[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-1987-my-era":3,"chapter-1987-my-era-1987-my-era-chapter-678":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","1987: My Era",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2259838,4409,"Chapter 678","1987-my-era-chapter-678",678,"\u003Cp>Before long, it was the end of the month, and the final exams drew nearer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng remained as usual: jogging and playing basketball in the morning, reviewing lessons with Mai Sui and others during the day, and taking walks after dinner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overall, his days passed much as before—casual and carefree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there was any difference, it was that Miss Zhou had not spoken to him in a long time, nor visited the No. 26 building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when they occasionally crossed paths in the classroom building, the library, or the alleyways of Lushan Village, she would pretend not to see him at all, walking past with a blank expression, not even glancing his way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just now, Li Heng had planned to go to Que Xinyan Noodle Shop for lunch, and had barely stepped outside when he ran into Zhou Shihe. He stood still in the middle of the road, staring at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her path blocked, the girl simply leaned against the wall, clutching her book, turning her head to study the ivy crawling up the wall—as if the ivy bloomed flowers, and was more beautiful than he was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From his birthday until now, nearly twenty days had passed; this time, Li Heng could no longer hold back and asked directly: “Comrade Shihe, why are you back alone today? Where’s Mai Sui?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To his surprise, Zhou Shihe completely ignored him—no response, no acknowledgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fine! I'm being ignored again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng frowned, stepped forward two paces, closing the distance between them, and said nothing—just silently gazed at her profile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, she stared at the wall, he stared at her; neither broke the strange silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, someone approached from the far end of the alley. Li Heng turned and saw a female professor from Lushan Village returning with her daughter. Without a word, he stepped back two paces, clearing a path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that instant, Zhou Shihe slipped past him lightly, walking away with effortless grace, her expression utterly neutral.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng glanced once at her slender back, then headed toward the exit of Lushan Village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wondered: Mai Sui, Sun Man, and Ye Ning hadn’t returned—probably the Student Union had something urgent; otherwise, their absence wouldn’t be so synchronized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Chunhua Noodle Shop, Li Heng played with the little girl for a while, then asked Que Xinyan: “Old Yong, I’ve got my final exam tomorrow—will you go home for summer break?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zhiyong rubbed his head and chuckled: “The kid’s too young for such a long trip. I’ve talked it over with Chunhua—we’ve decided to stay in Shanghai until the child’s older, then take him back to our hometown.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng nodded: “That’s right. The child matters most.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Mu wanted to speak, but several times she held back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng noticed and asked: “Auntie, do you want to go back with us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Mu did want to return, but after glancing at her son and daughter-in-law, she shook her head: “I hate riding in cars. Forget it. If you’re going home, could you please take five hundred yuan to my son-in-law’s parents?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying this, Zhang Mu pulled out five hundred yuan and handed it over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright,” Li Heng replied, taking the money and slipping it into his pocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beef noodle soup arrived, along with three side dishes. Que Xinyan brought over several bottles of beer and cheerfully called out: “Big Brother Heng, we haven’t had a drink in ages—let’s knock back a few bottles!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng smiled: “Since you’re in such a good mood today, I’ll join you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After each had drunk two bottles, and with the shop busy, Li Heng didn’t linger—he returned straight to Lushan Village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Guang returned, found Li Heng, and said in a tentative tone: “I have something in mid-July. I’ll adjust my schedule—I’ll visit your hometown on July 1st.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng mused inwardly—he’d need to visit Xiao’s family by the 29th. “Fine, no problem.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Guang suggested: “If you have time this summer, you could go to Tokyo and check in on Hengyuan Investment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng gave no firm answer: “We’ll see. If I have time, I’ll go—but I probably won’t.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he’d be staying in Dongting Lake in August, leaving little room to maneuver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Guang seemed to guess where he intended to go, and left it at that. “Mai Sui isn’t home?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speak of the devil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Li Heng could answer, Mai Sui appeared at the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Guang stood up and said to Mai Sui: “Mai Sui, come with me for a moment—I need to speak with you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mai Sui replied, “Okay,” handed her book to someone, didn’t even change her shoes, and followed Teacher Yu across to the No. 25 building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng sneered inwardly: You two will both be my wives someday—what’s there to hide? Why all the secrecy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dust Settles” was published.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as it began serialization in “Shouhuo,” the market exploded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Editor Liao put it: What is value? This is value! “Shouhuo” hadn’t topped sales in ten months—yet as soon as my junior’s work returned, sales surged, overtaking “People’s Literature” to reclaim the number one spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the market erupted, literary reception was mixed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On one hand, Li Heng’s diehard fans cheered wildly, stirring up the long-quiet literary world; on the other, some university professors bluntly said that while “Dust Settles” was good, it paled next to “Bai Luyuan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using the excuse that it wasn’t as good as “Bai Luyuan,” many envious rivals emerged to publicly denounce him, claiming his talent was spent—that “Bai Luyuan” was the peak of his career.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing yet another negative literary review targeting Li Heng in the papers, Sun Man cursed: “What’s with all the fancy words? If you’re so smart, write a book that matches ‘Dust Settles’! Shut the hell up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly! I hate people like this—no talent, just hiding in dark corners to tear others down,” Ye Ning added, baring his teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mai Sui watched him with concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng smiled faintly and patted her hand: “It’s fine. The overall reception is still positive—that’s enough. I’m not RMB—I can’t please everyone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Mai Sui exhaled in relief, then glanced at her wristwatch: “The exam’s coming—let’s head to the classroom building.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng grunted, and urged the group toward the classroom building.\u003C\u002Fp>",1048,"2026-06-19T15:27:37.732Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a68addaa0c2f59e6f9f82897ada528d0235701cbb4b8bfdcfd8b731d4b95b0a8","1987-my-era-chapter-679","1987-my-era-chapter-677",713,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002F1987-my-era-cover.jpg"]