Chapter 2: Momentum

"Li Heng!"
"Li Heng!"

Just as he was reminiscing about his past and present life with Chen Zijin, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar approached from afar, reaching him in an instant.

The man who arrived was Zhang Zhiyong, nicknamed "The Dimwit." He wasn't particularly muscular, but he had a sturdy build, a lewd expression, and a V-shaped hairline. This idiot’s history was filled with "glory." Once, when drunk, he had slept in a pigsty next to a sow; when angry, he had wrestled with his sister-in-law in the rice paddies; and he had even stolen the underpants of the girl next door.

"You’re wailing like someone’s dead! You scared the soul right out of me with that shouting." Li Heng spat out the foxtail grass he had been chewing and turned to ask, "Speak up, what on earth are you in such a rush to find me for?"

Zhang Zhiyong gestured wildly, panting for breath. "You’re my superior! How can you still be here slacking off? Hurry home and take a look!"

Thinking something had happened at home, Li Heng stood up. "What’s wrong?"

Zhang Zhiyong said excitedly, "The Chen family is back! They returned from the capital. I just saw your wife’s sister, Chen Zitong. Oh my god, she’s beautiful enough to pop bubbles..."

Hearing the word "wife," Li Heng felt a moment of dizziness, so much so that he didn't really hear what the idiot said afterward.

"Hey! Are you even listening? I said Chen Zitong is back, which means Chen Zijin must be back too! Aren't you going to run home and see your wife?" Seeing his good brother treating him like air, Zhang Zhiyong—who was more anxious than the emperor himself—was so annoyed he started waving his hands frantically in front of Li Heng’s face.

Li Heng brushed the idiot's hands away and glared at him. "Things have finally calmed down a bit; can you stop blabbering?"

"What do you mean 'blabbering'? I really did see Chen Zitong!"

The dim-witted Zhang Zhiyong didn't care about the toxic rumors in the village, nor did he know that the Chen and Li families, once like one big household, had secretly had a falling out. He simply felt that his childhood friend and Chen Zijin were a perfect match, and he had been actively playing matchmaker since middle school.

In truth, as someone who had lived through it all, what hadn't Li Heng seen? He didn't care much for the gossip, but he was afraid his parents wouldn't be able to handle it. However, sometimes things are just that coincidental—speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Regaining his composure, Li Heng ignored the dimwit and looked toward the path behind him. Seeing this, Zhang Zhiyong turned around, and a second later, he muttered, "Oh, what the hell, why is your sister-in-law behind me?"

The person who arrived was Chen Zitong. She was carrying a black woven bag in her right hand and stopped five meters away from the two men. Zhang Zhiyong, oblivious as ever, stared at her with wide, bovine eyes, almost drooling, until Li Heng kicked him, causing him to slink away sullenly.

Chen Zitong, sixteen this year, was dressed very stylishly, exuding a vibrant, youthful charm. Since the Chen family had moved to the capital during the summer vacation, the two hadn't seen each other for over half a year. Looking at the handsome man before her, the childhood intimacy on her face was gone, replaced only by cold distance.

"These are the study materials my sister sent for you." Her voice was monotone, and unwilling to say another word, she set the black bag on the ground after briefly stating her purpose.

Li Heng felt the hostility, but out of respect for their past, he didn't take it to heart and instead said "thank you" politely. After a moment of thought, he asked with concern, "Is your sister back?"

Chen Zitong, who was about to turn and leave, stopped and scanned him from head to toe. "You still have the nerve to ask for her?"

Li Heng spoke sincerely, "If there is a chance, I would like to apologize to her in person."

Chen Zitong observed his expression carefully. Seeing that he didn't seem to be faking it, she hesitated for a moment and said, "It’s not convenient for my sister to come back right now."

Li Heng instinctively followed up, "Not convenient? How is she doing lately?"

Chen Zitong’s answer was unexpected; she said deliberately, "Don't ask. My family won't let me tell you." Seeing Li Heng fall silent, she added, "My sister bought these study materials in secret; no one knows."

The two sentences revealed her inner conflict: like the elders in her family, she believed Li Heng was a man of ill intent who had used sweet talk to trick her well-educated sister into bed, and she didn't think he was worthy of her beautiful sister. Yet, out of sisterly affection, she told him the truth about his sister secretly caring for him. Of course, there was another implication: regarding the study materials, she wanted him to keep his mouth shut, as she didn't want to take the blame.

Before Li Heng could reply, another person rushed over the riverside path like a rocket: Chen Xiaomi. She was the paternal aunt of the two sisters and the one who had caught Li Heng and Chen Zijin in the "act" during the summer.

Chen Xiaomi gave her niece a cryptic glare, looked at the black bag on the ground, and finally frowned at Li Heng. As their eyes met, Li Heng kept his expression calm. Just as he was wondering whether to greet her, Chen Xiaomi turned and dragged Chen Zitong away.

As they walked, Chen Xiaomi didn't forget to lecture her niece: "Why are you so senseless? I told you not to associate with him anymore! Did you treat the family’s words as wind in your ears? Is it not enough that he ruined your sister? Do you want to push her into the fire pit again?"

Chen Zitong mumbled, "Auntie...!"

