Chapter 64: Searching for the Sichuan-Chongqing Girl (Part I)

Lin Cheng stood at the street corner, a gentle breeze lightly stirring the stray locks of hair across his forehead.

Chen Yan asked with concern, "Lin Cheng, are you sure you don't need me to go with you? How about taking Tao Lu? With her around, she might be able to help."

Lin Cheng smiled. "Teacher Chen, I'm from Cherry Media too. I'll do my best."

Lin Cheng had asked Chen Yan to approach Liu Cixin, the author of *Earth's Stories*, to negotiate the purchase of the copyright, while he himself wanted to head to Sichuan and Chongqing to find Li Jiajia.

During a private chat between the two, Lin Cheng had told Chen Yan that this was Cherry Media's grand twenty-year master plan!

In Chen Yan's eyes, Lin Cheng was no longer just an ordinary high school student; he was resolute, adaptable, and sharp-witted.

"Lin Cheng, you guy, you're always so mysterious. Alright, I won't say any more. But are you certain this *Earth's Stories* is worth such a massive fuss?"

Lin Cheng gave a cunning smile. "Teacher Chen, some things are still obscure through the mist now, but in the future, this *Earth's Stories* will be enough to shake the entire science fiction world."

Of course, Chen Yan could not see twenty years into the future, nor did he know that the Chinese copyright alone for *Earth's Stories*—later known as *The Three-Body Problem*—would eventually sell for a staggering three hundred million!

Nor did he know what the Sichuan-Chongqing girl Li Jiajia meant to Cherry Media.

Nevertheless, he leveraged many connections with classmates and parents, searching painstakingly for two months. Finally, he found news about Li Jiajia!

Li Jiajia was fifteen years old.

Ten years later, she would have a thunderous name on YouTube: Li Ziqi.

In 2004, in order to survive, Li Jiajia went to the city to make a living, earning a meager three hundred yuan a month.

She had slept overnight in parks and eaten nothing but steamed buns with cold water for two consecutive months.

At nineteen, her job finally became "high-class"—working part-time in a bar.

It wasn't until she turned twenty-five that she transformed into Li Ziqi, self-filming and self-directing pastoral-style videos that took the world by storm.

Six years later, fighting single-handedly to protect her own brand against ruthless predatory capital, she returned defeated and vanished from the public eye entirely...

Why did Lin Cheng know with such precision that Li Ziqi was fifteen years old this year?

Because she was the same age as Zhuang Sijing, who would become her hardcore fan a decade later.

When Li Ziqi was stripped of everything by capital, Zhuang Sijing had once dreamed of witnessing the myth of a young girl fighting back and triumphing over capital.

Yet, in the end, Li Ziqi could not defeat the colossal, monstrous force of capital...

What Zhuang Sijing did not know was that Li Ziqi would ultimately succeed again!

Even during her lowest moments, she still brought in nearly 800,000 a month from YouTube!

The sceneries of life are ever shifting!

Li Ziqi ultimately returned to the world under her own individual identity!

Right this year, having stepped out of the mountains, Li Ziqi was no longer sleeping in parks; she was right in the middle of her steamed-buns-and-cold-water phase.

Today, when the name Li Jiajia drifted into Zhao Guangtao's ears, it sparked his gossipy itch.

"Who is Li Jiajia?" A spark of curiosity flashed in his eyes.

"Is she some online girlfriend or a child bride?"

"She... she's a poverty-stricken student sponsored by my family. I don't know why she dropped out again. When my dad found out, he was very concerned and asked me to try and persuade her, at least to finish junior high and leave some hope for the future."

Hearing this, an urge to personally intervene and change someone else's destiny welled up inside Zhao Guangtao.

"...Alright, I'll help you persuade her. But do we need to persuade her in person?"

A trace of happiness flashed in Lin Cheng's eyes as he patted Zhao Guangtao on the shoulder.

"Jay Chou, you really are a good guy!"

"Get lost!"

Zhao Guangtao believed Lin Cheng almost unconditionally, his heart filled with anticipation for the unknown world.

Besides, this trip would also allow him to take in the beautiful scenery of the Bashu region along the way, board a big airplane, and look down upon the rolling sea of clouds...

For a senior high school student, this was undoubtedly a rare and delightful treat.

The two quickly packed their bags...

The pure reason Lin Cheng dragged Zhao Guangtao along was because he was an absolute social terrorist.

...

The next morning, Lin Cheng and Zhao Guangtao set off for Mianyang without the slightest hesitation.

As soon as their plane landed, they headed straight for the hotel.

Entering the room, the two eagerly took showers.

The hot water slid across their skin, washing away the fatigue of the journey and awakening their youthful vitality.

They changed into clean, comfortable casual clothes and stepped out of the hotel looking refreshed.

By this time, the sky was gradually darkening, adding a touch of mystery and anticipation to their journey of "searching for the Sichuan-Chongqing girl."

They wove through the city's alleys, and finally, on the eve of falling night, they found Mianyang No. 30 Middle School, located on the outskirts of the city.

Winters in Sichuan and Chongqing are always drizzly, and whenever a cold front strikes, the rainfall multiplies abruptly.

At this moment, the clouds in the sky grew thicker and heavier, and faint rumbles of thunder could be heard...

"Is it going to rain?!" Zhao Guangtao looked up at the sky and said with a worried expression.

The two stood at the street corner, watching pedestrians rushing hurriedly, urged on by the sudden, urgent rain.

Their figures stretched and shortened amidst mottled light and shadow, resembling a silent dance.

"Yeah, looks like we need to find an internet cafe to hide out for a bit!"

Before Lin Cheng's words had even faded, the heavens seemed to respond to his decision as a torrential downpour poured down fiercely!

Instantly, bean-sized raindrops lashed against their skin, sending a series of bone-chilling shivers through them.

"Dead-man Zhao, you really are a jinx!" Lin Cheng complained with a bitter smile, quickly scanning his surroundings in search of a potential shelter.

"Let's go check out the school gate first; maybe we can block the rain there or run into other students hiding from it."

The two broke through the rain curtain, running wildly all the way toward the school.

Their figures flickered in and out of view amidst the downpour, the roadside trees swaying violently in the gale.

They sprinted all the way, rushing toward the school gate that loomed faintly in the dusk.

On both sides of the street, shop shutters were tightly closed, as if unwilling to leak even a sliver of light;

The school itself seemed swallowed by darkness...

It was a holiday, all the shops nearby were closed, and the school was pitch black.

The sky looked as if it had been slashed open, and the rain grew heavier and heavier.

Like teardrops venting the sky's emotions, they slammed ruthlessly against the shoulders of the two, soaking their clothes and blurring their vision.

On the street, accumulated water rapidly pooled into streams, adding a bizarre and uneasy edge to this night journey.

"Let's walk a bit further ahead," Lin Cheng shouted loudly through the rain.

Zhao Guangtao's lips were slightly purplish with cold, his teeth chattering involuntarily.

"Is this fucking the suburbs or a wasteland?" Zhao Guangtao muttered curses under his breath as he mechanically followed behind Lin Cheng.

Apart from the sound of the rain, there was no other noise, making it feel like a forgotten world.

Suddenly, a dull "thud" echoed from behind as Zhao Guangtao accidentally stepped into a water puddle.

Stumbling, he fell heavily right into a deep pool of water.

Water splashed everywhere, accompanied by a muffled groan from Zhao Guangtao.

"Get up quickly!" Lin Cheng shouted at the top of his lungs while pulling Zhao Guangtao hard out of the mud.

Zhao Guangtao was soaked to the bone, rainwater dripping down from the tips of his hair.

"Are you hurt?"