Yangzhi Wu Yi

It was nearly dinnertime when Chen Chuan finally sat down. His uncle, Nian Fuli, suddenly said, "Chen Chuan, you've graduated middle school too. Yangzhi City has no institutions of higher learning, and your uncle only earns that meager Patrol Bureau salary. I can't afford to send you to study in that high-society place, Central City. Have you decided where you're going?"

The table fell silent. His aunt, Yu Wan, looked at Chen Chuan worriedly. His two younger cousins clutched their bowls, their little heads turning from side to side.

Nian Fuli said, "If you haven't figured it out and have nowhere to go, I'll arrange something for you. Don't complain that it's hard, don't cry that you're tired. If you don't want to do it, say so early and find your own way out."

Chen Chuan looked at Nian Fuli and smiled. "Little Uncle, are you in that much of a hurry to drive me away?"

Nian Fuli glared at him. "Uncle is uncle. Don't add 'little.'"

Out of habit, he touched the breast pocket of his jacket. His fingers had just brushed the cigarette pack when he glanced at his son and daughter and withdrew his hand. Frowning, he said, "Stop grinning like a fool and give me a straight answer. Your older cousin has prospects, so I don't need to worry about him. Your brother and sister are still young, and in a few years they'll be starting school. The household expenses will only grow from here on out. You're already sixteen. Your uncle isn't asking you to repay me; as long as you can support yourself in the future, that'll be enough. Isn't that the truth?"

Chen Chuan nodded. "Uncle, you're right." After thinking for a moment, he said, "Uncle, I'm planning to find my own path."

"On your own?"

Nian Fuli watched him for a while. "Fine. School usually gives two months of vacation, doesn't it? Then I'll give you two months. After two months, you'll set up your own household. Your uncle won't have to concern himself with your affairs anymore."

Yu Wan looked as if she wanted to speak, but stopped herself.

Chen Chuan said, "All right. We'll do as Uncle says."

Nian Fuli looked him up and down a few times. "See that you keep your word." He picked up his chopsticks. "Eat." Only after he started did the rest of the family begin their meal.

Chen Chuan reached for his chopsticks as well. Just then, as if sensing something, he lifted his head. By the wall stood a boy who looked exactly like him, gazing at him darkly. His uncle's family kept their heads down and ate, wholly unaware. It seemed he was the only one who could see it.

He naturally withdrew his gaze and pondered his future as he ate. Before he knew it, he had swallowed the last mouthful. Yu Wan had been watching him all along, and hurriedly said, "Leave it there. Aunt will wash up. You focus on your own worries first."

Chen Chuan looked at his aunt, then at the expressionless Nian Fuli. Setting down his bowl and chopsticks, he said, "All right, Uncle, Aunt. I'll go back to my room first."

Nian Fuli picked up a bite of food and put it into his mouth, chewing slowly without a word.

After Chen Chuan left, Yu Wan said, "He's still just a child."

Nian Fuli snapped, "What child? He's sixteen already! When I was his age, I was already on the battlefield!"

"All right, all right, we know you're impressive."

Seeing that he had finished eating too, Yu Wan rose from the table, brought over a bottle of yellow wine, and poured him a cup. "I'm going to check on the child."

"Go, go." Nian Fuli waved her off impatiently. He lifted his cup and took a sip, immediately feeling at ease. At the same time, he muttered to himself, "That kid is a little different from before..."

"Dad, when I'm sixteen, will you drive me away too?"

Nian Fuli turned his head and saw his younger son, Nian Mo, looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes.

His younger daughter, Nian Lu, was a three-year-old little girl. In her babyish voice, she said, "You'll definitely be driven away! You eat the most meat-meat!"

"I—I don't eat that much! Dad..." Nian Mo hugged his bowl and looked pitifully at Nian Fuli.

Nian Fuli burst out laughing and patted the back of Nian Mo's head. "You little brat, you're my son. How could I not take care of you? The seat beneath your old man's butt is being saved for you. Go, turn on the radio."

"Okay."

Nian Mo happily jumped down from his stool, scampered over, and twisted on the old-fashioned radio. A crackling sound came from within.

"...The railway maintenance department reports that, due to the Xie Mountain Mudslide, the road section originally scheduled for repair in early June will once again be delayed..."

