"At the moment, it seems that we can only wait for the official verdict of the case to know how long Zhiqin and the others will be in prison."

Pei Zhiwen pondered.

Wang Ruizhen has lost a lot of weight in the past few days. She whispered, "Yeah."

Wan Cuilan and Zhou Wanhong also felt speechless.

When Li Jianguo's mother ran away, she took the pregnant mistress with her. She must be crazy about having a grandson.

"I think it would be better for the mistress to give birth to a daughter, so as to piss off that old woman who favors boys over girls." Wan Cuilan said disdainfully.

When Wang Ruizhen heard this, she felt depressed again.

That mistress actually broke into the Li family's home. No wonder Pei Zhiqin was so reckless in the end and was not even afraid of going to jail.

"Okay, okay, stop talking." Seeing that Wang Ruizhen's face was not right, Pei Zhiqiang quickly pulled Wan Cuilan away.

After Pei Tiantian finished tutoring Pei Zihao and Pei Tianyu, she was about to go back to the house when she saw Wang Ruizhen sitting alone in the house, staring at the window in a daze. Her back looked a bit desolate from a distance.

Pei Tiantian sighed silently in her heart.

Wang Ruizhen lost her husband at an early age and raised four children entirely on her own.

As a result, Pei Zhisheng ran away, started a family outside, and no longer recognized them, and Pei Zhiqin was also going to jail.

This son and daughter broke her heart.

Pei Tiantian walked in with her short legs and called out, "Mother."

Wang Ruizhen turned around and forced a smile, "Tiantian, I heard Zihao and the others said that you and Gu Rong are going to the city to participate in the finals?"

"Yes, next week."

"Just do your best and don't put too much pressure on yourself," said Wang Ruizhen.

Pei Tiantian nodded, "Grandma, I understand."

She stretched out her hands and motioned Wang Ruizhen to hug her.

As soon as Wang Ruizhen held Pei Tiantian in her arms, the little girl in her arms stretched out her little fleshy hands and gently stroked Wang Ruizhen's red and swollen eyes, "Tiantian knows that grandma is very sad because of the matter of Third Aunt, but Tiantian hopes that grandma can take care of herself and stop being sad. Tiantian hopes that grandma will always be healthy and happy, because seeing grandma sad, Tiantian is really sad in her heart."

When she said this, her little voice was choked with sobs.

Wang Ruizhen's eyes turned red with distress, "Good boy..."

Pei Tiantian rubbed Wang Ruizhen's face affectionately with her little face, and then continued: "Grandma, Tiantian promises you that no matter what happens, Tiantian will always be by your side. Tiantian will always love you, so grandma, don't be unhappy anymore, okay?"

Wang Ruizhen looked at Pei Tiantian and suddenly became dazed for a while.

Tiantian is right. She is the head of the family. How can she complain about herself all day long?

The more it is at this time, the more she should cheer up.

After a long while, Wang Ruizhen held back her tears and nodded, "Okay, grandma promises you!"

After that night's conversation, Wang Ruizhen finally returned to her former self, and was more energetic in her speech and actions.

The Pei family, who were originally worried that Wang Ruizhen would be depressed, finally put their minds at ease.

Wang Ruizhen also took the initiative to suggest going to the city with Pei Zhiwen and Pei Zhiqiang to visit Pei Zhiqin.

Pei Zhiqin's mental state was still not good. He sat on the chair with a blank look in his eyes and ignored anyone who called him.

Wang Ruizhen talked to her patiently through the glass window for a long time.

Pei Zhiqin finally came back to her senses. As soon as she saw Wang Ruizhen, she burst into tears. "Mom! I was wrong! I shouldn't have disobeyed you! I was wrong!"

Pei Zhiqin felt both regretful and resentful.

At that time, Wang Ruizhen and others all opposed her being with Li Jianguo, saying that Li Jianguo was a useless second-rate person.

But she ignored it and insisted on pursuing her so-called love.

But now it's all become a joke.

Pei Zhiqin burst into tears. Only now did she realize how wrong she was.

How can a man who is not favored by everyone in his family be reliable and bring happiness to himself?

She had it all to herself.

"Zhiqin, I have already asked the lawyer. You are only an accomplice, and you turned yourself in voluntarily, so your sentence will definitely be reduced. No matter what the verdict is, you must reform yourself in prison, never commit crimes again, and start a new life."

When Pei Zhiwen said this, he couldn't help but have tears in his eyes.

