Chapter 51: End of this volume

The boy closed his eyes, sat up, and reached his hands forward, pretending he still couldn't see.

Soon, warm fingertips touched his eyelids, gently opening his eyes.

The girl's face was right in front of him, the slight curve of her lips more noticeable than before.

Clearly, just a glance when he'd woken up earlier had told her he could see.

For he was her balcony, and even the slightest gap in its curtains would unfurl a scattered rainbow before her.

Getting out of bed, Li Zhuiyuan walked the short distance to the washbasin stand, his movements awkward and uncoordinated.

He had to stop, afraid he would fall if he continued.

He had once worried that he might not adapt when his eyesight returned, and now his fear had come true.

Li Zhuiyuan knew he had strong learning abilities, which had led him to over-rely on "memory images" recently.

Now, his senses were in conflict.

If he closed his eyes, everything would be as before, but ultimately, he had to live with his eyes open.

Calming himself, Li Zhuiyuan declined Ah Li's help, carrying the basin in his left hand and using his right hand to steady himself against the wall as he walked.

Reaching the water vat, he set down the basin and looked around. The plain countryside in the early morning resembled a vast ink wash painting.

He hadn't seen it in so long; it was truly beautiful.

Li Zhuiyuan suddenly wanted to learn painting.

Other than subjects related to "retrieving corpses," he genuinely lacked confidence.

He was confident in learning other things.

Besides, he had an excellent young Chinese painting teacher by his side.

After washing up, and with breakfast still some time away, Li Zhuiyuan, as usual, played chess with Ah Li.

They still didn't use a chessboard, playing by pointing with their fingers in the air, but this time, Ah Li didn't need to guide Li Zhuiyuan's fingers.

As they played, he still felt he had enough mental capacity to be distracted, unable to fully immerse himself.

"Ah Li, shall we start another game?"

The girl nodded.

And so, they started another game in the air.

The previous game had been played with a steady, cautious approach, but this new one was an all-out, aggressive attack.

It felt good; the boy found it quite interesting, and the girl didn't seem to struggle either.

In the end, the style of play changed but the outcome didn't: the boy lost four games with greater efficiency.

"Breakfast is ready!"

Aunt Liu's voice was truly pleasant.

Going downstairs for breakfast, Li Zhuiyuan quickly finished his bowl of porridge and salted duck egg. He had come down early, and others were just starting to wake up.

Aunt Liu brought over a bag of apples, saying she had bought them on the way.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up a small knife and sat down to peel apples for everyone.

Tan Wenbin and Runsheng didn't notice anything unusual. After saying good morning, they each sat down to eat.

Li Sanjiang came downstairs. As he sat down and picked up his chopsticks, he saw his great-grandson peeling apples, and his eyelids immediately twitched in shock.

Although his great-grandson hadn't given up after losing his sight and continued to embrace life positively—in his eyes, even old blind people who had been sightless for ten years weren't as self-sufficient in daily life as his great-grandson—still, he shouldn't be doing such a dangerous and delicate task.

"Xiaoyuan Hou, you..."

"Great-grandpa, my eyes are better. I can see now."

The simple statement left Li Sanjiang sitting stunned for a long time.

Tan Wenbin and Runsheng were the first to recover, immediately coming over to check. However, they had known and believed that Xiaoyuan's eyes would recover, so their current expressions were merely congratulations for his recovery from a serious illness.

Li Sanjiang didn't approach; he just watched Xiaoyuan's interactions with others intently, noting the addition of eye contact.

He wiped away tears from the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand, then lowered his head and began to eat his porridge, slurping each spoonful with unusual force and loudness.

Some people's emotions are like a dam, accumulating bit by bit in daily life, habitually suppressed and unexpressed, until they reach a certain capacity, then they burst.

Li Zhuiyuan started distributing the apples, carrying a plate over to Liu Yumei.

"Your eyes are better?"

"Yes, they are. Grandma, was your trip smooth?"

