C4 Set Off Once Again

Zhang Aiguo’s scowl grew darker and darker as they made their way home. His sighing was incessant, too. Muye kept silent the entire time, but deep inside, his emotions were also roiling.

The atmosphere at home was still strained, but once they finished going over the events, Aiguo turned to his son with renewed determination. “Don’t worry about anything and just focus on studying here at home. I’m going to make sure that you participate in the exams.”

His wife came up behind him then, carrying their coats. They were about to go buy some groceries for the week. As she drew closer, Cui Ping noticed that Muye’s clothes seemed to be a size smaller than it should be. “Did my son grow taller again?” she muttered to herself before making a mental note to get him two new sets to wear.

As soon as their parents left, Muye wasted no time and went into his room to resume studying. Meng brewed some tea and took it to him. She kept him company for the next few hours. It was the only way she could support her brother, to cheer him on, even in silence.

So much had happened in a single day that Muye could barely keep up with all of it. He had been dealt blow after excruciating blow, from Wang Zhong’s cruelty, to Lili’s disdain, and then back to Wang Zhong’s vicious mouth again.

But what hurt Muye the most was his parents’ sorrow. His father’s distressed face was etched into his mind, and he kept hearing his mother’s gut-wrenching sobs.

Occasionally, Wang Zhong’s despicable face would pop up, especially the one he had worn at the office. And then there was Cao Ying, and her downcast expression as she looked at Muye.

He would be the first to admit it—he had also fantasized about her once or twice, but he was fully ware of his own limitations. A girl like Cao Ying, whose beauty was comparable to the moonlight, and whose family background was likely just as impressive… They belonged to two different worlds.

It kept nagging at him, though—the way she had looked at him. Her eyes had been full of pity, and Muye couldn’t stand it. Pity was reserved for the weak and defenseless.

He might not be able to do anything about it in the past, but everything had changed. He now had the skills and knowledge to restore his dignity and rise above his circumstances.

He spent the rest of the afternoon studying.

Muye memorized and revised his notes, then did a set of test papers.

Every word his eyes laid on, his brain retained. He even managed to commit poems to memory, and breezed through subjects like Geometry, Algebra, Physics, and Chemistry. By the time he finally leaned back and stretched his arms, night had already fallen.

Early the next morning, Zhang Aiguo set off with his son again, this time carrying two Chunghwa cigarettes and two bottles of Maotai.

He brought them to a private institution called Xiandai Middle School. It as located diagonally across his City No. 1 High School, and the two couldn’t be more opposite. Unlike with Muye’s previous school, there were very students from Xiandai who even bothered to take the college entrance exams.

Even more of a contrast was the stereotype each student body had earned. Roughly speaking, those from City No. 1 High School were the cream of the crop, while those from Xiandai Middle School were nothing more than trash.

The schools just weren’t on the same level at all, in any given aspect.

Father and son entered Xiandai Middle High School, and Aiguo led Muye to an office. His father seemed to be familiar with the place. A young teacher welcomed them, and just like the day before, Aiguo placed the cigarettes and wine on the table before having making conversation.

After a while, he waved his son over. “Muye, come here and greet Mr. Lee.”

He stepped forward and smiled as instructed. “Hello, Mr. Lee.”

Lee Yong peered at the boy before home, taking his time as he plucked a cigarette from one of the boxes Aiguo had brought. He lit the stick and took a long drag. “Zhang Muye, right? For your father’s sake, you are allowed to take the college entrance exams. However, you are expected to adhere to the rules of our classrooms for the duration of your stay here. You are not to cause any more trouble, do you understand? Otherwise, you might get expelled from this school as well, and you will have no one to blame but yourself.”

He had already read through Muye’s information. The boy had averaged 300 marks in his exams, which was very bad, even for Xiandai Middle School standards. There was no way anyone could hope for Muye to turn his fate around. All he needed to do now was to behave and finish the last month of the school year without incident, and he would be considered to have accomplished his high school education.

Muye nodded his head in earnest. Lee Yong smiled, satisfied with his reaction.

