The woman threw herself on the table like a madman, unable to stretch out her arms because her arms were bound by her clothes, and her body could only curl up and writhe violently like a stressed python.
Her eyes were so red that they seemed to be bleeding, and her expression was fierce as if she wanted to choose someone to eat.
Everyone visiting outside, except for Li Chaiyuan, couldn't help but be shocked, even Tan Yunlong couldn't escape the vulgarity, because normal people would feel extremely uncomfortable when they saw this scene.
After all, the other party is a human being, their own kind, and under the long-term peaceful environment, everyone generally cannot accept this kind of animalistic hysteria in their hearts.
Li Chaiyuan had a different feeling, through the glass, he could see a kind of catharsis from the woman's screams and crazy body movements.
What is terrible in the eyes of ordinary people is a sign that a benign phase in the cycle will begin.
This kind of empathy is unreasonable, vulgar analogies, just like an addict walking around the city alleys to know where to buy goods, and the old prostitute can tell if there is a big job inside by scanning the door of the store.
The heads of special groups are like a radar installed on each other's heads, which can sense each other's existence, which can be regarded as another kind of "similar smell".
But obviously, Aunt Xu didn't understand, because she began to clean up the photos on the table, thinking that the inquiry was over and she couldn't ask anything again.
Li Chaiyuan felt that Li Lan would keep her by his side as his secretary, not because of how strong she was, but because she was a fellow townsman and could speak the south, which could be used to talk to her parents on the phone in the future.
Even if the phone call took several years to dial, this was indeed what Li Lan would do.
"Brother Binbin, I know the aunt inside, I don't want her to know I'm here."
This is not only said to Tan Wenbin.
After saying that, Li Chaiyuan turned around and ran into the toilet on the side of the corridor.
The man next to Xu Wen helped her open the door, and she walked out and saw the three people standing at the door.
Xu Wen asked: "Who are you?"
Tan Yunlong replied: "I am the police officer from the place where the household registration of the people inside, take them to see."
Saying that, Tan Yunlong stretched out his hand and patted Tan Wenbin on the shoulder.
Tan Wenbin had dinner with Die Anyway.
At this moment, he lowered his head first, so as not to let the other party find out that the eyebrows of the "policeman" behind him converged, and then shrugged his shoulders lightly.
Xu Wen showed a little guilt in her eyes, after all, she was the one who caused the madness of the woman inside, so she just nodded, turned around and walked out, and the accompanying man kept following her.
When they walked to the toilet door, Xu Wen stopped and washed her hands.
The man lowered his voice and said: "I didn't ask any results."
Xu Wen was not aware of this aspect and said in a very normal volume: "She shouldn't have gone down, but she was seriously stimulated by her husband's affairs, where is the next crew resettlement?"
"Lianyungang."
"Then let's set off quickly."
"Do you want to visit them all?"
"Otherwise, for him, I want to see people and die to see corpses."
"This is your hometown, why don't you go back and take a look?"
"My mother has already been taken to Beijing by me, and I don't have any relatives worth seeing in my hometown."
"I heard ......"
"I don't dare to contact the director's relatives, otherwise I will wait for the director to come back......"
They left the toilet and walked outside, and the conversation behind them was inaudible.
Li Chaiyuan came out of the toilet and turned on the faucet to wash his hands.
Thanks to being blind for a month before, he felt that he had been further developed, and he had heard the previous conversation himself.
Aunt Xu is looking for someone, but that person is not Li Lan, because Xu Wen will not describe Li Lan as "living to see people and dying to see corpses".
Therefore, the mission that Li Lan went to was not the area where Zheng Haiyang's parents had an accident, but Li Lan really hasn't come back yet.
What kind of task will take so long, it has been two months.
In the past, he would take the initiative to meet Xu Wen and greet him, calling "Aunt Xu" affectionately, but now, he is very reluctant to contact Li Lan and the people around him.
If he had a choice, he would rather not have any intersection with Li Lan for the rest of his life, and I believe Li Lan thinks the same way.
