Once again, Qi Lei didn’t wait for Wu Ning.
As for Tang Yi, his exam location was at Third High School, which wasn’t on their way.
For Qi Lei, every minute now was precious. Matters between brothers could wait until after the exams.
He went straight home, closed the door, and continued memorizing science formulas.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Wu Ning and Tang Yi kicked open the iron door again.
“Qi Stone! Are you possessed by Huang Pizi (1) or something!?”
Wu Xiaojian immediately began interrogating him, while Tang Yi also looked horrified. “It’s way too accurate! Come on, Brother Stone, repeat after me: Tonight our dad will be merciful and reward me with a stack of Old Man Head bills.”
“Say it after me quickly, and I’ll burn incense for you!”
After the midday buffer period, Qi Lei was no longer as emotional, let alone crying his eyes out. His mind was fully focused on studying.
He said helplessly, “I just made a wild guess. Who knew it’d be so accurate? Get lost! Go do whatever you need to do!”
But Wu Ning wouldn’t let it go.
“A wild guess? Damn it!” Wu Ning cursed. “Why weren’t you more certain? Just a little more certain, and I would’ve believed you!”
As a result, Qi Lei showed no reaction, but Tang Yi stared at Wu Ning in surprise. “So you didn’t believe him?”
Wu Ning froze. “No, I didn’t! Did you believe him?”
Tang Yi grinned slyly. “I wouldn’t say I believed him exactly. But I couldn’t help thinking about it on the way here, so I sort of mentally prepared for it?”
He added smugly, “But you know what? It actually helped! Saved me a lot of trouble!”
Wu Ning nearly cried again, placing his last hope on Qi Lei. “Stone didn’t believe it himself either, right?”
“No, he didn’t. Like a madman, he just mentally prepared for it.”
“Damn it!” Wu Ning was devastated.
Completely devastated. Why was he the only one among the three brothers who didn’t benefit but instead suffered?
He rushed into the room fiercely. “No way! I’ve got to make up for it!”
He snatched a chemistry book and lay down on the bed. “I must make up for it!”
Seeing that both of them were studying, Tang Yi felt he had to keep up.
He entered the room, squeezed onto the same bed with Wu Ning, grabbed Qi Lei’s English book, and started reading too.
Qi Lei ignored them. As long as they weren’t causing trouble or hindering his review, it was fine.
Actually, all three brothers were the type who had brains but didn’t like studying. If they put in even a little effort, their grades could improve significantly.
For example, Tang Yi and Wu Ning only paid attention in class. Like Qi Lei, they never touched homework at home, yet they still managed to maintain average grades in their class.
Especially Wu Xiaojian—sometimes forced by his mother to study a bit—had always been the best academically among the three brothers.
As for Qi Lei, he truly played wildly. He didn’t study at home or at school, which explained his current situation.
The room grew quiet, with only the occasional sound of pages turning.
Bathed in the sunset, the shadows of grapevines filtered into the room, creating an indescribable tranquility.
After a while, snoring came from the bed.
Qi Lei looked back and saw the two sleeping soundly.
He couldn’t help but laugh. Sure enough, their enthusiasm lasted only three minutes.
Turning back, Qi Lei pulled out a physics workbook from the pile of books and started reading.
He didn’t write anything, only read.
He realized his progress was faster than he had expected. He had almost memorized all the formulas and theorems.
This wasn’t actually surprising, nor did Qi Lei gain any superpowers from being reborn. Many concepts, even if not studied in middle school, would be used in high school, so he had some impression of them anyway.
So now, Qi Lei wasn’t exactly starting from scratch—at most, he was just reviewing.
Take Newton’s First Law, for example. If asked out of the blue, Qi Lei definitely wouldn’t be able to answer.
But as soon as he opened the textbook, there it was: “Every object remains in a state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force.”
It’s just inertia—once you read it, it’s hard to forget.
Picking up the exercise book, Qi Lei’s goal wasn’t to solve problems but to familiarize himself with the question types.
Similarly, solving problems now wouldn’t yield much benefit; understanding the question types was more useful.
Around six o’clock, the sound of a motorcycle echoed through the alley. As the iron gate creaked open, Qi Lei looked up and saw his parents returning.
Both Qi’s Father and Qi’s Mother worked at the grain depot. The difference was that Qi Guojun was a temporary worker, while Guo Lihua was the office director.
When Qi Guojun was young, he served in the military’s cultural troupe and was assigned to the Shangbei Musical Instrument Factory after demobilization.
That factory was a product of the mass production era of the 1960s and 70s. In a small place like Shangbei, where the entire city—including all its towns and villages—had a population of less than a million, there were hardly any harmonica players, let alone a musical instrument factory. It survived entirely on government support.
