Hu Qian's already swollen eyes welled up with tears again.
She felt her life was ruined. The summer vacation after her college entrance exams, which she had eagerly anticipated, had now become her personal hell.
As she listened to the sound of her father's footsteps receding outside the door, Hu Qian stared blankly out the window. She didn't know what she should do now. Just a week ago, she had been worrying about her upcoming college entrance exam results.
Now, she felt all of it had lost its meaning.
She didn't even know what she was living for.
Her phone had been lost somewhere that night.
Her boyfriend...
Thinking of the boy in Beijing, who had promised to study at university together in Beijing, Hu Qian buried her head in her arms once more, sobbing uncontrollably.
Outside the room, Luo Meihong sat in her wheelchair, watching her son place the food outside the door before returning to his own room.
Her heart felt a suffocating sensation, the first in many years.
It was as if she had been covered with a wet facecloth, unable to breathe.
She was old, she knew it herself, and she was paralyzed, unable to move her lower body. She felt a sense of familiarity with everything that was happening. More than a decade ago, her eldest daughter, Hu Jin, had suffered the same fate.
What had she been thinking back then?
She had blamed Hu Jin for not being careful enough, for losing her most precious purity.
Thinking of this, Luo Meihong couldn't help but chuckle. So, her eldest daughter had known the truth of this matter all along, and had remained silent only to seek revenge by absconding with half of her elder brother's fortune?
Her daughter endured for over a decade to seek revenge, but what about Qianqian?
Luo Meihong gritted her teeth, unsure of what to do, and could only face the cheerful variety show laughter on the television in silence throughout the night.
...
At a little past eleven in the morning, Liu Chen received a call from a teacher at the admissions office. The teacher stated they had landed in Sanya and, if convenient, would come by car to sign the contract.
"I'm at Sanya People's Hospital now, accompanying my aunt. Teachers, please come over."
When Liu Chen received the call from the Tsinghua University admissions teacher, they were holding a bouquet of flowers, and another person was carrying a fruit basket.
"Student Liu Chen, we apologize for disturbing you. Look, this is our university's letter of intent for admissions."
Seeing their persistence regarding the letter of intent, Liu Chen was direct. He glanced at the terms and benefits, confirming they were the same as discussed yesterday. He took the neutral pen from the admissions teacher and signed his name.
"Good, good! Student Liu Chen, come, let's take a photo together with this letter of intent, as a memento."
Liu Chen cooperated fully, holding the admissions plan upright in front of him and standing with the admissions teacher, smiling for a photo.
"Student Liu Chen, it's like this, if there are any interviews or discussions later on, could you perhaps mention some aspects of Tsinghua University that you're looking forward to? Um, that is, besides the benefits and treatment."
The admissions teachers had come and gone in a hurry. By the time Liu Chen went to the restroom to wash some fruit, they had already slipped away, leaving Liu Chen somewhat amused.
"Even admissions teachers are teachers. Just a meal, they can't even have that?"
Hearing Liu Chen's words, Hu Min expressed her approval of the admissions teachers' actions.
"As expected of one of the top universities, their quality is truly beyond reproach. They finished their business and left, not delaying any longer."
"I've decided, the two children will have the names you chose. Just imagine, these are names chosen by the top scorer in the college entrance examination, perhaps they'll even carry some scholarly aura?"
Liu Chen had become accustomed to his aunt's impulsive behavior, and silently sat by the bedside, beginning to peel an apple.
The two admissions teachers, after leaving the hospital, were in the car heading to the airport, grinning from ear to ear.
"This year's top science scorer is really beautiful. Once we release this photo, we won't have to worry about admissions. When I applied, if I had known there was such a good-looking student, I would have definitely applied to Tsinghua."
"Exactly, exactly! We should promote her well!"
That evening, Liu Chen's familiar acquaintance – the homepage of Hupu – once again featured a photo of Liu Chen. This time, the photo was updated to show Liu Chen with long, straight black hair, holding the admissions letter of intent.
'Holy cow???
'Holy cow??? Isn't this the most beautiful scholar??'
'Wow, not only is she good-looking, but her grades are also so good?'
'I heard that this year's top science scorer in Province S got a raw score of 720... more than ten points ahead of the second place.'
'Amazing person!'
'Could it be fake news?'
Everyone took another look at the poster's name,
Tsinghua University Admissions Office.
'Confirmed, undoubtedly a beautiful scholar.'
Not only on Hupu, but the link to this post was rapidly forwarded within various QQ groups.
In just one night, the post was pushed to the top ten trending topics on Hupu. Many students reposted the thread to their QQ spaces to motivate themselves.
Study at Tsinghua! Be a junior brother/sister to a beautiful scholar!
According to surveys, starting from that year, Tsinghua University's student intake began to surpass that of Peking University next door.