"A group of prisoners has escaped from Qiguang Prison. Wanted notices have now been issued. The principal fugitives are as follows: Fang Dawei, male, thirty-five years old, strongly built, responsible for multiple home-invasion robberies and street shootings; Tong Baitao, male, twenty-seven years old..."

"The Blood Scar Gang and the Iron Chain Gang have erupted into a gang conflict at the intersection of New Canal Park and Micang Street. Multiple residences were damaged during the clash, with dozens dead and injured..."

By then, Chen Chuan had already returned to his room. His study-bedroom was around eight or nine square meters. The windowsill and the old red-painted wooden floor were spotless, and everything around him was arranged in perfect order. It was clear that the room was tidied and cleaned every day.

Several movie posters were pasted on the walls. When he looked at them, their titles naturally surfaced in his mind: "Lone Blade Knight," "High Ridge Beast," "The Last Conquest"...

Stepping across the creaking floor to the window, he saw a framed photograph set on one corner of the worn writing desk. Inside was a young couple. The woman was young and beautiful, the man tall and handsome. Their clothes were made from exceptionally fine materials, and both were smiling at him.

To the right of the desk stood a bookshelf over two meters tall, packed full of books. At a glance, aside from some old textbooks, most were extracurricular reading: "Great Exploration," "Jianzhi Year 15," "Mysterious Machiu," and so on.

He could not help muttering to himself, "What a pity there's no 'Military-Civilian Dual-Purpose Talents,' no 'Militia Military Training Handbook.' At the very least, give me one of those 'One Hundred Thousand Whys.'"

"What whys? Chan'er, may Aunt come in?" Yu Wan's voice came from outside the door.

"Chan'er" was the childhood name given to this body by Chen Chuan's parents. Now, apart from Yu Wan, only that annoying cousin called him that all day long.

Chen Chuan said, "Come in, Aunt. It's nothing. I was thinking over a problem."

"You've already graduated middle school, Chan'er, and you're still working this hard." Yu Wan walked in. She was not yet forty, fair-skinned, and rather ordinary-looking. Chen Chuan, meanwhile, had delicate features, red lips, white teeth, and a tall frame. Standing together, only the faint resemblance in their brows and facial contours showed that they were related by blood.

Yu Wan said, "Chan'er, don't blame your uncle for what happened today. He has his own difficulties. And don't be stubborn and force yourself to be tough. I'll talk to your uncle again later."

Chen Chuan smiled. "Aunt, don't worry. I'm not trying to prove anything. I really do have plans."

Yu Wan hesitated, then tentatively asked, "Chan'er... are you going to look for the Meng Family Girl?"

At that name, the image of a young girl involuntarily rose from Chen Chuan's memories. He shook his head. "I'm not going to find her."

Yu Wan said, "It's better if you don't. Her family standing is high, and the people around her have their eyes growing on top of their heads. You've been stubborn since childhood. When you were little, you two were innocent childhood sweethearts, but once you grew up, you stopped getting along."

Chen Chuan said, "Aunt, you're right. Childhood matters don't count. These days, when she goes out, her Butler follows at her side. Why would I make a fool of myself?"

Hearing this, Yu Wan was much relieved. She raised the handkerchief bundle clenched in her hand and unwrapped it layer by layer before Chen Chuan. Inside was a stack of ten-Jianyuan-Currency notes.

The notes bore blue-green landscape patterns. Their fronts showed a round dome above square land, while their backs showed rice and wheat covering a nine-tasseled crown. Their watermark was a felt hat.

She grabbed Chen Chuan's hand and pressed the money into it. "Take it. Use it when you need it, don't be stingy. If it's not enough, Aunt still has more."

Chen Chuan did not take it immediately. "Uncle knows about this, right?"

Yu Wan said, "This is money Aunt saved for you." She lightly smacked his arm. "Don't call him Little Uncle. He doesn't like hearing it."

Chen Chuan smiled and accepted it. "Aunt, I'll count this as a loan. I'll pay it back."

"Ah, we're family. What's this talk about paying it back? Keep it safe." Only after watching Chen Chuan put the money away properly did Yu Wan relax. "Then Aunt is leaving. You've graduated already, so don't work too hard. Remember to turn on the light when you read. Don't ruin your eyes."

"Okay."

Yu Wan gave him several more reminders before leaving the room.

