[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-1987-my-era":3,"chapter-1987-my-era-1987-my-era-chapter-86":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},2259246,4409,"Chapter 86: Eating Sour Grapes? An Unexpected Letter (Subscription Request!)","1987-my-era-chapter-86",86,"\u003Cp>Seeing Song Yu and Xiao Han lock eyes, Li Heng instinctively felt a pang of panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he regained his composure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good! Good! The two of them still have no deep entanglements; it won’t come to a rupture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Yu learned from Chen Zijin that Xiao Han had been secretly infatuated with Li Heng for a long time, while Li Heng had shown interest in her multiple times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she didn’t care about any of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So whenever she saw Xiao Han, Song Yu remained utterly unperturbed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Xiao Han, a naturally elegant and composed girl who loved putting on airs, was even less likely to be intimidated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meeting, the two girls merely exchanged polite greetings, with no unusual behavior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the next scene caused Xiao Han’s composure to crack slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The desks in this era were the old-fashioned flip-top kind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Li Heng lifted half the desk lid to put in jars and bottles, he saw a blue umbrella lying inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Song Yu’s umbrella—he remembered it clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Li, are you planning to keep this broken umbrella and breed more of them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s just an old umbrella; if you say the word, I’ll buy you as many as you want!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Han grew even more frustrated, but she feigned nonchalance, averted her gaze, and maintained a poised, flawless demeanor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Yu noticed her small gesture, glanced at the blue umbrella, then lowered her head and returned to her own business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng also noticed, thinking, Damn it, and hurriedly stuffed the home-cooked food into his desk before standing up and following her out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they reached the first floor, Li Heng said to the clueless Yang Yingwen:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old rag, during second break, most people go to the restroom—why don’t you go?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Xiao Han’s lips twitched faintly, and she feigned calmness, looking away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Yingwen glared: “Li Heng, if you want me gone, just say it outright—no need to beat around the bush. I’m staying precisely because I can’t stand you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng: “...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After scolding him, Yang Yingwen finally left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the country girl was gone, Li Heng turned to Xiao Han: “When did you get here today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Han didn’t want to answer such empty small talk—the direct bus from Qianzhen to Shaoshan ran on time every day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you want to make conversation, pick a better topic. Don’t take advantage of my feelings for you and act so heartless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her walk slowly ahead, ignoring him completely, Li Heng caught up and asked: “Are you jealous?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sudden, blunt question left her flustered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Han wanted to say: I’ve been jealous since long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she lacked the courage to say it, because she valued this fragile, ambiguous relationship—whichever side cared more would end up losing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Han stopped walking, her eyes smiling, forcing calmness: “Mr. Li, who are you? Give me a reason to be jealous?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng nodded, showing his white teeth: “Good, you’re not jealous—looks like I misread the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, I apologize.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Han smiled sweetly: “Your apologies always seem strange. Last time you apologized because you were guilty about liking Song Yu; today you apologize over an umbrella. What am I supposed to say about you, Chen Zijin’s ex?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng’s eyelid twitched—this girl really had a lot of tricks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed: “You say you’re not jealous? Look, the umbrella’s out now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Han pouted: “Actually, I’m not—but to save your face... yeah, I’m dying of jealousy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng stepped closer, his breath nearly brushing her face: “Saving my face? Isn’t your goal to drive me crazy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? Who said that!” Feeling the warmth near her ear, Xiao Han, who had just pretended to be utterly calm, blushed again, quickly turned her head, and—drawing courage from nowhere—ran straight into the classroom building where Class 206 was located.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching her swift, disappearing figure, Li Heng felt an inexplicable thrill—dealing with this sly, vengeful girl meant life would never be dull, but he had to stay alert for inevitable mishaps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tense, busy days of senior year passed quickly; before you knew it, ten or fifteen days vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this time, Zou Ai and Li Tuanming were locked in the teacher’s office all day without food for skipping Chinese and Math exams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The foolish duo’s attempt to climb the school wall was discovered; they were dragged before the national flag and forced to stand at attention for half a day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During second break, Li Heng brought Liu Li and bought two ice creams to “rescue” them, only to be caught red-handed by the vice principal:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Heng, do you want to join them up there?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng quickly waved his hands: “Teacher, I’m just here to learn—want to interview them about what it’s like standing on the podium.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vice principal wasn’t easily fooled; he smirked: “Your dorm, 215, is famous across campus. I’ve taught for decades—I’ve seen noisy students, but yours are unusually stubborn. I think you’re a strong candidate for the podium.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng was speechless and hurriedly said: “Teacher, I really don’t want to stand on the podium—I’m leaving right now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vice principal called out: “Wait.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng turned to look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vice principal extended his hand: “Give me the ice creams. You just had diarrhea—why eat so many?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng was torn between laughter and frustration—he’d been tricked into a free snack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you’d just said so earlier, I’d have handed them over gladly—I’ve got cash in my pocket, I can afford it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after sending off “Wanbao,” reader Huang Zhaoyi wrote again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The letter was delivered by the English teacher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no choice—he now used the English teacher’s address for all external correspondence to hide his identity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This letter was two pages shorter than the last, only two pages total.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, Li Heng thought it was plenty—after all, they were strangers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The letter’s gist: she was deeply grateful for his reply and thrilled by it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To leave a good impression, she briefly introduced herself: she was a teacher at the Drama Academy, a Beijing Opera performer, and also a literary critic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Heng paused, surprised—he hadn’t expected writing a novel to attract a Beijing Opera actress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His earlier judgment had been accurate: she was a highly educated intellectual with strong literary cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rest was all literary discussion—actually, she had lowered her stance, humbly seeking his advice on literature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reading every word, Li Heng was still baffled: you’re a Drama Academy teacher and a literary critic—why are you asking me for advice?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ve got precious time—I’m not in the mood now. He tossed the letter into his desk, planning to reply when he felt like it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he clearly underestimated her persistence—on the tenth day after the letter gathered dust, “Shouhuo” magazine called.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Editor Liao himself on the line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The call had two points:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, “Wanbao” had been approved; they were negotiating royalties at 30 yuan per thousand characters, and now they were waiting...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Waiting for what?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, waiting to see if Li Heng would bring up royalties himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, Li Heng didn’t push for more—he was just a small, one-time-use pseudonym.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, he remembered how kind Old Ba had been to him, and how tolerant “Shouhuo” had been, so he said nothing about royalties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Today I had a fever of 39.6°C, dizzy all afternoon; after an IV, I felt better, but now it’s flaring up again—my head is heavy, writing is hard. I’ll take medicine and sleep early, hoping to recover and resume updates tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1270,"2026-06-19T15:27:33.982Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","aaa41f06f03bf0e8496a3652cbbb27f7ad9851dddb92d11c85865bd3cfe30036","1987-my-era-chapter-87","1987-my-era-chapter-85",713,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002F1987-my-era-cover.jpg"]