Era: Rise from the Wilderness

Fu Chao and Ding Dong lifted the curtain one after the other and walked into the inner room, where the light suddenly dimmed.

This inner room is not large, about eight or nine square meters.

The most eye-catching thing is the northern-style heated kang bed that occupies half of the room by the window. The kang surface is made of red bricks, covered with smooth yellow mud, and then whitewashed. Over the years, some of the whitewash has peeled off, revealing the yellow mud underneath.

The kang (heated brick bed) was covered with a clean, light-colored plastic kang cover printed with large peony and phoenix patterns. It was shiny and glistening. In the middle of the kang was a dark brown low-legged kang table that had been polished until it shone and had its edges worn smooth.

Several blue and white checkered quilts were neatly folded at the end of the kang (a heated brick bed), and a piece of cloth of the same pattern was placed on top of the quilts.

The walls are quite old, with a slightly yellowed white-gray surface. There are a few faded New Year pictures and "Wishing you prosperity" posters pasted on them, but they are clean and tidy, without cobwebs or dust.

A faint, complex scent lingered in the air.

It was the smell of cooking oil and fumes seeping into the walls and the kang mat over the years, mixed with cheap tobacco, old cotton cloth, and a faint trace of dampness that belonged to the old house.

A small wooden window was half-open, and outside the window was the restaurant's backyard, where you could see piles of coal and a few drooping sunflowers.

The three of them took off their dusty shoes and neatly stacked them on the cement floor under the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), then nimbly sat cross-legged on the kang.

The kang (heated brick bed) was warmed by the afternoon sun, making it very comfortable to sit on.

"Old Li, now that we're all alone, what's the matter?"

Fu Chao had just crossed his legs and was barely settled in his seat when he couldn't help but speak again. He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the kang table, and asked in a lowered voice, but the urgency in his tone was unmistakable, "Why all this formality, coming all the way to this kang to say this?"

"This table full of fancy dishes must have cost a fortune. You've really blew yourself dry again today."

He stared intently at Li Yunjing, trying to find some clues in the other's otherwise calm face.

Ding Dong nodded in agreement, chiming in, "Yeah, Lao Li, I'm so nervous, what's all this mystery about?"

"Do we have to do it behind people's backs?"

He placed his hands neatly on his knees, looking somewhat nervous.

Li Yunjing did not answer immediately.

The light from outside the window shone through the dusty glass, casting a blurry shadow on his profile.

He glanced at the two of them and saw that the sizzling sound of cooking in the kitchen had not yet started, which was a good time to speak.

He reached out and, with remarkable ease, slipped his hand into the pocket of the denim jacket that Fu Chao had casually tossed aside on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). His fingertips touched the familiar, crumpled soft bag of "Hongmei" cigarettes and pulled it out.

He put one in his mouth, then took out another and handed it to Fu Chao.

Fu Chao paused for a moment, then took it and skillfully tapped the filter tip on the kang table.

Seeing this, Ding Dong quickly waved his hand and whispered, "I...I won't smoke anymore, my throat is sore."

Ding Dong had been getting too many cigarettes from Fu Chao lately, and his throat was a little sore.

Li Yunjing didn't insist. He tossed the cigarette pack back to Fu Chao, then pulled a lighter from his pocket. With a crisp "snap," an orange flame shot up, standing out conspicuously in the dimly lit room.

He lit the cigarette for Fu Chao first, then brought it to his own lips and lit it himself.

He took a deep drag, and the pungent taste of the cheap tobacco instantly filled his mouth and rushed into his lungs, bringing a slight dizziness.

He let the smoke linger in his chest for a moment before slowly exhaling.

The bluish-gray smoke rose in wisps, swirling and spreading in the beams of light streaming in from the window, gradually blurring each other's faces.

Through the swirling, tar-smelling smoke, Li Yunjing's eyes appeared unusually deep and composed for his age, somewhat incongruous with his still-childish face and his jawline not yet fully hardened.

"Old Fu,"

He spoke, his voice slightly hoarse from the smoke, and he lowered it to make sure it could only be heard within the small area of ​​the kang table. "We've known each other for quite a while now. We've been in the same school since the first year of junior high. Although we weren't as close before, we knew each other very well."

"I just want to ask you one honest question today, something from the bottom of my heart..."

He paused, flicked his cigarette ash, which fell to the ground, and said, "You really want to study hard, hang your head from the rafters and prick your thigh with an awl, take the high school entrance exam, go to university, and pursue that promising path everyone talks about?"

"Or... do you just plan to drift along like this, ruling the school like a king, and then continuing to drift on the streets after graduation?"

"Just muddle through as long as we can?"

"You little brat, trying to pull this game with me?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Chao was taken aback at first, then chuckled and took a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaling the smoke from his nostrils in two straight plumes.

He pointed at Li Yunjing with the finger holding the cigarette, sparks tracing a brief path in the air: "Don't you know what kind of person I am?"

"It felt like there were nails growing under my butt. I would feel itchy all over if I sat on that classroom bench for more than ten minutes."

"Classical Chinese, functions, geometry—that stuff knows me, but I don't know it!"

"Take the college entrance exam?"

"Home-based university!"

He tilted his head, his tone laced with self-deprecation and a touch of rebelliousness, "I'll just muddle along. My family won't starve me anyway. After graduation, I'll be a big shot, and we'll see if I can make a name for myself."

He spoke casually, but Li Yunjing could hear the confusion about the future and a hint of anxiety hidden beneath his nonchalance.

"Old Li, just like Brother Chao, I get a headache whenever I see books. I'm simply not cut out for it!"

Ding Dong quickly pledged his loyalty, saying eagerly, "From now on, I'll follow Brother Chao. If Brother Chao points east, I'll never go west! If Brother Chao eats meat, I'll be content just to have some soup with him!"

He spoke urgently, his face slightly flushed.

He had no ideas of his own, no money or power at home, and was only close to Fu Chao, serving as Fu Chao's underling. He had no worries about food or drink, and did whatever Fu Chao did, leaving him no room for choice.

Li Yunjing listened quietly, a small amount of ash accumulating on his fingertips. He nodded slowly, seemingly unsurprised by the answer, as if he had already seen through Fu Chao.

"Alright! Since you all share this idea and are unwilling to go down the path of education, let's be frank and speak openly."

He continued, his voice low but each word clear: "Old Fu, because of your father's connections, you understood this earlier than Ding Dong, and even more than most people in the school, or rather, you tasted the bitterness earlier!"

"The so-called 'gangster' is not just about being tough and aggressive in school, leading a few henchmen and shouting orders to get ahead."

He paused, his gaze sharp as he looked directly into Fu Chao's flickering eyes: "Ultimately, what matters in the outside world is building a 'prestige' and 'strength'."