Chapter 12

Every teacher dislikes students who break rules and act unpredictably, especially troublemakers who disrupt class order.

In Teacher Luo’s eyes, Li Ye was precisely this kind of annoying “troublemaker.”

Merging three classes into one had already created an unstable situation; if the original Class One monitor, Xia Yue, was unfit for the role, then replacing her with anyone else would only make class order more chaotic.

Normally, Teacher Luo would have already dragged Li Ye out alone for a “serious talk” to make him understand that cultured people’s fists weren’t made of sugar.

But now he couldn’t—because Li Ye had questioned Xia Yue’s eligibility as monitor on the grounds of “poor character.”

The words “character” carried weight in this era, a standard serious enough to be linked even to “traitor.”

Didn’t every villain in the movies turn out to be a morally corrupt scoundrel?

“What evidence do you have proving Xia Yue’s character fails to meet the monitor’s standards?”

Teacher Luo spoke coldly, giving Li Ye a chance to explain.

Li Ye replied calmly: “Xia Yue, using her position as a class cadre, privately took students’ mail packages and letters, opened them without the recipients’ knowledge, and withheld their correspondence.”

“If those letters contained urgent information, or if the packages held valuable items, how much harm and loss would Xia Yue’s actions cause the recipients?”

“Doesn’t she know that opening someone else’s mail is illegal?”

“Why would a student act so brazenly? Why so casually?”

“I believe Xia Yue’s position as monitor has fueled a desire for power over her classmates, leading to moral decay.”

“........”

The entire class sat stunned, unable to understand how Li Ye could turn what seemed like a minor issue into something tied to crime and moral failure.

But upon reflection, every word Li Ye said was logical and unassailable.

Xia Yue, flustered, snapped at Li Ye: “I only took your mail and letters back for you—it’s just classmates helping each other. You’re slandering me.”

“I’m slandering you?”

Li Ye sneered: “Didn’t you open my package and read the books sent to me?”

Xia Yue’s face darkened as she insisted: “I was helping you... studying together. It’s only natural for classmates to help each other...”

Li Ye cut her off sharply: “Just answer yes or no—did you open my package? Any excuse is just a lie layered over the truth.”

“..........”

Xia Yue stood there, mouth open, speechless.

The evidence was undeniable—how could she deny it?

Teacher Luo glanced at Xia Yue and understood the gist immediately.

This could be trivial or serious: on the small end, it was just a student’s curiosity, opening someone’s mail to satisfy voyeurism; on the large end, it was... school bullying.

Thinking of the recent rumors about “Huang Shiren” and the bulk of low-cost grain the school’s logistics department had just secured, Teacher Luo’s head throbbed.

Food was still rationed in this era; any household with a big eater or a growing boy would run out of rations. To eat enough, you had to buy expensive grain outside the quota.

Their grandfather just helped you solve your hardship, and now their grandson is being bullied at school? What the hell are you trying to pull?

Holding the Son of Heaven hostage to command... holding the grandson hostage to command the grandfather?

Fuck, is that even human behavior?

“Both of you sit down! I’ll investigate this matter as soon as possible, but no matter what your conflict is, it can’t interfere with class.”

Teacher Luo shot Xia Yue a furious look, then turned and walked out.

Xia Yue sat down, dazed; even when Teacher Ke stepped onto the podium, she didn’t call out “Stand up.”

Teacher Ke didn’t mind. He picked up chalk and wrote his name on the board: Ke Zhiyu.

“Hello everyone, I’m Ke Zhiyu. I’ll be teaching you English from now on... please turn to page 18 and read along with me.”

Only then did Xia Yue snap back to reality. Frustrated, a surge of defiance shot straight to her head.

【A relationship kid who fails every subject dares to question me? You think filing a complaint will get you into college?】

【Do you even know how to study? Do you know what English is? You’re a failure, always a failure—eventually the teachers will realize who truly brings honor to the school.】

Xia Yue turned around and glared fiercely at Li Ye, then opened her book and sat up straight, ready to show the teacher the strength of an honor student.

In this era of ultra-low admission rates, every student with even a chance of entering university was a school treasure, endowed with implicit privileges—even if Teacher Luo removed her as monitor, other subject teachers would still defend Xia Yue.

And in English class, Xia Yue had absolute confidence.

After Lu Jingyao got into Beijing Foreign Languages College, Xia Yue, as her best friend, immediately sought her out, obtained Lu Jingyao’s English study notes, and humbly asked for every “study trick.”

