Chapter 043

Winters in the north were always bitterly cold, and the ice on the lake was as solid as stone.

However, this year, the ones making a name for themselves on the frozen surface of Shichahai were no longer Meng Li, Ji Chen, and their group.

They had inevitably grown up, and the streets now belonged to the younger kids coming up after them.

But even this scene wouldn’t last much longer.

The decade-long movement had officially come to an end, and the times were brewing a new chapter.

From 1977 onward, the changes would be earth-shattering.

Once everyone became consumed with chasing wealth and future prospects, the so-called jianghu—the street life and its unwritten rules—would come to an end.

Along with that entire era, it would be buried beneath the dust and sealed within everyone’s memories.

In the Spring Festival of 1977, Meng Li, like all other enlisted soldiers, spent the holiday in the military camp.

The military granted a two-day break, and they spent the time together in the mess hall, making dumplings, having a reunion dinner, and tapping their chopsticks on the plates while singing military songs.

In the past few months, Meng Li’s life in the army hadn’t changed much.

There were occasional small incidents, such as Ji Chen coming to the hospital now and then, both openly and secretly, to talk to her for a few minutes.

Although they didn’t have more contact or deeper conversations, every now and then, they would run into each other at the hospital. The most they exchanged were glances, but somehow, something seemed to be silently growing in their hearts.

Sometimes, Meng Li didn’t dare to look too long into Ji Chen’s eyes because his gaze had the power to drown her.

The more she tried to suppress it, the more it grew, filling her heart completely.

The passionate emotions unique to youth, combined with the simple and romantic spirit of this era, had led to the present situation.

Perhaps one would not love only one person in their lifetime, but the person at this time was one they could never forget.

Around midnight, Ji Chen came to find Meng Li again and called her outside.

In a quiet spot outside, Ji Chen pulled out a red scarf from his coat pocket and handed it to Meng Li as a New Year’s gift.

Meng Li didn’t reach out to take it right away. Instead, she smiled at him and asked, “What’s this supposed to mean?”

Ji Chen, however, didn’t seem flustered. He responded seriously, “With the camaraderie we share, the revolutionary brotherhood between us, from running wild in the streets of Beijing back then to serving together in the army now, isn’t that enough of a reason for me to give you a scarf?”

Meng Li studied him for a moment longer, her smile spreading softly across her face. Then she reached out and accepted the scarf.

Hugging the scarf to her chest, she breathed in the crisp, icy air and exhaled a cloud of white mist. She turned to Ji Chen and said, “We conscripts get such a small monthly allowance. I can’t afford to give you a gift in return, so don’t feel shortchanged.”

Ji Chen chuckled. “I’m giving you a gift without expecting one back.”

After he said that, he suddenly turned around, picked up two pairs of ice skates from behind him, and held them out to Meng Li. “I also prepared these. It’s rare to have free time during the holidays. How about we go have some fun?”

The sight of the ice skates instantly lifted Meng Li’s mood—of course, she wanted to go.

But instead of reaching out to take them, she asked, “Is there even a place to skate?”

Ji Chen held onto the skates with a casual confidence. “Just follow me.”

Meng Li thought for a moment, then wrapped the red scarf around her neck with a hint of excitement. “Let’s go.”

The two of them left behind the lively festivities of New Year’s Eve, carrying their ice skates as they found a wide, frozen lake.

After putting on their skates, they glided across the ice, the wind brushing past them. Turning her head, Meng Li said to Ji Chen, “It feels a little lacking without some music playing over a loudspeaker.”

Ji Chen, skating leisurely beside her, replied, “Next time, I’ll bring you a portable transistor radio.”

Meng Li’s mouth was hidden behind the scarf, but her eyes sparkled with amusement. “I was just making a casual comment. You don’t have to take it seriously.”

Ji Chen skated alongside her, moving with relaxed ease. Under the bright moonlight, his gaze swept over Meng Li from head to toe.

After his subtle inspection, he fixed his eyes on hers and said, “You used to be so skilled, whether it was ice skating or playing ice hockey. But since last winter, you’ve started looking a bit clumsy. What’s going on?”

Even though he questioned her, Meng Li remained completely unbothered.

She deliberately skated a few steps ahead, putting some distance between them, and then turned back to look at him. “I’m pretending to be clumsy on purpose. This way, I seem more like a cute and girly girl. Don’t you think so?”

Ji Chen couldn’t help but laugh as he looked at her. “How about showing me your skills again today?”

Meng Li turned and started skating away. “I’m not wasting my energy on that.”

But she had barely taken a few steps when Ji Chen’s voice called out behind her, “You better not let me catch up to you.”

Hearing that, Meng Li instinctively sped up, her competitive spirit kicking in. As she skated away, she shouted, “Why are you chasing me?!”

