The woman lunged at the table like someone possessed. Her arms were restrained by her clothes, leaving her body to twist and coil like a triggered python, moving violently. Her eyes were so red it seemed like they could bleed, and her expression was fierce, as if she wanted to devour someone.
Those waiting outside the visiting room couldn't help but feel a mix of shock and fear, except for Li Zhuiyuan. Even Tan Yunlong, who was usually calm, was affected. After all, seeing such a scene was jarring; it was a strong blow to anyone who had grown up in a peaceful environment and was not used to such raw displays of animalistic behavior.
Li Zhuiyuan, however, felt differently. Through the glass, he perceived something cathartic in her screams and manic movements. The terror that seemed so palpable to ordinary people instead felt to him like the prelude to a positive outbreak—a sign that something was awakening.
This kind of empathy was hard to explain. To put it crudely, it was like an addict wandering through the streets knowing where to find what they needed, or a seasoned client knowing at a glance if a place had something worthwhile. Certain people shared an almost radar-like ability to sense each other's presence, a sense of camaraderie born from shared experiences.
But Aunt Xu did not understand this. She began to gather the photos on the table, assuming the inquiry had come to an end. Li Zhuiyuan felt that his sister Li Lan wanted to keep her around as a secretary not because of her capabilities but because she was a local, someone who could speak the dialect and thus could facilitate calls with their parents in the future. Even if it took years for those calls to happen, this was the kind of practical decision Li Lan would make.
"Brother Bin, I know that lady inside. I don’t want her to know I’m here," he whispered, not only to Tan Wenbin but to all those present.
After speaking, Li Zhuiyuan turned and ran into the restroom down the hall. Xu Wen stepped out with the help of a man who had opened the door for her. She looked at the three standing at the entrance and asked, “Who are you?”
Tan Yunlong replied, “I’m a police officer from the household registration department where the woman lives. I brought them to take a look.”
As he spoke, Tan Yunlong gently patted Tan Wenbin’s shoulder. After all, Tan Wenbin had shared a table with the deceased before. He lowered his head slightly to avoid the other participants noticing the resemblance between him and the “police officer.”
Xu Wen displayed a hint of guilt. After all, the woman’s breakdown was in part her doing. She nodded and prepared to leave, the man accompanying her right at her heels. As they approached the restroom, Xu Wen paused to wash her hands.
The man spoke softly, “Didn’t get any useful results?”
Xu Wen, seemingly unaware, replied in a normal tone, “She probably hasn’t gone outside. She was seriously affected by her husband’s situation. Where’s the next crew member’s placement?”
“Lianyungang.”
“Then we should move quickly.”
“Are we contacting all of them?”
“What else is there? I want to see him alive or dead.”
“Don’t you want to go back and take a look at your hometown?”
“My mother has already moved to the capital with me. I don’t have any relatives worth visiting in the village.”
“I heard…”
“I dare not contact the director’s relatives. When the director returns…”
They exited the restroom and moved outside, their conversation fading into silence.
Li Zhuiyuan finished washing his hands and, due to a previous month of obscure experiences, had developed an enhanced ability to listen. He had overheard their earlier dialogue. Aunt Xu was searching for someone; however, that person was not Li Lan, for Xu Wen would not describe Li Lan with the words “want to see someone alive or dead.”
Thus, the mission Li Lan was on was not in the area where Zheng Haiyang’s parents had their accident, yet she had not returned. What kind of task could take so much time? It had already been two months, hadn’t it?
As he walked back, shaking off his wet hands, Li Zhuiyuan, who would usually take the initiative to greet Xu Wen affectionately as “Aunt Xu,” now felt a strong aversion to any contact with Li Lan and her circle. If given the choice, he would rather spend his life avoiding Li Lan altogether. He believed she felt the same way, as every time they met, everything they said and did only seemed to peel the skin off one another.
The doctor emerged and spoke to Tan Yunlong. “The patient’s emotions are currently unstable; it’s not appropriate for further visits.”
Tan Yunlong gestured to Li Zhuiyuan. “Let the boy go in by himself. The child, he’s very pitiful.”
