Easter Egg End

Easter Egg 1:

The Spring Festival of 2026 was exceptionally lively, with many young people who had been wandering outside returning to Xiaohua City. Unfamiliar license plates drove through the gate one after another, and even people with the character "Zi" in their names, such as Zihao and Zixuan, appeared on Chuanming Street to decorate lanterns for their grandmothers' shops.

Wu Juan and Pan Xiaoliang distributed uniform Spring Festival couplets to every household. After Li Yingqiao left, Wu Juan took her place. The girl who used to blush and quit when teased was now blocking the entrance of the tea shop with a clothes fork, skillfully deflecting the question: "Boss Liu, we've told you many times, we won't do this every day. Today is a special day, we're just asking you to bring in your clothes. Hanging them out to dry at the entrance will easily affect our 5A rating."

Boss Liu kept repeating the same old thing: "I told you, I forgot to hang it back after I took it away, and it's rotting in the closet. You're going to wash it for me? You people are just putting on a show all day long."

Wu Juan was too lazy to argue with him. She took a clothes fork and pried off his clothes with great force. Boss Liu stared at her in disbelief. "Wu Juan, you're getting more and more shameless."

"It's just one day, Mr. Liu. You're such a kind person, don't hold it against us."

"You know how to talk, huh?"

Mr. Liu grunted and reluctantly took the clothes hanger.

Holding the clothes fork like a celestial warrior wielding a magical weapon, Wu Juan sighed with relief as she blew on her bangs, preparing to head to the next shop. Turning around, she saw two familiar faces standing behind her, and her eyes lit up. "Boss Qiao! Yu, the big star, why are you wearing a mask? Do you have the flu?"

After the program aired, Yu Renjie went viral on his WeChat Moments. Now everyone in Xiaohuacheng knows that his son has become a glamorous celebrity. Many elders along the way recognized Yu Jinyang and teased him about it. He felt no pressure in Beijing, but back in the old neighborhood, surrounded by the smells of cooking oil, and facing their scrutinizing gazes, Yu Jinyang became shy and put on a mask halfway through the walk.

Li Yingqiao said he was practically trying to cover his tracks, but he persisted. Unexpectedly, he hadn't taken two steps when Wu Juan called him back. He could only pretend to cough a few times, feigning a headache and fever, and hand over the gift box, saying, "These were brought from Beijing by your senior, one for you and one for Pan Xiaoliang."

"Ahem!" He coughed twice in an affected manner.

Wu Juan thanked him sincerely, but as if afraid of catching his illness, she immediately took two steps back and hurried to the next store. "I have to talk to you now. Pan Xiaoliang said he wants to start a WeChat official account, so I have to ask the bosses to put away all the clothes."

Li Yingqiao put her hands into his down jacket pockets and then hit his legs with a stick, saying, "Meow meow, I don't mind you. Come on, even if you have a cold, you can feed me shrimp and crabs, and I'll eat them, preferably peeled clean."

Yu Jinyang glanced at her, then took her hand and walked quickly forward: "You've hit my face with the abacus beads, Li Yingqiao."

hey-hey.

In fact, Chuanming Street is still the same as before. The long bluestone road has been worn smooth by the footprints and wheel tracks of generations. Over the years, it has been worn white and shiny.

Li Yingqiao passed many shops, including Grandma Chunzhen's sweet cake shop. This time, Chunzhen finally didn't sit on the bench; the rattan armchair was empty, seemingly still warm. She stopped and couldn't resist shaking the roller shutter. The rustling sound seemed to echo Chunzhen's mutterings again—

"Qiaoqiao, you have to put on your socks before you can put on your shoes. Don't rush. If you can't learn it, we'll learn slowly. Grandma will teach you."

"Why don't you go to the countryside with Qiaoqiao to catch crayfish during the little festival? Oh, you're afraid of getting dirty and leeches. Then you can stay with Qiaoqiao from now on, and Qiaoqiao won't be afraid of anything."

"Eat more pastries, so you won't run away with the traffickers."

"Miaojia, your grandpa went out to buy you sneakers. Come to Grandma's and have a piece of sweet cake."

