True Solution of the Sword Dao

"I asked, she doesn’t want to eat," Lin You replied.

The two families gathered around the dining table, and although it was slightly crowded, they managed to fill up the space just right.

Jiang Yuansheng looked at Lin You and smiled at her, but she completely ignored his gesture. Jiang Yan also felt somewhat embarrassed. "We came this time mainly to discuss something with you, Brother Jianguo."

Lin Jianguo was holding his bowl of rice, waiting for him to continue.

"You know my current situation, the supermarket took too hard a fall. So now, Brother Jianguo, since you also have wider connections, why don’t I start a bookstore too? It’d be good for us brothers to support each other, don’t you think?" Jiang Yuansheng’s meaning was clear, he wanted to open a bookstore, but he came to ask Lin Jianguo to look for some suitable connections. As everyone knows, the business for bookstores mainly lies in regular bulk orders from various official agencies in the city, which is where the profit comes from. That was the kind of connections Jiang Yuansheng was seeking.

Lin Jianguo was about to speak when Jiang Feng subtly tugged at him. He suddenly couldn’t say what he wanted.

Jiang Yuansheng held his bowl awkwardly. He knew he had wronged his elder sister’s family before, but thinking about the awkwardness of the last time he borrowed money, coupled with the current precarious situation, his irritation was indescribable. In the past, Jiang Yuansheng could call the wind and summon the rain, being somewhat of a figure in Ping City. But now, he had to swallow his pride just for these connections.

"After the last incident, I thought about starting over, but that guy was too ruthless! I tried many connections, even old friends wouldn’t give me face," Jiang Yuansheng said with a twinge of desolation and reflection. "This time I had no choice but to come to you, Brother Jianguo."

Since it had come to this, Jiang Feng couldn’t stop her husband any longer. She knew Lin Jianguo’s temperament well—he was exceptionally kind to his own people. Even if Jiang Yuansheng had put him in many difficult positions before, if there was a real issue, he would surely be the first to rush forward.

"Let’s see, I’ll help you...."

"Why should we?" Lin You suddenly spoke from the side. "Why should we help him? Didn’t he insult you and Mom last time? Called you ’country bumpkins’!"

The room suddenly became quiet. Lin Jianguo’s face became grim.

"Lin You!" Jiang Feng was about to speak.

"Mom, don’t rush, let me finish! What did Uncle Four say last time? What did he say when dad went to borrow money? He has money! He just didn’t want to lend! Listen to that! Such an arrogant thing to say!" Lin You was always bold, not minding that Jiang Yuansheng was sitting right there.

"Enough, Lin You! He is your Uncle Four!" Lin Jianguo spoke up.

Jiang Yuansheng’s face turned extremely ugly. Jiang Yan’s face alternated between pale and flushed. This was a direct slap to the face in front of everyone, and coming from a younger family member no less, with himself unable to retort.

"Let’s do this, Yuansheng, I’ll speak with the folks at No. 11 Middle School about that channel, and switch it to your hands. They need stock two months later and you’ll also be responsible for updating their reading room’s books," Lin Jianguo quickly said.

Jiang Yuansheng’s forehead throbbed, his face flushed red, and he nodded his head low. "Thank you, Brother Jianguo." But his heart was filled with suppressed rage and humiliation.

"Just wait and see! Anyone who dares to humiliate me like this! One day I will make you regret it! Isn’t it just because you have some connections?" He was already planning in his heart how, once the bookstore opened, he would turn Lin Jianguo’s connections into his own. With his past business tactics, he was absolutely better than Lin Jianguo! It would surely be easy to establish a more solid network than Lin Jianguo’s.

The meal ended quickly, leaving everyone out of sorts. Only Lin Fei ate meticulously and unhurriedly.

Jiang Yuansheng had understood this man’s character from experiences in his past life. If he completely destroyed his reputation, it might be too much since he was still a relative and Jiang Nan’s father. But always interacting with him in the same way as his dad did often led to losses, making it a difficult situation to handle. An appropriate opportunity was still needed.

Right after finishing the meal, Jiang Yuansheng took the phone number Lin Jianguo gave him and hurried off, clearly upset by Lin You’s words. Jiang Nan didn’t even get to see him.

"Dad, I’m going to pick up the voluntary forms." Today was the time to go to school to pick up the voluntary forms. Before many systems of the college entrance examination were reformed, volunteers did not fill out their forms after finding out their scores, but based on their estimated scores instead.

"You decide for yourself, the schools you want to go to, follow what you think is best. Your mom and I won’t interfere," Lin Jianguo said. He and Jiang Feng had talked it over last night and had thought it through. Things like these should be left for Lin Fei to decide. How he wanted to shape his future was entirely up to his own planning.

Lin Fei was aware of his parents’ mentality; it was the same in his previous life, all his decisions were left up to him.

************

No. 3 Middle School, weekend time on a clear Sunday, the school gate parked with a line of various cars—high-end, low-end, and in every imaginable color and model. The quantity and quality were more than enough to hold a car show.