"It was smooth. We just ran into some old friends and couldn't decline, so we had a meal together and came back late."

"That's good then."

"Be careful with your eyes," Liu Yumei said, stretching. "You're still young. If you hurry to ruin your body, you'll regret it later."

"I understand, Grandma."

Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Li Sanjiang: "Great-grandpa, have an apple."

"Xiaoyuan Hou, let Great-grandpa take you to the hospital for another check-up."

"No need, Great-grandpa. Didn't the professor in Shanghai say that with this condition, if it's healed, it's healed, and if not, there's nothing to be done? I just need to remember to rest more in the future."

"Hmm, I remember the professor also said you shouldn't overwork your mind. When you go to school, take it easy with your studies. Don't push yourself too hard. Your health comes first; it doesn't matter if your grades are a bit lower."

Tan Wenbin, who was drinking porridge nearby, suddenly felt a pain in his jaw.

"Okay, Great-grandpa. I'll contact Uncle Tan and ask him to take me to complete the enrollment procedures soon."

"Yes, Officer Tan is a good man." Li Sanjiang lit a cigarette for himself, then called out "Zhuangzhuang" and tossed him a cigarette.

"Great-grandpa, before I go to school, should I inform Grandpa and Grandma?"

"Do you think Han Hou and Guiying Hou don't know already?"

"They already know?"

"The day after your household registration was transferred, I went to their house and told them everything. Guiying Hou cried terribly. Han Hou didn't cry, but he was deeply heartbroken."

Only then did Li Zhuiyuan realize that after his household registration was moved, the frequency with which Li Weihan and Cui Guiying visited him had drastically decreased. They had only come once recently, and at that time, he was still blind. Fearing they would worry, he had covered his eyes and pretended to play a "ghost-catching" game.

It seemed his grandparents were afraid of visiting him here and then losing control and crying uncontrollably.

"Your grandparents also need time to adjust. This hit them the hardest, so don't blame them. Although they have many grandchildren, you're still their favorite."

"I understand, Great-grandpa."

"They wanted to give me all the money your mother had sent previously, saying it was for your tuition and such. I scolded them and sent them back. I told them that since your household registration is now with me, I will raise you. Anyway, Han Hou won't lose out. When I'm old and it's time for my funeral, all my assets will still go to his grandson."

"Great-grandpa will live to be 120."

"Haha, alright. Now that your eyes are better, once your enrollment is confirmed, I'll invite your grandparents to have a meal with us. You'll still live with me, your great-grandpa."

Just then, Li Zhuiyuan's ears twitched. He turned his head and looked outside the courtyard, seeing Yu Shu, the part-time storyteller from yesterday.

He remembered Yu Shu telling Tan Yunlong yesterday that he would be leaving today. He hadn't expected him to show up here so early in the morning.

Although he generally knew this person wasn't dangerous, Yu Shu's presence and activities still made Li Zhuiyuan uncomfortable, as there was a certain probability he might expose things Li Zhuiyuan had done in the past.

Aunt Liu, carrying her porridge bowl, got up first and walked to the courtyard steps, looking at the approaching person and asking:

"Did you take the wrong path?"

Yu Shu smiled, took out his folding fan, and fanned himself. "No," he replied, "I came specifically to beg for a meal."

Aunt Liu said impatiently, "We only have simple home-cooked meals here."

"For a struggling street performer, isn't plain home-cooked food what we eat? How can we expect to sit in fine restaurants every day?"

Hearing the commotion, Li Sanjiang, apple in mouth, got up to look. Seeing the visitor, he immediately walked over with a smile: "A rare guest, a rare guest! Come, sit down in the courtyard, sit down."

Although Li Sanjiang didn't know Yu Shu's exact identity, anyone who was surrounded by police and running all over the place was either a criminal or an important person.

Yu Shu shook hands with Li Sanjiang but remained standing.

Just then, Liu Yumei, who was sitting in the courtyard drinking tea, spoke up: "Ah Ting, who's here?"

