Chapter 49 Chapter 49

After returning to the community, Wen Shuo went to the gym first, and it was already very late when he got home.

Jiang Lan is currently in the company's fourth quarter performance period and often stays in the company all night. However, he came back quite early today and is currently in the living room on the first floor, busy with company matters and waiting for Wen Shuo.

When Jian Wenshuo came in, she put down the computer in her hand and asked across the air, "Are you back?"

Wen Shuo hummed, threw his gym clothes into the laundry room on the first floor, and as he passed the living room to get some water from the kitchen, he bumped into Jiang Lan.

"Don't you have to work overtime today? Why are you back so early?"

"I want to chat with you for a while," Jiang Lan said. "Isn't it time for you guys to have a day off today?"

Wen Shuo took a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator and asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"I can't find you if nothing happens?"

Wen Shuo had already finished his water and was sitting at the counter, his elbows lazily resting on the surface. "If you're so free, go talk to my dad. That way he won't have to bother me today."

"He's just concerned about you, little brat," Jiang Lan said. "We just wanted to ask you what your plans are for the holiday."

Wen Shuo: "I don't have any plans. Winter vacation only lasts a few days. Might as well hurry over and finish early so I can get to college."

Wen Shuo took the initiative to say that he wanted to finish high school early. Jiang Lan found it strange: "I've never seen you say that before. Is there something that's been bothering you lately?"

"You're overthinking it." Wen Shuo knew his parents were quite fond of trying to get information out of him, and then they would secretly share information and tease their teenage son. Unfortunately, he didn't want to give them this opportunity.

"But I think, although college is great, it's only a few years, and it really goes by in the blink of an eye. If I were you, I would hope that time would pass more slowly and I would cherish the present moment."

"I can't argue with you on this." Wen Shuo finished his water and prepared to go upstairs. "Is there anything else you want to talk to me about today?"

He knew that Jiang Lan was waiting for him at home today, and it was definitely not just a simple chat.

"Yes." Jiang Lan said, "Two things, which one do you want to hear first?"

Wen Shuo didn't care: "First one."

"The first thing to do is to discuss our plans for this year's Lunar New Year," Jiang Lan said. "Your father and I have made plans to go to the United States for vacation. It's up to you. Do you want to go with us to the United States this year, or stay at the old house with your grandfather? It's your choice."

"Why is Dad still so busy this year?"

"Well, the newly expanded Asia-Pacific region is too stressful, and he's tied up at the company, so I'm going over there this year to spend a few days with him. Your grandfather is old and fell ill this year, and he's been talking to me about you lately, intentionally or unintentionally. Why don't you stay this year?"

Wen Shuo nodded, he was planning to do just that.

Ever since he last saw the old man in the hospital, Wen Shuo had truly felt that he had grown old and had lost much of his former vigor and vitality. It was natural for people to want someone to accompany them when they got older, and Wen Shuo also felt that he had this obligation.

"I'll stay in the city and spend the New Year with Grandpa."

In fact, he chose to stay for selfish reasons. After all, he also hoped to have the opportunity to see Ren Li during the winter vacation.

"Okay, then you stay here. This way, the old house will be more lively during the New Year. I won't be in the United States for long. I'll be back soon after the New Year."

"The second thing," Jiang Lan continued, "I want to talk to you about your future university. Do you have any ideas?"

From childhood to adulthood, she has always adhered to the free-range education approach for Wen Shuo. On the one hand, it is because of her own educational philosophy, and on the other hand, Wen Shuo is really too outstanding.

When others were still worrying about where their sons would go to school or whether they were not doing well in their studies, Jiang Lan never knew how to write about being anxious.

From childhood to adulthood, Wen Shuo has always had excellent grades. He has always been able to go wherever he wants and has had smooth sailing all the way.

From kindergarten to high school, she gave Wen Shuo the right to freely choose a school and never worried about his studies. After all, he had never ranked outside the top three in his grade.

But Jiang Lan knew that the college entrance examination was still different.

This is a watershed in life and a major event in Wen Shuo's life. Although she believes that Wen Shuo has his own judgment and choices, even as relaxed as she is, she still wants to know Wen Shuo's thoughts in advance and give him some practical life advice.

Wen Shuo seldom discussed school-related matters with Jiang Lan. After hearing the word "university", he knew that Jiang Lan was serious this time.

But he was also serious: "University, right? Then let me hear your thoughts first."

