138. Winter Departs, Spring Returns

Once Shen Mo’s transfer was finalized, the path ahead for Fang Chang’an’s life became clear and transparent.

The new semester officially began on Thursday, the eighth day of the lunar month. To allow students to return home for the Lantern Festival, the school adjusted the schedule, keeping classes running straight through to the following Thursday—the day of the festival itself. Students were given Friday and Saturday off, with a requirement to return to school for evening study hall on Saturday night. Most students didn’t think much of it, but to Fang Chang’an, it felt like a luxury; in his memories of his previous life, he had rarely been home for the Lantern Festival since starting middle school.

On the eleventh day of the first lunar month, a Sunday and the fourth day after returning to school, Fang Chang’an was reading in the classroom after the second period when he heard the call for "Class Monitor" followed by the sound of "Dad." He turned to see Fang Lujun. After stepping out to chat for a while, his father handed him a few oranges, a box of cookies, and a bag of sausages before leaving for the bus station to head to the city train station. Fang Chang’an, being quite possessive, shared the snacks only with Shen Mo and Wang Ke. They hid the stash, nibbling on it slowly; by the time the spring flowers were in full bloom, there was still half a bag of sausages left.

As the weather warmed and the layers of clothing thinned, he didn’t remain idle. He focused on two main tasks.

The first was obtaining Cheng Mengfei’s approval to launch a "one-on-one" peer tutoring program, which essentially involved him helping the entire class. The structure was simple: he set aside ten minutes during the nightly study hall for students to voluntarily come up and share what they had learned that day—whether it was a reflection, an insight, or a question. Since no one else wanted to go up, the enthusiastic, high-achieving class monitor had to take the stage.

Fang Chang’an didn't just lecture on the curriculum; he would chat about anything related to learning. For example, since *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* was mandatory reading, why not discuss it? Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, and Su Shi were all heavyweights in their textbooks, so talking about them was perfectly reasonable. He treated his classmates like younger siblings, mixing topics together. He’d told them from the start: listen if you want, do whatever you want if you don’t. The results were surprisingly good, so much so that the allotted ten minutes often stretched into a full class period.

Although the Town No. 2 Middle School wasn't a prestigious institution, Fang Chang’an knew he couldn't hold a candle to his teachers in terms of pedagogical skill. However, the psychological pressure students felt when facing a teacher versus a peer was entirely different. They often hesitated to ask teachers about points they didn't understand, but they had no such reservations with him. Sometimes, he had to explain the same concept repeatedly, to the point of wanting to throw his chalk in frustration, which finally gave him an appreciation for the difficulty of being a teacher.

In this atmosphere, a culture of discussion and study slowly took root across the class. Since the exam content was recent, the improvement in grades was evident. During the first unit exam, Class 4’s average was still the lowest, but it trailed the third-place Class 2 by only 0.02 points. By the midterm exam, Class 4’s average had leaped to second place among the four honors classes, trailing the first-place Class 1 by only 0.3 points.

When the results were released, Cheng Mengfei’s beautiful face was beaming for an entire week. As the weather grew warmer and clothes became lighter, she seemed almost radiant.

Shen Mo’s ranking in the class faced a challenge; she remained third in the midterms as Liu Bei returned to second place, with Mao Shanshan in fourth. However, in the grade-wide rankings, Class 4 showed an increasingly prominent trend. Fang Chang’an firmly held the top spot in the grade, while Liu Bei and Shen Mo took third and fourth, meaning Class 4 occupied three of the top five spots. This shocked the veteran teachers who had previously whispered behind their backs about Cheng Mengfei "usurping" a spot as an honors class. While they weren't exactly won over, they became noticeably warmer and less distant toward her. These changes delighted Cheng Mengfei, who grew increasingly fond of Fang Chang’an, sometimes looking at him as if she wanted to give him a hug.

The second task involved the stock market.

Moutai stock had risen from the twenties after the start of the year to thirty-five by March. After that, it fluctuated, but there were no signs of a downturn, which finally set Shen Cheng’yan’s mind at ease. During one conversation, Shen Cheng’yan casually mentioned which types of stocks were worth holding long-term. Fang Chang’an didn't dare answer recklessly. Instead, he probed Shen Cheng’yan, learning that he held accounts in both Hong Kong and the United States, before indirectly asking about the situation of several stocks he had in mind.