The doctor looked down at Li Zhuiyuan, hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded. “Alright, let him go in alone. You all must wait outside.”
Tan Yunlong bent down and whispered in Li Zhuiyuan's ear, “That man has served in the military; he’s been on the battlefield.”
Li Zhuiyuan nodded. “Thank you, Uncle Tan.”
Tan Yunlong smiled and returned to sit on a bench in the corridor. Li Zhuiyuan was then allowed into the visiting room.
He sat down across from the woman. By now, she had calmed down significantly and was no longer as frenzied and agitated, but she was still breathing heavily with that menacing red in her eyes. Li Zhuiyuan sat there in silence. He had come here not out of personal ties but out of curiosity, so he had no intention of bringing up Zheng Haiyang just to strike up a conversation.
He even felt reluctant to guide the topic forward, even though he was quite capable of doing so. Xu Wen's style had left a mark on him, causing him to find such actions meaningless. He didn’t want to build his amusement upon the destruction and manipulation of innocent individuals.
It was amusing that, after having resolved to treat Li Lan as a learning experience rather than following her lead, he found that he was, in fact, preserving his humanity.
Outside, through the glass, Tan Wenbin was puzzled as he watched and asked Runsheng, “Why is Little Yuan not speaking?”
Runsheng shook his head. “Little Yuan not speaking just means he doesn’t need to say anything.”
After pondering it further, Tan Wenbin said, “What kind of nonsense is that?”
But soon, a shift occurred.
The woman settled down and began to speak on her own, no longer screaming or acting mad but sitting there and sharing normally. Unfortunately, her voice was too quiet for those outside to hear.
This prompted Tan Wenbin to grow increasingly anxious, fidgeting as if he wanted to rush in and listen.
Runsheng, not understanding, asked, “Why are you so anxious?”
“Can’t you be anxious? If you go in now, you might hear everything firsthand. By the time Little Yuan comes back to tell us, it will be all summarized, and we would have missed the raw details.”
“Isn’t that good enough?”
“My fault, why am I even discussing this with you?”
Inside the visiting room, the woman’s demeanor became normal again. Li Zhuiyuan understood that his sense of empathy was not misplaced; he had finally gained a reward.
Xu Wen had managed to trigger something in the woman, launching her into a breakdown, and then she left, setting the stage for Li Zhuiyuan to have a better conversation.
If Li Lan were here, she would never have committed such a blunder.
“I once advised him not to go down there with them, but he didn’t listen. He even persuaded me to go down together,” the woman began.
“You went down?”
“Yes, I did, but I shouldn’t have.”
“I’m curious, what was down there?”
“A very, very large place. Inside, there were the sun, the moon, and the stars.”
“Are you saying this was under the sea?”
“Don’t you believe me?”
“I do.”
“There are many sunken ships outside.”
“Shouldn’t there be many treasures?”
“There are, but they’re hard to find because most of those ships are damaged, except for a few special ones.”
“What makes them special?”
“Most are made of wood, with a few others that aren't. They’re buried under sea sand, with only tiny bits exposed. That area is experiencing turbulent currents, making excavation virtually impossible. After so many years, even if there were things there, they’d either be washed away or deeply buried.”
“What a pity, so you all went down?”
“Yes, we went down. Once we were in, we could take off our oxygen masks. There’s a dry area where we could surface and see the sun and stars.”
The sun and the stars...
Li Zhuiyuan realized the woman was now lucid. The mention of the sun and stars, juxtaposed together, might carry special meaning.
Lacking relevant scientific knowledge, Li Zhuiyuan couldn’t judge whether such a place under the sea could really exist, but he sensed the woman was not lying.
University was indeed needed.
“You all weren’t entering for the first time, were you?”
“It was my first time, but it wasn't for my husband; it was his second time down there.”
“Does the job of a sailor include this?”
“It depends on how you see it. It's just a job, and work isn’t life’s entirety. We get paid quite well, but the profits from smuggling don’t extend much to us. My husband got greedy, wanting to earn a big sum quickly, so he wouldn’t have to go back to the sea. I feel the same.”