...

The first time Li Yingqiao saw Li Shuli was at the end of Chuanming Street. She was wearing a black trench coat and standing under a street lamp smoking.

Her mother has always been cool since she was a child. It's rare to see her bundled up like a brown bear. During the coldest days in Fengtan, she could only wear a cashmere base layer underneath, a scarf around her neck, and always a windbreaker or trench coat on top. Li Shuli said that if she wore too many layers, it would be difficult to work. She would warm up as soon as she moved around, so she didn't need a down jacket at all.

Two days before returning to Fengtan, Li Yingqiao received a call from Tang Xiang, asking if her mother wanted to go back to the countryside to visit her grandmother during the Spring Festival. If not, the two families could have a meal together during the Spring Festival to discuss the wedding arrangements.

Li Yingqiao called Li Shuli to ask for her opinion, and she said it was okay.

She had always been carefree, and Li Yingqiao had never felt that Li Shuli was lonely from childhood to adulthood. But at this moment, the slender figure under the streetlight made her feel an unprecedented loneliness. She understood Li Shuli's unease. When Zhu Xiaoliang and Yu Jinyang came to her house to persuade her to go to Tanzhong, she was not comfortable even eating at her own home, let alone at someone else's house.

Li Yingqiao's heart tightened, worried that Li Shuli had quarreled with Yu Renjie again. She and Yu Jinyang exchanged an uneasy glance, and the latter pressed her palm reassuringly. The two of them unconsciously quickened their pace and ran to Li Shuli.

"Mom! Why don't you go inside? It's so cold outside." Li Yingqiao subconsciously reached out to hold her icy hand.

Li Shuli gave a blank "Ah," and looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression: "It's okay, it's not cold."

The next second, Yu Renjie's earth-shattering voice came from inside the room—

"Tang Shutian!! How many times have I told you!! Don't you dare put peanut butter on Dad's pants!! Your Aunt Shuli will think I've soiled myself!! She'll think I can't take care of myself!! She'll run away!! Your brother's going to get dumped!!!"

Then a childish, yet self-righteous, voice rang out: "...You're the one who sat down on my toast..."

"Where did you get that retroflex ending from?!"

"Sister Qiaoqiao said that's how Beijingers talk."

Li Yingqiao: "..."

Li Shuli: "…………"

Yu Jinyang: "………………"

Bonus Scene 2: Our Thirty Years

On the eve of the college entrance examination, Liang Mei asked everyone in the study group to write a letter to their future selves ten years later, including Fang Yue. Even Zhu Xiaoliang wrote one. Liang Mei asked why he wrote this, and Zhu Xiaoliang replied inexplicably: "Of course, we won't live ten years from now."

Zhu Xiaoliang is a person who lives in his own world. He loves mathematics the most. As long as mathematics lives, he will live. He is best at using mathematics to deconstruct human nature and using the theorem of fairness to stir up the most subtle parts of human nature, just like the pizza game back then. Later, he was defeated by a group of stupid children.

Liang Mei is different. She has come to where she is today because of the oppression and resistance she has encountered. Every step she has taken has been outside the rope of fate, and every step she has taken has been reasonable. Liang Mei also scoffed at Miao Jia's proposal of a thirty-year-old pact. When they were young, they all thought that such sincere friendship could last until old age, until we die.

Liang Mei once thought so too, but later, as her friends left one by one and lost contact, the only people she could call friends were Zhu Xiaoliang and Hu Zheng.

So when she heard Zhu Xiaoliang tell her about their childish agreement, she ruthlessly poured cold water on them, saying, "Don't think about things so far in the future. Why don't you write a letter to your future selves ten years from now?"

They all wrote it carefully; they were eighteen years old at the time.

Li Yingqiao, naturally rebellious, loved to go against her. With a sly glint in her eyes, a wicked idea came to her: "Teacher Liang, if we succeed and fulfill this promise, will you be punished?"

