Chapter 3

Li Ye pulled Li Dayong out of the classroom; Li Dayong skillfully pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offered one to Li Ye, and lit it with a match.

“Bro, you shouldn’t have stopped me just now—He Weiguo’s a bastard who’s pushing his luck. If you let him off this time, next time he’ll climb to the heavens.”

Others feared He Weiguo’s uncle, a teacher, but Li Dayong wasn’t afraid—his maternal family all worked in the power system, and right now, the people who controlled the power grid were as powerful as those who controlled the radishes.

But even if Li Dayong’s grandfather was powerful, actually cracking He Weiguo’s skull open would still be a huge mess—that’s why Li Ye had held him back just now.

“It’s not worth getting angry with people like him—cough, cough, cough, cough...”

Li Ye took just one drag and immediately began coughing.

What the hell is this?

Li Ye examined the cigarette in his hand closely, then contemptuously tossed it away.

No filter was bad enough, but the tobacco inside was black, uneven, and mixed with lots of little sticks—clearly garbage made from scraps.

But before the cigarette Li Ye threw even hit the ground, Li Dayong darted out nimbly and snatched it up before any of the other students could.

“My fault, my fault—I forgot you just recovered from a fever and your throat’s still sore, but this is all I’ve got—I can’t afford big front doors like you...”

“.........”

Watching Li Dayong extinguish the cigarette and carefully slip it back into his flattened pack, Li Ye couldn’t help but smile.

But he patted his pocket and pulled out a pack of Big Front Doors.

“Here, smoke mine!”

Li Ye pulled out one and handed it to Li Dayong, then glanced around at the others and began handing out cigarettes.

Several familiar classmates eagerly took them, lit up, and began enjoying the clouds of smoke.

Back then, students weren’t like those “little emperors” from his past life, each with hundreds of yuan in their pockets, casually treating girls to Häagen-Dazs and hotel stays without blinking.

Most had no money at all—a few jiao a month for pocket money was normal; having a few yuan saved made you a “millionaire.”

With little cash, you had to be frugal—students with poor conditions rolled their own cigarettes from tobacco leaves; the eight-fen “Economy” and nine-fen “Mass” brands were considered quite decent for student smokers.

If you smoked the fifteen-fen “Goldfish,” you earned serious respect among students; if you splurged on a pack of twenty-three-fen “Bountiful Harvest,” you’d draw a wave of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

And Li Ye was precisely the kind of person who was constantly envied, jealous, and hated.

Li Ye’s childhood had been hard—his father and grandfather had both lost their jobs, and his mother was a complete blank; reportedly, she’d divorced under special circumstances and never reappeared.

After his grandfather and father regained their jobs, Li Ye received indulgent compensation—his pockets were full of Big Front Doors, his feet wore brand-new Return Shoes, luxuries that left his peers envious.

In this era, Return Shoes were far more prestigious than Nike or Adidas from his past life—anyone with a new pair of Return Shoes instantly gained extra charisma and presence.

So Li Ye’s life had been going quite well these past few years—until a few months ago, when Lu Jingyao betrayed him, turning a pure, kind, confident little handsome boy into a withdrawn, insecure, and introverted one.

Li Ye and Lu Jingyao were high school classmates—he was handsome, she was beautiful, and in that youthful, awakening time, sparks flew between them.

But although the term “free love” already existed in this era, the Chinese remained very reserved and traditional.

In 1981, if a high school student dated, it was unquestionably “bad behavior”—holding hands might earn a scolding from a teacher; putting an arm around someone could get you expelled; if you dared kiss, you’d be drowned in spittle.

So Li Ye followed the traditional folk route—he got engaged.

Although the state had implemented family planning, rural customs hadn’t changed so quickly—eighteen-year-olds getting engaged was perfectly normal; in Li Ye’s class, there were even a few students who’d married at twenty without a license!

Last winter, Li Ye begged his family to propose; with 120 yuan, a Phoenix bicycle, fish, meat, and other goods, the Li and Lu families became in-laws.

This dowry was rare even across the entire Qingshui County.

Li Ye’s grandfather was an old revolutionary who, after regaining his job, worked in the grain system; his father was a workshop supervisor at a fertilizer plant—their conditions were far from poor.

But Lu Jingyao’s father was merely a temporary high school teacher without official status—this marriage clearly favored the Lu family.

After the engagement, the Li family not only paid to build a house for the Lu family but also used connections to help Lu’s father secure official status—they truly treated Lu Jingyao as their future daughter-in-law.

But when Lu Jingyao got into university a few months ago, everything changed.

Immediately after Lu Jingyao received her acceptance letter, the Li family decided to marry the two off right away.

Imagining their wedding night, Li Ye rushed to Lu’s house, excited to share the “good news.”

In his mind, his love for Lu Jingyao—defying his family’s objections, mismatched in status—was finally bearing fruit; the birth control supplies he’d secretly kept were about to be put to good use.

But the Lu family’s reaction struck Li Ye like a hammer.

In the fragments of the original body’s memories, Li Ye clearly recalled the scene the next day.

Lu Jingyao’s father, a man who’d spent half his life cowering, arrived at Li Ye’s door carrying two big fish and half a pig, nervously pulling out a handful of coins clearly borrowed from here and there.

“My Jingyao got into university—she’ll probably work somewhere outside Qingshui County, so... we won’t hold you back anymore... I’m returning the dowry... I still owe you 45 yuan, but I’ll pay it back soon...”

The Li family’s fury was understandable.

