Staring at the small box of broken porcelain pieces on the table, Lin Yi couldn't help but imagine whether, once decomposed and reconstructed, they might turn into an antique porcelain piece for himself.
In today's society, the world of antiques is incredibly deep and unfathomable, and genuine porcelain pieces are extremely rare.
Of course, a complete set of broken porcelain pieces is a different story; it still holds some value for forgery.
But these fragmented ancient porcelain pieces don't have many tricks, as they're not worth much, not even enough to justify the cost of forgery.
Reaching out to grab the cardboard box on the coffee table and rummaging through it a bit, Lin Yi suddenly felt a burst of joy.
There's no denying that Dad did a good job with this box of pieces. It's not to say that it's a complete set, but at least they all belong to the same period.
This made it much easier for Lin Yi. If Dad's box of porcelain pieces spanned different eras, even if the system decomposed them, it might still be hard to gather enough 'system molecules.'
The only regret was that the day's decomposition and reconstruction had been used up, so he'd have to wait until after midnight to deconstruct and reconstruct the box of porcelain pieces in front of him.
Thinking about how these were Dad's treasures, Lin Yi decided to take the whole box of porcelain pieces to his room just in case.
After stashing the porcelain safely, he went to the kitchen, humming a tune and starting to cook.
As soon as the four dishes and a soup were ready, he heard the sound of a door opening outside.
Only, much to Lin Yi's confusion, Mom and Dad looked at him with very peculiar expressions.
"Wow, you two got back just in time! I've just finished cooking. Um, Mom, what's with that look? Let me make it clear, I didn't get into any trouble this time!"
His need to explain first stemmed entirely from past experiences, where Lin Yi's diligence usually meant he had caused trouble outside.
But this time, he genuinely hadn't caused any trouble; he was simply in a good mood after acquiring the system.
Of course, his parents' looks weren't about suspecting Lin Yi of causing trouble but rather, after hearing from Lin Yi's homeroom teacher, they seemed not to recognize their son.
"You little rascal! Do you really have photographic memory?"
Ultimately, it was Mom, Ye Xiaoer, who couldn't hold back. After changing her shoes, she walked over, pinching Lin Yi's cheeks, scrutinizing him with disbelief as she spoke.
Hearing the question, Lin Yi immediately understood; his parents must have found out about his school achievements.
It didn't take much thought to realize that it was surely the strict teacher who had reported it.
But that wasn't a bad thing. Maybe this event would slightly elevate his status in the family, potentially even surpassing Comrade Lin.
Thinking this way, Lin Yi immediately put on a smug smile:
"Heh, so you both found out, huh? Well, I won't pretend anymore. I'm laying it all out — your son indeed possesses photographic memory! So, are you proud of me? Heh, come on, cheer for me!"
But his smug demeanor didn't last a minute before it turned into a bitter expression.
For no other reason than, upon hearing Lin Yi's answer, Ye Xiaoer immediately got annoyed, bent down, took off her slipper, and slapped it onto Lin Yi's butt.
While doing so, she angrily scolded:
"I told you to lay it all out!" Smack! "Ouch! That hurts!"
"I told you about photographic memory!" Smack!
"I told you to stop pretending!" Smack!
Seeing the situation turning bad, Lin Yi immediately took off running, quickly hiding behind Dad, looking pitifully at his angry Mom:
"Comrade Xiaoer! You're so unfair. Your son has skills and you don't reward him, yet you resort to corporal punishment... Alas, no human rights here!"
Rubbing his spanked bottom, which didn't actually hurt much, Lin Yi still acted as if he was in a lot of pain.
"You little rascal want human rights? Come, I'll give you human rights! Lao Lin, move aside. Today, I'm really going to teach this little rascal a lesson!
You have photographic memory but don't seem to study, and you keep coming last in exams. See how I won't sort you out today!"
Hearing this, Lin Yi immediately understood that Mom had misunderstood him. But there was no way to explain!
If he said he had only acquired the photographic memory in the past few days, Mom wouldn't believe him either.
After dodging around for a bit, Lin Yi stopped only when Mom got tired.
Seeing Mom panting heavily, Lin Yi helplessly chuckled, finally helping her to the dining table, and didn't forget to start massaging her shoulders:
"Hehe, Empress Dowager Ye, why bother getting worked up over me? Look, I'm rough-skinned and thick-skinned, nothing happened, but you got tired. Your filial son can't bear to see that~"
Ye Xiaoer impatiently pushed her son's hand away, then pointed at him with a look of disappointment:
"Alright, alright, stop goofing around and go eat. Also, tomorrow I'm going to school with you to discuss with your homeroom teacher about repeating a year."
After saying that, Ye Xiaoer didn't pay attention to her son anymore and started eating the rice Lao Lin had just served.
However, Lin Yi was stunned, asking somewhat uncertainly:
"Repeating? Repeating for what?"
Ye Xiaoer put her bowl down on the table, glaring with widened eyes:
"Why repeat, you ask? Do you really want to go to a vocational school?"
Seeing Mom about to lose her temper again, Lin Yi quickly explained:
"Come on, Empress Dowager Ye, don't look down on your son. You don't trust your son, but don't you trust your own abilities? I inherited your intelligence.
Alright, I won't pretend anymore; I'll lay it out: if I don't become the national top scorer this time, I'll write Lin upside down!"
Finally, after reasoning with them and providing solid proof by completing two past exams on the spot, the Empress Dowager and Lao Lin absolutely believed their son hadn't lied.
Realizing their son had a real chance at getting into a top university, Ye Xiaoer was so excited she cried, and Lao Lin celebrated by having a few extra drinks.
In the end, when they each went back to their rooms, a slightly tipsy Lao Lin didn't even notice that his box of treasured porcelain fragments had disappeared.
Back in his room, Lin Yi placed the box of porcelain pieces by his pillow, then lay on the bed waiting for midnight to arrive.
[To be continued....]