Chapter 12: Back Then We Had Dreams—About Literature and Love

Chapter 12: Back Then, We Had Dreams—Of Literature and Love

Li Xiaojie was momentarily surprised, unsure why her brother was giving her money again.

Li Jingkun said, “It’s nothing. Take it. You’re older than them, so you should have even more than they do. If there’s ever something you want to buy, just tell me.”

The moment he finished speaking, Li Xiaojie’s eyes welled up with tears.

In truth, teenage girls often compare themselves subconsciously—who wears nicer clothes, who has a more fashionable look; even a worn-out bicycle can make one feel embarrassed to be seen.

But she was fully aware of their family’s situation. Their parents had instilled in them since childhood the idea that the family was poor and they needed to be frugal. She was a sensible child and never made excessive demands.

Still, if given the chance, who wouldn’t want to dress better and eat well?

Who wouldn’t want to lift their head a little higher, to live with more confidence?

“Take it quickly—don’t let those two see it,” Li Jingkun urged.

Li Xiaojie quickly wiped her tears, took the money, and then turned around casually to go upstairs—she wanted to hide it safely.

Li Jingkun couldn’t help but smile, thinking to himself: Yeah, I’d been a bit selfish before, always thinking about buying a guitar, an MP3 player, a phone with the money I earned.

He had forgotten about his younger brothers and sisters, who also had things they needed to buy—not luxuries, but just enough to live like their peers; to avoid standing out as old-fashioned or feeling so insecure among others.

······

From Li Jingkun’s home to Liuchuan City, the trip began by cycling to the town, then paying fifty cents to leave the bike at a shop near the station, and finally taking a two-yuan bus to Liuchuan City.

The next day, he and his second younger sister each rode a bicycle, carrying their younger siblings to town.

However, he wasn’t planning on taking the bus.

There were four of them. The bus round trip would cost sixteen yuan, while hiring an unlicensed taxi—yes, there were still no official taxis here—would be about fifty yuan round trip.

If it were just him, of course he would have taken the bus. But with younger siblings, he decided to hail an unlicensed taxi.

All four were very excited along the way. In fact, it was their first time riding in a car, and they were overjoyed.

It was also their first time visiting Liuchuan City.

Yes, Liuchuan City was really just a fourth- or fifth-tier city, but to many people, it was already a big city they visited only a few times a year!

And their eldest brother had been admitted to a school there and was now bringing them to the city for a day of fun.

So they spent the whole day happily, buying many things they usually dared not buy and eating snacks they usually only watched their classmates enjoy.

Lunch was at KFC—their first time ever eating there. Usually, they only saw it on TV or heard about it from classmates; today, they finally got to taste it themselves.

“Brother, since you can earn so much money writing novels, you have to write more in the future!” Li Jingming said as he ate, hoping to continue this way of life.

“All right, I’ll listen to you,” Li Jingkun replied.

……

That morning, Li Jingkun walked into the classroom and saw several people gathered in front of Group Two, discussing something.

At first, he thought the boys were surrounding the beauty Xie Wenmin, who sat at the first desk of Group Two.

But soon he realized they were actually gathered around the second desk, where Xu Yuebin sat.

They were discussing questions about New Concept English, and Xu Yuebin was speaking confidently:

“Actually, Book Three of New Concept English is a bit advanced for us first-year high school students. This copy was lent to me by a senior from our English Club in the third year.

He said Book Three is very helpful for improving English appreciation and mastering expression skills, and it can also significantly expand vocabulary…”

“May I take a look?” Li Jingkun walked over and flipped through the pages carefully.

To be honest, it wasn’t until many years later that he realized he had a certain talent for languages. But in the past, he hadn’t put in much effort, which was why his spoken English came so late.

Learning never ends; the truly great ones are those who keep learning.

He found Book Three well compiled, covering a wide range of content thoroughly, with insightful connections and engaging material.

It included vocabulary exercises, advanced grammar points, and even guidance on writing.

“Can you understand it?” a voice with a teasing tone suddenly sounded.

Xu Yuebin said, “I just flip through it casually. There are many words we haven’t learned yet; some I don’t even recognize.”

Li Jingkun ranked among the top in English, and Xu Yuebin was also quite good.

But perhaps he hadn’t heard the saying: someone scores 100 points because the test only has 100 points.

“Thanks,” Li Jingkun said politely, though the tone wasn’t very warm; then he returned to his seat.

Fortunately, he was well-liked, known by almost everyone in the class. Someone spoke up for him: “Jingkun is actually pretty good at English—he’s often first in our class and among the top ten in the grade.”

Xu Yuebin replied, “He does have a solid foundation, I admit that. But high school English is different from middle school. In middle school, you could get by mostly by memorizing words; in high school, you also need to understand everything comprehensively…”

The first two lessons that day were English classes.

The English teacher was a woman in her early thirties named Zhou Erlan. She had an interesting trait—she loved to wear strong perfume, so often the scent arrived before she did.

But she was very gentle in character, treating almost everyone kindly. Naturally, like all teachers, she favored the students with good grades.

Li Jingkun was certainly among them.

However, he no longer bore the responsibilities that Zhou Zhiqin did before, such as stepping in to save the class, since his classmates' levels were also quite high now.

During the second lesson, they were reading a passage about dreams, and Zhou Erlan called one or two students up to share their dreams in English.

This was routine, like when in elementary school they learned a new word and the teacher asked students to make sentences.

Only that speaking in English was often halting and less fluent.

Xu Yuebin was called up as well; he spoke with correct grammar and even exchanged a few sentences with Zhou Erlan.

But hesitation was inevitable.

Everyone was used to this because it was the same for most; they also believed that if it came to writing an essay in an exam, Xu Yuebin could write a lot and write well.

“My dream is to study hard and get admitted to a good university,” Xu Yuebin said.

“That's a very good dream. Can you tell me which university you hope to attend?” Zhou Erlan encouraged him to say more.

After some awkward exchanges, Zhou Erlan let him sit down and praised him.

Then she called Li Jingkun up—not for any other reason but because she had just seen him propping his chin with his hand, smiling down.

What did that mean? Was he daydreaming or finding their conversation amusing?

Even top students need to be disciplined if their attitude is off.

Anyone who has taught knows that teachers can clearly see every small gesture from the podium and decide who to call up.

“Jingkun, why don’t you try telling us your dream?” Zhou Erlan said in English.

“Okay, why not?” Li Jingkun replied in English as well.

Zhou Erlan couldn’t help but smile because Li Jingkun perfectly mimicked the tone a foreigner would use when saying that phrase.

This line appears frequently in many foreign films and TV shows; it’s quite a common sentence.

At first, she thought he was just playfully teasing, but she didn’t expect the wonderful performance that followed.

Li Jingkun thought for a moment, then began:

“I am a person with many hobbies, so I have many dreams.

When I was in elementary school, I dreamed of becoming a singer because I loved singing; in middle school, I became obsessed with basketball and hoped to become a basketball player; later, I fell in love with reading novels and wished to be a writer…

But later I thought I couldn’t achieve those dreams. It’s hard for me to become a singer because being a singer is not just about singing well; I also can’t become a basketball player because I’m not good at basketball…

Some might say I’ve become sensible, that I’ve grown up.

Indeed, one must face reality, recognize one’s abilities and gaps, and shrink one’s dreams.

But now I realize I was wrong. I was limiting my thoughts and growth.

…

It sounds ridiculous, but dreams are inherently ridiculous daydreams!

Over a hundred years ago, when someone said they wanted humans to fly in the sky, everyone laughed at them, thinking they were delusional…”

(End of Chapter)