"Shallow!"

"I saw the newspaper!"

"Mingming, I never imagined you had such a hard life! Your grandparents were really cruel. You were so young back then, yet you did more than adults. It was too much!"

"If it weren't for your own hard work and the opportunity to study, the country would be missing out on a talent like you in the future!"

Chen Mengshu greatly admired Shen Qianqian, especially after learning that she had passed the grade-skipping exam with high scores, she was even more impressed.

She had studied for ten years and had never admired anyone. Shen Qianqian was the first one she admired. Now that she knew how hard Shen Qianqian had worked in the past, she felt very sorry for her.

I rushed to Shen Qianqian's rented room with the newspaper in my hand.

There are still more than three months until the college entrance examination.

Shen Qianqian has been focusing on her studies lately and hasn't been going to the factory. If there's anything she needs, Lin Xiu, Yang Wang, and Zhou Cai will come over to tell her on the weekend.

After thoroughly studying and completing the materials and test papers she had brought back from the Chen family, she felt it wasn't enough, so she went to ask her current senior high school homeroom teacher for the test papers.

The homeroom teacher first praised her for her self-discipline, then took out several old college entrance examination papers. Shen Qianqian couldn't hide her disappointment; she had done all of these before.

Unfortunately, the variety of review materials and exam questions is not as great now as it would be decades later.

I want to solve this problem, but it's difficult!

When Chen Mengshu came over, she was sitting in a chair reading a book. Her essay score was quite high, so she needed to focus more on it.

The little girl clutched the newspaper tightly, her eyes red, as if she had encountered something sad.

Shen Qianqian put down her book and asked her what was wrong.

Chen Mengshu, filled with anger, suddenly choked up.

She was in such a hurry and full of worry, but the other party didn't hear her at all?

gas!

Chen Mengshu slammed the newspaper onto the table.

"See for yourself!"

Shen Qianqian naturally saw the familiar things in her hands; she had just sent them to the capital and Hong Kong Island a couple of days ago.

She picked up the newspaper, slowly unfolded it, and a black-and-white half-body photo immediately came into view. She stared at the photo for a couple of seconds, then let out two snorts of annoyance.

"Sigh, the photo is bad, it makes me look ugly."

Seeing her calm and relaxed expression, Chen Mengshu was utterly bewildered: "Aren't you angry? Aren't you sad? The Yu family treated you like this..."

Shen Qianqian smiled faintly: "What's there to be angry about? What's there to be sad about? Thirteen years have passed, and I've already gotten over what I was angry about. Sigh, my parents don't love me, so how can I expect them to treat me, an outsider, well? Compared to many children who can't even get enough to eat, I'm already very lucky."

Bullshit! The original owner's parents sent so much money and so many good things to the Yu family, and they still raised their child like this. The Yu family deserves to die!

If the social atmosphere weren't less open now than it is now, she would have exposed the Yu family's actions to the public and severed ties with them.

But if she were to escalate her sob story now, public opinion might turn against her. After all, in everyone's eyes, she's safe, healthy, and even got into the top high school. So what if she was abused by the Yu family in the past? She's doing just fine now, isn't she?

In their view, if they really disliked their child eating even one more bite, they might as well let the child starve to death. It's already a kindness that they didn't kill the child.

At this time, there were many cases of people abandoning baby girls.

No one cared about a little girl's life, but she survived and grew up, and a bright future was clearly on her side. This was the debt of gratitude the Yu family had shown her.

Shen Qianqian was right, but Chen Mengshu still felt that the Yu family had gone too far.

Shen Qianqian: "Alright, alright, don't think about it so much. Thinking about it won't change anything. You came to me just for this?"

Chen Mengshu: "No, I have good news to tell you."

“I heard from my dad that the Education Bureau is going to hold an essay competition, divided into high school, junior high school and elementary school. The first place winner will get 100 yuan, the second place winner will get 80 yuan, and the third place winner will get 50 yuan. I thought you were pretty good at writing essays. If you get a place, even if you don’t get 100 yuan, you can still get 50 yuan. That’s a lot.”

When she heard the news from her father, she thought she would definitely tell Shen Qianqian when she got back to school. But after seeing the newspaper, she couldn't wait to go to school and ran over to tell her the good news.

Shen Qianqian is so young and her parents aren't around, and they don't seem to care much about her. What will happen if she gets into university and they don't have enough money?

At least if you win a prize, you can get a reward.

Although there can only be one first place, there are three second places and five third places. Shen Qianqian is so talented, she can't possibly fail to get any rankings.

Shen Qianqian raised an eyebrow: "You have that much confidence in me?"

She naturally knew about this essay competition, because it was sponsored by Dongxing Factory, with a considerable prize, and it followed the procedures of the Education Bureau.

A county-wide essay competition—what a catchy name!

In addition, during this period, Dongxing Factory's reputation in Nanxian County grew, even though it was privately owned.

It's a factory, but everyone knows it's a reputable and ethical one; working there is very secure!

"Of course, I, Chen Mengshu, have never admired anyone. You're the first one. If you don't get a place, I won't let you off the hook!"

Shen Qianqian: "...Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I can't participate in this competition."

The competition was sponsored by their factory. If she had participated, and even won a prize, wouldn't that have been great?

Is this a case of someone taking up a spot for nothing?

Chen Mengshu stared wide-eyed: "Why?"

"Of course it's inconvenient for me to participate right now. I'm focused on studying. If I participate in the competition and don't get a ranking, wouldn't that affect my mindset? No way."

Shen Qianqian cleared her throat and explained in a serious tone. Chen Mengshu listened and actually believed her to some extent.

But she was still unwilling to give up.

"You're so talented, you're sure to win an award."

Shen Qianqian firmly refused: "No, no, there are quite a few capable people in the whole county, I don't want to."

Is this still the same confident Shen Qianqian?

Soon after, the school announced the county-wide essay competition. Not only did Chen Mengshu urge her to participate, but the other teachers also encouraged her. Shen Qianqian refused with the same excuse, her resolve exceptionally firm.

Before she could enjoy a couple of days of peace, Lao Yu's family suddenly came to the school.

"Bring Shen Qianqian out! She's spouting nonsense in the newspapers, seriously damaging the reputation of our Yu family! My eldest grandson isn't even married yet. If this affects his chances of finding a wife, who can take responsibility!"

"Yes, yes, the newspapers spread it so widely. Our Yu family has been doing nothing wrong, yet we've been slandered like this by Shen Qianqian. I don't care, it's all her fault. If she doesn't take responsibility, we'll hold the school accountable!"

Grandma Fang stood at the school gate, leaning on a bamboo pole, looking frail and trembling, which frightened anyone who saw her.

If something happens to an elderly person at school, it could be a serious problem.

The school principal rushed out to take the group to the school, but Grandma Fang refused to go in, insisting on staying at the gate and shouting loudly.

"Bring Shen Qianqian out here, or this isn't over!"

It was lunchtime when school let out.