[{"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-103":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},2294521,4489,"Chapter 103: A Human Skin to Deceive Ghosts","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-103",103,"\u003Cp>Below the notice board of County No. 2 High School, Hu Man’s remark “I’m not good enough for you” caused a long silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A month ago, Hu Man saying this would have been drowned in spittle—but now no one dared to refute a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eight-person group, as the “minority” of the repeat class, had been utterly crushed by the righteous “majority” over the past half-year, and finally fled with their tails between their legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye, who had a good grandfather, once a tyrannical little brat, now cowered trembling in the small courtyard of the Second Grain Store outside school, too afraid to challenge the supreme authority of the righteous force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This made the majority students firmly believe they were the victors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when Jiang Xiaoyan and others scored astonishing results on the mock exam, the majority still didn’t think they’d been utterly defeated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What’s a mock exam? The Gaokao is what truly matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now the proof is right there on the big red paper—take a look!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eight bright, shining university-bound students—aren’t they as hated as the Eight Golden Warriors of Weihu Mountain?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come on, you who claim to represent justice and benevolence—why don’t you wipe them out?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm, the spiritual leader of the majority, Xia Yue, is standing right here! Look at her expression—does she still have the courage to crush bandits?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regret it now, don’t you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, Li Ye freely lent out his practice books and explained problems to everyone—it was all fine. But because of a tiny dissatisfaction, it turned into a conflict between two groups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now they’re about to become university students, and what about you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>University students carry “status bonuses” in this era—take Lu Jingyao, for example. She’s still a student, but which teacher at County No. 2 High School treats her like one?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Man and Han Xia are no longer the same as before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crush? Who’s crushing whom?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“May I ask, why were you forced to leave back then? Where did you leave? Did you leave the school?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sweet voice suddenly shattered the suffocating silence, reaching the ears of over a hundred examinees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A petite girl with glasses, wide-eyed and innocent-looking, had somehow squeezed into the center of the crowd and curiously asked Hu Man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We back then… Who are you? Are you from County No. 2 High School?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Man, basking in her moment of triumph, nearly slipped up—but when she saw the girl before her, she stopped herself at the last second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Family shame shouldn’t be aired publicly. Though everyone in County No. 2 knows about this, why should outsiders pry?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? I’m a student from Provincial City No. 1 High School. I heard Li Ye scored first in the whole province, so I came to learn from you… Do you all know Li Ye well?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Ye is really amazing—this year, the highest score at Provincial City No. 1 High School was only 591, twenty points lower than yours. How exactly were you forced out? Can’t you tell?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl’s tongue was sweet, her eyes innocent, her round little face radiating “harmless charm”—she almost made Hu Man spill the truth again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Hu Man had a lock on her lips; others didn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A boy from County No. 2, completely melted by the girl’s sweet voice, blurted out: “What’s there to hide? Everyone in the school knows—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Ye had a falling-out with classmates, took seven people out to study alone, formed a little clique.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh oh oh, so they studied on their own—how did they guarantee their grades? Did the teachers give them private classes or special tutoring?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well… no, but sometimes they still came to class. Today’s results still owe something to the teachers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh oh oh, thanks to the teachers’ efforts—then may I ask, classmates, what were the Gaokao scores of the other seven?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The other seven’s Gaokao scores… aren’t they all written right there on the red paper? Second to eighth place.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The petite girl froze, turned her head, and stared intently at the names on the red paper—her round glasses hiding eyes that darted rapidly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Slap~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A palm suddenly landed on the girl’s shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She turned around—it was the girl named “Lu Jingyao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao smiled and asked: “Hello, student. Are you really from Provincial City No. 1 High School? What’s your name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The petite girl smiled back: “May I ask—are you a teacher or student from County No. 2 High School?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao glanced at her and said: “I’m a graduate of County No. 2 High School last year. Now I’m studying at Beijing Foreign Languages College.