Jiang Lan: "It's an easy choice. Overseas or domestic, pick one."

She threw the ball back to Wen Shuo, which meant that the choice was still his.

Wen Shuo said without hesitation: "Domestic."

He came to a conclusion quickly without even thinking, which was indeed a bit beyond Jiang Lan's expectations.

In fact, she expected that Wen Shuo would choose to go to college in the United States. After all, he used to participate in exchange programs at famous American universities every summer vacation and take part in summer studies. He had a high GPA and easily passed exams such as the SAT... Jiang Lan couldn't figure out why he finally chose to stay in China.

But she knew Wen Shuo must have his own considerations for doing this, and she didn't intend to convince him, so she nodded and said, "Well, China is also good. If you choose Peking University, we can still be alumni in the future."

Wen Shuo calmly replied, "I don't plan to go to Beijing. I want to go to Shanghai for university."

This sentence caught Jiang Lan off guard again. She was a little surprised: "Why do you suddenly want to go to Shanghai? Didn't you always say you wanted to go to Beijing?"

Wen Shuo: "It's not a sudden decision. Mom, please don't ask why. There's no need to worry about that. Shanghai is no different from Beijing."

There was a lot of information in today's conversation, and Jiang Lan felt that he needed to digest it for a while.

She had always been at ease with Wen Shuo, even when he was in high school and in adolescence. But today, for the first time, she had the thought that "I can no longer predict my child's future after he grows up."

But she knew that what Wen Shuo said today was carefully considered. He rarely used the word "Mom" to address Jiang Lan. After adolescence, he always used words like "Ms. Jiang" and "Mom" instead.

But today, he called her "Mom" very formally on this topic, and Jiang Lan knew that he was serious this time.

She rubbed her brows and felt it necessary to inform Wen Shi about this matter. Today's conversation was still useful. At least it made her and Wen Shi mentally prepared. Otherwise, Old Wen would still be looking forward to the whole family reuniting in the United States next year.

"Okay, I won't bother you on the first day of the holiday." Since Wen Shuo didn't want to explain, Jiang Lan would not interfere with his choice.

This is Wen Shuo's own life. Since he has made his choice, no matter what happens in the future, good or bad, he must learn to bear it on his own.

-

After the holiday, Ren Li only slept for one day and then went to cram school, focusing on making a seamless and smooth transition from school.

Lin Yuan found this cram school temporarily according to Ren Li's request, with only one condition: it should be close to home.

When others were taking vacations, posting photos of their food, playing games, and shopping, Ren Li was already preparing to go to cram school.

She actually didn't think there was anything wrong with it. At least her biological clock to wake up early was still there, her daily routine was not disrupted, and she wasn't in the mood to play, so going to cram school was not painful.

The cram school that Lin Yuan found was located in an office building in the next block and was not very large.

This office building is rented out, and the studios inside have many different names, including children's tutoring institutions, art training centers, barber shops, photography studios, etc.

The tutoring class that Lin Yuan enrolled Ren Li in was a small institution that occupied a floor of an office building. In addition to tutoring high school students, it also provided homework assistance for junior high students.

Because it wasn't far away, Ren Li didn't ask Lin Yuan to send her there in the morning, and she took a taxi there herself.

In the morning, she followed the fingerprint on the text message to register for the tutoring class, received her own study materials, and found her classroom according to the seating chart.

This tutoring class was probably smaller, completely different from the one Ren Li had previously attended on Xueyuan Road. The tutor wasn't in the classroom, and everyone was gathered in groups of three or four, laughing and joking. There wasn't a tense atmosphere at all.

There were no seating charts in the classroom; everyone could sit wherever they wanted. Ren Li, by nature, preferred to be low-key and quiet, so after entering the classroom with her stack of materials, she chose a seat near the back, just like she had on her first day at No. 4 Middle School.

There was still some time before class started. After a while, a girl wearing black-framed glasses walked in hurriedly from the front door of the classroom with her head down.

As soon as she entered, she walked straight past the empty seats in the front row and went to the last row. Perhaps she was in a hurry, and when she passed by Ren Li, her large coat accidentally brushed against the thermos cup that Ren Li had placed on the table.

Ren Li let out a low cry unconsciously. The girl stopped, squatted down, picked up the water cup from the ground, and placed it on Ren Li's desk.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." She was a little nervous and hurriedly rummaged through the white canvas bag on her back, trying to find some tissues, but in the end she seemed to have found nothing, so she became even more nervous.