"Yes, our whole family is waiting for you to come back home." Pei Zhiqiang said with tears in his eyes.

Pei Zhiqin looked at them for a long time, then cried, "I'm sorry, Mom, big brother and second brother, I was so ignorant before."

She was really stupid. Why did she always have such bad intentions towards people who were really good to her?

She pushed the Pei family further and further away, and now she has ended up in this situation. Still, the Pei family is the only one who doesn't give up on her.

"Let's not talk about the past anymore. Take good care of yourself here. We will come to see you once a month. Tell us if you need anything." Pei Zhiwen said.

Pei Zhiqin murmured with red eyes: "Brother, brother, I will, I will!"

After Wang Ruizhen returned to the village, she heard that many people were still discussing Pei Zhiqin's affairs, and some were calling Pei Zhiqin a labor camp prisoner.

Wang Ruizhen walked past these people without changing her expression. She had now completely let go of her thoughts and no longer felt heartbroken whenever she heard similar comments, as she did before.

Suddenly, a voice came from the crowd, "Zhiwen's mother, hey, you just came back from visiting Zhiqin in the city. By the way, how many years will she be in prison for? Can you tell us?"

Wang Ruizhen turned around and saw the gloating face. The person who spoke was none other than Old Lady Deng.

Old Mrs. Deng is not living a good life now. The fact that her daughter-in-law Song Shuyun cheated on her son Tang Yongjun is still treated as a joke by many people in the village.

Although Tang Yongjun and Song Shuyun successfully divorced, Song Shuyun aborted the child and returned to her parents' home.

But the people from the Song family still refused to give in. They spread rumors about Tang Yongjun's shortcomings every other day, and kept saying that Song Shuyun's infidelity was not her fault alone, but that both parties were at fault. Many people in the village believed it.

As a result, no woman is willing to marry Tang Yongjun now, and Tang Yongjun didn't even come home for the Chinese New Year.

Old Mrs. Deng was so anxious that she got a lot of blisters in her mouth. If she continued like this, Tang Yongjun would probably become an old bachelor, and she would never be able to have a grandson.

At this time, when Old Lady Deng heard about Pei Zhiqin, she felt indescribably happy.

Oh, compared with what happened to them, my little thing is nothing.

So when she saw Wang Ruizhen, she couldn't help but poke her in the heart with words, just wanting to see Wang Ruizhen get angry and frustrated.

Unexpectedly, Old Lady Deng was disappointed.

Wang Ruizhen just looked at her quietly, "Deng Fengxia, do you think I will be angry if you say that?"

Old Mrs. Deng was stunned. Why was Wang Ruizhen's reaction different from what she expected?

Wang Ruizhen looked at her coldly and said calmly, "Zhiqin did commit a crime, and she should be punished by law. She deserves it. No matter how many years she is sentenced, our family will obey the law. She will serve as long as she is sentenced. As her mother, I only hope that she can sincerely reform herself and start a new life in the future. I don't ask for anything else."

Wang Ruizhen's words left Old Lady Deng speechless.

She didn't expect that Wang Ruizhen would talk about this matter so openly.

This is illegal. Doesn't she feel ashamed?

The villagers next to Old Lady Deng thought this made sense and stopped muttering.

Wang Ruizhen looked at Old Lady Deng with a complicated expression and shook her head. "Deng Fengxia, you have been targeting me all these years, wishing that I could live as badly as possible. What's the point? Do you think that as long as I live a bad life, you can live a good life?"

"Being a person should be more open-minded, and your life will be smoother."

After Wang Ruizhen finished speaking, she left without paying any attention to Old Lady Deng's expression.

In the last few days before the finals, Pei Tiantian felt the school leaders' meticulous care.

She would often come to the after-school cram school to ask her and Gu Rong how they were doing with their homework, their accuracy rate, and if there was anything they didn't understand.

They were also asked to put their classroom studies aside for the time being and focus on the competition.

Even at noon, Gu Rong and Pei Tiantian were allowed to eat with the principal and teachers. Everyone knew that their meals were the most sumptuous in the school.

As soon as this news came out, it attracted a lot of envious gazes and discussions from students.

Pei Tiantian felt a little ashamed at the excessive enthusiasm of the principal and others, so she politely rejected them.

She also knew why they were so nice to her.

It was nothing more than pinning all hopes of winning the prize on her and Gu Rong.

