When the young nurse finished her introduction and went out to find the two postnatal care workers belonging to this room type, Hu Min quickly waved to Liu Chen:
"Chen Chen, quick, quick, help me take pictures! Wang Dong, help me pull open the curtains and reveal the scenery outside!"
Hu Min was in the spacious living room, the warm bedroom, the extremely large bathroom with a bathtub, and by the window.
In the 180-square-meter queen suite, Hu Min's presence was everywhere. Taking the phone from Liu Chen, Hu Min quickly selected a few photos and uploaded them to her QQ album.
Soon, someone inquired on QQ:
"Hu Min, which confinement center are you staying in? It looks quite big, is it expensive?"
"Wang Dong, help me reply. It's Angel Confinement Center, 180 square meters. A relative helped book it, so I don't know the price."
Wang Dong sighed and typed the reply according to his wife's words.
"Wife, are we showing off a bit too obviously like this?"
Hearing Wang Dong's words, Hu Min didn't care:
"We need to show off obviously so they know I married well. That way, they'll stop discussing our premarital pregnancy. I bet they're discussing the price of this confinement center in the office right now and won't remember the age of the two children."
Wang Dong suddenly realized and quickly buried his head to continue replying to QQ messages.
Hu Min winked at Liu Chen with a smile. In reality, she was making it all up. She just wanted to show off. Having lived for almost thirty years, always envying others, she now wanted others to envy her.
When the two postnatal care workers arrived and took over the two children, Liu Fang took Liu Chen home. Min Min had taken so many photos, and after less than a month of giving birth, she must be tired. If they stayed, Min Min wouldn't be able to rest.
On the way back, Liu Fang sat in the passenger seat, repeatedly muttering to confirm:
"Is it really Tsinghua University? You weren't scammed, were you?"
"It really is!"
"That Tsinghua University, the number one in the country?"
"Yes."
"My goodness, you got into Tsinghua University."
"Yes, Mom."
"Am I dreaming?"
"No, you're not dreaming."
"Hehe."
Liu Fang sat in the passenger seat, smiling foolishly at the front. Seeing her mother so happy, Liu Chen couldn't help but smile, even more brightly than when she found out she was the top science student.
Chen Long, who was driving, couldn't help but smile as he watched the mother and daughter's happy expressions.
Just as Liu Chen was enjoying this beautiful, happy time, her phone vibrated again. Liu Chen finally understood that if it were her close friends or classmates, they would usually leave a message on QQ and rarely call.
So, who could it be calling her at this moment?
"Hello? Hello?"
"Ah, hello, may I speak with student Liu Chen?"
"Mhm, yes, it's me. Is there something?"
"It's like this, I'm the female reporter who interviewed you on the street after your college entrance exams. Do you remember?"
Liu Chen recalled. There seemed to be such a reporter, and she had even promised someone that if she got a top-three score, she would be interviewed.
"I remember. Are you going to interview me?"
Liu Chen asked directly, without any beating around the bush.
"Haha, yes, we've received news that you're this year's S Province top science student, it's a sure thing. So, we hope you can accept an interview, along with the top liberal arts student. Kuaishuge.
Of course, this interview comes with a reward, a prize of fifty thousand yuan per person provided by the sponsor."
Liu Chen squinted her eyes and asked:
"This prize money isn't the kind where you have to hold a big cardboard sign with 'Company XX sponsors 50,000 yuan' written on it, right?"
"Cough, generally speaking, yes."
"Then that won't work."
"It's just for a promotional spot on TV, it won't be used for other purposes."
"Then I'd rather not have the money."
Muttering sounds came from the female reporter's side, likely communicating with someone nearby about this issue. After a while, the female reporter spoke again:
"The director said that if you don't agree to hold the sign, the reward will only be ten thousand yuan."
Liu Chen thought about it. The real value of her top student title was among students. She didn't want to accept endorsements for things like protein powder just for money. After all, she now had over a million yuan from the lottery each month, plus stable dividends from Penguin Farm, and the dividends from League of Legends would follow.
Alas, she was too happy after the college entrance exams and had unknowingly dug a small pit for herself. Just thinking about the interview made her feel uncomfortable.
Perhaps Liu Chen's silent refusal made them understand that Liu Chen didn't seem to lack money. That's right, the female reporter remembered the posts she had just browsed on Hupu about this beautiful, academically gifted student.
She lived in a villa in Qiushui Mountain Villa, and the crystal chandelier at home might be worth her lifetime's salary. Tens of thousands of yuan seemed insignificant to her.