Ren Li quickly said, "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, I didn't put it away properly."

The girl wanted to say something, but after seeing Ren Li's sincere and gentle eyes, she gradually relaxed.

She walked around the back row, hesitated for a while, and finally sat down behind Ren Li.

While waiting for class to start, Ren Li felt a little bored.

She took out her stationery and study materials from her schoolbag and placed them neatly on her desk. She also took out a few of her favorite star-shaped pens, counted them, and placed them on the desk.

Fortunately, after waiting for a while, the teacher finally came and the class could start.

The cram school ends before the New Year, so it only lasts a few days, so the schedule is very full.

There are three classes in the morning and three classes in the afternoon. Considering that there is no restaurant here, the lunch break is quite long.

After finishing her two classes in the morning, Ren Li didn't feel any discomfort. After all, as a student in the key class of No. 4 Middle School, she felt that she was not inferior to anyone.

After class, he looked up at the front of the class, trying to see if there was anyone he knew, but unfortunately, there seemed to be only strangers here.

She thought of the girl she met in the morning, thought for a moment, and decided to make new friends.

"Hello, my name is Ren Li." Ren Li turned around and smiled sweetly, "What's your name?"

Hearing the voice in front, the girl wearing black-framed glasses was stunned at first, then raised her head.

She was petite, but she looked a bit bulky in a baggy black coat. She pushed her glasses up on her nose in surprise, and it took her a while to remember to respond, "Hello, my name is Yang Yi."

Ren Li: "The art of art?"

Yang Yi: "Yeah. Yang for poplar, Yi for art."

Ren Li: “That’s great.”

There was a silence.

Ren Li had never met anyone quieter than herself.

Whether it is the Affiliated Middle School where she used to attend or the No. 4 Middle School now, she is always surrounded by noisy friends, such as Yuan Jiani and Zhang Xintong.

But compared to Yang Yi, she felt that she was the one who was making the most noise.

However, Ren Li didn't think there was anything wrong with having a quiet personality.

She feels that this type of people have a particularly strong sense of identity, and once they identify the other person as a friend, they will attach great importance to this friendship.

She is such a person, so she thinks Yang Yi must be the same.

Since Yang Yi didn't like to take the initiative, Ren Li took the initiative. She took the initiative to start the conversation, and the two chatted about some basic situations. During the conversation, Ren Li learned that Yang Yi was from No. 12 Middle School and that it was his own idea to come to the cram school.

Just like No. 4 Middle School and its Affiliated Middle School belong to different school districts, No. 12 Middle School also belongs to another district near No. 4 Middle School.

Ren Li had always heard of this district. It was said to be even worse than the Affiliated High School, and the high schools in the area were basically the worst in the city.

The reason why they all met in a cram school was that this cram school was located at the junction of two districts, and the price was relatively cheap, so Ren Li met Yang Yi.

But Ren Li has no prejudice against anyone. Her original intention of coming here is just to keep herself passionate about learning.

It didn't take long for her to become familiar with Yang Yi, and Yang Yi seemed to gradually relax and become less restrained.

The bell rang for class. Ren Li finished chatting with Yang Yi and returned to her desk to sit down.

She had just straightened her face and prepared to listen to the class seriously when someone suddenly poked her back gently.

She took advantage of the teacher's pause in writing on the blackboard to quietly turn around and ask Yang Yi in a low voice, "What's the matter?"

Yang Yi's eyes were sincere: "Ren Li, can I use your correction tape?"

"No problem." Ren Li said, leaning to the side, revealing a pile of fancy stationery on her desk, and asked Yang Yi to choose:

"Just take whatever you want."

Yang Yi probably had never seen anyone so generous before, so he said thank you and then leaned over to look for a long time.

She pointed to one of them and asked, "Can I use your highlighter? Oh, and the correction tape, too."

Ren Li nodded, indicating that it was okay.

In addition to the correction tape, Yang Yi also took away Ren Li's most inconspicuous yellow highlighter.

Ren Li turned around and continued listening to the class.

After a while, she heard someone behind her ask again: "Ren Li, did you bring extra hair ties? I think I forgot to bring them today."

"Yes." Ren Li reached into the hole in the table and touched her schoolbag.

