Chapter 54

The woman lunged at the table as if possessed. Because her arms were constrained by her clothing, she couldn't reach out; her body could only writhe and twist violently, like a snake in a state of shock.

Her eyes were so red they seemed to be dripping blood, and her expression was so fierce it looked as though she would devour anyone in her path.

Everyone outside the observation room, with the exception of Li Zhuiyuan, couldn't help but feel shocked and moved. Even Tan Yunlong was no exception, because any normal person seeing this scene would feel an intense sense of discomfort.

After all, the person on the other side was a human, one of their own kind. Immersed in a long-standing peaceful environment, people generally found it impossible to accept this kind of hysterical, unbridled bestiality.

Li Zhuiyuan, however, had a different reaction. Through the glass, he could see a form of catharsis in the woman's screams and her frantic physical movements.

What appeared terrifying to ordinary people was, to him, a sign that a benign stage in the cyclical process was about to begin.

This kind of empathy had no logic to it. To use a crude analogy, it was like a drug addict walking through city alleys and knowing exactly where to buy a fix, or a veteran patron of brothels glancing at a storefront and knowing immediately if there was any "real action" inside.

It was as if special people had a radar installed in their heads, allowing them to sense each other's existence; it was another form of "birds of a feather."

But clearly, Auntie Xu didn't understand this, as she began to pack up the photos on the table, believing the questioning was over and that nothing more could be learned.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that Li Lan kept her as a secretary not because of how capable she was, but because she was a fellow villager who spoke the Nantong dialect and could be used to talk to his parents in the future.

Even if that phone call took several years to be made, it was indeed something Li Lan would do.

"Brother Binbin, I know the auntie inside. I don't want her to know I'm here."

These words were not just meant for Tan Yunlong.

After speaking, Li Zhuiyuan turned and ran into the restroom on the side of the hallway.

The man beside Xu Wen helped her push open the door. She walked out and saw the three people standing at the entrance.

Xu Wen asked, "Who are you?"

Tan Yunlong replied, "I am the police officer from the jurisdiction where the person inside is registered. I brought them here to take a look."

As he spoke, Tan Yunlong reached out and patted Tan Wenbin on the shoulder.

Tan Wenbin had, after all, sat at the same table and eaten with the dead.

At this moment, he lowered his head first to avoid letting the other party notice the similarity in the brows between him and the "police officer" behind him, then shrugged his shoulders slightly.

Xu Wen's eyes revealed a hint of guilt; after all, the woman's madness inside was caused by her. So, she just nodded and turned to walk away, the man accompanying her following closely behind.

When they reached the restroom door, Xu Wen stopped and washed her hands.

The man lowered his voice and said, "No results from the questioning."

Xu Wen didn't have that awareness and said in a normal volume, "She shouldn't have gone down there. She was just severely stimulated by her husband's affair. Where is the next crew member's placement location?"

"Lianyungang."

"Then let's set off immediately."

"Do we need to visit everyone?"

"Otherwise? As for him, I want to see him alive if he's alive, or his corpse if he's dead."

"This is your hometown. Don't you want to go back and take a look?"

"My mother has already been picked up by me to the capital. I don't have any relatives in my hometown worth visiting."

"I heard..."

"I wouldn't dare to contact the Director's relatives. Otherwise, when the Director returns..."

They left the restroom and walked outward, and the subsequent conversation could no longer be heard.

Li Zhuiyuan came out of the restroom and turned on the faucet to wash his hands.

Thanks to having been blind for nearly a month, his hearing had been further developed, and he had heard the previous conversation.

Auntie Xu was looking for someone, but that person wasn't Li Lan, because Xu Wen wouldn't use "see him alive if he's alive, or his corpse if he's dead" to describe Li Lan.

Therefore, the mission Li Lan went on was not in the area where Zheng Haiyang's parents had their accident, but Li Lan indeed hadn't returned yet.

What kind of mission could take so long? It had already been two months, right?

Li Zhuiyuan walked back while shaking his hands. In the past, he would have taken the initiative to meet and greet Xu Wen, affectionately calling her "Auntie Xu." But now, he was very repulsed by any contact with Li Lan and those around her.

If he could choose, he would rather never have any intersection with Li Lan for the rest of his life, and he believed Li Lan felt the same way.

