Chapter 35 I Didn't Throw It Away "Why did you throw it away?"

The entrance exam for junior high school was in mid-June, and Jiang Yueming took it at Yucai Primary School. He and Li Leshan weren't assigned to the same exam room, but that didn't matter. After encouraging each other, they headed to their respective exam rooms. The moment the bell rang, Jiang Yueming's primary school life came to a complete end, drawing a perfect conclusion.

He performed quite well, you could say very well. Regardless of the outcome, he's had a fulfilling year or two. He said he was led forward by some people, and that's absolutely true. Countless images flashed through his mind while he was doing the problems: the neat handwriting on the blackboard by Yin Guiying and Tian Xiaoyun, and the countless test papers Li Leshan corrected for him.

It surged into his heart like a river flowing into the sea.

Lin Cuiqin told Jiang Yueming that Xia Bing had done well on the college entrance exam and had gone to work a summer job in a factory in Zhejiang right after the exam. She was doing assembly line work, which was tiring but paid well. She said she would call Lin Cuiqin on the day the results were released. She was worried she wouldn't be able to reach her mother, so she wanted Lin Cuiqin to pass on the message. Jiang Yueming felt relieved to hear that Xia Bing had done well on her exam; he knew Xia Bing would soon be leaving Shengping.

Han Jiang did alright on the exam; whether he's good or not is up to him until the scores are released. Jiang Yueming saw that he was confident, so that was fine.

There's no homework this summer, so he can have a good time and play. Lin Cuiqin said she wouldn't interfere and could let him do whatever he wanted. After all, he'd been working so hard for so long, he deserved a good rest. But he still decided not to go anywhere, because Li Leshan wasn't going anywhere either.

Actually, he still had something to resolve. This matter had been on his mind for a while, so much so that Jiang Yueming started running to Li Leshan's house almost immediately after finishing his exams and barely having a few days to rest. He couldn't worry about anything else now; his primary focus was on a single exam paper.

A test paper with the essay topic "Best Friend".

He excitedly ran to Li Leshan's house, knowing that the pile of books and exam papers was hidden in a corner of Li Leshan's room and should be easy to find. He didn't care about being embarrassed anymore; he was curious and wanted to know what Li Leshan had written.

But the corner that should have been piled high with books is now completely empty, with not a single book in sight.

"Where are your things? Books, workbooks, test papers?" Jiang Yueming stood there, stunned.

That, that pile...

Where is that pile of stuff?!

“Sold as scrap.” Li Leshan gestured. He didn’t know what Jiang Yueming was thinking. Nearly a month had passed since the essay was written, and to be honest, Li Leshan really couldn’t have imagined that. He even thought that Jiang Yueming had slipped a few dozen yuan into it.

Li Leshan had just finished sorting through all the books the day before yesterday, and yesterday he transported the pile of books to the recycling station.

The scrap yard was on the other side of the old street, lined with small shops on both sides. The scrap yard was right by the roadside, its peeling blue sign prominently displaying the words "Scrap Yard." It was easy to spot as soon as you walked in. It was quite close to Third Alley. Li Leshan found a tricycle and transported the pile of books there.

It took him many trips to load the items onto the truck, which made him realize that the traces of those six years were quite deep. But no matter how deep they were, Li Leshan left them all at the scrap yard. That was the most valuable endowment he could think of.

The workbooks and test papers were all sold. The textbooks weren't sold; Jiang Yueming said he had all the notes. Li Leshan kept them to give to Tiantian. Tiantian might need the books when she starts school, assuming the textbooks don't change in the next five years.

In the end, the heavy pile of books covered in writing was exchanged for a few light coins.

Jiang Yueming felt a chill run down his spine after hearing this. He really wanted to travel back a month and punch himself twice. What was he holding back for? Now the exam papers were sold, how was he going to find out what Li Leshan had written about him? What was he hesitating about back then?

"You sold it?" Jiang Yueming murmured to himself, unable to believe it. "It's okay, it's okay."

He doesn't dare say anything's wrong now, so what else can he do? Is he supposed to ask Li Leshan to repeat it all on the spot? Leaving aside whether Jiang Yueming would even be willing to ask, whether Li Leshan could even remember it is another question. It's like asking you what you ate for lunch the Tuesday before last—who could possibly remember?

