Chapter 10

Chapter 11: A spirited family dinner (part two)

The focus of the family's dinner conversation soon shifted back to his younger cousin, Zeng Yuan. Zeng Yuan was still little then, five years younger than Su Can, but he was definitely one of the precocious new generation. He might have been only eleven or so, but he was remarkably sharp. Almost everyone on his mother's side of the family revolved around him, and naturally, he was the darling of the whole family. On top of that, Zeng Yuan had been quite a pretty child, with curly hair and an upturned nose that made him look very much like a foreigner. From kindergarten through elementary school, he had always been popular with girls, and Su Can's older cousin Zeng Na adored him too.

Spoiled by the whole family, Zeng Yuan had once shown no regard at all for Su Can as his older cousin. He ordered him around and would even spit at him, tormenting his fragile nerves in his own way. Then, by chance, Su Can took Zeng Yuan to a swimming pool. Who would have thought that this normally cocky brat would become a lamb awaiting slaughter the moment he encountered water? Once in the pool, he clung desperately to Su Can, and that pleading look in his eyes unleashed all the resentment Su Can had accumulated over the years.

After swallowing many liters of pool water, Zeng Yuan became thoroughly afraid of Su Can and willingly turned into his little shadow.

Zeng Yuan's overall ranking in elementary school was not much better than Su Can's had been, and the frequency with which his parents were summoned to school showed every sign of surpassing Su Can's record. Once the family turned the conversation to him, there was no stopping them.

Zeng Yuan stuck his tongue out at Su Can and gave him a thumbs-up. "The way you talked to Sis just now-for the first time, I thought you really had presence!"

Su Can understood. Growing up, their older cousin, who had excellent grades, attended a key school, and loved lecturing them with a stern face, had lodged in his and Zeng Yuan's young minds as a grim-faced deity, complementing his eldest uncle perfectly. As he remembered it, although he sometimes clashed with her over their views, he had always lost by an overwhelming margin. Now that he had actually countered her without either groveling or acting arrogant, even Zeng Yuan was astonished.

Zeng Yuan had only just learned the word "presence" at school, so he worked it into everything he said. This younger cousin of his really left Su Can unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"All right! Let's settle it that way!"

In a rare occurrence, his eldest uncle, Zeng Qu anming, and his youngest uncle, Zeng Zhaoding, reached a decision at exactly the same time.

"Zeng Yuan, if you score ninety in both subjects on your finals, I'll buy you that game console you like!" Zeng Zhaoding declared readily.

"Really?!" Zeng Yuan was already thrilled. The first-generation Game Boy had still been black-and-white, but being able to see games like Super Mario, previously playable only on cartridge-based consoles, on it had amazed countless people. Back then, holding one of those consoles gave you every right to look down on everyone else. Zeng Yuan had once been looked down on by a boy his age whose family drove a Santana. Now that he heard he could have one too, his excitement went without saying.

"Well then," his eldest uncle began, "Su Can, if you manage to get into Third Middle School this time and perform better than usual, I'll reward you with a bicycle. A good one-you can pick it out yourself!"

A bicycle cost about three hundred yuan back then, but if his eldest uncle was making the offer, it ought to be at least in the racing-bike price range, probably six or seven hundred. Most students rode bicycles to school in those days. Even in Xiahai, it was uncommon to have a car take you to and from school. Besides, Xiahai was small: walking from the city center to the third ring road took only thirty minutes. Taking the bus or riding a bicycle was enough for most students. Being chauffeured in a car was rather too ostentatious, and no one was so idle that they would forgo sleeping in every day just to drive their child around and show off, day after day, for several semesters running.

So most students generally rode bicycles, and every middle school had an impressive bicycle parking area. Owning a mountain bike was as flashy as driving a BMW or an Audi to school in 2009.

"All right, then let's see whether you can get in! It'll be good enough if you don't make your parents pay those extra fees again!" Zeng Na rolled her eyes at Su Can at just the right moment. She had always wanted a mountain bike herself, but first, she was a girl, and riding in a skirt in summer would be inconvenient; second, she was used to taking the bus to school, and suddenly switching to a bicycle would take a fair amount of getting used to. So although she felt somewhat reluctant, if Su Can could successfully get into high school, she would not mind her father buying a bicycle for this younger cousin she did not particularly care for. After all, Zeng Na could still distinguish what mattered in the bigger picture. She might not like him very much, but he was still her younger cousin.

From his memories, Su Can knew he had never received the bicycle his eldest uncle had promised, and his younger cousin Zeng Yuan had never gotten the game console of his dreams either. The hopes that filled both of them with boundless anticipation at this moment had all vanished after that summer vacation.

"Oh, Director Zeng! You're having dinner here too!" a voice sounded beside them.

"Oh, Director Xiao. Your whole family's here too?" His eldest uncle, Zeng Qu anming, immediately smiled. The newcomer was Xiao Fei, director of the Construction Bureau's bidding office. The two were notorious rivals within the bureau. Their conflict had begun because the head of a construction company in Xiahai was related to Xiao Fei. As the company developed its business in Xiahai, Xiao Fei, who managed the bidding office, stood to benefit directly. But conflicts arose between the various approval procedures and the planning office's processes. His eldest uncle was stubborn and inflexible, and he had always disapproved of Xiao Fei's conduct at the bureau, so he followed the regulations strictly when approving land use. Eventually, he had also squeezed Xiao Fei's relative's construction company out of Xiahai, and the feud between them was born.

