Chapter 363: The Exceptionally Spirited Brother Li

Upon arriving at the edge of the park, Li Li Xuewu found an empty spot on the bank to park the car, and the group jumped out.

Li Xuecai waved his hand, telling the others to wait there while he ran off to the service office to rent ice skates.

This was the south side of the park, where several people in uniforms stood inside the duty room at the pleasure boat pier, watching the ice rink.

These were the staff of the park management office, and also the administrators.

As for why they didn't stay in the warm duty room but insisted on standing outside watching the rink, it wasn't because they were looking for excitement or watching pretty girls.

It was easy enough to deal with the old and the young, but these damn youngsters were the ones who gave them no peace of mind.

If you took your eyes off them for a second, they were sure to start a fight.

The number of fights at this Beihai Park ice rink was the highest in all of the capital.

This skating rink also had operating costs, not just for these administrators, but also for the workers who maintained the ice surface.

Every night after skating ended, the park management workers would sweep the ice shavings caused by the skate blades clean.

Then they would connect a rubber hose to the tap water to spray a layer of water; once it froze overnight, it would be smooth and slick again by tomorrow, with the ice surface looking like a mirror.

At that time, Beihai Park had three skating rinks: one in front of Yilan Hall and Daoning Studio, one in front of the Five Dragon Pavilions on the north shore, and another in front of the Shuanghong Pavilion.

It wasn't just a matter of any frozen puddle being able to serve as a rink; when the lake surface froze, the wave action caused the ice to be uneven, which made it easy to get injured.

Moreover, some places had reeds and other water plants growing out, which were also unsuitable for skating.

They could only select a few areas to maintain, and only after the ice was solid could they release water to freeze it for use.

Therefore, these maintained areas were all enclosed with fences, and if you wanted to play, you had to pay for a ticket.

Li Li Xuewu and his group had entered from the front gate, so they stopped nearby at the Shuanghong Pavilion skating rink.

Returning to this "amusement park" at this time, Li Li Xuewu still had many feelings.

Back then, he had many wonderful memories here; many of his female... female friends were met here while he was taking on private jobs.

After all, proximity breeds opportunity; how could there be no physical contact when teaching someone to skate?

One thing led to another, and this could only be described as affection growing over time.

But such friendships didn't last long; perhaps the winter hadn't even ended before they had already ended.

So Li Li Xuewu gave these relationships of his an elegant nickname: "Winter Lovers."

The meaning was not to let it reach summer, because come summer, the diligent Li Li Xuewu would have to go teach swimming.

That would be yet another elegant nickname.

In fact, back then, Li Li Xuewu and those kids like Old Lao Biaozi were quite a headache for the management office staff.

When Li Li Xuewu and his group first came in to take private jobs, no one wanted to deal with them, but they had never once entered through the front gate; they were all damn fare-dodgers.

You having the ability to earn money is your business, but damn it, buy a ticket!

It was like pulling a white snake out of thin air!

When caught and questioned, these few actually had their own justifications!

"We didn't come in to skate; we are serving the people!"

"That's right, we aren't here to skate, so why pay money?"

"We're helping you cultivate skaters and build a client base; it's good enough that we aren't charging you, and you still want to collect money from us?"

At first, there were people who would catch them, but after a long time, who wanted to waste breath on these kids?

If you caught them, there wasn't much you could do because they were all minors; you could only send them to the police station.

At first, the police would pedal their bicycles to send them home, but these brats weren't light, and it was exhausting to carry them.

But as long as they were sent home, these kids would all get a beating.

Yet, these bad brats couldn't be stopped; after getting beaten, they would immediately go back to the rink to dodge the fare, because the students who had paid were still waiting there—that's contract spirit!

Anyway, it was: you do your beating, I'll do my going.

Don't you delay my work, and I won't delay my money-making.

They fully utilized the spirit of a protracted war.

Later on, not to mention the management office getting tired of it, the police got tired of it first and stopped sending them home.

One reason was the exhaustion, and the second was that they were all neighbors; it was really hard to lose face by sending someone else's child back to be beaten.

The elders of the Four-Nine City all have their own ways; one cannot scold a child in front of their father.

It is true that they are police officers, but it is not worth causing such a huge commotion over such a trivial matter.

Later, the management office also realized something was wrong; this was something they had worked so hard to catch, yet after sending them to the police station, before you could even return to your unit, they had already returned before you!

It turns out the police were also annoyed by these brats and intentionally let them squat in the lobby to repent.

