CDJMM – Volume 1 – Chapter 45 Writing in the Republic Era (44)

The courtyard house had about twenty rooms, with separate accommodations for boys and girls. Inside the rooms were large communal beds, each housing ten to twenty people.

The arrival of Le Jing and his group startled many of the children lying on the beds. They scrambled up all at once and, quite practiced, began kowtowing to beg for money. Indeed, many classmates actually gave them some.

But then the children immediately started fighting each other to snatch more “spoils of war,” throwing the place into utter chaos. In the end, it was only when Cao Wanying called the steward, who shouted, “Whoever keeps fighting will be kicked out!” that they finally quieted down. After all, as long as they stayed in the orphanage, they had food and shelter. No one wanted to return to wandering the streets hungry and exposed.

Le Jing’s brows furrowed deeply.

If things went on like this, the orphanage would never truly help the homeless children. Instead, it would only raise a group of lazy little rascals. To save people, one must first save their hearts. What Fu Kemao should do now was instill in the children the values of self-reliance and independence. That meant they could no longer be given food for free—they had to earn it through work.

Le Jing checked each room, becoming more helpless the more he saw.

In his eyes, this so-called orphanage was nothing more than a spur-of-the-moment creation by Fu Kemao, who probably had no real idea how to run such a place. Of course, Le Jing could see he had already tried very hard—at least in terms of providing material necessities.

It was mid-November now, with the start of winter just a few days ago. The temperature was dropping rapidly. That very morning, when Le Jing had stepped outside, he noticed ice forming on the ground. The days ahead would only get colder.

So, the beds in the orphanage were furnished with cotton quilts, and the children wore padded winter clothes.

But simply having enough supplies wasn’t enough.

After touring the entire orphanage, only four words came to Le Jing’s mind: a foul, miasmic mess. Nearly every child that Fu Kemao had dragged in from the streets was full of bad habits. There was none of the innocence or kindness that children ought to possess—only the raw, naked savagery of wild beasts.

Children are a mirror—whatever the world is like, they reflect it. From them, Le Jing could see the world they had lived in before: dark, cold, filled only with cruelty and malice, leaving no room for softness or warmth. Reforming them would inevitably be a long and arduous journey.

Although Fu Kemao was foolish in some ways, it was only fools like him who would go into debt to open an orphanage and raise children at their own expense. The world already had more than enough shrewd, calculating people—so rare fools like Fu Kemao deserved to be cherished and protected.

Now that Le Jing had noticed the problems, he had to offer Fu Kemao some proper advice.

As if on cue, just as that thought crossed his mind, he heard Fu Kemao’s voice behind him:  “This is the place I prepared for the orphans to sleep. You don’t know, but just the quilts alone cost me over two hundred silver dollars!”

“Komao, you truly have a heart of gold. In all of Beiping, there isn’t another young master so devoted to charity as you! You are a shining example for our generation!”

Le Jing turned around and met the gazes of the two men.

Wow.

Why did that ill-tempered young man beside Fu Kemao look so familiar? Why did he look so much like the so-called “cannon fodder younger brother” of the original body—Li Jingliang?

After nearly a year apart, the two brothers had unexpectedly reunited in Beiping. For a moment, neither spoke.

Only Fu Kemao, the clueless sweetheart, had no idea anything was off. He even cheerfully waved to Le Jing: “Hey, buddy, we meet again! I forgot to ask your name last time—how should I address you?”

Li Jingliang snapped out of his initial daze, his eyes sharpening as he fixed them on Le Jing.

Le Jing didn’t even glance at him. Calmly, he said, “My name is Le Jing.”

At that, Li Jingliang visibly bristled.

“Oh, oh, Le Jing, hello! You must already know who I am, I…”

“What Le Jing?” Li Jingliang interrupted with a cold laugh. “Brother, how ruthless of you! I don’t know what fault our Li family ever committed against you, but after defying Mother and spewing vile words before storming out, you disappeared for months without a word. And now you’ve even changed your surname! Do you know Father still waits at home every day, hoping you’ll return? Truly, you chill his heart!”

The once-boisterous room fell into stunned silence. Many classmates turned to stare. Even Fu Kemao looked at Le Jing with doubt—he could hardly imagine that someone who seemed so gentle and refined could be such an unfilial, unruly rebel.

“Chill his heart?”

Everyone present saw the scholarly youth’s eyes redden. Yet even so, he straightened his back stubbornly, and from his clear eyes burst a despair sharp enough to pierce the soul:

“When my thirteen-year-old sister was given by my dear stepmother in marriage to a brutal, wealthy man whose first wife had been beaten to death—where was your heart then? When I, the Li family’s eldest legitimate son, was forced to smoke opium by that same stepmother and driven to flee my own home—where was your heart then?