Because after the mother and son met, no matter what they did or said, they were just tearing the skin off each other.

The doctor came out and was communicating with Tan Yunlong.

"The patient's emotions are really unstable right now. It's not suitable for any more visits."

Tan Yunlong pointed to Li Zhuiyuan, who had returned, and said, "Just let the child go in alone to take a look. The child is very pitiful."

The doctor looked down at Li Zhuiyuan. After hesitating, he nodded, "Fine, let him go in alone. You all wait outside and are not allowed to enter."

Tan Yunlong bent down, appearing to whisper in Li Zhuiyuan's ear, "That man used to be a soldier. He has been on the battlefield."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded, "Thank you, Uncle Tan."

Tan Yunlong smiled and sat back down on the hallway bench.

Li Zhuiyuan was then let into the observation room.

He sat down opposite the woman. At this time, the woman was no longer as agitated and crazy as before, but she was still breathing heavily, and the red in her eyes was still frightening.

Li Zhuiyuan just sat there without speaking.

He had come out of "interest" in the first place, which had nothing to do with classmate friendship, so he didn't want to bring up Zheng Haiyang and use him as an entry point for conversation.

He didn't even want to use his mind or methods to guide the development of the topic, even though he was very good at it.

Xu Wen's style of doing things made him feel that doing so was meaningless. He didn't want to build his own amusement on the foundation of destroying and toying with innocent people.

It was very interesting that when he made up his mind to use Li Lan as a collection of errors and do the opposite of her style, he was truly maintaining humanity.

Tan Wenbin, who was observing through the glass outside, asked Runsheng in confusion, "Why isn't Brother Xiaoyuan talking?"

Runsheng shook his head, "Xiaoyuan not talking means there's no need to talk."

After Tan Wenbin chewed on this carefully, he said, "What kind of nonsense is that?"

But soon, the turning point came.

The woman calmed down. She began to speak on her own initiative, without screaming, without madness, just sitting there, narrating normally.

Unfortunately, the volume was too normal, and those outside couldn't hear it.

This made Tan Wenbin so anxious he was scratching his ears and cheeks, wishing he could rush in and listen together.

Runsheng didn't understand, "What are you anxious about?"

"How can I not be anxious? If I go in now, I can hear it firsthand. When Brother Xiaoyuan comes out and tells us, it will be his condensed summary."

"Isn't that good?"

"My mistake. Why am I discussing this with you?"

Inside the observation room, the woman's expression returned to normal.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that his "empathy" hadn't been wrong; he had picked the peach.

Xu Wen had successfully stimulated the woman, causing her to lose control of her emotions, and then she had left, leaving a better situation for him.

If Li Lan were here, she would never make such a low-level mistake.

"I once advised him, telling him not to go down with them, but he wouldn't listen. Moreover, he even persuaded me to go down together."

"You went down?"

"Yes, I went down. I shouldn't have gone down."

"I'm curious, what's down there?"

"A very, very large place. Inside, there is a sun, a moon, and also stars."

"You mean, on the seabed?"

"Don't you believe me?"

"I believe you."

"Outside that place, there are many shipwrecks."

"There should be a lot of treasures then."

"There are, but they are very hard to find because these ships are all broken, except for a few special ones."

"How are they special?"

"Most are wooden, and a small portion are not. They are all buried under the sea sand, with only a little bit exposed. That place is in a turbulent area, making it impossible to excavate. After so many years, even if there were some things on them originally, they have all been blown away or deeply buried."

"That's a real pity. So you went inside?"

"Yes, we went inside. After entering, we could take off our oxygen masks. There is a piece of dry land there where we can surface and see the sun and stars."

Sun and stars...

Li Zhuiyuan knew the woman was very clear-headed now, so this very counter-intuitive juxtaposition of sun and stars might carry special meaning.

Limited by a lack of relevant professional knowledge, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't judge from a scientific perspective whether this place on the seabed could truly exist, but he felt the woman wasn't lying.

Still need to go to university after all.

"You weren't the first to go in, were you?"

"I was the first, but my husband wasn't. This was his second time coming in."

"Does the work of a sailor include these things too?"

"It depends on how you understand it. This is just a job, and a job isn't the entirety of life. Actually, our wages were quite high, but we didn't get much of a share from the smuggling profits. My husband was jealous and wanted to earn a big sum quickly so he would never have to go to sea again. I felt the same way."

