A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1563 Left Ear! (Please Subscribe!)
The man with the buzz cut looked suspicious, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Hua Shier and Li Bala twice before he tentatively asked, "Bala, is he really your cousin?"

Li Bala wrinkled her nose impatiently, her tone full of reluctance: "Yeah. Although I hate this guy and don't want to admit it at all, he really is my cousin. He just arrived today to study here and prepare for the college entrance exam."

The man with the buzz cut immediately changed his demeanor, his wariness instantly transforming into a warm smile. He proactively extended his hand to Hua Twelve, his voice rising a beat:
"Hey cousin! I'm Bala's boyfriend, you can just call me Blackie!"

Before she could finish speaking, Li Bala exploded, turning around and shoving him hard: "Who's your girlfriend? What are you calling 'cousin' for!"

The black man was pushed back a step, but he wasn't annoyed. He rubbed his hands together with a grin and said to Hua Twelve with an embarrassed smile, "I'm working on it, I'm working on it. It's only a matter of time."

Hua Shier didn't take the hand he offered. Instead, she looked past the black man at Li Bala and asked in a flat tone:
"Is he really your friend?"

The black man spoke up for her before Li Bala could, his tone carrying a hint of ingratiation:
“Cousin, Bala is performing here, and a few of us come to support her every day. Don’t worry, with us here, no one will dare to bully her.”

"Why say so much!"

Li Bala glared at the black man, venting her anger on him. Then she turned her head, tilted her head back, and adopted a haughty and arrogant attitude towards Hua Shier:
"My affairs are none of your business."

Hua nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

He had figured it out; the two knew each other, and he remembered the black man's appearance. Even if, hypothetically, this girl suddenly disappeared tomorrow, or was tortured and killed repeatedly, it wouldn't be difficult for him, Uncle in the Hat, to find the black man.

The black man watched Hua Shier's nimble figure disappear into the distance, scratched the back of his head, and said, "Our cousin has quite a personality."

Li Bala glared at him fiercely and squeezed out through gritted teeth, "You're crazy! Who's your cousin?!"

Hua Shier came out of the bar and stood by the roadside, glancing back at the "Forget It Bar" sign. No wonder he felt that the scenery on the island looked familiar as soon as he got out of the car; he felt like he had seen it somewhere before.

Now he remembered everything: Li Bala, the black man, and the bar called "Let It Go" were all characters and scenes from a youth-themed movie he had once watched.

Without giving it any further thought, he turned around and went to buy some daily necessities. When he returned to Grandma Li's house, the old lady had already set the table. It was all prepared in the most common local style: fragrant soy sauce boiled fish, the broth a rich, glossy red; a dish of salty, crisp radish stir-fried with local eggs, full of wok hei (the smoky aroma imparted by a hot wok). The main dishes were sweet potato porridge and rice, steaming hot.

As soon as the old lady saw him enter, she greeted him warmly, her voice filled with the joy unique to elders:
"Tianlong, quickly put your things down, wash your hands, and eat!"

"Okay!" Hua Shier replied, carrying the things towards the stairs. As he passed the dining table, he deliberately leaned closer to sniff it and praised with a smile, "It smells so good."

Grandma Li's wrinkles crinkled into a smile, yet she remained modest:
“We don’t have anything good in this small place. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go to the morning market at the People’s Market and buy you some fresh seafood to try.”

Hua Shier nodded repeatedly, his tone sincere:

"Thank you, Auntie, this is already very kind of you."

He put his things away, went downstairs again, took out five thousand yuan from his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards the old lady.

"Oh, by the way, Auntie, this is my living expenses for the time being."

The old lady's face hardened, and she quickly pushed the money back, her tone urgent and resolute:

"What are you doing, child? You're staying at your aunt's house, how can I expect you to pay? Take it back right now!"

Hua Shier smiled and pressed the money down, her voice warm and soft: "Then let me put it another way—this money is my way of showing respect to my aunt."

Upon hearing this, the old lady paused for a moment.

Immediately, every wrinkle on her face was filled with a smile. She didn't refuse anymore, but reached out and put the money away. In her mind, she was already planning how to use the money to buy more delicious food and give her nephew a good boost in his studies—he couldn't afford to waste it while he was preparing for the college entrance exam.

Hua Shier had just sat down and picked up his chopsticks when he glanced at the empty seat opposite him and casually asked:
"Aren't you waiting for Xiaojuan? I saw her go into a bar when I was outside."

Grandma Li's smile faded slightly, and she sighed, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness and defensiveness:
"Xiao Juan isn't a bad girl. She sings there, which is a legitimate job. Let's eat first; she won't be back until late, so don't wait."

