Chapter 1: Admission

May 1st is a less popular holiday than National Day, and the wedding scenes in major hotels are also slightly inferior.

When Chen Yun arrived at Yanshan Garden Hotel, there were only two newlyweds' signs standing face to face at the reception desk on the first floor, and the wedding company was still making the final arrangements.

She walked around the materials piled on the ground, took a look at the message about Zhao Yanxin in the university roommate group, and took the elevator to the eighth floor.

Room 803 is a suite that is decorated festively from the inside out.

There was a big red wedding character on the wall and a few red balloons scattered on the ground.

Chen Yun accidentally stepped on one and was startled by the noise.

She patted her chest and greeted the bride first: "Qingqing, you look super beautiful today."

He Qingqing was changing her makeup and getting ready for her wedding dress. Her hair was being pulled by someone's hand and she couldn't move. She turned her head slightly with some surprise: "Thank you! You came so early. What time did you arrive at the station? Why didn't you tell me? I'll have someone pick you up."

Chen Yun: "I drove here. I had to change trains from Ningjiang to Yanshan, so the time was about the same."

He Qingqing had been so busy these past two days that she hadn't had time to ask these questions. She was very apologetic: "How long will it take? Are you tired? Do you want to find a room to rest?"

Since she was able to drive three hours to attend the wedding, Chen Yun would not care about these trivial matters.

She said, "I'm not tired. If Yangyang hadn't been feeling a little uncomfortable these past two days, I would have come here yesterday."

He Qingqing: "Is the child feeling better?"

Chen Yun: “Very good.”

The two chatted for a while, and then other guests arrived.

Chen Yun simply suggested: "Yan Xin said she was drinking coffee at the door. I'll go sit with her. You're busy."

He Qingqing nodded, and after walking a few steps, she could still hear her voice talking to others.

Just like when he was eighteen, his voice became increasingly high-pitched as he spoke.

Eighteen years old, that was fifteen years ago.

Chen Yun revealed a trace of nostalgia as she studied her face in the reflection of the elevator.

This hotel is a bit old, and the facilities are a bit outdated, so it’s hard to take clear photos.

She didn't really want to see it clearly, so she shrugged indifferently and went to the coffee shop in front of the hotel to look for someone.

Zhao Yanxin sat by the window and waved to her former roommate: "Here."

Chen Yun sat down and scanned the code to order, while asking: "What time did you get up?"

Zhao Yanxin: "Six o'clock."

Her home is far away, so she stayed at the hotel where the wedding was held last night. She went to the bride's home to watch the wedding reception in the morning and had only been seated for a short while.

Chen Yun was quite surprised: "You can get up?"

Zhao Yanxin clenched her fists: "I am no longer the same person I used to be."

Chen Yun laughed so hard that she leaned back on the sofa, sitting crookedly: "Do you remember what you said when you were in college?"

Zhao Yanxin wailed, "I'd rather get up early than die."

She thought that eight classes a morning was her limit, but after giving birth to a child last year, she realized that there is another kind of time bomb in the world that makes life worse than death.

Chen Yun: "Xixi still gets up early?"

Zhao Yanxin: "I have to open my eyes at 4 o'clock every day and play for a while before going back to sleep."

Her biological clock had been completely rebuilt, and she couldn't remember the last time she woke up naturally.

Chen Yun felt a headache for her: "Why don't you let your mother-in-law take care of you when you sleep?"

Zhao Yanxin was reluctant to let me go: "I cried so hard last night when I couldn't find you. I cried again when I woke up in the morning. I can't recognize you very well."

Chen Yun: "As soon as my maternity leave ended after giving birth to Xingxing, she started sleeping with my mom. She cried so much every day that I wanted to quit my job."

The tone of the second half of the sentence changed: "After giving birth to Yangyang, I just wanted to go back to work as soon as possible. I was too tired."

Zhao Yanxin didn't have the courage to have a second child. She shook her head and said, "I was already very tired after having just one."

He added: "If I were under 30, I would definitely do it."

Integers seem to be a hurdle, and those who have crossed it become acutely aware of subtle differences in their bodies.

Chen Yun: "I feel tired easily recently and I always lack energy."

The two of them chatted for a long time, from the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to the housing prices.

Zhao Yanxin asked, "Have you decided on a primary school for Xingxing?"

Chen Yun: "Registration will be online next week, and the specific school will depend on the allocation."

My daughter Chen Xingyue is seven years old this year and will be entering the first grade in September.

Zhao Yanxin: "Didn't you say that if we bought this house she could go to Experimental Primary School?"

Chen Yun: "We bought the house recently. If there are many people who sign up this year, we will probably be at the back of the queue and can only go to Xing'an Primary School."

In first-tier cities like Ningjiang, school district housing is an issue that every parent has to face, but owning one does not necessarily mean a pass.

Zhao Yanxin only went to college in Ningjiang and went back to her hometown to work after graduation.

She knew almost nothing about compulsory education and said, "Is it bad?"

Chen Yun: "The city ranking is a little bit lower, but it's barely acceptable."

He smiled bitterly to himself: "I didn't expect that I would have to accept the house I bought for more than 10 million yuan reluctantly in the end."

You don't have to be a local to know about the housing prices in Ningjiang.

Zhao Yanxin: "Has it increased a bit?"

Chen Yun: “Not much. We bought at a high price.”

Zhao Yanxin: "Rates are high everywhere now. Even in the center of Ji'an, the prices are over 30,000."

How much is the average wage?

Chen Yun: "Don't you want to buy another one?"

Zhao Yanxin: "I really can't stand living with my mother-in-law anymore."

