It was only a quiz, so it did not affect Ning Li’s mood much.
He listened attentively in every class, and even took notes. His handwriting was not very attractive, just messy and hurried. The way a person’s handwriting reflected their character, you could tell from his that he was impatient and prone to acting rashly.
Ning Li noticed this and deliberately made his handwriting neater, slowing down as well. It looked somewhat different from his old handwriting now, though it could hardly be called beautiful.
Ning Li thought of Pei Ling’s handwriting. Pei Ling’s was beautiful, with sharp strokes that carried a frosty, proud elegance, much like the impression he himself gave people.
He knew this because, once, when Pei Ling’s mother had gone out to throw away the trash, Yang Guifang had retrieved the discarded copybooks and lectured him over them.
When had that been? It seemed to have been back in middle school. Pei Ling’s handwriting had already been beautiful then. Ning Li did not know whether it had improved since.
As for his own handwriting, it had barely changed from the second grade of elementary school until now. In other words, his handwriting was just as ugly as a grade-schooler’s.
With a foundation that poor, no matter how deliberately he tried to correct it, it would still be like putting a gold rim on a chamber pot.
He still had to practice his handwriting.
But should he really be diverting his energy to that now?
Ning Li hesitated, but only for a moment. When he thought of Pei Ling, he decided he might as well practice.
When he got home, he inexplicably blurted the matter out to Yang Guifang.
Yang Guifang was surprised. “Pei Ling’s copybooks? That was ages ago. I told you about them back then, and you got upset and threw them in the trash.”
Ning Li: “……”
That was exactly the sort of thing he would do.
Yang Guifang said, “I have to admit, that boy’s handwriting is really beautiful. If only you could practice by copying him more.”
Ning Li: “.”
In the past, Ning Li would definitely have talked back. Now, he no longer had the inclination. Instead, he smoothly replied, “Sure. I’ll learn from him. Mom, go ask him for some of his copybooks.”
Yang Guifang was startled. “Really? You want to learn from him?”
Ning Li said, “Learn from the enemy to defeat the enemy. If I want to crush him, of course I have to learn his strengths.”
There was nothing shameful about admitting that Pei Ling was better than him. He would surpass Pei Ling sooner or later anyway.
Still, this naturally had to be done in secret. He could not let Pei Ling find out.
So Ning Li said solemnly, “You have a good relationship with Pei Ling’s mother. Ask her for them discreetly, and make absolutely sure Pei Ling doesn’t find out.”
Yang Guifang was naturally delighted that Ning Li wanted to improve, and agreed to everything without hesitation. “All right, all right. If you have the will, I’ll do whatever it takes to support you.”
Of course, she did not actually have a good relationship with Pei Ling’s mother.
Yang Guifang was jealous that the woman had such a good son. On top of that, Pei Ling’s mother loved showing off, and Yang Guifang found her extremely irritating. How could they possibly have a good relationship?
But she certainly was not going to say that now.
So the next day, she shamelessly intercepted Pei Ling’s mother, Lin Lizhi, as the woman was heading out to buy groceries. She started by praising Pei Ling to the skies, making his mother happy, and only then bashfully brought up the matter of borrowing Pei Ling’s copybooks so Ning Li could practice his handwriting.
Flattered by her praise, Lin Lizhi naturally had no reason to refuse such a small request. Smiling broadly, she said, “All right, all right. I’ll look for them when I get home and show them to you. Your Ning Li is in his third year of high school too, isn’t he? How are his grades? Is he still at the bottom of the class? If that’s the case, I can have Pei Ling tutor him.”
Yang Guifang laughed. “That would be too much trouble. Your Pei Ling is in his third year too. We can’t take up his time.”
She knew perfectly well that Lin Lizhi was only being polite. There was no way she could take her seriously.
At noon, when school let out, Lin Lizhi went to pick up Pei Ling.
The Pei family really was wealthy. They already owned a car at a time when most people did not. It was not anything luxurious, but it was still worth a considerable amount of money. Pei Ling got in, fastened his seat belt, and heard Lin Lizhi bring up Yang Guifang’s request for his copybooks. His expression did not change as he asked quietly, “She wants them?”
Lin Lizhi said, “Yes. If you don’t want to give them to her, I can just tell her I couldn’t find them. You don’t practice your handwriting anymore anyway.”
Remembering something, she chuckled to herself and said, “Our family must have had a lucky burial site to produce a son as clever as you. Even if she takes the copybooks, her son won’t be able to learn a fraction of what you know.”
Pei Ling said nothing. The car slowly drove out of the street, and his gaze fell outside the window. A familiar figure was striding quickly along the sidewalk, looking rather energetic and impatient.
Lin Lizhi saw him too. “Isn’t that Ning Li? His posture has improved quite a lot. He used to hunch a little and always looked listless, but he looks much better now.”
She slowed the car, lowered the window, and called out with a smile, “Do you want a ride, Ning Li?”
Ning Li stopped and saw Pei Ling beside her. The moment their eyes met, Pei Ling was the first to look away.
Pei Ling was always like that. That was why Ning Li disliked him. If he had been a little more outgoing, perhaps they would have become friends in their previous lives, the kind of inseparable friends who had grown up together.
But there were no perhapses. Some people only had to meet each other’s eyes to know they were incompatible, and they would never become friends.
In the past, Ning Li would have refused. Now, he was always having different thoughts. Seeing Pei Ling’s cold expression gave him a contrary impulse instead, and he said with a beaming smile, “Sure, Auntie! Sorry to trouble you!”
As he spoke, he actually opened the car door and got in.
