Chapter 136: The Li Family Diner [Part Two]

Actions speak louder than words. Here is Chapter Two!

The stunning performance of Radiance Middle School last time had thrown the entire leadership team of Lihua No. 1 High School into a state of tense preparation.

The consequence was that countless outstanding students received privileges they had never enjoyed before.

With his dazzling results, Zhang Ye had completely won over all the teachers present, as well as Wang Dapeng, who had always been somewhat overbearing. As an exception, Wang Dapeng granted him privileges unlike those given to any other student.

…

When Zhang Ye walked out of the office, only twenty or thirty minutes remained before school let out. Led by his homeroom teacher, he went straight to the classroom.

Yet along the way, Miao Jianghong’s attitude toward him had changed completely. The stern expression she had worn earlier was nowhere to be seen. Her face was full of smiles, giving off the warmth of a gentle spring breeze—kind and natural.

Swish!

The tightly closed classroom door opened, and every student in the room turned to look at Zhang Ye.

Surprise, concern, schadenfreude… Every imaginable expression appeared.

A low murmur arose as the students began to discuss him.

Zhang Ye had been absent from class for the entire morning. They had every reason to believe that their homeroom teacher had given him a brutal scolding. Those who did not know that Zhang Ye’s grades had suddenly surpassed theirs still harbored reservations about his performance.

Meeting the gazes of Li Qianqian and Guo Xiangqing, Zhang Ye gave them a slight nod. Without saying anything, he walked straight to his seat.

The teacher conducting the lesson was Song Jun, the same mathematics teacher as before. He showed no displeasure at Zhang Ye’s arrival. Instead, he smiled and nodded at him, exchanged a few words with Miao Jianghong, closed the door, and continued the lesson.

He knew nothing about Zhang Ye’s special privileges, but that did not stop him from showing warmth toward a student who had already demonstrated enough ability to earn his respect.

During the lesson, he called on Zhang Ye several times to answer questions. It was a gesture of goodwill.

Sitting in his seat, Zhang Ye felt somewhat moved by everything that had happened that day. In truth, he had never placed much hope in the proposal he had made. He had simply not wanted to be scolded. He had wanted to show what he could do and prove himself.

After all, regardless of how one looked at it, he had entered the advanced class through connections. He needed to use his abilities to slap down those who looked down on him, hoped to see him embarrass himself, and simply disliked him.

As usual, his deskmate was sprawled over the desk, using a deliberately towering pile of books to conceal his extracurricular reading. This time was no different. A fairly thick magazine, still new but already bearing the creases of frequent reading, lay openly on the desk.

They sat in the last row, after all. Unless the teacher came over, there was no need to worry about being discovered.

“Fantasy Youth.” Zhang Ye was slightly taken aback. He had not expected the magazine he had founded to have already spread throughout the grade.

Then again, it made sense. Fantasy Youth was aimed at the younger generation in the first place. A world brimming with fantasy was more than enough to stir their hearts and set their blood racing.

“Let me ask you something. Do you know this magazine?” Zhou Xuanbo suddenly leaned closer, looking at Zhang Ye with a strange expression.

“I know it. It’s a fairly popular magazine that specializes in serialized fiction.” Zhang Ye nodded, secretly pleased. Judging from this, Fantasy Youth had truly attracted a large readership.

His deskmate’s tastes were notoriously demanding. Even the martial arts novels brought over from Pearl Harbor, including works by famous authors, rarely managed to hold his attention.

“Then do you know the columnist who writes under the name Gongzhang Lizi?” Zhou Xuanbo’s expression grew even stranger. He studied Zhang Ye carefully, as though he wanted to detect some abnormality on his face.

“I don’t. Why?” Zhang Ye’s heart leaped, but he pretended to be unconcerned as he asked the question.

The pen name Zhang Ye had chosen initially sounded like a Japanese name. But anyone who examined it closely would notice that, when its parts were rearranged, it could form the characters of Zhang Ye’s name. Someone attentive could easily discover that.

Had Zhou Xuanbo figured it out?

“Obviously not. How could it be? It must just be someone with the same name.” Zhou Xuanbo shook his head in disappointment, then lowered himself over the desk and resumed reading his novel.

Soon, the bell rang.

Zhang Ye gathered his books, took several somewhat battered notebooks from his desk, and slowly walked over to Li Qianqian.

“Thank you. I’ve finished reading them.” Zhang Ye smiled faintly and handed the notebooks back.

Li Qianqian’s face flushed. She took the notebooks in a fluster, then hurriedly lowered her head.

“N-No need to thank me. It was nothing.”

As though she suddenly realized how embarrassing she looked, she quickly grabbed her deskmate, Guo Xiangqing, and prepared to leave the classroom by Zhang Ye’s side.

“Let’s go together. I happen to be planning to have lunch at your family’s shop.” Zhang Ye shook his head helplessly, then hurried after them.

Although Zhang Ye had helped her father recover through massage and pressure-point treatment, their relationship had remained much as it was before, without any significant progress. Apart from the fact that Zhang Ye himself had not yet decided whether he truly wanted to begin a relationship with her, Li Qianqian’s excessively shy nature was an even greater obstacle standing between them.

“O-Okay.” Li Qianqian kept her head slightly lowered and thanked Zhang Ye in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

Zhang Ye knew what she was trying to express. After more than a month of medication adjustments, combined with Zhang Ye’s occasional visits to massage and treat him, her father’s health was basically no longer a serious concern. Though his prolonged illness and bed rest had left him somewhat weak, he was now able to move about and work normally.

With Li Aiguo’s health restored, Xie Yun had finally set aside the burden in her heart. Using the money Zhang Ye had given them, she rented a small storefront not far from Lihua No. 1 High School and officially opened for business.

The name of the family restaurant was Li Family Eatery.

“When did the two of you become so close?” Guo Xiangqing glanced back and forth between Zhang Ye and Li Qianqian.

For some reason, a sour feeling had suddenly risen within her. Seeing Zhang Ye standing beside Li Qianqian instead of her made her feel even more aggrieved.

She had always held a favorable impression of Zhang Ye. As for whether that feeling was strong enough to be called love, her muddled mind had never formed a clear concept of it. No matter when or where, however, the next moment in her thoughts would always bring back scenes of Zhang Ye rescuing her, fighting for her, and suffering unfair treatment because of her.

Now, without realizing it, she had suddenly discovered that her deskmate and best friend shared an unusual relationship with Zhang Ye. At once, she became wary.

“No, we aren’t. I only lent him my notebooks,” Li Qianqian hurriedly explained.

Zhang Ye frowned slightly, nodded, and said nothing.

As they walked down the corridor, he looked at Li Qianqian, who seemed somewhat unnatural beside him, and suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

Running away could never solve the problem in the end.