I, Yan Jiefang, will live to 2025 in this courtyard house.

There's no rush with Yan Jiekuang's matter; we still have several years. We can discuss it later.

The next afternoon after school, Yan Jiefang intercepted Yi Zhongtian at the entrance of an alley.

At that moment, the other person was arm in arm with several classmates, talking loudly and smugly.

Yan Jiefang didn't say a word more than necessary; he stepped forward and slapped the other person twice across the face.

After two loud thuds, Yi Zhongtian fell to the ground.

Yan Jiefang stepped forward, gently placed his foot on him, and asked in a deep voice:

Do you know why I hit you?

Meeting his indifferent and cold gaze, Yi Zhongtian felt a sudden chill in his heart. His previous anger and confidence vanished instantly, and he could only nod with difficulty.

"This is just a small lesson for you today. If you dare to resort to underhanded tactics again, you'd better think about the consequences."

Yan Jiefang's tone was calm, yet it carried a chilling undertone.

Yi Zhongtian lay paralyzed on the ground, unable to move, as if deflated, not even daring to think of struggling.

Yan Jiefang glanced at the few classmates watching nearby, then turned and slowly walked away.

The group looked at each other, but no one stepped forward to stop them.

Everyone was aware of the feud between the two, and besides, Yan Jiefang was now excelling academically and highly regarded by all his teachers, with a promising future ahead of him. No one wanted to cause trouble for no reason, so they simply stood by and pretended not to see anything.

Once Yan Jiefang's figure was out of sight, except for one person who was on good terms with Yi Zhongtian and helped him up, the others scattered in a row.

...

Time slips through our fingers like sand, never to be noticed.

May arrived in the blink of an eye.

Yan Jiefang continued to live according to his own routine.

I go to bed promptly at 8 p.m. every night and get up around 5 a.m. every morning.

During the day, I focus on attending classes and spend my free time reading, studying, and exercising. Every day is fully scheduled, and my various abilities are steadily improving.

On the other hand, Yan Jiekuang, following his second brother's instructions, asked Yan Bugui to change his birth date.

With a little questioning and probing, the quick-witted Yan Bugui guessed that the idea must have come from Yan Jiefang.

A surge of anger welled up inside him, and he resolutely refused on the spot, thus putting the matter aside.

It wasn't that Yan Jiekuang intentionally leaked the secret. Although he was the most quick-witted of the three brothers, he was ultimately too young and inexperienced.

Even though he tried to dodge and make excuses, his shrewd father still managed to get the truth out of him.

Afterwards, Yan Jiekuang felt deeply ashamed and went to apologize to his second brother.

Yan Jiefang didn't take it to heart and comforted his younger brother.

He only considered this matter as a trial move, hoping it would work out if it did, but not if it didn't.

Even if his birth date were successfully changed, Yan Jiekuang would still have to put in far more effort than the average person to skip a grade.

Moreover, there are still many procedures and social obligations that Yan Bugui needs to handle and coordinate. If he is determined not to cooperate, this matter will ultimately be difficult to implement.

In May, the temperature in Beijing gradually became hot and dry, and the evening breeze had lost the coolness of spring.

As evening fell, Yan Jiefang and his brother were sitting quietly in the courtyard reading, looking very relaxed.

Suddenly, Liu Guangtian, along with his younger brother Liu Guangfu, rushed out of the main room in a panic, their steps unsteady and their expressions disheveled.

As the weather grew warmer, the two brothers were dressed in thin clothes. On their bare arms and backs, bright red welts from their belts were clearly visible, a shocking sight, indicating that they had just been severely beaten.

Seeing this, Yan Jiefang shook his head slightly, feeling a sense of melancholy in his heart.

The two Liu brothers were truly unlucky to have a father like Liu Haizhong, who believed in corporal punishment and loved to act like an official.

He recalled that in the original drama, Liu Guangtian reminisced that from childhood to adulthood, Liu Haizhong would beat and scold the two brothers every few days, which had long been a common occurrence.

Yan Jiefang usually leaves early and returns late, rarely staying in the yard. This was the first time he had witnessed the two men's miserable state after being beaten. He had to admit that the beating was quite severe.

He witnessed everything: the Yan family in the front yard dividing up pickled vegetables, the laundry girl in the middle yard snatching Sha Zhu's lunchbox, the Liu family's second and third sons being beaten in the back yard, and the entire courtyard meeting.

In their panic, the brothers Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu shoved Yan Bugui, who was guarding the gate of the compound, causing him to stumble, and rushed out of the compound without looking back.

Yan Jiefang watched this scene quietly, shook his head slightly, then looked away and continued reading, completely ignoring the Liu brothers' matter.

Yan Bugui steadied himself, muttered a few complaints under his breath, and quickly put the little incident out of his mind.

His eyes suddenly lit up when he saw Xu Fugui and his son, who had been away for a long time, returning with their bicycles. His face instantly lit up with enthusiasm.

He was even more eager to see his closest relatives than he was to see them; he quickly stepped forward, greeting them with a broad smile.

"Old Xu, you're finally back! You and Da Mao have been gone for almost half a month, running around in the countryside, not even able to come home. You've really worked hard."

As he spoke, he very attentively reached out and supported the back of the bicycle, giving it a lift to help the two of them steadily push the bicycle over the threshold of the courtyard gate.

Seeing this, Xu Fugui nodded slightly and responded politely:

"Oh, it's Old Yan. Have you eaten yet?"

He then turned to look at Xu Damao behind him and casually gave the order:

"Have you seen your third uncle? Hurry up and bring him a string of wild mushrooms that you traded with the villagers in the countryside so he can have a taste."

Xu Damao's face fell, and he reluctantly pulled a string of dried wild mushrooms from his bag.

At this time, Xu Damao was still young and not as shrewd in dealing with people as he would become a few years later.

Yan Bugui, seemingly oblivious to Xu Damao's expression, smiled even more broadly, immediately took the item, and gave a thumbs-up in praise:

"Old Xu, you're such a generous person! Well then, I'll shamelessly take advantage of this today."

Xu Fugui waved his hand:

"Then you go ahead with your work, Da Mao and I will head home first."

Yan Bugui nodded quickly:

"Of course, of course."

Standing in the main hall, Liu Haizhong looked at Yan Bugui and felt that he was similar to the traitors and lackeys in movies.

He felt that Yan Bugui had greatly lowered the official status of the old men in the courtyard, and that the old man should be dismissed.

Yan Bugui was only concerned with getting a small advantage and didn't care what others thought.

He carried the wild mushrooms home quickly and hung them on the wall to store them.

Then, the guy took out a kettle and started tending to the bonsai trees in the yard.

Yan Jiefang, who was reading a book, suddenly received a notification:

[Through long-term observation, you've learned a new skill: acting!]