Luo Ye and Yan Han helped Grandpa Yuan transport all the corn and sweet potatoes back home by past four o’clock in the afternoon. After resting and drinking some water, they went on to help Grandma Yuan peel the corn. The usually quiet elderly couple were as cheerful as if it were New Year’s. "Grandma, Grandpa!" As everyone was peeling corn and chatting away, a 17- or 18-year-old boy rode his bicycle into the yard and stopped right in front of the pile of corn. "Lele, why are you here? Aren’t you at school today?" The grandmother’s eyes sparkled with joy. The boy leaned his bicycle against the courtyard wall and swaggered over: "The harvest is just in time; there’s no school on Saturdays and Sundays. My mom asked me to come and tell you that our family will be finished with the work in two more days, so don’t worry." His gaze curiously swept over Luo Ye and Yan Han. The grandmother squinted with a smile: "This year, with the help of the comrades from the liberation army, we’ve already finished the harvest." "Lele, let Grandpa introduce you. This is Yan Han, and this is Luo Ye. They’ve been helping your grandpa all afternoon, and they’ve done a very solid job at that—far better than you could." The grandfather was thrilled to see his grandson and sat him down to introduce Luo Ye and Yan Han. The boy looked at Luo Ye and Yan Han and introduced himself: "I’m Lin Lele, 18 years old, a senior two student. Looking at your ages, you guys must be new recruits, right?" Yan Han gave the boy a cool glance: "We’re first-year students at GF University, also 18 years old. Luo Ye, you’re probably 17, right?" Clearly, Lin Lele’s condescending tone had irked Yan Han, but Luo Ye, barely containing his laughter, replied: "Yes, but I’ve already had my birthday. Strictly speaking, I’m almost 18." "GF University? I want to get into GF University too. You guys started school really early. Me..." The grandmother came over with a bowl of water and interrupted her grandson: "Lele, you must be thirsty after riding all the way here. Have a bowl of water first." "I don’t drink this." Lele shook his head, stood up, took his backpack from the bicycle basket, and pulled out a bottle of Cola. "Smart, huh? Brought it myself." "This child, that stuff isn’t as good as the brown sugar water I make, and you just like to waste money." The grandmother helplessly took the bowl back inside. "Grandma, how many times have I told you, it’s not the same as brown sugar water." Perhaps embarrassed by his grandmother’s actions, Lele turned to Luo Ye and Yan Han: "People of my grandma’s age hate to spend money and are resistant to new things. Most old people are like that." Old Man Yuan playfully tossed a corn cob at his grandson: "Cheeky brat, what are you saying? Who doesn’t know how to spend money? Would your grandma and I be scrimping so much if we weren’t saving for your university?" "Grandpa, I was wrong, my mistake." Lele, while dodging, quickly changed the subject: "However, with my academic performance, getting into GF University shouldn’t be too hard. GF University doesn’t require a tuition fee, so you and Grandma can stop worrying about me." Check latest chapters at novelFirｅ.net Grandpa Yuan’s expression became serious: "Li Hongbao’s daughter, Yu Feng, has never ranked below second in her class, and yet she failed to get into university. There are others who did worse in school and still made it to key universities. With these matters, unless the admission notice is right in front of you, who can be sure?" "Grandpa, it’s not just about academics in the exam room; it’s also about psychological quality." Lin Lele patted his chest confidently: "Just wait to throw a banquet for me." "Good, that’s wonderful." Grandpa Yuan gazed at Luo Ye and Yan Han with pride: "My grandson is really good at his studies, always in the top ten of his class. His teachers all praise his intelligence, saying that if he works a bit harder..." Lin Lele quickly interrupted Old Man Yuan: "Grandpa, don’t praise me in front of them. Anyone who gets into GF University can’t be bad at studying, can they?" "Heh heh..." Old Man Yuan smiled sheepishly. "Grandma, I want to eat your layered pancakes." "I’ll make them for you right now." The grandmother promptly stood up and turned to Luo Ye and Yan Han with a squinted smile: "You two must be hungry too, let me go and get dinner ready." Luo Ye quickly declined: "Grandma Yuan, we can’t stay for dinner; it’s a rule." "Rules are dead and people are alive, who will know if you fill your stomach?" Lin Lele leaned over to Luo Ye: "You started school pretty early, even younger than me by a year, and you’re already in your first year. By the way, where’s your hometown?" "Observance of rules depends on self-discipline, and furthermore... at your age, shouldn’t you be helping out with some farm work?" Yan Han couldn’t hold back any longer. Lin Lele spread his hands: "It’s not that I’m undisciplined, ever since I was little, my mom, dad, grandparents, and grandparents, none of them let me do farm work. My job is to study well." "Yan Han." Seeing Yan Han still wanted to argue, Luo Ye quickly stopped him. Old Man Yuan, noting Yan Han’s displeasure, cleared his throat unnaturally: "We’ve just about finished with the work. Kids, you two go ahead and have a chat." Looking at the time, Luo Ye stood up: "Grandpa Yuan, it’s getting late. Grandpa and Grandma can take care of the remaining tasks; we should head back to the base now." "No way, you have to eat before you go. Wife! Wife!" Old Man Yuan held onto Yan Han, craning his neck and shouting into the house. "What’s the matter? What’s the matter?" The grandmother rushed out in a flurry. Luo Ye smiled: "Grandma Yuan, we are leaving now, but we’ll come visit you when we have time." "No way! No way!" The old lady stepped forward, holding onto Luo Ye’s hands and feeling them, "Just by these hands, I can tell that back at home, you never did heavy work. You shouldn’t be subjected to such rough labor..." Luo Ye quickly interrupted the old lady, "Grandma Yuan, it’s not hard on us. We’re soldiers, our training is even tougher than this. To help Grandpa and Grandma is part of our training mission. If Grandpa and Grandma feel bad about it... then let’s do this, if anyone dares to speak ill of soldiers in the future, you can stand up for us. Today, we really can’t stay for dinner." "You’re not leaving in a hurry just because I didn’t help, are you?" Lin Lele scratched his head, conflicted, "I’ve never done this kind of work since I was young. How about I take over peeling the remaining corn husks, and you guys stay for dinner, okay?" "Lin Lele, you’ve misunderstood. We’re really leaving because it’s time, and there isn’t much left to do. As for dinner, our leaders didn’t say anything about exceptions before assigning the tasks, no matter how late it is, we can’t stay." "Could you leave your contact number with me?" Lin Lele looked at Luo Ye with anticipation, "Next year I’ll be in my last year of high school, and I’d like to consult my senior sister here if I have anything I don’t understand." "Sure!" Luo Ye happily left her phone number with Lin Lele. After much insistence and reluctance, the old couple from the Yuan Family finally gave up on the idea of having the two stay for dinner. However, they still insisted on filling a small bag with boiled corn and sweet potatoes for them to take with them. The corn and sweet potatoes were still warm, having been cooked by the old lady during a spare moment in the afternoon. On the way back to the base, Yan Han kept a grim expression, and Luo Ye couldn’t hold back any longer, "Still sulking?" Yan Han shook his head, "Not really, just reflecting on myself." "Oh?" Luo Ye raised an eyebrow at him. "How could you drink that bowl of water?" Yan Han asked the question that had been bothering him. "Yan Han, before going to fetch the water, the old lady washed her hands with soap twice and rinsed them three times with clean water. This shows that she was very concerned about us disdaining her. If I hadn’t stopped you then, how would the old lady have felt? We’re here to assist the farmers, not to cause trouble. Moreover, we are soldiers, when carrying out our missions, we can’t complain about drinking a bowl of water that’s been touched by a finger, let alone dirtier water; we have to drink it!" After a long silence, Yan Han asked again, "Luo Ye, your family background must be pretty good, right?" "It’s alright," Luo Ye smiled, "Surely enough to not worry about food and clothing." Yan Han continued to probe, "I heard your father is a civil servant. What rank is he?" Luo Ye did not directly answer but countered, "Asking this, do you think family background is very important?" Yan Han honestly answered, "Yes, I believe family background is too important. However, I feel that your actions don’t match your background." "According to your logic, what kind of background should I come from?" Luo Ye continued to question. "Based on your actions today, I would think you should have been born in the countryside and experienced hard times. But they say when you introduced yourself, you mentioned your father is a civil servant. I trust you wouldn’t lie about this, right? Plus, judging from your temperament and manner of speaking, you don’t seem like a naive country girl at all." "Heh..." Luo Ye chuckled, "Your guess makes me feel flattered indeed. However, my ancestral home is in the countryside, and I really have spent time there." "Your father is just an ordinary civil servant?" Yan Han assumed matter-of-factly, "Without a strong background, that should be the case." "Yan Han, it’s undeniable that having a background can provide shortcuts at times, but not everyone relies on a background to achieve success. I can tell you my father’s position; he is the Secretary of the Municipal Committee of Island City. His success today involves luck, but more so, hard work. As his children, forced by him to conceal our identity since we were young. My brother and I, in your eyes, might be considered as those who could rely on a stroke of luck. But, I swear to you, we have not used our dad’s luck to our advantage. Everything we have achieved, we’ve fought for with our own efforts!" "Are you telling the truth?" Yan Han took a while to recover, no matter how much he guessed, he never imagined Luo Ye’s father held such a high position. Luo Ye nodded earnestly, "Of course!" "Then you’re truly an exception. Lin Lele is even more delicate than you are!" "It’s not just me who’s an exception." Luo Ye hesitated slightly, then continued, "Yan Han, now that we’ve opened up, I might as well be frank, the problem with you is that you’re viewing things in extremes. In fact, children from good backgrounds are not necessarily lazy, and those from poor backgrounds are not necessarily more understanding. The formation of a personality is influenced by various factors, and it’s not right to generalize. Never mind, you probably understand the big picture better than anyone. You have these thoughts probably because you’ve encountered some injustice. I suggest you open your heart and keep a sharp eye as you go along, and believe that your definition of things will change!" Nu’an updated in the evening. Next update, before 9 am tomorrow. (To be continued. For further details, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)