Chapter 2

Just like that, Li Pu, who always boasted of being the "lone wolf of Changsheng Elementary School," gained a little follower. In the second week of their acquaintance, Chen Xian transferred to the Changsheng Elementary School where Li Pu was enrolled. The mixed-race Chen Xian attracted the attention of many boys and girls, but what puzzled the classmates was that Chen Xian always liked to stay with Li Pu.

How strange! The classmates simply couldn't understand. Chen Xian was well-mannered, incredibly cute, and her academic performance was outstanding. Why would she become friends with that "shame of the class," Li Pu?

Anyway, from any angle, the boy and girl seemed to be from two different worlds, yet they inexplicably became childhood sweethearts. They often went to and from school together, read comics together, caught loaches on the field ridges, climbed up and down in the town, sneaked into the city's municipal cinema without tickets to watch big movies, and even bullied unfortunate dogs—calling it "revenge."

Chen Xian came from a single-parent family; her mother, Chen Xin, was a returned overseas Chinese, whom Li Pu described as a beautiful aunt who looked like a big star. To Li Pu's surprise, after a few home visits, Aunt Chen Xin expressed no opposition to her well-behaved daughter always being friends with this wild kid.

"Li Pu is a bit wild, but he's much better than the little rascals in London. If Xiao Xian plays with you, her immunity will definitely improve significantly."

Aunt Chen Xin always liked to tease the little boy who came to play at her house: "At least when she grows up, she can tell the difference between a good bad boy and a real bad boy."

"I was too naive when I was young, and I ended up being deceived by a real bad boy when I grew up. Well..." Aunt Chen Xin propped her chin up and muttered to herself.

After knowing Chen Xian for a few months, Li Pu learned that she was of Chinese-European mixed heritage. However, she and her mother never mentioned her father. As a little boy, Li Pu didn't quite understand the melancholy of adults; he just patted his chest.

"Don't worry, Aunt," Li Pu said confidently, "If any other bad boys dare to bully Xiao Xian, I'll beat them up!"

"What are you talking about!" Chen Xian, with a red face, pushed her mother in protest, making Aunt Chen Xin laugh uncontrollably.

In Li Pu's eyes, Aunt Chen Xin was even more powerful. After "King of Paintings" magazine stopped publication, Aunt Chen Xin could still get the rare "Bao Dao Shao Nian" magazine through overseas channels. In a sense, for Li Pu, Aunt Chen Xin might be even closer to him than his single father, who often beat him.

A few years later, Li Pu and Chen Xian both entered the nearby Third Junior High School. After entering junior high, Chen Xian's academic strengths became even more evident. What Li Pu admired even more was that despite spending no more time on studies than he did, she easily achieved the top score in the city.

She spent more time reading extracurricular books than Li Pu did. As she grew older, the books she read became increasingly profound and difficult to understand. She even bought a set of the "First Push" series of black-covered books, which Li Pu, still enthusiastic about fighting comics and martial arts novels, found incomprehensible.

"Is this girl a genius or something?" Li Pu sometimes thought.

In stark contrast to Chen Xian's excellence, Li Pu's academic performance became even worse after entering the first year of junior high. He stubbornly maintained the "shame of the class" title. Thanks to the nine-year compulsory education in modern times, if it were in ancient times, this naughty boy would have been expelled long ago.

"Li Pu, hand in your homework." One day, the class monitor, Qin Xiaer, holding a stack of homework books, walked to the last row of the fourth row by the window and said coldly to Li Pu.

"Homework?" Li Pu, who was lying on the desk flipping through a book, lifted his eyelids and glanced indifferently at the ponytailed girl in front of him. He had been so engrossed in "MMR Mystery Investigation Class" yesterday that he hadn't had time to copy Chen Xian's math homework. He frowned, "I'll hand it in later."

Qin Xiaer asked, "When will you hand it in?"

Li Pu thought for a moment, "This afternoon? Yeah, after school this afternoon." He needed to finish this comic book in the morning, and he had basketball practice during the next PE class. He could only squeeze in the time to copy the homework in the afternoon.

Seeing Li Pu's evasive attitude, "Class Monitor" Qin Xiaer, whose small chest had already started to develop, her chest slightly rising and falling, persisted, "Li Pu! Everyone hands in their homework at this time. Don't always make special arrangements."

"Really nagging, are you? Is this the first day you've known me? Don't you interfere with my research on the countermeasures for the Great King's descent in 1999? The future of humanity is waiting for me to save it!"

While talking nonsense, Li Pu held up the comic in his hand. The cover read, "MMR Mystery Investigation Class Volume 3: Nostradamus' Great Prophecy! The Horror of the 1999 Final War!"—a sensational title.

