Chapter 72: Showing Off, Inviting Disaster

After the remedial class reopened, several students were missing.

The teachers at No. 2 High School were used to it by now—a remedial class started with fifty students, but by the college entrance exam, there would never be fifty left.

Some students with the worst grades simply couldn’t handle the pressure and quietly dropped out.

Those with connections would ask someone to notify the school, promising to show up on exam day just to fill the numbers and try their luck.

Those without connections would take their high school diploma and step into society, abandoning the narrow bridge they had once longed for but now feared deeply.

Li Ye’s self-study room revised its study plan again, increasing the intensity by nearly double.

His plan was for the eight-member group to no longer follow the school’s schedule; instead, two students would attend school daily just to gather updates.

The rest would begin their final sprint toward the college entrance exam inside the small warehouse of the Second Grain Store.

Teacher Luo tacitly approved Li Ye and the others’ actions—first, because by this stage, the school’s curriculum offered nothing new, just endless repetition.

Second, because the mood in Remedial Class One had become unusually focused; everyone was highly motivated, pouring all their energy into studying.

As a result, the chaos from earlier seemed to have been caused solely by this small group led by Li Ye.

Hu Man and the others didn’t bother explaining—if they’d been resentful when they first left,

after the winter joint exam, they no longer cared about fighting with Xia Yue and the others.

When you soar into the sky and see vast mountains and seas, do you still care about a muddy eel in a dirty puddle?

“Dong dong dong~ Qiang qiang qiang~ Dong qiang dong qiang~ Dong dong qiang~”

On the night of the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the streets of Qingshui County were filled with deafening gongs and drums.

If someone looked down from above, they’d see a tiny “sea of lanterns” glowing within a hundred-li radius under the night sky.

It was the lantern corridor erected by all enterprises and institutions in Qingshui County to celebrate Lantern Festival along the main street.

This was one of the rare festive events of the 1980s; people from nearby villages and towns crowded into the county town to see whose lanterns were better made and whose drum teams played louder.

Stilt-walkers, yangge troupes, and Hanchuan performers unleashed all the pent-up energy they’d held for a year during these few days.

The admiring gazes of old men, young men, girls, and newlywed wives made the performers even more excited, each competing to perform more flamboyantly.

From the perspective of decades later, these “rooster lanterns” and “ingot lanterns” looked crude, and the yangge troupes dancing with swaying hips seemed hopelessly outdated,

but try to assemble such a troupe today—sorry, you can’t even manage it.

The drums have been chewed through by rats, the gongs sold for cash, the elders can’t swing the drumsticks anymore, and the youngsters are busy playing Honor of Kings with their girlfriends.

If you really want to hire a full traditional gong-and-drum troupe just to hear the sound, first check your wallet and see if your heart hurts.

So, Benzhe the idea of “freely enjoying traditional cultural heritage,” Li Ye had taken Hu Man and the others to see the lanterns yesterday, sweating through their clothes.

Today, of course, they wouldn’t go—every minute from now until the college entrance exam was precious.

But the loud gongs and drums outside made Li Dayong, Hu Man, and the others distracted while solving problems.

Li Ye stood up and said seriously: “You’re already unfocused just doing practice problems—what if it rains and thunders during the exam?”

“The college entrance exam is a battle. If you haven’t prepared fully, don’t show up on the battlefield to embarrass yourself... Did you waste all the distraction-training exercises I gave you?”

“Wang wang wang~ Wang wang wang~”

As soon as Li Ye finished speaking, the big yellow dog outside barked a few times.

This made Hu Man and the others suppress smiles, because Li Ye had once used a copper gong and this very dog to train them in distraction resistance.

Li Ye listened carefully and realized the dog barked a few times, then fell silent.

He continued: “Any unexpected factor is not an excuse to affect your exam. If you catch a cold, have a fever, perform poorly, or faint during the exam—don’t blame fate. These are all your own responsibilities.”

“Wang wang wang~ Wang wang wang~”

“.........”

The big yellow dog barked again, as if saying: “You’re right, you’re brilliant—now bring me that big bone.”

Several classmates were already smirking.

Li Ye’s face darkened. “From now on, adjust your body and mind entirely toward exam prep—don’t let some tiny accident ruin you...”

“Wang wang wang~ Wang wang wang wang wang~~”

“Hahaha~”

Hu Man and the others burst out laughing—even Li Dayong, the loyal sidekick, turned away and chuckled.

Li Ye kicked open the door and stepped out, pulling aside the cotton curtain.

What the hell, you dumb dog? Are you crazy for bones? You’re cooperating way too well with me?

Just wait—I’m going to teach you a lesson today.

Although the big yellow dog at the door was slightly larger and more muscular than ordinary village dogs,

Li Ye didn’t even need his hands to teach it a lesson—he could knock it senseless with a series of kicks and show it the power of a bipedal upright animal.

But when he reached the door, he noticed the dog’s eyes were fixed outside, glowing faintly with alertness in the night.

“Is there someone outside?”

The streets were lively today, and chaotic too—petty thieves and scoundrels would come out to cause trouble.

Li Ye opened the door and glanced out, spotting a small figure walking from the back door of the Second Grain Store toward the street,

then turning back before reaching the street, walking ten meters, turning again, hesitating—looking almost comical.

But under the streetlights, Li Ye recognized the anxious, conflicted little face.

Li Ye smiled and shouted: “Hey, Xiao Juan, what are you doing? Creeping around like a thief?”