This made the president of Tsinghua University smile happily at the president of Peking University for several consecutive years.
However, Liu Chen himself was unaware of the existence of this post. She was currently holding her younger cousin on the plane. Wang Dong was holding his younger daughter, and Hu Min was sitting in the middle seat, bored.
"By the way, a few days ago I heard my sister-in-law mention on the phone that the new wholesale market has been completed and is ready for sales. She's a bit hesitant, as the price of a shop is not a small sum. She thinks renting a shop would be the same, since it's a direct contract with the market. What do you think, Chenchen?"
Ever since Hu Min learned that Liu Chen was the top science scorer, she had developed a new habit of asking Liu Chen about everything.
It was as if, in her eyes, the top scorer in the college entrance examination was omnipotent, at least, that's how Hu Min saw it.
Fortunately, Liu Chen was not a true eighteen-year-old girl, and often gave more sensible advice.
"It's still more flexible to have your own shop. I think Uncle Chen Long would think the same way."
In fact, Chen Long had indeed thought about paying to buy a shop and give it to Liu Fang, but Liu Fang had refused.
At this moment, he was struggling to persuade Liu Fang.
However, all of this was resolved with a few words from Liu Chen after she met the three of them.
Once everyone was in the car, Chen Long initiated the discussion about the new shop.
"Chenchen, try to persuade your mother. She thinks we should continue signing contracts with the market as we are now, but I think this is a great opportunity. We can take advantage of this chance to buy shops in the first or second row and expand our business scale."
Liu Fang, hearing Chen Long bring up this topic in front of their daughter, understood that he wanted to use their daughter Chenchen to persuade her.
But Liu Fang had something she couldn't say: she was worried about not having enough money for the shop. If she used Chen Long's money, it might lead to financial entanglements between them in the future.
Although she had always thought Chen Long was a good person and treated her well, it didn't mean that in the long years to come, Chen Long wouldn't be tempted by money.
Liu Chen could naturally guess her mother's concerns, as they had supported each other through the lowest point of their lives in her previous life.
"The admissions office from Tsinghua University came to see me yesterday and said they would waive my tuition for four years and give me a reward of ten thousand yuan. I thought the conditions were good, so I agreed."
"What!"
Liu Fang slowly pulled the car over to the side of the auxiliary road, then took a deep breath and asked with a slightly trembling voice,
"This Tsinghua, is it, is it that Tsinghua?"
Liu Chen nodded: "Yes, it's the Tsinghua you're thinking of."
Liu Fang swallowed hard,
"The college entrance exam results aren't out yet, are they? I remember the customers at the shop said the results would be out on the 28th. I thought you were coming back today to rush home to check the results?"
"I'm the top science scorer in Province S, so my results came out first. Teacher Lai called to tell me. She probably thought I would tell you, so she didn't call you?"
Liu Fang nodded, then regained her composure and looked at her good daughter sitting behind her, holding a baby, and said word by word,
"So, my daughter, Liu Chen, is the top scorer in our Province S's college entrance examination, and is going to Tsinghua University?"
"Yes, Mom, you're right. And the tuition is waived for four years, so the tuition money that was saved can be used for the shop."
Liu Fang slowly nodded, then quickly shook her head,
"Let me think about it again."
After speaking, she turned back, gripping the steering wheel with both hands, but her foot lingered on the clutch. After two minutes,
Liu Fang turned to look at Chen Long, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
"Chen Long, you drive. My, my legs are a bit weak, I can't press the clutch."
Chen Long immediately stepped on the accelerator, dropping off Hu Min, her husband, and their two children at the Angel Maternity Center.
Liu Fang walked into Angel with a light and heavy step, as if floating, looking more like a postpartum mother than Hu Min, who had just given birth.
As a result, as soon as they entered the maternity center, a young nurse pushed a wheelchair towards Liu Fang and smiled, "Ma'am, please have a seat."
"Hahahaha! Oh! My wound!" Hu Min was the first to burst into laughter, then her wound was pulled, and she cried out in pain.
The young nurse realized she had been mistaken and, blushing, pushed the wheelchair towards Hu Min.
"Please have a seat."
Hu Min didn't hesitate, and holding her little daughter, sat on the wheelchair. Liu Chen naturally placed her hands on the armrests and pushed the wheelchair, following the nurse inside.
"Ms. Hu, the room type you booked is our best Queen Suite. It's a 180-square-meter two-bedroom suite, with 24-hour nanny care for the child, twice-daily doctor's rounds, and you can also have the child looked after in the nursery. It includes a postpartum recovery package..."
Hu Min looked at the Queen Suite, which she had visited out of curiosity when she was pregnant, her heart beating wildly.
She remembered the price of this room type.
Thirty thousand yuan for twenty-eight days!