Yu Shu answered proactively, "A traveling storyteller."

"Then give us a performance."

"Certainly, please be patient."

Yu Shu turned and walked back. Soon, he returned, pushing a small cart laden with his equipment.

Li Sanjiang was baffled and asked in surprise, "What's this all about?"

Yu Shu smiled as he set up his stage, replying, "If I want to earn a meal, I have to perform my craft."

"It's just for a meal; no need for all this trouble."

"Otherwise, I'd be a beggar, wouldn't I?"

"You're right." Li Sanjiang understood his meaning, turned his head, and called out, "Runsheng, Zhuangzhuang, come help."

Runsheng and Tan Wenbin had already seen the visitor, but they remembered Xiaoyuan saying yesterday that he might be a colleague. So, at this moment, they all looked at Li Zhuiyuan.

"Brother Runsheng, Brother Binbin, please help."

Runsheng and Tan Wenbin stepped forward to help set up the stage and hang the banner.

Yu Shu didn't set up facing south from the north; instead, he sat facing east from the west.

He faced Liu Yumei, who was sitting there drinking tea, and the east house.

Li Sanjiang asked, "How about I treat this as a private booking? I can go call more people from the village so you don't have a small audience."

Yu Shu shook his head, refusing. "The price was already agreed upon; it's just a meal. Besides, there are plenty of people here already; it's lively enough."

Then, Yu Shu's gaze fell on Li Zhuiyuan, and he couldn't help but smile: "Your eyes are better?"

"Yes, they are."

The next moment, Yu Shu opened his cattail fan and fanned himself, but his fingertips tapped irregularly on the fan's surface.

The eyes are the "fountain" of one's face. Now that his eyes were well and he could see, this fountain was active again.

The boy knew he was reading his face.

Just yesterday, he had asked if he had always been surnamed Li, and asked his great-grandpa if he was his biological great-grandson.

Li Zhuiyuan decided to read him back, to create a counterbalance.

Just as he was about to do so, Liu Yumei's voice came: "Xiaoyuan, come make some tea for Grandma."

"Coming, Grandma."

Li Zhuiyuan turned and walked over to make tea.

Seeing this, Yu Shu visibly froze for a moment. Then he closed his fan and tapped his forehead three times, so hard that his forehead turned red.

After that, he began his storytelling.

Today he still spoke of the Tang Dynasty and Li Shimin, but it was a dramatized version rather than official history. He told the story of how Li Shimin, during a perilous encounter, was saved by Shaolin Temple monks, and how, with the help of the monks and various martial artists, he defeated his opponents and achieved victory.

With just one person, one table, one chair, one fan, and one clapper, he not only told the story vividly and captivatingly but also recreated the imposing sounds of clashing weapons and battlefield carnage through his masterful vocal imitation.

Li Sanjiang was completely engrossed.

Runsheng and Tan Wenbin alternated between being captivated and being startled awake, only to be captivated again after a brief moment of awareness.

Li Zhuiyuan, meanwhile, remained seated beside Liu Yumei, accompanying her as she drank tea.

He spoke for a full two hours without stopping.

After finishing, Yu Shu clapped his fan shut and bowed deeply.

"Good! Good!" Li Sanjiang led the applause.

Runsheng and Tan Wenbin also clapped vigorously, but as they clapped, they kept turning back to look at Xiaoyuan.

Li Sanjiang said to Aunt Liu, "Ting Hou, let's make something nice for lunch. Mr. Yu and I will have a good drink."

Liu Yumei spoke up: "Ah Ting, give him something to eat."

"Alright!"

Aunt Liu went into the kitchen, seemingly already prepared, and quickly brought out a bowl of leftover cold porridge from the morning and a small dish of pickled vegetables. That was all; there wasn't even a salted duck egg.

Li Sanjiang said discontentedly, "How can this be? It's not like we don't have food at home."

