Useless Things

The dinner was filled with warmth and laughter, making Li Ye feel enveloped in family warmth.

After dinner, Li Ye went to bed early. Since crossing over in the middle of last night, his mind had remained in a state of chaotic fusion. Coupled with the weakness from his consecutive high fevers, he felt exhausted and sleepy.

After he fell asleep, Grandfather Li Zhongfa's face darkened, and he called Li Kaijian over.

"Go find out what those rumors at school are about. Don't make too much noise."

Li Kaijian had been mulling over the matter as well. He rode out to Li Dayong's home, then returned less than half an hour later, fuming.

"This is going too far! They actually pinned Huang Shiren's hat on Xiao Ye. Damn it, tomorrow I'll—no, tonight I'll go teach that poor scholar a lesson."

Though Li Kaijian had been discharged from the military for years, he still retained a soldier's fiery temper. Hearing that his son had been wronged, he immediately cursed and swore, ready to go to the Lu family and win back some face.

But Li Zhongfa rebuked him. "What nonsense are you talking? Do you think the boy isn't upset enough already? Don't you understand that the more you stir up gossip, the bigger it gets?"

For once, Li Kaijian craned his neck and argued with his old father. "Dad, do you know Xiao Ye had a high fever in the school dormitory for two days? He almost... We can't swallow this kind of humiliation."

"Hmph, it's about time he suffered a little. We can protect him for a while, but not for a lifetime."

Li Zhongfa said, "Didn't you see that Xiao Ye was different today? Fine steel comes from a thousand hammerings and a hundred temperings. Let Xiao Ye handle this matter himself from now on. Don't interfere again."

Li Kaijian paced several circles in anger before saying resentfully, "I must have been blind back then. How did I fail to see that little girl was so heartless?"

"Heh, she has the capital to be heartless."

Li Zhongfa gave a dry chuckle and said quietly, "That college graduate Xiao Liu the county assigned last year—do you know how quickly he was promoted? So from now on, you can't look down on the Lu family either. Don't make enemies for no reason."

"..."

Li Kaijian froze for a moment before gradually grasping the meaning behind those words.

Straightforward by nature, he was not as sensitive as Li Zhongfa, a man who had weathered many storms. Even now, he had not realized the value of a college student in this era.

Li Kaijian felt stifled inside and could not help grumbling, "It's all because Xiao Ye didn't amount to anything. If he'd gotten into college too, none of this crap would have happened."

Li Zhongfa rolled his eyes and said contemptuously, "You big brute can't even recognize all twenty-four letters, and you have the nerve to criticize Xiao Ye?"

Li Kaijian's eyes rolled white at his father's retort. He wanted to say that there were twenty-six letters in the English alphabet, but wisely swallowed the words.

If the two of them were competing in fists, they would each refuse to accept defeat seven times and nurse eight grievances. But if they were competing in learning, neither of them had any right to speak of the other.

"Splash—"

A Warrior shoe stepped into a puddle left by the rain. The murky water leaped for joy, smearing the once-white sneaker black as ink.

Lu Zixue numbly pulled his leg out and continued onward through the darkness, one foot deep and one foot shallow.

His home was in Qianjin Village, Liuqiao Township, thirty li from County First High School. Back when he had a bicycle, it took just over an hour to get home.

Lu Zixue liked the sensation of speeding down the road on his bicycle, not only because of the wind whistling past his ears, but also because of the envious looks from pedestrians.

He had only just gotten into high school, yet he already had a bicycle to ride—and a Phoenix brand one at that. How dashing was that?

But today, after Li Ye had "snatched" the bicycle back, Lu Zixue finally learned just how long the dirt road beneath his feet was, and just how difficult walking could be.

At the end of autumn, darkness fell early. Lu Zixue walked for three hours and took who knew how many tumbles before he finally saw the lights of Liuqiao Township.

Liuqiao Township got its name from a stone bridge spanning the Qingshui River. After crossing the river from Liuqiao Township and heading west, it was another four li to Qianjin Village.

From afar, Lu Zixue spotted a small figure sitting beneath the light at the bridgehead, huddled up and staring anxiously in the direction of the county town.

When she saw Lu Zixue approaching with one foot deep and one foot shallow, the small figure abruptly sprang to her feet and hurried toward him in panic.

Only then did Lu Zixue recognize her as his younger sister, Lu Jingqi.

"Brother, why are you only back now... Where's your bicycle?"

"I..."

Looking at his sister, Lu Zixue had no answer. He could only ask in return, "What are you doing here?"