So, on her thirtieth birthday, she came to receive her punishment. Actually, it wasn't really her birthday; she didn't even know when it was. She had just randomly marked a date on the calendar in her lesson plan, which was spotted by the sharp-eyed Zheng Miaojia. That day was the last day to redeem her mobile points, and she was afraid she would forget to clear them. Oh well, maybe she was a freebie with a phone top-up; a birthday is a birthday, so be it.

To Liang Mei's surprise, even Fang Yue returned; she had been out of contact with anyone since going to Beijing.

Fang Yue is the kind of girl who doesn't immediately attract attention in a crowd, but she has a unique charm. Her hair is a healthy, natural black, tied into a low ponytail that hangs down her back. She wears no other embellishments, just a simple and fresh look. Her skin is also tanned to a healthy wheat color. She has a medium build, neither too thin nor too plump, and looks full of energy. Especially when she smiles, you can feel a vibrant life force emanating from her.

As soon as Zheng Miaojia saw Fang Yue, she blurted out, "Yueyue! You have such a strong presence now, so cool!"

Fang Yue chuckled, her gaze sweeping around before settling on the two people on the sofa who were setting up the projection screen. Yu Jinyang was sitting cross-legged on the floor, and Li Yingqiao was resting her chin on his shoulder. Hearing Miao Jia's call, she subconsciously looked up, momentarily stunned, and then without hesitation nudged the man who was intently helping Liang Mei set up the projection screen with his elbow. "Meow, Yueyue is here."

Yu Jinyang turned around, about to greet him, but the next second, his expression froze slightly, and his eyes glanced at Li Yingqiao.

Because Fang Yue had a man with her, she smiled and looked around, "You don't mind if I bring a family member, do you?"

Because Li Yingqiao got up from the ground too quickly, she didn't see that there was someone behind her. After she recognized who it was, she subconsciously looked at Yu Jinyang, and sure enough, her eyes met his unexpectedly.

Yu Jinyang: "When I called you this morning, you said your leg was broken and you couldn't get up. But just now you bounced right up from the ground, right? What a medical miracle, Li Yingqiao."

Li Yingqiao: "..."

Lu Yingchuan went around the area handing out business cards and introducing himself. He now runs a music store in Fengtan, teaching children under ten to play the piano. When he handed out his card to Li Yingqiao, he smiled slightly and added, "Li Yingqiao, I still remember you. It's been a long time."

Yu Jinyang also stood up from the ground. He was the first to take the business card. "I remember you too, Lu Yingchuan."

Lu Yingchuan was a little flattered. He glanced at Li Yingqiao, then looked at him and asked, "Does the academic genius remember me?"

Yu Jinyang said, "You seem to remember me too?"

Fang Yue found this hard to believe and said to Li Yingqiao, "Has Yu Jinyang lost his memory? Doesn't he know that he's quite famous in high school? Even before I joined your study group, I had heard of Yu Jinyang from Class 2 of the Science stream."

Li Yingqiao glanced at her: "That's because I'm your deskmate! No! What's going on between you two? Isn't he a jerk? Why did you bring him along? Are you two together?"

Fang Yue blinked. "He delivered himself to my door."

Li Yingqiao's smile was forced and insincere.

However, looking at her expression, Fang Yue suddenly remembered what Li Yingqiao had said to her in class once in high school, and her heart tightened. "Wait, did you explain it to Yu Jinyang later? Is he still jealous of Lu Yingchuan?"

"Of course not." Li Yingqiao smiled, revealing her perfect eight teeth. "Yu Jinyang never eats this."

Fang Yue breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. I thought I had caused trouble."

While they were still exchanging pleasantries, Lu Yingchuan had lost the aloof artistic air he had in high school. He was now spouting business-like flattery, which was interrupted by Zhu Xiaoliang's rather eccentric remark, "The effects of force are mutual. If you remember him, he will naturally remember you." He couldn't wait to see Liang Mei get punished. During his high school entrance exam year, he had gone to the toilet four times in one morning!

After everyone sat down, Liang Mei placed a pot of bubbling, black, burnt food in the center of the table. She calmly surveyed the group and made a demand that left everyone speechless: "Before I fulfill this bet, I have a small condition: each of you must read aloud your letter from back then, word for word."