Xiao Juan jumped, turned around, saw Li Ye, and shuffled over reluctantly.

Li Ye sensed something was off. “Xiao Juan, what’s wrong? Did you get separated from your family while watching the lanterns?”

Xiao Juan lowered her head and shook it, speaking in a whisper: “Grandpa sent me to call you back.”

“Call me back?” Li Ye blinked. “Then why send you? The streets are chaotic today—what if you get kidnapped? Isn’t Li Yue alive?”

Li Ye was angry—this era really did have kidnappers; a fourteen-year-old knocked unconscious with a stick could vanish in seconds.

Xiao Juan’s head sank even lower: “Sister doesn’t want to come.”

“Huh?”

Li Ye was puzzled. His eldest sister Li Yue, though a bit temperamental, was sensible—why would she hold a grudge against a child?

“Come inside first—tell me what’s going on.”

Li Ye hurriedly urged Xiao Juan in, noticing her red nose—she’d been standing outside freezing for a long time.

“I’ll tell you here! If I go inside, people will laugh.”

Xiao Juan grabbed Li Ye’s arm and mumbled for five minutes before finally making herself clear.

It turned out Xiao Juan’s maternal grandparents had come over with her uncle and aunt,

originally planning to watch the lanterns for one night and leave the next day—but they hadn’t left yet, and now they’d made an embarrassing request: to borrow money.

Xiao Juan sniffled: “Mom cried. She blames herself—she shouldn’t have shown off on the second day of the New Year, flaunting our wealth and inviting disaster.”

When Li Kaibian visited his in-laws on the second day of the New Year, Li Ye had lent Han Chunmei his 26 Phoenix bicycle, and everyone wore new shoes and new coats—it was indeed flashy.

Besides, Li Kaibian wasn’t stingy; this year, with money earned, he brought plenty of fish, meat, tobacco, and alcohol to properly honor his father-in-law.

He never expected they’d be targeted so quickly.

But after a moment’s thought, Li Ye asked Xiao Juan: “Did Grandpa send you to call me?”

Xiao Juan nodded: “Mm-hmm.”

Li Ye pressed: “Are you sure it was Grandpa’s idea?”

Xiao Juan nodded vigorously: “Mm-hmm.”

That was fine—if Li Zhongfa was using Li Ye as a pawn, he had no intention of showing any mercy to this branch of the family.

After all, Li Ye was famously a stubborn fool.

Li Ye rode his 26 Phoenix, carrying Xiao Juan home.

Along the way, Xiao Juan seemed to have opened the floodgates, listing her maternal family’s faults nonstop.

“After Mom left the Bi family, we had no choice but to return to Grandma’s. They had a spare east annex room, yet forced us to squeeze into a tiny side room...”

“For years, we only ate two meals a day. Grandma wouldn’t let Mom make breakfast because we didn’t count...”

“Only Aunt was kind to us—sometimes she’d sneak me half a steamed bun. But after she married and left, we could only watch them eat breakfast...”

“When Mom married in, Grandpa demanded sixty yuan as bride price. Mom cried for days, afraid Dad would think it too expensive and reject us...”

Li Ye rode silently.

In this era, divorced women returning to their parents’ home with children were rarely treated well—it wasn’t unusual.

But charging the same bride price for a remarried mother with children—even slightly higher—was truly greedy.

Still, Li Ye felt Han Chunmei was worth it: she washed clothes, cooked, cleaned inside and out with efficiency, was young, and beautiful—she satisfied Li Kaibian’s every superficial craving.

Li Ye pedaled fast and soon reached the Li family gate.

Far off, he saw someone squatting by the door, smoking.

He pulled the brake, stopped the bike, and Xiao Juan jumped off. The man stood up.

Xiao Juan hid behind Li Ye and whispered: “Uncle.”

The man ignored Xiao Juan entirely, forcing a smile at Li Ye: “You’re Xiao Ye, right? I’ve been waiting here for you!”

Waiting for me? What the hell are you doing waiting outside my house?

Li Ye said nothing, just nodded and pushed his bike toward the gate.

Before his soul swap, Li Ye had never liked Han Chunmei, let alone this uncle with no blood tie.

The uncle didn’t mind, admiring Li Ye’s bike: “Your bike’s beautiful—hard to get even with money and coupons.”

Li Ye glanced at him and said deliberately, “Oh, once I get into college, this bike will go to Xiao Juan.”

Xiao Juan froze for several seconds, then hurriedly said, “No no no, I don’t want it—Big Sister doesn’t even have a bike yet!”

Li Ye snorted and raised his voice: “If she wants one, let her buy it herself. She’s a grown adult—how can she possibly be so shameless as to ask for my things?”

Li Ye didn’t need to think: Li Zhongfa had called him back, and it was definitely about the loan—“seeking” Li Ye’s opinion.

After all, the only money the Li family had on paper was Li Ye’s “royalties.”

How can you adults, all of you, covet a child’s money and still have the nerve?

But just as luck would have it, Big Sister Li Yue stepped out carrying a washbasin and heard every word Li Ye said.

“Clang~”

She threw the washbasin straight into the courtyard, turned, and marched back inside, slamming the door with a “Bang!”

Everyone came out, staring at the washbasin in the yard, unsure what to do.

Li Ye’s grandmother cursed at Li Yue’s room a few times; the tense family atmosphere made some people deeply awkward.

Li Ye couldn’t help but silently cheer.

【Damn! This atmosphere? Totally professional! Totally melodramatic!】