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Beijing Foreign Languages?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Mengmeng stared at Lu Jingyao in surprise, then extended her hand: “Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Yue Mengmeng, a graduate of Provincial City No. 1 High School.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Mengmeng instantly switched from Mandarin to the provincial dialect—she sounded exactly like a local.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lu Jingyao felt something was off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Mengmeng’s face was youthful, even younger-looking than her own, yet her aura didn’t resemble a high school student—it was more like certain college students from her own school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Miss Yue, let me take you to the teachers’ office. They know Li Ye better—you can ask them anything more conveniently.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao decided to remove this youthful girl from the students and prevent further contact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Yue Mengmeng casually brushed off Lu Jingyao’s suggestion and chatted with several nearby boys, quickly diving into topics like “clique” and “conflict with classmates.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao grew wary, turned to head to the school office for help—and saw several teachers carrying a brand-new notice board, huffing and puffing as they approached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, students, help out—quickly, get this notice board upright.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sweat-drenched teachers directed a few students to hoist the new board beside them, then began pasting documents and photos onto it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye’s oversized half-body photo was placed dead center at the top, monopolizing a large space, followed by a series of descriptions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outstanding Three-Good Student, nationally renowned writer, provincial Gaokao top scorer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below Li Ye, Hu Man and the others were far less impressive—just a photo and a few small characters: “Outstanding Student of Class X.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, you—Li Dayong, right? Go get a new photo taken right away, rush-print it—school will reimburse you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Teacher, I already have a photo here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just go do it. This photo’s ugly—how can we use it? Reporters are coming to interview in a few days!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bear-like Li Dayong clenched his face, bent over, nearly in tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where’s ugly? My brother said this is the standard “inner-beauty face”!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Reporters?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao immediately snapped alert and asked Yue Mengmeng: “Are you a reporter?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Yue Mengmeng had no time for Lu Jingyao now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She pushed to the front of the new notice board, tiptoed, tilted her neck, and stared intently upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that person in the photo Li Ye?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Mengmeng was short; looking at the top photo was hard—but she stared with intense focus, eyes gleaming, breathing heavily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, that’s Li Ye. Don’t be fooled by his kind face—he’s selfish. He only helps classmates he’s close to.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy who’d just been chatting warmly with Yue Mengmeng dropped a bombshell. Li Dayong and the teachers tried to stop him—but it was too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhou Chenggong, what are you talking about? How did you treat Li Ye when he first explained problems to you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Am I wrong? You seven got good scores because Li Ye selfishly only showed you his hidden reference books.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Chenggong had failed the exam three times and decided to quit retaking—it was his last chance to speak without restraint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, Li Ye dragged him halfway across the classroom like a dog, making him the laughingstock for half a year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, he’d settle scores—tell this likely-reporter, little Yue Mengmeng, all about Li Ye’s evil deeds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Yue Mengmeng turned to Zhou Chenggong and said seriously: “Student, what you’re saying is wrong. You claim Li Ye and his group got high scores because they had reference books?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s unlikely. I’ve read those books—I know their usefulness is limited. Success in studying and exams still depends on personal diligence and talent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also… you just said Li Ye helped how many students?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Chenggong blinked: “He only helped seven—those on the red paper.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Mengmeng cut him off sharply: “Li Ye helped only seven students. Then tell me, student—how many students did you help?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“W-we students help each other… no exact number.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then how many points did the students you helped score?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Chenggong stammered, unable to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He racked his brain but couldn’t understand: why had this girl, who moments ago looked like a secret agent digging for Li Ye’s dirt, suddenly switched sides?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Mengmeng looked at the embarrassed, flustered Zhou Chenggong and spoke sternly: “Teaching students is the teacher’s duty—not a student’s obligation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why should Li Ye, as a student, be expected to help you all for free?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And why, after being denied help, did you resent him so bitterly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【WOW, this little girl’s on which side? She’s actually nice!