Jacket guy didn’t hesitate.
He kicked Yu Jinyang, chair and all, hard to the ground.
Yu Jinyang crashed to the floor, his cheek pressed to the ground as he coughed violently, fingers bracing against the floor. He ignored the blood pouring from his mouth, rubbing his cheek on the ground, but otherwise silent.
Because now he was sure—this was his dad’s office, the one with the camp bed where he used to work.
He used to ignore the bed and lie on the floor playing marbles, scratching the floor all over.
At first, his dad would spank him for it, but his dad put on a different face for his mom, saying, “The floor can be replaced, but you can’t buy back a happy childhood for your son.”
He really knew how to act. Later, Yu Jinyang didn’t want to cause trouble for him anymore.
At first, their relationship was tense and confrontational.
That’s why, really, kids should just stay home from birth. If you miss out on those early moments, like chasing your dad and calling him “daddy,” it’s hard to forgive him for being two-faced later on.
But suddenly, it didn’t hurt so much.
This time, maybe he could go play marbles again—no more exams anyway.
Jacket guy raised his foot again—
The next second, the door was suddenly kicked open.
Yu Jinyang finally heard a rush of footsteps like an iron cavalry, followed by the pleasant shouts of the police: “Hands up!” as they stormed in.
It was eleven thirty at night, nine and a half hours until the high school entrance exam at nine the next morning.
Seven thirty in the morning. The road was slightly damp, as if the whole city had been washed clean by a light rain.
The leaves glistened with water droplets, and Liang Mei was moving the flowers from the balcony inside.
She saw Zheng Miaojia and Li Yingqiao come out after washing up for breakfast, and finally cheered them on: “Remember! Don’t be nervous. At this point, whether you get in or not is up to the Bodhisattva’s blessing.”
The two of them nodded vigorously in unison—as long as it wasn’t pizza, they were fine.
They’d had enough, just hearing the word made them want to throw up.
“Is Yu Miaomiao still unconscious?”
Li Yingqiao asked as she drank her soy milk, suspiciously glancing down—why did this soy milk taste…
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Li Yingqiao shook her head, “Will Yu Miaomiao be able to take the exam today?”
“He’s probably still in the ER, dehydrated. The kidnappers didn’t feed him for three days, so he got an IV all night,” Liang Mei checked her watch, “I heard he’s in the same exam center as you, at No. 3 Middle School. You can wait for him at the gate, but if he doesn’t show, just go in yourselves.”
“I’ll wait for him, see how badly he got beaten up.”
Li Yingqiao downed her soy milk, grabbed Zheng Miaojia, who’d already finished breakfast, and headed out.
She shouted, “Sister Mei, wait for our triumphant return!”
Li Yingqiao was in Exam Room 16, Zheng Miaojia in Room 3.
They didn’t know which room Yu Jinyang was in. On the first day of the high school entrance exam, the school gate was flooded with people.
The parents’ outfits were so uniform that Li Yingqiao always wanted to sell qipao at this time of year—the sales would surely soar.
There were banners and flags everywhere, and even the roadside breakfast stalls raised their prices by half a yuan or a yuan.
“Is he here?”
Zheng Miaojia craned her neck in the crowd, looking for the wounded guy.
She glanced at her phone, “Gao Dian’s already inside, he’s taking the exam at No. 2 Middle School.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier.”
Li Yingqiao replied absentmindedly.
“Do you need to give him anything?”
“No,” Li Yingqiao said, “Just tell him after the exam to stop by our homeroom teacher’s office and say he’s my dad, so he can help me get back the manga she confiscated.”
Zheng Miaojia smelled smoke from somewhere, looked around, and saw a few boys in No. 3 Middle School uniforms smoking in the alley opposite the school under a “Blind Massage” sign.
They chatted as they smoked, glancing over at the girls now and then.
Creepy.
Zheng Miaojia tugged at Li Yingqiao, “It’s really chaotic here at No. 3. Why are those boys smoking so openly at the gate? Aren’t they all junior high students?”