Liu Chen didn't want to make things difficult for the beautiful and hardworking reporter. She stated her terms:
"I don't want any reward, I'll do the interview for free, but I won't do any advertisements. If I discover anyone using my image for advertising, I will take legal action. You can discuss it, and if you agree, I'll do it."
The two people in the front seat heard Liu Chen's voice on the phone and her reply. They dared not make a sound. It seemed that in the hearts of adults, once you graduated from high school with excellent results, it was assumed that you would be smarter on life's path.
And they would be more willing to listen to your opinions.
In her previous life, Liu Chen dropped out of high school in the second year. For a long time, Liu Fang treated her as a child. It wasn't until one day Liu Chen's income surpassed hers that they gradually started discussing family matters together.
"Student Liu Chen, the director agrees. I'll send you the interview time, place, and requirements via text message later. I look forward to meeting you again."
"Okay, thank you. I'm looking forward to it too."
After hanging up, the car fell silent. It was Chen Long who broke the slightly awkward silence:
"Chen Chen, well done. We're not short of a few tens of thousands of yuan. What is all that? It's fine if it's a genuine reward and thanks, but what they're doing is simply trying to trick you who don't know the market into being a cheap advertising image."
Liu Fang also nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, we're not short of this few tens of thousands of yuan."
Hearing her mother's words, Liu Chen smiled and teased:
"Aren't we buying a storefront? Mom, don't you want me to take on more interviews? Maybe I can save up hundreds of thousands?"
Liu Fang's eyes widened when she heard this. She turned to look at her daughter sitting in the middle of the back seat and said somewhat angrily:
"What are you talking about? In your heart, am I the kind of mother who sells her daughter for glory? Why do I earn money? For our better lives, mother and daughter. If I ask you to do these things, wouldn't that be topsy-turvy?"
Seeing that her mother was genuinely a little angry, Liu Chen quickly patted her mother's shoulder.
"Just kidding, just kidding. But what I said is true. Do you remember the cram school I enrolled in last year?"
"New Oriental? How could I forget? Back then, you spent all day at the cram school and didn't get home until eight or nine at night. It was so hard."
"New Oriental called and asked me to take a promotional photo for twenty thousand yuan."
"Twenty thousand yuan!"
Liu Fang's eyes widened at the price. She immediately turned around and looked at Liu Chen in the back seat:
"Twenty thousand yuan, RMB? Are you sure it's not a scam? Like, you take the photo and then they ask you to give speeches everywhere?"
Liu Chen waved her hand: "It's just taking a promotional photo, and they're allowed to use the comparison of my scores from the end of my second year of high school and the first joint exam of the third year to promote their elite small classes. Don't worry, twenty thousand yuan. As long as it can raise parental expectations, they'll quickly make this money back."
In fact, New Oriental wasn't that generous. They just refunded her tuition fee of thirty-six thousand yuan from last summer, plus a ten thousand yuan top student bonus, and a thirty thousand yuan fee for using her top score for comparison.
All in all, it was less than seventy-six thousand. Liu Chen planned to add the remaining thirteen thousand herself.
In addition, she planned to find other ways to continue subsidizing her mother and ensure her mother could buy her own frozen food store.
"Exactly, our Meili Brand ham sausage is also looking for a spokesperson recently. I'll ask when we get back how much a science top student endorsement would be. If it's a lot, we'll take it," Chen Long obviously saw Liu Chen's intentions and chimed in.
Liu Fang was a little unhappy at first hearing their words, feeling useless that her mother still needed her daughter to earn money to buy a store. That evening, she and Chen Long lay in his wedding bed downstairs in his building and discussed the matter.
Chen Long, wearing silk pajamas, was reading a fashion magazine. Hearing Liu Fang's words, he said indifferently:
"Since it's Chen Chen's money, let's put this store in her name, shall we? Before we get our marriage certificate, let's change the legal representative on the business license to Chen Chen. She's an adult anyway."
Chen Long said this from the bottom of his heart. In his opinion, instead of letting Sister Liu own the store and always be wary of him, it was better to let Sister Liu completely transfer the store to Chen Chen.
After a year of interaction, he also realized that Chen Chen was a smart child, and her intelligence was not only reflected in her studies but also in everyday social interactions.
Many children, due to their good academic performance, think the world revolves around them, but in reality?
Being smart is indeed an advantage, but many things in this world require not only intelligence but also consideration of interpersonal relationships and hard work.
After finishing this page of men's fashion magazine, Chen Long found that Sister Liu had been silent for a long time. He put down the magazine and turned his head.
"Babe, why are you crying?!"