Chapter 2

In the middle of April, the afternoon sun filtered through the emerald green cypress trees, casting shadows on the old teaching building's second-floor corridor. The cement floor was dotted with the shadows of the pine trees. The gentle spring breeze seemed like a lover's whisper, soft enough to make one want to melt into the world, forgetting all worries. A small gray bird hopped from branch to branch of the pine tree, chirping joyfully.

As he took his first step out of the classroom, Lu Jing raised his hand to look at the silver Casio watch on his left wrist: April 5, 15:41:05.

Lu Jing saw Ms. Shao waiting by the window and walked over. Shao Qiulan was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, her ample bosom straining the buttons, and the light-colored bra underneath was faintly visible. Her black tight pants hugged her well-proportioned legs, and her shapely buttocks were alluring. With her hair tied in a ponytail, she looked bright and charming.

"Didn't sleep well last night? Did you stay up all night playing video games again?" Shao Qiulan didn't get angry as expected but asked calmly.

1996 was the time when Nintendo game consoles were very popular. There were many newly opened game arcades on Xian'an Road, just 500 meters from the school. A joystick, a few buttons, and a screen of about 21 inches with low resolution. You could play by inserting game coins. Games like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Street Fighter, Commando, and Contra were very popular at the time.

Many students at Dinghai No. 4 High School liked to stay up all night playing games at the arcades on Xian'an Road.

Lu Jing touched his nose. He couldn't remember if he had slept well last night. After seventeen years, how could he remember?

"Still okay!" Lu Jing said vaguely.

Shao Qiulan placed her lesson plan on the windowsill and used her pinky to tuck a strand of soft hair behind her ear.

Lu Jing's eyes twitched, captivated by her coquettish gesture. He heard her say, "Lu Jing, you need to focus on your studies. Playing around won't get you anywhere. If you really don't want to study, there's no need to come to school and waste time. Go out and play freely; it's much more comfortable. Think about what I said; it makes sense, doesn't it?"

"I'll try my best." Lu Jing scratched his head awkwardly. He indeed spent most of his time at school just getting by. In his previous life, he was a complete slacker in his studies, always ranking last in the class. He was the worst student among the worst students at No. 4 High School.

Shao Qiulan naturally saw through Lu Jing's敷衍 (lack of sincerity). She sighed. When she became the head teacher of Class 7, Grade 2, Principal Zhou had specifically talked to her about taking care of Lu Jing. But seeing his lack of ambition, she felt helpless.

"You only scored 32 points on yesterday's English test. Teacher Fang said your English is worse than a junior high school student's. You really need to work hard, Lu Jing."

The Teacher Fang Shao Qiulan mentioned was the English teacher, Fang Qin. Lu Jing couldn't help but picture a woman with short hair, a fair face, and a figure that no young girl could match, a beautiful and charming woman.

If the boys at No. 4 High School were to vote for their dream girl, Lu Jing was 100% sure that Fang Qin, with her extremely alluring appearance, would easily surpass the three school beauties and win the title.

However, her ending wasn't good. She suddenly died at home by swallowing a large amount of sleeping pills in the summer, at the age of 28. At that time, Lu Jing was going to Jiangzhou for further studies and vaguely heard that it was related to her husband.

"I will!" Lu Jing promised again. In high school, his English was not just worse than a junior high school student's; it was worse than a primary school student's. He only knew the 26 letters and a few simple words, and he relied on guessing in exams. Scoring 32 points out of 120 was considered a high score in his memory.

Shao Qiulan sniffed lightly, extremely dissatisfied with Lu Jing's insincerity. She angrily said, "The midterm exam is next weekend. You better take care of yourself!" and picked up the folder on the windowsill, leaving in her high heels.

Watching Shao Qiulan's retreating back, Lu Jing touched his nose and smiled bitterly. Time was extremely tight for him; he had no time to focus on his studies. April 1996 was a critical period for his older brother.

On April 10, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) received a report and placed Yu Yi, the head of the Minimum Living Standards Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, under double regulation.

On April 13, Yu Yi was found guilty of embezzlement and corruption, with 2 million yuan missing from the department's accounts. The materials he provided were extremely unfavorable to his older brother.

On April 14, at the suggestion of Deputy Minister Han of the Supervisory Department, his older brother, who was conducting research in Shiqiao Town, Qicity, Henan Province, on the minimum income guarantee for farmers, was recalled to Beijing to be questioned by the CCDI and to assist in the investigation.

During the CCDI investigation, various problems emerged in the pilot town, Shiqiao, where his older brother had worked hard to implement the minimum living standards for farmers, and most farmers withdrew from the program.

On April 22, Deputy Minister Gong of the Ministry of Civil Affairs went to Shiqiao Town to handle the aftermath of the minimum living standards program.

By the end of April, during internal discussions at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, his older brother's minimum living standards policy was criticized as being out of place.

It wasn't until May 23, when the Yu Yi case was concluded, that the 2 million yuan was still unaccounted for. Although the CCDI found that his older brother had not engaged in corruption, the failure of the minimum living standards policy was a fatal blow to his political career. At 29, he was a rising political star and a promising hall-level official, but his career suddenly became bumpy.