But if these bad brats had any intention of repenting, would they still need to sneak in without tickets?

So, the moment the security guards from the management office brought them into the police station and went to file the report, they would just squat in the lobby for a while.

Once the police officer who was just going through the motions entered the room, they would return to the skating rink before that security guard.

Therefore, the security guards who saw what was going on couldn't be bothered to deal with these few pieces of dog shit anymore.

It wasn't that they couldn't catch them; it was just too annoying.

It can be said that Li Li Xuewu and his group currently still owe the Beihai Skating Rink one... hundred million tickets.

The ticket price for the Beihai Skating Rink was actually very cheap, but for Li Li Xuewu and the others back then, one ticket to enter the park and another to enter the skating rink was still something they were reluctant to pay.

If there is an advantage to be taken and you don't take it, you're a bastard.

What else could you do with that money that wouldn't be better?

What Li Li Xuewu and his group were most willing to do was business with no capital.

They even wanted to extort some money from others; how could they let the people from the management office make money off them?

Seeing Li Li Xuewu and his group sneaking in without tickets, those young people also followed suit and did the same.

But Li Li Xuewu never brought outsiders to sneak in without tickets, nor did he make money from this.

This is called the rules of the underworld; even thieves have their own code.

They relied on this to make a living; if the rules were broken and the skating rink became chaotic, they would have nowhere left to play.

Those young people who sneaked in without tickets would change into their skates outside the fence, leave their clothes on the shore, and crawl through the gaps in the fence that Li Li Xuewu and his group had opened to go skating.

At first, it was quite pleasant, but sometimes they would encounter a situation where, after finishing their skating and crawling out, all their clothes on the shore were gone.

They could only wear their skates and have someone take them back on a bicycle, or run back barefoot.

Of course, Li Li Xuewu admitted that a portion of this was done by them, but some of it was also done by those bastards from the park management office.

More often, it was taken by people looking to pick up a bargain.

Li Li Xuewu doing this wasn't stealing, and it wasn't for those clothes; it was just to prevent these people from using their "green channel," and he was also afraid that if things got too big, he would be affected.

Therefore, the clothes they took were all swung up and hung on the big tree at the park entrance, the kind that wouldn't come down unless there was a level-seven gale.

Those who saw it would curse, but when they saw Li Li Xuewu and his group unhooking the iron chains from their waists, they would also hate their parents for not giving them a few more legs to run with.

After all, their mouths were tough, but their flesh and skin were not.

And if they got beaten, they deserved it; the park management office didn't care at all, and sometimes they even spoke in favor of Li Li Xuewu and his group.

But the Tao is one foot high while the devil is ten feet high; those kids who had their clothes stolen gained experience after one time.

The second time, they brought nothing, changed into skates outside, stuffed the old cloth shoes they wore in their pockets, and with no worries, they played to their heart's content.

Because of these things, they had no shortage of fights; now, Li Li Xuewu looked at the fence of the skating rink, and still had the thought of checking if the green channel was there.

The current fence was still the same as before; Li Li Xuewu looked, and there were people flying kites on Qionghua Island, not even afraid of the cold.

Further away was the dome of the White Pagoda Temple; that temple could be considered a good place for a secret rendezvous, but it had to be in the summer.

In the summer, this Beihai Park became a good place for "Let Us Row the Oars," and the scenery was very pleasant.

Of course, with more trees and bushes, there was also more scenery of orioles and swallows.

Sigh~

Once, due to drunkenness, I whipped a famous horse; I only feared that excessive passion would mislead a beauty.

Back then, Li Li Xuewu also didn't want to, but he couldn't help it; there were beauties in winter, and there were also beauties in summer.

This was the time when the sun was full, and the ice surface was illuminated like a mirror, and the reflected light was very blinding.

Li Li Xuewu squinted, looked at the ice surface, and there were really quite a lot of people.

There was everything to play with: ice skating, sledding, and spinning ice tops.

It wasn't just young people ice skating, it wasn't just children sledding, and there were even old men wielding whips to spin ice tops.

Ice skating was the most popular here; tricks like "Su Qin Carrying the Sword," "Golden Rooster Standing on One Leg," and "Phoenix Spreading Its Wings" could all be done a couple of times.

The Beihai Skating Rink was the forefront of fashion in the Four-Nine City at this time, just like the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

The clothes worn, the things played with, and the slang spoken would all spread from here into the eyes and ears of the young people of the Four-Nine City, becoming a trend.

