I Have a Question

Listening to the lecture from the front of the classroom, Wang Yan flipped through his textbook.

Well, although his mental faculties and memory had improved a bit, he could recall a lot of high school material.

But remembering it wasn't enough. He had to know how to use it.

Still, those were minor problems. With his learning ability, two years might even be enough to get into Huaqing University or Peking University.

The trio at the other end of the classroom were discussing the two newcomers.

"Hey, hey, what do you think of that girl?" Zhao Ye nudged the other two.

Chen Xun said one thing, though he meant another. "She's nothing special."

Qiao Ran seemed to be paying attention to the lecture and hadn't noticed her. He casually replied, "She seems all right."

Zhao Ye wasn't ready to give up. "What about that guy?"

That question hit the mark. The other two answered in unison, "Idiot."

"Yeah, I think so too. You can tell he doesn't fit in just by looking at him." Zhao Ye nodded in agreement.

"You three, shut your mouths." Teacher Hou had listened to them yammering on for ages and had finally had enough.

The three of them fell silent, looking sheepish.

Nearby, Lin Jiamo was delighted to see them get told off. She grinned foolishly to herself.

"Lin Jiamo, just because I didn't call you out doesn't mean you're innocent. What's so funny?"

Now it was the trio's turn to laugh at her. Their shoulders shook as they struggled to hold it in.

Lin Jiamo gritted her teeth in anger.

Watching this, Wang Yan smiled knowingly. The joys of student life were simple.

Unfortunately, when Zhao Ye turned around and made faces at Lin Jiamo, he spotted Wang Yan smiling. To him, that smile looked like mockery.

He felt provoked. As if to show off, he shook his fist at Wang Yan, acting as though he were ferocious and ready to make him pay.

Wang Yan said nothing. He only narrowed his eyes and shot Zhao Ye a chilling look.

Their eyes met. Zhao Ye felt as if he'd been shocked by electricity, and a jolt of fear ran through him. He quickly turned around.

But as soon as he did, he felt like he'd shown weakness. He wasn't going to back down.

He turned to look again, but Wang Yan wasn't even looking at him anymore. He was reading.

Watching Wang Yan's focused figure, Zhao Ye only thought that there was something unusual about the guy, though he couldn't say what. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Now Wang Yan seemed perfectly ordinary, nothing special at all. Zhao Ye didn't dwell on it, chalking it up to his eyes playing tricks on him.

Wang Yan and Fang Hui were both new. People their age made friends quickly, but it still took time to get to know each other.

Wang Yan hadn't caused trouble or tried to show off, so the day passed peacefully.

After school, he followed the address the system had given him.

It wasn't far from Experimental High School, just two blocks away.

As he walked, Wang Yan looked around with interest.

This wasn't the Beijing of twenty years later, with its rows of towering buildings, bustling traffic, and neon lights filling the night.

There weren't many cars on the road. Most people rode bicycles, while men pedaling three-wheeled carts chatted with customers in broad Beijing accents.

The streets were full of handsome young men and beautiful young women dressed in the latest fashions.

When he passed a vegetable vendor, Wang Yan bought some vegetables to cook for dinner.

He looked around as he went, and soon arrived.

It was an old six-story building in the Second Ring Road area. Given its location, it would probably be torn down in a few years.

He climbed all the way to the top floor, took a key from his spatial storage, and opened the door.

Houses built in those days were small. His was only about sixty square meters.

He looked around. The place was clean and tidy, with simple furnishings.

Wang Yan washed his hands, then started making dinner.

Before long, he'd cooked two dishes and polished them off with steamed buns.

Out of habit, he patted his pockets, wanting to pull out a cigarette, only to remember that the clothes he was wearing didn't have any.

He shook his head, cleared away the dishes, and went downstairs to buy a pack. Then he climbed the stairs to the rooftop and, in the evening breeze, smoked a lonely cigarette.

Over the next month, Wang Yan went to class as usual, and spent his weekends in Zhongguancun brokering deals, earning his first pot of gold.

