolmate?"
"All right."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
Beaming, Xue Liangliang pulled an envelope from his pocket.
"You're making this lobbying job far too easy. Here, this letter is from Engineer Luo. You remember him. He asked me to persuade you ahead of time to apply to our university."
The college entrance exam was still months away, but the race to secure talent had already begun.
Tomorrow was only the provincial exam, but ever since the municipal results came out, the wolves had caught the scent of blood.
It came down to the caliber of the regional pool—and Li Zhuiyuan's startlingly young age.
Principal Wu had already mentioned that several universities had made discreet inquiries, waiting for the provincial competition to conclude before launching their full-scale recruitment drives.
Wu Xinhan was overjoyed. His high school did not possess early-admission recommendation quotas, and while overall teaching quality was a collective effort, producing a standout frontrunner in an academic discipline brought tremendous prestige, drawing widespread attention and resources to the school.
"Okay." Li Zhuiyuan accepted the letter. "When can they grant me early admission?"
"Pfft—" Xue Liangliang had just raised a cup of water to his lips and ended up spraying half of it out. Wiping his chin, he gaped. "You're in that much of a rush?"
"Uh-huh."
"With an attitude like that, you'd make people think there's buried treasure under our campus."
"No need for treasure. Dead-flippers will do."
"No, no, spare me! The last thing I need is Xiao Yuan's Ghost Stories."
"Oh?"
"Campus ghost stories, I mean."
"Really? I don't believe you."
"I'm a coward, you know."
Li Zhuiyuan stared at him without blinking.
Xue Liangliang shrank his neck. "That's completely different. She's not a ghost, and she's not a dead-flipper. She's warm."
Li Zhuiyuan looked puzzled. "There are warm things beneath the river water?"
"Once the provincial results are out, we can get the paperwork rolling. If you could get a perfect score in the city round, placing in the province will be a breeze. You'll definitely meet the early-admission criteria."
In truth, Xue Liangliang's assessment was not entirely accurate—admission criteria weren't formally calculated that way. But criteria existed merely to reduce the cost of screening; when someone's talent and ability shattered ordinary limits, the rules bent to accommodate them.
"By the way, I took some time off. When you head back, I'm going to be shameless and hitch a ride on your bus."
"Huh?"
"My internship and job placement went through. I'm heading out to Shancheng at the beginning of next month."
"Oh. You want to see Sister-in-Law before you go."
"You sure roll that 'Sister-in-Law' off your tongue easily. I thought you'd be frightened or disgusted by them."
"I despise the Bai family, but she keeps the rest of them underwater, which is fine by me. That's where they belong in the first place."
Xue Liangliang took a deep breath and let it out with a quiet sigh. "And who's paying the price for that? Me."
"Should we write your name into the local gazetteer, then? After all, you've made an enormous sacrifice to safeguard the peace of our borders."
"Hahaha, don't make a fool out of me! If anyone reads that decades from now, they'll call me and the chronicler a pair of idiots."
"Then why go see her?"
"Once I'm in Shancheng, who knows when I'll be back? Better to visit now. Consider it a scheduled chore."
"Like my grandfather and great-grandfather delivering their grain quota to the state?"
"Hey, you little brat! Don't think I can't tell you're playing dumb!"
Xue Liangliang tackled Li Zhuiyuan onto the bed and began tickling him mercilessly.
Only after Li Zhuiyuan repeatedly begged for mercy did he finally let go.
After chatting a bit longer, Xue Liangliang prepared to leave.
"Good luck tomorrow. Do well on the exam. I'll be waiting outside the testing center for you."
"Okay."
Just then, another knock sounded on the door.
"Who is it this time?" Principal Wu's voice hissed from across the hall like a snake flicking its tongue.
"I'm looking for Xiao Yuan. I'm his older brother."
"Another brother? Just how many brothers does Xiao Yuan have in Jinling?"
Li Zhuiyuan opened the door and looked at the man standing outside.
The visitor appeared to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Though dressed in plain clothes, he stood as straight and sharp as a honed blade.
"Grandpa Principal, he really is my brother."
"Oh, fine. Have your family meeting, then."
Wu Xinhan waved a hand and slithered back into his room.
The man remained at the threshold without stepping inside, speaking flatly:
"Grandmother wants you to return to the capital."
Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "I'm not going back."
"Your mother used that special application to petition higher authorities. Grandfather forbade the family from interfering with her request, but you can still choose your own path in life."