During the first wave of layoffs in the 1980s, the factory collapsed, and Qi Guojun became one of the laid-off workers.
Fortunately, Guo Lihua’s grain depot was a decent workplace, and she had worked her way up to the position of office director through seniority.
Call it favoritism, but she managed to get Qi Guojun a temporary position as a warehouse keeper.
As the two entered the courtyard, they first glanced toward Qi Lei’s room. Seeing their son studying, they were momentarily surprised but didn’t react too strongly.
Qi Guojun went straight to the kitchen to prepare dinner, while Guo Lihua returned to her room to change clothes.
Qi Lei had intended to go out and greet them, but—
First, in his memory, his relationship with his parents during this period wasn’t great.
It was his rebellious phase, and with his grades, things were tense. They’d start arguing within three sentences.
Second, if he acted obedient and sensible, given his mom’s impatient temper, she’d probably nag him endlessly!
His top priority now was still reviewing. Everything could wait until after tomorrow’s exam.
After changing into her home clothes, Guo Lihua made her routine stop by Qi Lei’s room.
By then, Wu Ning and Tang Yi were also awake, holding their books and pretending to study seriously.
When they saw Guo Lihua, they were even sweeter than Qi Lei: “Godmother, when’s dinner? We’re starving!”
Guo Lihua smiled. “Just wait, I’m stewing ribs for you.”
“Ooh!” Tang Yi immediately smacked his lips. “Godmother is way better than my real mom! Even my dad hates my mom’s cooking.”
Qi Lei felt a chill—shouldn’t that line be “Even the dog hates so-and-so’s cooking”?
Meanwhile, Tang Yi was still buttering her up: “Godmother, can I invite my real mom over? She’s all alone at home, poor thing.”
Guo Lihua’s smile widened. “Your dad has another business dinner?”
Tang Yi replied, “Him eating at home is a monthly event.”
With that, he dashed out to fetch his mom.
Guo Lihua then tugged at Wu Ning. “Call your parents over too. It’s been a while since we’ve had a meal together!”
“Sure thing!” Wu Ning grinned. “I was waiting for you to say that, Godmother!”
The three boys weren’t just brothers in their generation—their parents and even grandparents had been close friends for generations.
Qi Lei’s grandfather had fought alongside Wu Ning and Tang Yi’s grandfathers during the war—they were comrades who had risked their lives together.
So, from the moment the three boys were born, this godparent relationship was established.
After sending Wu Ning and Tang Yi off, Guo Lihua stayed in the room, standing behind Qi Lei and watching him for a while. She thought to herself, Is he really studying?
Qi Lei felt his face grow warm under his mother’s gaze. With no other choice, he turned around and forced a smile. “Mom.”
Guo Lihua frowned. “It’s nothing,” she said before heading to the kitchen.
Just before stepping out, she let out a sigh.
It seemed to say, “Why pretend now? Back then, you wouldn’t study even if we beat you. The more we pushed, the more you rebelled.”
Qi Lei understood his mother’s thoughts and felt deeply ashamed.
In his previous life, the person he was most grateful to was the woman who made him mature overnight; his greatest regret was losing his two brothers too early; and the ones he felt most sorry for were his parents, whom he had caused endless worry in his youth.
Burying his head back in his textbooks, Qi Lei felt a surge of determination, but it was a force he couldn’t unleash just yet. It choked him, leaving him no choice but to endure.
Qi Guojun was an excellent cook, and soon he had prepared a table full of dishes.
Just then, Tang Yi’s mother, Cui Yumin, and Wu Ning’s parents, Wu Lianshan and Dong Xiuhua, arrived.
The Wu family’s situation was quite similar to the Qi family’s.
Wu Lianshan was an accountant, well-known in Shangbei, handling the books for various units in the city. Dong Xiuhua, already a deputy section chief in the Finance Bureau, managed a wide range of responsibilities with considerable authority.
Both families had strong women and comparatively less dominant men.
Only Cui Yumin was a full-time homemaker, but Tang Yi’s father, Tang Chenggang, was in a league of his own.
In modern terms, he was Shangbei’s wealthiest man, owning the city’s largest private enterprise.
Of course, later Tang Chenggang went astray, starting a firecracker factory that grew even larger and more profitable.
But then an accident occurred—an explosion that claimed the lives of both Tang Yi and Wu Ning.
The three families lived in the same alley for convenience, and their lives were as intertwined as one big family.
Still, no matter how close, they weren’t of the same surname, and certain topics required discretion, such as the children’s education.
Though they had gathered for a meal during the critical period of the high school entrance exams, no one at the table mentioned how the exams had gone or what came next.