Sometimes he also visited the welfare home he'd gone to before. He couldn't do much with his abilities yet, but he could keep the elderly company and play with the children.

As they got to know the two newcomers, everyone realized that they weren't very talkative and didn't really mix with the others. They were loners.

It wasn't as if anyone excluded them. Everyone simply kept to themselves.

The trio, however, often discussed Fang Hui. They were curious about her.

During the National Day holiday, Wang Yan went with people from the welfare home to watch the grand military parade. It was the first time in his life he'd seen one in person instead of on television. Though Wang Yan had developed a calm outlook, the sight of row upon row of imposing soldiers marching past still made his heart surge.

After the holiday, the students, who hadn't had enough time to play, had to return to school.

After the first class, Chen Xun walked to the front and tapped on a desk, drawing the attention of the students below. "Quiet down, quiet down."

Wang Yan knew what was coming. They'd been told before the holiday that evening self-study would run until nine after they returned.

Sure enough, once everyone had quieted down, Chen Xun said, "Where there's oppression, there's resistance."

"Do we really have to stay for evening self-study until nine?"

A group of students below loudly cheered him on.

Chen Xun continued, "So we have to resist. We can't accept them taking away our freedom like this. I propose that the whole class sign a petition to cancel evening self-study."

"Yeah!" The students below cheered.

"Everyone, calm down. This isn't a class struggle. Let's vote in a more democratic way. Raise your hands if you agree with my proposal."

The students looked at one another, then eventually all raised their hands.

Everyone except Fang Hui at the front and Wang Yan at the back.

When someone beside Fang Hui saw that she hadn't raised her hand, they nudged her. "Why aren't you raising your hand? Hurry up."

Everyone around her turned to look. The pressure was too much for most people to bear, and after hesitating, she raised her hand.

Just then, Zhao Ye, who was celebrating, noticed that Wang Yan at the back hadn't moved. He called out, "Hey, why aren't you raising your hand?"

Chen Xun, Qiao Ran, Fang Hui, Lin Jiamo, and everyone else in the class turned to look at Wang Yan.

Wang Yan glanced around the classroom. "Wasn't this supposed to be democratic? I abstain. You all do what you want, and leave me out of it."

Chen Xun stared at Wang Yan for a moment, then said, "Fine. We'll leave classmate Wang Yan out of it."

Zhao Ye was indignant, but Chen Xun had spoken, so he didn't say anything more.

Fang Hui had seen the whole thing. To be honest, she envied Wang Yan's courage.

Everyone began enthusiastically signing their names on a large sheet of paper, as if taking part in some momentous event of historic importance, as if they were about to fire the first shot in the struggle of Experimental High School's students.

Chen Xun placed the sheet full of signatures on the classroom blackboard.

The director of studies, Ma Jianjun, came to teach the class and saw the paper covered in signatures.

He tore it down and slammed it onto the lectern.

"Who did this? Who did this?"

Chen Xun stood up, looking impatient. "I did."

"A student like you thinks you can be class monitor? If you don't want to study, go home!"

"I want to study."

"If you want to study, then study properly! I've taught so many students, and I've never seen anyone like you."

Chen Xun lifted his chin. "Director, I have a question. How do you write the character for 'person'?"

Without waiting for Director Ma's response, he walked straight to the lectern and picked up a piece of chalk.

With one stroke to the left and one to the right, he wrote the character for "person."

"If you don't understand, I'll explain it to you."

Director Ma looked at him without saying anything.

"The character for 'person' is made of two strokes, supporting each other, standing tall between heaven and earth. One side represents freedom, the other independence. You've taken away our freedom and denied our independence. Director, if we can't even be people, how can we be students?"

"You—"

"I have a question." Before Director Ma could finish, Wang Yan raised his hand.

"Speak," Director Ma said irritably.

"I'd like to ask classmate Chen Xun: what do you mean by freedom and independence?"

Chen Xun hadn't expected Wang Yan to challenge him, and he was a little embarrassed. After thinking for a moment, he began spouting theories about freedom and independence that he'd read somewhere.