To his surprise, Yu Shu proactively took the bowl, poured the pickled vegetables from the dish into the porridge, picked up his chopsticks, sat on the ground, and began to eat heartily.

As he ate, he praised, "This is great. Eating cold porridge on a hot day is so comfortable."

Li Sanjiang frowned, wanting to persuade him further, but in a flash, the man had finished the large bowl of porridge. He could only say, "Mr. Yu, after you've digested a bit, we'll..."

"Mr. Li, I've eaten." Yu Shu stood up, handed the bowl and chopsticks back to Aunt Liu, and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Mr. Li, according to tradition, when a performer enters a home, they should first pay respects to the ancestors of the host. Do you have any?"

"We don't have ancestral tablets, but we have many portraits of immortals."

"Then please take me to pay my respects."

"Please."

Li Sanjiang led Yu Shu into the small room next to the kitchen, which was filled with portraits of deities. The sheer number surprised Yu Shu.

Li Sanjiang began to introduce each deity and Buddha one by one, and Yu Shu bowed before each.

When he heard Li Sanjiang introduce a portrait of Confucius as Yuanshi Tianzun,

Yu Shu's eye twitched uncontrollably.

He was even momentarily confused, unsure whether to perform a Daoist or a Confucian ritual.

In the end, he had no choice but to bow twice.

Upon emerging, Yu Shu walked directly to Liu Yumei and said, "According to custom, I must pay my respects to you."

Liu Yumei shook her head helplessly and said to Li Zhuiyuan, "We shouldn't have given him that meal."

Yu Shu lowered his stance: "I must pay my respects."

Liu Yumei finally nodded: "Go on then."

Yu Shu pushed open the door to the east room and entered.

Li Zhuiyuan left his seat, glanced at Grandma Liu, and seeing she had her head down without any expression, the boy moved a few steps towards the room's entrance. From there, he could clearly see Yu Shu kneeling in a grand ritual bow before the altar table inside.

In reality, even kowtowing these days is often peculiar; most people just do it as a gesture, following a process, without adhering to any strict standards.

Yu Shu performed the standard grand bow. Initially, his expression was solemn, but after three bows, his face was filled with sorrow, and tears streamed down.

After the ritual, Yu Shu didn't rush out. Instead, he wiped away his tears and composed himself.

He knew the boy was watching from the doorway but made no attempt to hide his emotions.

In certain specific places, people voluntarily shed their pretenses, allowing themselves to appear open and pure.

Finally, Yu Shu rubbed his face vigorously, forcing a smile. He walked out and approached Liu Yumei again. Just as he was about to speak, Liu Yumei interrupted him:

"Now that you've paid your respects, you can leave."

"Yes."

Yu Shu replied, packed his belongings onto the cart, and then pushed it away. Li Sanjiang personally escorted him to the village entrance.

Liu Yumei sighed, got up with a somber expression, and walked into the house. She sat down before the altar table, her gaze sweeping over the mix of new and old ancestral tablets.

"They still remember all of you."

After a pause, she added with a hint of resentment:

"But who among you remembers Ah Li?"

Tan Wenbin had gone home the day before yesterday, crying profusely as if it were a farewell forever.

Li Sanjiang couldn't help but tease, "Alright, boy, you have a talent! From now on, if anyone needs a professional mourner, they can invite you. You're guaranteed to cry to the host's satisfaction."

After hugging Runsheng and Li Sanjiang, Tan Wenbin still wanted to hug Li Zhuiyuan.

Until the boy handed him three workbooks: one for math, one for physics, and one for chemistry.

Tan Wenbin didn't hug him, but he cried even louder.

When he left, it was thundering and raining. Runsheng rode him back on a tricycle, and although both wore raincoats, they were still thoroughly drenched and disheveled.

Today, the sun was shining brightly. Tan Yunlong had specifically taken leave and driven a Santana to pick up Li Zhuiyuan for school enrollment.