“And now you dare to play the righteous man, claiming to grieve for my father on my behalf? Li Jingliang, I finally understand—you truly inherited Wang Shi’s sharp tongue. Was it not enough for you and your mother to force my own mother to her death? Now you mean to drive me to despair as well? Ha! Laughable. I never even thought of erasing my name in shame—only of seeking a place where I might live in purity. Yet before I can feel sorrow for myself, some wolf-hearted schemers are already so quick to cry sorrow in my stead!”

Li Jingliang froze, panic flickering in his eyes. He had not expected Li Jingran—once thought a foolish, transparent simpleton—to snatch away his “script” and suddenly start playing the pitiable white lotus.

The classmates, who had mostly been observing quietly, instantly erupted into an uproar.

As a transfer student who had joined midway, Le Jing had, with his handsome looks, refined speech, courteous manners, and spot-on predictions about The Rise of the Dynasty, quickly gained popularity in Class 2-1 and seamlessly integrated into the group.

They already leaned toward favoring Le Jing as “one of their own.” And now, hearing him being so maligned—how could they bear it? Small clusters of voices broke out all around.

“Hah! So true—people’s hearts are hidden behind their ribs. How vicious this mother and son are!”

“If you ask me, that Li father is utterly muddleheaded! Not only did he dote on his concubine and neglect his wife, but he also allowed the stepmother to torment his eldest son and daughter. Who would abandon their surname and run away unless they’d been driven to the brink?”

“Isn’t there an old saying—‘With a stepmother comes a stepfather’?”

“Wuwuwu, classmate Le Jing is too pitiful. He’s the gentlest soul imaginable. Why can’t Heaven treat him more kindly?”

Cao Wanying raised her voice and said loudly: “Le Jing, don’t be afraid, we’ve got your back! Your health isn’t good, it’s not worth ruining it over someone like this!”

At the same time, she turned her firepower on Fu Kema: “Fu Kema, what kind of shady people do you even hang around with? I brought my classmates here out of kindness to help you, and this is how you treat them?”

Fu Kema was sweating anxiously, not knowing what to do. On one side was his old friend with whom he had just mended ties, on the other was the daughter of a family friend who had brought her classmates to help him. Both sides had their own arguments, and he didn’t know who to believe.

Le Jing, however, felt a little disappointed. So after all this noise, Li Jingliang was only moving his lips, standing on the so-called moral high ground, trying to crush people with words. That level of play was only good enough to bully a fool like Li Jingran.

Honestly, Le Jing had long been immersed in writing novels and couldn’t be bothered with old grudges. But just when the tree longed for peace, the wind wouldn’t stop—Li Jingliang himself came jumping out, eager for a beating.

Since that was the case, not teaching him a lesson would be failing the opportunity Li Jingliang had created.

Li Jingliang trembled with anger, but for once calmed down a little, picking up his “white lotus” act again. With tears shimmering in his eyes, he looked at Le Jing and said: “Big brother, if I’ve done anything to upset you, take it out on me, but don’t slander my mother!” He paused for breath, his expression more pitiful: “Your mother only died because of her poor health…”

“Enough! At this point you don’t need to say more, I don’t want to hear your excuses!”

Li Jingliang squeezed out a few more tears: “Please, just hear me out, my mother…”

Le Jing gave a bitter smile, amber eyes shimmering with mist, cutting him off again: “No matter what, she’s still your mother. Even if the entire city of Fengtian spits on her character, you can’t say a word against her. I understand.”

Li Jingliang bit his teeth: “No, you…”

Le Jing lowered his gaze in weary resignation, smiling self-mockingly, blocking his words again:  “Rest assured, I won’t fight you for the inheritance. You don’t have to rack your brains plotting against me. If you don’t believe me, I can even put it in writing!”

Li Jingliang was grief-stricken and indignant, but Le Jing acted even more grief-stricken and indignant. Li Jingliang played the white lotus, but Le Jing played an even purer, more flawless one.

Le Jing had always enjoyed defeating enemies in their own best field, humiliating them in the most spectacular way—it was all the more satisfying and thrilling.

Li Jingliang finally couldn’t keep up the white lotus act. His face twisted with anger at Le Jing’s relentless interruptions. Furious, he roared: “Can’t you just let me finish?!”

Le Jing clicked his tongue inwardly—slapping this kind of childish opponent brought no sense of accomplishment.

Since the fight had already started, why follow a turn-based system? Of course the point was to shut the other up and make sure the whole audience only heard his voice!

So Le · Supreme White Lotus · Jing finally shouted that iconic line: “I don’t listen, I don’t listen, I don’t listen!”