“Understood. How many of you went down in total?”
“I can’t remember well. There should have been a dozen.”
“That many?”
“Because we were just the guides.”
“Who asked you to guide them?”
“Should be two groups, both under the guise of marine ecological protection organizations. One group’s leader is Honda, and the other’s is Ashley, the latter being British.”
“Should be?”
“Another is a new sailor named Zhu Changyong, who was close to my husband, but my husband said he would also come to this place.”
“So there were three groups that asked for your guidance. How were the profits divided?”
“The guide fee is already pretty high, and there are also shares afterwards.”
“Continue telling what happened once you got inside. I want to hear what was really there.”
“There is a wall inside, with a very big door on it, but it couldn’t be opened. Honda said it was just for decoration, that it was solid and sealed; since its construction, it was never intended to be opened to outsiders.”
“How did you get in, then?”
“There’s a gap between the top of the wall and the cave; it might have been sealed tight in the beginning, but over time, it pulled away from the wall. We crawled up and squeezed in.
Once inside, I saw…”
The woman's face revealed pain and struggle. Li Zhuiyuan ceased his probing and waited patiently.
After a while, the woman composed herself and continued, her tone trembling, “Once inside, we found this to be where we had come from.”
Li Zhuiyuan frowned slightly and asked, “How long did the process of crawling take?”
“About ten minutes. It was narrow; we could only move forward on our bellies with our gear.”
“That sounds long. But what were you afraid of, since you could just crawl back out?”
“That was where we had come from.”
“Mmm, you’ve said that already.”
The woman looked directly at Li Zhuiyuan, stating each word deliberately, “At the spot we came from, there was our original self.”
Li Zhuiyuan instinctively straightened up. Now he understood why she was afraid.
“And then…?”
“They started fighting.”
“Who started fighting?”
“I was the last to crawl out. According to Honda and Ashley’s instructions, my husband and I had to be one in front and one in the back.
I crawled out as they had already gone down, following the rope ladder.”
“You mentioned a rope ladder?”
Li Zhuiyuan began to visualize the scene based on the woman's simple descriptions, trying to catch every detail.
“It was the ladder Zhu Changyong had hung up.”
“Was Zhu Changyong also there?”
Li Zhuiyuan suspected that the person Xu Wen was searching for was certainly not Honda or Ashley; it was most likely Zhu Changyong.
“Yes, when I crawled out, they had already gone down the rope. They were communicating, and my husband was inside, along with the other husband.
When the two husbands stood together, I as a wife could not tell which was whom.”
“What about you? Did you see another version of yourself?”
The woman’s lips curved into a smile, and this smile began to widen, her eyes reflecting a deep and meaningful expression. Instead of directly answering, she retorted with a question:
“What do you think?”
Li Zhuiyuan leaned slightly and continued, “You said they started fighting afterwards?”
“Yes, it was a fight, many were killed, lying on the ground, beyond recognition.”
“Who was killed?”
“I can’t remember. In any case, only the ones still standing at the end were unique.”
“Among those lying on the ground, was that you?”
“What do you think?”
Li Zhuiyuan straightened up again, lowering his head to look at his fingers. He asked, “Was Zhu Changyong also left behind?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened next?”
“Next, we went down again.”
“Same cave?”
“No, this time we used the door because the remaining Honda discovered that this big door could be opened. It couldn’t be opened fully but was forced to create a gap wide enough for a person to squeeze through.”
“Did you all regroup?”
“Yeah.”
Li Zhuiyuan longed to ask, “How did you distinguish between which of the survivors belonged to your group and which were from a different one?
And how could you go through the door that had been sealed before?”
But he dared not press too deeply; he noticed the woman’s state was fluctuating again.
This brief period of calm, gained through emotional release, felt akin to drinking poison to quench thirst. Given she had only just gone through a traumatic experience, there was no doubt her mental issue would only worsen over time.
Eventually, this will overshadow and completely engulf any fleeting sanity she had left.