Because after their mother and son met, no matter what they did or said, they were peeling each other's skin.
The doctor came out and was communicating with Tan Yunlong.
"The patient is really emotionally unstable now and is not suitable for further visits."
Tan Yunlong pointed to Li Chaiyuan who came back and said: "Let the child go in alone to take a look, child, it's very pitiful."
The doctor looked down at Li Chaiyuan, and after hesitation, he nodded: "Okay, just let him go in alone, you are all waiting outside and not allowed to come in."
Tan Yunlong bent down, seemingly whispering in Li Chaiyuan's ear: "That man has been a soldier and has been on the battlefield."
Li Zhuyuan nodded: "Thank you, Uncle Tan."
Tan Yunlong smiled and sat back on the bench in the corridor.
Li Chaiyuan was put into the visiting room.
He sat down opposite the woman, who was no longer as excited and crazy as before, but she was still panting, and the red in her eyes was still scary.
Li Zhuyuan sat there without speaking.
He came here because of "interest" and had nothing to do with classmates' friendships, so he didn't want to mention Zheng Haiyang and used it as a chat entrance.
He doesn't even want to use his mind and method to guide the development of the topic, even if he is good at it.
Xu Wen's style of behavior was first, which made him feel that it was very boring to do so, and he didn't want to base his fun on destroying and playing with innocent others.
What is very interesting is that when I made up my mind to use Li Lan as the wrong collection of questions, it was really maintaining human nature.
Tan Wenbin, who was looking through the glass outside, asked Runsheng a little puzzled: "Why doesn't Brother Xiaoyuan speak?"
Runsheng shook his head: "Xiaoyuan doesn't speak, which means you don't have to speak."
After Tan Wenbin chewed it carefully, he said: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
But soon, the turning point came.
The woman calmed down, she began to speak actively, without screaming, without madness, just sitting there, talking normally.
Unfortunately, the volume was too normal to hear outside.
This made Tan Wenbin so anxious that he couldn't wait to rush in and listen together.
Runsheng didn't understand: "What are you in a hurry for?"
"Can you not be in a hurry, if you go in now and listen to it, when Brother Xiaoyuan comes out to tell us, it will be what he has summarized."
"Isn't this bad?"
"My fault, why am I discussing this with you."
Visiting the room, the woman's expression returned to normal.
Li Chaiyuan knew that his "empathy" was not wrong, and he picked peaches.
Xu Wen successfully stimulated the woman and made her lose control of her emotions, and then she left, leaving a better situation for herself.
If Li Lan were here, she would never make such a low-level mistake.
"I once persuaded him not to go down with them, but he didn't listen, and he even persuaded me to go down with them."
"Are you going down?"
"Yes, I'm going down, I shouldn't have gone down."
"I'm curious, what's down there?"
"One, a very big place, where there is the sun, the moon and the stars."
"You mean, at the bottom of the sea?"
"Don't you believe it?"
"I believe it."
"There are many shipwrecks outside."
"There should be a lot of treasures there."
"Yes, but it's hard to find, because these ships are broken, except for a few special ones."
"Why is it special?"
"Most of them are wooden, and a few are not, they are buried under the sea sand, only a little is exposed, it is in a turbulent area, it is impossible to dig at all, after so many years, even if there are things on it, they have been blown away or buried deeply."
"That's a pity, so you guys went in?"
"Yes, we went in, and when we got in, we could take off our oxygen masks, there was a dry area where we could surface and see the sun and stars."
The Sun and Stars......
Li Zhuiyuan knew that the woman was very sober now, and the juxtaposition of the sun and the stars might have a special meaning.
Due to the lack of relevant professional knowledge, Li Zhuiyuan could not judge whether this place under the sea could really exist from a scientific perspective, but he felt that the woman was not lying.
I still need to go to college.
"It's not the first time you've gone in, are you?"
"It's my first time, but my husband isn't, he's coming in for the second time."
"Does the work of a seafarer include these?"
