Chapter 316 - 56

Words : 1055 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

Chapter 316: Chapter 56Early in the morning, the door of the east room was opened from the inside, and Alii, dressed in a lotus-themed robe, walked out. In the past, she was always the earliest to rise in this household, but not today. On the levee, Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin sat facing each other, heads bowed, sharpening the sickles in their hands. As Alii passed by, Run Sheng looked up and smiled at the girl: "Good morning." The girl paused in her steps, then moved again to enter the house and went upstairs. Although she did not speak, that brief pause was the biggest response she could give. Pushing open the door to her room, she entered, where the boy was still asleep; the girl started to admire the paintings hanging on the wall that the boy had created. There were three completed paintings, the first of which was Little Huang Ying. The woman in the painting did not look fierce or terrifying; rather, she appeared restrained and demure, her figure swaying as she moved, her lips as if recounting a story or singing a song, seemingly about to step out of the painting to offer songs and dances. The second painting depicted a kindly old woman with white hair, sitting in the yard basking in the sun, with a black cat sleeping on her lap. The third painting was of a middle-aged man, his features intentionally blurred, only his back was depicted, but the ancient Copper Coin hanging at his waist was intricately detailed, very clear and distinct. Considerable thought had been given to the background of the three paintings. The first had a dreamlike haze, the second was warm yet tinged with desolation, and the third had a rather oppressive surrounding. While Alii was intently observing them, Li Zhiyuan woke up. The boy came to the girl’s side, and they looked at the paintings together for a while. After washing up, as usual, they played chess; now they played three games at once, greatly increasing Li Zhiyuan’s rate of losing. "Time for breakfast!" Every day, it was Aunt Liu’s shout that marked the official start of the day. Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin came back together from the fields; it was harvest time, and the fields were busy these last few days, Tan Wenbin had gotten up early to help. He was not accustomed to hardship; working there had given him blisters on his hands, yet he nonchalantly popped them with a needle. Even Li Sanjiang had told him to stop working, but Tan Wenbin simply smiled and said, "No worries, I’m toughening up." When morning self-study ended, Li Zhiyuan and Tan Wenbin entered the classroom. On Zheng Haiyang’s desk was a pot of flowers. His family’s incident had been deemed a home invasion and murder. Tan Yunlong hadn’t directly told Li Zhiyuan whether anyone from above had come down nor did he continue to follow up with Li Zhiyuan on the details of the investigation, but sometimes, no news is also a form of news. That meant, the three of them might be out of this incident. Although they had been there and left many traces, with careful investigation these could be found, but Magic has its masters; Li Zhiyuan didn’t know if Yu Shu had returned or someone else had taken over, but they were not professionals in criminal investigation, and their perspective would naturally overlook the "ordinary people’s" presence and role. During this period, Tan Wenbin studied very diligently, besides accompanying Li Zhiyuan to the restroom during breaks, he would work on his problems. The "Chasing the Distance Secret Scroll" was now being printed and sold by the school; Tan Wenbin was spared a lot of trivial work, however, his current workbook was custom-made, tailored to his academic pace and situation by Li Zhiyuan. After entering high school, Li Zhiyuan barely studied the textbook knowledge; if not for his far better memory than ordinary people, his "academic performance" might have regressed. However, his ability to teach others had greatly improved, as if he wasn’t attending high school but a teacher’s college instead. Binbin remained cheerful, joking around, making witty remarks, and at home during meals, he and Li Sanjiang would perform in tandem, enhancing the atmosphere. seaʀᴄh thё NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But in the time that belonged solely to him, he would be rather quiet, probably because he always had something to work on. Doing exercises in class at school, learning fundamentals with Run Sheng at home, and periodically bringing summarized study and Corpse problems to Li Zhiyuan for solutions. Li Zhiyuan could feel that these were issues Tan Wenbin genuinely struggled to understand, probably screened and tackled through multiple rounds by him. Slow growth was itself a form of happiness. While overnight maturity often wasn’t something to be envied. Previously, Tan Wenbin wanted to "go to Haihe University" more out of a wishful mindset, but now, he was truly diligently working step by step to achieve it, becoming very focused. A retired philosophy professor in the family compound once said to Li Zhiyuan that the world divided smart people into two types, one was people with smart brains like Li Zhiyuan, and the other was people who were clear-headed and smart. The former were simply too clever, learning anything rapidly; outsiders couldn’t emulate even if they envied, as it was inborn, embedded in their genes. But the latter were no less than the former; at some stage of personal growth, they knew what to do next and could plan and implement diligently. The pressure in social and life competitions is immense, yet most people proceed into the next stages of life pushed by confusion and unpreparedness, but what if they started planning and preparing a few years in advance? At that time, the competitors around you are actually few. Xue Liangliang was a genius among the latter because he could see not only a few years ahead but even two or three decades into the future. Even Li Zhiyuan often unconsciously regarded Brother Liangliang’s words as a prediction of the future; this was not divination or prophecy, but because he truly had the ability to see the main contradictions and discern the objective laws.

Chapter 316 - 56

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