Three Big Bowls

In the memories Li Ye had inherited, his impression of Wen Leyu was not particularly deep.

One reason was that Wen Leyu was a girl of few words, rarely taking the initiative to speak with anyone.

Even if someone spoke to her, they could deliver a one-man comic routine for half the day before she gave a brief reply of one or two words. Some children at Liuqiao Township Primary School mocked her by calling her Little Mute.

The other reason was perhaps that Wen Leyu's appearance simply did not fit this era's standards of beauty. Back then, Li Ye had only had eyes for Lu Jingyao, overlooking this pearl buried in sand, this fine jade hidden in rough stone.

Looking at the film stars of the seventies and eighties, they all had big round faces, faces like full moons.

At the very least, they had oval faces and plump figures, brimming with vigorous youth and health.

Like Liu Xiaoqing in Little Flower, Cong Shan in The Herdsman, or the Queen of the Women's Country in Journey to the West, and so on and so forth.

Small faces like Lin Daiyu's in Dream of the Red Chamber, on the other hand, were few and far between.

Yet Wen Leyu had a delicate little face no bigger than a palm. Her eyes were remarkably large, taking up most of her face and creating a different kind of beauty.

It gave people an illusion: at first glance, she made their eyes light up, but on further thought, they felt she was somehow not as good as XXX.

And from Wen Leyu's face and hands, it was clear that her complexion had nothing whatsoever to do with the rosy glow popular in this era.

Her skin was a pale, almost sickly white without a trace of discoloration. In later generations, this complexion would be coveted as cool white skin, but in this era, it was generally associated with malnutrition from not having enough to eat.

Add to that Wen Leyu's skinny frame, and through a strange twist of fate, she had been put into the category of "pitiful children." She was pretty, certainly, but she had little connection to this era's idea of a peerless beauty.

But if a Wen Leyu like this were placed forty years in the future, she would have the kind of face that made heaven jealous of a beauty!

Fair, young, slender, with huge Kazilan eyes—if one were to evaluate her seriously, Wen Leyu was a blend of the best features of several famous long-legged, small-faced beauties from later generations.

But Wen Leyu was younger than them, with a few more traces of innocence and a few less marks of worldly sophistication, as pure and crystalline as a flower bud beaded with morning dew.

It was not excessive to take a few extra looks at a girl like that when the chance arose, was it?

So when Li Ye noticed Wen Leyu sneaking glances at him, he turned his head and quietly waited for her to look over.

Perhaps the gears of fate had begun to turn, or perhaps some romantic spark of mutual understanding had just been kindled. The moment Li Ye struck his pose, Wen Leyu's gaze drifted over.

Wen Leyu clearly froze for a moment.

But unlike most girls of this era, she did not shyly turn away to avoid Li Ye's gaze. Instead, she calmly met his eyes.

If he had been eighteen in his previous life, Li Ye would never have had the nerve to meet the gaze of a beauty in Wen Leyu's league. Within seconds, he would probably have become timid and flushed red.

But in this life, Li Ye's combined mental age was already well past several decades. And this body of his was as graceful as jade in the wind, fresh and handsome. Forget meeting a girl's eyes for a few seconds—even for a few minutes or hours, Li Ye would not feel the slightest bit guilty.

Then Li Ye was surprised, because he suddenly realized that Wen Leyu had a pair of eyes that could speak.

Wen Leyu's gaze had initially been friendly, but as Li Ye openly admired her, her lovely brows gradually drew together. Her eyes turned puzzled, and finally, a faint trace of embarrassment and irritation appeared.

"Long time no see?"

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You're still looking?"

"When did you become so bold?"

"."

Li Ye's eyes could not speak, but he could smile!

Legendary speaking eyes—wouldn't it be a loss not to appreciate them properly?

"Ahem."

"Pay attention to the lesson!"

A soft cough from the podium separated the two tangled, entwined gazes, sending them back to their books.

Li Ye calmly continued reading along with the text, but Wen Leyu pressed her lips together tightly, as if she were angry.

Who knew whom she was angry with.

"Now I'll give you some test questions. Write your answers on paper and hand them in shortly."

After Teacher Ke finished reading the text, she turned around and began writing questions on the blackboard.