"Depending on how you understand it, this is just a job, and work is not the whole of life. In fact, our salary is quite high, but the proceeds from smuggling can't be shared with us, my husband is jealous and wants to make a lot of money quickly, so that he will never go to the sea again, and I feel the same way."
"Understand, how many people did you go down in total?"
"I can't remember, there should be more than a dozen."
"So much?"
"Because we are just leading the way."
"Who asked you to lead the way?"
"It should be two groups of people, both in the name of the marine ecological protection organization, one group leader is called Honda, and the other group leader is called Ashley, the latter is British."
"Should it?"
"There is also a new seafarer, named Zhu Changyong, who has a good relationship with my husband, but my husband said that he should also come for this place."
"So it's three groups, please lead the way, how do you distribute the benefits?"
"The travel fee is very high, and there is a share afterwards."
"Let's continue to talk about what happened after I went in, I want to hear what is inside."
"There is a wall inside, there is a big door on the wall, but this door cannot be opened, Honda said that it plays a decorative role, the inside is solid and closed, since it was built, there is no intention to open it again to let outsiders in."
"Then how did you get in?"
"There is a gap between the top of the wall and the cave, which may have been tight at first, but after a long time, it separated from the wall, and we climbed up and got in again.
When I went in, I saw ......"
The woman's face showed pain and struggle.
Li Chaiyuan stopped asking and waited patiently.
After a while, the woman calmed down and continued with a trembling tone, "After entering, we found that this was where we came."
Li Chaiyuan frowned slightly and asked: "How long is the drilling process?"
"Ten minutes, because it is very narrow, you can only crawl forward with equipment."
"That's been a long time, so what are you afraid of, even if you get in and come back."
"That's where you came from."
"Well, you said it."
The woman looked at Li Chaiyuan and said word by word: "In the position when we came, there are still us when we came."
Li Zhuiyuan subconsciously sat up straight.
He understood why he was afraid.
"And then...... What about it?"
"They are fighting."
"They?"
"I was the last one to come out, and according to Honda and Ashley's request, my husband and I had to be one in front and one in the back.
When I got out, they had already gone down, along the rope ladder."
"You said rope ladder?"
Li Chaiyuan began to try to outline the scene of that time in the woman's simple description as much as possible, and try not to miss any details.
"It's the ladder that Zhu Changyong hung."
"Is there Zhu Changyong on the other side?"
Li Chaiyuan suspected that what Xu Wen was looking for was definitely not the two groups of people Honda and Ashley, and there was a high probability that it would be this Zhu Changyong.
"Yes, when I got out, they were already down the rope ladder, they were communicating, and my husband was inside, two husbands.
When the two of them stood together, I, as a wife, couldn't tell which one was true."
"What about yourself, do you see another you?"
A smile appeared on the corner of the woman's mouth, and the range of this smile was gradually expanding, and her eyes also showed a strong meaning.
She did not answer the boy's question directly, but used a rhetorical question:
"What do you think?"
Li Chaiyuan turned slightly sideways and continued to ask: "You said they started fighting later?"
"Yes, there was a fight, and many people died, lying on the ground, bloody and fleshy."
"Who is dead?"
"I can't remember, anyway, those who are still alive standing in the end are the only ones."
"Are you also lying on the ground?"
"What do you think?"
Li Chaiyuan sat up straight again, lowered his head, looked at his fingers, and asked: "Is there one left for Zhu Changyong?"
"Hmm."
"What next?"
"Next, we went in again."
"Or the hole?"
"No, this time I went through the door, because the remaining Honda found that this door can be opened, but it cannot be opened all, but it can pry open the gap enough for one person to enter sideways."
"You guys continue to team up again?"
"Hmm."
Li Chaiyuan really wanted to ask, how can you distinguish between the people who survived and who was the group you came in?
And the door that could not be entered from the outside can now be entered again.
So, did you go in or out?
But the boy didn't dare to ask too much detail, he had already noticed that the woman's state had fluctuated again.
