Chapter 11
The air conditioning in the principal's office was cranked high, and the leather chairs made a slight scraping sound as they turned. Li Ruiyuan stood at his mahogany desk, his fingers pinching the rubber-banded wad of bills in his trouser pocket. The thickness of the bills made his palms sweat.
"Principal Wang." He forced a smile, fine lines forming at the corners of his eyes. "I heard that the top class is expanding its enrollment this year?"
Principal Wang pushed his glasses up, his gaze still fixed on the computer screen. "Policy stipulates that the top five students in parallel classes have the opportunity to transfer to another class." The mouse clicked. "Student Wu Ye ranked sixth in the last monthly exam."
The air conditioner hissed out cold air. Li Ruiyuan fished out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, expertly shaking out a stick and handing it over. "The kid's been studying really hard lately..."
The principal raised his hand to block the cigarette, his eyes behind the glasses scanning the collar of his washed-out T-shirt: "The school has rules."
"Just one person missing." Li Ruiyuan kept offering a cigarette, his smile frozen on his face. "Look..." He was interrupted before he could finish his words: "Student Li, I remember you also graduated from Guangwei?"
The honor roll on the office wall gleamed with gold paint. On the list of outstanding graduates of the class of 2009, one name had been scratched out, leaving only a blurry ink mark.
"Yes." Li Ruiyuan put away the cigarette, his fingertips unconsciously twisting the filter, "So I know how important it is to get into the top class."
Outside the window, music from the morning gymnastics class blew. The principal finally looked him in the eye. "I heard Wu Ye is your...brother?"
"Distant cousin." Li Ruiyuan answered quickly, as if he had rehearsed it countless times.
Silence stretched in the cold air. The stack of bills grew heavier in his trouser pocket, pressing against his hips until they ached.
"How about this," the principal suddenly closed the folder. "The Education Bureau leaders are having dinner tonight. You can come along." Li Ruiyuan dug his nails into his palm. "What time?"
The drinking party was held at a private restaurant by the Pearl River. Li Ruiyuan changed into his only white shirt, carefully ironing the frayed cuffs. He arrived half an hour early and stood at the door, watching the waiters set the table.
"Xiao Wang!" He called to the waiter and handed him two packs of cigarettes. "Change the wine on my table for mineral water later."
The leaders had already finished their round of drinks. Li Ruiyuan toasted each one, his throat burning with the spicy liquor. The principal smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "This is our outstanding alumnus!"
The head of the Education Bureau looked at him drunkenly: "What kind of job do you have now?"
"Start a business." Li Ruiyuan poured the wine calmly, "Start a small business."
How come opening a store isn’t considered starting a business?
In the bathroom, he stuck his finger down his throat to induce vomiting. The person in the mirror had red eyes and a greasy stain on his white shirt. As the cold water splashed on his face, he heard the principal's voice from the cubicle: "...His grades are indeed a little low, but he's quite sensible..."
When he returned to the private room, he naturally sat down next to the principal. His phone flickered on and off under the table. It was a message from Wu Ye: "Brother Yuan, what time will you be back?"
"I have a dinner party and will be back soon," he replied, smiling and pouring tea for his leader.
It was already late at night when the meeting ended. Li Ruiyuan helped the principal to the car and stuffed the thick envelope into his briefcase. "Principal Wang," his voice was drunken, "I'll leave the child in your care."
The principal paused. The streetlight illuminated the edge of the banknotes protruding from the briefcase's opening, making them look dazzlingly new.
"Next Monday." Before the car door closed, a faint voice floated out, "Have him report to the first shift."
As the taxi crossed the Pearl River, Li Ruiyuan rolled down the window to vomit. The evening breeze blew in, dispelling the stench of alcohol from him. His phone vibrated. Wu Ye sent another message: "Have you been drinking? I made you some hangover soup."
He stared at the message for a long time, until the screen went dark and the meter numbers kept ticking, like some kind of countdown.
When I got home, the hallway lights were still on. When I opened the door, Wu Ye was hunched over the dining table, working on a homework assignment, the rice cooker's heat light on.
"So late?" The boy raised his head and wrinkled his nose. "Drinking again." "Social gathering." Li Ruiyuan kicked off his shoes. "Where's the soup?"
The hangover soup was very salty, obviously salted twice. Li Ruiyuan drank every last drop. "The results will be out tomorrow," Wu Ye whispered. "If I make the top five..." "Yeah," Li Ruiyuan interrupted. "Go to bed."
As the sound of running water filled the bathroom, the boy secretly opened his wallet, which had been thrown on the sofa. There were only a few coins and a supermarket receipt that had been rubbed white.
The sound of water stopped. Wu Ye quickly closed his wallet, as if hiding a burning secret.
The next day.
The transfer notice for the top class was posted prominently on the bulletin board. Li Ruiyuan wore a new T-shirt and stood on the edge of the crowd, watching Wu Ye's name appear at the end of the Class 1 list.
