Era: Rise from the Wilderness

At nine o'clock in the morning, the sun was already quite scorching.

Li Yunjing rode his bicycle to the cadre building and rang the bell twice.

"Wait a moment!"

The window on the third floor creaked open, and Lü Ruoxi poked her head out: "Come down right now!"

Five minutes later, she came out pushing the cart.

Today I changed into a pink short-sleeved shirt and tied my hair into a high ponytail, looking youthful and radiant.

"What are we playing today?"

She asked.

"Rolling around."

Li Yunjing grinned, "Isn't there a row of bungalows next to Cui Yanyan's house? The roofs are cement, flat and clean. I saw Ma Xingyuan and the others already up there when I passed by this morning."

"Rolling around?"

Lü Ruoxi's eyes lit up. "It's been so long since I've played!"

In those days, there weren't many forms of entertainment, so when people had free time, both adults and children liked to play cards.

Rolling is the most popular game in the area.

Both Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi are good at playing and often play with their classmates.

Besides rolling dice, other common games include Red Five, Seven Orders Five Two Three, Hook, and Hand-held One, but none are as popular as rolling dice.

They decided to do it and rode their bikes to the area of ​​bungalows on the west side of the town.

Sure enough, the rooftop of Cui Yanyan's bungalow had become lively.

The eight people were divided into two tables, and the playing cards were being swiped around with a loud thud.

"Master!"

Ma Xingyuan's loud voice could be heard from afar: "I'm calling the master!"

Two classmates from the same grade were sitting nearby, watching the game with great interest while eating sunflower seeds.

"Yun Jing! Ruo Xi! Come quickly!"

Upon seeing them, Cui Yanyan waved her cards and shouted, "We just finished playing at this table, so it's time to switch!"

Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi climbed up the iron ladder.

The cement roof was scorching hot from the sun; sitting on it made your bottom burn.

People weren't particular about it; some laid down a newspaper, while others simply sat down directly.

Li Yunjing looked around and found a book, so he gave it to Lü Ruoxi and asked her to sit on it.

"How should we group them?"

Ma Xingyuan asked.

"Is that even a question?"

Li Yunjing naturally sat down opposite Lü Ruoxi, "Ruoxi and I are on the same team, you two are on the same team."

Playing "Rolling Dice" requires four people, in pairs.

"Ha...people forget their humanity when it comes to the opposite sex!"

Ma Xingyuan looked around and then gave a look that said, "I see."

Even Cui Yanyan looked at Lü Ruoxi curiously, wondering why the two of them had become so close lately.

Lü Ruoxi smiled and began to skillfully shuffle the cards.

Her technique was clean and efficient; the cards in her hands unfolded and closed like a fan, clearly the work of a seasoned player.

"Great, Ruoxi!"

A boy watching from the sidelines whistled.

Ma Xingyuan and Cui Yanyan sat opposite each other.

Xingyuan was fat and sweated a lot, constantly wiping his sweat while playing cards; Cui Yanyan, on the other hand, was very serious, taking a long time to think before playing each card.

"5 of Hearts!"

Lu Ruoxi threw down a card, giving Li Yunjing a sly look.

Li Yunjing understood and played a King of Hearts.

This is their secret code.

Lu Ruoxi played the 5 of Hearts, meaning she had a lot of cards in that suit and wanted Li Yunjing to help her clear out the opponent's scoring cards as much as possible.

Sure enough, after several rounds, they had scored quite a few points.

"Did you two cheat?"

Ma Xingyuan scratched his head anxiously: "How can they coordinate so well?"

"If you're not as skilled as others, just say so."

Li Yunjing smiled and threw out another King card.

The sunlight grew stronger, but laughter continued to echo from the rooftop.

The playing cards were slapped loudly on the cement floor, and occasionally a gust of wind would blow them away, causing a flurry of activity.

The table next to us was also engaged in a fierce battle, with shouts of "Get the bottom of the pot!" and "Get the order!" coming from time to time.

The two spectators were even more excited than the card players, spitting sunflower seed shells all over the ground.

By the third game, Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi had won two games in a row.

"Change seats!"

Ma Xingyuan protested, "I want to be on Ruoxi's side!"

"Dream on."

Li Yunjing gathered up the cards. "A bet's a bet. You're buying soda for lunch."

"Okay, okay, okay!"

Ma Xingyuan readily agreed, "If you're so capable, then get to 10 first!"

As they were talking, Cui Yanyan suddenly pointed into the distance: "Hey, look, isn't that Gao Fu?"

Everyone looked in the direction she pointed.

At the intersection of the bungalow area, Gao Fu and several unfamiliar young men were squatting by the roadside smoking, their eyes occasionally glancing towards the rooftops.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Upon seeing Gao Fu and his group, Li Yunjing's eyes instantly turned cold.

We haven't settled the score for that ball from a few days ago, and now this bastard dares to hang around nearby?

In Northeast China, you can get beaten down, but you absolutely cannot back down.

Especially in front of Lü Ruoxi and her classmates, she couldn't afford to lose face.

"You guys play first."

Li Yunjing put down the cards in his hand and stood up.

"Yun Jing, what are you doing?"

Lu Ruoxi grabbed his arm, her eyes filled with worry.

"It's nothing, just go say hello."

Li Yunjing patted her hand, his tone light, but the coldness in his eyes was unmistakable.

He climbed down the iron ladder from the roof and walked straight toward the intersection.

Seeing this, Ma Xingyuan also threw down his cards and followed, saying, "I'll go with you!"

The two walked to the intersection one after the other.

When Gao Fu saw them, he grinned with a provocative smile and slowly stood up.

The three young men beside him also stood up; they were all around eighteen or nineteen years old and dressed in a sleazy manner.

"Hey, isn't this Li, the academic genius?"

Gao Fu said sarcastically, "What, you've got some free time to come down and have some fun?"

Li Yunjing ignored his response and asked directly, "What happened at the basketball court the other day, you did it on purpose, didn't you?"

"What do you mean by intentional or unintentional?"

Gao Fu feigned ignorance, "When playing ball, bumps and scrapes are inevitable. What, are you being delicate just because you got hit once?"

That's said so casually, making it sound like intentional injury was an accident.

"Gao Fu,"

Li Yunjing took a step forward, bringing the two to within a meter. "Let's handle our own affairs. Don't involve others."

His meaning was very clear.

If you're so capable, let's have a one-on-one fight. Do you dare?

"How dare you speak like that?"

A long-haired young man behind Gao Fu leaned forward: "Be polite to Brother Fu!"

"Who are you?!"

"Fuck you!"

Seeing the other person's ragged clothes, with holes in his jeans, Ma Xingyuan immediately stepped in front of Li Yunjing: "Do you even have the right to speak?"

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

On the rooftop, Lü Ruoxi stood up nervously, and Cui Yanyan grabbed her arm, saying, "Ruoxi, don't go down!"

Li Yunjing looked at Gao Fu, quickly calculating in his mind.

Recently, he has been in excellent physical condition, and he also exercises regularly. He even took a Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) class for self-defense.

He has no shortage of fighting theory, skills, and physical fitness. Moreover, with an adult's mindset, he can better allocate his energy. He really isn't afraid of Gao Fu.