The adults exchanged another round of pleasantries, and Aiguo left shortly after. Then Lee Yong took Muye to a classroom, where he would be welcomed as an officially enrolled student at Xiandai Middle School.

The class was in utter chaos when they arrived. Students were either reading novels, playing games, or sleeping on their desks with their shirts off. It was also worth noting that a good number of the seats were vacant. A lot of the kids had obviously decided to skip their lessons. Despite this, the teachers didn’t seem to care at all. It was a rather common scenario when it came to graduating students.

Muye’s sudden attendance as a new transfer student did cause a minor commotion among his classmates, but he paid no mind to it.

In the grand scheme of things, he was just a passerby in this school. Even if he made friends here, he was sure they would all lose contact by the next month anyway. Xiandai only served as his stepping stone, a springboard that would ultimately catapult him to the beginning stages of his inevitable success.

Muye walked to the desk that had been assigned to him, took out his notes, and proceeded to study. All around him, people continued to be noisy and disruptive, but he was calm and placid as a lake. He worked silently, memorizing his notes and doing the written exercises. He had no time to waste. He couldn’t disappoint his parents again, nor could he gamble away his chance for a bright future.

And just like that, his first day at his new school came and went.

The minute the school bell rang to indicate dismissal, Muye collected his things and walked out of the class building.

Outside, the sky was a harmonious canvas of white and blue. The breeze, however, was not as pleasant. The air was thick and humid, but still, Muye’s mood was as light and easy as the clouds.

He had taken the mock exam twice now, and results were getting better. Everyone would certainly be shocked if they found out that Zhang Muye, the boy who could not even pass the third-class university exam, was now capable of scoring the same points as undergraduate students.

He had never felt as confident about the college entrance exams as he was that day. As long as he worked hard, even if his future might not turn out to be the best, at the very least it wouldn’t be the worst. Muye smiled to himself at that thought. He walked out of the campus with a spring in his step.

As luck would have it, the City No. 1 High School students were also filtering out of their campus at the exact same time.

It was quite the sight to see—a huge group of teenagers bubbling in high spirits on one side of the street, and another group trudging along dejectedly on the other.

This wasn’t surprising. After all, the gap between the two schools transcended the students’ school life. Those who attended City No. 1 High School all came from good families, so they naturally had something to look forward to after school. The same could not be said for most attendees of Xiandai Middle School, if not all. Even worse, their love lives were also affected. There had many instances where, when a Xiandai student learned that the object of their affection was also being pursued by another student across the street, the former would immediately back out from the race. It was just too troublesome.

Well, none of that hierarchy nonsense mattered to Muye. For him, City No. 1 was no longer his school. The moment they had expelled him, he had resolved to have nothing to do with that institution anymore, or with any of its pretentious and pompous constituents.

"Zhang Muye?" he heard someone shout as he passed by the nearby printing shop.

He turned two see two boys standing at the entrance of the store. One of them was about 1.75 meters tall, and he was waving eagerly at Muye.

His face immediately broke out into a genuine smile.

The boy who had called out to him was called Liu Dong, while the other boy’s name was Sheng Kai. The three of them had been schoolmates since elementary school; Muye and Liu Dong were classmates, while Sheng Kai belonged to the class next door.

They had been inseparable playmates from the first day Muye had set foot in Jinnan City.

Sheng Kai ran over to him and gave him a light punch in the chest. “I heard Bald Wang got you expelled?” the boy asked with concern.

Muye only nodded, which seemed to agitate Sheng Kai even more. “That baldy really is a bastard! How are you supposed to take the college entrance exams now?”

Liu Dong joined them, his face also etched with worry. If their friend didn’t take the entrance exams, then he wouldn’t even be able to study in a junior college. And if that happened, Muye would definitely be finished.

But Muye was unbothered. “You guys have nothing to worry about, because I’m currently attending Xiandai Middle School.”

The two boys were taken aback, but their surprise soon gave way to relief. They didn’t care which school Muye was attending; the important thing was that he could participate in the college entrance exams. That’s all that mattered for now.