Chapter 1440: Refusing to be Balanced (15)

The next time Tang Shichu heard about Li Manyan, it was when she gave birth to a girl. When she heard that she failed to give birth to a boy, Lan Jigao's mother became more disgusted with Li Manyan. If Li Manyan had given birth to a boy this time, she might have liked Li Manyan a little more, but it was a girl.

Don't think that Mrs. Lan, who comes from a wealthy family, is so wise and doesn't care about the gender of the child. On the contrary, she cares a lot. In the original world's plot, Li Manyan was able to enter the Lan family smoothly because she gave birth to two sons, but now she gave birth to a daughter.

Because it was not the grandson she expected, Mrs. Lan was too lazy to even come to see Li Manyan when she gave birth, let alone hold a third-day baptism or full-month ceremony for the child.

Even after giving birth to a child, Li Manyan still failed to marry Lan Jigao. After giving birth, she was irritated by Mrs. Lan's attitude and soon suffered from postpartum depression. However, Lan Jigao was very busy and had no time to accompany her or counsel her, so Li Manyan became even more depressed.

Tang Shichu received several phone calls from her complaining about how miserable, lonely, and desperate she was.

Tang Shichu had already entered graduate school at that time, so he naturally didn't have much time to listen to her words, so he suggested that she see a psychologist.

Perhaps sensing Tang Shichu's indifference, Li Manyan never called again.

"Tang Shichu!" That day, Tang Shichu came out of the library and heard someone calling her name. When she saw the person, she said in surprise, "Zhou Zhan, you finally came out?"

"What do you mean by finally getting out? You make it seem like I'm just getting out of prison." Zhou Zhan smiled slightly and actually made a joke with Tang Shichu. Obviously, he was in a good mood.

"Have you completed that project?" Tang Shichu guessed when he saw that he finally had time to come to him.

Zhou Zhan nodded and said, "It's not complete, but I have successfully completed a section, and it's the most important part."

"Then congratulations." Tang Shichu tactfully did not ask him about the specific content of his project.

Although Zhou Zhan has graduated from graduate school, he is still pursuing a doctorate, so he is still considered a student like Tang Shichu.

After not seeing each other for more than half a year, Zhou Zhan's temperament has become more calm and restrained. His angular face looks sharper. Although he is thin, he looks tall and powerful. Walking on the campus, he is even more attractive. There are no less than five girls who couldn't help but secretly glance at him when they passed by him just now.

"Next month is the dean's birthday. Do you plan to go back to visit her?" Zhou Zhan suddenly asked.

Tang Shichu recalled and remembered that the middle of next month was indeed the director's birthday. The director was a good man who treated every child in the orphanage with great care and was willing to devote everything he had to the children.

"Of course I will go back." Tang Shichu answered without hesitation. Although she was a heartless person, she was full of respect for the dean. After all, the original master was going to college, and the dean had specifically asked Zhou Zhan, his senior, to take care of him. With such a friendship, it would be inappropriate not to go back to visit.

Zhou Zhan nodded when he heard her answer, which was not surprising at all. He said, "I will be free at that time. I will go back with you then."

"Okay." Tang Shichu replied.

That day arrived quickly. Tang Shichu brought the gifts he had bought and boarded the high-speed train to the neighboring province with Zhou Zhan. Transportation was very convenient now. Even if the distance was hundreds of kilometers, it only took a few hours to get there. So even if Zhou Zhan and Tang Shichu went to another province to study at university, it was easy for them to go back.

But the dean was worried that they would waste the round-trip fare, so he asked them to come back less often every year, saying that video calls were enough and there was no need to travel thousands of miles to meet in person.

In order to put her at ease, Zhou Zhan and Tang Shichu would go back to visit her every Chinese New Year, but today was the dean's 60th birthday, so they made an exception and went back.

When they arrived at the orphanage gate, the security guard opened his eyes wide when he saw them and said in surprise, "Xiao Zhan, Xiao Chu! Why are you back?"

"Isn't the dean's birthday coming up soon? Let's come back and celebrate for her." Tang Shichu said with a smile.

"Oh... we're here! No wonder you're all back, I forgot about it!" The security guard patted his head, then diligently helped with the luggage, "Come in quickly, the dean will definitely be happy to see you."

"Dean! Look who's back?" the security guard shouted loudly into the yard, and all of a sudden, children of all heights and shorts ran out. However, they were all preschoolers. After all, they were of school age and were still attending classes in school.

"Brother Zhou Zhan! Sister Xiaochu!" As soon as the children saw the two of them, they immediately screamed with joy and circled around Zhou Zhan and Tang Shichu, each one like a puppy wagging its tail.

"Come, have some candy. Your sister and brother bought some candy for you." Tang Shichu said as he took out a big bag of snacks from the suitcase, opened them and shared them with the children one by one. The children were so happy that they jumped and danced.

Such a big commotion finally alarmed the dean. She came out and saw Tang Shichu and Zhou Zhan. Her expression softened instantly, and joy flowed from her eyes. She took Tang Shichu and Zhou Zhan's hands, looked them up one by one, and then asked, "Why did you come back at this time? It's not a festival, don't delay your studies."

"Dean, tomorrow is your birthday, and we wanted to come back and celebrate for you." Tang Shichu put his arm around the dean's shoulder and said, "You didn't celebrate your birthday in the past, but this year is your 60th birthday, so we have to celebrate it properly."

"Yes, Dean, you usually only celebrate the children's birthdays but never take your own birthday to heart. You can't miss it this time no matter what." Zhou Zhan also helped.

"Why would an old woman like me celebrate my birthday? I'd rather use that little money to cook a nice meal for the children." The dean refused to agree and glared at Tang Shichu, "What are you doing?"

"Celebrating your birthday and making delicious food for the children don't conflict, why don't we do it together? Dean, don't refuse, otherwise we won't be at ease." Tang Shichu gently shook the dean's body and turned to the chattering children, "Look, they must want to celebrate your birthday too, with food and fun."

After much persuasion, the dean was finally convinced to agree to celebrate her birthday, but she did not allow Zhou Zhan and Tang Shichu to waste money on buying her gifts. Instead, they were asked to save the money to buy extra meals for the children.

Zhou Zhan and Tang Shichu naturally agreed. They knew that in the dean's mind, the children having a good meal was much more important than her birthday. When celebrating someone's birthday, isn't the point of making the birthday person happy?

(End of this chapter)