"This is my choice."
"Even if your parents are divorced, you are still one of our family."
"My surname is Li now."
"No room for discussion?"
"None."
"Understood."
The man turned cleanly on his heel and walked away.
Xue Liangliang watched him go in astonishment. "Who was that?"
"My father's eldest brother's son."
Li Zhuiyuan wasn't deliberately using an aloof label; he genuinely had trouble keeping his cousins on that side straight.
"Is that how your father's relatives normally interact with each other?"
"Not really. Grandfather North must have issued strict orders to the household."
"Orders? Well, I have to say, the guy certainly carried himself like a soldier."
"He is one."
"Still, even if your parents divorced, why make it so frosty? Surely your mother didn't actually change your surname, did she?"
"Yes, she did."
"Oh... no wonder."
"That isn't the main reason, though."
Li Zhuiyuan knew Grandfather North was an unbending man of principle. Li Lan had filed a special petition to arrange her son's future, and Grandfather North had felt bound to honor it, forbidding anyone in the family from meddling.
The boy strongly suspected that whatever Li Lan was doing mirrored Zhu Changyong's undertakings, albeit not at sea.
For his cousin to come here and find him was already an act of defiance against Grandfather's will—something unthinkable in that northern household. Had Grandfather found out, he would have broken the man's legs.
Thus, the man's cold demeanor was simply second nature, while Li Zhuiyuan's reciprocal coolness was intended to prevent any misunderstanding, lest the family think there was any room for negotiation.
If his cousin misreported the situation to Grandmother North and she tried to intervene, Grandfather North would fly into a rage.
In Grandfather North's eyes, Li Lan's arrangements for her son carried the weight of a fallen comrade's dying wish.
"Oh, right," Xue Liangliang said. "If you get early admission, will you still attend classes?"
"I'll take the college entrance exam."
"Then do you want to come with me to Shancheng for some fun?"
"Hmm..."
Li Zhuiyuan wasn't keen on traveling far, at least not right now.
"Never mind, probably not much fun anyway," Xue Liangliang added. "My job won't be in the city; it'll be out in the mountain ravines, surrounded by nothing but peaks and rivers."
"All right, then."
"Huh?"
"I'll go."
Lately, the frequency of dead-flippers appearing back home had dropped sharply.
At first, a new one seemed to surface every few days; now, a month could pass without a single sighting. Letting theory drift too far from practice would inevitably lead to trouble.
"Great. I'll make the arrangements when the time comes."
"Can I bring a friend?"
"Since when is that an issue?"
"Thanks, Brother Liangliang."
"Focus on your test tomorrow. I'm off."
"Goodbye, Brother Liangliang."
That night, Li Zhuiyuan went to sleep early.
***
The next morning, Wu Xinhan and Teacher Yan escorted the students to the testing center.
By coincidence, Li Zhuiyuan's assigned seat was again by the window, looking out over a stand of ginkgo trees.
This time, however, when the opening bell rang, he did not linger gazing at the scenery. He dipped his head immediately and set to work.
The questions were considerably more difficult than those in the municipal round. The examiners had clearly designed them to torment contestants; one could almost see their gloating smirks hovering behind the numbers and symbols.
Li Zhuiyuan could relate to the sentiment—it was precisely how he felt when composing advanced problems for Tan Wenbin.
Finishing well ahead of time, Li Zhuiyuan handed in his paper early and walked out beneath the ginkgo trees, watching their leaves turn golden.
He felt an urge to suggest that Grandpa Principal plant a few back at school, but on second thought, there was little point; he wouldn't be around long enough to see them anyway.
The moment he stepped past the gates, Wu Xinhan and Teacher Yan rushed forward, one offering a towel, the other handing him a bottle of water.
"How was it, Xiao Yuan?"
"Were the questions hard?"
"I solved them all."
Hearing that, the weight in both their chests settled firmly into peace.
***
The day after they returned, the high school held its midterm examinations.
Wu Xinhan had assumed Xiao Yuan would retreat to his office to rest after the first session, just as he had during the monthly exams. He had even brought an insulated flask filled with chicken soup his wife had simmered.
Yet he waited and waited, and the boy never showed.
Growing restless—not because of the soup, but out of fear that the boy might catch a chill resting somewhere drafty—he hurried to Sun Qing's office.
Sun Qing had just finished proctoring an exam and was sharing dried persimmons with the other teachers.