She remembered that there were a few hair ties in the side pockets of her schoolbag, but she searched for a long time and found nothing. Then she remembered that she had changed her schoolbag today.

She searched her schoolbag again, and fortunately there was another one in the interlayer.

She must have bought this from a jewelry store a long time ago. There was a small stuffed bear on the hair tie. She always felt that it was a bit too conspicuous to wear it on her head, so she just put it here. Fortunately, it came in handy today.

She handed over the hair tie: "Is this okay? But it's a little too eye-catching."

"Sure, thank you." Yang Yi took it gratefully and gathered her hair together.

When Ren Li saw the little bear shaking its head along with Yang Yi's movements, she thought it was very cute and that the hair tie suited her very well.

Maybe it was because she took too long to turn around, Yang Yi felt a little embarrassed: "I will return it to you as soon as I'm done with it."

"It's okay." Ren Li was afraid that she might misunderstand, so she quickly replied, "I'll give you this hair tie. I don't need it anyway."

"Really? Thank you so much." Yang Yi said with a happy smile.

During the morning, Ren Li was interrupted several times and stared at by the teacher several times. She was a little absent-minded in the last class.

I finally made it to noon and my stomach was rumbling.

There is no cafeteria to eat lunch here, and the lunch break is long, so everyone leaves after the last class in the morning.

It was still early for the afternoon class, so Ren Li wanted to go back and rest for a while before coming back. After packing her schoolbag and stretching, she turned to Yang Yi and asked, "Where is your home? If it's on the way, should we share a car and go back together?"

Hearing about taking a taxi, Yang Yi lowered his head and looked away a little: "It shouldn't be on my way. I have something else to do later. Why don't you go first?"

She spoke hesitantly, and Ren Li suddenly felt that her question was a bit too presumptuous: "Oh, okay, see you this afternoon."

"Well, see you this afternoon."

Ren Li left the classroom and took the elevator downstairs. When she was about to take a taxi, her fingers were exposed to the winter air and felt a little cold. She then remembered that her gloves were left in the classroom, so she turned back.

The corridor was quiet, and there were few people on the entire floor at this time. Ren Li walked to the classroom she had been in this morning and was about to push the door open when she saw through the glass that there was still someone sitting in the classroom.

Yang Yi lowered her head and was quietly eating the steamed bun in the back seat. There was a lunch box in front of her. She was eating while flipping through the study materials on the table, very seriously.

Ren Li's hand stopped in mid-air.

She suddenly understood why Yang Yi didn't want to go with her. She had brought lunch with her but was too embarrassed to take it out, so she chose to say this.

Ren Li had no intention of prying into other people's lives, nor did she want to be the one who disturbed Yang Yi's happiness, so she turned around and quietly went downstairs.

It was sunny outside, the winter sky clear and blue. Ren Li tilted her head back, squinting at the sun for a long moment, and suddenly felt that Yang Yi was truly remarkable.

Because I had classes in the afternoon, after lunch, I rested at home for a while and then took a taxi back to the cram school.

She brought a box of milk from home and originally wanted to give it to Yang Yi, but when she arrived at the classroom, she became conflicted - perhaps the other party did not need her kindness.

She finally gave the milk away, and fortunately Yang Yi happily accepted it.

The afternoon classes were all about physics, Ren Li's weak subject, so she listened attentively but also paid full attention and followed the teacher's train of thought.

Yang Yi behind him also looked pessimistic, frowning the entire afternoon.

In fact, looking at the entire cram school, Ren Li found that there were really only a few people who listened carefully.

Most of the students who came to this cram school were from No. 12 Middle School, and most of them were there just to do their parents' errands. Ren Li's gaze swept from the back row to the front. During class, some students even blatantly fell asleep on their desks.

But a cram school is not a school after all, and the teacher only reminded them by knocking on the blackboard, but did not really take care of them.

After being influenced by the teaching atmosphere of No. 4 Middle School for so long, Ren Li felt that she was about to become extraordinary. She could now study without being affected by the surrounding environment.

Although the students' levels vary, the teachers' abilities are not bad.

After reviewing in the first half of senior year, Ren Li was already able to identify the key contents.

Looking at what the teachers in the cram school teach, the question types are solid and the key points are highlighted. Although the level is slightly lower than that of the teachers in No. 4 Middle School, the question types here are also very suitable for exam-oriented education.

She originally thought she could continue studying here, but the turning point happened after school.