On the top floor of the four-story teaching building, where the senior third grade classrooms were, the door plate of the classroom to the left read "Senior Class 1" clearly.

Lin Fei, carrying his backpack, pushed open the classroom door, where a sparse group of students had already arrived. Among them was class president Fang Xiao, still as reservedly arrogant as ever. Chen Huan was also sitting behind her, occasionally pushing up his glasses, engrossed in reading. Other top students, Zhao Kaihui, Li Yun, Ouyang Shishi, were also present.

The classroom was divided into two sides. The top students occupied the side closer to the windows. The other side had seven or eight middle to low-ranking students, including Fang Jing and Chen Yun. Seeing Lin Fei come in, they both actively came over. With the exams approaching, both had noticed some improvement in Lin Fei’s performance. Especially Fang Jing, who almost daily had questions to ask Lin Fei, but generally received easy answers. This had significantly improved her impression of Lin Fei.

Fang Jing came over from between the two girls.

"Lin Fei, why did you come so late today? I estimate I have over five hundred forty now, much better than the mock exam," she said.

"I’m planning to go to Northeast University," Chen Yun raised the list in his hand. But just as he approached, he whispered, "I heard Fang Xiao is going to study in the United Kingdom. His family has already arranged for Anglia Ruskin University, self-funded study abroad. He has passed his exams.

"Tokyo University?" Lin Fei was startled; there had been a change. In his previous life, he clearly remembered Chen Huan going to Capital City University. How had it now changed to studying abroad at the University of Tokyo? The conditions for studying at Tokyo University were quite stringent, and even students from Japan itself took pride in being admitted there.

He returned to his seat and set down his backpack. Glancing at Chen Huan opposite him, it seemed he noticed his gaze. Chen Huan turned his head and similarly glanced at Lin Fei. After that evening’s self-study, he was among those more aware of Lin Fei’s concealed capabilities. He could clearly discern the intellectual might hidden within Lin Fei.

As for the other people in the class, he had long been accustomed to looking down on them with a condescending view. Being superior had always been his style.

Whoosh!

Chen Huan suddenly stood up from his seat.

The rest of the class were also taken aback, including the top students, such as Fang Xiao, who, while immersed in their own conversations, had increasingly gathered their glances towards Chen Huan.

Chen Huan, indifferent to the others’ gazes, strode confidently toward the group of underperforming students on the other side.

"Hasn’t he always looked down on others? What is he planning to do now?"

"Who knows? The man is a genius, and the thought processes of a genius are beyond us ordinary folks."

"I heard he is going to Tokyo University. The admission standards there are very high. Even Fang Xiao isn’t sure she’ll make it, so she switched to the United Kingdom."

"With a family both wealthy and powerful, and with such great talent..."

Chen Huan walked straight up to Lin Fei’s desk and fixed him with a steady gaze.

"Do you need something from me?" Lin Fei asked with a smile.

"Which university are you planning to apply to?"

Lin Fei was momentarily startled, "I haven’t decided yet."

Chen Huan’s expression turned serious.

"Do not waste your talent. You and I are alike. Our futures are destined to be extraordinary."

Lin Fei’s expression slightly hardened. Standing beside him, Chen Huan’s gaze was sharp, looking down from a lofty position, his immense confidence subtly creating a peculiar aura that enveloped him.

**************

Two days later

"Chen Huan, are all the necessary documents prepared?" Inside the grand and solemn principal’s office at San Zhong, Principal Xiao Junyan asked earnestly. Before him, dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and black tie, Chen Huan’s gaze was sharp.

"Yes, everything is ready."

"Mr. Shenteng Youichi has agreed to be your sponsor, and the topic of your research has also been recognized by Tokyo University for study abroad," Principal Xiao said gravely, "I hope you won’t forget this place."

"I won’t," Chen Huan responded solemnly. The words of his mentor seemed to echo in his ears.

"Chen Huan, your talent is unparalleled in my life. If you can stay on course and keep moving forward, your future is beyond what ordinary people can imagine."

"We are inherently different from ordinary people," a look of absolute determination flashed in Chen Huan’s eyes.

The elderly man calmly slid the written proof and recommendation letters across the desk to him. The documents, interlaced with Chinese and Japanese texts and bearing a formal black seal, looked especially official.

Taking the documents, he walked calmly out of the principal’s office. The students around seemed from that moment to inhabit a different world from his; he was destined for the highest echelons.

Chen Huan walked along the top floor of the teaching building, the breeze lifting the black tie at his chest.

At the school gate, inside a black Audi, Lin Fei watched through the car window as Chen Huan’s departing figure faded into the distance. For a long time.

"Let’s go, Xiao Ling."

"Okay," the woman in the driver’s seat said softly.

The black sedan moved slowly, disappearing around the street corner. (To be continued. If you like this story, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com with your recommendation and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)