Chapter 021

When Meng Li arrived home, Cheng Chunliang and Gu Huijuan had not yet returned from work.

Grandma Cheng was in the kitchen preparing dinner, and Tang Yuan’er was there keeping her company, mostly listening to her tell stories.

Seeing Meng Li return, Grandma Cheng greeted her warmly, “Meng Li, you’re back from school.”

Meng Li responded with a nod, carrying her schoolbag straight into the kitchen.

While asking if Meng Li was hungry, Grandma Cheng handed her half a steamed bun with a kind smile. “It’s a lard bun. Grandma just steamed it. Tang Yuan’er had half, and this half is for you. Go on, take it.”

In those days, having a meat-filled bun was considered a luxury. Meat was rationed, and each household only got a small amount every month. Eating pork dumplings felt like celebrating a holiday, so even a lard bun was considered a treat.

After a long day of classes and the lengthy commute home, Meng Li was indeed hungry. She didn’t refuse Grandma Cheng’s kind gesture, taking the bun and biting into it. “Thank you, Grandma,” she said.

Grandma Cheng couldn’t help but smile when she heard Meng Li call her “Grandma.” She thought to herself that this child had truly accepted her from the heart.

Before this, Meng Li had completely ignored her kindness and never addressed her as “Grandma.”

Grandma Cheng covered the pot with a lid and said with a smile, “Dinner is ready. Once your parents are back from work, we can eat.”

Meng Li nodded while biting into the bun. “Then I’ll go finish my homework first.”

Hearing this, Grandma Cheng froze for a moment, instinctively wondering if she had misheard.

It wasn’t until she saw Meng Li set her textbooks on the square table in the central room that she realized Meng Li was genuinely going to do her homework.

Meng Li didn’t pay attention to how surprised Grandma Cheng was. She sat at the table and focused on completing her assignments.

Tang Yuan’er was no longer afraid of Meng Li at all. She curiously ran over, knelt on a small stool beside her, and leaned over to watch her write. “Do you even know how to do this?” she asked.

Meng Li focused mostly on her homework, stuffing the last bit of the steamed bun into her mouth. “Hmm? Why wouldn’t I?”

Tang Yuan’er, at her age, said whatever came to mind. “I heard my mom say you barely know a few big characters. She said you can only write numbers and recite the ABCs. She also said you’re always messing around outside and that you’ll grow up to be illiterate. She told me not to learn from you.”

Meng Li glanced at Tang Yuan’er. “Your mom’s talking nonsense. Before I came to Zhima Hutong, I was studying just fine. If it weren’t for your mom mistreating me, excluding me, and making the kids my age look down on and bully me, do you think I’d have ended up messing around outside?”

Tang Yuan’er looked intrigued. “I heard you were pretty cool out there. Is that true?”

Meng Li nodded, a hint of pride showing on her face. “As long as you’re in Beijing, you can go out and mention my name. Tell them you’re my little sister, Meng Li’s sister, and no one will dare bully you.”

Tang Yuan’er’s eyes lit up, her face full of admiration. She was about to say something when the curtain behind them was lifted from the outside. Both she and Meng Li turned to look and saw Gu Huijuan had returned home.

Gu Huijuan entered the room and glanced at Meng Li. Setting down the bag in her hand, she said indifferently, “What you do with yourself is your business, but don’t go saying nonsense in front of Tang Yuan’er. She’s a good girl—don’t corrupt her.”

As she spoke, she walked over to the washstand, poured hot water into the basin, and began washing her hands. Afterward, she dried her hands with a clean towel, all the while continuing to talk.

“There’s no need to put on an act by doing homework in front of us. The only reason we transferred you to Cuihua Middle School was to keep you out of trouble. No one expects you to actually study. Even if you learn something, it won’t matter. In a few months, you’ll still have to go to the countryside. Just put it away and get ready for dinner.”

This time, Meng Li couldn’t even be bothered to argue with Gu Huijuan. Whether studying would be useful or not, time would tell. Debating this matter with her was pointless, and it certainly wouldn’t help Meng Li earn extra points for the college entrance exam.

She stood up, gathered her textbooks and homework, and placed them on the long side table next to the transistor radio.

After dinner, she would take them back out and continue working on her assignments at the table.