This kind of temporary peace obtained after catharsis is actually similar to drinking ducks to quench thirst, and it is also because she has just had an accident not long ago.
In the end, this period of calm and reason that occasionally appeared was completely overwhelmed.
In other words, she was probably the last person who knew the information at that time from her.
Li Chaiyuan couldn't help but slander Xu Wen again in his heart, if he hadn't rushed over today, this information chain would have been buried forever, no wonder Li Lan didn't take you as a secretary when he went to implement that project.
"After entering through the door, has the environment changed?"
"Yes, it is very open and bright, and the sun, moon and stars are all overhead."
"Specifically, I mean, under my feet."
"At your feet, there are pits one by one, next to each pit, there is a stone sculpture, there is water in the pit, and the stone sculpture is tied with a bronze chain, extending into the pit next to it."
"How many are there?"
"Countless. Keep going forward, to that... house."
"House? Are there houses there? How big are they?"
"Very big. Very big."
"Shouldn't that be a palace?"
"It's not a palace, it's a house. It has two horns, a long beard, and a terrifying mouth."
"An animal? A huge animal?"
"It's not an animal, it's a house."
Li Zhuiyuan sighed inwardly. The woman's condition had worsened, and her narration had become increasingly halting. He could no longer describe the surroundings in his mind.
"Did you go into this house?"
"No, I was left behind while my husband and his friends went inside, into that house."
"Who specifically are you referring to, your husband and his friends?"
"Honda, Ashley, and Zhu Changyong."
"Who else stayed behind with you?"
"About four or five people."
"Why did you split up?"
"Because we were responsible for tying the ropes."
Her description no longer had any logical progression.
"Tying the ropes? What happened to the road ahead? I mean, the road leading to the house."
"It's flooded."
"Isn't it dry? Where did the water come from?"
"The water in the pit gradually overflowed, and they walked forward with ropes tied around their bodies."
As the woman spoke, she stood up, her body shaking.
"And then what happened?"
Li Zhuiyuan felt he couldn't wait any longer; he had to get the results.
"Then everything turned black, black. Everything in the house woke up. The sun, moon, and stars above disappeared, leaving only a circle of red, like an eye, a huge eye.
It woke up, it was enraged. They all crawled out of the pit, so many, so many, too many to count..."
"What were they?"
"So many, so many, all of them. The ropes that bound my husband broke. The ropes that bound them broke. They were swallowed up by the house. Ahhhh!"
Li Zhuiyuan stood up. "What about you? What about you, the ones who stayed behind?"
The woman held her head. "I was running. We all were running. We squeezed out of the door. There was only enough space for one person to get out. They were still squeezing in. One of them used a pickaxe to kill two people. He squeezed in first, and I got in last.
I left my husband behind. I left him behind."
"You couldn't save him. It's not your fault."
"Really..." The woman's emotions calmed down a little after hearing this.
Li Zhuiyuan wasn't trying to comfort her. Such a bizarre situation was beyond the realm of traditional danger, and it was difficult for anyone to be rational in that situation.
"Who were the last few of you to leave?"
"Two, him and me."
"Did he leave? I mean, back on the boat?"
"No. I saw the diving gear we left behind where we came in. His gear is still there."
"Where's everyone else's gear?"
"It's all there. I was the last one to return with it."
"You... killed him." The woman's eyes fixed, her expression solemn, but then a smile crept up the left corner of her mouth.
It seemed like a tacit agreement.
"Why did you kill him?"
"Because I suspected he wasn't part of our group."
"So, in the end, you were the only one back."
"Yes."
"What happened on the ship after you returned?"
"On the way back, they all started acting strangely."
"How strange?"
"Like crazy."
"Like you are now?"
"Yes."
Li Zhuiyuan breathed a sigh of relief. He had finished his questions.
The woman seemed to finally have managed to finish her story.
Although it was fragmented, with many details missing and many inconsistencies, the story still had a coherent beginning and end.
The most obscured and difficult part of the story to recount was the intrigue and wariness among the remaining groups after the two identical groups killed each other.
