Chapter 1 Yang Zhi Wu Yi
Just as Chen Chuan sat down for dinner, his uncle Nian Fuli suddenly said, "Chen Chuan, you've graduated from high school. We don't have any institutions of higher learning in Yangzhi City. Your uncle and I only have a small salary at the Police Bureau. We can't afford to send you to study in that upscale place in Central City. Have you decided where you're going?"
The dinner table fell silent. Aunt Yu Wan looked at Chen Chuan worriedly, while the two cousins held their bowls and looked left and right.
Nian Fuli said, "If you haven't made up your mind and don't have a place to go, I can arrange one for you. Don't complain about the hardship or the tiredness. If you don't want to do it, just tell me early and find your own way out."
Chen Chuan looked at Nian Fuli and said with a smile, "Uncle-in-law, are you so anxious to get rid of me?"
Nian Fuli glared at him and said, "Uncle is just uncle, don't add junior."
He habitually touched his jacket pocket. Just as his fingers touched the cigarette box, he glanced at his children, took his hand out again, frowned and said, "Don't be so playful. Let me be frank. Your cousin is promising and I don't need to worry about him. Your two younger brothers and sisters are still young and will be going to school in a few years. The family expenses will be even greater in the future. You are sixteen years old already, and I, your uncle, don't ask for anything in return. As long as you can support yourself in the future, that's all that matters. Don't you agree?"
Chen Chuan nodded and said, "Uncle, you are right." He thought for a moment and said, "Uncle, I am thinking of finding a way out for myself."
"Yourself?"
Nian Fuli looked at him for a moment and said, "Okay, doesn't the school usually have a two-month holiday? Then I'll give you two months. After that, you can start your own business, and your uncle won't have to worry about you anymore."
Aunt Yu Wan seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.
Chen Chuan said, "Okay, let's do as my uncle says."
Nian Fuli looked him up and down and said, "You keep your word." He picked up his chopsticks and said, "Eat." Seeing him pick up his chopsticks, the family started to eat.
Chen Chuan also reached out to grab the chopsticks. At this moment, he seemed to realize something and raised his head. Just by the wall, there was a young man who looked exactly like him, standing there, looking at him quietly. His uncle-in-law and his family were busy eating, unaware of this. It seemed that he was the only one who could see it.
He naturally withdrew his gaze, thinking about the future while eating, and unknowingly finished the last bite of food. His aunt had been keeping an eye on him and said hurriedly, "Leave it there, I'll wash it, you just worry about your own business first."
Chen Chuan looked at his aunt, then at Nian Fuli, who had no expression on his face, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and said, "Okay, uncle, aunt, I'll go back to my room first.
Nian Fuli picked up a piece of food and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly without saying a word.
After Chen Chuan left, Yu Wan said, "The child is still young."
Nian Fuli said angrily, "What do you mean by small? He's already sixteen. When I was his age, I was already on the battlefield!"
"Okay, okay, I know you're good."
Seeing that he had finished eating, Yu Wan stood up from the table, took a bottle of rice wine and poured it for him, saying, "I'll go see the child."
"Go away." Nian Fuli waved his hand impatiently. He picked up the wine glass and took a sip. His heart suddenly felt relieved, but at the same time he muttered to himself, "This kid is a little different from before..."
"Dad, did you also kick me out when I was sixteen?"
Nian Fuli turned around and saw his youngest son Nian Mo looking up at him eagerly.
The youngest daughter, Nian Lu, was a three-year-old girl. She said in a baby voice, "I'll definitely kick you out. You eat the most meat!"
"I, I didn't eat much! Dad..." Nian Mo held the bowl and looked at Nian Fuli pitifully.
Nian Fuli laughed heartily and patted Nian Mo on the back of his head. "You little bastard, you're my son. How can I ignore you? I've reserved a place under Daddy's butt for you. Go, turn on the radio."
"oh."
Nian Mo happily jumped off the stool, ran over and turned on the old radio, and a rustling sound came out of it.
