[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-lord-of-the-proles":3,"chapter-lord-of-the-proles-lord-of-the-proles-chapter-2":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Lord of the Proles",{"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},2290300,4478,"Chapter 2: Banfeng Isn","lord-of-the-proles-chapter-2",2,"\u003Cp>“Banfeng, save me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cry for help reached his ear, and Li Banfeng jolted awake from sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who was speaking?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the beds were empty; only He Jiaqing squatted on the floor packing his luggage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing looked up and said, “Awake?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng stared at He Jiaqing: “Just now, was it you calling for me to save you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing frowned: “Are you sleep-deprived? Help me pack—there’s no time left.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing was leaving, on tonight’s train.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over four years of university, he had been Li Banfeng’s best friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng checked his phone—it was already 3:30.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They should have a meal together, then head to the station to see him off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng jumped off the bed and helped He Jiaqing pack his clutter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Need toothpaste?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng tossed the toothpaste precisely into He Jiaqing’s suitcase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Need your meal card?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Keep it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng tossed the meal card precisely into his own drawer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within five meters, Li Banfeng never missed when throwing anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Need your diploma?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng tossed the diploma precisely into a trash bin three meters away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing admired Li Banfeng’s carefree attitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t even ask why He Jiaqing didn’t want the diploma—he just tossed it away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Want it? Want it. Don’t want it? Don’t want it. The logic was this simple—Li Banfeng never complicated simple things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over four years of university, He Jiaqing had only one friend: Li Banfeng, because he admired Li Banfeng’s nature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng had only one friend: He Jiaqing, because Li Banfeng had a psychiatric history, and few people dared to get close to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng opened a cardboard box filled with envelopes, each containing dozens of photographs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing loved photography—he preferred film cameras. After every shoot, he rented a darkroom and developed the photos himself; over four years, he’d amassed a full box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Keep these photos?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing hesitated: “Pick a few good ones to take—throw out the ruined ones.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng selected several envelopes and handed them to He Jiaqing: “These are all good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing didn’t check them—he just put them in his suitcase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng picked out a few more envelopes: “These are your girlfriend’s photos—all ruined. Toss them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing froze: “All ruined?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng nodded: “She’s not even wearing clothes—definitely ruined.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing snatched the photos and stuffed them into his suitcase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the campus gate, a barbecue stall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing poured Li Banfeng a glass of liquor: “Over four years of university, there’s one thing I’ve always wanted to ask you—but never dared.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng shook his head: “I’m not into men.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing choked on the baijiu, coughing for a moment: “That’s not what I meant. I mean your name—why ‘Banfeng’? Any special meaning?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the question, Li Banfeng’s brow relaxed, his lips curled into a faint, stiff smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone else would have kept their distance then—this was a sign of his emotional instability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But He Jiaqing wasn’t worried. When Li Banfeng was emotionally unstable, he smiled—but so did he when he was happy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was in good spirits now, and spoke with interest: “It starts with our Fuli Academy’s Old Wu. She was the most cultured person there, and she named seven of us kids:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ban Shan, Ban Luan, Ban Ling, Ban Ya, Ban Gang, Ban Yue, Ban Feng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You know—among mountains, the peak is the highest. I was the most outstanding of the seven, so Old Wu gave me the name Ban Feng.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing thought a moment: “I’ve met Old Wu. When you were hospitalized, she visited you. She didn’t call you Li Banfeng—she called you Li Baisha.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng nodded: “Because she always made me buy her cigarettes. Back then, she liked Baisha brand, so she called me Li Baisha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before that, she called me Li Hongmei. Before that, Li Yingchun. When times were better and her cigarettes were better, she called me Li Furong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing picked up a skewer of lamb kidneys: “Then why your surname Li?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng said: “Because the gatekeeper at the Fuli Academy was Li.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing nodded: “He must have been a respected man.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng shook his head: “He was Old Wu’s husband. He liked foreign cigarettes—he called me Li Luotuo.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At dusk, the two walked out of the barbecue stall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng held a napkin, wiped his mouth, and tossed it precisely into a trash bin four or five meters away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing marveled: “Within five meters, never misses. We’ve been brothers for four years—how come I never learned this trick?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng stared at the trash bin: “Mindset. Mindset matters. Just keep your mindset steady…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng’s gaze shifted farther away—a woman in her early thirties, dressed in a gray suit, smiling as she approached them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Laoshi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both quickly greeted her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Laoshi was a math teacher in the Science College, with bobbed hair framing her round, fair face. Beneath her round glasses were deep, intelligent eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the two students, she smiled, two sweet dimples appearing on her cheeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those two dimples became the fantasy of countless male students in the Science College, scribbled on their napkins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was as beautiful as the sunrise!