Chapter 3: Choosing a School

As soon as the middle-school entrance exam results were posted, the ancient landline at the Li household went completely mad.

Ring after ring, it shrieked without pause, like a death knell, shattering the quiet that usually hung over the home.

Li Yifei lounged half-tilted in a peeling wooden chair, listening to his mother answer the phone again and again with polite thanks, and a faint, cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

A life from long ago flashed through his mind like scenes from a movie. It had been the same summer after exams: the house cold and empty as an icehouse, with not a single relative asking how he was doing.

Later, he botched the college entrance exam, ended up in a lousy junior college, and after that took whatever work he could get. Tightening screws on an assembly line, selling apartments for an agency... every step had been a struggle.

No one showed him the way. He could only grope forward in the dark on his own. The most precious years of his life had all been wasted.

And when he finally figured out a few things for himself, he was already too old, weighed down by family responsibilities, and those fragile hopes had long since been ground to dust.

Now? Hah.

These relatives who had suddenly appeared to ask after his health were, in Li Yifei's eyes, living lessons in reality.

He knew perfectly well: when it came to other people's karma, it was best not to meddle; other people's fate deserved respect. So when he answered the phone, he was all courtesy on the surface, while inside the wall he had built stood stronger than anyone else's.

Just as he was growing irritated, the school called.

The voice of the head of discipline boomed even through the receiver. "Li Yifei! Well done! You brought honor to Fourth High in a big way! The school would like to invite you back for an interview, to share your experience with the younger students and help promote the school as well!"

Without hesitation, Li Yifei said, "Of course, teacher. I'll come back."

These three years at Fourth High had not been especially smooth, but without that place as a foundation, he would not even have had a chance to sit at the table. This interview was repayment, and also the closing of a karmic knot. If he did not settle it, that knot in his heart would never come undone.

The day he returned to Fourth High, the sun was bright enough to daze the eyes.

The old pagoda tree by the school gate still bore its dense leaves, and the cicadas screamed so loudly it was painful to hear.

The moment he stepped into the familiar campus, memories rose from every corner.

When he pushed open the teachers' office door, Old Yang, his homeroom teacher, was so excited his face turned red as a hero's mask. Those callused hands of his clamped tightly around Li Yifei's. "Good lad! You really sent our class a star! From a class that always lagged behind in the grade, you've flown out a golden phoenix!"

The grade head and the principal came hurrying over as well, their faces all smiles. The principal patted him on the shoulder. "Yifei, you are the pride of our school! You must keep this honor going!"

Hearing all these warm words, Li Yifei wore a proper smile. "Thank you, teachers. Thank you, school. Without your devoted guidance, without the school's good environment, I could not have achieved this result.

Especially during that final sprint, when the teachers helped me fill in the gaps and fix my weak points, they deserve the greatest credit. I am a student of Fourth High, and I am proud of my school!"

It was all polite talk. Who couldn't say such things?

There was an interview, photos, and a flurry of activity.

At the end, the school handed him a thick envelope and said it was a scholarship of five thousand yuan, awarded in recognition of his bringing glory to the school.

Amid the cheerful send-off, Li Yifei felt that he and Fourth High, over those three years, had finally settled accounts once and for all.

When he got home, he stuffed the wad of bills into his parents' hands.

Seeing the shock and delight on their faces, their eyes reddening, he felt a warmth stir in his own heart as well.

But soon that warmth was pressed down.

It was time to think about real matters.

He opened his notebook and wrote down his plans in brisk strokes:

1. Choose a school: it had to have an accelerated track. There was still no grade-reform system in this era—those flashy changes would not arrive until 2008. Some high schools let top students finish the curriculum in two years and take the college entrance exam early. Saving a year was worth its weight in gold.

2. Make money: during summer break, he had to submit the fantasy novel he had already written. Online fiction was his first mine for startup capital.

3. Open accounts: he had to go to the bank right away and get a card, and ideally open a stock account too. The super bull market of 2006 to 2007 was sparkling in his memory; he absolutely could not miss it.