Spirited and handsome young men all loved to wear sheep-shearling hats, while young women would wrap themselves in bright red brushed scarves.

Those with the means wore black small high-heeled ice skates bought from far away in the Magic City, and everyone released themselves to their heart's content on the skating rink.

It is said that a sports meet was held here in '55, and Soviet athletes even participated.

When Li Xuecai returned carrying a large bag of ice skates, the few of them laughed and changed their shoes in the car.

When Li Xuecai came over, he had already given the tickets to the administrator at the entrance; he was a good boy who never did anything against the rules or the law.

Because they came by car, the administrator's gaze didn't leave this side, and he didn't know if he recognized Li Li Xuewu.

When the few of them walked inside, they weren't asked or bothered; clearly, he remembered them.

Although Gu Ning was very curious about ice skating, she didn't know how to skate, so she had to be supported by Li Li Xuewu as they walked onto the ice.

The other five had all played many times, to varying degrees.

Especially Li Xuecai, who went to have some fun on the ice first, and only came back after skating a lap.

Not everyone here could afford ice skates; Li Li Xuewu saw people using wooden boards tied to their shoes with two large iron bars underneath, and they were also skating quite fast.

"I... I'm a little scared."

Gu Ning stood up with Li Li Xuewu's support, but her legs seemed to have stopped working, and she was shivering a little as she stood on the ice.

Ji Ji Yuxiu clearly had played with Li Xuecai a lot; by now, she had already gone off hand-in-hand with Li Xuecai to fly together like wings.

Although Li Li Xuewen was a little rusty, after adapting by holding hands with Zhao Zhao Yafang and Li Xue, he also skated far away.

Only Li Li Xuewu was still in the same spot, supporting Gu Ning as she adapted.

Looking at Gu Ning, who was both unskilled and loved to play, Li Li Xuewu smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to love playing this."

Gu Ning glanced at Li Li Xuewu, then said, "Skiing last time was quite fun."

Before Li Li Xuewu could speak, she lowered her head and said, "You also said we'd go skiing when we got back."

"Hahahaha."

It turned out Gu Ning still remembered what he said in Steel City, saying that there was a place to ski in the capital and he would take her.

He smiled and said, "Let's skate today first; I've remembered the skiing matter, and I will definitely arrange it."

Gu Ning didn't say anything more after hearing Li Li Xuewu's words; she let go of Li Li Xuewu's hand and tried to move forward with trembling legs.

But she didn't expect that ice skates have a curve; her body was unstable, and she was about to fall forward.

She tried hard to wave her arms to stabilize her body and pushed her other foot forward, but her center of gravity shifted, and she leaned backward again.

Just as she was about to land on her bottom, she suddenly felt her body being caught by someone.

Looking up, she saw Li Li Xuewu holding her from behind, his face right above hers.

"Let me take you skating; it's like a waltz, feel my legs."

Li Li Xuewu smiled and helped Gu Ning up, reached out to wrap his arms around Gu Ning's waist from behind, exerted force with his feet, and supported Gu Ning as they began to skate forward.

Gu Ning heard Li Li Xuewu say he would support her, but she didn't expect him to support her waist; her face was red, not knowing if it was from the wind or the heat.

Li Li Xuewu told her to feel which leg he was moving, but he was using his thighs to push against her legs as they skated forward.

Especially with so many people on the ice, Gu Ning took a long time to calm down, only then feeling the excitement of the wind whistling past her ears.

This feeling was no worse than skiing; perhaps because there were more people, there was more fun.

It might also be because Li Li Xuewu was behind her, and the feeling was just different from that time skiing.

Gu Ning couldn't say what was different, but it was just different.

Li Li Xuewen and his wife, who had already adapted, skated over with Li Xue; seeing the two of them hugging, they smiled and skated far away again.

When Li Xue left, she secretly looked over here, wanting to see what it was like to be in a relationship.

And as for Li Xuecai and the other one, they had long since flown off to who knows where.

There must be nearly three thousand people bustling on this ice surface, especially since today is Sunday, so there were even more people.

It really had a bit of a "many wolves and little meat" vibe; looking at those skating fast on the ice, it was still mostly young people.

That's right; among this group of young people, many were middle-school students who didn't go to school and had no work to be assigned to, having lost their direction and motivation.

They were at the age of youthful restlessness, with a raging fire burning in their hearts, their faces covered in youthful acne.

So they could only be idle all day, forming groups and gangs, either whistling past on bicycles or using ice skating to "secretly rendezvous" on the skating rink.