The other two families knew that Qi Lei was a source of worry for Qi Guojun and Guo Lihua, and no one wanted to add to the couple’s troubles at such a time.
Besides, the exams weren’t over yet, and discussing it now wouldn’t be good for the children.
So, everyone acted as if the matter didn’t exist, chatting and laughing about neighborhood gossip and trivial matters from work.
Yet, the more they avoided the topic, the worse Qi Lei felt. He could only blame his past self for being so unambitious.
His parents were naturally talkative and cheerful, but since he started junior high, they had become increasingly quiet and rarely smiled.
Simply put, when adults gathered, the first thing they compared was their children.
Among the three families and even the neighbors, Qi Lei was the one who had achieved the least.
It was all his own doing.
He swore to himself that this life would be different.
After hurriedly finishing his meal, Qi Lei retreated to his room to study, staying there until past eleven.
Guo Lihua checked on him twice, finally unable to hold back her concern. “It’s late, why don’t you sleep?”
She didn’t dare push too hard, coaxing him gently instead.
Qi Lei closed his book and gave his mother a complicated look. “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
Only then did Guo Lihua break into a smile. After hesitating a moment, she watched him get into bed and, just before turning off the light, finally said, “Don’t stress too much. It’s okay if you don’t do well.”
Early the next morning, Qi Lei woke at half past five. He washed his face in the yard and returned to his desk.
Guo Lihua, hearing the noise, came over wrapped in her outer garment. Seeing her son up so early studying, she felt uneasy.
Returning to the room, she nudged Qi Guojun awake with her elbow. “He’s studying hard again in that room! What’s going on?”
Qi Guojun stared blankly for a long while, unable to grasp the situation. Finally waking up properly, he muttered, “The kid’s grown up and knows what’s important—isn’t that a good thing? Why are you so nervous?”
After saying this, he turned over, intending to go back to sleep.
Guo Lihua shot him a glare, clearly dissatisfied with his dismissive attitude.
Gritting her teeth, she pondered for a long time before saying, “If he can reach the general high school cutoff score, should we ask Chenggang to help get him into No. 2 High School?”
No. 2 High School and Experimental High School were the only two key high schools in Shangbei.
Qi Guojun, facing away from her, replied, “Chenggang? Do you think he’d let you pay the extra fees? No way!”
Among the three families, the Qi family was the worst off financially. Tang Chenggang had no shortage of money, Wu Lianshan earned plenty from side jobs doing accounts, but the Qi family relied solely on two salaries.
However, the couple was reluctant to trouble others—life was their own to live.
After a moment’s thought, Qi Guojun added, “Maybe we should just let it be? Let him go wherever he gets accepted!”
“If we try to pull strings ourselves, not only will it cost us favors, but the extra fees would be over ten thousand. If we spend all our money on this, what about taking over the grocery factory?”
Guo Lihua clenched her teeth without speaking, thinking it over for a long time before sighing. “Fine, let it be. He can go wherever he gets in!”
She understood Qi Guojun’s meaning—no one could predict what their son would be like. He might seem fine today but act up tomorrow.
Even if he got into a key high school, what if he still didn’t study hard? Then both opportunities would be wasted.
Pulling her outer garment tighter, Guo Lihua frowned and muttered, “We really need to focus on the grocery factory. If we miss this chance, there won’t be another.”
“But…” She glanced at Qi Guojun. “If we take over the factory, will you be able to manage it?”
Qi Guojun fell silent, a stubborn determination brewing inside him.
After a long pause, he said, “We’ll have to try. In the end, we have to take a gamble!”
Guo Lihua silently agreed. Yes, in the end, they had to take a gamble.
Although they had long given up hope for Qi Lei’s academic success, they never stopped worrying about him.
Thinking that Qi Lei had little chance of excelling in his studies, what would become of him in the future?
That was why this couple, who had spent half their lives working within the system and living on fixed salaries, began considering going into business.
Wasn’t it all to leave Qi Lei more resources for the future?
As it happened, a grocery factory under the grain depot was undergoing restructuring—it was being contracted out to operate independently and be responsible for its own profits and losses.
The couple thought of using their life savings to contract the grocery factory. At least it was a business that should earn some money.
Unaware of his parents’ plans, Qi Lei was solely focused on last-minute cramming. After breakfast around seven, he headed straight to the examination hall.
Over the past two days, he had devoted all his energy to Science Comprehensive, the subject he pinned his hopes on to boost his scores.
The exam was about to begin.
…
Ps: Huang Pizi: The foremost of the four divine beasts in the north, long revered with incense, answering all prayers, capable of attaining terrestrial immortalhood.
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