Gazing at the small box of broken porcelain pieces on the table, Lin Yi couldn't help but imagine whether he could deconstruct and recreate them into an antique ceramic piece.
In today's world, the antique business is unfathomably deep, and real pieces among ceramics are one in a million.
Of course, a set of broken porcelain pieces is a different story; those hold some value for forgery.
But these broken fragments of ancient porcelain have little to hide. After all, they're not worth much, not even enough to justify the cost of forgery.
Reaching out, he grabbed the paper box from the coffee table, rummaged through it, and was instantly delighted.
There's no denying the quality of these shards that Dad gathered. It's not that they form a complete set, but at least they all belong to the same period.
This made things much easier for Lin Yi. If this box contained porcelain from various eras, even if the system deconstructed it, it might not gather enough 'system molecules.'
The only regret was that today's deconstruction and reconstruction feature had already been used up. He would have to wait until after midnight to deconstruct and recreate this box of ceramics.
But since these were Dad's treasures, to be safe, Lin Yi simply took the entire box of porcelain shards to his own room.
After hiding the ceramics, he came out and headed to the kitchen, humming a song while starting to cook.
When the four dishes and a soup were ready, the sound of the door opening came from outside.
However, Lin Yi was puzzled to find that his parents were giving him strange looks.
"Oh wow, you both came back right on time. I've just finished cooking. Uh, Mom, what's with that look? Let me get this clear, I haven't caused any trouble this time!"
Lin Yi explained right off the bat because every time he was this attentive, it usually meant he'd been up to something outside.
But this time, he truly hadn't caused any trouble; he was just in a good mood from acquiring the system.
Of course, his parents didn't suspect Lin Yi of getting into trouble. After hearing from his homeroom teacher, they seemed to no longer recognize this son of theirs.
"You little rascal! Do you really have a photographic memory?"
Finally, his mom, Ye Xiaoer, couldn't resist. After changing her shoes, she came over, pinched Lin Yi's cheek, looked him up and down, and asked incredulously.
Hearing the question, Lin Yi immediately understood that his parents must have learned about his situation at school.
No need to think twice; it must have been the strict teacher who ratted him out.
But this wasn't a bad thing. Perhaps because of this, his status in the family might improve a bit, possibly even surpassing Comrade Lin.
With that in mind, Lin Yi quickly put on a conceited smile:
"Hehe, so you've found out, huh? Well, I won't pretend anymore. I'm coming clean: your son indeed has a photographic memory! So, aren't you proud? Hehe, cheer for me then!"
But Lin Yi's smug expression barely lasted a minute before it turned into a pained grimace.
For the reason, after hearing Lin Yi's confession, Ye Xiaoer got angry. She bent down, took off her slipper, and smacked it against Lin Yi's rear.
Scolding fiercely while hitting:
"I told you to 'come clean'!" Smack! "Ouch! That hurts!"
"I told you to have a photographic memory!" Smack!
"I told you to stop pretending!" Smack!
Seeing the dire situation, Lin Yi quickly dashed off, soon hiding behind his dad, looking aggrievedly at his furious mom:
"Comrade Xiao Er! Isn't this too unreasonable? Your son has skills, and instead of rewarding me, you're giving a physical punishment... Oh, there's no human rights!"
Rubbing his smacked bottom, though it didn't hurt much, Lin Yi still feigned a pathetic look.
"You little rascal, asking for human rights? Come, I'll give you your 'rights'! Lao Lin, you stay out of the way; today I'm going to teach this rascal a lesson!
Having a photographic memory but not studying all day, and always ranking last in the exams. See if I don't straighten you out today!"
Listening to his mom, Lin Yi immediately realized it was all a misunderstanding, but he had no way to explain!
If he said he only gained the photographic memory recently, his mom wouldn't believe it either.
After jumping around a lot, he finally stopped when his mom got tired of hitting.
Watching his panting mom, Lin Yi could only give a helpless smile. Finally, he cheerfully helped her to sit at the dining table and didn't forget to massage her shoulders:
"Hehe, Empress Dowager Ye, why bother stooping to my level? See, my thick skin is fine, but you've worn yourself out. Your filial son has to feel sorry for you, right~"
Ye Xiaoer, however, shook off his hand in exasperation and pointed a finger at her son in a 'hate iron for not becoming steel' manner, scolding:
"Alright, alright, stop fooling around. Go eat. Also, tomorrow, I'll go with you to school to discuss staying in the same grade with your homeroom teacher."
After saying this, Ye Xiaoer stopped paying attention to him, picking up the rice Lao Lin had just served and eating on her own.
But Lin Yi was stunned, hesitantly asking:
"Repeating a grade? What's that for?"
Ye Xiaoer put her rice bowl down on the table and glared at him:
"Why repeat a grade? Do you really want to go to a junior college?"
Seeing his mom about to lose it again, Lin Yi hurriedly explained:
"Gosh, Empress Dowager, you're underestimating your son. You don't trust me but don't you trust your own genes? I got my intelligence from you, after all.
Alright, I won't pretend anymore. I'm coming clean again: this time, if I don't score as a national top student, I'll write Lin upside down!"
Finally, after reasoning and showing evidence, plus working through a couple of previous college entrance exam papers, both Empress Dowager Ye and Lao Lin completely believed that their son wasn't lying.
When they confirmed their son really had a good chance of getting into a 985 university, Ye Xiaoer was moved to tears, and Lao Lin excitedly drank a couple more glasses.
In the end, when they all went back to their rooms to sleep, a slightly tipsy Lao Lin didn't notice that his precious box of broken porcelain pieces had vanished.
Back in his own room, Lin Yi placed the box of shards by his pillow before lying on the bed to await midnight's arrival.
[To be continued...]