There were men, and there were women; girls mature earlier than boys, so there were really quite a lot of girls of this age.

"Sister, I'm a little scared, wait for me!"

Wang Wang Yamei saw her sister changing her shoes and wanting to go on the ice, but she couldn't even stand up, so she hurriedly called out to her sister.

"Who was it that said they could play once they put on the shoes?"

Wang Wang Yajuan glared at her sister with dissatisfaction; although she felt her sister was holding her back, she still supported Wang Wang Yamei as she stood up.

Wang Wang Yajuan came with a group of colleagues from the Railway Art Troupe; Wang Wang Yajuan couldn't handle Wang Wang Yamei's pestering, so she agreed to bring her along to play.

Wang Wang Yajuan rented two pairs of figure skates at the skating rink and then helped her sister put them on.

When she was pestering her sister at home, Wang Wang Yamei held her little head high and said that as long as she had shoes, she could play; it was very simple.

But now, Wang Wang Yajuan could only support her crooked, swaying sister as they stood at the edge of the skating rink, enviously watching her colleagues having fun.

Just then, a group of young people skated over; the leader was a young man wearing a tower hat and a pilot leather jacket just like the one Li Li Xuewu had.

He looked to be seventeen or eighteen, with a long red scarf wrapped around his neck, and a pair of shiny black leather ice skates on his feet.

The other young men who followed were also dressed extraordinarily, mostly in standard cotton-padded clothes and hats.

The ice skates on their feet were also good things; one look and you could tell they weren't the mass-produced goods rented by the park management office.

"Zhou Zhou Miaomiao!"

The leading young man called out; he recognized these people from the art troupe who had come to skate.

Zhou Zhou Miaomiao turned and glanced, then smiled and shouted, "Brother Wang Weidong! You're playing here too!"

"Hahahaha."

Looking at the surprised Zhou Zhou Miaomiao, the young man turned his head to look at these young women from the art troupe.

Those who could enter the art troupe were not ugly.

People like Huang Bo couldn't even enter the gate; they had to stand a hundred meters away.

According to the aesthetics of this time, they couldn't be even slightly crooked.

They really had the figures, they had the looks, and they were beautiful and well-proportioned.

From the moment these girls entered the skating rink, the eyes of all the young men were fixed on them.

Just like hungry wolves discovering fat meat.

Because there were quite a few girls, for a while, no one dared to come up to strike up a conversation.

But they were beaten to the punch by this group of brightly dressed young men; although everyone regretted it in their hearts, they didn't dare to come forward themselves.

Zhou Zhou Miaomiao saw the young man's gaze and smiled as she introduced him to her colleagues from the art troupe: "This is my senior; we used to be neighbors."

This young man greeted the young women from the art troupe very politely: "Hello everyone, my name is Zhao Wang Weidong, from the H Department."

As he spoke, he pointed to the young men who came with him and introduced them: "These are all my childhood friends, from the same courtyard."

The young men and women on both sides introduced themselves to each other.

They weren't fifteen or sixteen-year-old children anymore; by now, these young female dancers knew the purpose of these people coming over.

But this kind of contact wasn't about falling in love; it was just for the excitement, the heartbeat, and the chance to meet again after breaking up.

What? Did they want to use this one time to "rely on a child to gain status" for a lifetime?

So these young men had already chosen their targets while introducing themselves.

And these dancers also calmly accepted the fiery gazes looking over from the opposite side.

This level of staring was trivial to them; they had performed reports many times, and there was nothing they hadn't seen.

Zhao Wang Weidong looked at Wang Wang Yajuan, who was standing on the very edge and was the most beautiful, and invited the group of young women: "Meeting is fate; let's play together. It's lively with more people, and we brought drinks."

"Okay."

Before anyone else could speak, Zhou Zhou Miaomiao agreed first.

These young women also smiled and nodded, not refusing.

Zhao Wang Weidong saw that the group here agreed, so he signaled to his friends with his eyes that they could take action.

He himself wanted to walk toward Wang Wang Yajuan, wanting to invite Wang Wang Yajuan to be his partner.

"Sorry."

Wang Wang Yajuan held her sister's hand and said to her colleagues, "You guys play; my sister doesn't know how to skate, so I have to stay here and teach her."

Wang Wang Yamei saw the young man on the opposite side looking straight at her sister and pulled Wang Wang Yajuan with great displeasure.

"Sister, let's go, teach me quickly, I want to learn!"