Hua nodded. He remembered that in that movie, Grandma Li seemed indifferent to her granddaughter and disapproved of everything she did, but that wasn't actually the case at all.

Li Bala hangs out with hooligans and sings at bars. The old lady tries to persuade him but he won't listen, and her attempts to control him are useless. In the end, she can only pretend not to see it and avoid getting annoyed.

But later, Li Bala died in a car accident. When the old lady burned paper money for her, she cried so hard she almost passed out.

Hua Shier had read the information about this family provided by Xu Pingqiu. Li Bala's parents had passed away long ago, and the two of them depended on each other for survival. The old lady only had this one close relative, so how could she not care about her?
Grandma Li is now explaining these two sentences to Hua Twelve specifically because she doesn't want Hua Twelve to misunderstand that her granddaughter has gone astray.

Hua Shier smiled and nodded, then used chopsticks to serve food to Grandma Li: "Grandma, let's eat."

The old lady paused for a moment, then a smile returned to her face, and she replied repeatedly, "Okay, okay. You should eat more too."

After finishing their meal, Hua Shier took the initiative to clear the dishes and wash them. Grandma Li changed into a clean coat, stood at the kitchen door, and told him that she was going to play mahjong at her friend's house and that he should rest at home and not wait for her, as she would be back later.

Hua Shier dried his hands, smiled, and said "Okay".

After the old lady left the house, the whole building fell silent.

Hua Shier lay alone on the bed on the second floor, his door and Li Bala's door across the hall were both open. Through the open window of Li Bala's room, one could see the deep blue sea under the night sky, with a few fishing lights in the distance, flickering amidst the sound of the waves crashing.

Around 11 p.m., the sound of a door opening came from downstairs. Immediately following was Grandma Li's complaining voice, a mixture of anger and heartache: "You've drunk so much again. You're so young, and every time you come home reeking of alcohol. You're not acting like a proper young lady! People will look down on you!"

Then came Li Bala's impatient retort, her voice slurred and sharp with alcohol: "Fine, you always find fault with me. Don't you even look at other old ladies? Are there any like you who come home later than me?"

What followed was a series of low-pitched but still heated arguments between the grandmother and granddaughter, interspersed with Li Bala's stumbling footsteps as she went upstairs.

Soon, Hua Shier saw a staggering figure appear in the second-floor corridor. Li Bala was so drunk she could barely tell which way was which. She leaned against the doorframe and entered her room, leaving the light on and the door open. She grabbed the hem of her tank top with both hands and pulled it up—

Clearly, the girl had completely forgotten that a cousin had moved into her house.

Seeing that the tank top had already rolled over her shoulders and was about to cross the line, Hua Shier had no choice but to speak up, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, carrying a hint of helplessness:

"Hey, if you take any more off, you'll expose yourself."

Li Bala screamed in fright and almost fell over. When she turned around and saw Hua Shier lying in the opposite house, she suddenly remembered that there was such a person.

She was both shocked and furious. One hand gripped the strap of her dress, which she had only half-lifted, tightly, while the other pointed at Hua Shier, gritting her teeth and cursing:

"Are you crazy?! Why don't you say anything?"

Hua Shier was too lazy to argue, rolled her eyes at her, and then slowly raised her middle finger.

From downstairs came Grandma Li's worried voice: "What's wrong, Xiao Juan?"

Li Bala took a deep breath, trying to make her voice sound normal, and shouted downstairs:
"It's nothing! There were flying insects, they startled me!" she shouted, then flicked the middle finger at Hua Shier in the opposite room before slamming the door shut.

The next morning, when Hua Shier got up, Li Bala's door was still closed, and he could hear her even breathing coming from inside the room; she was clearly still fast asleep. When he went downstairs to wash up, he saw that Grandma Li had indeed gone to the morning market early that morning, bought seafood, and had already cooked a pot of seafood porridge, inviting him to eat breakfast.

After finishing his meal, he took the student file that Xu Pingqiu had prepared for him, found out the location of Tianyi Middle School, boarded the bus at his doorstep, greeted the driver, and told him to remind him when he arrived at Tianyi Middle School.

After only a few stops, the driver stopped at one station, turned around, and shouted to him:
"Student, get off here and walk 200 meters forward to reach Tianyi Middle School."

Hua Shier thanked him, picked up his schoolbag, and got off the bus.

Groups of students in matching school uniforms were walking in twos and threes in the same direction, their school badges of Tianyi Middle School pinned to their chests, chatting and laughing. He mingled in the crowd and followed at a leisurely pace.

As I approached the school gate, I suddenly heard someone shout from the side:
"Xu Yi!"