She was far more composed and confident than she had been as a novice homeroom teacher. After all, only those without tangible achievements were trapped in the exhausting grind of seniority politics.
Even when achievements fell straight out of the sky into one's lap, they were still achievements.
In years to come, people would only remember that she had taught a certain prodigy; nobody would scrutinize what she had actually taught him.
She could even cover her mouth and say modestly, "In truth, he's so brilliant that we as homeroom teachers never had to worry about him; we just let him develop freely."
It was the literal truth, yet anyone listening would only admire her humility.
Much like Principal Wu indulging his biting sarcasm during faculty meetings, everyone had their emotional needs. Sun Qing's favorite indulgence these days was lying in bed before sleep, picturing those future moments behind closed eyes.
"Teacher Sun, step outside for a moment, please."
"Right away, Principal." Sun Qing stepped out and offered Wu Xinhan a piece of dried persimmon.
Wu Xinhan took a bite. "Where is Xiao Yuan?"
"He's taking the exam."
"What? He isn't done yet? Weren't all the papers printed in advance? Didn't anyone give them to him?"
"No. Xiao Yuan said he wanted to follow the regular schedule this time to get used to the pace of the college entrance exam."
Unlike the monthly tests, the midterms weren't compressed into a single grueling rush; they were spread over two days to replicate the rhythm of the national exam.
"What a good child."
"Teacher Su is quite pleased as well."
"Heh, I bet."
Teacher Su taught English. While Chinese and mathematics were often swapped as opening sessions, no exam ever placed English first. She certainly didn't want the lone blemish on her glorious teaching record to be in English, which would make her look incompetent—unable even to teach a child prodigy.
***
Whenever an exam concluded, Tan Wenbin never bothered comparing answers. He simply returned to his seat, either working through more problems or preparing for the next subject.
Lately, snacks had been appearing in his desk drawer every morning.
They came from Zhou Yunyun, the class monitor.
No matter how dense Tan Wenbin might be, he understood what the gesture meant. He always reciprocated, buying little snacks to give in return.
Yet aside from discussing problems during breaks, he kept his distance, riding his bicycle alongside Runsheng's tricycle home as soon as school let out.
Zhou Yunyun made no further advances either. The two quietly exchanged occasional small treats, neither overstepping the boundary.
Perhaps this was the sweetest flutter of youth, a memory destined to bring a gentle smile to their lips whenever they looked back.
While harvesting rice, Tan Wenbin mentioned the matter to Runsheng.
Runsheng glanced back and asked, "When are you having kids?"
Had Runsheng not been holding a scythe, Tan Wenbin would have challenged him to a duel on the spot.
***
The Olympiad results were released alongside the midterm rankings. Although public announcements listed only tiered awards, universities possessed their own channels to obtain exact scores.
Principal Wu's greatest joy these days was sitting by his desk answering the phone.
"Hello, this is Wu Xinhan, Principal of Shigang Middle School."
Then he would sit back and wait for the caller to introduce their institution.
Could any military parade inspection possibly feel more rewarding than this?
The only regret was that Xiao Yuan had already named his target university, robbing the principal of the pleasure of playing schools off against one another.
***
On the evening the midterm rankings were posted, Tan Wenbin returned home.
When he handed his report card to his mother, she wept tears of joy.
When Tan Yunlong came home and his wife excitedly shared the news, he felt a momentary daze, as if it were all unreal.
He walked to his son's bedroom. He had intended to push the door open directly, but paused and knocked instead.
Rather than putting on airs and calling out "come in," his son walked over and opened the door.
"Let's step out onto the balcony and talk."
"Okay."
Father and son walked onto the balcony.
"You did well this time," Tan Yunlong said.
"Still a ways to go. I need to keep pushing."
Tan Yunlong raised a hand to ruffle his son's hair, but midway through, he changed his mind and patted his shoulder instead.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself, either."
"Yeah. I know."
Tan Yunlong pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tapped one free, and tucked it between his lips. After a moment's hesitation, he drew another and offered it to his son.
Tan Wenbin suddenly felt his eyes prickle with warmth. Instinctively, he lowered his head to evade his father's gaze.
It was almost laughable: now that the very moment he had once dreamed of had finally arrived, all he wanted was to turn back the clock and run away from it.
Reaching out, he gently pushed his father's hand aside.
"Dad, I quit."
Chapter 56