At first, the students of Class One could still casually write answers in their notebooks, but before long, some of them began staring blankly. In the end, most of them scratched their heads and ears, completely at a loss.

Li Ye understood at a glance. The questions Teacher Ke had set progressed from easy to difficult in clear layers, intended to test Class One's basic English proficiency.

Judging from the students' reactions, the result would certainly be less than satisfactory.

Li Ye casually scanned the blackboard, while the fountain pen in his hand never stopped. Answer after answer flowed smoothly onto his exercise book.

Suddenly, he sensed something and turned to look at his deskmate.

Wen Leyu stared in astonishment at Li Ye's exercise book, then at Li Ye, then back at the exercise book. She clearly found it incomprehensible and unbelievable.

Even if she did not know the English level of County Second High School's students, she knew Lu Jingyao's level. If County Second High School's students were all this amazing, how could Lu Jingyao have ranked first in English across the county a few months ago?

"Students who haven't finished, answer carefully. Students who have finished, hand in your answers first."

Teacher Ke looked toward Wen Leyu and Li Ye again, giving her daughter a displeased look.

Wen Leyu withdrew her gaze from Li Ye and quickly wrote down her answers. Before long, she had finished every test question.

The two handed in their answers one after the other, stirring up a wave of whispered discussion.

"Did Li Ye finish?"

"He didn't hand in a blank paper, did he?"

"That new girl, Wen-something-yu, handed hers in too. Is she that good? I haven't even finished half."

"You actually finished half? You didn't just guess, did you?"

"Bullshit. Don't tell me you weren't guessing half the time too?"

It was not only Class One's students who did not believe Li Ye. Even Teacher Ke was somewhat puzzled as she looked at the answers he had handed in.

She was a professional. With one glance, she could tell how high the accuracy rate of his answers was. And Li Ye's practiced English handwriting did not look like that of someone who had only recently begun learning English.

Li Ye did not notice Teacher Ke's doubts. As he followed behind Wen Leyu back toward the rear of the classroom, his attention was drawn to the swaying of her waist and hips ahead of him.

Clothes in this era had no concept of being fitted or body-hugging. They were all baggy, bulky garments that concealed people's figures from head to toe.

But Li Ye, who had watched countless films, had a keen eye. Just from the height of Wen Leyu's waist movement, he judged the proportion of her upper and lower body.

Long legs—absolutely long legs. At a height of one meter seventy, she had legs over a meter long. What a strange thing.

Of course, in this era, long legs were nowhere near as sought after as they would be in later generations. Wen Leyu's height of just over one meter seventy might not even be considered an advantage by many people.

For young men in the eighties, one meter seventy-five was unquestionably tall. At least more than half were under one meter seventy. A handsome young man like Li Ye, at one meter eighty, was an abnormally rare breed.

Likewise, a girl who was one meter sixty in the eighties already gave people the impression of being tall.

At just over one meter seventy, Wen Leyu was like a girl who stood one meter eighty-five in later generations—a definite disadvantage in the marriage market. (This was true. Marriage statistics proved it, though most people involved had no idea.)

What a benefit that transcended time and space!

Sitting at the same desk as Wen Leyu gave Li Ye, whose life after transmigrating had been somewhat dry and dull, a small measure of comfort.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle~"

A small note was quietly pushed before Li Ye by Wen Leyu.

Li Ye looked at it. Written on it were the words: "Are you going to take the exam and go to the capital to find Lu Jingyao?"

Li Ye paused, not expecting the aloof and indifferent Wen Leyu to gossip too.

Without a moment's thought, he wrote on the paper: "No. Lu Jingyao and I are over. We have no relationship whatsoever."

Wen Leyu fell silent for several seconds, then pushed the note back again. "If you want to take the exam for Lu Jingyao's school, I can help you."

Li Ye replied instantly again: "No need. I'm going for Tsinghua-Peking Universities."

"."

The always calm and steady Wen Leyu was stunned. She stared blankly at Li Ye, her little mouth hanging open for a long time without closing.

At last, she hesitantly wrote several words on the note: "How many bowls of rice can you eat?"

Li Ye answered honestly: "Three Big Bowls, piled high to the brim."