Xia Yue secretly studied at home for months, her English skills skyrocketing; now, in Class One, if she claimed second-best in English, no one dared claim first.

It was 1981; just a few years ago, middle and high schools had no English classes, and English wasn’t counted in the college entrance exam. In a small place like Qingshui County, English was utterly ignored.

Only this year did the notice come: next year’s college entrance exam would count English at 50% of the total score, and schools finally started taking it seriously.

Qingshui No. 2 High had weak teaching staff; they’d never had a dedicated English teacher—English classes were taught by two other teachers, their thick local accents hilariously awful.

Compared to that, Xia Yue’s English level was unmatched. She was certain the teacher on the podium would spot her as a “thousand-li horse” at a glance.

“the monkey and the crocodile”

“one day a little monkey was swinging in..........”

As Teacher Ke began speaking, Li Ye was startled.

This teacher, Ke Zhiyu, had some real skill.

In his past life, Li Ye had struggled hard with English, listening to countless original English materials.

Though he couldn’t yet grasp the elusive “beauty of English,” he could tell good pronunciation from bad.

Teacher Ke’s pronunciation was even better than his university English teacher’s.

Compared to the two previous English teachers at Qingshui No. 2, it was like the difference between a national broadcaster and a village loudspeaker.

“the monkey and the crocodile”

“one day a little monkey was swinging in..........”

The Class One students began reading along, Xia Yue’s voice especially loud; compared to her, the others sounded pitifully weak.

Li Ye didn’t mock them—after all, their English education was worse than that of a fourth-grade student in the future; mute English was the norm, and those bold enough to read aloud were rare.

Li Ye softly followed Teacher Ke’s reading, neither showing off nor standing out—but the contrast was too stark, drawing glances from his new desk mate.

Wen Leyu stole a glance at Li Ye, her eyes, clear as autumn water, filled with quiet surprise.

More than a year ago, she and her mother had squeezed into a dilapidated room at Liuqiao Township Primary School, living a poor, quiet life—until one day, a Teacher Lu arrived with gifts, asking her mother to tutor his daughter in English.

At first, her mother refused—she didn’t want trouble—but Wen Leyu just stared at the bag of White Rabbit candies, swallowed hard, and sneaked a bite; her mother immediately agreed.

The next day, Wen Leyu met Lu Jingyao—and an unexpected visitor: Li Ye, who had brought Lu Jingyao.

Lu Jingyao was kind-hearted and hardworking; within a short time, she won her mother’s affection.

But Li Ye was different—he seemed a bit simple, often staring blankly at Lu Jingyao rather than focusing on his studies.

Later, her mother said this boy wasn’t here to learn—he was just here to keep Lu Jingyao company, and he probably wouldn’t pass the college entrance exam.

But Wen Leyu and her mother didn’t dislike Li Ye—he often brought scarce goods like sugar, meat, rice, and flour, and politely explained, according to rural custom, students should feed their tutors.

Though he ate with Lu Jingyao after the meal was cooked, he rarely finished it—most of it ended up going to Wen Leyu and her mother.

Later, perhaps because his English didn’t improve much, Li Ye shifted his focus entirely to subjects counted in the college entrance exam and stopped coming to Wen Leyu’s home for tutoring.

But the daily necessities never stopped coming.

Until one day, Wen Leyu’s mother quietly asked Li Ye: “If Lu Jingyao gets into university and you don’t, what will you do?”

Li Ye had just smiled and said: “We’re engaged. What else is there to do?”

Wen Leyu still remembered Li Ye’s expression then—not the domineering pride of a man, but a quiet, unexplainable contentment.

Her mother said that was the expectation of happiness.

But such expectations didn’t always come true.

What happened afterward, Wen Leyu didn’t fully understand. Her mother said it was hard to say who was right or wrong—but she believed this boy had been betrayed by Lu Jingyao.

Especially after understanding the college entrance exam more deeply, she felt tragic for Li Ye’s devotion.

The exam was getting harder; though the admission rate seemed unchanged, for an average-talent boy like Li Ye, the chance of reaching Beijing to find Lu Jingyao grew smaller and smaller.

But just now, hearing Li Ye read aloud, Wen Leyu unconsciously had a thought.

【He’s actually studying English too? For his beloved, he’s changed so much?】

Wen Leyu read along mechanically, her mind drifting, occasionally glancing at Li Ye without realizing it.

But when she glanced at him for the third time, she found Li Ye quietly watching her.