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Full of vitality, full of safety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng was still watching Song Laoshi’s back when He Jiaqing whispered: “On her left peach, there’s a walnut-shaped birthmark!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng froze: “You’ve seen it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing let out a drunken burp: “Calculus, Linear Algebra, Probability—when did I ever fail a class?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Look at how Song Laoshi looks at me during class—could it be the same as how she looks at you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t notice her gaze,” Li Banfeng’s eyes sharpened, his expression serious. “But the birthmark you mentioned—I remember it’s on the right.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How could it be on the right? You must be mistaken…” He Jiaqing also froze. “You’ve seen it too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng shook his head vigorously: “I’m a decent man.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing was indignant: “You’ve seen Song Laoshi’s peach—how can you still call yourself decent?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng was utterly serious: “I looked at it properly. That’s why I’m decent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing was disappointed: “How could it be on the right…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had never seen Song Laoshi’s peach himself—the birthmark story came from his girlfriend Lu Xiaolan, who had seen it in the changing room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did Lu Xiaolan lie to me—or did I misremember?” He Jiaqing stared intently at Li Banfeng, deeply disappointed. “I think she lied. She’s been lying to me all along.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they walked and talked—literally walking while talking—they reached the female dormitory and picked up He Jiaqing’s girlfriend, Lu Xiaolan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiaolan wore her hair in a ponytail, revealing her delicate features and youthful innocence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like the tight skirt she wore, which displayed her petite, curvaceous figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was the most beautiful girl in the Science College, a title recognized by eighty percent of the male students.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though they were familiar, He Jiaqing couldn’t resist boasting to Li Banfeng: “Look at my wife—she’s like a beauty stepped out of an old calendar.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A calendar?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What century is that from?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing always had a special fondness for old things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li Banfeng felt nothing for Lu Xiaolan—he wouldn’t even spare her a second glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Honest to God, I still prefer Song Laoshi’s figure,” Li Banfeng said seriously to He Jiaqing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Honest to God, my wife has conscience too. Conscience isn’t just about size—it needs a comprehensive comparison…” He Jiaqing watched Lu Xiaolan walking out of the dormitory, trying hard to defend his girlfriend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three took a taxi together to Yuezhou East Station.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the station, Li Banfeng escorted He Jiaqing to the turnstile—the moment of parting had come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing told Li Banfeng: “Brother, you drank a lot. When you get back to the dorm, call me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng laughed: “Why would I call you? You think I’ll get lost?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing shook his head: “I’m not worried you’ll get lost. I drank a lot too—I’ll probably fall asleep on the train. Remind me—I need to pee.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng didn’t understand: “You need me to remind you to pee?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing said seriously: “What if I wet my pants?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng still didn’t understand: “Your wife’s right there—she’d let you wet your pants?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing shook his head: “She sleeps harder than me—sleeps like a dead pig. Even if the train derailed, she wouldn’t wake up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiaolan’s face darkened, and she punched He Jiaqing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng also complained, “We’re about to get on the train—why talk about derailing? It’s bad luck.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After chatting a while longer, the platform announced: “Train No. 1160 will begin boarding soon. Passengers, please gather all your belongings and proceed to Waiting Room 96.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing looked at Li Banfeng: “I’m leaving.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng let out a sob, as if he were about to cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing shook his head. “Don’t act. It doesn’t look real—you can’t cry at all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During four years of university, Li Banfeng had cried many times—he’d used tears to win sympathy from his counselor and trick the registrar’s office—but He Jiaqing knew every single time, Li Banfeng was faking it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was right: Li Banfeng simply couldn’t cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng himself knew faking tears was bad, but as He Jiaqing’s best friend, he should say something more now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long silence, Li Banfeng said only one thing: “Take care of yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You too,” He Jiaqing replied. He picked up his suitcase and walked through the turnstiles with Lu Xiaolan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiaolan asked casually, “Why did you have Li Banfeng call you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing grinned mischievously. “Are you jealous?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiaolan snorted. “Get lost! Just marry him and live with him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing pinched Lu Xiaolan’s nose. “Don’t be mad. You know he’s mentally ill. After drinking so much tonight, I’m worried sending him home alone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiaolan linked arms with He Jiaqing and whispered, “Actually, Li Banfeng isn’t bad—he’s just crazy and scary.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing’s face turned serious. “Banfeng isn’t crazy. I took him to the psychiatric ward at Hospital Three. Doctor Wang said it’s not real insanity—he was discharged after a week.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xiaolan laughed, following He Jiaqing toward the boarding gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Jiaqing repeated again: “Banfeng really isn’t crazy. Remember that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Salad isn’t crazy either, dear readers—please remember that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dear readers, please invest in my new book!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1723,"2026-06-20T03:43:13.043Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f5569fd7e1709fa2a8e1644c8eea461cf3809d16921c27e97a86f4c26b681d08","lord-of-the-proles-chapter-3","lord-of-the-proles-chapter-1",863,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-the-proles-cover.jpg"]