[{"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-96":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},2294514,4489,"Chapter 96: Did the New Sister-in-Law Run Away Again?","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-96",96,"\u003Cp>July 11, 1982, was a Sunday, the third day after the college entrance exam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye’s aunt, Li Mingxiang, came to his house with her family to mooch a meal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, they didn’t come empty-handed: her husband, Zhao Yuanchao, brought two rabbits, two native chickens, two bottles of baijiu, and two packs of tea for the old man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not a holiday or festival—why bring so much stuff? Do you think we don’t have enough to feed you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Juying scolded her younger daughter while directing her daughter-in-law, Han Chunmei, to clean the rabbits and chickens; she seemed annoyed, but was actually overjoyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At her age, she naturally wished for grandchildren surrounding her constantly, even though her younger daughter lived in the same Qinghe County town, visiting only once a month—she missed them dearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Isn’t it because Xiao Ye finished his college exam? Isn’t it our duty as an aunt to come check on him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mingxiang helped Han Chunmei kill and pluck the chicken, then whispered to her mother: “How did Xiao Ye do on the exam?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Juying said: “Your nephew’s gotten capable—he won’t tell me anything, but he promised me a few days ago he’d get into a university in Beijing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Beijing?” Li Mingxiang lowered her voice, slyly: “Mom, I heard someone say that teacher Ke from County No. 2 High School—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t ask!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Juying’s face darkened instantly. “No one is to ask this question again. If anyone asks you, say you don’t know. Understood?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay, Mom.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mingxiang pouted and fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At home, her mother Wu Juying was heaven itself—if she truly lost her temper, she was far more terrifying than her father, Li Zhong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mingxiang wasn’t usually gossipy, but the county was so small; people had seen Teacher Ke visit with Wen Leyu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Teacher Ke hadn’t returned to Beijing, many avoided her, fearing trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that she’d been reinstated, jealous whispers and rumors had inevitably reached Li Mingxiang’s ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li Mingxiang dared not ask—others hadn’t given up, like her daughter, Zhao Meiwen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After arriving at her grandmother’s house with her parents today, Zhao Meiwen saw her cousin Li Ye was already up and dashed over to find him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When she entered the room, she found Li Ye deeply focused on writing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fugitive in the Firestorm” had already reached over a million words and was nearing the plot point where Xiao Zhi Xianxian cuts ties; Li Ye planned to end this phase temporarily and see how things developed afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the past few months, he’d been relentlessly pressured by a bunch of bigwigs to update—exhausting, stressful, and he needed rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing his cousin enter, Li Ye didn’t stop writing, saying casually: “Why not go play with your sisters? There’s candy in your backpack by the door—help yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye was the family’s little emperor, raised on candy; whenever this cousin visited, she always got her share.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t care about candy! I’m more interested in your novel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Meiwen, who considered herself a “big kid,” leaned her upper body on Li Ye’s desk, peering at his manuscript, eyes bright and lively—completely different from her peer Li Juan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? Little Wen, you understand novels now? Tell me—how’s my novel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye indulged in a humblebrag, hoping to trick the girl into saying something flattering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhao Meiwen blinked, silent for a long while, offering no “Brother, you’re amazing!” praise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye grew curious, put down his pen, and asked: “Little Wen, do you have criticism for my novel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Meiwen nodded: “Cousin Xiao Ye, I won’t deny your writing is good—even our teacher says so—but I think you’re too heartless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m heartless?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” Zhao Meiwen said. “Zuo Lan is dead, Cui Ping’s fate is terrible too. Cousin Xiao Ye, you focus only on the big picture and ignore ordinary people’s emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Human feelings are the most beautiful thing in the world worth depicting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hss~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【This girl’s thinking is remarkably progressive!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye realized he’d underestimated Zhao Meiwen—82’s junior high student wasn’t as dull as he thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then Zhao Meiwen leaned closer to him and whispered: “Brother, do you know Qiong Yao?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye instantly went on guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the 1980s, Qiong Yao’s novels were seen by schoolteachers as floods and ferocious beasts!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her heroines were either ethereal and detached from the mortal world, or delicate, pure, and immaculate,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>or fiercely independent and aloof, or sorrowful and pitiful—capturing the hearts of countless teenagers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye nodded: “If you mean the one from across the strait, I’ve heard of her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Meiwen immediately excitedly said: “Yes, her! I read her work in ‘Strait’ magazine—it’s called ‘On the Edge’—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Meiwen launched into her storytelling talent, vividly recounting the plot of “On the Edge,” hoping to convey her personal feelings to Li Ye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even as she finished, Li Ye remained in his original posture and expression, utterly unmoved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiong Yao’s “On the Edge,” published in mainland magazines in 1981, was earth-shattering to mainlanders unfamiliar with romance novels—the poor boy chosen by a wealthy girl overseas was pure shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for Li Ye, who’d read countless “women three thousand years older than him ascend to immortality” tales, it was nothing special.