Winter, 1965, Bincheng.

The wind was biting, the trees were bare, and people hurried along the streets, but when they passed by Yangming Middle School with its red walls and white pillars, they couldn't help but take a second look.

This is the best middle school in Bincheng, and dozens of students are admitted to university every year, which is extremely rare in this era.

Today marks the start of winter break. Students in other grades received their report cards and went home early, but the senior high school students surrounded their teachers, asking about universities from all over the country and discussing admission scores. This is because they are filling out their college entrance examination application forms today. Even the underachievers who gave up the college entrance examination and are waiting to receive their graduation certificates next semester gathered in small groups to chat and laugh.

Amidst the commotion, Feng Mingshu, who was usually calm, suddenly stood up and ran outside, bumping into several desks and making a loud noise. Everyone who saw it felt sorry for her, but she rushed out of the classroom without slowing down.

Class monitor Zhang Yunxiao was slightly taken aback. Seeing her disappear outside the door, he quickly called out, "Student Feng, you haven't signed your consent form yet."

"Class monitor, stop calling her. Given Miss Feng's background, it's pointless for her to fill out the form."

"That's right, class monitor, don't bother."

Zhang Yunxiao ignored the students and chased after them. He only managed to catch a glimpse of a slender figure disappearing outside the school gate, leaving him with a face full of confusion and unease.

Just a week ago, they agreed to take the entrance exam for Binjiang University together. Even if her family background was an obstacle, he would try his best to help her realize her dream.

Feng Mingshu had no idea what the boy behind her was thinking, nor did she care, because she was in a dreamlike state, the scenery before her was both real and unreal, overlapping fifteen years of time.

This made her wonder if she had really returned from fifteen years later, or if she had just left the labor camp and returned to Bincheng.

At the foot of the Feng family's two-story villa, the nanny, Wang Ma, was startled when Feng Mingshu ran into the yard: "Miss, why are you all sweaty? Quickly wipe yourself off, you'll catch a cold."

Feng Mingshu did not respond and rushed into the building. Finally, in the living room on the first floor, she saw a quiet figure wearing a plain cheongsam. She was pruning flowers. The light from the window shone on her beautiful face, and the faint lines at the corners of her eyes revealed the gentleness of time.

Fifteen years later, upon seeing the scene from her dream again, Feng Mingshu choked up, softly called out "Mom," and tears streamed down her face.

Yu Jingqiu turned her head upon hearing the sound and was startled to see her daughter crying uncontrollably. She immediately put down the flower branch, rushed over, hugged her, and gently comforted her, "Zhuzhu, don't cry. Tell Mommy if you have any grievances."

Zhuzhu is Feng Mingshu's nickname, meaning "precious as a pearl," and no one has called her that for fifteen years.

Feng Mingshu's tears flowed even faster as he hugged Yu Jingqiu tightly, craving the warmth of her body.

"Madam, Miss, she..."

Wang Ma followed her in, asking with great concern, but before she could finish, she saw her mother make a gesture. Wang Ma nodded in understanding, then took two pears from the basket and went to the kitchen.

After the young lady finishes crying, she can have a bowl of rock sugar pear water to soothe her throat.

But after the pear water was boiled and cooled down, Wang Ma did not hear the call from the Madam or the young lady.

In the bedroom on the first floor, Yu Jingqiu held her daughter with a calm expression, but the blue veins on the back of her right hand, which was resting on the table, almost broke through her fair skin and turned crimson.

Just now, her daughter told her that in six months, the domestic situation will change drastically, and all four of them will be affected, separated from each other for fifteen years.

"Mom, do you believe me?" Feng Mingshu looked up from Yu Jingqiu's arms and asked nervously.

Yu Jingqiu took out a handkerchief and gently wiped away the tears on her face, smiling tenderly, "I believe it, of course I believe it. My daughter foresaw information for the next fifteen years. This is a blessing from heaven for our family."

Hearing that she believed her, Feng Mingshu's tense body relaxed instantly, but the exhaustion from fifteen years of labor reform on the farm surged back, making her so sleepy that her eyelids drooped. She struggled to grasp a section of her cheongsam sleeve: "Mom, hurry, hurry..."

"Mom knows, Mom will arrange everything. Zhuzhu, sleep peacefully." Yu Jingqiu gently led her to bed, took off her shoes, and covered her with a blanket.

Feng Mingshu returned to the long-lost warmth of the quilt, smelling the unique, gentle fragrance emanating from her mother. She quickly fell asleep, her brows and eyes relaxed with contentment.

This is a beautiful girl with delicate features, fair skin like jade, a rosy complexion, and a delicate appearance like a peony bud about to bloom.

Yu Jingqiu gently tucked the blanket around her, then gracefully left the room and closed the door behind her. Her gentle demeanor instantly turned cold.

Twenty years after marrying into the Feng family, her life was only slightly easier for the first two years when her father-in-law was alive. After that, her husband became dissolute and her mother-in-law became frail. She single-handedly supported the family business and raised her children. In recent years, her husband even ran away to Hong Kong with his money for true love. Under such circumstances, she still managed to manage her life in an orderly manner. It was not just because of her gentle nature that she survived.

As Wang Ma came out of the kitchen, she noticed the sharp glint in her wife's eyes and immediately became alert, standing respectfully to the side awaiting instructions.

"Wang Ma, go pick up Mingyu and Mingxue."

Mingyu and Mingxue are twins, currently nine years old, and are in the third grade at a primary school about one mile away from the Feng family mansion. Since the beginning of this year, they have refused to be picked up by their family. Today is a holiday, and they should have been home early.

"Yes, ma'am."

As soon as Wang Ma answered, she went out, and the sound of the twins' footsteps and cheerful shouts could be heard outside.

"Mom, Uncle Li took us to buy chestnuts!"

"Hot chestnuts, smell so good, Mom, have a taste."

The twins ran into the house. The innocent and carefree Mingxue grabbed a roasted chestnut from the paper bag and presented it as a treasure. Yu Jingqiu smiled and went to take it, but it was intercepted by a hand halfway.

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