Li Yingqiao looked back, recognizing the tall guy in the black hoodie as the ex-boyfriend of the bossy girl from their own No. 2 Middle School—the one who let her win two thousand yuan betting.
The group was discussing how to win the bossy girl back, and since they recognized Li Yingqiao from No. 2, their gazes kept sweeping over her.
The black-hoodie guy didn’t bother hiding his stare, directly telling the others her name in a deliberately deep voice: “That’s Li Yingqiao.”
Zheng Miaojia froze, gripping her hand tighter, “Qiao Qiao, you haven’t fought him before, right? Why does he talk like a hippo, so low, moo moo moo—”
“Don’t mind him, he’s got a screw loose,” Li Yingqiao didn’t even look back, “Forget it, let’s go in. No more waiting.”
Just as they turned to go in, a familiar voice rang out behind them, clear as jade: “Li Yingqiao! Zheng Miaojia!”
The two girls exchanged a glance, feeling as if their ears had been cleansed. The voice was a bit hoarser than before, but still as bright as ever, like a young man who could light up the world.
They turned around together, just about to greet him loudly—
—Welcome back, Comrade Yu Miaomiao, for passing through fire and water to take the entrance exam!
They turned, just in time to see the wind ruffle the boy’s freshly washed hair.
His once sharp features were now like a crumpled paper ball trampled on the ground, covered in colorful bruises, his lips crusted with dark red scabs.
His face was swollen and crooked—Li Yingqiao had never seen Yu Jinyang look so awful.
“…Let’s pretend we don’t know him.”
She whispered to Zheng Miaojia.
Yu Jinyang, after a night of IV fluids, didn’t care that he looked like a little demon from the eighteenth level of hell, both eyes swollen like bulbs.
At least the doctor said he wasn’t blind, and his eyesight was fine. His mind was surprisingly clear.
When they asked if he could see the tree outside, he said it was fine, as long as he could see the exam questions.
So he yanked out the IV, dashed out of bed, and insisted on coming to the exam.
His leg was still in a cast, and he’d just gotten out of the car, hopping along, calling out to the girls.
Yu Renjie and Tang Xiang followed closely behind, cheering him on.
That scene, Li Yingqiao would never forget.
Her childhood friend, supported by his father and mother, arms around their necks, hopped toward the school gates for the entrance exam, still remembering to call out to them—
“Li Yingqiao! Zheng Miaojia!”
“The author of ‘How the Steel Was Tempered’ is Ostrovsky, don’t write the full name!”
Li Yingqiao suddenly felt herself deeply moved by this wild-dog-like tenacity, and so, that day, at the gates of No. 3 Middle School, this scene played out, making the smoking boys even more certain that reading too many books was a bad idea.
“Yu Miaomiao! Liu Yuxi—”
“Courtesy name Mengde! Together with Liu Zongyuan known as ‘Liu and Liu’, and in his later years, with Bai Juyi, ‘Liu and Bai’.”
“Li Yingqiao! In ‘Inscription of a Humble Room’, which line uses objects to express ambition?”
“‘This humble room is virtuous, only my virtue is fragrant!’”
“Zheng Miaojia, in ‘Red Cliffs’, which line uses artifacts to express feelings?”
“‘Broken halberd sunk in sand, iron not yet melted, I wash it and recognize it from the previous dynasty!’”
“Li Yingqiao!”
“Hey! Ask away.”
“See you at the pool.”
“See you at the pool!”
“See you at the pool!!!”
“Kids! See you at the pool!!!”
Yu Renjie shouted along.
“The ones who don’t need to take the exam always shout the loudest.”
Tang Xiang said.
“Hahaha, Aunt Tang, Uncle Yu is even louder when playing cards. I can hear him yelling three-on-one at home while watching TV.”
Yu Renjie: …You little brat, do you want another beating?
Bleh bleh bleh!
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