Lu Jingqi said, "Mother saw that it was dark and you still weren't back. She thought your bicycle had broken down, so she told me to come meet you. Brother, where's your bicycle?"

Lu Jingqi kept bringing up the bicycle, igniting Lu Zixue's anger. He snapped, "Mother told you to come meet me, so why were you sitting here? If I'd died on the road, nobody would have known, would they?"

Lu Jingqi froze. After a long while, she said aggrievedly, "It got dark, and I was afraid to walk at night... I got this far and didn't dare go any farther..."

"Hmph, useless thing."

Lu Zixue turned and walked on, leaving Lu Jingqi behind.

At that moment, he felt that everyone owed him—the penniless parents, the timid younger sister, the Older Sister who cared only for herself and not the family. They all owed him.

When he got home, Father Lu was grading homework, while Mother Lu was stitching shoe soles. Food had been left on the table for Lu Zixue.

The moment she saw Lu Zixue enter, Mother Lu asked about the bicycle again.

Lu Zixue could no longer endure it. He burst into tears of grievance.

After understanding what had happened, Father Lu remained silent. Mother Lu's heart ached for her son, so she could only comfort him. "All right, all right, stop crying. We'll have your Older Sister buy you one later. We'll buy a new one."

"Buy a new one... Right, I'll write to Older Sister and have her buy me a new one."

As though enlightenment had suddenly struck, Lu Zixue did not even eat. He hurriedly took out paper and pen, pouring all the resentment in his heart onto the letter.

There were still stamps Lu Jingyao had sent home before. Lu Zixue sealed the envelope, then walked through the darkness to Liuqiao Township that very night and dropped the letter into the mailbox outside the post office.

The next morning, the thin envelope was loaded onto a truck. Crossing vast distances, it traveled north all the way to the mailbox at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Beijing was already very cold at the end of autumn. When the last autumn rain fell, the biting chill finally lifted the curtain on early winter.

The irritating wind passed through the dense curtain of rain, carrying cool dampness with it as it silently pushed open the window. It blew onto Lu Jingyao's face, wetting her eyelashes and tossing her hair into disarray.

Lu Jingyao, who was holding a thick dictionary and reading and writing, stirred slightly. She first finished writing the word at hand, then took a deep breath, letting threads of coolness seep into her chest and lungs.

She liked this faint coolness. It could make her tired mind clearer and improve her study efficiency.

But just as Lu Jingyao's spirits lifted, a soft, sweet voice came from the upper bunk of the dormitory's bunk bed. "Lu Jingyao, could I trouble you to close the window? Halfway is fine too. Thank you."

Lu Jingyao hurriedly closed the window, shutting the damp cold of late autumn outside.

Her roommate on the upper bunk, Liu Muhan, was from the south and had not yet adapted to Beijing's northern climate. Lu Jingyao could not just care about herself and ignore others.

"Sorry, Muhan. Is your cold any better?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Liu Muhan poked her head out from the upper bunk and asked, "Jingyao, what book are you reading? You're studying so hard!"

Lu Jingyao smiled soundlessly and lowered her head, continuing to recite vocabulary in silence.

She had no choice but to work hard!

When Lu Jingyao had narrowly made it into Beijing Foreign Studies University, she had felt rather pleased with herself. But after arriving in Beijing, she learned what it meant for talent to gather like clouds.

Every young person admitted here possessed talent and confidence far beyond their peers.

For example, Liu Muhan, curled up beneath her blanket, could read original foreign-language novels from beginning to end without using a dictionary.

Lu Jingyao had secretly glanced at them a few times. Those densely packed tadpoles made her feel dizzy.

Having finally leaped through the Dragon Gate like a fish, how could a self-reliant girl be willing to fall behind others?

Lu Jingyao understood clearly that her lovely appearance was merely a heaven-given blessing that added flowers to brocade.

Self-reliance and diligence were her most precious wealth, and the only support that could let her break free from the cage and breathe freely.

"Lu Jingyao, you have a letter."

Two girls walked briskly into the dormitory. One of them held a letter and handed it to Lu Jingyao, who was reading by the window.

Lu Jingyao accepted the envelope, thanked her roommates, and only then opened it to read. The two roommates stayed by Lu Jingyao's side, craning their necks like curious cats.

Very quickly, Lu Jingyao's expression changed. Anger, confusion, and worry alternated across her lovely face.

The two curious kittens immediately discovered something interesting and extended their sharp claws.