"Understood. How many people went down in total?"

"I can't remember clearly. There should have been over a dozen."

"So many?"

"Because we were just the guides."

"Who asked you to guide them?"

"There should have been two groups of people, both operating under the name of a marine ecological protection organization. The leader of one group was called Honda, and the leader of the other was called Ashley. The latter was British."

"Should have been?"

"There was also a new sailor named Zhu Changyong, who had a very good relationship with my husband. But my husband said he should have come for this place too."

"So it was three groups of people who asked you to guide them. How were the profits distributed?"

"The guide fee was very high, and there was a share afterward."

"Continue telling me about what happened after you went in. I want to hear what exactly is inside."

"Inside, there is a wall, and on the wall, there is a very, very large door. However, this door couldn't be opened. Honda said it served a decorative purpose, and the inside was solid and sealed. Since it was built, there was never any intention to open it again to let outsiders in."

"Then how did you get in?"

"There was a gap between the top of the wall and the karst cave. It might have been seamless at first, but after a long time, it separated from the wall. We climbed up and then squeezed in. After going in, I saw..."

The woman's face revealed pain and struggle.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped questioning and waited patiently.

After a while, the woman calmed down, and continued with a trembling tone, "After going in, we discovered that this was the location where we had come from."

Li Zhuiyuan frowned slightly and asked, "How long did the squeezing process take?"

"Ten minutes, because it was very narrow, and we could only crawl forward with our equipment."

"That's really long. Then what are you afraid of, even if you squeezed in and squeezed back out?"

"That was the location where we had come from."

"Hmm, you already said that."

The woman looked at Li Zhuiyuan and said word by word, "At the location where we had come from, there were also the 'us' who had come."

Li Zhuiyuan subconsciously sat up straight.

He understood why she was afraid.

"And... then?"

"They started fighting."

"They?"

"I was the last one to squeeze out. According to the requirements of Honda and Ashley, my husband and I had to have one in front and one behind. When I squeezed out, they had already gone down, following the rope ladder."

"You said rope ladder?"

Li Zhuiyuan began to try to sketch out the scene at that time in his mind as much as possible from the woman's simple description, trying not to miss any details.

"It was Zhu Changyong who hung the ladder."

"Then was there also a Zhu Changyong on the opposite side?"

Li Zhuiyuan suspected that the person Xu Wen was looking for definitely wasn't the two groups of people, Honda and Ashley; it was highly likely to be this Zhu Changyong.

"Yes. When I squeezed out, they had already gone down the rope ladder. They were communicating, and my husband was also inside—two husbands. When they stood together, I, as the wife, couldn't tell which one was real."

"Then what about yourself? Did you see another you?"

A smile appeared on the corner of the woman's mouth, and the amplitude of this smile was gradually expanding, and her eyes also revealed a rich, meaningful look.

She didn't answer the boy's question directly, but used a rhetorical question:

"What do you think?"

Li Zhuiyuan turned his body slightly and continued to ask, "You said they started fighting later?"

"Yes, they started fighting. Many people died, lying on the ground, flesh and blood blurred."

"Who all died?"

"I can't remember clearly. Anyway, the ones who were still standing and alive at the end were the only ones."

"Then, were you also lying on the ground?"

"What do you think?"

Li Zhuiyuan sat up straight again, lowered his head, looked at his fingers, and asked, "Was Zhu Changyong also the only one left?"

"Hmm."

"Then what happened next?"

"Next, we went in again."

"Still that same hole?"

"No, this time we took the door, because the remaining Honda discovered that this large door could be opened. It couldn't be opened completely, but a gap large enough for one person to squeeze in sideways could be pried open."

"You... continued to form a team?"

"Hmm."

Li Zhuiyuan really wanted to ask, how did you distinguish, among the survivors, who was from the batch that came in with you and who was from the batch you encountered?

And the door that couldn't be entered from the outside could now be entered.

So, did you all go in, or did you come out?

But the boy didn't dare to ask in too much detail. He had already sensed that the woman's state was fluctuating again.

This kind of brief calm obtained only after catharsis was actually similar to drinking poison to quench thirst. It was also because she had just had the accident not long ago. If nothing unexpected happened, her subsequent mental problems would become increasingly severe.