"You spend all day reading these worthless and harmful books, which is why your grades are always so bad. You're the one who's dragging down our class's average score!" Ignoring Li Pu's jokes, Qin Xiaer scolded him, then turned to the girl sitting on the other side, "Chen Xian, you're his best friend. Your grades are so excellent, why don't you manage him?"

"Ah, but I can't manage him." Chen Xian blinked, showing an innocent expression. Of course, she wasn't innocent at all; the science fiction comic was one she had recommended to Li Pu just the other day.

"Can't manage... but you always let him copy your homework." Qin Xiaer, with a puffed-up face, redirected her anger at Chen Xian, "If everyone copies homework, what's the point of the teacher's hard work in assigning it?"

Hard work? Isn't it the students who do the hard work? The classmates watching from the side silently commented. But no one dared to speak up—Class Monitor Qin Xiaer and Chen Xian, the little goddess, were both treasures in the eyes of all the teachers in the school. This was a battle between deities, and they, the ordinary people, couldn't afford to get involved.

Speaking of which, part of the reason Qin Xiaer was so hard on Li Pu was due to Chen Xian. In the past at Changsheng Elementary School, Qin Xiaer was the star princess, excelling in appearance, academic performance, and talent shows. She was always the top of the class. Unfortunately, after the mixed-race girl transferred in, Qin Xiaer never got the top spot again—no matter in which aspect.

Qin Xiaer was secretly very unhappy. What's the deal? She could attribute the evaluation of appearance and demeanor to the others' excessive admiration of foreigners. But even her hard-core academic performance couldn't compare, which made her very depressed. That mixed-race girl often climbed up and down with Li Pu, catching loaches and mudskippers—her beautiful skin was always covered with band-aids. But in exams, Chen Xian's scores in all subjects were either perfect or close to perfect—even in physical education! This left the second-place Qin Xiaer with no hope of catching up.

Finally, they both entered junior high and were in the same class. Qin Xiaer was determined to compete with Chen Xian for the position of class monitor to achieve her first victory. But the result only made her more frustrated—on the day of the class monitor election, Chen Xian directly declined the nomination for class cadre.

—Feeling like she had picked up the position Chen Xian had discarded, Qin Xiaer's hostility towards her deepened.

"Hey, Class Monitor, if you want to pick a fight, just come at me. Why bring up Xiao Xian?" Li Pu protested.

"I'm not picking a fight; it's the responsibility of the class monitor." Qin Xiaer flicked her ponytail and turned to Li Pu, her face serious, "You're not allowed to copy Chen Xian's homework anymore. If you do, I'll report it to the teacher. Neither of you will get away with it."

"Alright," Li Pu laughed, "Then I'll copy the Class Monitor's homework from now on."

"I won't let you copy my homework." Qin Xiaer said disdainfully, "Others might be afraid of you, but I'm not. If you bully me, I'll report it to the teacher."

"Oh?" Li Pu stood up. Although he wasn't much taller than the "well-developed" Qin Xiaer, he still looked down at the class monitor with a condescending air, "You're pretty brave, aren't you? You're not afraid of me?"

"Why should I be afraid of you?" Qin Xiaer puffed out her chest, raising her chin proudly. She was known for her sharp tongue and had never lost a verbal battle with boys: "A boy like you, who has no ambition and no good qualities, will definitely not get into college after graduation. You'll end up working on a construction site, moving bricks in the scorching sun. You'll be sunburned to death!"

"Nice talk, but it's meaningless." Li Pu's lips twitched, and he asked with interest, "Whether I end up moving bricks or sitting in an air-conditioned room, why are you thinking so far ahead? Do you want to marry me or something?"

"Who... who would marry you!" Qin Xiaer stomped her foot in anger, "I'm not Chen Xian!"

After this, the whole class burst into laughter, and half the students looked in the direction of the other girl. Chen Xian, who had been watching from a safe distance, blushed and grabbed the textbook on the desk, burying her head in the pages like an ostrich.

"... You've mentioned Xiao Xian twice now." Li Pu frowned slightly and muttered. Then he spread his arms and gave the proud ponytailed girl a hearty bear hug.

The whole class gasped, and even Chen Xian, who had buried her head in the book, looked up curiously. It was 1998, and while boys and girls could play around, it was rare to see such a public display.

—Especially with the mayor's precious daughter.

"Eh?" Qin Xiaer was completely shocked and stiffened. She hadn't expected Li Pu to do this—was he fearless?

"Alright, alright, don't be jealous." Li Pu treated Qin Xiaer like a small animal, petting her head and said, "I know you have a crush on me. Although I can't give you a title, being a secret lover is still possible... Ow!"