Li Leshan noticed something was off about him and assumed that Jiang Yueming also wanted to find an opportunity to sell the book, since this person didn't seem like the type to keep the book.

"Are you going to sell it too?" Li Leshan asked.

Then he could help Jiang Yueming pack up, carry it downstairs, and then take it to the recycling station together.

"Ah, I... I'm not selling," Jiang Yueming said. He didn't have much stuff; he'd lost or thrown away most of it. The pile of things he brought over wouldn't even fetch a few yuan, not worth the effort.

"Oh." Li Leshan gestured to indicate that he thought Jiang Yueming was going to sell it and was even thinking of helping him.

"It's nothing, it's just..." Jiang Yueming couldn't bring herself to say it.

I just wanted to ask you, can you recite it from memory...?

Did you write this essay a month ago?

How could Jiang Yueming possibly ask that? He'd be crazy to even utter it.

When did you sell it?

"yesterday."

Jiang Yueming closed his eyes, feeling that fate was deliberately working against him. If he had intercepted that pile of books a day earlier, how many could Li Leshan have made selling them? He should have bought them instead.

The scrap yard was selling them for four cents a pound, but Jiang Yueming got three yuan. But no matter how much he wanted to, the pile of books had already been sold.

Jiang Yueming returned home looking unhappy, having neither found the exam paper nor listened to the essay. Of course, she still acted very happy in front of Li Leshan, but her face fell as soon as she stepped out of Li Leshan's house.

He really wanted to yell, "Jiang Yueming, you idiot! Fool! You moron!"

That night, Jiang Yueming tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. He was seething with anger, truly angry. He couldn't blame anyone else; it was all his own fault. Even Han Jiang had pressured him quite a few times. He thought to himself that he was even more indecisive than Lin Daiyu.

If only I had stolen it… no, if only I had just asked Li Leshan directly. If he had just asked back then, would all of this have happened? Suddenly, the buzzing of mosquitoes reached his ears. Jiang Yueming closed his eyes and endured it for a long time, but finally couldn't bear it any longer and sat up abruptly in bed.

He couldn't just sit and wait to die; he had to think of a way. What other options did he have? He couldn't let Li Leshan repeat it; should he go to Yin Guiying and ask Li Leshan what he had written? That was worse than having Li Leshan repeat it!

No, no. Jiang Yueming rejected both solutions. He couldn't just keep causing trouble for others all day long.

What other options are there?

The books were sold yesterday... so they shouldn't be leaving the recycling center so quickly; they'll probably be gone for a few more days.

yesterday……

Jiang Yueming suddenly clapped his hands, silencing the mosquito instantly. He hadn't thought of a solution; he had simply swatted the mosquito. He wasn't that clever. But his aim was pretty good; his hand was more effective than an electric mosquito swatter.

Jiang Yueming racked his brains all night and came up with a particularly stupid idea.

rummaging through scrap materials.

Yes, you read that right. It was about rummaging through a junkyard.

Use your hands.

The idea was out, whether it was reliable or not was another matter. It certainly looked rather improbable, but Jiang Yueming had no choice; he was forced into a corner and had to put it into practice.

Shengping is small, but the good thing is that he knows almost everyone in the neighborhood, especially the elderly. Jiang Yueming is particularly popular among the elderly, from when he was a little kid to now.

The old woman at the recycling station was called Grandma by Jiang Yueming. Taking this road was a shortcut to the school gate, and sometimes when Jiang Yueming was late, she would take this road instead of going through the main gate. Once, Jiang Yueming ran into Grandma on her way to the recycling station, carrying a large pile of cardboard boxes and scraps.

Looking at the old woman's hunched back, he took off his schoolbag without a word and threw it away wherever he could find a spot. Then he carried it for his grandmother the whole way. He was only ten years old then, and not very tall, but already taller than his grandmother. It was indeed a bit tiring to carry it, but he didn't complain because he was too proud to admit it.

"Grandma! Grandma!" Jiang Yueming shouted from a distance. His grandmother was hard of hearing, so he had to shout very loudly for her to hear him.