Li Jingliang: “……”

“I gave you the surname, the family, my mother’s dowry, and the entire Li family estate—what more do you want? Do you insist on driving me to my death?!” Le · Addicted to Drama · Jing clutched his chest, body swaying, his voice already hoarse: “Li Jingliang, I treated you as my younger brother, that’s why I endured and gave way again and again. But don’t you push me too far!”

And with that, Le Jing could retire gracefully, leaving the stage to enjoy the show: a poetry recitation and martial arts performance put on by the whole of Class 2, Grade 11.

“Do you think we’re all dead? Dare to bully our classmate like this, are you tired of living?”

“Just a mere Li family of Fengtian, and you think you’re somebody? Push us too far and this lady will call in soldiers to wipe you out, believe it or not?”

“I’m telling you! Stay far away from our Le Jing from now on! He’s surnamed Le, not Li—he’s got nothing to do with you Lis, you got that?”

“Qi Mingzhi is right! You look all serious with your thick brows and big eyes, but who’d think you’re actually rotten! Those big eyes… what a waste… pfft, I digress. Anyway, don’t show up in front of me again, you dirty my eyes!”

These young masters and ladies already had bad tempers and were fiercely protective of their own. How could they let their friend Le Jing be bullied? Naturally, they would “educate” Li Jingliang both in words and actions.

Le Jing watched with a grin and called out coolly: “Don’t beat him too much, he’s the type to hold grudges. What if he calls the police to arrest you?”

Le Jing’s deskmate, Ding Hui, patted the bruised side of Li Jingliang’s face and smiled kindly:  “You wouldn’t be so stupid as to call the police, would you? …Sorry, but the deputy chief of Beiping’s police department happens to be my father.”

Li Jingliang burst into tears with a wail. Shaking, he still tried to smear Le Jing one last time:  “Don’t let him trick you, he’s not a good person, he’s notorious in Fengtian as…”

Le Jing once again interrupted, crying out with grief: “If I weren’t bad, how could your goodness shine in contrast? Isn’t that exactly your and your mother’s purpose?” Then he gave a bitter laugh: “Enough, this is all my burden alone, I shouldn’t drag my classmates into this mess. Li Jingliang, I’ll go back with you—kill me, chop me up, I don’t care. Just don’t write nonsense in the papers and cause trouble for my classmates.”

The crowd was reminded—besides calling the police, Li Jingliang also had the trick of smearing people in the newspapers. Their gazes toward him became even more “kindly.”

Li Jingliang simply couldn’t figure it out. How had that useless Li Jingran suddenly become so sharp-tongued? And how did he have so many young masters and ladies standing up for him? What kind of witchcraft did he use on them? He regretted it—if he had known Le Jing had so much backing, he wouldn’t have made the first move. He should have just called the police straightaway!

Under so many “kind” gazes, Li Jingliang finally read the situation, forcing out a stiff smile, trembling as he said: “I… I won’t write nonsense in the papers!” He quickly added: “Our family can’t afford to offend you people.” But don’t think I’ll just let this go!

Cao Wanying still felt uneasy, so she drew a finger across her neck at him: “You… snitch… die, die, you understand?”

Li Jingliang nodded frantically: “Yes, yes!”

Le Jing: “???”

Cao Wanying’s strange words naturally drew questions from the others: “Wanying, why are you talking like that? Sounds weird.”

Cao Wanying giggled: “I was imitating a Japanese person I know… I just thought the atmosphere was too tense and wanted to lighten things up.”

Her companions accepted the explanation, but Le Jing remained half-skeptical.

That afternoon, the first snowflakes of the season drifted gently from the sky.

Le Jing and Cao Wanying walked out of the office side by side, strolling along the quiet campus path, admiring the silver-clad scenery together.

Perhaps it was the way the young man kept glancing at her as if wanting to say something, or maybe it was just that this was the first time they were alone. Staring at his handsome profile, Cao Wanying’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

“Cao Wanying, can you answer me a question?” the boy’s clear, cool voice sounded beside her.

Could it be…?!

Her heart pounded like a drum, her cheeks warmed, but she mustered her courage to meet his gentle gaze, answering in a voice barely above a mosquito’s hum: “Okay.”

The boy’s amber eyes locked intently on her, the expectant smile tugging at his lips making her blush even more.

He asked softly: “Odd changes, even doesn’t—what’s next?”

Cao Wanying: “???”

Chicken changes, lotus root doesn’t?

She pondered for a long time, then met his expectant gaze, and finally couldn’t hold back. In her Tianjin accent, she voiced the question from the depths of her soul: “What the heck are you talking about?”