Two months after school had started, the ripples of the event where Ye Jian tore her acceptance letter hadn’t calmed down yet.
Ye Zifan, who was always very cautious, asked around for two months, and finally confirmed the fact that none of the high schools in the city had Ye Jian’s name in them, and that Ye Jian’s name didn’t appear in any of the provincial high schools. He didn’t feel at ease, so he asked his insiders to check if Ye Jian’s address book was still in Fu Jun town, and only after getting the confirmation did he feel at ease.
Ye Jian neither repeated school nor entered any of the high schools … It seemed like every trace of her had disappeared from the world.
In October, Fu Jun town’s Principal Chen retired due to health issues, and he passed on the duties of the middle school’s principal to another retired veteran who was reliable and could be trusted to guard the underground fuel depot.
That October of the same year, the old revolutionary Grandpa Gen, who had lived in Shui Kou village for the past two decades, said that he was going to find his relatives in Sichuan, and he left Shui Kou village with the village elder, Zhang Defu, sending him off.
Ye Jian, Grandpa Gen, and Principal Chen’s figures slowly faded away from Shui Kou village and Fu Jun town.
Even the people in the military did not know where the family consisting of three different generations had gone, all they knew was … wherever it was arduous, that was where they would be.
Heavy snow was already fluttering about, and in a night’s time, it had turned Anyang City into a world that was adorned with silver.
The winter of 1996 had arrived, and with this, Anyang City of Henan province met with their first snow of the season.
The children were all having happy snow fights, the sounds of their laughter adding vibrant colors to the whole city.
Drivers, riders, and pedestrians paced through the streets slowly, afraid of unexpected accidents. The only exception was a jeep that appeared suddenly at the intersection. Accelerating, it disappeared at the corner of the street, leaving walls of snowy mist in its wake.
The driver’s deep, abyssal pupils carried a slight smile, and he also wore a very easy-going smile on his handsome face as he steadily drove his car to the front gates of First City High.
“Hello, I’m here to visit Ye Jian, Ye Jian in the first year of high school.” A tall man with a straight back in a military coat spoke while he rested his arm casually on the windowsill of the guard post. He took off his gloves to reveal his pair of slender, pianist-like hands; he picked up the ball-point pen used for registration and started writing his name onto the notebook. He smiled while looking at the guard in the post, “Ye Jian, year one.”
The person manning the gates was a security guard in his thirties. Hearing that, he glanced at the young man in front of him, who was wearing a military coat and uniform underneath, and when his gaze landed on the person’s cap, his gaze flashed for a moment.
Xia Jinyuan put down the ball-point pen and noticed something was amiss from the guard’s expression. A hint of seriousness emerged from his easy-going voice, “Why? What happened to her?”
“Soldier comrade, about Ye Jian…” The security guard started speaking with some difficulty. After thinking about it, he used a very low voice that was afraid of people eavesdropping, “She’s not attending our school.”
“How about you go inquire about it more, just from that grocery store right ahead. Since I’m just a security guard, there are some things I’m not allowed to say. You can ask others. They know everything.”
She’s not attending school? Xia Jinyuan clenched his fists. After thanking him, he left with large strides, started his car, and in a blink of an eye, he was parked in front of the grocery store.
He parked his car and bought a pack of gum. He didn’t eat it immediately; instead, he just played around in his hands and glanced at the boss, who was sitting around the stove alone. Xia Jinyuan pointed at the stove and smiled, “Boss, let me stay warm in your shop, I’m waiting for someone.”
He took off his cap and placed it naturally in his palm. Then, he clipped it beside his waist. There was a sense of unspeakable prestige and masculinity in his actions.
The store owner, who was watching, was already guffawing, “Please feel free. Want a hot cup of tea? I’ll make you one.”
A single maneuver and the military uniform immediately created a favorable impression in the store owner’s eyes.