Chen Xiaomi’s voice wasn't loud, but every word felt like a needle pricking Li Heng’s heart. Having lived two lives, he had almost forgotten these grievances, but her words stirred up many memories. He remembered when Chen Xiaomi had caught him and Chen Zijin in bed, she had scolded her eldest niece with such heartbreak: "Zijin, how could you be so foolish? Do you want to marry Li Jianguo’s son in the future? To be stuck in this poor mountain ditch for the rest of your life?"

Because the village rumored that Li Jianguo had been fired for his loose morals, this was an incredibly insulting remark that deeply stung Li Heng’s pride. He had vowed to make something of himself. It was a pity that, compared to ordinary people, he had indeed succeeded in his previous life. But compared to the powerful Chen family, it still wasn't enough. It was a regret he carried until his old age—never truly being able to hold his head high in front of the Chens.

Watching the aunt and niece disappear around the bend of the river, Li Heng, who had lived twice, did not feel the anger he had in his past life, but instead, an infinite fighting spirit ignited within him.

As the saying goes, "A poor man has short ambitions." Without money or power, even if you are talented and handsome, can you truly call yourself a man? Once you get into a conflict, those with money and power will teach you in a heartbeat what it means to be influential and capable of covering the sky with one hand. Therefore, in the current social environment, to stop the village gossip, to make the Chen family look at him with new eyes, and to restore his parents’ dignity, he had to achieve great things in terms of "wealth and power."

Wealth—as someone reborn, as long as he didn't trigger a massive butterfly effect and the historical trajectory of social development remained the same, Li Heng was most confident in this. Give him ten years, and he was confident he could create a miracle.

Power—this was the Chen family’s domain. Li Heng felt it was difficult, and besides, that sort of thing was the most fickle and unpredictable; one could struggle for thirty years and still achieve nothing.

Finally, there was "prestige."

Thinking of this, Li Heng’s eyes gradually cleared. He had a sudden epiphany. Right, why hadn't he thought of starting from this angle before? Ever since he was reborn, aside from endless studying for the college entrance exam, his mind had been filled with chaotic, anxious thoughts—thinking about improving their standard of living, changing his family’s destitute situation, and the path he would take in the future.

He had thought of a thousand things, but due to the constraints of the era—the internet hadn't emerged, and he had no capital for real estate—he couldn't find a starting point. But now, he had found his life’s direction: he could start with "prestige."

If his memory served him correctly, the proud-as-a-peacock Chen Xiaomi was currently an editor at some literary magazine in the capital, wasn't she? As for which one? Due to the passage of time, he couldn't quite remember. But if—if he became a great writer...

What would happen if he defeated Chen Xiaomi in the literary field she was most proud of, rubbing her face in the dirt?

The result! The result would be earning fame, making money, and venting his frustration all at once.

Ha! No matter how he looked at it, it was a wonderful idea!

Almost instantly, Li Heng made up his mind. During the seven years he worked at the provincial government in his past life, his job was writing—putting pen to paper was second nature to him. Plus, he loved to read and had published many articles in newspapers in his spare time. Wouldn't writing be a breeze?

Finding his goal after his rebirth, Li Heng, who had been feeling terribly depressed, suddenly felt much lighter. As the saying goes, "A Buddha fights for a stick of incense; a person fights for a breath of pride." Even if not for himself, he had to win back the lost face for his mother.

Damn it! You dare to look down your nose at people, and you, Chen Xiaomi, acting as the vanguard against the Li family, always looking down on us with such arrogance. Say no more—this breath of anger would be vented. He would deal with her! She would be the first one he’d use to sacrifice the banner.

...

The blue bricks and painted tiles, the white horse stepping on fresh mud, the mountain flowers and banana leaves in the twilight, the red kerchiefs. The raindrops on the eaves, the curling smoke from the chimneys—where are you, the wandering soul? The Jiangnan countryside in books was always filled with such poetic charm.

But the reality of the countryside was: on the roads and in the fields, everywhere was overgrown with weeds, chickens, ducks, and geese were roaming wildly, there was quacking and honking everywhere, and on the road, there was cow dung and barking dogs. And there were sisters-in-law quarreling over trivial matters.

Suddenly, the sky darkened, and rain began to fall in drops the size of beans, hitting the ground in layers, growing denser by the second.

"Damn this thieving sky!"

Li Heng cursed under his breath. Too busy to wallow in self-pity, he hurriedly packed up his net and rushed home. But because he was walking too fast and not watching the grass on the side of the road, he accidentally stepped into a large pile of dog shit. Half of his shoe sole was covered in it! It even spilled onto the surface of the shoe. He cursed his luck.

At that moment, Zhang Zhiyong returned through the rain, holding a bunch of bright red camellias. The dimwit walked right up to him and handed him the flowers with a lewd smile, looking for credit: "These camellias are red as hell and fresh, just as pretty as Chen Zijin. Since she just got back, you can't go empty-handed. Take them and give them to her."

Li Heng, while frantically wiping the dog shit off in a pile of grass, took the flowers subconsciously. "Where did you get these?"

Zhang Zhiyong crouched down to watch him clean the shit, looking as if he’d encountered something rare. "In front of Auntie Pang’s door, where else? She’s the only one nearby who has them."

Li Heng glanced at him. "No, and that stingy woman let you take them?"

Zhang Zhiyong curled his lip, looking like a hooligan. "Of course she didn't allow it, but I just had a falling out with her, so I took them. What can she do? Bite me?"

Li Heng: "..."

After a while, he said, "Chen Zijin didn't come back."

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