"…The railway maintenance department reported that due to the impact of the Xieshan mudslide, the repair work on the section originally scheduled for early June will be postponed again…"
"A group of criminals have escaped from Qiguang Prison. A wanted warrant has been issued. The main wanted criminals are as follows: Fang Dawei, a 35-year-old male with a strong physique, who has committed numerous home robberies and street shootings; Tong Baitao, a 27-year-old male..."
"A gang fight broke out between the Blood Scar Gang and the Iron Chain Gang at the intersection of Xinqu Park and Micang Street. Several homes were damaged, and dozens of people were killed or injured..."
Chen Chuan had returned to his room by now. His study and bedroom was about eight or nine square meters in size. The windowsill and the old red-painted wooden floor were spotless, and the surrounding furnishings were in perfect order. It was obvious that they were tidied and cleaned every day.
There were some movie posters on the wall, and when he looked at them, movie titles naturally emerged in his mind: "The Lone Swordsman", "The Beast of Gaoling", "The Last Conquest"...
He walked to the window on the creaking floor. On the corner of the half-worn desk was a picture frame. It showed a young couple. The woman was young and beautiful, and the man was tall and handsome. The clothes they wore were made of very exquisite materials. They were smiling at him.
To the right of the desk is a bookcase more than two meters high, which is filled with books. At a glance, apart from some old textbooks, most of them are extracurricular books, such as "The Great Development", "The Fifteenth Year of Jianzhi", "The Mysterious Machu", etc.
He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "What a shame there's no 'Military and Civilian Dual-Use Talents' or 'Militia Military Training Manual'. At the very least, there's a '100,000 Whys'."
"Why? Chan'er, can your aunt come in?" Yu Wan's voice came from outside the door.
"Chan'er" is the nickname given to Chen Chuan's parents in this body. Now, apart from Yu Wan, only that annoying cousin calls him that all day long.
Chen Chuan said, "Aunt, come in. It's nothing. I'm just thinking about a question."
"You've already graduated from high school, and you're still so hardworking, Chan'er." Yu Wan walked in. She was in her early forties, with fair skin and a rather ordinary appearance, while Chen Chuan had a delicate face, red lips and white teeth, and was tall. When the two stood together, one could only vaguely tell from the angles of their eyebrows and eyes that they were related.
Yu Wan said, "Chan'er, don't blame your uncle for what happened today. He has his own difficulties, and don't be so stubborn. I'll talk to your uncle later."
Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Aunt, don't worry. I'm not trying to show off. I really have a plan."
Yu Wan hesitated for a moment and tried to ask, "Chan'er...are you going to look for Miss Meng?"
When Chen Chuan heard this name, the image of a young girl involuntarily emerged in his mind. He shook his head and said, "I won't go looking for her."
Yu Wan said, "It's better not to go. He comes from a high-class family, and the people around him are all looking up to him. You've always been stubborn. We were childhood sweethearts, but now we're grown up and we can't get along."
Chen Chuan said, "Aunt, you're right. Things that happened in childhood don't count. Nowadays, when people go out, they are always accompanied by their housekeepers. How could I possibly want to be bored?"
Yu Wan felt relieved after hearing what he said. She picked up the handkerchief she was holding and peeled off the layers in front of Chen Chuan, revealing a stack of ten-yuan Jianyuan coins.
The coin has a blue landscape pattern on the front, a round dome and a square land on the front, and a nine-tassel crown covered by rice and wheat on the back. The watermark is a felt hat.
She grabbed Chen Chuan's hand and stuffed the money into his hand. "Take it. Use it when you need it. Don't save it. If it's not enough, I have more."
Chen Chuan didn't reach out his hand and asked, "Does my uncle know?"
Yu Wan said, "This is the money that your aunt saved for you." She then gently hit his arm and said, "Don't call him uncle-in-law. He doesn't like it."
Chen Chuan smiled, took it, and said seriously: "Auntie, this money is a loan from me, I will pay it back."
"Alas, we're family. Why don't you pay me back? Just keep it." Yu Wan waited until Chen Chuan had collected the money before she felt relieved. She said, "Your aunt is gone now. You've all graduated. Don't study too hard. Keep the lights on while you're reading. Don't damage your eyes."
"good."
Yu Wan gave a few more instructions and left the room.
Chen Chuan closed the door, pulled the light cord beside the door, and a small chandelier on the ceiling lit up, emitting a pale yellow light.