In March 2004, Apple’s stock price was only $0.40 per share! Microsoft was at $25, and Amazon at $40!

Fang Chang’an didn't actually know much about stocks—much of his knowledge was superficial—but he knew Apple would become the world’s first trillion-dollar company, and that its stock would soar after the release of the first iPhone in 2007. He knew that for any company whose name he recognized, the stock was likely a safe bet.

Given that Apple’s stock was cheaper, Fang Chang’an decisively urged Shen Cheng’yan to buy it. The excuse was easy to find: Cheng Mengfei and Shen Mo were both using iPods, and since Chinese people were using their products, how could the company not have a future?

Shen Cheng’yan clearly viewed Fang Chang’an as a lucky charm. Since his own analytical investments had failed, he gave up and listened to his "mascot." Regardless of how childish the reasoning sounded, he actually sold all his other U.S. stocks and bought Apple. He told his older brother, Shen Chengli, about this bold move. Shen Chengli initially thought his brother had experienced a sudden epiphany, but when he heard the reason was that "Feifei and Momo use iPods," he nearly died of frustration. Fortunately, Shen Chengli did his own research and learned about the upcoming release of the third-generation iPod and the iTunes store. He didn't rush to tell Shen Cheng’yan to sell, and after the third-generation iPod and iTunes store launched in late April, he ended up buying some Apple stock himself. Losing money was impossible, though he wasn't sure which investment would yield more.

In June, another company name Fang Chang’an was closely watching appeared in the stock selection list: Tencent. On June 17, it listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at 0.84 HKD per share. Shen Cheng’yan didn't pay much attention, and by the time he noticed it, it was already the second week after the IPO, with the price at 0.8, down 0.4 from the issuance price.

At that time, the exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar was already slightly lower than the Renminbi. The fact that Tencent stock was less than 80 cents nearly made Fang Chang’an drop his jaw; he never expected Tencent to have such a destitute moment. Even though he didn't know the exact future stock price, it was less than 80 cents a share!

What was there to hesitate about? Buy, buy, buy!

With these three stocks as his foundation, Fang Chang’an lost interest in researching others. After converting everything to Renminbi, he allocated his holdings based on the current price: Tencent, Apple, and Moutai in a 5:3:2 ratio. The logic was simple: Tencent was the cheapest and Moutai the most expensive, so without knowing which would earn more, he decided to buy as much as possible.

Fang Chang’an conveyed this logic tactfully to Shen Cheng’yan, who then consulted his brother. Shen Chengli had never paid attention to Apple or Tencent. He had already been frustrated by the "iPod" excuse for Apple, and now hearing that the reason to buy Tencent was because "Fang Chang’an signed up for a QQ account and thinks it’s easy to use," he was infuriated by his unreliable brother.

At that time, QQ already had a significant user base, but its influence was nowhere near that of the national-level application it would become later. Besides the issue of internet penetration, competitors were strong, primarily MSN. Shen Cheng’yan and Cheng Mengfei both had MSN accounts. Fang Chang’an had tried it out and thought it was fine, but knowing the outcome, he said, "Foreigners don't understand the thoughts and habits of Chinese people, and perhaps they don't care to. They don't know how to attract kids like me. As more people in China get online, young people will become the mainstream because many adults view the internet as a scourge. In that case, more and more people will use QQ, and the users of other chat software will dwindle."

Shen Cheng’yan was easy to convince—he was just a messenger. Shen Chengli, however, wasn't convinced by this conclusion, which lacked solid evidence. He lectured his brother, hung up the phone, and then casually bought some Tencent stock. He wasn't swayed by Fang Chang’an’s reasoning; he just felt the kid was a bit eerie. He had been bullish on Moutai, and it had risen to thirty-five; he had been bullish on Apple, and it had risen to sixty cents.

Shen Chengli had already been bullish on Moutai, and the Apple investment was a whim. Since that was the case, he decided to "believe in the supernatural," as metaphysics sometimes proved more reliable in the stock market than logic. The most important reason, however, was that he had money, and this Tencent stock was too cheap; he could buy some without worrying about losing much.

Amidst these events, something else happened, though it had nothing to do with Fang Chang’an. He was merely a spectator in a small corner, watching the ripples from a pebble thrown into a lake. That pebble was a college student named Ma Jiajue.