Among the people who entered the finals, except for her and Gu Rong, the other six people just barely passed the score line of 50, 60 points, 70 points, etc., and entered the finals by the narrow margin.

So their chances of winning the prize are slim.

Therefore, the school focused all its attention on Gu Rong and Pei Tiantian, and even went to Gu Rong and Pei Tiantian's classroom in person and promised them in person that as long as they won the prize in the final, the school would give them generous rewards.

Pei Tiantian felt helpless listening to the school leaders' empty words. On the surface, she opened her innocent eyes and pretended to be confused, as if she didn't understand what they were saying. She nodded no matter what they said and fooled them.

Gu Rong also pursed his lips and didn't react.

After they left, Gu Rong picked up a pen and wrote a word on the paper: "troublesome".

When Pei Tiantian saw this word, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

This was the first time she saw Gu Rong so annoyed.

It only goes to show that the school leaders are really annoying, harassing them every other day.

Not only Gu Rong and Pei Tiantian felt troubled, even Ma Xiangdong was dissatisfied with the school's behavior.

Although both Gu Rong and Pei Tiantian scored full marks in the preliminary round, who can tell for sure what they will do in the final.

The school leaders are now placing all their hopes on Gu Rong and Pei Tiantian, as if they were betting on something. Isn't this putting pressure on these two students for no reason?

Besides, there are six other students who have entered the finals. The school’s different treatment of Pei Tiantian and Gu Rong has also dampened the enthusiasm of the other six people and easily made them feel unbalanced.

In short, the school’s current actions are inappropriate and ill-considered.

Ma Xiangdong thought about it and decided to call Gu Rong and Pei Tiantian to his office the day before departure. The first thing he said was: "Just treat what the school leaders said as bullshit."

Pei Tiantian and Gu Rong were stunned for a moment, then looked up and stared at him in unison.

"As you know, our school has never produced a winner of the China Cup. You two are the contestants with the greatest hope of winning. The school leaders have indeed been a little irrational recently. Don't listen to them. Keep your mind steady and take the exam as you should. Don't think about whether you can win or not. The process is more important than the result. With a learning attitude, go to the city to participate in the competition and get to know some outstanding contestants. This will be beneficial to your future growth."

Ma Xiangdong held the thermos cup and spoke slowly.

Pei Tiantian and Gu Rong both nodded.

"Before you leave, remember to check everything you prepared to see if you have forgotten anything."

Pei Tiantian said: "Thank you, Mr. Ma, we got it now."

After leaving the office, Pei Tiantian sighed to Gu Rong: "Brother Gu Rong, Teacher Ma is still good to us."

Gu Rong nodded.

When everyone was emphasizing to them that they must win the award, only Ma Xiangdong told them that winning the award was not the most important thing.

Gu Rong suddenly realized that Ma Xiangdong was indeed a good teacher.

The team leaders were still Chen Juan and Tao Jing. There were only eight people going this time, so the pressure on them to lead the team was much less.

The host school for the final was Guangming Primary School in the city. The participating students were familiar with the process due to their experience in the preliminary rounds and were not as surprised as before.

After checking into the hotel next to the test site, the students quickly went back to their rooms to rest.

Because of the previous self-review, Ding Qiang held a grudge against Tao Jing and Chen Juan.

He felt that if they had not insisted on him writing a self-criticism, he would not have lost Ma Xiangdong's trust for no apparent reason, and a series of events would not have happened afterwards.

But he couldn't do anything to the team leader. Ding Qiang held his breath and didn't talk to anyone throughout the journey.

Before lying down to sleep, Ding Qiang clasped his hands together and prayed silently that he could perform beyond his normal level.

It would be best if Pei Tiantian and Gu Rong performed poorly and didn't even get the third prize. Then it would be interesting to watch.

Thinking of this, Ding Qiang fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

Perhaps it was because he was thinking about it every day, but in Ding Qiang's dream, he performed exceptionally well and won the first prize. Not only did he receive praise from the school leaders on the podium, he also regained the trust of Ma Xiangdong and was successfully reinstated.

Pei Tiantian and Gu Rong didn't win any awards and could only look at me with envy.

"Bang, bang, bang—" There were violent knocks on the door.

"Ding Qiang, Ding Qiang, why aren't you getting up yet? Everyone is gathered downstairs, waiting for you alone!"

Chen Juan's voice was heard outside the door.

Ding Qiang woke up suddenly and realized it was just a dream.