[{"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-82":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},2294500,4489,"Chapter 82: Mastering the Art of Burning a Cold Stove","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-82",82,"\u003Cp>In Principal Chang’s office, he was alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Li Ye entered, he was even given a seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Ye! I’ve seen this year’s preliminary exam results for you and the others… I was shocked, truly surprised!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang gave Li Ye a meaningful glance and said, “Your self-study group has eight members, yet six of you made it into the top ten of your class,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and two even scored over four hundred—what’s your secret?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye thought for a moment and said, “Probably because this year’s exam questions were relatively easy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang frowned, unsure what to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Easy? You’re telling me this year’s questions were easy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Six students suddenly shot up from outside the top twenty into the top ten, taking first and second place—and you’re saying it’s just because the questions were easy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why didn’t we find them easy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So your little self-study room is better than our county No. 2 High School, with all our professional teachers?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang took a deep breath and said, “If you think the questions were easy, then why did you score the lowest?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye replied calmly, “I didn’t bother. The preliminary exam is just a qualifier—no need to score high. Better to spend that time outlining and writing a few pages of a novel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【If it weren’t for your grandpa being a bureau chief, I’d slap you right now… Didn’t bother? Why don’t you just not bother eating?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang picked up his teacup, took a sip to calm himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, fine, say you didn’t bother. But if you did try your best, how much could you score?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who can say for sure?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just guess.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye tilted his head, watching Principal Chang blow on his tea leaves and sip slowly, then smiled faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Principal Chang swallowed a sip, Li Ye “seized the moment” and gave his score.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can score six hundred.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Puh~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cough cough cough— I… cough cough cough…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye spread his hands, looking unconcerned. “See? I told you you wouldn’t believe me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… I… cough cough…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang coughed violently, pointing at Li Ye, and after a long moment finally spat out one word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fuck~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don’t think cultured people aren’t crude—these days, principals all came out of wartime; if you didn’t have some fighting history, you wouldn’t dare sit in this chair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without a few killer moves, how could you control the place?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang’s chest heaved violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye sat quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, Principal Chang sat down calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t believe you can score six hundred, but you might still hit four hundred—trust my experience and judgment…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You scored three hundred five this time, a big improvement over last year—you’re already guaranteed admission to a college or vocational school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I know you write novels well, but if you pause your writing for now and focus entirely on the college entrance exam, getting into a vocational school isn’t impossible…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye felt Principal Chang’s earnest concern and knew he spoke sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d even considered putting The War-Running Deserters on hold, just to catch his breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Those reader seniors are just too… enthusiastic!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the past few months, Li Ye had mailed out new chapters of The War-Running Deserters roughly every ten days to ensure the special readers in Beijing kept up with the serialization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time, four or five days after sending, he’d receive passionate feedback.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some praised the writing, some complained it was too little, others criticized him for holding back and not going deep enough,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but without exception, every reply ended with a similar line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【I’m eagerly awaiting the next part, but please prioritize your college entrance exam.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One reader from the power system even asked if he’d consider enrolling in a vocational school under that system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With readers like this, how could Li Ye dare to stop updating?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could he possibly feel justified?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even a little less wouldn’t do!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Li Ye silent, Principal Chang had no idea what to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For any other student, the head of discipline, Tang Feiyu, could have handled them easily—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>these days, head of discipline were all “martial arts masters,” hitting kids until they screamed for their parents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Tang Feiyu flat-out refused to deal with this case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just because Li Ye had a bureau chief for a grandfather—Li Ye himself was now a “writer,” not an ordinary student.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The novel The Infiltrator had been published for months, yet the county Xinhua Bookstore still couldn’t keep it in stock—only two shipments arrived, both sold out quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they asked the city Xinhua Bookstore for more, even they were barely getting enough. Giving us two shipments was a special instruction from the publisher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How wildly popular was this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few teachers who studied related fields had whispered privately that if this trend continued, Li Ye might even join the provincial Writers’ Association.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So who in their right mind would go after Li Ye?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang finally sighed helplessly: “Even if this year’s questions were easy, Jiang Xiaoyan still scored second in the entire county! With such results, why won’t you share your methods? Classmates should be supportive…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye rolled his eyes and said directly, “Principal, you should ask Jiang Xiaoyan yourself. What’s the point of asking me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang froze for two seconds, then flew into another rage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ask you? You’re the ringleader! If I don’t ask you, should I ask those little followers of yours? What’s the point of asking you? Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ringleader” was a local dialect term for a kid who led a gang of troublemakers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye naturally rejected the label.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He retorted coolly: “Principal, if you call me that, I won’t accept it. I never led classmates to steal chickens or sneak around, never led them to street fights,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and for the sake of class harmony, I deliberately avoided conflict and found my own space to ensure everyone could study normally… so how am I a ringleader?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang, still furious, sucked his teeth, his cheeks trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He now felt he was facing not an eighteen-year-old student, but a cunning, seasoned hunter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was Li Ye a good student?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Probably… not?