He walked to the bookcase, picked up a book at random, sat down on the edge of the bed, and read through the pages with great interest.
After a long time, he heard the clock outside ring ten times in a row. Because he had important things to do tomorrow, he put the book back, washed up, turned off the lights and went to bed.
In the darkness, the boy who looked exactly like him was standing beside the bed, still looking at him dimly.
In his dream, he seemed to have returned to his previous life. After working for a few years, he went out hiking and saw an exhibition of ancient mirrors when passing by a museum in a certain city. When he entered the hall with curiosity, he saw a dome mirror hanging on the ceiling at a glance. At that moment, the person inside also looked over at the same time.
The moment their eyes met, their eyes suddenly flashed, and their bodies seemed to have turned into a baby, from birth to a child, and from a child to a teenager, until one day, a tile-blue car came into view, and as the sound of the car went away, they suddenly fell into darkness.
Bright light shone in from the slit in the curtains, tearing through the drowsiness of the night.
Chen Chuan opened his eyes and turned to look at the alarm clock on his bedside table. It was five fifty. He shook his head, got up, dressed, and came out to rinse his mouth and wash his face.
Nian Fuli was on duty at the police station and went out early in the morning. His two younger brothers and sisters were still sleeping, while Yu Wan went out to buy groceries and prepared breakfast for him before leaving.
After finishing his breakfast, he returned to his room and put on his only formal student suit. The suit was made of woolen fabric, gray and black in color. The overall fabric was very stiff and he looked very energetic when wearing it.
He buttoned his collar, put on his student cap, and after tidying himself up in front of the dressing mirror on the wardrobe, he took a gray canvas bag from behind the door, put a filled water bottle in it, put it on, went to the front yard to find his bicycle, and pushed it out the door.
Looking at the gradually rising sun outside, he thought to himself: "Anyway, let's stick to our previous idea."
He climbed onto the bike, pressed the bell with his thumb, making a series of crisp sounds, pedaled, and rode out of the alley where he lived. After only two turns, he was on the main road.
Nian Fuli is the patrol captain of the police station. This area is inhabited by patrol officers of the police station and their families, so the security in this area is relatively good. The roads are also very spacious, with sycamore trees planted on both sides of the streets. The sunshine at the end of May mixed with the dark green leaves makes people feel good.
After riding along the main road for half an hour, he entered the city center square. The tallest buildings in Yangzhi City are concentrated here. Most of them were built during the great development period, almost sixty years ago. Because the situation was tense at the time, the materials used were extremely solid, and the cold tones had a heavy feeling.
After waiting for a tram to pass by, he saw seven or eight people dressed in indecent clothes walking towards him from the other end of the road.
One of the people in the group seemed to be very sensitive to gazes. He suddenly turned around and looked over with a fierce look. However, when he saw the shoulder bag on Chen Chuan, he cursed something, spat at Chen Chuan's departing back, and turned his head away again.
After crossing the square, Chen Chuan turned left and headed north. About five minutes later, a very imposing eaves appeared on the east side of the road. As he got closer, he could see that this was the gate of an institution of higher learning. It had three doors and was a hundred steps wide. On the stone plaque above the middle gate were written the five characters "Wuyi University" in regular script as sharp as silver hooks and iron paintings. From time to time, he could see imposing cars going in and out of the gate.
He then gripped the brake handle, stepped on tiptoe, and stopped in front of a stone tablet by the door. On it was engraved a brief introduction to the university: "Wuyi University was founded in the 15th year of the Jianzhi reign and officially renamed in the 35th year of the Jianzhi reign. The first president was Cheng Yunbai..."
The school gate faces a flat open area. The sun at seven or eight o'clock in the morning is very bright, shining on the school gate and the buildings on both sides, making them look particularly elegant and solemn.
His eyes wandered as if he was looking for something. After a while, he saw an inconspicuous sign near the side door, which read: "Entrance examination registration office is here."
He exhaled, rolled over, and glanced over to see a figure who looked almost identical to him standing by the door, staring at him. He withdrew his gaze, and with a natural demeanor, pushed the handlebars and entered the school through the side door.
…
…
(End of this chapter)
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