In other words, he had likely become the last person to acquire information about that event from her.
Li Zhuiyuan cursed Xu Wen inwardly once more; had he not coincidentally come today, this crucial information chain might have been buried forever. No wonder Li Lan hadn’t brought her secretary along when she executed that project.
“Was there a change in the environment after you went in through the door?”
“Yes, it was spacious inside, and also very bright. The sun, the moon, and the stars were above us.”
“What specifically was under your feet?”
“Beneath were pits, one after another. Next to each pit stood a stone sculpture, with water in the pits, and the sculptures were tied with bronze chains leading into the adjacent pits.”
“How many sculptures were there?”
“Countless. We kept moving forward until we reached a… house.”
“A house? What kind of house was it, how big?”
“Very big, extremely big.”
“Shouldn’t that be a palace?”
“It’s not a palace, just a kind of house. It has two horns, long whiskers, and a terrifying big mouth.”
“An animal? A creature of enormous size?”
“Not a creature, just a house.”
Li Zhuiyuan sighed inwardly; the woman’s condition had deteriorated. As she narrated, her words grew more and more disjointed, and he could no longer vividly picture the surroundings in his mind.
“Did you all enter that house?”
“I did not; I stayed behind. My husband and the others went inside, into that house.”
“Who did you mean by ‘others’?”
“Honda, Ashley, Zhu Changyong.”
“Who stayed back with you?”
“Four or five others, I guess.”
“Why separate?”
“Because we had to hold the rope.”
Her description lost any logical progression at this point.
“Held the rope? What happened to the path leading to the house?”
“It flooded.”
“Wasn’t it dry? Where did the water come from?”
“Water from the pits gradually spilled out while they were moving forward tied to the ropes.”
As the woman spoke, she suddenly stood up, her body shaking.
“What happened next?”
Li Zhuiyuan felt the urgency mounting; he needed clarity on the results.
“Then it became black, black everywhere; everything turned dark. Something within the house awoke, and the sun, moon, and stars above disappeared, revealing a red circle, like eyes, very large eyes.
It awakened. It became furious. They all crawled out of the pits, so many, countless…”
“What were they?”
“So many, all of them. The ropes broke; my husband’s rope snapped, and they were swallowed by the house! Ah!”
Li Zhuiyuan stood up. “What about you? What about the ones that remained behind?”
The woman clutched her head. “I was running; we all were running. We crawled out from the door, but that gap was only enough for one person to squeeze through. They were still pushing ahead, and one person used a pickaxe to kill two, pushing in first, and I followed after.
I abandoned my husband. I left him behind.”
“You couldn’t save him. That’s not your fault.”
“Is it…?” The woman’s emotions stabilized slightly at this reassurance.
Li Zhuiyuan was genuinely not trying to comfort her. In that bizarre environment, they had strayed far from conventional dangerous scenarios; rationality could hardly be expected from someone in that situation.
“Were the last few of you that came out?”
“Two, me and him.”
“Did he make it back? I mean back to the ship.”
“No, at the entrance, I saw the diving gear we had left earlier. His gear was still there.”
“What about the others’ gear?”
“It was all there. I was the only one who returned with gear.”
“It was you who killed him.” The woman’s gaze sharpened, her expression grave, but soon her left mouth corner curled into a smile.
This seemed like a form of tacit acceptance.
“Why did you kill him?”
“Because I suspected he and us were not from the same group.”
“So, you were the only one who returned.”
“Right.”
“What happened to the ship when you came back?”
“When we were returning, they all started acting strange.”
“How strange?”
“It was like they had gone mad.”
“Like you right now?”
“Yes.”
Li Zhuiyuan let out a sigh of relief; he had finished asking.
And it seemed like the woman finally managed to keep herself together, allowing the details to trickle out.
Though many specifics were lost and inconsistencies were plentiful, at least the outline of events had come full circle.
The most buried, hardest to elaborate point was how the two identical groups of people had turned against each other, the distrust and the subtle backstabbing amongst the remaining survivors.