Ji Chen didn’t bother answering. He simply controlled his speed, deliberately pressing her to go faster, teasing her like a cat playing with a mouse.

Although Meng Li wasn’t a bad skater, her skills were average. Her nervousness only made her pick up speed recklessly. After barely a lap and a half around the lake, she suddenly lost control of her footing. Her balance wavered, and she was on the verge of falling.

Ji Chen, quick to react, skated up beside her and grabbed her arm. However, the momentum sent them both tumbling onto the ice.

Just like last winter at Shichahai, Meng Li’s face ended up planted squarely against Ji Chen’s chest.

With him cushioning her fall, she didn’t really get hurt.

Meng Li lifted her head and gave Ji Chen’s padded jacket a twist, though she didn’t manage to grab any skin beneath. She repeated her earlier question, “Why were you chasing me?!”

Ji Chen lay on the ice, laughing as he looked at her.

Seeing Meng Li brace her arms to get up, he suddenly flipped them over, switching positions and pinning her beneath him.

His fur-lined hat had fallen off during the tumble and lay to the side.

Meng Li was stunned by his sudden movement. Before she could react, she heard him ask, “If I were really chasing you, would you say yes?”

She froze again, her breath unconsciously tightening.

Meeting Ji Chen’s gaze, she stared at him, momentarily lost in thought. After what felt like a long pause, she snapped back to her senses and gave him a small push, her voice soft. “What are you doing? Get up! We’re in the army. What if someone sees us?”

Ji Chen held her wrists firmly, preventing her from moving. He asked again, “Do you like me?”

Meng Li held her breath, staring at him for a moment. Then, her voice came out tight and restrained. “Get up first. I’ll answer you after you get up.”

Ji Chen finally let go of her, sitting cross-legged beside her on the ice.

Meng Li grabbed his hand for support as she got up, but as soon as she stood, she tried to make a quick escape.

Before she could, Ji Chen tugged her hand and pulled her back down to the ground.

Having no choice, Meng Li resigned herself to sitting obediently in front of him.

After settling down, she cleared her throat and slowly lifted her gaze to meet Ji Chen’s. It took her a while before she finally spoke. “Relationships aren’t allowed in the army. It’s against the rules.”

Ji Chen, of course, was well aware of that, but he still pressed on. “That’s not what I asked. Do you like me?”

Meng Li dropped her gaze, her fingers fidgeting as she rubbed her nails together.

She kept her head down, avoiding Ji Chen’s eyes, and said quietly, “I plan to leave the army after my two years of service are up. We’re not the same kind of people.”

Even the most ordinary individuals who joined the army usually hoped to achieve something meaningful during their service.

Ji Chen hadn’t expected Meng Li to have no ambitions in the military, nor to see herself as so out of sync with him.

After a moment of silence, Ji Chen asked Meng Li, “Why?”

Meng Li finally raised her gaze to meet his. “It’s a very practical issue. I’m not going to achieve much in the army. At best, I’ll end up as a small officer, just idling away my time. So I figured, why waste these years?”

Ji Chen looked at her seriously. “How do you know if you haven’t tried?”

Meng Li pressed her lips together briefly. “I don’t need to try to know. It’s too hard to stand out in the military. Even getting promoted requires earning a merit award. I haven’t made any mistakes, and my work has been decent, but even so, I haven’t earned a third-class merit award yet.”

Ji Chen lowered his gaze, seemingly adjusting his emotions.

The uncertainty of the future often brought an unsettling, elusive feeling, one that was difficult to grasp or control. That sensation lingered as he processed her words.

After a moment, he looked back at Meng Li. “And after you leave the army?”

Meng Li thought carefully. News about the resumption of college entrance exams had been announced in the winter of 1977, but it wasn’t something she could casually bring up right now.

After stalling for a moment with an “Um…” she gave a vague answer. “I’ll figure it out when the time comes.”

Ji Chen’s expression grew even more serious. He stared at her intently. “If you have no plans for the future and don’t want to endure the hardships of army life, then wait until I get promoted. When that happens, marry me, be my wife, and I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life.”

Meng Li’s heart skipped a beat when she heard that, and she instinctively replied, “I’m not going to be a housewife, and I don’t need you to take care of me.”

Ji Chen didn’t seem to understand her resistance and kept his tone serious. “Then what exactly is your plan? Spell it out so I can stop worrying. Don’t stay quiet and suddenly run off one day. China is so big—where would I even start looking for you?”

Perhaps it was something about people of this era. Once they made up their mind about someone, it seemed to be for life.

Hearing him bring up marriage made Meng Li’s heart race even faster. Her gaze flitted nervously, and a thought she often had crossed her mind again. This time, she blurted it out without thinking. “Chen gege, I feel like you and Yu Sitian… you two are a better match.”

