Atlas of Heaven and Earth Chapter 1: Yangzhi Wuyi

Just before dinner, as Chen Chuan had just sat down, his uncle-in-law, Nian Fuli, suddenly said, "Chen Chuan, you've graduated from middle school now. There are no higher education institutions in our Yangzhi City. As for , your uncle-in-law, I only have a small salary from the patrol bureau, and I can't afford to send you to study in the upper-class area of the central city. Have you thought about where you want to go?"

The dining table fell silent. Aunt Yu Wan looked at Chen Chuan with concern, while his two younger cousins, holding their bowls, looked left and right with their small heads.

Nian Fuli said, "If you haven't thought about it and have nowhere to go, I can arrange sothing for you. Don't complain about it being hard or tiring. If you don't want to do it, say so early and find your own way."

Chen Chuan looked at Nian Fuli and smiled, "Little Uncle-in-law, are you in such a hurry to send away?"

Nian Fuli glared at him and said, "It's uncle-in-law, don't add "little'." He habitually touched his coat pocket, his fingers just touching the cigarette box, but after glancing at his children, he withdrew his hand and frowned, "Don't be cheeky. Give a straight answer. Your cousin is promising and doesn't need my worry. Your two younger siblings are still small, and they will be going to school in a few years. The family expenses will be even greater in the future. You're already sixteen. I don't expect you to repay , just be able to support yourself in the future. Isn't that right?"

Chen Chuan nodded and said, "Uncle-in-law, you're right." He thought for a mont and said, "Uncle-in-law, I was thinking of finding a way out on my own."

"On your own?"

Nian Fuli looked at him for a while and said, "Alright, usually the school has a two-month holiday, right? Then I'll give you two months. After two months, you'll be on your own, and I won't have to worry about you anymore."

Aunt Yu Wan seed to want to say sothing but stopped.

Chen Chuan said, "Alright, let's do as you say, uncle-in-law."

Nian Fuli looked him up and down, "an what you say." He picked up his chopsticks and said, "Let's eat." Seeing him start to eat, the family began their al.

Chen Chuan also reached out to pick up his chopsticks. At that mont, he seed to sense sothing and looked up. By the wall stood a teenager who looked exactly like him, staring at him quietly. Nian Fuli's family was busy eating and seed completely unaware as if only he could see it. He naturally withdrew his gaze, eating while pondering his future, and before he knew it, he had finished his last bite of food. His aunt had been keeping an eye on him and quickly said, "Leave it, I'll wash it. You focus on your matters first."

Chen Chuan looked at his aunt, then at Nian Fuli, who showed no expression, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and said, "Alright, uncle-in-law, aunt, I'll go back to my room now."

Nian Fuli picked up a bite of food, slowly chewing it, and said nothing.

After Chen Chuan left, Yu Wan said, "The child is still young."

Nian Fuli retorted, "Young? He's already sixteen. When I was his age, I was already on the battlefield!"

"Okay, okay, I know you're tough."

Seeing that he had also finished eating, Yu Wan got up from the table, fetched a bottle of yellow wine, poured him a glass, and said, "I'll go check on the kids."

"Go, go." Nian Fuli waved his hand impatiently. He took a sip from his glass, feeling instantly relieved, while also muttering to himself, "This kid, he's a bit different from before..."

"Dad, when I'm sixteen, will you kick out too?"

Nian Fuli turned his head to see his younger son, Nian Mo, looking up at him eagerly.

His little daughter, Nian Lu, a three-year-old girl, said in a baby voice, "Of course, you eat the most at!"

"I, I don't eat that much! Dad..." Nian Mo hugged his bowl, looking pitifully at Nian Fuli.

Nian Fuli laughed heartily, and patted Nian Mo on the back of his head, "You rascal, you're my son, how could I not take care of you? I've got a spot saved for you under my seat. Go, turn on the radio."

"Okay."

Nian Mo happily jumped off his stool, ran over with a clatter, and turned on the old-fashioned radio, from which ca a rustling sound.