At this moment, the woman stopped being agitated. A look of confusion clouded her eyes.
This indicated that her condition was even more severe than Li Zhuiyuan had originally feared. Sometimes, intense emotional responses indicated a powerful self-awareness.
The woman began shaking her head and humming a tune.
She chose to evade, to obliterate that part of her memory, to dismantle her own life.
Throughout everything, she had not once mentioned her child.
“Thank you for your story. Take care of yourself,” Li Zhuiyuan said.
The woman ignored him, continuing her humming.
Soon, she would no longer be restrained; perhaps she would finally wear loose-fitting patient clothes.
Li Zhuiyuan walked a few steps outside, then suddenly stopped, turning back to look at her, he asked, “The one who came out, was that the same as the one who went in?”
The woman noticeably paused for a beat before continuing to hum, shaking her head.
Li Zhuiyuan took the talisman he had drawn from his pocket, quickly circled the table, and pressed the paper against her forehead.
“Slap!”
The bright yellow talisman paper immediately peeled off and floated to the ground.
The woman continued to hum, showing no response.
Li Zhuiyuan bent down and picked up the talisman.
It was already pitch black.
After exiting the visiting room, the doctor from another room entered, taking the woman away.
Tan Yunlong uncrossed his legs and asked, “Did you finish asking?”
“Yeah.”
“How was it? Did it satisfy your curiosity?”
“No, it made me even more curious.”
If given the chance, he truly wanted to go there right away to see just what kind of strange place it was.
Perhaps he could see another identical version of himself.
Would that self fight with “himself?”
Li Zhuiyuan could understand that in such an environment, choosing to “kill the other” was the most normal thing.
But for himself, if that “self” was indeed completely identical, then why wouldn’t they hold hands and explore the secret together?
He often felt troubled by mental exhaustion. How nice it would be to have another brain on standby.
It was a pity that currently, he could only think about it; he did not possess the external or internal conditions to realize it.
External conditions could only come after he attended university or even graduated, while internal conditions required… him to grow up.
On the way back, riding on the seafood truck, Li Zhuiyuan shared the woman’s story with Tan Yunlong without holding back.
After all, this time, the story came about with their assistance and thus should be shared, not to mention, where there is a son, there is usually a father.
Looking at Tan Wenbin who listened intently, Li Zhuiyuan assumed Tan Yunlong had similar interests deep down.
After hearing it, Tan Yunlong, while driving, commented, “This world indeed harbors too many mysteries. It’s wonderful; it’s waiting for you all to grow up and explore so that life doesn’t feel mundane.”
Tan Wenbin teased, “Dad, why did you suddenly start emphasizing values?”
“I just felt inspired. At my age, sometimes you realize that no matter how much money you earn or how high you climb, what you see and experience doesn’t change in essence.
Those researchers, peeking through their microscopes, are often gazing at worlds most ordinary people will never touch in their lifetimes.”
“Dad, what about your money? What about your status?”
“You little scoundrel!”
Li Zhuiyuan found some resonance in Tan Yunlong’s words. What he was currently delving into and learning was a whole new domain.
To some extent, it seemed Li Lan had also chosen this path. Since Xu Wen had come to investigate this matter, it proved that Li Lan was not the traditional archeologist he had imagined.
It was in the enigmatic and mysterious fields that enabled them as mother and son to feel more like individuals.
“Little Yuan, who was that woman to you?”
“Uncle Tan, I didn’t mean to hide it, I just didn’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay, I understand. Are you all heading home now or to school?”
“Let’s go back to school. We still have classes in the afternoon.”
“Binbin, look at Little Yuan, and then look at you. He has such good grades and is still thinking about class.”
“Dad, I’m going to class; he’s going to class.”
Tan Yunlong comprehended: “Who is Little Yuan teaching?”
“The extracurricular Olympiad class organized by the school,” Tan Wenbin answered.
“Can you even get in? I hear that winning awards in this can be advantageous for the college entrance exam,” Tan Yunlong asked.
“Dad.”
“Hmm?”
“My genes just don’t measure up.”