The moment she said it, Ji Chen lightly kicked her leg with his foot, not enough to hurt but firm enough to make his point.

Meng Li frowned and looked at him. “Why did you kick me?”

Ji Chen’s expression darkened. “Because you deserved it.”

Meng Li rubbed her leg with a huff but decided it wasn’t worth arguing over.

Ji Chen, however, was still frustrated. He continued with a more serious tone, saying, “You have no plans for the future, muddling through life without ambition. You’ve wasted all these years for nothing. If you’re just discouraged because you think you can’t get promoted, I can help you.”

Meng Li frowned and retorted, “What can you help me with? This is something I need to figure out for myself—”

At this point, Meng Li suddenly stopped speaking, staring at Ji Chen’s face as a thought popped into her mind.

The more she thought about it, the more her breath quickened, and her thoughts grew chaotic. Fixing her gaze on Ji Chen, she abruptly changed the subject, straightening her back instinctively. “I… When I was approved to enlist and was allowed to stay in Beijing, was that because of you?”

Ji Chen didn’t deny it and responded directly, “I didn’t want us to be separated or for you to be sent to the countryside.”

Meng Li froze. The tension in her shoulders eased, and she slowly let herself sink back onto the ice, sitting in silence.

Her heart rippled with warmth and sweetness, filling her with a mix of emotions.

She looked at Ji Chen and, in a sudden and seemingly random shift, said softly, “I have the ability to foresee the future. Do you believe me?”

Ji Chen frowned slightly, his expression changing instantly. What had been serious turned into a look of disbelief, as though he were staring at someone completely out of their mind.

With that expression, he looked at Meng Li and asked, “Then why don’t you predict something for me? How many kids will we have in the future?”

Meng Li actually gave it some thought, muttering under her breath, “If family planning is strictly enforced, then probably just one…”

She hadn’t even finished saying the word “probably” before she caught sight of Ji Chen grinning broadly. Realizing the implication of what she had just said, her face flushed with embarrassment. Quickly, she stretched out her leg and kicked him lightly, muttering under her breath, “Damn!”

Ji Chen laughed out loud but quickly tried to rein it in. Clearing his throat, he asked, “What else can you foresee?”

Meng Li adjusted her expression, a hint of seriousness creeping in. “I’ll tell you, but you can’t tell anyone else. I dreamed about it—within the next two years, the college entrance exams will be fully reinstated. My service ends next year, so I plan to go home, take the exams, and go to university.”

Ji Chen initially wanted to laugh at her, but suddenly, images flashed through his mind—Meng Li holding a book, reading intently, wherever she went. No one else was quite like her, always studying, always learning, no matter the time or place.

His smile faded, replaced by a thoughtful expression.

After a moment of reflection, he looked at Meng Li seriously. “So… this is your plan?”

Meng Li nodded earnestly. “The times are changing. The national college entrance exam system has been suspended for so many years. Think about how much potential has been wasted—it’s time to bring it back. The country needs a workforce to develop, but it needs talent even more.”

The past decade had cost the nation countless intellectuals, with a large swath of educated people suffering devastating losses.

If things continued this way, how could the country cultivate new talent?

Ji Chen nodded slowly. “You’re right. What you’re saying makes a lot of sense.”

Meng Li said with a slight sense of pride, “Buddy, my level of awareness is way higher than yours.”

Ji Chen reached over and flicked her on the forehead. “Your hair’s grown out, so stop calling me ‘buddy’.”

Meng Li chuckled and rubbed her forehead. “I’ve gotten used to it.”

Ji Chen sighed with relief. “Well, no rush. Let’s just wait and see. If, as you say, the college entrance exams are fully reinstated, then when you leave the army to take the exams, you have to aim for a university in Beijing.”

Meng Li immediately asked, “Why?”

Ji Chen’s expression turned smug, a playful tone in his voice. “Because you like me.”

Meng Li instinctively denied it, blurting out, “You’re full of nonsense!”

Ji Chen pushed himself up from the ice, standing tall. “You’ve already thought about how many kids we’ll have, and yet you still won’t admit it.”

Meng Li scrambled to get up after him, reaching for her hat and putting it back on her head.

She caught up to him and continued to argue, “That’s just you setting me up!”

Meng Li was following closely behind, but Ji Chen suddenly stopped in his tracks. She wasn’t prepared, and with a crash, she collided straight into him.

Ji Chen instinctively reached out and caught her, preventing her from falling.

Meng Li found herself pressed against his chest, clutching his arm. As she lifted her head, she heard him teasing her. “See, you’re doing it on purpose, throwing yourself into my arms.”

Meng Li: “……”

Someone hold her back—she was about to kill him!