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet when Zhao Meiwen finally delivered her “reflection,” Li Ye realized he’d been hasty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cousin Xiao Ye, if a boy is truly outstanding, no matter her family background, any girl is worthy of him—fully worthy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【So you went through all this just to comfort me?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye studied Zhao Meiwen’s earnest face, glanced around, then smiled: “Little Wen, did you specifically tell me this story?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Meiwen giggled, saying nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye asked directly: “Spit it out—did you hear gossip about me again?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Meiwen, uncomfortable under his gaze, confessed: “Some classmates’ older siblings at County No. 2 High School said my… new sister-in-law went to Beijing again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【What new sister-in-law? What do you mean “again”?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye could guess the gist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Jingyao had passed the exam and gone to Beijing—left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now Wen Leyu’s family were from Beijing, of high status—she’d leave too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were gloating, thinking it funny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye scoffed: “Your classmates are saying I, Li Ye, the dumb fool, won’t learn my lesson—first Lu Jingyao, now this new sister-in-law?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Meiwen looked embarrassed, then quickly added: “But I absolutely don’t believe it, Cousin Xiao Ye—look at Xu Zhimo! With talent, any noble lady is worthy—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop! Stop! Stop!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What nonsense was this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye slapped Zhao Meiwen’s head hard, making her yelp and clutch her skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At your age, you must focus all your energy on studying. From now on, stop reading all this nonsense novels!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Zhao Meiwen still defiant, Li Ye added: “I’ll tell your aunt—won’t let this trash corrupt your studies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Meiwen jumped up, yelling: “Cousin Xiao Ye, I’m supporting you! You can’t repay kindness with betrayal, forget gratitude, ignore good intentions!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teenagers in rebellion would never tolerate anyone infringing on their “freedom and rights”—they’d rise up against tyranny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what they always got in return was suppression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Vroom vroom vroom vroom~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, rhythmic industrial noise erupted in the courtyard, interrupting the argument inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye’s Xingfu 250, as expected, had started up—vroom vroom vroom vroom—drawing admiration from two grown men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yesterday, Li Kaibian had skipped half a day’s work and, with several coworkers, built a shed in the courtyard, surrounded by waterproof tarpaulins, specifically to park the Xingfu 250.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like today’s people spending thousands on a doghouse for a ten-thousand-yuan pet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that Zhao Yuanchao had come visiting, Li Kaibian naturally wanted to show it off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Zhao Yuanchao was chief of the Beicheng Police Station, his usual patrol vehicle was a nine-tenths-new bicycle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a movie then with a line: “The criminal flees on a motorcycle, we chase on bicycles!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 1982, not having a car wasn’t like being legless in the future—in county bureaus, motor vehicles were rare treasures, treated like sacred relics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a department of over a hundred people, requesting a vehicle meant filling out forms, waiting in line, and enduring endless approvals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For grassroots units like Zhao Yuanchao’s, three-wheeled motorcycles wouldn’t be standard until the late 1980s, ending the humiliating reliance on foot patrols.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Meiwen pressed her face against the window, fascinated by the 250.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye said: “See that? It was given to me. Now do you understand what it means?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Meiwen nodded: “I know—they all say it’s the new sister-in-law’s family’s way of repaying you, like the three hundred taels of silver in ‘The Zha Mei Case.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the girl saw Li Ye as an enemy—anyone who blocked her love for Qiong Yao would get her spite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye forcibly suppressed the urge to hit the brat—he knew explaining only made things worse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, Zhao Meiwen’s heart was good—she’d gone through so much trouble just to encourage him to rise up and stay with Wen Leyu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the girl didn’t know: Wen Leyu was different from all other girls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Li Ye misjudged this time, he might as well admit his eyes were blind, that he could no longer see kindness in the world, and just turn dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good girl or bad girl—he’d boil them all together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1545,"2026-06-20T05:04:59.129Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","b2a95e16ef367962926e45905929d38851f628b3b25a0c8eb75ea7924a97da99","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-97","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-95",884,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthat-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-cover.jpg"]