Wang Wang Yajuan smiled apologetically at this side, then supported her sister and skated along the edge of the rink.

Zhou Zhou Miaomiao had long seen the look in Zhao Wang Weidong's eyes when he looked at Wang Wang Yajuan; seeing Wang Wang Yajuan refuse, she stepped forward and held Zhao Wang Weidong's arm.

"Brother Wang Weidong, let's go together."

"Okay."

Zhao Wang Weidong looked at Zhou Zhou Miaomiao, smiled and nodded, held hands, and skated toward the middle.

This Zhou Zhou Miaomiao wasn't bad-looking, but who would cherish a dish that is often eaten and can be eaten at any time?

Only a rare delicacy like Wang Wang Yajuan was hard to come by.

But today, he couldn't say much in this situation with so many people watching; if he left a bad impression on these young women, his friends wouldn't let him off either.

Han Lu glanced at Wang Wang Yajuan's back and asked Zhou Zhou Miaomiao, who had skated over, "She's not coming?"

"No, she said she's teaching her sister."

Zhou Zhou Miaomiao answered with a very indifferent attitude, as if Wang Wang Yajuan was dispensable in their small group.

Han Lu curled her lips and said, "It's always like this, a buzzkill, putting on an act. Who is she showing it to?"

Zhou Zhou Miaomiao glanced at Zhao Wang Weidong, then said to Han Lu, "Don't say that; we're all sisters in the same troupe, she's just that kind of personality."

As she spoke, she followed Zhao Wang Weidong, holding hands, swaying her body twice, and skated a circle in place on the ice.

"Oh my, it's really been a long time since I skated; these movements are all rusty."

Han Lu clearly saw what Zhou Zhou Miaomiao meant; if even such a silky and coquettish movement was rusty...

Isn't this just elegantly showing off?

Very quickly, these young men from the H Department held the hands of these dazzling girls and skated into the skating rink.

Seeing this group of people, everyone here revealed looks of envy, jealousy, and hatred, and some who couldn't take it had already said a few words to the people around them and ran toward the outside of the skating rink.

Li Li Xuewu didn't notice the commotion on this side, but instead supported Gu Ning as they avoided the crowd and slowly familiarized themselves at the edge of the rink.

"Whew~"

After skating for a while, Li Li Xuewu slowed down and let the two of them slowly come to a stop on the ice.

Feeling Gu Ning's body a little stiff, Li Li Xuewu supported Gu Ning as she turned around.

Seeing Gu Ning exhale, he held Gu Ning's hand and asked, "What's wrong? Tired?"

Gu Ning looked at Li Li Xuewu, who was holding her hand, and asked with some embarrassment, "You're tired, right?"

Gu Ning wasn't tired from skating, but rather tired from being supported by Li Li Xuewu.

Especially the physical contact from time to time, which made Gu Ning stiffen up every time.

"Hahahaha."

Li Li Xuewu smiled and said, "I'm not tired, but I see you're tired, hahahaha."

Seeing Li Li Xuewu laugh, Gu Ning also smiled embarrassedly.

If you hadn't suddenly broken into my life, how would I have let go of the loneliness I guarded so closely?

It would be a lie to say she didn't like it; after all, human hearts are made of flesh.

If Gu Ning didn't have feelings for Li Li Xuewu, she wouldn't have been so calm in having a tacit understanding with Li Li Xuewu.

It might be a look or a word that would make the two of them laugh out loud involuntarily.

Originally, no one would have noticed the two of them skating at the edge of the rink, but Gu Ning's blue military coat still attracted the attention of some people.

"That, is that one of our courtyard's?"

"Which one?"

Zuo Yan Jie was looking for pairs of men and women on the ice, wanting to find one that was alone and beautiful.

Being pulled by his companion to look at the edge of the rink, he asked impatiently.

When he saw a young woman in a blue military coat talking and laughing with a man in a wool coat at the edge of the rink, he blinked his eyes in disbelief.

Then he shook his head in disbelief and said, "Impossible!"

But while saying it was impossible, he still stretched his head forward, wanting to see more clearly from a closer distance.

His companion patted him on the shoulder and said, "If it is or isn't, go see for yourself; why are you stretching your neck here?"

"Exactly! Do you think this is a telescope, where you can adjust the distance by stretching and shrinking?"

"Hahahaha!"

Zuo Yan Jie thought to himself, it seems like that really is the case; this is a public place, what is he being sneaky for?