4. Study: he had to thoroughly master everything from high school. That was the foundation for the college entrance exam. Computers, finance, psychology, current affairs... all of it had to be learned. His summer goal: self-study the entire three-year high school curriculum.

Early the next morning, the Li household was bustling.

Hearing that teachers from several high schools would be paying a visit, Old Li got up before dawn and scrubbed the house inside and out until it shone. He even made a special trip to buy fresh fruit and pastries.

His mother was in the kitchen frying, stir-frying, and simmering, while pots, bowls, and pans clattered and rang.

At ten o'clock sharp, teachers from several schools arrived one after another at Li Yifei's home.

He welcomed them inside. After his parents had brought out tea and pastries, he cleared his throat and began.

"Thank you all for making the trip. I am Li Yifei. I understand why you have come. But before I make a decision, I would like to first explain my thoughts and conditions."

His tone was steady, and his points were clear.

"First, I have already self-studied all of the first-year high school courses. I have basically mastered the knowledge points, and I have done a fair amount of practice as well. If the teachers do not believe me, you may test me with papers right now."

"Second, I plan to take the college entrance exam in 2007, at the end of my second year, and enter university early."

"Third, because my pace is relatively fast, I hope the school can give me a fairly large degree of freedom in my studies. Of course, the school may check my progress at any time. Monthly exams, midterms, and finals—I will attend all of them. Let the results speak."

The room fell silent at once.

The teachers looked at one another, and the expressions on their faces were wonderfully varied.

The teachers from City First High were the first to lose patience. They pushed up their glasses and said, "Student Li, your idea is... quite distinctive. But our school's teaching system is very rigorous and standardized. I'm afraid it would be difficult for us to make a special exception for you and provide such... an unusual arrangement."

With that, they took their leave in a polite but rather distant manner.

The representatives from the other schools also looked troubled. After a round of awkward laughter, they too departed one after another.

In the end, only the teacher from County Second High and the teacher from a private high school remained.

Li Yifei knew that private high school all too well.

He had stumbled there in his previous life.

That school looked impressive on the surface, but its foundations were unstable. In his second year there, its funding chain broke, and it shut down overnight. All the students were shoved into County Second High.

Just thinking of those miserable memories made his skin crawl.

The teacher from County Second High was a fairly capable middle-aged man. He suddenly stood up, his tone eager and sincere.

"Student Li! Your conditions, our school agrees to all of them! Tuition and miscellaneous fees are all waived! On top of that, we will give you an additional scholarship of ten thousand yuan!

Our hardware may not compare to First High, and our reputation may be a little weaker, but we can give you the greatest support! As long as you guarantee your pace and your exam results, the school will absolutely not interfere with your arrangements! Freedom? No problem! We believe in you!"

Before the teacher from the private school could even open his mouth, Li Yifei had already smiled at the County Second High teacher.

"Thank you, teacher. Thank you for County Second High's trust! I believe that with the support of County Second High, I will achieve even better results. I choose County Second High!"

The private school teacher looked embarrassed. After forcing out a few polite words, he left in displeasure as well.

The County Second High teacher, meanwhile, was beaming. Right there and then, he pulled an admission letter from his briefcase and solemnly placed it in Li Yifei's hands.

"Good! Good! We'll handle the enrollment procedures. Student Li, we'll see you when school starts!"

Throughout the whole process, Old Li and his wife had sat quietly on small stools at the side, not daring to make a sound.

Watching their own son negotiate methodically with a group of teachers, and then make the final decision on the spot, with such composure, such steadiness, and such confidence, they felt both astonished and delighted, and a little dazed as well.

Was this really still their son, the one who had always worried them half to death?

After seeing the County Second High teacher off, Li Yifei stood in the courtyard of his small home. The sky was a blinding blue.

He held the thin admission letter in his hand, yet it felt heavy.

This time, the steering wheel of his life was firmly in his own grasp.

Those days of humiliation from his previous life, all that unwillingness and resentment, would be burned into torches lighting the road ahead in this summer of 2005.