At five in the morning, Li Zhiyuan lifted his head, sat up straight, and leaned back in the chair, his eyes half-open.
This position was maintained until five-thirty when, as his senses gradually restored, his head began to feel dizzy and his pupils refocused; consciousness began to return.
Li Zhiyuan pressed both hands against his forehead, gently massaging it.
He did not know how he had fallen asleep, nor even when he had awakened.
After waiting another quarter of an hour, Li Zhiyuan took a deep breath, looked at his desk, and noticed a pool of blood there, coloring the homework book red.
His gaze swept over the horizontal and vertical lines, and Li Zhiyuan felt a sharp pain in his brain, immediately closing and securing the homework book.
He gradually remembered that before losing consciousness, was he calculating his own fate chart?
It seems that one cannot calculate their own fate.
Looking at the time, Li Zhiyuan stood up and began to tidy up the table, then picked up the basin to wash up, and incidentally scrubbed and hung up his blood-stained clothes.
After finishing up, he did not go back inside but instead sat on the rattan chair on the balcony used for reading.
The cool morning breeze continually brushed his face, reviving him somewhat, although his head still felt uncomfortable.
The light in the east bedroom turned on, and through the window, one could see a petite figure sitting with another larger figure beside her, combing her hair.
So, Alii woke up this early every day.
As he watched, the reflected figures in the window disappeared and the sky reached its final shade of gray-dark.
The door to the east room opened, and the girl came out, holding a small wooden Go box.
She lifted her head and saw Li Zhiyuan already sitting outside on the second-floor bedroom, their eyes meeting.
Soon, Qin Li joined Li Zhiyuan beside him, sitting down on a small stool.
Unlike before, she did not spread out the oiled-paper Go board but instead just looked at the boy.
After a while, Li Zhiyuan felt a warm and soft little hand take the initiative to hold his hand.
Perhaps in the girl’s understanding, every time he held her hand she would feel calm and comforted, so this time she took the initiative to hold his hand, hoping to offer the same.
The boy and girl sat thus, holding hands, watching the waves of rice gently sway in the morning breeze, witnessing the gray dawn being replaced by morning light.
Time passed very slowly, yet also very quickly.
Li Sanjiang came out of the bedroom, sneezing.
He turned his head, looking at the boy and girl sitting side by side, suddenly recalling from a New Year picture the children under the Bodhisattva Guanyin’s feet.
It’s not that they looked alike, but the delicacy in the features of these two children really resembled the rounded lines of the children in the New Year pictures.
Li Sanjiang sniffed, then rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, having noticed the changes in himself recently. Previously, he thought living freely was good enough, never expecting that with the appearance of Little Yuanhou, he would actually find the joy of doting on a grandchild in his old age.
Aunt Liu called them for breakfast.
Breakfast was exceptionally early today because both Li Sanjiang and Li Zhiyuan had to go out.
For breakfast, it wasn’t porridge, but boiled instant noodles, seafood flavor.
Aunt Liu also placed an egg in each bowl beneath the noodles.
The noodles were delicious, and initially, Li Zhiyuan didn’t feel hungry, but after a few bites, his body felt as if it had been completely thawed, and soon he finished a bowl.
Aunt Liu went to get him another bowl and brought it over.
After finishing the second bowl of noodles, Li Zhiyuan felt completely freed from the aftereffects of determining his fate the night before.
"Want more?" Aunt Liu asked.
"I’m full, Aunt Liu."
Next to him, Qin Li also put down her chopsticks; she ate noodles slowly, always slurping noodles of the same length, biting them off, chewing, and swallowing before taking the next bite.
Li Sanjiang also finished eating, smacking his lips and said:
"Honestly, these instant noodles really aren’t as tasty as the Yangchun noodles from our town’s noodle shop. Add some lard, soy sauce, pepper powder, and sprinkle some green onions, much more delicious than this."
Aunt Liu echoed: "That’s true."
In any other family, such talk from the parents might be a ploy to demean the convenience of instant noodles to save money in the future.
But this wasn’t the case with Li Sanjiang. A batch of paper destroyed nearly caused his cash flow to break, showing his lifestyle lavishly spent on basic needs, especially food and drink.
In fact, in many rural towns and villages, having instant noodles for breakfast is considered a luxurious act that could make neighboring kids cry with envy.
In some provinces, instant noodles have even evolved into local gourmet food specialties, for example, meatball instant noodles with poached eggs.
Li Sanjiang picked up his pack, stamped his foot, ready to leave.
His pack was unusually long because he had also put the Peach Wood Sword inside it. Ever since the sword helped him slay the Corpse Demon last time, he has grown even more treasured and cherished it.
He even called the factory specifically to order more, but was told that the factory had switched from public to private ownership and had long discontinued the production line for Peach Wood Swords.
Now, the one he held became a vintage.
Li Weihan and the others arrived, each pushing a cart with baskets and tools on top.
The four uncles in front of Li Sanjiang were very respectful, as Li Sanjiang usually did not spoil them, often scolding them as ungrateful wretches, making them take detours when they saw him from a distance in the village.
Panzi and Leizi immediately ran up to Li Zhiyuan, happy. These days, as Li Zhiyuan hasn’t been staying at his grandparents’ house, their opportunities to meet had diminished.