Li Yingqiao's initial demand was that if they fulfilled this agreement, Liang Mei had to eat a pot of her own culinary disaster.

An eerie silence.

Reading letters is really awkward, especially since our thinking and writing skills were immature back then. If we accidentally wrote down some shameful secrets, it would be no different from a public execution. But Liang Mei looked like no one would be leaving this room alive today. The people at the table looked around blankly and could only pretend to be very busy.

Zheng Miaojia pretended to make a phone call, "Hello? Grandpa, are you short of money right now? Okay, you can appear in Teacher Liang's dream tonight..."

Gao Dian was cleaning his ears, so he pretended to be deaf.

Li Yingqiao was fixing Yu Jinyang's hair. "Meow, you need a haircut. How about we go back to that salon? If you mess it up this time, when you're complaining to Tony, ask him if he can help you with skin care. I've been getting pimples lately."

Yu Jinyang was the calmest, glancing at her and saying, "Why don't we just have him cut me in the neck with scissors? I might as well get you another house."

“That won’t do!” Li Yingqiao said firmly.

Yu Jinyang gave a forced smile: "Thank you, I'm quite touched."

Lu Yingchuan glanced around, a slight sense of loss creeping into his heart. He realized their youth had been so vibrant and interesting, and these people were so fun. They had all been so well-behaved and serious in school, but he hadn't expected them to be so close behind the scenes. He looked at Fang Yue, no wonder she said, "Lu Yingchuan, you overestimate yourself. You didn't play a big part in my youth."

Zhu Xiaoliang was the first to succumb to Liang Mei's pressure and reveal the letter he had written in this very house ten years ago. Amidst the adoring and encouraging gazes of the crowd, he cleared the phlegm from his throat and, in a voice as fluttering as a moth, began to read the opening lines—

"Dear Teacher Zhu: Hello. I habitually call myself teacher, which may sound a bit arrogant, but I am a teacher with perfect professional ethics. Feel free to call yourself teacher. You are worthy of the title. Rest assured, everything is going according to your plan. Please do not doubt your ideals, and please do not doubt your students. Although they may not be as smart as you imagine, and may even be a little silly, their character is absolutely upright."

If you still can't live in a big villa in ten years, it must be Liang Mei who held you back. But that's okay, there are many things in this world more important than living in a big villa, like smashing Liang Mei's soy milk maker first, otherwise you'll keep getting diarrhea—"

Gaodian:

"I don't know what to write. I don't seem to have any plans for the future. Seeing how seriously Qiaoqiao and Miaomiao wrote, I wonder if they really have such plans for their future? I don't think I do. I can't think of what I'll do in the future. I'll just be grateful if I don't get scammed. Remember to contact Qiaoqiao and Miaomiao if you need anything. (Their ID cards and phone numbers will be attached later.)"

P.S.: Oh, by the way, I wonder if Grandma will still be around in ten years. If she is, I must earn money to take her to the hospital to get her feet checked. She used to have her feet bound, so walking isn't very convenient for her. Medical technology might be much more advanced by then, and she'll definitely be able to get it cured.

The letter did indeed contain Li Yingqiao and Yu Jinyang's ID cards and phone numbers, which were hand-drawn by Miao Jia.

Yu Jinyang: "..."

Li Yingqiao: "…………"

Fang Yue:

"Ten years from now, you should have been admitted to a university in Beijing. If you can stay and work in Beijing, remember to bring your mother over. The medical care in Beijing is very good. But don't tell your mother how much money you have, because she will still give it to your younger siblings—"

Zheng Miaojia:

"Miaojia, when you're twenty-eight, it will be exactly twenty years since Grandpa left you. Remember to go back and visit him. He likes to smoke, but don't burn too many cigarettes for him at once, otherwise he'll get addicted and keep asking you for more in his dreams. I hope that when you're twenty-eight, you won't blame yourself anymore, and you won't give up painting, no matter how hard it gets. I won't say more. You'll definitely be cool then, even cooler than you are now. Keep it real, you'll be the coolest."