"...The railway maintenance departnt reports that due to the impact of the Xie Mountain mudslide, the section originally scheduled for repair in early June will be delayed again..."

Chen Chuan had already returned to his room by then. His study-cum-bedroom was about eight or nine square ters in size, with clean windowsills and old red-painted wooden floors, and everything around was neatly arranged, showing that it was tidied and cleaned every day. On the wall were pasted so movie posters, and as he looked at them, the nas of the movies naturally ca to his mind; "The Lone Swordsman', "The Beast of the Highlands', "The Last Conquest'...

Walking on the creaking floor to the window, on a corner of the slightly old desk was a picture fra containing a pair of young couple, the woman young and beautiful, the man tall and handso, their clothes made of very fine materials, smiling at him.

To the right of the desk was a bookcase over two ters tall, filled with books. At a glance, apart from so old textbooks, most were extracurricular books, such as "The Great Pioneering', "The Fifteenth Year of Jianzhi', "The Mysterious Machu', etc.

He couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Too bad there's no "Dual-Use Talent in Military and Civilian Fields', "Militia Military Training Manual', at worst, sothing like "One Hundred Thousand Whys'.

"What whys? Chan'er, can auntie co in?" ca Yu Wan's voice from outside the door.

"Chan'er' was the nickna given to Chen Chuan by his parents of this body, and now, apart from Yu Wan, only that annoying cousin of his called him that all day long.

Chen Chuan said: "Auntie, co in, it's nothing, I'm just thinking about a topic."

"You've already graduated from middle school, Chan'er, and you're still so diligent." Yu Wan walked in. She was not yet forty, with fair skin, and rather ordinary looks, while Chen Chuan was handso, with red lips and white teeth, and tall. Standing together, one could only vaguely see the blood relation from the contours of their eyebrows and eyes.

Yu Wan said: "Chan'er, don't bla your uncle-in-law for today's matter, he has his difficulties, and don't be stubborn and act tough, I'll talk to your uncle-in-law again later."

Chen Chuan smiled and said: "Auntie, don't worry, I'm not acting tough, I really have plans."

Yu Wan hesitated for a mont, then tentatively asked: "Chan'er... are you going to find Miss ng?"

Upon hearing this address, a girl's figure involuntarily surfaced in Chen Chuan's mory, and he shook his head and said: "I'm not going to find her."

Yu Wan said: "It's good not to go, her family is of high status, the people around her have their eyes in the sky, you've been stubborn since you were a child, innocent playmates in childhood, but not compatible when grown up."

Chen Chuan said: "Auntie, you're right, childhood things don't count, now when people go out, they have family attendants following them, why would I seek trouble for myself?"Yu Wan felt much more relieved hearing him say that. She held up a handkerchief bundle she had been clutching, and in front of Chen Chuan, she unwrapped it layer by layer, revealing a stack of ten-yuan Jianyuan currency notes. The notes featured blue landscape patterns, with a round do and square land on the front, and rice and wheat pressing down a nine-tasseled crown on the back, with a watermark of a felt hat.

She grabbed Chen Chuan's hand and stuffed the money into it, "Take it, use it when you need to, don't save it. If it's not enough, I have more here."

Chen Chuan didn't reach out his hand, asking, "Does uncle-in-law know about this?"

Yu Wan said, "This is the money I saved for you." She lightly tapped his arm, "Don't call him uncle-in-law, he doesn't like it."

Chen Chuan smiled and took it, saying earnestly, "Auntie, consider this money as a loan, I will pay it back."

"Sigh, family, what's there to pay back? Just keep it safe." Yu Wan waited until Chen Chuan had securely put the money away before feeling relieved, saying, "Then I'll leave, now that you've graduated, don't overwork yourself, rember to turn on the light when reading, don't ruin your eyes."

"Okay."

Yu Wan gave a few more instructions and left the room.

Chen Chuan closed the door, pulled the light cord by the door, and a small pendant lamp on the ceiling lit up, emitting a pale yellow light.

He walked to the bookshelf, randomly pulled out a book, sat down on the edge of the bed, and began flipping through it with interest.

