Chapter 504: I Have a Gift for You

"Fine, that was my oversight. Five yuan each, right? Hey, hey."

Li Ye took five yuan from his pocket and placed it on the counter of Zhao's Restaurant, mixing it in with a pile of loose change.

It was already the end of June, and the junior year exams had finally concluded.

For Zhen Zhen Rongrong and Sun Sun Xianjin in his class, the time to part ways with everyone had arrived.

The classmates had pooled their money together and booked four tables at Old Zhao's Restaurant by the school gate, treating it as a collective farewell for the two exchange students.

Originally, Li Ye, Sun Sun Xianjin, and Zhen Zhen Rongrong had all scrambled to pay for the meal, but many classmates disagreed. Li Ye simply went along with it, obediently paying only his own share.

Having lived two lifetimes, Li Ye knew that many people actually didn't like taking advantage of others. For them, going Dutch was a form of respect and dignity. If he insisted on "this young master paying for the whole table," it would only make people resent him.

Not long after the banquet started, everyone's emotions began to run high. Because parting today meant not knowing when they would meet again, some people started sobbing after just a few drinks.

As a man from Heilongjiang, Sun Sun Xianjin's tolerance for alcohol was decent, but he couldn't hold his own against the classmates' relentless bombardment. At this moment, Bian Bian Jingjing stood up and boldly blocked drinks for her future husband, winning good-natured teasing from the crowd.

Many classmates came over to toast Zhen Zhen Rongrong and Sun Sun Xianjin. Everyone offered blessings like "Have a safe journey" and "Return safely." It seemed a bit cliché, but it was sincere.

"Ah? Mm, mm, mm."

"After I leave, you have the most prestige in the class committee. You should take up the burden of looking after everyone. I've already recommended you to the counselor; you will serve as the class monitor next semester."

Because the banquet had just broken up, Zhen Zhen Rongrong had grabbed Li Ye to walk with her, and she even left the main road to take a side path. In the middle of the night, a lone man and woman—she couldn't afford to offend Li Ye again!

Thus, He He Dazhuang secretly made up his mind, planning to find an opportunity to have a "sincere chat" with Li Ye on the way back later.

And Bian Bian Jingjing, that girlfriend of his, and the opportunity to study abroad—weren't they all closely related to these things?

Li Ye was the one who had changed other people's fates!

Sigh, why did he offend Li Ye in the first place? Forget it, it's not too late to mend the fold after the sheep is lost.

People are not sages; while everyone offered sincere blessings, there was also a sour envy in their hearts. They felt they weren't much worse than Sun Sun Xianjin!

"See that? Sun Xianjin has a wife like that. Whatever Natasha or Katyusha, it's all a no-go, hahahaha."

He He Dazhuang had some friction with Li Ye when he first enrolled. Although he tried to repair it later, their relationship remained average.

Although he had published two papers while trying to repair his relationship with Li Ye, compared to Sun Sun Xianjin's double-digit number of papers, there was simply no comparison.

"Sigh, look at their three years—love, studying abroad. Look at our lives. Comparing people to people is enough to make one die of anger, hahahaha."

But He He Dazhuang quietly looked at Li Ye.

Yet they didn't confess at the last moment; they just drank silently, cup after cup of wine entering their sorrowful hearts, not knowing what the taste was.

But unexpectedly, after the banquet dispersed, He He Dazhuang followed Li Ye the whole way without finding an opportunity.

"But it also trained your organizational skills, equivalent to contacting society in advance and understanding some knowledge you can't learn in the classroom. Did you hear what I said?"

Ever since enrolling, Sun Sun Xianjin had been inseparable from Li Ye. First, he followed him into the Literature Society, had the sketch *A Wanderer Returns Home*, and became a well-known figure among the '82 freshmen. Then, over the past two years, he frequently published papers in mainland economic journals, all with Li Ye's support behind the scenes.

Li Ye observed secretly and found that the two boys who had always secretly liked Zhen Zhen Rongrong both had red eyes.

"Ah? Oh, oh, oh."

"Ah what ah? I know you're afraid of trouble. Although being class monitor will take up part of your spare time,

Facing Zhen Zhen Rongrong's exhortations, Li Ye could only respond with "mm" and "ah."

Because at this moment, Zhen Zhen Rongrong was clearly talking more than usual, her beautiful face was even pink like peach blossoms, and she was even gesturing wildly—she was clearly drunk.

Talking to a girl who was drunk—that certainly couldn't be taken seriously, so what if Li Ye agreed first?

So Zhen Zhen Rongrong continued to mumble a whole lot more, and Li Ye responded to everything with "mm, good."

It wasn't until Zhen Zhen Rongrong's mumbling suddenly stopped that Li Ye looked up in surprise at Zhen Zhen Rongrong.

Zhen Zhen Rongrong stared intently at Li Ye for a full minute without speaking.

Li Ye felt his heart skip a beat for no reason, then asked with a smile, "What's wrong, Great Class Monitor? Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Oh, ah, oh, yes."

Zhen Zhen Rongrong was clearly flustered; she lifted her feet and left Li Ye behind, walking forward.

After walking for a while, she turned back and said seriously to Li Ye, "After I arrive at the Lighthouse, it will be very inconvenient to contact you all.

So when you graduate next year, you must write down the assigned units and contact information for all the classmates and mail it to me."