Hua Shier looked in the direction of the sound and saw a handsome young man, also wearing the Tianyi school uniform, smiling and waving at a student riding a bicycle. His voice was clear and his smile was bright.

Good morning, Yuta!

Hua Shier recognized both names and remembered that they were characters from a movie, so he couldn't help but take another look at the two of them.

Just then, a girl riding a bicycle alongside Yuta suddenly stiffened for some reason, and the front wheel of her bicycle tilted without warning, causing her and the bicycle to fall straight towards him.

Hua Shier reacted extremely quickly, scooping the girl up with his left hand and steadily pulling her off the car.

The bicycle, without any hesitation, crashed onto the road with a thud, its wheels still spinning due to inertia.

He put the girl on the ground and made sure her feet were firmly planted before letting go.

The student named Yuta slammed on the brakes, swerving the car to the side of the road, and ran over anxiously, asking:
"Little Ears, are you alright?"

The girl had delicate features, wore a simple ponytail, and her face was somewhat pale.

She didn't speak, but simply shook her head gently to indicate that she was alright.

Yu Ta finally breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and solemnly thanked Hua Twelve:
"Brother, thank you so much. If you hadn't reacted quickly, Little Ear would have been badly hurt."

Hua Shier glanced at the girl.

The little ear is Li Er, the female lead in this movie.

He withdrew his gaze, waved casually, and said in a flat tone, "You're welcome." After saying that, he nodded and turned to continue walking towards the school gate.

Li Er finally recovered from the shock she had just experienced.

She looked up, her lips moved as if she wanted to say thank you, but by then Hua Shier had already walked away. Her naturally introverted personality meant that she had never spoken loudly before, so she just opened her mouth but ultimately didn't say anything to express her gratitude.

Yuta asked again with concern, "Are you really alright? Did you bump into anything?"

Li Er withdrew her gaze, her voice not loud, but already steady:

"It's nothing, I was just startled. Let's go."

She bent down to pick up the bicycle from the ground, then subconsciously glanced at Xu Yi, who was almost at the school gate, before getting back on the bike with You Ta and slowly pedaling towards the school.

The bell for morning self-study had just rung when the homeroom teacher led a new face into the classroom.

She clapped her hands to signal everyone to be quiet, and with a professional smile on her face, she introduced:
"This is our new classmate who transferred from Guangzhou—Yu Tianlong. Let's welcome him."

Yuta, sitting in his seat, immediately recognized Hua Shier. His eyes lit up, and he led the applause.

Hua Shier stood at the front, his gaze sweeping across the classroom before instantly locking onto his target—He Yuanyuan.

Coincidentally, the classmate sitting next to He Yuanyuan was Xu Yi, the sunny boy she had seen at the school gate that morning.

The teacher pointed to the empty seats in the last row and gently instructed:

"Yu Tianlong, please sit there first. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions."

Hua Shier smiled and replied, "Okay, teacher."

Then he raised his hand and pointed to the seat next to Xu Yi: "Teacher, I have a question now, I want to sit in that seat."

The classroom fell silent for a moment.

Everyone turned to look at him, their gazes filled with surprise, doubt, hostility, and disgust.

A transfer student openly choosing his seat on the first morning is not a friendly start in any class.

Almost all of his classmates had a bad first impression of him.

Not only the classmates, but even the homeroom teacher felt the same way. They wanted to say something critical, but considering that this transfer student was personally brought in by the principal and seemed to have some connection with the principal, the teachers could only patiently say:

"The seats have all been assigned. Changing seats now would be unfair to everyone. You can sit in the last row for now. If you don't like it, the teacher will adjust your seat!"

Hua Shier asked with a smile, "What if that student agrees?"

Seeing his harmless appearance, the teacher assumed he wanted to discuss things privately with Xu Yi, and immediately nodded, saying:

"If Xu Yi agrees himself, then there's no problem!"

Hua Shier, carrying his schoolbag, walked directly to Xu Yi's side, looking down at him with an unquestionable tone:

"You, sit in the back!"

When he spoke, he exuded a kind of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) aura that only the other party could perceive. This gave Xu Yi the feeling of being stared at by a gangster boss, and a sense that if he didn't agree, his house would be splashed with red paint that night.

But young people are all concerned about their image, so Xu Yi suddenly stood up, stiffened his neck, and said forcefully:

"Go and go!"

After saying that, he quickly packed his things, picked up his schoolbag, and strode towards the last row.

Thank you to 08a and Little Tiger of the Demon Realm for the donations, and thank you to all the brothers who voted with monthly tickets and recommendation tickets. Thank you so much!