Gu Huijuan found Meng Li’s behavior strange and could only think there was something wrong with her mind. She didn’t say anything further.

Just a few more months, and we can send her away, Gu Huijuan thought to herself. Might as well endure it for now.

Meng Li ignored everyone, paying no attention to those who laughed at her behind her back. She quietly finished the homework assigned by her teacher at the table in the central room. Afterward, she reviewed the material in her textbooks to reinforce her knowledge. Only then did she wash up, turn off the light, and go to bed.

The next day, she didn’t sleep in. She woke up early, ate a little, and slung her schoolbag over her shoulder before heading to school.

In the past, her schoolbag had been filled with bricks, but now it was packed with textbooks, exercise books, and notebooks for homework.

Because she left early, there were only a few people on the bus.

Luo Yongmei and Shao Jun happened to be taking the same bus as her. When they saw Meng Li sitting at the back, they deliberately chose seats at the front.

Meng Li didn’t care about them. She had no interest in their actions. Sitting in her seat, she closed her eyes and rested.

Suddenly adjusting her routine to wake up early and sleep late was tough on Meng Li’s body, which had grown used to sleeping in. She took every opportunity she could to close her eyes and rest.

She rested the entire way to school on the bus but still couldn’t stop yawning when she arrived.

Meng Li’s seat was in the very back of the classroom, so she entered through the back door. Once inside, she slumped over her desk and closed her eyes again.

Though she couldn’t really fall asleep, she just wanted to lie there for a while.

At the front of the classroom, some students hadn’t noticed her arrival and were still gathered together gossiping.

Meng Li hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, but she heard everything anyway.

These students had nothing better to do and were betting on when she and Ji Chen would get into a fight.

“I bet two days.”

“I’ll go with three days.”

“Five days for me.”

“Then I’ll say seven days.”

“I heard they’ve already made up, so I’ll bet they won’t fight at all…”

Meng Li heard all of this but didn’t react. She shifted her position and continued to rest.

She stayed like that until the sound of the class bell woke her. Sitting up, she began the morning reading session.

It wasn’t until the morning reading class was almost over that Ji Chen finally arrived at school.

Meng Li didn’t look at him or pay him any attention, staying focused on her own work.

After the morning reading session, the class monitor began collecting homework, starting from the first row near the classroom door and working their way to the back, where Meng Li and Ji Chen sat.

When the monitor finished collecting from the two students sitting in front of Meng Li and Ji Chen, they stopped in place, seemingly deep in thought.

After a moment of hesitation, the monitor gathered their courage, stepped up to Ji Chen’s desk, cleared their throat, and said softly, “Collecting homework.”

Ji Chen furrowed his brow and glanced at the monitor. “What are you talking about?”

The monitor froze for a second, then, as if risking their life, repeated, “Homework.”

Before Ji Chen could respond again, Meng Li calmly handed over her completed homework notebook.

“…”

The class monitor was momentarily speechless, pausing in hesitation. Meng Li, however, remained silent, simply leaning back in her seat with an indifferent expression.

Ji Chen turned his head toward Meng Li, his face showing disbelief— This jerk actually did his homework?

The class monitor shared the same shock. After standing frozen for a moment, they finally reached out and took Meng Li’s homework notebook.

Once they had it, the monitor quickly turned to Ji Chen and said, “If you didn’t do it, you’ll have to catch up on your own. I’ll take these to the teacher first.”

Not waiting for Ji Chen to respond, the monitor turned and hurried off.

Ji Chen was still staring at Meng Li. Finally, he couldn’t hold back and asked, “Did you eat something weird or what?”

Meng Li thought for a moment before offering a simple explanation: “Copied it. Just to avoid trouble with the teacher.”

Ji Chen thought for a moment. This school was definitely different from his previous one.

After a pause, he turned to Meng Li again and asked, “How about you help me copy one too?”

Meng Li lightly pursed her lips, her voice lowered as she responded, “Five cents for a copy.”

Ji Chen: “…”

What the hell, are you trying to rob me?

Wait, no—he used to do that.

Ji Chen’s gaze darkened as he stared at Meng Li. He pulled out a brand new notebook and then, from his pocket, took out five cents, slapping both the money and the notebook down in front of her.