Eventually, they would completely drown and cover up this period of calm and rationality that still occasionally appeared.

In other words, he was very likely the last person to learn the intelligence from that time from her.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but slander Xu Wen in his heart again. If he hadn't happened to come over today, this chain of information would have been buried forever. No wonder Li Lan didn't take you, this secretary, when she went to execute that project.

"After going in through the door again, did the environment change?"

"Yes, it was very open inside, and also very bright. The sun, moon, and stars were all overhead."

"What exactly was there? I mean, underfoot."

"Underfoot, there were pits, one after another. Beside each pit, there was a stone carving. There was water in the pits, and bronze chains were tied to the stone carvings, extending into the pits beside them."

"How many were there?"

"I can't count them. All the way forward, to that... house."

"House? There was a house there too? How big was the house?"

"Very large, extremely large."

"Shouldn't that be a palace?"

"It wasn't a palace, it was just a house. It had two horns, long whiskers, and also a terrifying large mouth."

"Animal? A huge animal?"

"It wasn't an animal, it was just a house."

Li Zhuiyuan sighed in his heart. The woman's condition had worsened, and her narration was gradually becoming stumbling. He could no longer specifically depict the environment in his mind.

"Did you go into this house?"

"I didn't. I was left in place. My husband and the others went in, entered that house."

"Your husband and the others, who exactly do you mean?"

"Honda, Ashley, Zhu Changyong."

"And who was left in place with you?"

"Four or five people, I suppose."

"Why did you separate?"

"Because we had to be responsible for tying the ropes."

Her description no longer possessed progressive logic.

"Tying ropes? What happened to the road ahead? I mean the road leading to that house."

"It flooded."

"Wasn't it dry? Where did the water come from?"

"The water in the pits gradually overflowed. They were walking forward with ropes tied to their bodies."

As the woman spoke, she stood up, and her body began to tremble.

"And then what?"

Li Zhuiyuan felt he couldn't wait any longer; he had to ask for the result clearly.

"Then black, black, everything turned black. The thing in that house woke up. The sun, moon, and stars overhead all disappeared. I just saw a circle of red, like eyes, very large eyes. It woke up. It was enraged. They all crawled out of the pits, so many, so many, I can't count..."

"What kind of things were they?"

"So many, so many, they all were. The rope broke, the rope tied to my husband broke. They were swallowed into the house. Ah, ah, ah!"

Li Zhuiyuan stood up, "Then what about you? What about you people who were left in place?"

The woman hugged her head, "I was running, we were all running. We squeezed out through the door. That gap was only big enough for one person to squeeze out. They were still crowding. One of them took a pickaxe and beat two people to death. After he squeezed in first, I squeezed in later. I abandoned my husband, I abandoned him."

"You couldn't save him. This isn't your fault."

"Is that so..." After receiving these words, the woman's emotions stabilized slightly.

Li Zhuiyuan really wasn't deliberately comforting her. In such a bizarre environment, it had already gone beyond the scope of traditional dangerous situations, and it was hard for people to have any rationality at that time.

"How many of you were left when you got out?"

"Two, him and me."

"Did he also get out? I mean, return to the ship."

"No. At the place where I came in, I saw the diving equipment we had left behind earlier. His equipment was still there."

"What about the others' equipment?"

"It was all there. I was the only one who brought the equipment back."

"It was you... who killed him." The woman's gaze froze, her expression solemn, but soon, a smile appeared on the left corner of her mouth.

This seemed to be a tacit admission.

"Why did you kill him?"

"Because I suspected that he wasn't from the same batch as us."

"So, in the end, you were the only one who returned."

"Yes."

"After you returned, what happened on the ship?"

"When we were returning, they all started to become very strange."

"How strange?"

"As if they were crazy."

"Like you are now?"

"Yes."

Li Zhuiyuan let out a breath; he had finished asking.

And the woman seemed to have finally managed to hold on and finish speaking.

Although it was fragmented, with a large number of details missing and many contradictions, the thread of the matter finally had a beginning and an end.

What was hidden deepest and was also the hardest to narrate in detail was how the teams composed of the remaining people schemed against and guarded against each other after the two identical teams killed each other.

At this time, the woman was no longer agitated, and her eyes presented a look of bewilderment.