"That's awesome!" He ruffled the boy's hair. "He'll be a top student in the future." Wu Ye's ears turned slightly red as he glanced at the other parents in suits and ties around him. "Yeah."
Classroom 1 was at the end of the corridor, bright and clean, with the air conditioning two degrees lower than the other classrooms. Li Ruiyuan peeked through the back door glass for a moment—the students were all wearing brand-name sneakers and smart watches on their wrists.
"See?" He poked Wu Ye on the back, "Learn more from these good students." The boy nodded silently, the shoulder line of his new school uniform was a little tight.
After school, Li Ruiyuan waited in a prominent position at the school gate. Wu Ye walked out with several classmates, and the children greeted him politely, "Hello, brother."
"Okay, okay!" Li Ruiyuan smiled so hard that his teeth were showing. "Come to my house and play when you have time!"
On the way, he was unusually talkative: "Isn't the one wearing glasses the squad leader? He looks like a good kid."
"Yeah." "The girl next to you walked you out? She was quite polite." "Study Committee Member."
Wu Ye walked with his head down. Li Ruiyuan's shoelaces were loose, so he squatted down to tie them. He didn't notice the boy's sudden pale face.
"Starting tomorrow, bring more fruit." Li Ruiyuan looked up and said, "Share it with your classmates." The shoelaces were tied into a crooked bow.
Wu Ye suddenly grabbed the corner of his clothes: "No need... they don't like to eat it."
Change was gradual. Wu Ye's notebooks were often "forgotten in the classroom," and his school uniform occasionally bore ink stains. Once, Li Ruiyuan noticed that his right hand was awkward when writing, and his knuckles were slightly red and swollen.
"I fell." The boy hid his hands behind his back. "I bumped into it while trying to grab the basketball."
Li Ruiyuan bought the most expensive imported chocolate from the supermarket and said, "I'll give it to my classmates tomorrow." The next day, he brought the chocolate back unopened and said, "They're helping me lose weight."
One day in late autumn, Li Ruiyuan finished work early to pick someone up. From a distance, he saw Wu Ye surrounded by several other boys in the corner of the carport. These "good students" were wearing expensive down jackets and had bright, clean smiles.
"...The transfer student is quite arrogant?" The class monitor smiled and patted Wu Ye's cheek, "Don't you understand what the senior is saying?" Wu Ye lowered his eyes and let the other party stuff the Mathematical Olympiad certificate into the trash can.
Li Ruiyuan was standing far away, unable to see what they were doing. He narrowed his eyes and was about to step forward when Wu Ye suddenly looked up. A wolf-like glint flashed in those usually gentle eyes, frightening the boys so much that they took a step back.
"What's wrong?" Li Ruiyuan walked over quickly. The group of children immediately put on innocent smiles: "Hello, brother! We are discussing the problem with Wu Ye." The class monitor even put his arm around Wu Ye's shoulders affectionately: "He has been making great progress recently!"
On the way back, Li Ruiyuan hummed a song: "It seems like we are getting along well?"
Wu Ye stared at the cracks in the bus floor: "...Hmm."
Li Ruiyuan was awakened by a slight noise in the night. The bathroom light was on, and the frosted glass reflected the back of a young man, bent over. He pushed the door open and saw Wu Ye vomiting into the sink, the back of his school uniform soaked.
"Did you get an upset stomach?" Wu Ye quickly rinsed off the mess, with water stains still on the corners of his mouth. "Hmm... I ate too much chocolate."
Li Ruiyuan smiled and flicked his head: "Are you stupid?" When his fingertips brushed across the back of the other's neck, he felt a slight tremor.
On the day of his midterm exam, Wu Ye's seat in the exam room was splashed with red ink. He silently wiped it away with a tissue, but a faint stain remained on his test paper.
When the results were announced, he was still in the top ten in his grade. Li Ruiyuan bought a string of firecrackers at a canteen and was chased half a block by urban management officers.
"It's a treat!" He shouted to Wu Ye, shaking the sausage, "Call all your classmates!" The boy lowered his head in the twilight: "They... have to go to cram school."
Finally, the two of them sat on a bench by the river and shared a grilled sausage. Wu Ye ate so hastily that a bamboo skewer poked his gums, causing blood to seep out. "Slow down," Li Ruiyuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. "No one's snatching it away."
Across the Pearl River, the elite classes at Guangwei Middle School were brightly lit. Children wearing designer shoes were taking math Olympiad training, each with a proper smile on their face.
Wu Ye suddenly grabbed his wrist: "Brother Yuan."
"Um?"
"I didn't perform well this time, but I will definitely take first place next time"
The evening breeze blew the boy's hair loose, revealing a pair of eyes that held a hidden fire. Li Ruiyuan laughed and put his arm around his shoulders: "Of course you will."
The sound of a ship's whistle came from a distance. Wu Ye closed his eyes and said nothing.
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