“Vroom!”
The pickup truck suddenly accelerated.
After being dropped off at the school gate, Li Zhuiyuan looked at Tan Wenbin. “Brother Bin, aren’t you afraid of getting hit by Uncle when you talk like that?”
“If he hits Binbin, what does it have to do with me?”
“I’m hungry. Let’s go eat at the canteen.”
“Do you know, Little Yuan, since my grades improved, I've started to feel particularly powerful.
Before, I knew if I didn’t do well on the college entrance exam, I’d have to rely on my parents to get through life, including marrying and having kids, living under their shadow forever.
Eating what they provide, using what they give, I had to continue to endure their unsolicited opinions on my life.
Now, I feel like my wings are starting to harden.”
“Brother Bin, that’s not a shadow.”
“Exaggerated rhetoric! Who in the world intentionally gives their child a large shadow?”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Before the fourth class ended, the canteen was empty, having only a few people. While Tan Wenbin fetched food, Li Zhuiyuan went to get free soup.
This soup was available for unlimited servings, and many students relied on it to accompany their own packed lunches.
After finishing their meal, the school bell rang.
Tan Wenbin lazily ambled toward the classroom while Li Zhuiyuan walked alone into the small classroom.
To his surprise, there were already several students inside. Some were gnawing on steamed buns, while others rushed in with their books, having skipped lunch after class.
All of them cherished the competition opportunity; this was also their chance to change their lives.
Li Zhuiyuan felt a bit dazed. This was probably how it felt: what he took for granted was someone else’s dream.
The reverse was also true; he envied their health.
Upon Li Zhuiyuan’s arrival, the others greeted him with grateful smiles. They had heard rumors that the prodigy was absent that morning.
One student, munching on a steamed bun, rushed over to help carry the stool while another stood beside ready to assist.
Li Zhuiyuan positioned himself, took some chalk, and began to write down the solutions to the problems that hadn’t been checked off.
The students watched, hastily discussing among themselves, exuding a sense of urgency. The weekend was the date for the city competition, so naturally, some would need to be filtered out.
After completing the solutions, a tall classmate helped wipe the blackboard while Li Zhuiyuan continued to pose more problems.
Once he was done, he clapped his hands, and a classmate handed him a wet cloth.
Teacher Yan and several math teachers were seated below, and as Li Zhuiyuan descended, Teacher Yan stood, distributing the test papers:
“After copying the questions on the board, complete this test paper within two hours. You can turn it in early; there’s no need to worry about the afternoon classes.”
They would determine the final competition teams based on rankings.
Noticing that no test paper had been assigned to him, Li Zhuiyuan bid farewell to the teachers, rose to leave the small classroom, and headed towards the principal's office.
Zheng Haiyang was having lunch in the principal's office, while Wu Xinhang sat across from him. They were enjoying a simple stir-fry from the canteen.
After the funeral, he had returned to class since there was no corpse to transport back and no complex matters to deal with.
“Little Yuan, have you eaten?” Wu Xinhang asked cheerfully.
“Principal, I have.”
Zheng Haiyang stood awkwardly, unsure of what to say.
He was very grateful that the principal had specifically sought him out for lunch and a chat that morning, but he still couldn’t adapt to the atmosphere; it should be something most students would feel too.
Yet when viewed from another angle, the principal's effort became commendable.
“Brother Bin is back too,” Li Zhuiyuan said with a smile to Zheng Haiyang and then walked into the partitioned area, lying on the spring bed, closed his eyes, and began to take a nap.
He fell asleep quickly, even dreaming.
In the dream, he stood on the deck; it seemed he had grown taller, just as tall as the current Tan Wenbin.
He was holding Aliri’s hand, and beside him stood Cui Cui; further away were Runsheng and Tan Wenbin, with several other silhouettes lurking, though their faces were indistinct.
The ship anchored in a specific area.
In his dream, he stood at the edge, pointing down, “This is the spot; get ready, we are going down!”
Behind him came a chorus of affirmations, and everyone began to don their diving gear.