Chen Chuan shut the door, pulled the light cord by it, and a small hanging lamp on the ceiling lit up, casting a pale yellow glow.

He walked over to the bookshelf, casually pulled out a book, then sat down at the edge of the bed and began leafing through it with interest.

A long while later, he heard the clock outside strike ten times. Since he had important business to handle tomorrow, he put the book back, washed up briefly, turned out the light, and went to sleep.

And in the pitch-black darkness, the boy identical to him stood by the bed, still gazing at him darkly.

In his dreams, he seemed to return to his previous life. After working for several years, he had gone hiking. Passing through a certain city, he had visited a museum and come across an exhibition of ancient mirrors. When he entered the hall with curiosity in his heart, he immediately saw a Dome Mirror suspended overhead. At that moment, the him within it looked back at him too.

The instant their eyes met, his vision suddenly blurred. His body seemed to become that of an infant, growing from birth into childhood, from childhood into a boy. Then one day, a Tile Blue car entered his sight. As its engine sound faded into the distance, he abruptly plunged into darkness.

Bright light streamed through a narrow crack in the curtains, tearing apart the night's murk.

Chen Chuan opened his eyes. He turned to look at the alarm clock by his bed. Five fifty. He shook his head, got up and dressed, then went out to brush his teeth and wash his face.

Nian Fuli was on duty at the Patrol Bureau and had left early in the morning. The two younger children were still asleep, while Yu Wan had gone out to buy groceries. Before leaving, she had prepared breakfast for him.

After finishing breakfast, he returned to his room and put on his only set of formal student clothes. They were made of woolen fabric, gray-black in color, crisp and smart-looking when worn.

He fastened his collar, put on his student cap, adjusted himself in the full-length mirror attached to the wardrobe, then took a gray canvas shoulder bag from behind the door. He put in a filled water bottle, slung it over himself, found his bicycle in the front yard, and pushed it out through the gate.

Watching the sun gradually rise outside, he thought, In any case, I'll first follow the plan I had before.

He swung onto the bicycle, flicked the bell with his thumb, and sent out a string of crisp chimes. Pedaling forward, he rode out of the alley by his home and reached the main road after only two turns.

Nian Fuli was the inspection captain of a Patrol Bureau branch, and this area was home to Patrol Bureau officers and their families. Public security here was fairly good, and the roads were broad. Plane trees lined both sides of the streets, and the late-May sunlight mingled with the deep green leaves, lifting one's spirits.

After cycling along the main road for half an hour, he entered Central Square. Yangzhi City's tallest buildings were all concentrated here. Most had been built during the Great Exploration, nearly sixty years ago. Because circumstances had been tense back then, the materials used had been extraordinarily solid, giving their cool tones an air of great weight.

After waiting for an overhead-line tram to pass, he saw seven or eight oddly dressed people walking toward him from the other side of the road.

One of them seemed especially sensitive to being watched and suddenly turned his head. His gaze was fierce, but upon seeing Chen Chuan's shoulder bag, he cursed under his breath. He merely spat at Chen Chuan's retreating back before turning away again.

After crossing the square, Chen Chuan turned left onto North Avenue. About five minutes later, a highly imposing upturned eave came into view on the east side of the road. As he drew closer, he could see it was the entrance to an academy. It had three open gates and stretched a hundred paces wide. On the stone plaque above the central gate, five characters were written in regular script as sharp and forceful as silver hooks and iron strokes: "Wu Yi University." Fine automobiles could be seen entering and leaving through the gates from time to time.

He squeezed the brake lever, put one foot on the ground, and stopped before a Stone Tablet beside the gate. Engraved upon it was an introduction to the academy: "Wu Yi University was established in Jianzhi Year 15 and officially renamed in Jianzhi Year 35. Its first president was Cheng Yunbai..."

Directly before the academy gates lay a level expanse of open ground. The sun at seven or eight in the morning was dazzlingly bright, shining upon the gates and the buildings on either side, making them appear especially elegant and solemn.

His eyes wandered as if searching for something. After a while, he finally spotted an inconspicuous sign near the side gate. It read: "Admissions Examination Office This Way."

He let out a breath and got off his bicycle. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that near-identical figure standing by the gate, looking directly at him. He withdrew his gaze and, wearing a natural expression, pushed his bicycle through the side gate and entered the academy.