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dayong looked at Hu Man, then at Han Xia—both looked utterly bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no matter what, Yue Mengmeng’s words felt deeply satisfying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Student, student—you’re from Provincial City No. 1 High School? Or…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several teachers finally reacted and began questioning Yue Mengmeng’s identity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The petite, adorable girl, looking no older than a middle schooler, pulled a work ID from her small bag.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hello, I’m Yue Mengmeng, an intern reporter for Dongshan Education Daily. That’s my colleague Chen Musheng.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whoa~! She’s really a reporter? She’s so young and she’s a reporter?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding students and teachers were stunned—Yue Mengmeng looked exactly like a child, incredibly deceptive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Reporter Yue! Welcome, welcome! Welcome to our Qingshui County!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The teachers hurried to greet her and sent someone to fetch Principal Chang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the girl, her face serious, didn’t offer polite small talk—she continued speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Teacher, I don’t know how things are at Qinghe County No. 2 High, but do you know that even at the provincial capital’s No. 1 High, there isn’t a student as outstanding and kind as Li Ye?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If any student could help seven classmates pass the key score line, he would surely be a treasure in the teacher’s eyes, protected thoroughly, and absolutely immune to slander and gossip.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The principal, Chang, arrived running after hearing the news, just in time to catch the last few words from Yue Mengmeng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, yes, yes—Li Ye is our treasure, and no slander will touch him. Ms. Chen, why don’t we go inside to talk?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Look at this scorching heat—how can we let our guests stand out here in the sun?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang made his assurances while glancing at the other reporter, Chen Musheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Musheng was a man in his thirties, and he looked every bit the reporter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Principal, no need to be so polite. We’re here today to fulfill our organization’s assignment; whether we get sunburned or not doesn’t matter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What matters is understanding Li Ye’s outstanding deeds and highlighting the vitality of young people in this new era.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Outstanding? Absolutely outstanding. Our county’s No. 2 High has always had the fine tradition of students helping students.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Take this student, Lu Jingyao—she provided tremendous assistance to many students during this year’s college entrance exam.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang immediately relaxed and pushed Lu Jingyao forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao had indeed provided the school with many self-study books and review materials; many of the students on this year’s red honor roll truly owed her a share of credit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Principal, I really didn’t help much—please don’t interview me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Yue Mengmeng pull out her notebook and smile at her, Lu Jingyao’s heart tightened with panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She truly didn’t want to bask in Li Ye’s glory; she truly didn’t want to climb any higher toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Principal Chang said: \"Li Ye isn’t here today. As an outstanding student from Beijing, you must speak on behalf of the school’s students. Come on, let’s go inside and talk.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang warmly ushered Lu Jingyao, Yue Mengmeng, and Chen Musheng inside, then turned and glared coldly at Zhou Chenggong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>{A bunch of idiots, always causing me trouble. Do you really think the reporters sent down from above are here to understand public sentiment? Do you think they’re here to right your wrongs?}\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>{The top scorer in the entire province—if he were a selfish, petty person, then what the hell have all of us in provincial education been doing? Don’t we know about holistic development in virtue, intellect, physique, aesthetics, and labor?}\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the group walked a few steps, Yue Mengmeng suddenly said: \"Where are the students who received Li Ye’s help? I’d like to interview them too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang and Lu Jingyao and others turned back quickly—but all they saw was Xia Yue, dazed and lost. There was no trace of Hu Man, Han Xia, or Li Da.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the school, two bicycles sped away as if chased by dogs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When Li Ye left, he warned us: guard against fire, guard against theft, guard against reporters. The more you talk, the more trouble you invite. Let the principal and teachers deal with these stubborn people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That reporter... is truly cunning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, exactly. I almost fell for her act. Is this what Li Ye meant by ‘a human skin fooling ghosts’?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2222,"2026-06-20T05:04:59.129Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2b7be5326f5c91dda8a59516fe5ed9a21358640eba3c5cbd3f6e95d5a23c485f","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-104","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-102",884,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthat-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-cover.jpg"]