They are all small things when mentioned briefly, but when piled together they are like the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Most married people have common troubles.

Chen Yun: "I can't live with my biological parents. It's human nature."

Zhao Yanxin: "You have been living separately since you got married, right?"

Chen Yun: "Basically, except for when Yangyang was born."

How wonderful! Zhao Yanxin: "Now that I think about it, your parents are pretty awesome too."

And with a little envy: "They are both only children, why are there such big differences?"

Chen Yun has been the core of the family since she was young.

After graduation, she decided to settle down in Ningjiang, so her parents sold their house in their hometown and came to work in a completely unfamiliar city.

At that time, the price of a house was something that the previous generation could afford with their life savings, and a family of three could afford a two-bedroom apartment.

After some flipping over the past ten years, the house has become a bigger fortune. My parents now live in a bright and large three-bedroom apartment in the same neighborhood as the younger generations, making it convenient to take care of them.

Chen Yun sometimes thinks that she is the happiest person in the world: "To be honest, I am really lucky."

Zhao Yanxin: "There are many students in our class who are richer than you, but I really think you are the one who is living the best right now."

Chen Yun still has self-awareness: "It's not that exaggerated."

Zhao Yanxin: "My parents are great, I have a good husband, I have two children, I have a house and a car, and I am financially well off."

Just hearing it makes people envious.

Chen Yun: "Song Fenglin isn't that bad."

Zhao Yanxin's eyebrows flew up: "Where can I find a man who would take the initiative to let the child take your surname?"

Yes, based on this point, Song Fenglin seems to deserve an award comparable to the Nobel Prize.

Chen Yun touched her fingers unconsciously and changed the subject: "Haven't you and Xiao Zhang reached an agreement yet?"

Zhao Yanxin curled her lips: "My parents advised me to forget it."

She wanted to have the second child take her surname, but unfortunately she didn't have any supporters and found it boring.

Chen Yun: "What about you?"

Zhao Yanxin: "Just get by."

It was like a whisper: "I have actually fallen to this point."

In the past, when people discussed family matters, they were always more decisive than Bao Gong, as if they would never be the one to compromise.

However, as I got used to the dull days, I gradually began to hope that there would be no waves on the lake.

Chen Yun sighed inwardly and half-jokingly said, "Would you have thought of talking about mother-in-law and children when you meet before?"

Zhao Yanxin put her knees together, put her hands on her thighs, and said seriously: "Let's talk about work now. How is the business in the store?"

Chen Yun originally had a good job in all aspects, but she was laid off due to internal adjustments after giving birth to her second child.

She felt that the interviews she received afterwards were not as good as before, so she decided to try to see if she had the potential to become a business tycoon.

Unfortunately, nine out of ten shops fail, and her coffee shop is just barely holding on. She spread her hands and said, "I made 5,000 last month."

There are only 73 months left to recover the cost.

Zhao Yanxin: "It's not much, but it's enough for pocket money. Xiao Song is always there for me."

Song Fenglin has worked in a gaming company for more than ten years, earning a seven-figure income including salary and dividends.

Thanks to him, our family of six lives a relatively comfortable life in Ningjiang.

Chen Yun: "He works very hard, leaving home early and coming back late, working overtime every day."

Zhao Yanxin: "It's not easy, but you have to take care of your health."

Chen Yun: "My meals and rest schedule are irregular. I am 10 pounds heavier than last year. I just had a physical examination and all the indicators were unqualified."

Zhao Yanxin: "Is there any big problem?"

They were all minor problems and the doctor just told me to lose weight first.

But little by little, it adds up to a lot. Chen Yun: “I’m just afraid that one day I won’t be able to bear it.”

Zhao Yanxin said a few words to comfort her, and the topic quickly turned to the bride.

She said, "Have you met Qingqing's husband?"

Chen Yun looked around and said, "It's very ordinary."

Zhao Yanxin was not so polite and rolled her eyes: "It's not that great at all. No house or car, low salary, low height, and looks..."

After all, she was on someone else's territory, and she was afraid of being heard, so she lowered her voice: "You and Qingqing are both in Ningjiang, and you contact each other a lot. Why didn't you persuade her?"

Chen Yun: "She got married so quickly that she didn't give me any room to advise her."

She was shocked when she received the electronic invitation and thought the other party was joking.

Zhao Yanxin: "I thought you knew it before me."

Chen Yun: "We haven't seen each other much since the New Year. I've been accompanying Xingxing to trial classes in interest classes on weekends recently."

She was trying to arrange two or three courses for her daughter before elementary school, but she was too busy to take care of anything else.

Zhao Yanxin: "Then you don't know what happened to her husband?"

I do know a little bit, Chen Yun: "She went back to Yanshan for the New Year and her parents introduced her to a blind date. They got engaged before the end of the first month of the year. They said that she was old enough and her family was very anxious."

Zhao Yanxin: "Qingqing's mother didn't even like that guy before, so how can she agree now?"

Chen Yun picked up the coffee and took a sip: "She's very eager. She'll do anything for almost any man."

When you are stuck in a stalemate, sometimes you just want to throw the jar into the ground, even though you know there may not be a suitable future.

You can't choose something like this, Zhao Yanxin thought about it and hesitated to speak, considering that it was someone else's wedding day.

She was probably still a little upset: "It seems like it's a sin for a girl to be single after she's 30."

Chen Yun responded to her temper, and the two of them looked at each other and decided to take a photo with the bride.

He Qingqing smiled brightly and held her two friends on her left and right.

The moment frozen in the photo is like going back in time, as if they were still in their carefree student days.

But reality still comes, it just comes sooner or later.