Lin Lizhi had assumed he would refuse, since this was not the first time something like this had happened. Ning Li had turned her down every time before. So when he got straight into the car, her smiling face immediately changed. She forced a smile and said, “It isn’t far anyway.”
She had only been making the usual polite offer, but he had taken her seriously.
Ning Li was outgoing, and getting into the car did not make him any quieter. He said to Lin Lizhi, “Auntie, this car feels really comfortable. How much did you pay for it?”
That touched Lin Lizhi right where she lived. She said proudly, “A little over three hundred thousand.”
Ning Li looked shocked. “Wow! That’s expensive?”
“Auntie, you’re amazing. You can afford such a nice car, and you’re such a good driver too. It’s completely smooth. I get terribly carsick, but I don’t feel sick at all in your car!”
Lin Lizhi was delighted. “Of course. I passed both the second and third driving tests on my first try. All those men at the driving school couldn’t hold a candle to me. I’m amazing at reversing too. I’ll show you in a moment.”
“Sure,” Ning Li said. “Ah, wait, I’m sorry, Auntie, could you stop here for a moment? I have something to take care of, so I need to get out here.”
He had gotten her all excited, and if she messed up while reversing later, wouldn’t that be embarrassing? He had better find an excuse to slip away.
Lin Lizhi had no idea how much had gone through his head. Hearing him, she merely said, “Oh,” then parked by the empty roadside and let Ning Li out.
Once Ning Li had gone some distance away, she said to Pei Ling with obvious pleasure, “That boy certainly knows how to flatter people. I used to see him arguing with his mother all the time and thought he was terribly rebellious. Looking at him now, he actually has pretty good manners. But his grades are so poor. No matter how obedient he is, he’ll only end up working for someone else. You mustn’t hang around with him, Pei Ling. Don’t let him lead you astray.”
Pei Ling said nothing.
Lin Lizhi did not notice that Pei Ling’s gaze had remained fixed on Ning Li’s back until he started the car, only then looking away.
When Pei Ling got home, he went into his room. After a while, he came back out and handed Lin Lizhi a bag. Briefly, he said, “Give it to Ning Li.”
Lin Lizhi hefted it. “You’re giving him this much?”
Pei Ling said indifferently, “I was going to throw it away anyway.”
Lin Lizhi thought that made sense. Without even opening the bag, she carried it over and knocked on Yang Guifang’s door. She handed it to her without mentioning that it had come from Pei Ling. “I looked around and found this much. Take a look first. If it’s not enough, I’ll have Pei Ling look for more.”
Yang Guifang knew from the weight alone that there was quite a lot inside, and immediately beamed. “Oh my, that’s so much! You’ve really gone to a lot of trouble. If my Li Li could learn even thirty percent from your Pei Ling, I’d set off firecrackers for three days and three nights.”
Lin Lizhi smiled with restrained pride. “Ning Li is actually a pretty good kid.”
After seeing Lin Lizhi back home, Yang Guifang hurriedly shut the door and called Ning Li out. Lowering her voice, she said, “Here are the copybooks you wanted. Pei Ling’s mother really is generous. I only asked, and she gave me this much.”
Ning Li took the bag from her and was surprised. “This much?”
He opened the tightly fastened bag and poured out its contents. Besides a stack of copybooks, there were several thick notebooks.
Yang Guifang picked up the copybooks first and admired them with delight. “Look at his handwriting. It’s so graceful and fluid, absolutely beautiful. Now look at those chicken scratches of yours. How can the difference between people be so enormous?”
Ning Li picked up the notebooks instead. After a quick glance, he stared in astonishment. They were Pei Ling’s science study notes!
Seeing him freeze, Yang Guifang leaned over to look and was shocked. “What are these? Pei Ling’s notes? His mother gave you these too?”
She felt a little uncomfortable. “I didn’t expect her to be so nice.”
Ning Li composed himself and forced out, “She probably grabbed the wrong things. I’ll return them when I get the chance.”
Yang Guifang hurriedly said, “Don’t return them yet. These are Pei Ling’s study notes. I’ll give you the money. Go make a copy.”
“……” Ning Li was shamefully tempted. “All right.”
If he wanted to surpass Pei Ling, he could not shut himself away from the outside world. He would secretly look through the notes after making a copy. Heh heh.
There was no time to waste. Ning Li grabbed the notebooks and went to the print shop. At ten cents a page, the copies still cost him more than eighty yuan.
The print shop even bound them into booklets. Ning Li took the finished copies and grinned to himself. This had saved him so much effort.
He packed up the two notebooks and took them to school that afternoon.
The problem was how to return them to Pei Ling.
For purely selfish reasons, Ning Li did not want Pei Ling to know he had been secretly studying his notes. It was embarrassing, for one thing, and for another, it would amount to admitting to Pei Ling’s face that he was inferior to him. Though that was also a fact, Ning Li preferred to avoid facts whenever possible.
After thinking it over, Ning Li could only wait until Pei Ling went to the bathroom, then sneak into his classroom.
He had good social skills, so when he asked where Pei Ling sat, someone even led him there. When the female classmate who had brought him over saw Ning Li tugging at Pei Ling’s schoolbag zipper, she asked, “What are you doing? Pei Ling doesn’t like other people touching his bag.”
Ning Li said righteously, “Am I other people? I’m his best friend!”
The girl said, “I’ve never heard of that.”
Ning Li said, “Well, now you have. We’re secret drinking-and-smoking buddies, the kind of bad friends who do everything together.”
He put the notebooks away, then turned around and met Pei Ling’s dark, severe eyes.
Ning Li: “……”
Ning Li said, “I was just joking with her, haha.”