Li Zhuiyuan also put on a set and felt a bit foggy once he donned the mask.
Some climbed down the ship's ladder; others jumped straight into the water.
Li Zhuiyuan chose the latter, leaping into the depths.
“Splash!”
As he hit the water, he sat up, wide awake.
The curtain had been pulled aside, and Wu Xinhang, his face filled with kindness, asked, “Did you have a dream?”
“Yeah.”
“If you’re tired, just rest more. The school is putting a heavy load on you.”
“Not really…”
Li Zhuiyuan felt a bit embarrassed to admit his exhaustion since during class, he either slept or read extra books.
“Little Yuan, here’s your scholarship and subsidy from the school. The detailed list is inside, along with the cash. Please take it home and hand it to your parents.”
“Thank you, Principal.”
“Oh, and this…” Wu Xinhang pulled out some cash from his pocket, “This is your pocket money from me, in the name of grandpa.”
“I can't accept this.”
“Take it, and good luck with the weekend competition. I've already ordered a celebratory banner; don’t blame grandpa for putting pressure on you.”
“Thank you, Grandpa.”
Li Zhuiyuan took the money. He felt no pressure; even with other genius students from different schools, he wasn’t worried, having been surrounded by prodigies all classroom long.
“Thank you, Grandpa.”
Wu Xinhang sighed in relief. This money was willingly given, seeking only to enjoy the quirks of meetings.
“Principal, I’m off to class now.”
“I think that won’t be necessary; the bell for the fourth period is about to ring.”
Li Zhuiyuan was surprised; he had slept an entire afternoon?
The consequence of sleeping an entire afternoon was that he found it hard to sleep again at home and ended up drawing with Aliri deep into the night.
Aliri sat there as his model, and he attempted to paint her.
However, amid his efforts, he remained dissatisfied, resulting in tearing up many sheets of paper.
This made Aliri, sitting there, feel a bit guilty and uneasy, her gaze toward Li Zhuiyuan filled with inquiry: had she done something wrong?
“Aliri, it’s your fault; you’re too beautiful, too graceful. My skills are too poor; I simply cannot capture it.”
The girl furrowed her brows and pouted slightly, as if glaring at the boy.
“Hahaha…” Li Zhuiyuan chuckled, amused that Aliri could now understand both literal and figurative expressions.
In fact, this was true—beautiful subjects are indeed easier to draw, but it’s primarily about their grace.
Aliri's grace was partly innate and partly cultivated by Liu Yumei.
In this day and age, people followed trends regardless of whether it suited them, all chasing after Western aesthetics, with very few donning traditional garments except for what could be seen on stage.
Li Zhuiyuan let out a helpless sigh, acknowledging that drawing Aliri was indeed very challenging. But even if he improved his painting skills, Aliri would grow, leading to another version of grace and style that would likely become harder to illustrate.
Should I choose another subject to practice on first?
He took Aliri back downstairs to the east room where Liu Yumei opened the door in her white nightgown, asking, “Did you get any drawings done?”
“No, not really.”
“Is it because our Aliri is too pretty?”
“Yes.”
Upon returning to his room, Li Zhuiyuan did not rush to rest but spread out the paper again, mixed some paint, grabbed a brush, and began to draw.
This time, he was drawing a little yellow oriole.
Having drawn halfway, he finally felt the drowsiness come to him and put down his brush, climbing into bed to sleep.
The evening breeze whispered through the gauze door, fluttering the drawing paper, gently curling one corner.
It was as if someone was standing before the drawing table, carefully appreciating his pieces.
…
The day of the city mathematics competition arrived.
Unlike previous years where they rushed and rushed back with their low-key and humble demeanor, this year, Shigang High School arranged a large bus with banners hung on both sides and flowers adorning the front.
Simply put, it was very flashy, very ostentatious.
In addition to the teachers accompanying the students, Principal Wu personally led the team this time, getting on the bus and first rallying the students, distributing fruits, bread, and drinks.
The testing point was in Pingchao Middle School, which was vast and imposing.
