Chapter 6 Agreements

e right hand, hairline fracture of the left forearm with tendon damage. The surgery has been successful so far, but his hands are currently unable to move. Recovery will take a minimum of one and a ha...Chapter 6: Agreement

The next day, when the sky was just beginning to lighten, Su Cen woke up. Today was the last day he would go to school before graduating from middle school, and for reborn Su Cen, it was the most crucial day in which he could stand out in the future exam-oriented education system. He needed to obtain the remaining "secret manuals" related to all the knowledge points of junior high school. After this point, it wouldn’t be possible because the school would be closed for two days and then the high school entrance examination would come directly after that. Time was now the top wealth.

The breakfast his mother had prepared from half past six in the morning consisted of milk and eggs. After washing up, Su Cen peeled the egg on the table, dipped the yolk with vinegar, and ate it with great relish.

In fact, Su Cen hadn’t eaten anything for a long time when he woke up. The stress during work hours and irregular living habits had made his stomach no longer accustomed to breakfast; eating in the morning often left him uncomfortable for half a day and barely digestible by noon.

Now, Su Cen felt extremely aware of how frail this body was, yet it was healthy and full of vitality inside. He remembered that at sixteen years old, he had been several inches shorter than his zero-nine self.

"Mom, do you have twenty yuan I need it today to photocopy some materials..." After finishing the last egg, Su Cen gulped down the milk and looked at his mother who was waiting for him to finish so she could clean up.

Su’s mother was taken aback. In 1998, twenty yuan was a considerable sum of money on any student; school fees each time were around twenty or thirty yuan, which seemed like plenty but was very little compared to Su Cen's background where he paid his own tuition and rarely had similar amounts available from birthday money.

Su Cen recalled saving pocket money starting from the second semester of sixth grade in elementary school, accumulating a total of 19.5 yuan by graduation.

The situation improved slightly after entering junior high but remained rare.

Upon hearing the reason, Su’s mother, though saying “Why only now think about photocopying…”, still went into her bedroom to take twenty yuan out of her wallet and handed it to Su Cen. For an ordinary working-class family at that time, this was a day's living expenses.

Holding the money, seeing his mother’s expectant face, he not only resolved never to let them suffer for him again but also understood the importance of wealth in an era where everyone lived cautiously and followed rules due to the singular source of living capital leading to narrow-minded values. Unlike the plethora of lifestyle philosophies and employment innovations that emerged after the 21st century.

In his memory, social layoffs and unemployment rates became severe in 1996 and continued to rise, awakening people to the hard truth that there were no permanent iron rice bowls. Later, his mother also experienced re-employment by first working for others before finally opening her own stationery store which stood firm over the years.

So, starting over. Wealth must be something that one can control and manage for oneself; otherwise, even if you are aware of many things in advance, you might not have the capability to handle them...

The mother, Zeng Ke, who had no idea what was happening with Su Cen, wouldn't have imagined that her son facing a new day would harbor such shocking thoughts.

...

As he left his residential complex carrying his schoolbag, someone ran up from behind and patted him hard on the shoulder. A familiar yet distant voice sounded out, "Hey, I just yelled your name but you didn't respond! What were you thinking about"

Su Cen had been recalling last night's math revision content; clearly, he hadn't encountered any difficulty. He hadn’t expected that using his 27-year-old adult mindset to look at present-day issues would be the most apt description of his current state. Just now, he wasn’t entirely clear about someone calling out behind him, and now that his thoughts were interrupted, he looked irritably towards the side.

A large-eared, flat-headed person with high cheekbones wearing a pair of framed glasses appeared before him; he had thick lips, was tall and slim. It was Xue Yangyi.

Su Cen suddenly halted, blinking his eyes. Hadn’t he mistaken Was this really the Xue Yangyi from eleven years ago

A sense of familiarity arose naturally, making Su Cen feel an urge to tear up once again. Sometimes, there’s a kind of friendship between men that can only be described as childhood friends.

In July of 2007, Xue Yangyi had come home for a month-long visit; after which, he returned on a special plane to his naval base in Hainan. After the visit, they had drunk and chatted about their past awkward moments while living together in the city where Su Cen was renting an apartment. They looked forward to the future with joy and satisfaction. This kind of sentiment couldn’t be replaced.

After a short stay at his place, he went back to work on the base; as a naval ground crew officer, he had to maintain every fighter jet that went out for patrol missions. This wasn't an easy or tiring task that ordinary people could undertake; after each sortie of a plane, the ground crew’s effort and blood was immense.

Of course, there were various confidentiality rules in place regarding his work. Even during visits home, there were many restrictions. The salary待遇不高，出了事還得上軍事法庭，所以地勤人員的辛苦不為人知。

而這個從小一起長大的死黨，二零零七年那次兩人聊人生理想的促膝長談，是自己最後一次和他見麵。

翻譯如下：

The salary and benefits are not high, and if something goes wrong, they have to face a military court. That's why the hardships of ground crew members go unnoticed by others.

This childhood friend who had grown up together, the deep conversation about their life aspirations in 2007, was the last time he saw him.

In a night patrol mission over the South China Sea in 2008, Xue Yiyang, responsible for final aircraft checks before takeoff, was unfortunately drawn into the fighter jet's engine during an inspection of pneumatic tubing, resulting in a tragic human accident.

The efforts and sacrifices made by national servicemen behind peaceful times are something ordinary people cannot fathom.

