Seeing the look in Uncle Li's eyes, Feng Mingshu knew she couldn't make the decision herself, so she looked at her mother pleadingly and clasped her hands together in a gesture of respect.

Yu Jingqiu glared at her mischievous daughter, then smiled gently and thanked Li Yanzhong, "Thank you for your help these past few days, Comrade Li. If it's convenient, please stay for a meal."

Li Yanzhong nodded with delight: "That's convenient. I'm fine. I'll go to the kitchen and cook you some of my specialty dishes."

Wang Ma: "..."

Her job was taken away, what was she supposed to do?

Li Yanzhong was an orphan adopted by the Feng family. He tried to learn everything he saw from a young age, and cooking was one of them. Later, when the old master Feng saw that he was clever, he assigned him to be the young master's page. The young master didn't learn much, but he learned most of it, and his cooking skills didn't suffer either.

Having gotten the chance, Li Yanzhong put a lot of effort into preparing four dishes and a soup, which were delicious and visually appealing, drawing cheers from the twins.

Just as the dishes were served, the doorbell rang.

"Madam, I'll go open the door."

Bored out of her mind, Wang Ma quickly took over the task and soon brought back a handsome young man. He was carrying a military green backpack and was slightly out of breath, as if he had arrived in a hurry.

Feng Mingshu noticed the schoolbag looked familiar and was about to identify it when the boy suddenly bowed deeply to Yu Jingqiu.

"Hello Aunt Yu, I apologize for the intrusion. My name is Zhang Yunxiao, and I'm Feng Mingshu's classmate. She left her schoolbag in the classroom, so I brought it to her." The boy's tone was nervous as he finished speaking and then turned to Feng Mingshu, seemingly expecting her to say something.

Feng Mingshu was stunned for a moment. It really was her schoolbag. No wonder the golden pig pattern hidden inside the shoulder strap looked familiar to her; it was her zodiac animal.

"So it's Zhang, please come in." Yu Jingqiu greeted him with a smile, then turned and instructed, "Wang Ma, pour some tea."

Her mother's voice brought Feng Mingshu back to her senses, and pulled the name Zhang Yunxiao from her distant memories. She quickly said, "Mom, my classmate doesn't drink tea."

Amidst the bewildered stares, she quickly grabbed her schoolbag, handed it to her younger brother beside her, and tugged at Zhang Yunxiao, saying, "I'll see you out."

Zhang Yunxiao's initially joyful expression dimmed, but she didn't say anything, only politely saying goodbye to Yu Jingqiu.

The two left the small villa and reached the courtyard gate. Zhang Yunxiao asked anxiously, "Mingshu, are you angry with me?"

Feng Mingshu was a little confused. She hadn't fully recovered from the events of fifteen years ago, and she was already a bit off track.

Her silence led Zhang Yunxiao to mistakenly believe she was truly angry, and he hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry, it's my fault. I should have discussed it with you before coming to your house, but you left without signing the consent form this morning, and I was afraid I wouldn't have enough time to bring it to you. Please sign it now, I still need to rush to take it to the homeroom teacher..."

Zhang Yunxiao pulled out a form from his military green cotton-padded coat and unfolded it. Feng Mingshu's eyes fell on the two big words at the top of the form—College Entrance Examination!

These two words activated her long-buried memories. She remembered that she had made a promise with the boy in front of her to take the college entrance exam, and that she had once had a vague, innocent affection for him.

But that shallow sentiment was easily shattered by the tides of time.

"No need, I won't sign it, and I won't take the college entrance exam." Feng Mingshu interrupted Zhang Yunxiao and pushed away the pen he offered.

Zhang Yunxiao immediately became anxious: "Why not participate? Is it because of those people's gossip? Mingshu, you don't need to worry about that. My uncle works at the Education Bureau. I told him about your situation and your excellent grades. My uncle told me that as long as we don't choose any majors with confidentiality issues, you can be admitted if your grades are high enough..."

There will be no more college entrance examinations, not for at least ten years!

Feng Mingshu, unwilling to listen any longer, interrupted, "Thank you for your kindness, but it's really not necessary. You can go now, goodbye."

After she finished speaking, she turned and walked into the yard, raising her hand to close the gate, but suddenly a figure rushed over and forcefully blocked the gate.

"Cousin, how could you do this? Brother Yunxiao kindly brought you the consent form and even asked people to help you. If you had any conscience at all, you wouldn't treat Brother Yunxiao like this!" The person who came was furious and stood up for Zhang Yunxiao, but if you looked closely at her eyes, you would find a hint of smugness.

Zhang Yunxiao was taken aback for a moment, then frowned: "Chu Xuanxuan, don't explain Shu like that. I know she has her difficulties."

The person who came was Chu Xuanxuan, Feng Mingshu's cousin. She pouted and stomped her foot: "Brother Yunxiao, we grew up together, but you always favor my cousin. I'm going to get angry."

"Don't talk nonsense, we just live in the same family compound," Zhang Yunxiao hurriedly explained, looking nervously at Feng Mingshu.

After watching the scene, Feng Mingshu laughed: "Growing up in the same compound, you are indeed childhood sweethearts. You two should get along well and not bother me."

After saying that, he pushed Chu Xuanxuan aside, slammed the iron gate shut, put down the latch, and walked inside without paying any attention to the calls and pleas outside.

"I heard Xuanxuan's voice. Is something wrong? Should Mom intervene?" Yu Jingqiu, with her shawl draped over her shoulders, stood in front of the building entrance, glanced at the courtyard gate, and asked.

Yu Jingqiu knew that Chu Xuanxuan, her niece who was the same age as her daughter, always liked to compete with her daughter, just like her older sister liked to compete with her. She didn't care, but she didn't want her daughter to suffer.

Seeing the concern in her mother's eyes, Feng Mingshu shook her head: "No need, those are all irrelevant people. Mom, let's go inside and eat."

She affectionately took her mother's arm and led her into the house. Yu Jingqiu tapped her pretty little nose but didn't ask any further questions.

Feng Mingshu managed to get away with it and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After being reborn, she told her mother a lot, but also kept many things to herself, such as her mother's death and the two people lingering outside the courtyard gate.

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