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one in school ever called him a well-behaved kid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he really hadn’t caused any trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last month, the Chengnan Police Station came to investigate: a student had broken into the farm machinery station at night and rammed a newly repaired tractor into a wall—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>hundreds of yuan in damage! Principal Chang had to beg and plead to calm it down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few days ago, a group of second-year students got into a brawl with outsiders on the northern street—he rushed there with seven or eight teachers to prevent disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what about Li Ye?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d only caused a minor class dispute—and he’d voluntarily stepped back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You… can’t even find a reason to pick on him. What now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forget it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye had already mentioned his “voluntary avoidance”—that was his way of expressing dissatisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When you had the conflict with Xia Yue and the others, why didn’t you say anything about “classmate harmony”? Are we stepchildren?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that we’ve gone off on our own and achieved results, you suddenly remember we’re your own?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang closed his eyes, meditated for a few seconds,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and when he opened them again, some of his earlier thoughts were gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, all roads lead to Rome. If you want to pursue writing, that’s your choice—but don’t let your novels interfere with Wen Leyu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I heard you often have Wen Leyu copy your manuscripts for you? Look, she only scored three hundred six this time, and her English was just twenty-six… what’s going on?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What’s going on? Same as me—controlled scoring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that girl’s so clueless—you’ve got an English teacher for a mom, and you still managed to score twenty-six in English? Are you kidding a fool?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe Wen Leyu wasn’t kidding anyone—she just didn’t care what others thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You told me to control my score, so I did. What others think or believe? I don’t give a damn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Principal, you’d better ask Teacher Ke. I don’t understand girls’ affairs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「..........」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, go back now. Study hard, aim for success in both writing and the exam, produce more outstanding literary works, and get a better score on the college entrance exam.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few minutes later, Teacher Luo, Teacher Hu, and the homeroom teacher of the retake class, Teacher Liu, walked in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teacher Liu asked first: “Principal, how’d it go?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang said: “No problem—their study group has a good learning environment, and the students are diligent, so their grades naturally improved.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Impossible,” Teacher Liu declared firmly. “I know Jiang Xiaoyan’s past grades. Scoring second in the entire county? Without exclusive review materials, that’s absolutely impossible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang glanced at him and said, “Even if they do have exclusive review materials, so what? If they don’t want to share, are you going to steal them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teacher Liu’s face darkened, but he insisted: “I’m only doing this for the school’s reputation! Principal, ask again—Li Ye is a selfless kid. I heard their study group eats meat every day—all paid for by his manuscript fees...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To his surprise, Principal Chang suddenly raised his voice: “If you want to ask, go ask yourself—I won’t humiliate myself like that. Besides, when Old Luo pooled money to buy the review materials, where were you? Now you’re panicking...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teacher Liu fell silent, embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Xia Yue asked Lu Jingyao to buy the college entrance exam materials, she intended to pay—otherwise, how could Lu Jingyao, a penniless girl, have gotten the highly sought-after Haidian Teacher Training School materials?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Altogether, dozens of yuan were spent. Teacher Luo paid, and the students in Class One chipped in—but Teacher Liu’s Class Three contributed nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone thought once the test papers arrived, they could just copy them—but Xia Yue formed the “Book Protection Group.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We can’t even copy enough for our own class! How could it possibly be your turn?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teacher Liu was angry, but he didn’t lower himself to ask Teacher Luo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he never imagined how valuable the review materials would be—this time, Xia Yue scored 404, Jin Shengli 375.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What level is that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two students at the college level—even one college, one undergraduate level!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone knows the materials are crucial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But isn’t free material even better?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that they can’t get any, they’re forced to beg Principal Chang, hoping for a dose of regret medicine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xiao Luo, I remember last year... Li Ye mentioned transferring schools to you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“..........”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teacher Luo blinked, then quickly nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These kids must be kept. Lose even one, and I’ll hold you responsible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang looked at the two other teachers, their resentment clear, and said coldly: “There’s less than a month left until the college entrance exam. It’s too late to warm up cold stoves now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I warn you—if you cause trouble and hurt the students’ scores, I won’t forgive you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang’s final words sent a chilling frost through all three teachers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This year, the school is clearly going to reap a harvest—if we can send five or six students to university, this perennial second-place principal will finally have his moment in the spotlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the opinions of a few homeroom teachers? Keep them to yourselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The teachers bowed their heads and left. Suddenly, Teacher Liu turned back: “Principal, could you talk to Teacher Ke? Ask her to help us buy some college entrance exam materials—we’ll pay, even a high price.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Chang said nothing—only stared coldly at him. Less than five seconds later, Teacher Liu walked away, defeated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You still don’t understand—the era of selfless mutual aid... is over.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that Principal Chang didn’t want to help the students—he just couldn’t speak freely with Teacher Ke anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Packages from Beijing kept arriving, and phone calls from Beijing rang nonstop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The school phone was in the principal’s office—all calls from XX Department, XX Committee. He was just a lowly principal; he couldn’t afford to offend them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, Principal Chang would sit in his office, straining to listen. Now, when Teacher Ke answered the phone, he no longer dared to stay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh~~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【If Teacher Ke really returns to work, then this Li Ye kid has lit a very clever cold stove indeed】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(One of my high school teachers once told me about a top student who ignored all classmates’ questions, refused every social activity that wasted study time, lived alone, and was despised by peers.)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(Later, he got into a top university and left. Years later, at a class reunion, they didn’t even invite him... the story was told with contempt.)\u003C\u002Fp>",2112,"2026-06-20T05:04:59.129Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5138ba383aa20db6bbef2d5d966ffa96a335e70e501cae9abc86f22adbc88300","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-83","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-81",884,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthat-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-cover.jpg"]