This meant that her illness was even more severe than Li Zhuiyuan had previously anticipated. Sometimes, intense emotional agitation reactions actually proved the strength of self-consciousness to a certain extent.

The woman began to shake her head and hum a ballad.

She chose to escape, to destroy that memory, to destroy her own life.

From beginning to end, she never asked about her child.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Thank you for your story. Take care of your health."

The woman ignored him and continued humming the song.

Perhaps soon, she wouldn't need to have her body restrained anymore and could change into loose patient clothing.

Li Zhuiyuan walked a few steps outward, suddenly stopped, turned around, looked at her, and asked:

"The you who came out, are you the you who originally went in?"

The woman clearly paused for a moment, then continued humming the song, shaking her head.

Li Zhuiyuan took out the talisman he had drawn from his pocket, quickly walked around the table to the woman's side, and stuck the talisman on the woman's forehead.

"Snap!"

The bright yellow talisman paper fell off immediately after being stuck on and drifted to the ground.

The woman continued humming the song, without any reaction.

Li Zhuiyuan bent down and picked up the talisman paper.

The talisman paper had turned pitch black.

After Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the observation room, the doctor from behind another door walked in and took the woman out.

Tan Yunlong put down his crossed legs and asked, "Finished asking?"

"Hmm."

"How was it? Did it satisfy your curiosity?"

"No, I've become even more curious."

If there were a chance, he really wanted to go there right now and take a look, to see what kind of bizarre place that really was.

Perhaps he could also see another identical self.

Then, would he fight with "himself"?

Li Zhuiyuan could understand that in that kind of environment, making the choice to "kill the other party" was the most normal thing.

But for himself, if that "self" were truly exactly the same as him, then why not hold hands and explore the secrets inside together?

He was often distressed because his mental energy was exhausted; if he could have an extra brain as a backup, how good that would be.

Unfortunately, for now, he could only think about it. He didn't possess the external conditions or internal conditions to make the trip.

The external conditions would at least have to wait until he went to university or even graduated to have the corresponding opportunity, and the internal conditions were... that he at least had to grow up.

On the way back in the seafood market truck, Li Zhuiyuan recounted the story the woman had told, without avoiding Tan Yunlong.

After all, this story session was facilitated by his help, so it was only right that he should get to share it. Moreover, like father, like son...

Looking at Tan Wenbin, Tan Yunlong probably had similar preferences deep in his heart.

After listening, Tan Yunlong said while driving, "This world indeed has too many mysteries. It's quite good. Waiting for you all to grow up and explore them, so you won't feel bored."

Tan Wenbin teased, "Dad, why did you suddenly start adding value?"

"Just a feeling. At your dad's age, sometimes I feel that no matter how much money I earn or how high a position I climb to, what I see and live is all the same. Those scientific researchers, one glance under a microscope is a new world that most ordinary people can't touch in a lifetime."

"Dad, what about your money? What about your position?"

"You little beast!"

Li Zhuiyuan could resonate with Tan Yunlong's words. Wasn't what he was currently coming into contact with and learning a brand-new field?

To a certain extent, Li Lan seemed to have chosen this path too. Since Xu Wen had come to investigate this matter, this proved that Li Lan wasn't a traditional archaeological worker in his impression.

Only the unknown and mysterious field could make the mother and son feel like they were human.

"Xiaoyuan, who is that woman to you?"

"Uncle Tan, I didn't mean to hide it from you. I just didn't want to say."

"Hmm, it's okay, Uncle understands. So are you going home now, or to school?"

"Back to school. I still have class at noon."

"Binbin, look at Xiaoyuan, then look at you. His grades are so good, and he's still thinking about attending class."

"Dad, I'm going to class, he's the one going to teach."

Tan Yunlong understood, "Who is Xiaoyuan teaching?"

"The Math Olympiad class organized by the school," Tan Wenbin replied.

"Then can you get in? I heard that winning an award in this is very helpful for the college entrance examination."

"Dad."

"Hmm?"

"My genes aren't up to it."

"Vroom!"

The pickup truck suddenly accelerated.

After being dropped off at the school gate, Li Zhuiyuan looked at Tan Wenbin, "Brother Binbin, aren't you afraid of being beaten by Uncle when you get home after saying that?"

"He beats Binbin, what does that have to do with me, Zhuangzhuang?"