If the two had just been freely in love, breaking up would’ve been fine—but Lu Jingyao and Li Ye had gone through the formal engagement process and received blessings from Li family relatives.

Could such humiliation be tolerated?

Even Xiao Yan couldn’t tolerate this!

Begging and clinging wasn’t the soldier’s way—Li Ye’s father, Li Kaijian, ignoring Li Ye’s pleas, took no action to reconcile; he immediately threw the returned dowry out the door, cursing himself for being blind, calling the dowry wasted on dogs.

But then, Li Kaijian turned his anger on Li Ye, beating him with a belt until his buttocks were swollen and he couldn’t sit on a bench.

【You went to the same school—why couldn’t you get into university?】

【If you hadn’t insisted on marrying that girl, how would I have been so humiliated?】

Li Ye felt wronged; even though his buttocks were swollen and he couldn’t ride a bike, he made Li Dayong carry him to confront Lu Jingyao.

At Lu Jingyao’s door, the Lu family refused to open it—only when Li Dayong, with his loud voice, started yelling, drawing neighbors over, did Lu’s father finally bring Lu Jingyao out to meet Li Ye.

Lu’s father awkwardly said: “I actually like you, Li Ye—if you also get into university in Beijing next year... I won’t stop you two...”

As Lu’s father spoke, Lu Jingyao stood beside him, head down, silent—but her clenched fists and trembling body revealed her deep resentment.

Simple-minded Li Ye believed Lu’s father’s words and enrolled in the county No. 2 High School’s remedial class to study hard.

But a few days ago, a remittance slip from Beijing arrived directly at the school.

Lu Jingyao had sent Li Ye 45 yuan.

In the 1980s, university students received a “salary”—the state gave Lu Jingyao 22.5 yuan monthly for living expenses; she’d saved 45 yuan in just a few months—how desperate was she to escape Li Ye?

Even if Li Ye had been slow-witted, he now understood Lu Jingyao’s finality.

Worse still, several girls who’d once been close to Lu Jingyao received her letters; somehow, they’d spun a tale, and overnight, rumors exploded across campus.

They labeled Li Ye “Huang Shiren,” accusing him of forcing the Lu family to repay the money, and threatening to take Lu Jingyao as collateral if they didn’t pay.

The original body, raised in gentle care, had never been smeared with such filth—he collapsed in bed that night, his spirit shattered, allowing the Li Ye from decades later to take over.

And that’s why Li Dayong had been so furious with He Weiguo just now.

Everyone knew Li Ye had just fallen seriously ill because of Lu Jingyao—now He Weiguo had uttered such heartless words; Li Dayong wanted to smash his head open.

As the cigarette neared its end, several girls walked over and stood before Li Ye.

One round-faced girl stood out—he remembered her well: Xia Yue, Lu Jingyao’s “best friend,” who’d also received Lu’s letter a few days ago.

Xia Yue held out a book to Li Ye and said coldly: “This is the law book Jingyao sent you—study it well.”

Li Ye looked at the bright red title on the cover: “New Marriage Law,” and asked, surprised: “Are you sure this was sent to me?”

Xia Yue raised her eyebrows: “Of course it was sent to you—someone like you needs to read more books, learn more law, so you won’t...”

Li Ye cut her off before she finished: “If it was sent to me, why did you open it without permission? Don’t you know that tampering with someone else’s mail is illegal?”

“..........”

“A person who breaks the law mocks someone who needs to learn law—don’t you find that ridiculous?”

Xia Yue was silenced, her mouth opening and closing, but no words came out.

Seeing the strange glances from the onlookers, her round face flushed crimson.

“Hmph, no matter how you twist it, you’re still Huang Shiren.”

In the end, Xia Yue pulled out her “spoiled” trump card, threw the book at Li Ye, and turned away.

“Who are you calling Huang Shiren? Stop right there—weren’t you the one spreading rumors these past few days...”

Li Dayong immediately shouted, but Xia Yue and the other girls walked away like proud peacocks.

Li Ye stopped Li Dayong from chasing after them, opened the book Lu Jingyao had sent, and found it had clearly been read—many passages and clauses were marked in bold red ink.

The “New Marriage Law” was issued on January 1, 1981, with heavy emphasis on “marital freedom”—and the red-marked sections were precisely those related to it.

Li Ye was speechless.

What sin had the original body committed in his past life?

A kind, handsome boy from a wealthy, stable family—why had he fallen for a girl who wielded the law like a weapon?

Did he know how dangerous that was?

Wasn’t it like dating a medical girl who explained sponge expansion principles when you clapped, and slashed with knives, always avoiding vital spots?

One ruined your money, the other killed you—what the hell was the point?

Seeing Li Ye remain silent, Li Dayong assumed he was still suffering over Lu Jingyao and growled: “Bro, let’s go to Beijing and find her—since she dares to be Chen Shimei, I’ll make sure the whole school knows it...”

Li Ye shook his head and smiled: “Chen Shimei was a top scholar—does she even qualify?”

Li Dayong protested: “Then just let her get away with this? It’s too much!”

Li Ye closed the book and said softly: “No, we can’t let it slide—but going to Beijing is too troublesome. Why go far when the answer is right here?”

“Bro, what do you mean?”

“Nothing. After school today, come with me to collect the debt.”

Li Ye had originally decided not to pursue Lu Jingyao anymore—it was the original body’s past. But now he realized he needed to warn her: don’t keep this up forever.

Reputation mattered deeply in this era—being branded Huang Shiren could ruin your chances of joining the Party, the military, or even finding a wife.