At this point, the woman's excitement subsided, and a blank look appeared in her eyes.
This meant her condition was even more serious than Li Zhuiyuan had initially anticipated. Sometimes, intense emotional reactions can actually prove a strong sense of self-awareness.
The woman began to shake her head and hum a ballad.
She chose to escape, to destroy that memory, to destroy her life.
From beginning to end, she never asked about her child.
Li Zhuiyuan: "Thank you for your story. Take care of yourself."
The woman ignored him and continued humming.
Perhaps soon, she would no longer be restrained and could change into loose-fitting hospital gowns.
Li Zhuiyuan took a few steps out, then suddenly stopped, turned around, looked at her, and asked:
"Are you the same person who came out?"
The woman paused noticeably, then continued humming, shaking her head.
Li Zhuiyuan pulled the talisman he had drawn from his pocket, quickly walked around the table to the woman's side, and placed the talisman on her forehead.
"Snap!"
The bright yellow talisman slipped away as soon as it was applied, fluttering to the ground.
The woman continued humming, unresponsive.
Li Zhuiyuan bent down and picked up the talisman.
It had turned pitch black.
After Li Zhuiyuan left the visiting room, a doctor from another door entered and escorted the woman out.
Tan Yunlong lowered his crossed legs and asked, "Are you done?"
"Hmm."
"So, are you satisfied?"
"No, I've become even more curious."
If he had the chance, he'd really like to go there right now to see what kind of eerie place it was.
Perhaps he could see another identical version of himself.
Would he then fight with "himself"?
Li Zhuiyuan understood that in that situation, the most natural choice was to "kill the other person." But for himself, if that "self" truly was exactly like him, then why not join hands and explore the secrets within?
He often fretted over exhaustion; it would be wonderful if he had an extra brain to spare.
Unfortunately, for now, he could only contemplate it. He didn't possess the necessary external or internal conditions to make the journey.
The external conditions would have to wait until he went to college or even graduated, when the corresponding opportunities would arise. The internal conditions would require... at least growing up.
On the way back in the seafood cart from the market, Li Zhuiyuan recounted the woman's story, not avoiding Tan Yunlong.
After all, this storytelling meeting had been facilitated by someone else, so it was only right that it should be shared. Besides, like son, like father...
Looking at Tan Wenbin, Tan Yunlong probably harbored similar interests deep down.
After listening, Tan Yunlong said while driving, "This world truly has so many mysteries. That's great. It's waiting for you to explore when you grow up, so you won't get bored."
Tan Wenbin teased, "Dad, why are you suddenly talking about value?"
"It's just something I'm saying. When I get to your dad's age, sometimes I feel like, no matter how much money you make or how high your position, what you see and what you live in are still the same.
Those researchers, with a single glance under a microscope, see a new world most ordinary people will never be able to touch."
"Dad, where's your money? Where's your position?"
"Little bastard!"
Li Zhuiyuan resonated with Tan Yunlong's words. Wasn't he currently exploring and learning about a brand new field?
To a certain extent, Li Lan seemed to have chosen the same path. Xu Wen's presence in this investigation proved that Li Lan wasn't the traditional archaeologist she'd imagined.
Only in the unknown and mysterious realm can mother and son feel like human beings.
"Xiaoyuan, who is that woman to you?"
"Uncle Tan, I'm not hiding it from you, I just don't want to tell you."
"Okay, it's okay, Uncle, I understand. So are you going home or to school?"
"Back to school, we have classes at noon."
"Binbin, look at Xiaoyuan, then look at you. He's got such good grades, yet he still wants to go to school."
"Dad, I'm going to class, he's going to class."
Tan Yunlong understood: "Who does Xiaoyuan teach?"
"The school's Olympiad class," Tan Wenbin replied.
"Can you get in? I heard winning this award is very helpful for the college entrance exam."
"Dad."
"Hmm?"
"My genes aren't good."
"Buzz!"
The pickup truck suddenly accelerated.