In September 1996, his older brother left his position as deputy director of the Minimum Living Standards Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and was transferred to Jiangzhou, a vice-provincial city in Chubei Province, as vice mayor. It took him 15 years to rise again.

By then, the political landscape had changed, and his older brother missed the best opportunity for advancement and the stage to showcase his political talent.

When he lay awake at night, Lu Jing often asked himself if his older brother's path would have been different if the minimum living standards policy had succeeded. After all, time had proven that the implementation of the minimum living standards policy was a necessary task for the government. His older brother's efforts were not wrong, but pushing for it when the national finances were not yet robust carried high risks. The internal discussions at the Ministry of Civil Affairs had a basis for concluding that it was "out of place."

Lu Jing's attention must now be focused on this event that could affect his older brother's entire political career, not on exploring the mysteries of trigonometric functions, permutations, and combinations, or solid geometry.

From the signs of the entire incident, it was clear that involving his older brother in the Yu Yi case was a premeditated action aimed at suppressing his rise. The mastermind behind it was likely Deputy Director Liu Weijia of the Supervisory Department's Anti-Corruption Office.

Although his older brother never spoke about it, during his tenure as executive vice-governor of Ludong Province, he had several intense confrontations with then-governor Liu Weijia, which left his older brother deeply resentful.

The warm sunlight shone on Lu Jing's face, making him squint. He turned his back and leaned against the stone railing of the corridor, looking through the bright glass of the carved wooden window at the young faces in the classroom, familiar yet strange. The school uniforms, predominantly blue and green, highlighted the youth of the students.

Lu Jing suddenly felt a strong urge to smoke.

Class 7, Grade 2, was on the east side of the second floor of the teaching building, with three classrooms nearby, numbered 5, 6, and 7. Many students had come out to the corridor to chat and laugh, but no one stayed within a meter of Lu Jing, as if he were concentrated sulfuric acid, and anyone who got too close would be corroded. The few students in Class 7 who could talk to Lu Jing knew he had been called out by the head teacher, Ms. Shao, and thus did not come to bother him.

A pair of bright, star-like eyes looked through the window, interrupting Lu Jing's thoughts. The eyes were warm and calm.

Lu Jing smiled and nodded at the beautiful girl. He recognized her. She had short hair, a slightly round face with baby fat, large and captivating eyes, a sweet appearance, and skin as smooth as fine porcelain.

She was Ding Ling.

Lu Jing remembered that Ding Ling later taught at Huaxia University, a prestigious institution in the Republic, and her husband was a securities analyst at a securities company. They had a good life.

Noticing Lu Jing's smile, Ding Ling blushed and shyly turned away, her face tinged with a rosy hue.

Her desk mate tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Hey, sending signals!"

Lu Jing saw Ding Ling's head lower even more, and he couldn't tell what she was saying to her desk mate.

That year, when he transferred to Jiangzhou, Ding Ling gave him a beautiful model airplane. It wasn't until a gathering five years later that he discovered a letter inside the model, a letter expressing a young girl's feelings.

Being admired by a beautiful girl was always a pleasant thing.

"Coming back, it's really good!" Lu Jing sighed softly, the gloom in his heart seemingly dissipating with the sight of Ding Ling.

Lu Jing took a deep breath of the fresh air, his hands in the pockets of his gray school uniform pants. He walked down the somewhat dilapidated stairs as the corridor emptied with the sound of the school bell. A crumpled piece of white paper lay quietly at the corner of the stairs. The spring sunlight filtered through the stone holes, casting a pattern of light and shadow on the old cement stairs.

The quiet campus made Lu Jing feel the long-lost, vibrant atmosphere of studying. His thoughts gradually became clear. There were only four days left before the key figure, Yu Yi, would be placed under double regulation. If everything was part of a conspiracy against his older brother, the other side must already have evidence of Yu Yi's corruption and was just waiting for the right moment to act.

He needed to contact his older brother and have a serious talk.

The main road of No. 4 High School, Maple Avenue, was a long cement road lined with sycamore trees. In the gentle April breeze, yellow leaves occasionally fell, dancing in the wind, creating a poetic scene. An old janitor in a blue and white uniform was leisurely sweeping the yellow leaves with a dry, yellow bamboo broom, occasionally stopping to enjoy a cigarette.

Lu Jing quickly walked to the small store at the school gate, where there was a public telephone.

In 1996, the mainstream mobile communication device in China was the Ericsson I399, a Chinese digital mobile phone. The bulky Motorola, which used analog signals, was gradually being abandoned by the mainstream consumer market. International communication manufacturers like Philips, Siemens, Alcatel, Sony, and Dopod, recognizing the business opportunity of Chinese digital mobile phones, launched their products to capture the Chinese market.

At that time, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, which had not yet been split, had not issued licenses for the mobile phone industry to domestic electronic companies.

Compared to the era of counterfeit phones in the future, the 6,888 yuan price of a mobile phone was exorbitant, a luxury item given the current wage levels. As a government official under the State Council, his older brother naturally did not have a mobile phone at that time.

Therefore, Lu Jing's first choice was to call his older brother's home phone.

"Beep—beep—beep—" Listening to the steady ringing, Lu Jing's heart inexplicably raced.

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