[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981":3,"chapter-that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-10":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","That Year, the Flowers Bloomed in 1981",{"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},2294428,4489,"Chapter 10","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-10",10,"\u003Cp>“What’s wrong, Jingyao? Did that no-good write this? How can someone be so shameless—he’s even sent you the new Marriage Law, yet still won’t leave you alone...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, it’s a letter from my younger brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao quickly folded the letter, afraid her two overly “enthusiastic” roommates might see its contents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s not right—your expression doesn’t match. If this were from your brother, you wouldn’t look so troubled.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t be shy—speak up if you’re having trouble. We’ll help you solve it together.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly, Jingyao. Our thoughts must clash with old, vile customs—but that’s precisely our duty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We have the responsibility to enlighten those ignorant people, to guide them toward openness and progress...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two roommates chattered on and on, soon leaving Lu Jingyao utterly bewildered; she now wondered if accepting their “concern” had been a mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After arriving in Jingcheng to attend university, Li Ye had written to Lu Jingyao once a week for months, successfully igniting the gossip flames among her enthusiastic dorm mates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were all older women who had been sent to the countryside, with plenty of experience in verbal sparring—Lu Jingyao, still inexperienced, was no match for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After repeated rounds of “care and concern,” they finally extracted the whole story of her connection with Li Ye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao was torn: she wanted to break free from her past chains, yet feared her family back in Qingshui County might face retaliation from the Li family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When her father had said, “If Li Ye gets into university next year, I won’t oppose you two,” Lu Jingyao had clearly sensed her father’s fear and surrender.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Lu Jingyao’s confession, her roommates immediately erupted in collective outrage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this age of renewal, how could a favored female university student still endure the moral shackles of the wicked old society?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Criticize—must criticize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if that Li Ye had agreed to break off the engagement, his family’s attitude was too vile—it must be severely condemned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The classmates offered advice: a break-up letter, return of the dowry, legal texts—a coordinated assault, determined to shatter the country bumpkin’s daydream once and for all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now it seemed Lu Jingyao’s plan had succeeded: Li Ye publicly reclaimed his 26 Phoenix bicycle, effectively severing ties with her in public.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this outcome was not what Lu Jingyao had hoped for!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had hoped Li Ye would “understand” her, support “noble, pure freedom,” and quietly resolve the conflict between the Lu and Li families, dissolving this tangled, ambiguous grudge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Based on her knowledge of Li Ye, she believed he would recognize his own fault, show the responsibility of a true man, and convince his family to let it go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Li Ye could resolve this peacefully, quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But according to her brother’s letter, Li Ye now seemed utterly unfamiliar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the words of her two roommates, this toad was just too clueless!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of it, the tall, slender, strikingly handsome toad crept unbidden into Lu Jingyao’s heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao shook her head vigorously, forcing herself back to reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t want to be entangled with Li Ye anymore; she didn’t want to endure that suffocating feeling of being pitied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jingyao, what’s wrong? Don’t bottle up your feelings... Let me see your brother’s letter—I’ll help you figure it out...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao’s actions acted like fuel, causing the roommates’ gossip to swell and burn, itching and sizzling with unbearable curiosity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao was irritated, yet didn’t want to reject her roommates’ goodwill—when suddenly, Liu Muhan from the top bunk spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xu Xue, Ma Li, this is Lu Jingyao’s private matter—aren’t you being a bit too intrusive?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What kind of thing is that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Xue immediately said: “You city kids have no idea how cunning country folk can be.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ask Ma Li—how many sent-down youth were tricked into losing their virtue, then stuck in the countryside for the rest of their lives...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.........”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Muhan glanced at Xu Xue and Ma Li, then pulled her blanket back over her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though she shared a dorm with Lu Jingyao and the others, differences in lifestyle had created an invisible barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She rarely spoke to her roommates; this time, she’d only spoken up because she couldn’t bear to watch—whether Lu Jingyao listened was up to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao seemed to realize something, and said to Xu Xue and Ma Li: “It’s nothing—my younger brother wants to take the college entrance exam early next year. He just wrote to ask my opinion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xue sounded skeptical: “Isn’t your brother only in first year of high school? You’re letting him take the exam next year?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao smiled: “He’s a good student—he just wants to try it out. Even if he fails, he’ll gain experience, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That makes sense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xue and Ma Li finally let it go, chattering excitedly about other news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon after, He Xue whispered mysteriously: “Jingyao, did you know? Qian Shun seems interested in you. If you think he’s decent, I can set you two up?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao froze, quickly replying: “No, He-jie—I’m not thinking about anything outside my studies right now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Xue sighed: “What a pity. Qian Shun has both family background and talent...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao lowered her head silently, wishing she could cover her ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That Qian Shun was so much like Li Ye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both came from wealthy families, spent money freely, both carried that same unacknowledged sense of superiority—both... gone...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from those two similarities, they had nothing in common.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye was 1.8 meters tall; Qian Shun was 1.6.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye had a face of stunning beauty; Qian Shun had a massive, bulbous nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye’s bright eyes held pure admiration; Qian Shun’s glances made Lu Jingyao feel physically ill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In terms of appearance alone, Li Ye could score a perfect ten in Lu Jingyao’s eyes; Qian Shun... words failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Li Ye was a toad, Qian Shun was a buzzing fly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That afternoon, Lu Jingyao finally found a moment alone and spread out her letter paper to reply home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the letter, she urged her brother to be self-reliant, not to chase vanity—if he had no bicycle, walk. If his grades were good, books held golden houses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as she neared the end, she hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew her family’s situation well: her brother Lu Zixue had grown accustomed to Li Ye’s “bribes” and might not adapt quickly to a simple life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given her mother’s habit of spoiling her precious son, she might actually buy Lu Zixue a bicycle herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Li Ye’s sudden demand for the bicycle back would make neighbors gossip about the Lu family, stirring up fresh turmoil in a household that had just calmed down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After long thought, Lu Jingyao wrote a second letter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Li Ye, long time no see. Your behavior has made you feel strange to me—where has the kind, generous, responsible man gone?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【You returned the bike to my brother... he’s still young, he can’t bear gossip... don’t worry, I’ll repay you the full cost of the bicycle, with interest.】\u003C\u002Fp>",1164,"2026-06-20T05:04:59.129Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","987d1e60b8b7abdfd4df1a1352d7d7879b6ad0f1d089675779e0e4e88e37e5cb","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-11","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-9",884,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthat-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-cover.jpg"]