Li Ye nodded and said with a smile, "Don't worry about that. I guarantee not a single one will be missing. When you, the Great Class Monitor, return, we'll organize another gathering for everyone. That will be lively!"

"Good, a gathering. You organize it, and I'll cover everything else."

Zhen Zhen Rongrong said heroically, "When the time comes, I'll treat everyone to the best restaurant, eat the best food, and drink the best wine."

Li Ye looked at Zhen Zhen Rongrong quietly, not mocking her for promising to treat everyone to drinks before she had even earned any money,

because Zhen Zhen Rongrong was just that kind of person.

In the three years, she had sacrificed too much for the class. Although Li Ye felt many of those sacrifices were unnecessary, there was no denying that she had been a very dutiful class monitor; no one could find fault with her.

He didn't know if she would still be the same years later, or if she would even come back.

Li Ye's observation skills were very sharp; how could he not see through Zhen Zhen Rongrong's flustered performance just now?

But he already had Wen Wen Leyu, so he was destined not to have room for other girls.

Li Ye suppressed the faint sadness in his heart and said with a smile, "You're wrong, Class Monitor. When we reunite years later, Zhao's Restaurant will be the most suitable place."

Zhen Zhen Rongrong was stunned for a moment, then nodded in realization, "That's right! By then, everyone will have a salary, and no one will have to eat pickles for half a month just to have a meal together."

Just now, when everyone pooled their money, no one dragged their feet, but the four or five yuan per person still affected the lives of some classmates.

Prices had risen over the past two years, but everyone still received a subsidy of 22.5 yuan per month. If they wanted to go out for a good meal, they had to calculate carefully.

So today, everyone saw Zhen Zhen Rongrong off, and Zhen Zhen Rongrong felt that when she returned in the future, she must treat them back.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this. Difficulties are always temporary. At most, we'll endure for another year, and everyone will be wealthy."

Zhen Zhen Rongrong waved her hand and changed the subject, "Do you know, Li Ye? When Xu Xu Wenli from the '79 class returned from the Lighthouse, she brought back 3,000 US dollars, bought a color TV for her family, and even bought her father a motorcycle. When I return—"

"When you return, it's best if you bring back a belly full of knowledge and learning, not those colorful banknotes."

Li Ye interrupted Zhen Zhen Rongrong's daydream without hesitation.

Zhen Zhen Rongrong was stunned, because Li Ye had never been so "impolite" to her.

Since they had known each other, whenever Li Ye communicated with Zhen Zhen Rongrong, he was always gentle. Even if there was a disagreement in opinion, he would explain it to her slowly or reserve his opinion indifferently.

Situations like this, where he directly interrupted Zhen Zhen Rongrong's speech, had never happened before.

Li Ye exhaled and said very bluntly, "What I'm about to say might not sound pleasant, but you must keep it in your heart."

"Our mainland education system—actually, it's not just education; it's more of a selection and screening process."

"You were able to get into Jingda and were selected by Jingda to study abroad, which proves that you are the cream of the crop among hundreds of thousands of candidates. Not only is your IQ high enough, but your mental toughness, self-discipline, and execution are also far beyond ordinary people."

"So, did the country select you from hundreds of thousands of people just to have you go to the Lighthouse to wash dishes?"

"I'm not—"

"Don't 'not' me," Li Ye interrupted Zhen Zhen Rongrong again. "When you first arrive at the Lighthouse, there are only a few types of jobs you can do. Do you think it's easy?"

"How many times have you washed dishes at home? Have you thought about what it's like to wash dishes for ten consecutive hours? And you have to compete with the Mexicans for this kind of work..."

Seeing the beautiful class monitor's face turn ugly, Li Ye softened his tone.

"First, I don't think washing dishes is wrong. Earning a reward through labor is never shameful anywhere. But if washing dishes affects your studies, do you think it's worth it?"

"If there were two opportunities placed in front of you—one is washing dishes and saving a few hundred dollars a month, and the other is doing research projects with other classmates without making money—which one would you choose?"

"You can go ask Xu Xu Wenli how difficult it was for her to earn those 3,000 dollars, and for those 3,000 dollars, did she waste a lot of time and opportunities for learning?"

Zhen Zhen Rongrong was speechless; this kind of choice between two was inherently cruel.

If it weren't for the absolute need for money, why would a dignified exchange student be willing to compete with those illegal workers for dishwashing jobs?

Who wouldn't want to study comfortably? Among the many exchange students washing dishes, which one didn't swallow all the bitterness in the kitchen and then smile to welcome a beautiful tomorrow after walking out?

But to say giving up the opportunity to learn to choose dishwashing—no one could say that.

"Li Ye, if I had a choice, of course I would choose to study hard and not waste this precious learning opportunity given to me by the country."

Li Ye smiled contentedly.

"Class Monitor, you're right. However, to ensure our powerful Great Class Monitor doesn't waste a single bit of learning opportunity and returns wholeheartedly to repay the country, please be sure to accept a small gift from me."

Hearing that Li Ye wanted to give her a gift, Zhen Zhen Rongrong felt a bit nervous subconsciously, and her two hands unconsciously twisted the corners of her clothes.

But when she saw Li Ye take a thick envelope out of his pocket, she immediately became anxious.

Fine! You mumbled such a long speech just now, just to provide cover for giving me money? ===== CHAPTER 505 =====