After reading the letter, Zheng Miaojia choked up a little. She ran her fingertips along the edge of the letter, and there seemed to be some tears in the corners of her eyes. The atmosphere suddenly became a little heavy.

Zhu Xiaoliang and Liang Mei exchanged glances, their understanding unspoken. He knew what Liang Mei wanted to do. Tan Xiujun had also made them write a similar letter back then. Those memories were vivid and lively; without exception, they all boasted to the heavens, endlessly exaggerating and rambling, even writing about going grocery shopping on an aircraft carrier. In reality, it was impossible to read, and the whole group laughed until they were doubled over.

That was one of the few times Tan Xiuyun smiled most happily in front of them, even knocking over her thermos. But Zhu Xiaoliang hadn't expected these kids to be so sentimental at eighteen. He sighed and was about to suggest they stop studying.

"Miaojia, did something happen to you outside?" Li Yingqiao asked again.

“You’re at it again,” Zheng Miaojia, who was about to cry, burst out laughing when she heard this. She took the tissue Gao Dian handed her. “Actually, it’s nothing. I signed with a company before and trusted them too much. I didn’t read the contract carefully. The copyrights of some of my works from a few years ago are no longer mine.”

"What!!"

The group of people practically jumped up, exclaiming, "This is nothing?!"

Liang Mei was almost about to rush into the kitchen to grab a knife when Zheng Miaojia quickly said, "It's all settled! It's that friend of mine—Tan Jiu. He's a real rogue lawyer. He sued that company until it went bankrupt, so the copyright is back now."

“……………”

"What is Tan Jiu's ID number or phone number?" Gao Dian asked, pen in hand, waiting to record the information under the ID numbers of Li Yingqiao and Yu Jinyang.

"…………"

Yu Jinyang's letter was allowed not to be read with Liang Mei's permission, which made everyone a little resentful. After all these years, the young master still had special privileges!

Zhu Xiaoliang smiled sheepishly: "There's nothing I can do, he's donated too much. He sponsors us with several thousand sets of experimental teaching aids every year. We just signed a contract."

"You want to spend money on in-game purchases, huh?"

"Damn. You should have said we could pay to play earlier."

So the last one is Li Yingqiao. She cleared her throat, and Yu Jinyang couldn't help but laugh. Just last night, when Liang Mei said in the group chat that she should remember to bring this letter tomorrow, the two of them had already dug it out at home and complimented each other on it.

His letter was very simple, just one line.

"Hey buddy, still alive? Did she drive you crazy? If you're still alive, say something."

Li Yingqiao finished reading it in seconds while lying in bed, and then smacked him on the back of the head without any mercy, "What did you write!"

And Li Yingqiao's letter—

Yu Jinyang opened the envelope at the head of the bed, and by the time he finished reading it, he had already rolled to the foot of the bed.

He would have to lift the covers to catch his breath in the middle of the night, laughing so hard he couldn't sleep. He only stopped coughing violently when he saw the last two lines.

Li Yingqiao:

"Dear President Li! Please allow me to address you this way! By the time you read this letter, I imagine you've already woken up in your spacious 200-square-meter bed, ready to begin your luxurious and high-profile day. I believe that on this day, you've already completed the acquisitions of Alibaba, Taobao, JD.com, and Tencent. Others may have reached the pinnacle of their lives, but you, Li Yingqiao, have reached the pinnacle at every turn! Please don't be arrogant; continue your efforts and bring all the Fortune 500 companies into your fold! At this very moment, there must be a bunch of international meetings waiting for you. If you've wasted thirty precious seconds reading this letter, which was requested by your teacher when you were eighteen, don't be angry. Your past self was kind, and your future self will be glorious; this is an inevitable path. Your past self didn't deserve your attention, President."

"Okay, I just want to say, Li Yingqiao, don't try to piece together and beautify yourself from the traces of the past, and then judge or even blame yourself for not being able to do better."

You are at your best right now. I, at eighteen, will always support you.

Below is Yu Jinyang's latest handwriting:

"And me, me at any age."

"Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Yu Jinyang. We've known each other since we were five and got married when we were twenty-eight."

(End of article)