That struggle had continued. Later, his eldest uncle used public funds for stock trading. It was not that his family lacked the money; they were merely short of liquid funds and could have repaid it within a few days. But the shortfall created an opening that Xiao Fei seized upon, promptly reporting him to the city authorities and causing an extremely damaging scandal. Although the subsequent investigation found that the amount involved was not particularly large, and the organization merely recorded a minor demerit and required a self-criticism, the incident still affected the senior leadership's opinion of his eldest uncle.

For those two years, his eldest uncle remained low in spirits and in poor shape. When they were together, he even refrained, unusually, from lecturing Su Can and Zeng Yuan. During the investigation team's inquiry, his aunt would often start crying in the middle of talking to his mother. His eldest uncle aged considerably all at once, and his cerebral hemorrhage condition had probably worsened during that period. Later, he was duly stripped of real authority and transferred to the Government Affairs Center.

Xiao Fei, by contrast, gained more and more influence. He later became head of the Construction Bureau and was subsequently transferred to the provincial level. Still later, a series of major incidents brought him down. Otherwise, once he had caught his breath, his eldest uncle's life would have become even harder.

Now, watching the man exchange pleasantries with his eldest uncle, outwardly courteous and acting like an old colleague and comrade while secretly watching him like a predator, Su Can could not help paying closer attention. In fact, given his eldest uncle's professional ability, he was entirely capable of rising further if the misappropriation incident had not occurred. After all, they only learned later that the government's standing committee had already discussed the matter at the time. But Xiao Fei's report had abruptly left his eldest uncle in a miserable position.

Faced with this eldest uncle, who genuinely wanted him to surpass the previous generation and had poured so much effort into them, Su Can silently resolved to change the misfortunes that would happen in the future.

The alluring eyes of Xiao Fei's daughter, Xiao Yunyun, beside him, landed on Su Can at once.

Seeing Xiao Yunyun before him, Su Can paused. He remembered how, when he visited his older cousin's home as a child, his mischievous, lively nature had led him to take a whole gang of children from the Construction Bureau's family housing compound on all sorts of merry rampages. Xiao Yunyun had been among them. Su Can had naturally enjoyed the limelight, and quite a few little girls had had crushes on him, Xiao Yunyun included. Some had even openly shown their affection for Su Can in front of the adults.

It had immediately caused quite a stir in his eldest uncle's Construction Bureau family compound. Everyone had asked about Su Can's background. A child doing so well among the compound's youngsters might be the son of some important figure. Only later did they learn that he was Zeng Qu anming's nephew, that his family were all local employees, and that they had no connections worth cultivating.

The outcome was easy to imagine. Even Xiao Yunyun received strict orders from her parents forbidding any further contact with Su Can. Later, she entered First Middle School, where outstanding students were naturally too numerous to count. Xiao Yunyun herself was a well-known beauty there, and gradually forgot the boy who had left his mark on her childhood.

But seeing him now had clearly stirred Xiao Yunyun's old memories, and she studied Su Can all the more closely.

"Zeng Na just keeps getting better. I've heard Yunyun talk about this senior of hers-her grades are among the very best in the school. So, she'll be starting her final year of high school next term. Has Nana decided on a university? Is she still planning to study medicine?" Xiao Fei asked with feigned warmth.

Speaking of his daughter, his eldest uncle felt rather proud. "Yes. I told her to keep an eye on Third Military Medical University, or West China Medical University would do too. But it's still up to her. After all, she's entering her final year, so she needs to buckle down. In an environment like First Middle School, the competitive pressure is hardly light! How did Yunyun do on her mock exams? Is she aiming for First High School?"

That mindset was rather amusing. The two men regularly put little obstacles in each other's way, but neither could bring the other down. Even at a family gathering like this, they had to compete. For people like them, comparing anything else would have been too narrow-minded. Only their children, who represented all their hopes for the latter half of their lives, became sharp weapons with which to establish superiority.

Naturally, they could not see how the future would unfold, but under the exam-oriented education system, grades became the measure of overall quality in their eyes.

Hearing Zeng Qu anming mention nationally renowned medical schools like Third Military Medical University and West China Medical University so casually made Xiao Fei secretly grind his teeth. Do those universities belong to you, Zeng Qu anming? Can she get in just because you tell her to keep an eye on them? You make it sound as though your daughter can take her pick. Naturally unwilling to be outdone, he said, "Yunyun didn't do particularly well on her mock exams-just top ten in the key class designated by the school. Getting into First High School won't be a problem. Hmm, I'm also considering whether to arrange for her to study in Britain or Australia when the next term starts. She's always wanting to see the world abroad. By the time these youngsters come back from getting some experience overseas, you and I will probably both be old! Haha!"

One look at Xiao Yunyun's astonishment told Su Can that Xiao Fei was merely boasting because he refused to lose. That thoroughly silenced his eldest uncle. He had been talking about his daughter Zeng Na choosing a prestigious domestic university, while Xiao Fei's daughter was already looking out at the world before she had even taken her high school entrance exams and graduated from middle school!

Zeng Qu anming wanted to say something harsh, but with the children all present, he could hardly launch a direct attack. He could only take a sullen sip of his drink.

Pressing his advantage, Xiao Fei finally turned his gaze to Su Can. Seeing that his daughter's alluring eyes were also lingering on the boy, a trace of wariness inevitably flashed through his own. "Oh, this must be Director Zeng's nephew. I hear your nephew's grades are quite good in his class too. So outstanding at such a young age! Hasn't he even earned the title of 'Model Student of the Year'?"

"Model Student of the Year" was merely a title Third Middle School still used for outstanding students, carried over from the 1980s. At First Middle School, such titles had long since fallen out of fashion. Thus, the phrase "Model Student of the Year" strongly suggested an attempt to draw a clear dividing line between first-rate and third-rate high schools.

That made the sarcasm all the more pointed.