After being dropped off at the school gate, Li Zhuiyuan looked at Tan Wenbin and said, "Brother Binbin, aren't you afraid of getting beaten by your uncle when you get home for talking like that?"
"He beating Binbin has nothing to do with me, Zhuangzhuang."
"I'm hungry. Let's go to the cafeteria."
"You know, Xiaoyuan, ever since my grades have improved, I've felt incredibly strong.
I used to know that if I didn't do well on the college entrance exam, I'd still have to rely on my parents for the rest of my life, including getting married and having children. I'd have to live under their shadow forever.
If you eat their food, use their money, and take their advantage, you'll have to continue to endure their criticism of your life.
Now, I feel like my wings are starting to grow stronger."
"Brother Binbin, that's not a shadow."
"It's just an exaggeration. What parents would deliberately cast such a shadow on their children?"
"Yeah, you're right."
Fourth period hadn't ended yet, and the cafeteria was deserted. Tan Wenbin went to get his food, while Li Zhuiyuan served the free soup.
This soup was free to serve, and many students ate it with their own dry food.
After finishing their meal, the bell rang for the end of class.
Tan Wenbin sauntered to the classroom, while Li Zhuiyuan walked into the small room alone.
To his surprise, quite a few people were already sitting there. Some students were munching on steamed buns, while others hadn't even eaten, having simply rushed in with their books after class.
They all cherished the opportunity to compete; it was a chance to change their lives.
Li Zhuiyuan was a little dazed. This was probably what it meant: what he had within reach was what others only dreamed of.
And vice versa, he envied their health.
Everyone smiled gratefully at Li Zhuiyuan's arrival. They had heard that the child prodigy had taken the morning off.
Someone, steamed bun in hand, ran over to help carry the bench, while others stood nearby, ready to support it.
Li Zhuiyuan stood up, picked up his chalk, and began writing down his solutions to the unchecked questions on the blackboard.
The students below watched and discussed rapidly, each one appearing anxious. The city competition was coming up this weekend, and logically, a few more people would have to be eliminated.
After writing down his solutions, the taller students helped wipe the blackboard while Li Zhuiyuan continued to set questions.
After finishing, he clapped his hands, and a student handed him a wet towel.
Teacher Yan and several other math teachers were also seated below. As Li Zhuiyuan walked down, Teacher Yan stood up and handed out the test papers.
"After copying the questions on the blackboard, take this test. You have two hours. You can turn them in early and don't have to worry about the afternoon classes."
The final teams would be determined based on ranking.
Seeing that he hadn't been assigned a test paper, Li Zhuiyuan said goodbye to the teachers, stood up, left the small classroom, and walked to the principal's office.
Zheng Haiyang was eating in the principal's office. Wu Xinhan sat across from him at the desk, eating with him. Their dish was a stir-fry from the cafeteria.
As soon as the funeral was over, he returned to school. After all, the body hadn't been brought back yet, so there wasn't much to do.
"Xiaoyuan, have you eaten?" Wu Xinhan asked with a smile.
"Principal, I have."
Zheng Haiyang stood up awkwardly, unsure what to say.
He was grateful that the principal had gone out of his way to find him that morning and invite him to lunch and chat, but he still couldn't get used to the atmosphere. Most students would probably feel uncomfortable.
But from another perspective, for a principal to do this, it was already quite impressive.
"Brother Binbin is back too," Li Zhuiyuan said to Zheng Haiyang with a smile. Then he went behind the curtain, lay down on the spring mattress, closed his eyes, and began to take a nap.
He fell asleep quickly and had a dream.
In the dream, he was standing on the deck, and he seemed taller, as tall as Brother Binbin was now.
He was holding Ah Li's hand, and standing beside him was Cuicui.
Farther away, Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin were also present. Behind them, several other figures appeared, but their faces were indistinct.
The boat had dropped anchor in an area.
In his dream, he stood on the side of the boat, pointing downwards: "This is it! Get ready, let's go!"
Behind him, a group of voices responded, and everyone began donning their diving gear.