Ignoring the jokes of those behind him, he exerted force with his feet and skated toward the edge of the rink.

At first, Zuo Yan Jie wasn't sure if it was her, because he didn't seem to have seen that big sister smile.

He was afraid of recognizing the wrong person, so his direction wasn't directly toward the edge of the rink, but rather skating slowly from the side, as if it were unintentional.

When he got closer, Zuo Yan Jie had to believe it; wasn't the one standing at the edge of the rink talking and laughing with a man Gu Yan's sister, Gu Ning?

"Little..."

Zuo Yan Jie just wanted to say hello, but then he looked at the man talking and laughing with Gu Ning.

Who is this turtle grandson? Even the girl from the Z courtyard dares to pry?

"Brother, you've got some guts... ah!"

Zuo Yan Jie was also a reckless rabbit, using the reckless energy from his own courtyard.

He changed direction with his feet, skated behind Li Li Xuewu, and patted Li Li Xuewu on the shoulder, intending to tease him a bit.

But just as he touched Li Li Xuewu, he saw Li Li Xuewu turn his head, and he was so scared he almost peed his pants.

"Ah!"

"Got some guts, huh?" The "ah" changed from a soft tone directly into a heavy tone of shock, shouting out from his throat.

Isn't this the spirit... isn't this the especially spirited Brother Li!

"Brother! It's you!"

Li Li Xuewu knew someone was coming from Gu Ning's surprised look just now; hearing this kid's voice, he didn't even have the thought of pulling out his gun.

"Why are you here?"

"Ah? Hahahaha!"

Zuo Yan Jie laughed dryly for a while, then pointed to a group of people looking over here from a distance and said, "We're playing; seeing you and Sister Ning here, I came to say hello."

"Is that so?"

Seeing Li Li Xuewu not answering, just looking at him with a smiling expression, and Sister Ning was the same.

"Alright, I was wrong!"

Zuo Yan Jie admitted his mistake very readily: "It was them who said the person here might be Sister Ning; I looked and didn't dare to recognize her, so I came over. See... that, wasn't I also trying to protect my Sister Ning?"

"Fine."

Li Li Xuewu glanced at the people looking over from a distance, patted Zuo Yan Jie on the shoulder, and said, "You're a good one, stay vigilant!"

"Yes!"

Zuo Yan Jie saluted in a strange way, then smiled and asked, "Brother, are you here to play?"

"Hahahaha."

Li Li Xuewu gestured to the ice skates on his feet and said, "I'm not here to play, am I here to see you?"

"No, no, hahahahaha."

Zuo Yan Jie smiled and said, "I was just really surprised."

Li Li Xuewu smiled and gave Zuo Yan Jie a cigarette, then asked, "Did Gu Yan make an appointment with you?"

This was something Li Li Xuewu had promised Zuo Yan Jie at the Beixinqiao station, but at that time Gu Yan was studying at school and wasn't at home, so it didn't happen.

After the New Year, when Li Li Xuewu went to find Gu Ning, this brother-in-law had run off to go crazy outside, so he could only let Gu Ning pass the message.

"We did, we did."

Hearing Li Li Xuewu mention Gu Yan, Zuo Yan Jie nodded and said, "That time he took me to the Old Moscow, that's how I got to know a few friends there."

He was happy in his mouth, but in his heart, he still understood the gap between himself and Gu Yan; that time was also because Gu Yan was looking at Li Li Xuewu's face that he took him to play.

Although Gu Yan called him to play in several gatherings later, the gap in status still made him feel a strong sense of frustration.

Especially Gu Yan's attitude; in his contact with these people, he could clearly feel Gu Yan's restraint and confidence.

Zuo Yan Jie understood that because Gu Yan was a university student at the Military Academy, he had the capital to be confident with these people.

It wasn't that he hadn't made friends with anyone; he had become familiar with those people, and after Gu Yan left for school, these people also made appointments to take him out to play.

Isn't this just an appointment to come skating today?

Li Li Xuewu also saw Zuo Yan Jie's thoughts and looked in the direction he pointed again.

Seeing Gu Ning also looking, he asked, "Do you know them?"

Gu Ning nodded and said, "There are some from our courtyard."

Seeing Gu Ning say so, Li Li Xuewu smiled at Zuo Yan Jie and said, "If you're willing, you can invite your friends over to get to know each other."

As he spoke, he gestured to Gu Ning's feet and said, "Your Sister Ning doesn't know how to skate, so we won't go over; help us apologize to your friends."