"Is the moon bright...is it the moon bright?" The old woman walked out of the scrap yard shakily, leaning on her cane and looking outside.

"It's me!" Jiang Yueming quickly ran a few steps and appeared in front of the old man. He was particularly clever in wearing that durable school uniform. Although he had graduated, he still wanted to squeeze out as much benefit as possible from the school.

"Oh," Grandma looked at Jiang Yueming, "It's been so long since you've come. You've grown so tall."

“Yes,” Jiang Yueming said. He had something important to do, so he quickly asked, “Grandma, the day before yesterday you saw a boy who was about my age. He came here and sold a bunch of books. Do you remember him? The tall and handsome one.”

The old man thought carefully for a while and then remembered.

"Is that boy mute?" Grandma asked.

“Yes, yes,” Jiang Yueming quickly replied.

"I've seen him," Grandma said, leading Jiang Yueming into the recycling station. "He looks just like you. You're the same height and you both look alike. You're both good children."

Grandma pointed to several sacks of plastic bottles in the corner and said that the child had helped her move those sacks of plastic bottles. She immediately thought of Jiang Yueming.

"Do you remember that pile of books he sold the day before yesterday? Where did you put those books? There are some very important things in them that I need to look for," Jiang Yueming said.

Grandma looked troubled. "Oh dear, that's not easy to find."

She pointed to the small mountain of junk, "It's in that pile, child. What's so important? Tell Grandma, and if we can buy it, Grandma will give you money to go buy it! Let's not rummage through it, okay?"

"No, no need." Jiang Yueming was touched. If that thing could be bought, he would be the one who most wanted to buy it. "It's okay, it's in that pile, right? I'll find it myself, you don't need to worry about me!"

Jiang Yueming plunged headfirst into the pile of scrap. The scrap yard, though euphemistically called a scrap yard, was really just a garbage dump. It had everything, and everything was being shipped there, which was why Grandma didn't want Jiang Yueming to search—too much stuff, too dirty, too messy, and too hard to find.

The smell of garbage was pungent, and Jiang Yueming was finding it hard to breathe. This isn't it, and this isn't it either. And this one…

It's graduation season, and many people are selling their books. The nearest recycling center is right here on the old street, so facing piles of exam papers from who-knows-where, Jiang Yueming's search is like looking for a needle in a haystack. He really has no other choice. He can't think of anything else he can do.

The essay topic was "Best Friend," and the test paper was a sixth-grade midterm exam. The title on it was "2006 Iron Pagoda Elementary School Second Midterm Exam." Where the hell is it? Jiang Yueming's hand was a little sore from the edge of the test paper, but he didn't have time to care.

Jiang Yueming searched from dawn till dusk, rummaging through almost all the junk in the area, his clothes and face covered in dust. His grandmother, feeling sorry for him, urged him to stop searching, or tell her what he was looking for and she would help him find it. But his grandmother was illiterate, so she couldn't do anything about it.

As evening approached and the sun was about to set, Jiang Yueming grew weary from his search. He had even found items from the kindergarten's senior class, including all of Chi's textbooks from his entire elementary school years and a whole year's worth of Chinese language exam papers, but he still couldn't find Li Leshan's.

At that moment, he suddenly realized that perhaps everything was predestined. He was destined not to see that scroll of paper, and would never know what was written on it. This is what it means to be without fate; he was not destined for it.

Jiang Yueming looked up from the pile of scrap. He was done looking. He might come back tomorrow, or he might not.

The next second, a figure suddenly appeared in the scrap yard. Li Leshan's forehead and nose were covered in sweat, and his bangs were completely wet. The moment he saw Jiang Yueming, he finally stopped and stood there for a moment to catch his breath.

The moment Jiang Yueming saw Li Leshan, he felt tears welling up in his eyes. He didn't care whether Li Leshan knew what he meant or not, and spoke, his voice still a little hoarse, "Why did you throw it away? I haven't even looked at it yet."

Li Leshan's Adam's apple bobbed. He pursed his lips, knowing what Jiang Yueming was talking about, and felt a pang of sadness and pain in his heart.

"I didn't throw it away."