Li Zhuiyuan also donned a set, and after putting on his mask, his vision became slightly blurry.
Some descended the ladder, while others simply jumped.
Li Zhuiyuan chose the latter and leaped.
"Pah!"
The moment he fell into the water, he sat up and woke up.
The curtain was drawn back, and Wu Xinhan asked kindly, "Dream?"
"Hmm."
"If you're tired, just rest more. I'm sorry, the school has put too much pressure on you."
"No..."
Li Zhuiyuan was embarrassed to say he was tired. After all, he was either sleeping or reading extracurricular books during class.
"Xiaoyuan, this is the scholarship and subsidy the school has given you. The detailed list and the money are inside. Take it back and give it to your parents."
"Thank you, Principal."
"Well, this is..." Wu Xinhan pulled a note from his pocket. "This is pocket money I'm giving you as your grandfather."
"I can't take this."
"Take it. Good luck on the weekend competition. I've had a banner made to celebrate. And don't blame me for putting pressure on you."
"Thank you, Grandpa."
Li Zhuiyuan took the money. He felt no pressure. Even if other schools had talented students competing, he wouldn't worry. After all, his whole class used to be full of geniuses.
"Thank you, Grandpa."
Wu Xinhan breathed a sigh of relief. He had given the money willingly. All he wanted was some free time to be sarcastic during the meeting.
"Principal, I'm going to class now."
"Well, I guess that's not necessary. The bell for fourth period is about to ring."
Li Zhuiyuan was surprised. He had actually slept the entire afternoon?
The effect of sleeping all afternoon was that after returning home, I couldn't sleep that night, so I ended up painting with Ah Li until late at night.
Ah Li sat there, acting as my model, and I painted her.
But as she continued to paint, she felt unsatisfied and tore off many sheets of paper.
This made Ah Li, sitting there, feel a sense of guilt and uneasiness. She glanced at Li Zhuiyuan, questioning whether she had done something wrong.
"Ah Li, it's your fault. You're so beautiful and so charming. I'm so poor. I really can't draw you."
The girl frowned and pouted slightly, as if glaring at the boy.
"Hehehe..." Li Zhuiyuan laughed. Ah Li now understood the difference between right and wrong.
In fact, it was true. Beautiful things are actually easier to draw. It all comes down to the temperament.
Ah Li's temperament was partly innate, partly cultivated by Liu Yumei.
In this day and age, people are all embracing Western aesthetics, from lifestyles to clothing styles, regardless of whether they suit them or not. Traditional costumes are a minority, and only seen on stage.
Li Zhuiyuan sighed with frustration. Painting Ah-Li right now is truly too difficult. But even if his painting skills continue to improve, Ah-Li will grow up, and by then, her temperament and style will have changed, making it likely even more difficult to paint.
How about trying another subject first?
After bringing Ah-Li back to the east room downstairs, Liu Yumei, dressed in white pajamas, opened the door and asked, "Are you painting?"
"I haven't finished yet."
"It's because our Ah-Li is so beautiful."
"Yes."
Back in his room, Li Zhuiyuan didn't rush to bed. Instead, he spread out the paper, mixed his paint, picked up his brush, and began painting.
This time, he was painting a little yellow oriole.
Halfway through, Li Zhuiyuan felt sleepy, so he put down his brush and went to bed.
The evening breeze blew in through the screen door, swaying the drawing paper and gently curling a corner.
It seemed as if someone was standing at the drawing table, carefully admiring it.
…
The day of the Municipal Mathematical Olympiad had arrived.
Unlike their usual hurried arrivals and returns, their low-key and unassuming style, this time Shigang Middle School had arranged a bus, adorned with banners on both sides of the vehicle, and even a red flower adorned on the front.
In short, it was both rustic and arrogant.
Except for the accompanying teachers, Principal Wu personally led the team this time. Upon boarding the bus, he began by offering encouragement and distributing fruit, bread, and drinks.
The exam site was Pingchao Middle School, a large and impressive campus.