Li Zhuiyuan said goodbye to his family members one by one. Li Sanjiang, feeling deeply gratified, instructed him: "Xiaoyuan Hou, remember what Great-grandpa says: just listen casually in class, and absolutely don't overthink things. Your eyes are important, understand?"

Standing nearby, Tan Yunlong heard this and couldn't help but rub his own jaw.

Li Sanjiang also took out a bag filled with candies and small biscuits: "Here, take this and share it with your classmates."

Li Zhuiyuan took it.

"Don't be afraid. If anyone bullies you at school, just tell Great-grandpa when you get back, and I'll go to the school and stand up for you."

Tan Yunlong couldn't help but interject: "Don't worry, Mr. Li, no one will bully Xiaoyuan. Besides, Binbin is there too."

Li Sanjiang retorted, "Zhuangzhuang is in high school, not elementary school."

Tan Yunlong could only nod, saying nothing more.

Runsheng took out a fountain pen and handed it over. He worked for Li Sanjiang, helping with farm work, and had just received his first month's wages the day before yesterday, which he used entirely to buy this pen.

After buying the pen, he realized he had no money for ink. Eventually, Li Sanjiang found out, took him to the shop to demand an explanation, and forced the owner to give them another bottle of ink for free.

Liu Yumei gave him a red packet. This time, it wasn't thick with cash; it was very thin, containing only a single bill, as a symbolic gesture.

Li Zhuiyuan accepted it.

Ah Li hadn't prepared anything, and she seemed to realize this.

She was anxious but didn't know how to express it. This emotion was too complex for her; it wasn't happiness or anger.

The boy walked up to the girl and said, "Ah Li, when I come back from school, you can help me with my homework."

The girl's eyes lit up.

As he waved a final goodbye to his family, Li Zhuiyuan called out to Li Sanjiang, "Great-grandpa, I'm going to high school, and I'll be taking the college entrance exam next year!"

"Good, good, good! My Xiaoyuan Hou is the most amazing!"

"Hehehe..." Nearby, Liu Yumei chuckled. Clearly, the old man hadn't really taken it in, thinking it was just a child's innocent remark.

Following Tan Yunlong, he walked out of the small path to the village road. Only after getting into the car did he realize there was a driver inside.

The driver was not young; he looked very old, with severe balding on top.

Tan Yunlong asked with a smile, "Your great-grandpa still doesn't believe you're going to high school."

"Yeah, I'll just show him the enrollment papers once they're done. By the way, Uncle Tan, this car..."

"I'm not using a public car for private purposes. This is the school's car."

"Cough, cough... cough, cough..." The driver started coughing.

Tan Yunlong pointed to the driver and said, "Xiaoyuan, let me introduce you. This is Principal Wu."

The driver immediately turned around, extended his hand to Li Zhuiyuan, and shook it: "Wu Xinhan. Welcome to our school, Li Zhuiyuan."

"Principal Grandpa, you've worked hard."

"It's alright, you can just call me Grandpa, no need for 'Principal'."

"Then you can just call me Xiaoyuan."

"Alright, alright, alright."

Initially, when Tan Yunlong first called to inquire about enrollment, there was only a minor stir among the school leadership.

Some knew about "gifted classes," but in those days, communication channels were limited and information flow was underdeveloped. Therefore, even the few highly educated teachers at the school had only vaguely heard about it, knowing only that such children were usually prodigies.

Fortunately, there was ample time. Also, because Li Zhuiyuan had been blind for a period, fearing it would delay his enrollment, Tan Yunlong had given his academic records to the school beforehand, hoping for special consideration.

The school then leveraged its network to investigate, even sending two physical education teachers by train to the capital. Those two teachers were resourceful and managed to find the relevant place. When they inquired about the student named "Li Zhuiyuan" and learned he was going to attend high school, they were chased and scolded by a group of highly respected old professors.

It was fortunate they sent PE teachers; they were physically fit and ran fast, otherwise it would truly have been considered a work-related injury.

But the full details were finally brought back, and then, the office completely erupted.