Finally, he said, "What we're doing today is exactly what I mean by freedom and independence."

"Then let me ask you this: if you don't want to attend evening self-study, why not talk to your parents and ask for leave? If that doesn't work, you could just skip it. Why do this? Why drag everyone else into it?"

"If you really believe in what you're saying, why not stand outside with a megaphone and explain your cause to thousands of students across all three grades? Why not confront the school leaders directly and tell them what you want? Wouldn't that be more effective? Wouldn't it better demonstrate your freedom and independence?"

"I'm not saying whether your ideas about freedom and independence are right or wrong. But have you thought about them?" As he spoke, Wang Yan gestured to the other students.

"From what I can see, at least Fang Hui doesn't want your freedom and independence. Neither do I."

As Wang Yan spoke, some of the students began to look uneasy. It was obvious they didn't really feel that way either.

"And don't accuse me of generalizing from a few examples." Wang Yan gestured toward several students whose expressions had changed.

Seeing who Wang Yan was pointing at, Chen Xun was confused. He remembered that a few of them had been particularly vocal.

Chen Xun was unconvinced, but couldn't refute him. His motives hadn't been pure. He stared straight at Wang Yan, committing his face to memory.

Seeing that the situation was under control, Director Ma said, "All right, shut up."

"Chen Xun, write me a five-thousand-word self-criticism." As he spoke, Director Ma pointed to the door.

Chen Xun slunk out of the classroom.

"All right, let's begin."

Then Director Ma launched into the lesson, talking on and on.

Qiao Ran thought about what Wang Yan had said. He found it reasonable, and he knew the truth behind it.

Zhao Ye glared at Wang Yan. His good friend had been humiliated, and he couldn't just stand by.

Lin Jiamo naturally took their side. Young people always took things at face value.

Fang Hui had already thought well of Wang Yan. She felt that he'd said exactly what she wanted to say.

The other students were also thinking over Wang Yan's words. Some felt he was meddling, some agreed with him, and some blamed him for speaking up only after the fact. But they'd all signed their names.

After class, Director Ma left.

Zhao Ye slapped a desk, and the chair scraped across the floor with an awful screech.

"Damn it, what's your problem? Why are you always making trouble?" Zhao Ye walked over and pointed at Wang Yan.

Wang Yan seized his hand and twisted it clockwise. Zhao Ye couldn't resist his tremendous strength and immediately crouched down. With the momentum, Wang Yan turned him around and pinned his face to the floor, his arm pressed behind his back.

"Ah, that hurts, that hurts. Let go!" Zhao Ye struggled, but couldn't break free. The pain kept getting worse, and he hurriedly shouted. He felt like his arm was about to snap.

Qiao Ran heard the commotion and came over. Seeing his good friend being treated like this, he said, "Let him go!" and hurried over to pry Wang Yan's hand loose.

But he was nowhere near as strong as Wang Yan. Wang Yan pulled, pushed, and twisted his arm in one smooth motion.

"Ah, that hurts, that hurts!" He and Zhao Ye ended up bent over together.

Wang Yan knew his own strength and wasn't going to actually hurt them. He leaned forward slightly in his chair and moved close to Zhao Ye. "What did you just say?"

"I said... Ah... Ow..." Zhao Ye had barely begun to answer when Wang Yan immediately tightened his grip.

"What did you just say?"

"I didn't say anything. I didn't say anything!"

"Good. You're a quick learner." Wang Yan let them go.

Zhao Ye and Qiao Ran stood up and hurriedly rubbed their shoulders. It hurt like hell.

"You—" Zhao Ye was about to threaten him, but Qiao Ran knew better. Seeing that Wang Yan was about to get up, he quickly dragged Zhao Ye away.

He'd felt the strength in Wang Yan's hands for himself and didn't want to experience it again.

When the two had left, Wang Yan glanced at the students watching nearby. They quickly scattered.

He'd managed to offend all three of the class's troublemakers. What a tough guy.