This campus murder case in Kunming shocked the entire nation. The Ministry of Public Security issued a Class-A arrest warrant, mobilizing police across the country for a massive manhunt. He was captured in Hainan in mid-March, sentenced the following month, and executed on June 17—the same day Tencent listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Fang Chang’an only learned the full details of the case when he reached university. For the students in this ordinary small town, the impact was limited to the wanted poster at the school gate, the worried reminders from their homeroom teacher, and some unavoidable gossip.

When the wanted poster was posted, the school had just announced the midterm exam schedule. Many students were worried about the tests, and few truly bothered to understand the case. Still, bits and pieces of rumors circulated, such as "his family was poor, and his classmates looked down on him" or "he was bullied by his roommates." There was no lack of sympathy or empathy in their words.

Fang Chang’an first heard these sentiments in his dormitory. The next day, he heard similar rhetoric from classmates during the break. Whether they were from the countryside or the town, they seemed to identify with the "Student Ma" who had been isolated and bullied, making Fang Chang’an feel it was necessary to say something.

During the evening study hall, he walked up to the podium again. Instead of answering questions or telling anecdotes, he said, "I think everyone is aware of the recent wanted criminal case. I’ve heard some classmates discussing it—in the dorms, in the classroom, and even in the crowds after school. I have a few things to say."

No one expected him to talk about this. They were surprised but listened intently.

"Some classmates say this murderer was isolated and bullied by his roommates. I don't know who started this, but I’ve read detailed reports in the newspapers. Let me briefly summarize it for you."

"The first person he killed was his good friend. They had a good relationship for three years in college. Because they were playing cards in the dorm at night, they started arguing, and the victim said bad things about the murderer, so he was killed."

"The second victim wasn't playing cards that night. He had no conflict with the murderer and even had a decent relationship with him. He would call him 'Brother Ma' when they met, just like many of you call me 'Brother Chang’an'."

There was laughter from the audience. Fang Chang’an smiled before continuing: "This classmate who called him 'brother' wasn't a roommate, and there was no grudge. He was just staying in their dorm for a couple of days and happened to be sleeping there. The murderer found him in the way and killed him."

The classroom went dead silent.

"The third victim had no conflict or grudge with the murderer and wasn't playing cards either. But he was having a birthday party and didn't invite this person. When the first victim was arguing with the murderer, he said, 'You're not a good person, that’s why he didn't invite you.' The third victim was killed because of that."

"The fourth victim came to the dorm to find someone while the murderer was cleaning up the blood from the first victim, so he was killed."

Many students involuntarily held their breath.

"Let’s not discuss the murderer’s character or right and wrong. Some of you feel sympathy for him because he was 'isolated.' If you think about the five people mentioned—four dead, one alive—if you were involved in this situation, whether you wanted to be or not, do you think you’d be the one lying on the floor, or the one running away?"

"I think I’d be the one lying on the floor."

"If something like this happens and there are no arrests, no trials, and no executions, what happens in the future in our school or dorms when someone argues over cards, or doesn't invite someone to a birthday party? How will the angry person resolve the conflict? Will they think they can get away with murder, or that they won't be executed because they were 'bullied first'?"

"I am your class monitor, and I hope my classmates understand that the law protects the weak. As for us—regardless of whether our families have money, whether our grades are good, or whether we look good—as long as we are good people, as long as we don't want to break the law, and don't want to be hunted or executed by the police, we are all the weak."

Cheng Mengfei learned of this the next day. On the third day, Fang Chang’an was asked to repeat his words over the school loudspeaker after morning exercises for all the teachers and students to hear.

After this interlude, the midterm, unit, and final exams followed in succession, and the first year of middle school came to a close before the summer vacation arrived. Fang Lujun indicated over the phone that he hoped to bring the three children together for a few days to see the outside world. Shen Mo, following her parents' requirements, prepared to collect her report card and head to the neighboring province to join them for a vacation. After the summer, the family would truly settle in the city.

Shen Chengli and Shu Mei would undoubtedly continue to travel for work, while Shen Mo would transfer to the city’s No. 1 Middle School for her second year of middle school. She would continue her routine, living a stable life of study, just like in the town. It was just a different school and a different set of classmates.