After a long while, he heard the wall clock outside chi ten tis. Since he had important matters to attend to the next day, he put the book back, did a bit of washing up, and then turned off the light to sleep.

In the pitch darkness, the teenager who looked exactly like him stood by the bed, still watching him quietly.

In his dream, he seed to return to his previous life, after working for several years, he went on a hiking trip and passed by a museum in a certain city where he saw an ancient mirror exhibition. When he entered the hall out of curiosity, he imdiately saw a do mirror hanging from the ceiling, and at that mont, the him inside also looked over.

The mont their gazes t, his vision suddenly blurred, and his body seed to turn into a baby, from birth to childhood, from childhood to teenager, until one day, a tile-blue car ca into view, and as the sound of the car faded away, he suddenly plunged into darkness. Bright light seeped through the thin gap in the curtains, tearing through the night's gloom.

Chen Chuan opened his eyes and turned to look at the alarm clock by the bed, it was 5:50. He shook his head, got up, dressed, and went out to brush his teeth and wash his face.

Nian Fuli was on duty at the patrol bureau and had left early in the morning. His two younger siblings were still asleep, while Yu Wan had gone out to buy groceries, having prepared breakfast for him before leaving.

After finishing breakfast, he returned to his room and put on his only set of student formal wear. The outfit was made of woolen fabric, in a gray-black color, very crisp overall, and looked quite sharp when worn.

He buttoned up his collar, put on his student cap, adjusted himself in the mirror attached to the wardrobe, then took a gray canvas satchel from behind the door, packed a water bottle filled with water, and after putting it on, went to the front yard to find his bicycle, pushing it out through the gate.

Looking at the gradually rising sunlight outside, he thought to himself, "Anyway, let's proceed with the previous plan."

He mounted the bike, flicked the bell with his thumb, producing a series of crisp ringing sounds, pedaled, and rode out of the alley where he lived, turning only twice before reaching the main road.

Nian Fuli was the patrol captain of the patrol bureau's branch, and this area was inhabited by patrol bureau officers and their families, so the public security was relatively good, the roads were wide, and the streets were lined with phoenix trees. The late May sunlight mixed with the deep green leaves, lifting one's spirits.

After riding along the main road for half an hour, he entered the city center square. The tallest buildings of Yangzhi City were concentrated here, mostly built during the great expansion period, nearly sixty years ago. Due to the tense situation at the ti, the materials used were extrely solid, giving a sense of heaviness amidst the cool tones.

Waiting for a trolley to pass by on the road, he then saw seven or eight oddly dressed people approaching from the other end of the road.

One of them seed very sensitive to gazes, and suddenly turned to look over, his gaze quite fierce. However, upon seeing the satchel on Chen Chuan, he cursed sothing under his breath, spat at Chen Chuan's retreating, and then turned his head away again.

After passing through the square, Chen Chuan turned left onto the northbound avenue. About five minutes later, a very imposing corner of a roof appeared on the east side of the road. As he slowly approached, he could see it was the gate of a university, with three entrances, a hundred paces wide, and a stone plaque on the central gate inscribed with the words "Wuyi University[-]' in bold, silver-hooked calligraphy. One could see magnificent cars frequently entering and exiting through the gate. At this mont, he gripped the brake handle, propped one foot on the ground, and stopped in front of a stone tablet by the gate, which was inscribed with an introduction to the institution: "Wuyi University[-] was established in the fifteenth year of Jianzhi, officially renad in the thirty-fifth year of Jianzhi, with Cheng Yunbai as its first president..."

The main gate of the university faced a flat, open area. The morning sun at seven or eight o'clock was very bright, shining on the school gate and the buildings on both sides, making them appear particularly elegant and solemn.

His gaze wandered as if looking for sothing. After a while, he finally spotted an inconspicuous sign near the side gate, which read: "Admissions Office, this way'.

He let out a sigh, flipped over, and got off the bike. As he did so, his gaze caught sight of the figure that looked almost exactly like him, standing by the gate, staring back at him. He averted his gaze, pushed the bike handle naturally, and entered the university through the side gate.

...

...