Chapter 27: A Message Brought by the Wind
In October, the temperature in Chuanhai began to drop. Lu Li, just like last year, switched to his thermal wear early. He vaguely remembered that around this time last year, he seemed to be welcoming Yameng back from the Six-Province Tournament. Piles of fallen leaves lined both sides of the road, a brilliant crimson and quite beautiful. When the autumn wind blew, the leaves surged like a deep red tide through the city of steel and concrete. The wind brought more than just fallen leaves; it also carried a message passed by word of mouth through every street and alley.
Lu Li walked hand-in-hand with An Baili on the sun-drenched path to school. He actually wanted to hold Hupo’s hand too, but the little cat was a bit proud and stubbornly refused. Speaking of cats, Lu Li remembered that Miss Lu seemed to be in heat; he had seen Hupo using a cotton swab to deal with the little cat’s private matters the other day. Raising a cat was not an easy task. Perhaps, as Chen Jianing had said, raising a dog was less trouble.
“Lu Li, Baili, Hupo~” At the end of the forked road, the class president waved excitedly. “Good morning.” She trotted over to Lu Li’s side and, as if presenting a treasure, took out a pencil case from her schoolbag.
“Lu Li, open it and see.” The girl’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.
Lu Li opened the pencil case and saw several sticker photos pasted on the inside of the lid—they were the photos of him and her from that day. The girl’s pure affection complemented the simple pencil case perfectly. Lu Li looked at Jingyi, who had her hands behind her back, gazing at him with deep affection. “I saw other girls put stickers on their pencil cases. I couldn’t think of what to put, so I put our pictures on it…”
The way she conveyed her feelings wasn’t through material things, but through such a simple act. It was this sincerity that moved Lu Li deeply. “It’s great. It’s a pity I don’t have a pencil case, otherwise I would put a photo in it too.” He never expected that this one sentence would become the trigger for something else.
The Silly Goose silently committed Lu Li’s words to memory, planning to give him a pencil case for his birthday. Last year she gave him a notebook, this year a pencil case, a perfect matching set…
The Silly Goose suddenly thought of something. “By the way, have you guys seen the news today?”
Baili took the pencil case from Lu Li’s hand and clamored, “I want to take sticker photos with Lu Li too! Jingyi, why did you sneak off without me?”
The Silly Goose’s face flushed with shame. “S-sorry, I’ll bring you with me next time…”
Hupo shook her head slightly, sighing at Chu Jingyi’s honesty.
“What about the news?” Lu Li shifted the topic.
“Lu Li, your sister is famous!” The Silly Goose took out her phone and tapped on the news headline. A large line of bold text jumped into view: Dark Horse of the Year! A Perfect Combination of Strength and Beauty! The National Table Tennis Team Has a Successor!
Lu Li swiped on his phone and soon saw a picture of Yameng. In the photo, Yameng was holding a posture for a powerful shot, her ponytail flying, her muscles like a fully drawn hunting bow, and beads of sweat mixed with dust in the air. He had to admit, the photo was taken with great skill, perfectly capturing Yameng’s fierce momentum, like a cheetah on the prowl.
“Sister Zou Yameng won the championship at this year’s Shenzhou Youth Table Tennis Player Exchange Tournament. She even defeated several players from the national first team in a row!” The Silly Goose’s eyes sparkled. “She’s so amazing! The internet is full of clips of her matches now, everyone is talking about her…”
She can already defeat people from the first team? Lu Li was filled with gratification. He had always known that Yameng was exceptionally talented at table tennis; what she lacked were resources. After entering the second team and receiving the state’s resource allocation, her progress could be described as lightning-fast.
Lu Li continued to scroll and saw more than two thousand comments under the news article. Half were marveling at Zou Yameng’s strength, and the other half were marveling at her beauty. It was actually a bit ironic; the main reason for Zou Yameng’s sudden rise to fame was her appearance. This era always paid special attention to beautiful women, especially a rare kind of dashing woman like Zou Yameng, full of heroic spirit.
Wen Hupo was a little surprised. “Is Zou Yameng that strong?”
Lu Li couldn’t help but puff out his chest. “Of course! That’s my Yameng!” Zou Yameng’s strength wasn’t bad. She was a typical momentum-based player; her form directly affected her performance. Most athletes who started halfway through their lives had this problem. In the end, it was because their foundation wasn’t solid enough, leading to inconsistent performance.
An Baili muttered sourly, “The ‘sweetheart sister’ someone is always thinking about, how could she not be strong?”
Unexpectedly, the Silly Goose overheard this. “What’s a ‘sweetheart sister’?”
Baili quickly explained, “I meant close sister, close sister.”
“But Lu Li and Sister Zou Yameng don’t seem to be related by blood.”
“What I mean is, um, er, although they aren’t related by blood, their bond is closer than that of most actual siblings.” An Baili secretly gave herself a thumbs-up for her quick wit.
The Silly Goose was thoroughly convinced. She said with emotion, “That’s right. The familial bond between Lu Li and Sister Zou Yameng is stronger than most real family ties.”
Lu Li secretly wiped away sweat, relieved that the Silly Goose didn’t probe further.
The four of them walked into the campus together. Along the way, they could hear many people discussing “Zou Yameng.” He hadn’t expected Yameng’s fame to have spread so widely. A newspaper lying on a trash can was lifted by the autumn wind and floated onto Lu Li’s face. Amidst the girls’ snickers, he removed the paper covering his face. It also had a picture of Zou Yameng printed on it, with six large, bold characters on the headline: “A Heroine as Capable as any Hero!”
Yameng was truly famous. A game like Lu Li’s Evening Collection had only stirred a small ripple in the standalone gaming community, but Yameng had created a massive wave across the entire country.
Lu Li looked at the picture of Yameng being interviewed by the camera on the newspaper, his thoughts drifting. He wondered what his sister was doing right now. She must be very happy, one step closer to her dream…
A line of small text on the newspaper caught his attention.
A reporter asked Zou Yameng if she had a lover, and Yameng’s answer was that she had a beloved younger brother. The reporter then asked her original reason for playing table tennis, and she answered with a smile that it was to stand up for her younger brother. The reporter said, “Your sibling bond must be really strong.”
A really strong bond…
This feeling of being valued, of being enveloped, made his heart soften. His sister was working so hard, what reason did he have to slack off? Be it the Price, the Silly Goose’s unattainable family background, or the mysterious Yan Family, he was determined to smash these obstacles one by one.
He lost his grip on the newspaper, and it was blown away again by a sudden cold wind, fluttering and drifting into the distance. Lu Li stared blankly in the direction the newspaper had flown.
The Silly Goose gently took his hand and said softly, “Lu Li, come to my house for the New Year this year, too. Baili, Hupo, you should all come as well, and Sister Meng…”
This year?
Lu Li remembered his agreement with Chu Xiaodong. It was only a few months until the New Year, yet he still hadn’t figured out how to deal with his prospective father-in-law.
“Mm… let’s spend the New Year together this year.” He nodded seriously. “And every year after this, we’ll spend it together too.”
“Okay~” The Silly Goose’s smile was incredibly silly.