Zhao Ye and Qiao Ran went outside and found Chen Xun playing basketball. Zhao Ye said, "Damn it, that guy's a real piece of work. He's insanely strong. I'm in agony."

"What happened? Did he hit you?"

"Not exactly, he just..." Zhao Ye told him what had happened.

After hearing him out, Chen Xun said, "We can't just let this go."

Qiao Ran, however, said, "I think he had a point, Chen Xun."

Chen Xun knew Wang Yan had a point, of course. But so what?

"Qiao Ran, whose side are you on? After what he just did to you two, you're still defending him?"

"But Zhao Ye was the one who started it, wasn't he?"

Zhao Ye felt wronged. "I was standing up for Chen Xun!"

"Come on, that's enough. We'll deal with that guy in a couple of days. There's no way to get him at school anyway. The main thing is tonight's game."

Chen Xun thought for a moment. "I've got it. I have a plan. I guarantee we'll be able to watch the game tonight."

Zhao Ye obligingly asked, "What plan?"

Chen Xun raised the corners of his mouth in a slight smile. "Come closer and I'll whisper it."

The trio huddled together and whispered.

Back in the classroom, Chen Xun saw Wang Yan at the back and snorted. That jerk was so annoying. He'd remember this. Wang Yan would get what was coming to him.

That evening, during self-study.

Chen Xun signaled to the other two. When he saw Wang Yan watching him, he shot him a warning glare, then sneaked out.

Before long, the classroom lights suddenly went out.

The boys were fine; they just froze for a moment. A few girls, though, let out bloodcurdling screams.

From the corridor came the sound of running, cheering, and roughhousing. "We're going home! Hahaha!"

Hearing the commotion, the others hurried to follow suit, rushing out like a swarm.

They were afraid the lights might suddenly come back on, forcing them to keep studying.

Some students remained in the classroom. This kind of thing happened sometimes, and a teacher would be along shortly.

They were waiting for news, to see what the teacher would say.

Wang Yan sat quietly, watching the moonlight outside in the darkness.

In the dark, Wang Yan sensed someone watching him. He turned to look toward the spot where he felt the gaze coming from.

The classroom was pitch-black, so he couldn't tell who was there. But he knew Fang Hui was sitting there.

Fang Hui had gone out to use the bathroom. When she came back, the power suddenly went out, and she bumped into the trio.

She had returned to wait for the teacher's instructions, too. She quietly walked in and saw Wang Yan in the back row, bathed in moonlight.

The teachers noticed that the lights had gone out and hurried over to calm the students.

They immediately sent someone to check the electrical panel, only to discover that someone had pulled the breaker.

Director Ma instantly settled on a suspect.

After all, given what had happened that day, it was only natural for him to have his suspicions.

He went straight outside and dragged back everyone who had been watching the game.

Standing at the lectern, Director Ma was furious. How could they let this happen?

"Who did it? Huh? Who was it?"

(That old swagger from yesterday vanished as soon as I woke up. I figured I'd write this, but no matter how I put it, it all felt like a load of nonsense. Then I started remembering the old days and couldn't help thinking of my first love, of that unrequited crush. The more I wrote, the less energy I had.)

Thanks to Fen Shou Yao Fan for the generous 5,000-coin tip! P.S. My top fan is finally someone other than myself. Thanks for your generosity, big bro.

Thanks to Old Han for the 500-coin tip and continued support.

Thanks to Book Friend 20190502050744914 for the 500-coin tip.

Thanks to Stealing Leisure and Fragrance for the 500-coin tip and monthly ticket.

Thanks to Why Was My Nickname Taken for another monthly ticket.

Thanks to Drowning Person 1 for the monthly ticket.

Thanks to Sunshine Fantasy for the monthly ticket.

Thanks to Chu Kuangtu 110 for the monthly ticket.

As always, thanks to all the good brothers who voted for me.

Thanks to all the brothers who left comments, and to those who just read without commenting.

Thank you, my good brothers.