Li Li Xuewu inviting these people over was also to give Zuo Yan Jie face; although this kid was a bit reckless, he wasn't a bad person, had a good heart, and knew his limits.

"Alright! Thank you, Brother!"

Zuo Yan Jie of course knew what Li Li Xuewu meant; by now, he revealed a surprised expression.

Seeing Li Li Xuewu just now wasn't a surprise, it was a shock; this was the real surprise.

Just as he was about to walk toward that side, he turned around and asked Li Li Xuewu somewhat mysteriously, "Brother, do you know about the Wei brothers?"

"What happened?"

Li Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows, not knowing what Zuo Yan Jie meant.

Back then, Aunt Ding told Li Li Xuewu not to interfere, so Li Li Xuewu didn't ask anymore; he believed the Gu family would definitely not leave him any trouble.

Zuo Yan Jie said softly to Li Li Xuewu, "Brother Wei Min was sentenced, maybe he'll be executed during this period; Seeing Wei Guo was sentenced to labor education; although it didn't spread outside, the matter made a big noise, and his father is going to be disciplined."

"Oh, oh."

Li Li Xuewu didn't say anything, just nodded to show he knew.

Zuo Yan Jie glanced at Gu Ning, then smiled embarrassedly and said, "It's not these two brothers I want to talk about, it's Tong Yan."

Li Li Xuewu was also stunned when he heard this name, then glanced at Gu Ning, and Gu Ning also glanced at Li Li Xuewu.

Zuo Yan Jie explained, "After the Wei brothers went in, she started hanging out with us; I don't know how, but she got together with that guy from the K Department; don't mind it when they come over in a while."

"Hehe."

Hearing the name Tong Yan, a light smile appeared on Li Li Xuewu's face, and the scar on it twitched.

"It's fine, it's all in the past; besides, aren't you here?"

Since he had already said it, Li Li Xuewu couldn't refuse Zuo Yan Jie now.

Zuo Yan Jie got Li Li Xuewu's words and smiled happily, "Thank you, Brother, I'll go find those friends to come over."

As he spoke, he had already skated back in the direction he came from.

This is also the tradition of socializing in the courtyard; if you know someone or have a connection, you will introduce them to each other.

One is so that having more friends makes the road easier to walk, and the other is so that you don't accidentally offend someone you shouldn't.

Most importantly, don't kick an iron plate.

Gu Ning was clearly an iron plate; let alone kicking, you couldn't even touch her.

Even the third son of the Gu family could follow along to fight, and the Gu family would definitely not say anything, but if you touched Gu Ning, things would get lively.

Seeing Zuo Yan Jie waving at this side, it was clear they knew each other, and it was as they had guessed.

The people on this side also skated toward the edge of the rink, and Tong Yan had already seen the two of them here.

Originally, she thought about not coming over, but she was afraid her partner would ask something, so she could only stiffen her body and follow along.

Zuo Yan Jie introduced Li Li Xuewu and the other to his friends: "This is Sister Ning, this is Brother Li Li Xuewu."

After introducing Li Li Xuewu and the other, Zuo Yan Jie introduced these friends he brought over one by one.

"Brother, this is Xiao Xiao Jianjun, from the K Department; this is Xie Xie Qianjin, from the ZC courtyard..."

As Zuo Yan Jie introduced each one, Li Li Xuewu smiled and nodded, shaking hands with the other party, making it seem as if he were receiving these people.

And these people, from Zuo Yan Jie's introduction and the demeanor Li Li Xuewu displayed, clearly felt that Li Li Xuewu's status was unusual.

When they met people outside, they generally introduced themselves by which middle school they were from.

I'm from the 81st, you're from the 71st; one match and you'd know which department your family was from.

From the G main grave all the way west, K Department, H Department, Tong Department, General Logistics, General C... all the way to the Jingcheng J District courtyard at the foot of the Western Hills.

The schools built include Peiying, Yuying, Qunying, Yuhong, Friendship, Yuxiang, 51st, 61st, 71st, 81st, 11th, etc.

Among them, the one with the best teaching staff and the best conditions belongs to the 11th.

This school is worth thirty fighter jets, and its hardware facilities are extremely excellent for this era.

What does your school have?

Our school has a zoo!

Is that awesome or what?

The arrogant school produced arrogant students, and the students who walked out of here all carried a thick sense of confidence and pride.

Ordinary people have to call them "Little Chief Z" when they see them.

They disdain contact with people outside.

