Jiang Wanqing treated today's events as a minor incident, stuffed the application form into her bag, and went home.
Cheng Ran has been busy with work lately, so she takes the bus home alone after class in the afternoon.
It was still early when I got home. The children in the yard had just finished school and were doing their homework on their little stools.
"Sister Wanqing!"
When Sister Song's son saw her return, he put down his homework and ran towards her.
"Where have you been again, you brat! Come back and do your homework! If you fail again next time, I'll beat you to death with a broom!"
"Sister-in-law, let the child take his homework to my house, and I'll tutor him."
The children in the courtyard all liked Jiang Wanqing. According to seniority, they should call her Auntie, but everyone sweetly called her Sister. Sometimes she herself didn't know whether she was taking advantage of them or being taken advantage of, after all, she was originally of the same generation as their parents.
"Oh dear, this is too much trouble for you, you just got back..." Sister Song glared at her son, worried that Jiang Wanqing was tired.
"It's okay, Cheng Ran hasn't come back yet, and I'm just killing time anyway."
"Thank you, Wanqing. I'll bring you some delicious food later. This kid is a bit naughty, so don't spoil him. If he does something wrong, just give him a good spanking!"
"Hehe... okay."
As expected of a mother, she doesn't hesitate to hit the child without any remorse. Jiang Wanqing shook her head with a smile and took the child home.
When the other children saw this, they followed along, chattering excitedly, making it quite lively.
She casually placed the cloth bag on the bed in the room and went to the outer room to teach the children their lessons.
Her own mischievous little kids become incredibly well-behaved in her hands, which makes teaching them much easier for her.
Before he knew it, the sun had set, and as the evening glow faded and darkness fell, Cheng Ran finally returned.
"Hello, Uncle Cheng!" The children greeted him politely.
However, he didn't seem as kind and approachable as Jiang Wanqing, and his parents had taught him not to interfere with other people's family life, so after saying goodbye, they all went home.
Did I scare them?
Cheng Ran frowned, watching the little boy slip away from his legs in a flash.
Jiang Wanqing couldn't help but chuckle and helped him take his coat and hang it up.
"It's because you're usually too serious."
He curled his lip, unconvinced. Who says that only those who speak softly and gently are good people?
"Oh dear, I forgot to cook. Why don't you go and rest for a while? I'll just make a couple of dishes, okay?"
She was so focused on tutoring the children that she forgot the time, so she'll have to make do with whatever she can for dinner tonight.
"Okay, I'll go change my clothes first, and I'll be right back to help you."
"Um."
She responded and went to the kitchen to cook, while Cheng Ran went to the bedroom to change clothes.
He took the clothes he wanted to change into from the closet, put them on the bed, and then closed the closet door.
Take off your workout clothes and get some clean clothes.
Without noticing Jiang Wanqing's bag, he picked it up as well, causing the cloth bag to fall to the ground, from which a white piece of paper fell out.
He sighed, bent down to pick it up, and was about to put it back in his bag when he suddenly noticed that the paper read "Application for Studying Abroad"...
He suddenly stopped, and as if possessed, he opened the paper. It was a complete application form for going abroad, and Professor Xue had even signed his name and affixed the official seal.
Once Jiang Wanqing signs her name, the form will be valid.
Cheng Ran's mind went blank for a moment. She wanted to go abroad?
"Are you done yet? Come over and help me control the heat; it's too high."
He had been in the bedroom for too long when Jiang Wanqing called out to him, bringing him back to his senses.
Just as I was about to quickly shove the application form back, she walked in with a spatula in her hand, not hearing a response.
Seeing the watch in his hand, I didn't react in any particular way, and just gave a casual explanation.
"That was a school exchange opportunity, and only those who made significant contributions to research projects were eligible. Professor Xue insisted on giving me one, but I already told him that I wasn't going abroad and that I was just bringing it back to make a show of it and would return it later."
"oh."
Cheng Ran replied in a muffled voice, tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"You don't need to explain to me, this is your freedom."
Although he said that, Jiang Wanqing still keenly sensed the change in his emotions.
She went up to him and looked at his face: "Are you overthinking things? Are you afraid I'll abandon you?"
She meant it as a joke, but he took it seriously and looked up into her eyes.
"Can you do it?"
Will it?
This question really stumped Jiang Wanqing. She had never thought of giving up her future for marriage. This opportunity to go abroad was simply not appealing to her. If other opportunities came in the future…
She pursed her lips: "I..."
Before she could speak, Cheng Ran covered her mouth, cutting her off.
"I'll go start the fire, let's cook first."
After that, he was sullen and listless. When Jiang Wanqing chatted with him, he only responded perfunctorily, lacking his usual enthusiasm and initiative.
She thought that the application form must have influenced him, perhaps causing him to misunderstand something.
After dinner, he took over all the finishing touches himself, leaving her no chance to speak to him.
This eerie atmosphere continued until I fell asleep that night...
Jiang Wanqing turned over; he was facing away from her today.
"Cheng Ran."
"Hmm?" He's still awake.
"Are you still thinking about that application form?"
He didn't answer immediately, but seemed to sigh softly, turned around, and hugged her in his arms, pressing her head against his chest.
"No, go to sleep."
“I really won’t go abroad. I have another purpose for this spot. Do you remember Yuan Zhong, who is now Chen Zhong?”
"Um?"
He opened his slightly closed eyes and looked down at her.
Why bring him up all of a sudden?
“He’s also competing for this spot. I want to put some pressure on him and make him panic. If he gets selected, his identity will be exposed when the background check starts.”
Jiang Wanqing calmly explained her plan, saying that it would be better to have the government expose his scheme of impersonating someone else to go to university than to argue with him every day.
"But there are more opportunities after going abroad. Is it worth risking your future to expose his tricks?"
"There's no question of whether it's worth it or not. In the near future, our lives will improve rapidly, and the research environment will get better and better. You don't have to go abroad to achieve the results I want."
Cheng Ran remained silent, her hand gently resting on his chest. He truly believed that she had given up this opportunity for his sake.
"Wanqing..."
He called out, but received no response. She was the one who started the conversation, but she had already fallen asleep.
He tucked the blanket in and held her even tighter...
The application form was returned to Professor Xue by Jiang Wanqing the next day, but she asked the old man to keep it a secret and told others that she was competing for the spot.
Although he didn't know her intentions, Professor Xue did as she said.
Sure enough, Professor Huang's lab next door hurriedly announced that their experiment had made substantial progress, and then turned around to push Chen Zhong into the sights of the junior leaders...
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