After taking his seat in the classroom, Li Zhuiyuan gazed out the window, where a row of ginkgo trees stood, a beautiful sight.
Even after the papers were handed out, Li Zhuiyuan was still conscious.
The invigilator approached and gently tapped the table as a reminder.
Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head, picked up a pen, wrote his name, quickly answered the questions, and handed in his paper.
After leaving the classroom, he stood under the ginkgo tree for a long time.
But when he finally left the exam room, he was still the first one out, still incredibly fast.
The buses from various schools were parked in the playground, and the teachers from each school gathered together, smoking and chatting. They seemed polite, but in reality, they were engaged in a heated exchange of words.
The exam room was a battlefield for the students, but even more so for the teachers. To a certain extent, the students' youth often made them less sensible, making the teachers feel more personally involved in the battle.
When Li Zhuiyuan left, Teacher Yan hurried over with water and food.
Wu Xinhan wasn't there. He was in the principal's office, absorbing the other party's vehemence while also accumulating his own anger.
The teachers accompanying the students from other schools were all stunned when they saw this little kid emerge, a sense of foreboding rising in their hearts.
Either you thought the teachers at Shigang Middle School had completely given up on themselves, dragging the principal's grandson along to experience the exam atmosphere.
Or, this kid was incredibly influential and extraordinary.
Obviously, no one was foolish enough to believe the former.
We were all in the education world. Even if we hadn't eaten pork, we'd have seen pigs run. And if we hadn't taught child prodigies ourselves, how could we not have heard of their stories?
At the same time, everyone was deeply puzzled: how could such a child end up in a township middle school?
Immediately, everyone began to approach Teacher Yan, trying to inquire about the boy's background. Their tone was genuinely polite and respectful, not feigned.
What a joke! He'd already brought out his secret weapon. If he were to bring it out now, wouldn't that just be giving him a chance to be attacked after the test results came out?
Teacher Yan was delighted, his heart leaping with joy. He was also thankful that Principal Wu was away, allowing him to enjoy the spotlight all by himself.
As someone who used to focus on participation and accompanying the students, Principal Wu had already prepared a short essay. How could Mr. Yan not also prepare a short essay? Math teachers are also talented writers.
"Hey, hey, hey, you've said too much, really too much. This is nothing. It's just a city competition. There's nothing to get excited about. There will be provincial and national competitions in the future, and those are worth celebrating a little."
Li Zhuiyuan lay on the bus for a long time before the bell rang.
Some students did turn in their papers early, but they were rare. Most students turned in their papers last. For example, students from our school were jointly prohibited by Teacher Yan and Principal Wu from turning in their papers early!
Of course, Xiaoyuan was not among them, as he was a teaching assistant.
On the return bus, Teacher Yan and Principal Wu began to inquire about the other students' exam results, and the feedback they received was generally positive.
After all, he was the school's top math student, and having gone through targeted practice questions, it was only natural that he would perform well on the test.
Principal Wu was delighted and even led a song in the car:
"The sun sets in the west, the clouds fly high, the soldiers return to camp after target practice, return to camp..."
It was already afternoon when they returned to school. Principal Wu waved his hand, signaling that the students should be dismissed early.
Li Zhuiyuan returned to the classroom and, after school, walked out of the school gate with Tan Wenbin.
At the school gate, they saw Tan Yunlong on a motorcycle.
Tan Wenbin panicked and quickly shielded Xiaoyuan.
Tan Yunlong dismounted, pointed at his son, then at a trash can in the distance.
Tan Wenbin saluted and immediately moved away.
"Uncle Tan, what happened?"
"Zheng Haiyang's mother died in a mental hospital. It was suicide."
"How could that be?"
Li Zhuiyuan didn't believe it. She had gone mad, and it was a madness she had accepted. For her, her next goal should be to survive.
"She had a visit record yesterday. In the story you recounted, this name appeared many times. According to the story, he should have remained at the bottom of the sea."
"Who was it?"
"Zhu Changyong."
(End of this chapter)