Coming here was mainly out of curiosity, curious about what kind of partner the ice princess of the courtyard had found.

When they saw the person, he was indeed very... very fierce.

The fierce Li Li Xuewu, after shaking hands with Xiao Xiao Jianjun from the K Department, looked at Tong Yan beside him and greeted her with a smile: "Doctor Tong, long time no see."

Tong Yan's face turned pale the moment she heard Li Li Xuewu's words.

But seeing Xiao Xiao Jianjun watching and Li Li Xuewu's hand extended, she could only force herself to calm down and shake hands with Li Li Xuewu.

But when she saw Gu Ning, she found that her former best friend didn't even look at her.

Li Li Xuewu is a man and must show the proper demeanor and cultivation.

Gu Ning didn't need to; she didn't care about anyone's opinion before, and now she wouldn't let Tong Yan disturb her heart even more.

After greeting this circle of people, Li Li Xuewu handed out a circle of cigarettes.

They weren't Zhonghua cigarettes, just "ordinary" Zhang Daqian Sect.

Then he said with a slight apology: "Hearing from Xiao Yan Jie that you are friends with Gu Yan, I also wanted to get to know everyone, but Xiao Ning doesn't know how to skate, so everyone please bear with us."

During the time Li Li Xuewu was getting to know everyone, Li Li Xuewu was holding Gu Ning's hand.

Even when handing out cigarettes, he let Gu Ning hold his arm.

Now everyone knew the relationship between Li Li Xuewu and Gu Ning, and seeing Gu Ning clumsily following Li Li Xuewu, they knew she really didn't know how, so they all smiled and said it didn't matter.

Because they didn't know Li Li Xuewu's background, these people all behaved very politely.

A few people started chatting based on their relationship with Gu Yan, talking about people and things they knew.

Xie Xie Qianjin had a scholarly appearance, the clothes he wore were good, and his ice skates were bright red, which was very eye-catching.

Xiao Xiao Jianjun was perhaps because he was older than these seventeen or eighteen-year-old kids, and had a worldly appearance.

Talking to Li Li Xuewu about this and that, probing Li Li Xuewu's path.

When they learned from Zuo Yan Jie's mouth that Li Li Xuewu wasn't from the courtyard, but was the deputy director of the Jiaodaokou station, everyone was a little surprised.

Looking at Li Li Xuewu's age, it wasn't big, and they didn't expect his unit to be quite good.

But that was all; because a small station director really couldn't enter their eyes, let alone a deputy one.

Furthermore, Li Li Xuewu wasn't the same kind of person as them, so there was really nothing to talk about with Li Li Xuewu.

Everyone was still feeling sorry for Gu Ning in their hearts, and the looks in their eyes when they looked at Gu Ning carried a different meaning.

It was as if they were saying, if my age were appropriate, could I also...

Zuo Yan Jie saw everyone's expressions and also discovered the change in everyone's tone, knowing that they were looking down on Li Li Xuewu.

Just as he was about to explain for Li Li Xuewu, he heard Xiao Xiao Jianjun say: "Brother, want to go play with us? Let's go eat together in a while."

Hearing this, Zuo Yan Jie's heart was about to jump out of his chest in fear.

You turtle grandson, you're courting death by provoking this spirit... can't you stay away if you're so spirited!

Don't drag me into this!

After Xiao Xiao Jianjun finished speaking, the scene suddenly went quiet for a moment.

Zuo Yan Jie looked at Li Li Xuewu in terror, fearing he would pull out his beloved little hammer.

"Hahahaha."

Li Li Xuewu smiled lightly and said: "No, Xiao Ning and I are slow, we can't skate with you guys, you guys go play."

He didn't say he came with his brothers; Li Li Xuewu used one sentence to concisely state his attitude.

Xiao Xiao Jianjun also saw Li Li Xuewu's meaning and smiled indifferently.

Originally, they were two types of people who didn't walk the same path; with different circles, don't force yourself to blend in.

"Alright then, see you later!"

As he spoke, Xiao Xiao Jianjun hugged Tong Yan and skated inside.

Xie Xie Qianjin and the others glanced at Li Li Xuewu and also followed inside.

Zuo Yan Jie, who was left at the end, had an unnatural expression, lowering his head and standing there, not daring to look at Li Li Xuewu.

Li Li Xuewu, on the other hand, skated to Zuo Yan Jie's front while holding Gu Ning's hand, and reached out to poke his stomach.

"Like a quail, what are you doing?"

"Sorry... sorry, Brother."