Volume 1, Chapter 51: Then I Won't Hold Back Anymore From Now On

Another week later, Li Yan received his university admission letter.

The start of the semester was drawing near.

Just like in his previous life, all of Li Yan’s relatives came over.

First, to offer congratulations; second, to give him monetary gifts.

The amount was identical to his past life, and Li Yan received a total of three thousand two hundred yuan in starting-semester red envelopes.

To the present Li Yan, this small sum of money was not much at all.

Even so, these were blessings and expectations from his relatives.

Originally, the plan was for Li Jianguo to accompany Li Yan to university, but Li Yan turned it down.

"Dad, Mom, I'll be fine going by myself. Don't worry."

Liu Tong asked, "Will you really be okay going to register all by yourself?"

Li Jianguo also chimed in, "University is nothing like high school. There are more people and things are much more complicated. We just can't rest easy letting you go alone."

Li Yan smiled and said, "It's truly fine. I checked online and even got in touch with a senior student at the school. They'll take care of me. Dad, you get carsick; making a trip all the way to Yuncheng would be too much torture for you. I can handle it by myself."

It wasn't that Li Yan didn't want his parents to see him off—doing so would have given him more time to spend with them.

However, his parents rarely traveled far from home, especially by long-distance bus, and suffered from severe motion sickness the entire way.

He remembered that in his past life, Li Jianguo had accompanied him to university and spent the whole journey vomiting, which genuinely broke his heart.

Another reason was that once he reached the county town, Li Yan intended to drive his own car to Yuncheng.

For now, he did not want to expose these matters too early.

He needed time, at least a year.

By then, he could use earnings from a university startup as an excuse to reveal his wealth.

That way, it would only be natural to give money to his parents, or even bring them directly to live in the city.

Unable to win against Li Yan, his parents eventually agreed to let him go to university alone.

This outcome was also related to how Li Yan had been raised.

Since childhood, Li Yan had been relatively independent; although he could be rebellious at times, he always had a mind of his own.

Two days passed.

The next day was the day Li Yan set off for university.

That evening, Li Yan took out a newly issued bank card.

There was one hundred thousand yuan in this card.

"Mom, this is for you. The PIN is the one you always use." He handed the card to Liu Tong.

Confused, Liu Tong took the card and asked, "Why are you giving me a bank card?"

Li Yan smiled and said, "Mom, I plan to start a business as soon as I enter university. Once I start making money, I'll deposit it into this card, and you can spend it however you like."

Upon hearing these words, Liu Tong's eyes grew slightly warm, but then she couldn't help laughing and gently slapped Li Yan on the arm. "You child, you've barely turned eighteen and you're already boasting? Starting a business and making money for me to spend. Just listen carefully in class at school, don't mess around with people, and don't give your father and me anything to worry about—that's better than anything else." Though she was teasing him, her heart felt as soft as if it had been soaked in warm water. It was the first time her son, now grown up, had ever spoken of "supporting" her.

"Please don't underestimate me." Li Yan deliberately put on a serious face, but instantly broke into a smile. He slipped the card into his mother's pocket himself. "Don't worry, I'll definitely study hard. When I make money in the future, I'll bring you both to live in the city."

"Alright, alright, I'll be waiting." Liu Tong replied with a smile, pressing down the pocket opening over the card without mentioning returning it.

She had never heard any fancy words in her life, nor did she expect her son to suddenly make a fortune overnight.

Yet this feather-light card felt weighty in her pocket, as if it held her son's affection. She knew very well in her heart that she would most likely never check the balance on the card, let alone actually spend from it; but she would keep it safe. When Li Yan came home for the holidays in the future, she could still smile and ask him, "Where is that city house you promised? I'm still waiting."

Early the next morning, Li Yan shouldered a large backpack and climbed onto the back seat of the village head's motorcycle.

Li Yan turned around, waved to them, and called out, "Mom, Grandpa, I'm leaving."

His mother, Liu Tong, and his grandfather stood at the doorway, watching the father and son drive away into the distance.

The morning breeze blowing against his face was cool, but the sun was slowly rising in the distance.

It was going to be fine weather again, seemingly whispering to Li Yan that a brilliant future awaited him.

The area near the town's bus stop was already crowded with people.

They were all parents seeing their children off to school, each accompanied by one or two prospective university students, showering them with final instructions and reminders.

Li Yan recognized a few of them.

"Brother Jianguo, which university is your Li Yan going to?" A middle-aged man cordially greeted Li Yan's father.

Li Yan found the man looking very familiar, but couldn't recall his name right away.

However, he did remember the boy standing next to him, whose name was Li Shuai.

Right, this family apparently belonged to the same extended clan of the Li family, living in the opposite village at some distance from Li Yan's home.

Li Jianguo smiled as well and replied, "Fourth Brother, Xiao Yan is going to Yun Agricultural University. What about your Li Shuai?"

He then quickly urged Li Yan, "This is your Fourth Uncle. Why aren't you greeting him?"

Only then did Li Yan smile and greet the man, "Good morning, Fourth Uncle."

Fourth Uncle nodded at Li Yan with a smile and said, "My Li Shuai was accepted into Shanghai Normal University, just barely scraping past the cutoff score."

Hearing that Li Yan was only going to Yun Agricultural University, an undisguised look of complacency appeared on his face.

This was because Shanghai Normal University was in a completely different league from Yun Agricultural University, having already attained Tier-1 university status back in 2004.

Meanwhile, Yun Agricultural University was still struggling along the path between Tier-2 and Tier-1 status.

Furthermore, even though they belonged to the same clan, parents inevitably harbored a sense of competitive pride regarding their sons.

Li Jianguo had not expected to be subtly needled like this early in the morning when he was in such a good mood.

Nevertheless, his temperament had always been amiable; he merely smiled with congratulations and said nothing more.

Fourth Uncle’s financial situation was better than Li Yan’s family. Strictly speaking, his cousin Li Shuai had been sent to study in the county town as early as junior high school.

Fourth Uncle gestured to Li Shuai, who was standing nearby with a buzz cut, busy playing on his mobile phone, telling him to come over and greet them.

"Xiao Shuai, come over and greet them."

Instead, Li Shuai said with an impatient expression, "Aha, Dad, I'm about to clear this level, stop bothering me."

Seeing this, Fourth Uncle could only force a helpless smile.

Li Jianguo waved his hand and said, "It's fine, children will be children. Now that the college entrance exam is over, letting them play for a bit is only right."

He then inquired, "Fourth Brother, are you going to send Xiao Shuai to university?"

Fourth Uncle answered, "Ah, I originally wanted to go, but his mother went to the county town three days ago to visit friends, saying it was right on her way, so she went to see him off instead."

The two men continued chatting back and forth. Fourth Uncle looked quite surprised upon hearing that Li Yan was going to university all by himself.

Yet he quickly rationalized it: how far was Yun City anyway, compared to Shanghai? With the distance being so short, it was understandable for Li Yan to go alone.

During the conversation, Fourth Uncle repeatedly brought up how Shanghai Normal University was a Tier-1 institution, how difficult it was to get into, and how promising job prospects were after graduation.

It reached a point where Li Jianguo hardly wanted to respond to him anymore—this showing off was getting a bit excessive.

Li Yan stood quietly to one side without uttering a word.

He was long accustomed to such behavior.

University was a beginning, not an ultimate destination; who would emerge victorious remained to be seen.

However!

Since you decided to flex on my dad first this morning, Fourth Uncle, don't blame me for showing no mercy in the future.