Once seated in the classroom, Li Zhuiyuan turned his gaze out the window, where a row of ginkgo trees stood, remarkably beautiful.
When the examination papers were distributed, Li Zhuiyuan was still relishing the view.
As the proctor approached, gently tapping his desk to remind him, Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head, wrote his name, quickly answered the questions, then turned in his paper.
Upon exiting the classroom, he lingered under the ginkgo trees for a long while.
However, when he exited the examination room, he was still the first to leave, maintaining astonishing speed.
Various schools’ transport vehicles were parked on the playground, and teachers from different schools gathered together, daintily smoking and chatting, with superficial politeness masking hidden verbal barbs.
The exam room served as a battlefield for the students, but it was just as serious for the teachers. To some degree, younger students tended not to fully grasp the situation, while teachers were arguably more involved in this competition.
As Li Zhuiyuan emerged, Teacher Yan hurriedly approached him, carrying water and snacks.
Principal Wu was not present; he lingered in the school’s principal’s office, receiving jibes from others while quietly building his eccentric persona.
The other accompanying teachers from various schools appeared astonished when they saw such a young child emerge, expressing disbelief in their expressions, while a sense of foreboding crept in.
Either they thought that Shigang High’s teachers had completely given up, bringing the principal’s grandson over to experience the atmosphere of the exam.
Or this child came from somewhere significant, clearly extraordinary.
Naturally, no one was foolish enough to believe the former.
Everyone operated within the education sector and had yet to hear tales about prodigies; how could they not have heard rumors about children with remarkable talents?
At the same time, they were puzzled: how did such a child end up in a rural middle school?
Soon, everyone began to make an effort to get close to Teacher Yan, trying to fish out the child’s background. The tone was genuinely polite and respectful, not fake.
What a joke; they had unveiled their secret weapon. If they brought out their own weapons now, that would just be volunteering their faces for the other side to score points.
Teacher Yan felt ecstatic, bubbling with joy. He was glad Principal Wu was not around, allowing him to bask in this attention like a star.
In the past, as a transparent presence focused more on participation and accompaniment, he felt grateful and started preparing a few small praises too; after all, the math teacher also possessed some literary flair.
“Hey, hey, hey, you’re exaggerating. It’s really nothing. Isn’t it just a city competition? Not really worth celebrating. There’s also the provincial and national levels coming up. Those are truly deserving of some modest celebration.”
Li Zhuiyuan lay on the bus for quite a while until the exam ending bell finally rang.
Sure, there were students who turned in their papers early, but they were few; most students submitted their tests at the last moment. The other students from his school had been jointly directed by Teacher Yan and Principal Wu to NOT turn in their papers early!
Of course, Little Yuan was excluded from this rule since he was an assistant.
On the return trip, Teacher Yan and Principal Wu started asking about other students’ exam performances, receiving fairly positive feedback.
After all, they were top math students from the school, and having gone through targeted question simulations naturally yielded results.
Principal Wu was thrilled, even leading a song on the bus:
“The sun sets over the western mountains, the red glow shines; the soldier returns after target practice, returns after…”
Returning to school was already in the afternoon. Principal Wu waved his hand, indicating for students to be dismissed early.
Li Zhuiyuan still returned to the classroom, waiting for Tan Wenbin to exit the school with him.
At the gate, he spotted Tan Yunlong sitting on a motorcycle.
Tan Wenbin immediately panicked, swiftly placing Little Yuan behind himself for protection.
Tan Yunlong dismounted, pointed at his own son, then pointed toward a distant trash bin.
Tan Wenbin snapped a salute and quickly distanced himself.
“Uncle Tan, is something wrong?”
“Zheng Haiyang’s mother died in the mental hospital—suicide.”
“How could this happen?”
Li Zhuiyuan found it hard to believe; she had already gone mad and had willingly accepted it. For her, the goal ahead should have been survival.
“There was a visitation record yesterday, and in that story you relayed, this name came up repeatedly. By the story's description, he should have remained at the bottom of the sea.”
“Who?”
“Zhu Changyong.”
(End of Chapter)