"I'm hungry. Let's go to the cafeteria to eat."

"Do you know, Xiaoyuan, ever since my grades improved, I've felt exceptionally strong. Before, I knew clearly that if I didn't do well in the college entrance examination, I would have to rely on my parents to muddle through life, including getting married and having children. I would have to live under my parents' shadow for a lifetime. Eating their food, using their things, taking their stuff, I would have to continue enduring their pointing fingers at my life. Now, I feel my wings are starting to get a bit stiff."

"Brother Binbin, that doesn't count as a shadow."

"It's just an exaggerated rhetorical device. Which parents would deliberately cast a big shadow on their child?"

"Hmm, you're right."

The fourth period hadn't ended yet, and the cafeteria was empty. Tan Wenbin went to get the food, while Li Zhuiyuan went to get the free soup.

This soup could be taken freely, and many students relied on their own dry rations to eat with this soup.

After eating, the bell for the end of class rang.

Tan Wenbin walked lazily to the classroom, while Li Zhuiyuan walked into the small classroom alone.

To his surprise, quite a few people were already sitting inside. Some students were gnawing on steamed buns, while others hadn't eaten at all and had run in holding books after class.

They all cherished the opportunity for the competition; this was also their opportunity to change their lives.

Li Zhuiyuan felt a bit dazed. This was probably: what he could get easily was what others dreamed of.

The reverse was also true; he also envied their health.

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan's arrival, everyone revealed grateful smiles. They had received word that the child prodigy had asked for leave and hadn't come to class in the morning.

Someone ran over with a steamed bun in their mouth to help carry the stool, while others stood by ready to help.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up, picked up the chalk, and began to write the solution process for the unchecked problems on the blackboard.

The people below were discussing quickly while watching, each looking very urgent. The city competition was this weekend, and logically, a few more people had to be eliminated.

After writing the solution process, the taller students helped erase the blackboard, and Li Zhuiyuan continued to set problems.

After setting the problems, he clapped his hands, and a student handed over a wet towel.

Teacher Yan and several other math teachers were also sitting below at this time. When Li Zhuiyuan walked down, Teacher Yan stood up and handed out the test papers:

"After copying the problems on the blackboard, do this test paper. The time is two hours. You can hand in the paper early; don't worry about the afternoon class."

This was to determine the final competition team based on rankings.

Seeing that he hadn't been given a test paper, Li Zhuiyuan said goodbye to the teachers, stood up, and left the small classroom, walking to the principal's office.

Zheng Haiyang was eating in the principal's office, and Wu Xinhan was sitting opposite the desk eating with him. The dish was a stir-fry from the cafeteria.

As soon as the funeral ended, he returned to school. After all, the body hadn't been transported back, and there were no cumbersome matters.

"Xiaoyuan, have you eaten?" Wu Xinhan asked with a smile.

"Principal Grandpa, I've eaten."

Zheng Haiyang stood up a bit awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

He was very grateful that the principal had specifically found him in the morning and invited him to eat and chat at noon, but he still couldn't adapt to this atmosphere. It should be that most students would feel very uncomfortable.

But from another perspective, for a principal to be able to do this much was already quite good.

"Brother Binbin is back too," Li Zhuiyuan said to Zheng Haiyang with a smile, then walked into the curtain, lay down on the spring bed, closed his eyes, and began to take a nap.

He fell asleep quickly and even had a dream.

In the dream, he was standing on the deck, and he seemed to have grown taller, as tall as Brother Binbin now.

He was holding A Li's hand, and standing beside him was Cuicui;

Further away, there were Runsheng and Tan Wenbin, and behind them, there were quite a few figures, but their faces couldn't be seen clearly.

The ship anchored and stopped in an area.

In the dream, he stepped on the ship's side, pointing his finger downward: "This is the location. Get ready, we're going down!"

Behind him, a chorus of responses came, and then everyone began to put on diving equipment.

Li Zhuiyuan also put on a set himself. After putting on the mask, his vision became slightly blurred.

Some people went down the ship's ladder, and some simply jumped down.

Li Zhuiyuan chose the latter, jumping down.

"Snap!"

The moment he hit the water, he sat up and woke up.

The curtain was lifted, and Wu Xinhan asked with a face full of kindness: "Did you have a dream?"

"Hmm."