Although it was unclear why such a student would inexplicably come to a town to attend high school, it didn't matter, because for the school, this was practically a top scorer for the college entrance exam delivered right to their doorstep.

If Tan Yunlong hadn't firmly guarded his address and warned the school not to disturb them, Wu Xinhan would have brought people over long ago.

The car drove into the school and stopped in front of the administration building.

A group of teachers immediately rushed out, their eyes full of anticipation and curiosity. Unlike the school leaders, they weren't motivated by personal gain; they had been planting radishes for half their lives and simply wanted to see what a "golden nugget" grown from the soil truly looked like.

Among the crowd were also Panzi and Leizi.

These two had been called into the teacher's office by their homeroom teacher for a severe scolding because they hadn't done their summer homework.

They had expected a long battle, but as soon as the scolding began, the teachers in the office started shouting, "They're here! They're here!" and their homeroom teacher told them to return to class.

The two brothers felt quite lucky and stayed put, wanting to see who had arrived to save them.

Panzi: "The principal is driving, and he even went to open the back door."

Leizi: "Must be some leader here for an inspection?"

Panzi: "That shouldn't be right; they didn't tell us to do a big clean-up beforehand, did they?"

Then, they saw Li Zhuiyuan step out of the car.

"This kid, why does he look familiar?"

"Yeah, I think I've seen him somewhere before."

"Brother Panzi, Brother Leizi!" Li Zhuiyuan waved to them in greeting.

In an instant, the eyes of the teachers and school leaders, including their homeroom teacher, turned towards the two brothers.

The psychological pressure was too immense. Panzi and Leizi didn't even dare to greet him; they simply lowered their heads and rushed back to their classroom.

"Uh..." Li Zhuiyuan was a bit puzzled.

The boy had started school quite early, but he wasn't familiar with traditional campus life and had thought Panzi and Leizi were specifically waiting for him there.

"You know them?" Principal Wu asked kindly.

"They are my cousins."

"Oh, good."

Principal Wu made a mental note, intending to ask their homeroom teacher about their academic performance later. After all, if they were related by blood, there should be some positive influence; it wouldn't make sense for all the intelligence in a large family to be concentrated in just one person.

Li Zhuiyuan was led into... a small conference room.

He should have been taken to the principal's office, but the office was too small to accommodate so many people.

Along the way, the surrounding teachers began to chatter.

"Is he really that young?"

"Being young is what makes him a prodigy."

"Is it real or fake?"

"Don't know. There's a test anyway; we'll see the results."

"Which class will he be assigned to upon enrollment?"

As soon as this question was raised, the senior year homeroom teachers in the crowd exchanged cold glances.

Especially the more experienced ones, who exuded an air of "who else but me?" They were nearing retirement, and teachers at this stage were truly fearless, even daring to bang on the table in front of the principal.

The younger homeroom teachers, however, were more accepting, knowing it wasn't their turn.

Especially one homeroom teacher named Sun Qing, who taught Chinese and led a regular class, where Tan Wenbin was also a student.

"Xiaoyuan, let me introduce you. This is Director Liu from the Education Bureau, and this is..."

Wu Xinhan led Li Zhuiyuan, introducing them one by one.

Li Zhuiyuan was not shy; he actively greeted everyone.

When he was in the gifted class before, he was highly valued by the old professors. Firstly, because he was well-rounded; even if he wasn't first in every subject, he excelled in all of them, unlike other students who often had clear academic biases. Secondly, he was very normal; interacting with him was like interacting with a completely typical child.

After the entire process was completed, it was time for the final crucial step.

"Xiaoyuan, these are exam papers designed by our school's teachers. Take a look; perhaps you can choose some to do?"

The words were very subtle and polite, but everyone present instinctively held their breath.

Seeing is believing. After setting up such a grand spectacle, the truth would ultimately be revealed here, and this was also the school's objective.

All these papers were newly compiled by teachers from various subject groups, so there was no possibility of leakage