Chapter 22: Living with Dignity—A Further Reflection on Honor

Chapter 22: Living with Dignity, A Further Discussion on Respect

During the summer break, Lingjiang No.1 High School had no students staying behind. At the entrance, the elderly security guard lay dozing in a wicker rocking chair, slowly fanning himself with a palm leaf fan, unconcerned by the comings and goings of people.

The waiter delivered a white pear to the gate and was just preparing to finish his shift and go home.

Bai Li watched him leave with gratitude, then quietly slipped past the old man and entered the school grounds.

The campus was vast, brightly lit everywhere, with well-maintained landscaping. The white paint on the teaching buildings must have been freshly applied during the break, gleaming brightly.

As in other schools, enormous banners were prominently displayed:

“Cultivating Talents on Campus, Forging Souls through Culture.”

Because her thoughts were fixed on Fang Ye, Bai Li paid little attention to the school’s appearance and slowly searched the campus for any sign of him.

— Meanwhile, on the other side of the campus.

After sending off his troublesome second uncle who had been causing a commotion all day, Fang Ye sat on a long stone bench, smoking.

Chengzi stood beside him, gritting his teeth, his face flushed red. “This is outrageous. Isn’t Granny Yun his own mother? Why is he demanding alimony only from you? You give money every month already, and now he drags it into school. Seeing his ugly attitude makes me furious. Saying Granny Yun can’t afford to eat is just a threat! He’s trying to exploit the fact that you’re busy with school and can’t take care of her.”

Fang Ye’s fingers holding the cigarette twitched slightly; he lowered his gaze and replied calmly, “Yeah.”

White smoke curled from his fingertips as his eyes merged with the gray, overcast sky, sharing its coldness.

Chengzi, mimicking him, pulled out a cigarette from the pack and lit it, puzzled: “Ye, aren’t you angry? You’ve worked so hard this past month to earn your university tuition, helping Old Yang move goods until your back was bleeding, and now it’s all being taken away. What if you can’t afford to go to school?”

Fang Ye’s hands, still covered in dust, hadn’t been washed yet. He stared at a withered weed on the ground and said quietly, “I’ll earn it again. Starting tomorrow, you and Xiaobai don’t have to help me anymore. I can handle it myself.”

Chengzi’s expression stiffened. Even as an orphan, he felt moved by this and his eyes reddened. “Tomorrow I’ll bring some brothers and beat him up in a sack to get back at him. That’s just vicious.”

Only then did Fang Ye lift his gaze to look at him. “You’re an adult now, you know? It’s time to follow the rules. Don’t act out.”

Chengzi suddenly fell silent.

After a long moment, he cried, “Ye, you’ll definitely turn things around someday. I really think this small town of Lingjiang can’t hold you back. You’ll be rich, successful, and respected by many.”

He wasn’t just comforting Fang Ye; he meant it.

He had seen countless photos of Hong Kong businessmen in newspapers. No matter where they were, they all had a fighting spirit and toughness very similar to Fang Ye’s aura.

Something none of those around them possessed.

And Fang Ye was truly smart. While others struggled with their studies, he was the only one wrestling with the mud, earning money and taking beatings day and night, yet still achieving good grades.

He was born to be a leader.

Fang Ye said nothing.

Life was like a web woven from steel wire, tightly binding everyone’s hands and feet. Those who could break free stepped on others’ blood and bones to reach success; those who couldn’t were doomed to become a puddle of mud trampled by all.

Gazing into the indifferent night, the boy’s eyes held the darkest light.

He flicked the ash from his cigarette and spoke his final words: “Let’s go. First, live with some dignity, then talk about respect.”

No matter how miserable life got, one had to fight to break free.

A puddle of mud never had the right to climb upward.

...

The school was large, and Bai Li couldn’t find anyone in either the teaching or administration buildings. She had no choice but to return to the gate and wait.

The night grew cooler. The security guard, having dozed off briefly, woke up, took a sip from his thermos of strong tea, and as he spat out some tea leaves, he noticed Bai Li crouched by the gate.

Bai Li was extremely polite and, noticing the old man watching her, greeted him first.

Perhaps because he had nothing else to do, the old man soon began chatting with Bai Li.

He didn’t know Fang Ye personally but immediately recognized Chengzi with the tattooed arm when Bai Li mentioned him, which reminded him of Fang Ye as well.

The old man was a relative of the school leadership and knew a fair bit about the school’s affairs.

When Bai Li told him she was Fang Ye’s sister, he was happy to share some information.

“These days, I don’t think any of the so-called bad students are truly bad. It’s always because their families or elders neglect them. Your brother’s a good student; the teachers both love and hate him.”

The old man rambled on, then suddenly realized, “Oh, young lady, are you here waiting for your brother?”

Bai Li had been too shy to interrupt but was delighted when the old man brought it up himself. She nodded eagerly. “Yes, sir, I’m here waiting for my brother.”

“Hmm! He’s inside,” the old man said, sipping his bitter tea again. “Today your second uncle came to the school causing trouble, demanding your brother pay alimony or something. I went to see in the afternoon. It dragged on all day. The whole school leadership looked as dark as ink. I guess they got the money because he just left. Your brother should still be inside. Wait a little longer; he’ll be out soon.”

Bai Li wasn’t carrying a change of clothes and was wearing her light summer uniform. Hearing this, she understood.

Fang Ye’s unfilial second uncle had come to seize money.

A surge of anger rose in her heart. Why resort to such extreme methods to pressure someone?

A middle-aged man demanding money from an eighteen-year-old to support his own mother—how shameless.

She couldn’t pretend she didn’t know.

There was little she could do for Fang Ye, but noticing he probably hadn’t eaten, she scanned the nearby shops and bought a bowl of steaming crab porridge.

When they were children, the two often caught crabs from the river to make porridge. Even the coldest heart would be warmed by that memory.

She hoped that familiar taste might bring some warmth to Fang Ye’s heart.

As she left the porridge shop, she saw Fang Ye alone by the roadside, with Chengzi’s fleeting figure visible at the mouth of the alley on the far left.

Bai Li hurried over, holding the porridge. “Brother.”

Fang Ye turned around.

He still wore a gray jacket, just right for the summer night, exuding a cool and distant aura.

Bai Li hurried up with small, quick steps.

Fang Ye lowered his eyes to look at her, panting and out of breath. He didn’t understand why she was here, but on such a summer night, her presence eased some of the evening’s chill.

He found it remarkable. The child who used to only follow behind him had grown up and, even after time apart, could appear by his side time and again.

She held the freshly made porridge. “Brother, you definitely haven’t eaten, right? I bought this for us to share.”

Her voice was gentle, her face bright with a smile.

It plainly said: I want to make you happy.

Fang Ye understood the meaning. He took the porridge from her hand. “Thank you, Little Bai Li.”

Bai Li replied, “You’re welcome.”

Yet inside, she was amazed.

Though she hadn’t witnessed the day’s drama, Fang Ye, at the center of the storm, surely wasn’t in a good mood.

Yet he managed to act as if nothing had happened, restraining every temper.

How did he do that?

(The End of this Chapter)