"If you're tired, rest more. It's hard on you; the burden the school has placed on you is too heavy."

"It's not..."

Li Zhuiyuan really felt embarrassed to say he was tired; after all, he either slept or read extracurricular books during class.

"Xiaoyuan, this is the scholarship and subsidy the school is giving you. The detailed list is inside, and the money is also inside. After you take it back, give it to your parents."

"Thank you, Principal Grandpa."

"That, this is..." Wu Xinhan took a bill out of his pocket, "This is pocket money I'm giving you privately as a grandpa."

"I can't take this."

"Take it. Work hard for the competition this weekend. I've already had people order a banner for enthusiastic celebration. That, don't blame Grandpa for putting pressure on you."

"Thank you, Grandpa."

Li Zhuiyuan took the money. He didn't feel any pressure. Even if there were genius students from other schools participating, he wasn't worried; after all, his entire class used to be geniuses.

"It's Grandpa who should thank you."

Wu Xinhan let out a long breath. This money was what he was willing to give himself. What he sought was to be able to be as sarcastic as he wanted during meetings.

"Principal Grandpa, I'm going to class."

"That, I don't think it's necessary. The bell for the fourth period is about to ring."

Li Zhuiyuan was surprised. Had he actually slept for the whole afternoon?

The effect of sleeping for the whole afternoon was that he couldn't fall asleep at night after going home, so he drew pictures with A Li until late at night.

A Li sat there, being his model, and he drew her.

But while drawing, he was never satisfied and tore up many sheets of paper.

This made A Li, who was sitting there, feel a bit guilty and uneasy. The gaze she cast toward Li Zhuiyuan carried a question: did she do something wrong somewhere?

"A Li, it's just your fault. You are too beautiful and have too much temperament. My level is too poor; I really can't draw it."

The girl frowned and pouted slightly, as if she were glaring at the boy.

"Hehehe..." Li Zhuiyuan laughed. The current A Li could understand sarcasm now.

Actually, it was indeed like this. Good-looking things are actually easier to draw; it's mainly this temperament.

Part of A Li's temperament was innate, and part was cultivated by Liu Yumei later on.

In the current era, people, from their living habits to their clothing styles, regardless of whether it suited them or not, were all following the trend of learning Western aesthetics. Those wearing traditional ancient clothing were the minority of the minority, and could only be seen on stage.

Li Zhuiyuan sighed helplessly. Drawing A Li now was indeed too difficult, but even if his drawing skills continued to improve, A Li would also grow up, and by then it would be another kind of temperament style, which would likely be even harder to draw.

How about changing to another subject to practice first?

Bringing A Li back to the east room downstairs, Liu Yumei opened the door wearing white pajamas and asked, "Where's the drawing?"

"Didn't draw it out."

"It's because our A Li is too good-looking."

"Yes."

After returning to his room, Li Zhuiyuan didn't rush to go to bed and rest, but spread out the paper again, mixed the pigments, picked up the pen, and began to draw.

This time, he drew—Xiao Huang Ying.

After drawing halfway, Li Zhuiyuan felt the sleepiness finally coming, so he put down the pen and went to bed.

The evening breeze blew in through the screen door, shaking the drawing paper and gently curling up a corner.

It was as if someone was standing in front of the drawing table, carefully appreciating it.

The day of the city Math Olympiad competition arrived.

Unlike the low-key and humble style of rushing to go and rushing back in the past, this time Shigang Middle School managed to get a bus. Banners were hung on both sides of the bus body, and even red flowers were hung on the front of the bus.

In short, it was very tacky and very arrogant.

In addition to the accompanying teachers, Principal Wu led the team himself this time. After getting on the bus, he first boosted morale and then distributed fruits, bread, and drinks.

The test site was at Pingchao Middle School. The school was very large and also very imposing.

After taking his seat in the classroom, Li Zhuiyuan cast his gaze outside the window, where there was a row of ginkgo trees, which were very beautiful.

After the test papers were handed out, Li Zhuiyuan still couldn't bear to come back to his senses.

The invigilator walked over and tapped the table lightly as a reminder.

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head, picked up his pen, wrote his name, answered the questions quickly, and then handed in the paper.

After leaving the classroom, he stood under the ginkgo trees for a long time.

But when he left the test site, he was still the first one, and his speed was still astonishing.