Qin Xiaer stomped on Li Pu's foot and pushed him away. Her face was as red as a ripe apple, and tears welled up in her eyes. She sniffled pitifully, "You're lying, you're spreading rumors, and you're being a pervert... I'm going to report you to the teacher!"

The class monitor, who had been bullied to tears, ran away. Li Pu pinched his nose and added, "Do you want the teacher to know... that we're dating? Class Monitor, you're really brave! I like you more and more!"

This made Qin Xiaer stumble, almost falling. She turned around, pouting, and glared at Li Pu.

"Li... Pu... I hate you the most!"

Bullying the class monitor was satisfying, but Li Pu also faced punishment. That afternoon, the teacher immediately called his father. As a result, Li Pu's father, wielding a white poplar stick, rushed to the school and beat his son. The severity and brutality of the beating left the teacher, who had wanted Li Pu to suffer, speechless. After much persuasion, they managed to pull Li Pu's father away.

"Uncle, Uncle, don't hit him anymore..." Qin Xiaer, who was terrified, spoke up for Li Pu. Li Pu's father finally stopped, muttering threats about giving his son a proper beating when they got home.

As the sun set, Li Pu, who had been publicly beaten, grimaced and stretched his limbs before leaving the school. At the school gate, a girl who looked to be just over ten years old, carrying a schoolbag in both hands, stood by a utility pole. Seeing Li Pu come out, her delicate face, slightly worried, showed a faint dimple.

The girl ran up to Li Pu and naturally walked beside him.

"The old man was really harsh. Luckily, I'm tough. Otherwise, I would have been crippled." Li Pu grimaced, "I haven't been beaten this hard in years."

"You brought it upon yourself. Why did you bully the class monitor in such a way?" Chen Xian said softly.

Li Pu, who had been beaten by his family for his misdeeds since childhood, had become numb to violence. What others saw as severe beatings were just painful but not harmful to him. So Chen Xian wasn't too worried about Li Pu.

"I bullied her? She bullied me first. There are others in the class who drag their feet with homework, but she deliberately picked on me. It's like a level 1 female hero directly challenging a great demon. Strange, have I been too well-behaved lately, losing my deterrent power? I need to do something big to establish my authority..."

"What kind of big thing?" Chen Xian was clearly very interested in Li Pu's suggestion. The two of them chatted and laughed, discussing wildly.

"... If you do that, you'll definitely be expelled." Chen Xian nudged Li Pu with her shoulder, "Then I'll be the only one left in the school. Let's not do that."

"Alright, I agree it's too much." Li Pu shrugged, "I'll think of something else."

Chen Xian stepped on the raised curb by the road, spreading her arms to maintain balance, and walked along the curb. After a period of silence, she suddenly turned her head and said casually, "By the way, Class Monitor Qin is actually quite cute, isn't she?"

Her tone and timing were as if she was just mentioning it casually, but anyone who understood girls' thoughts knew she was very, very concerned about this question.

Whether Li Pu understood girls' thoughts or not was unknown. But he waved his hands in an exaggerated manner, as if he had heard something unbelievable, "That nagging old woman is cute? Pfft! I'd be cuter as a girl!"

"Anyway, I suffered a lot today because of her. No, I need to catch a toad and secretly put it in her backpack..." Li Pu smiled sinisterly.

"Toads are too much. The class monitor will have psychological trauma. Let's use a little frog instead." Chen Xian giggled, turned around, and lightly jumped off the curb, suddenly seeming very happy.

"Hey, will you teach me my lessons from now on?" The girl suddenly suggested.

Li Pu was silent for a moment, then shrugged, "Sure, whatever."

"We'll go to high school together, then to university, and then into society." Chen Xian, with a serious expression, said, "I won't let you go work on a construction site!"

"Uh... So you think the same as the class monitor?" Li Pu was speechless.

In the following weeks, with Chen Xian's tutoring, Li Pu's grades finally moved out of the bottom and barely entered the middle range. In fact, Li Pu's mind was quite sharp; he just didn't focus on the right things.

If things continued this way, the childhood sweethearts might naturally go to high school, university, and into society together.

But in the summer of the following year, another hot summer, the happy future of the boy and girl, and even the future of the entire world, changed with an unexpected event.

On a scorching summer day, a girl in a white dress, with her white legs bent, sat barefoot on a bamboo chair. Her slender hands held a thick English original book, which she read while it rested on her bent knees. The author's name was Vernor Steffen Vinge.

"Do you know the 'Singularity' theory?" After a long time, the girl closed the book, still engrossed, and said to the boy who was copying his summer homework.

Page AD starts

Page AD ends