It wasn't until 2009 that Su Cen learned about this incident. He was overwhelmed with grief for two days, tears streaming down his face, with a glass of untouched liquor always beside him.

Seeing Xue Yiyang now alive and well before him, the same age as he once was, Su Cen turned around and hugged him tightly, grateful for this rebirth that allowed him to save his friend.

"Brother!"

"Hey, hey! What’s wrong with you Are you sick" Xue Yiyang said jokingly, but there was a touch of emotion in his voice. They had been the three inseparable buddies growing up together in their courtyard, so their bond was quite deep.

"Nothing... Haha, where are you heading, school" Su Cen realized he might have overreacted and separated from Xue Yiyang under a bewildered gaze from an old lady nearby. He patted his friend on the shoulder.

Xue Yiyang glanced at today’s unusually strange Su Cen but then brightened up, "Awesome! I don’t have any classes this afternoon! How about you guys Want to go our usual place tonight"

Their regular hangout was a DVD arcade where the oldest PlayStation console was considered a luxury entertainment. Internet cafes were just starting to pop up across the nation but were still too expensive for most teenagers, including Su Cen who had only heard of them before and never visited one until high school.

Xue Yiyang attended City No.1 Middle School where his academic performance usually surpassed that of others, though not by much. Additionally, there was a protective policy allowing current middle school students to continue in the high school section with an extra fee if they didn’t quite meet the entrance requirements. So even though Xue had slightly lower scores than Su Cen during their junior high exams, he still managed to remain at City No.1 Middle School.

Back then, City No.1 High School was every student’s dream school with beautiful girls, excellent teaching quality, and no mandatory after-school tutoring sessions—every holiday break was fully extended, and homework was relatively relaxed. It attracted children of influential officials or wealthy families from both inside the city and surrounding towns and counties.

When Su Cen entered high school, "Li Ning" sportswear was still considered a luxury brand for him but by then students at No.1 High School were already competing to wear brands like Adidas and Nike.

The No. 1 High School always carries an air of mystery and superiority.

"No, tonight I will read some books; you should also go back to review your studies carefully to avoid failing the exam... By the way, how high do you think this year's admission score for your school will be Did your teacher give any hints" Su Cang tried his best to gather information. Returning to the past, he had long forgotten what the minimum scores were for each school.

However, Xue Yi Yang’s mouth dropped open as he stared at Su Cang in front of him. Was this still the same Su Cang that he knew He was actually advising himself to study harder and be careful not to fail the exam! It seemed like a completely different person; everything okay

"No specific mention, but last year's admission score was 610 points. Our teacher said this year’s score won’t likely be lower than that. Why... do you want to take the exam" Upon saying this, Xue Yi Yang couldn't help but glance sideways at Su Cang with a sense of innate superiority. "Our school is quite difficult to get into; there are strict admission requirements. The score you got last time was only 480 points, which would place you dead last in our class. I advise you to be realistic!"

Su Cang inwardly fumed at this brat! How dare he talk to him like that with a sense of superiority It was clear he looked down on the school Su Cang attended and his test scores, making Su Cang want to hit his forehead just to see if he would still act so arrogant!

"Oh!" Suddenly remembering something, Xue Yi Yang looked at Su Cang in disbelief and hesitated as he said, "You wouldn’t... are you preparing to get into the No. 1 High School and pursue Chen Lingshan!"

This made Su Cang pause for a moment; a long-forgotten feeling welled up inside him. Back when he was in elementary school, there was one girl whom he had secretly liked since she was perfect with flawless features—Chen Lingshan. She was like a princess back then, always standing behind the protection of a group of girls. Later, she achieved excellent grades and got into No. 1 High School. Su Cang had loved her for six years until middle school when he gradually let go of his feelings. But he did tell his two close friends about this.

Su Cang in 2009 didn't remember his crush from elementary school anymore, but now that Xue Yi Yang brought it up, a touching sentiment stirred inside him. Back then, he had harbored a faint affection for her and hoped to run into her at school, yet due to teenage anxiety, he feared meeting her... Now looking back, it was such a beautiful emotion.

Seeing Su Cang lost in thought, Xue Yi Yang felt a tinge of bitterness and said with some indifference, "You might as well forget about it. Do you know how outstanding Chen Lingshan is at No. 1 High School How many people like her She almost handles letters from admirers every week! Besides, such an excellent girl would never like someone who isn't in the same school as her. Forget it!"

Su Cang was speechless with laughter and frustration. So this brat used to be so vicious back then, always telling him he wasn't good enough for others This brat really deserved a beating!

Su Cang knew Xue Yi Yang had some sense of superiority and didn’t look favorably on his “crush.” He was too lazy to explain himself and now just wanted to give this guy’s butt a kick. Suddenly, he thought of an idea: "What if we make a bet If I get into your school, you will squat down and let me kick you once when you start at the school; otherwise, you come here and kick my butt! How does that sound"

Xue Yi Yang’s face flushed red. He had been thinking of how to discourage Su Cang earlier but now, hearing this suggestion from Su Cang, he immediately got fired up: "Fine, if you can get into my school, I’ll let you kick me! If not, just wait for me to kick your butt!"quit the game one after another, nearly vomiting from shock.Su Cen leaned back on the sofa, stretching lazily. Time passed quickly in this era; when they had been diligently practicing for the Victory...