The buses from various schools were parked on the playground, and the teachers from various schools were also gathered together, smoking and chatting, seemingly polite to each other, but actually engaging in sharp verbal battles.

The test site was the students' battlefield, and even more so the teachers' battlefield. To a certain extent, students were often not very sensible at a young age, while teachers actually had more empathy for this battle.

When Li Zhuiyuan came out, Teacher Yan hurriedly ran over with water and food.

Wu Xinhan wasn't here; he was staying in the principal's office of this school, accepting the other party's sarcasm, while also accumulating his own.

A group of accompanying teachers from other schools saw such a small child come out and all revealed expressions of astonishment, with ominous premonitions rising in their hearts.

Either you felt that the teachers of Shigang Middle School had completely given up on themselves and brought the principal's grandson over to experience the atmosphere of the test site.

Or, this child had a very big background and was very unusual.

Clearly, no one would be stupid enough to believe the former.

They were all mixed in the education circle; if they hadn't eaten pork, how could they not have seen pigs run? If they hadn't taught a child prodigy, how could they not have heard the stories of child prodigies?

At the same time, everyone was deeply puzzled: how could such a child end up in a township middle school?

Immediately, everyone began to take the initiative to get close to Teacher Yan and inquire about the little boy's background. The tone and manner were truly polite and respectful, not faked.

Joke, others had already brought out their secret weapon; if they were still arrogant now, wouldn't they be offering their faces for the other party to slap after the test results came out?

Teacher Yan was very happy, his heart was incomparably joyful, and he was also glad that Principal Wu wasn't there, allowing him to enjoy being the center of attention alone.

As a transparent existence who used to focus on participation and accompanying the run, Principal Wu had already drafted his outline, so how could he, old Yan, not prepare some small essays? Math teachers also had literary talent, after all.

"Hey, hey, hey, you all are exaggerating, really exaggerating. This doesn't count as anything. Isn't it just a city-level competition? It's not worth being happy about. There will be provincial and national ones later; those are worth celebrating a little."

Li Zhuiyuan lay on the bus for a good while before the bell for the end of the test rang.

There were indeed those who handed in papers early, but very few. Most students handed them in at the very end. For example, the students from his own school were even jointly required by Teacher Yan and Principal Wu not to hand in papers early!

Of course, Xiaoyuan wasn't included in this list, because he was a teaching assistant.

On the return bus, Teacher Yan and Principal Wu began to ask about the test situation of other students, and the feedback received was relatively positive.

After all, they were the school's top math students and had experienced targeted problem-type simulations, so it was normal to achieve good results.

Principal Wu was very happy and even took the lead in singing on the bus:

"The sunset is over the western hills, the red clouds are flying, the soldiers are returning from target practice, returning from target practice..."

It was already afternoon when they returned to school. Principal Wu waved his hand, signaling the examinees to finish school early today.

Li Zhuiyuan still returned to the classroom and walked out of the school gate with Tan Wenbin after school.

At the school gate, he saw Tan Yunlong sitting on a motorcycle.

Tan Wenbin panicked immediately and hurriedly protected Xiaoyuan in front of himself.

Tan Yunlong got off the motorcycle, pointed at his son, and then pointed at the trash can in the distance.

Tan Wenbin gave a salute and immediately moved away.

"Uncle Tan, did something happen?"

"Zheng Haiyang's mother died in the psychiatric hospital. It was suicide."

"How could that be?"

Li Zhuiyuan didn't believe it. She was already crazy, and it belonged to the kind of madness she had actively accepted. For her, the next goal should be to survive.

"Yesterday she had a visit record. In the story of her that you recounted, this name appeared many times. According to the story's description, he should have remained on the seabed."

"Who is it?"

"Zhu Changyong."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 55 =====

Tan Wenbin gave a salute and immediately moved away.

"Uncle Tan, did something happen?"

"Zheng Haiyang's mother died in the psychiatric hospital; it was suicide."

"How could that be?"

Li Zhuiyuan did not believe it. She had already gone insane, and it was a type of insanity she had actively accepted; for her, the next goal should have been to just survive.

"She had a visitor record yesterday. In the story you recounted, this name appeared many times. According to the story's description, he should have remained at the bottom of the sea."

"Who is it?"

"Zhu Changyong."

(End of chapter)