Chapter 88 "It's Beijing Normal University, classmates...
"Grandma, why do you think we're ungrateful if I don't apply to the same university as Qin Yang?"
After hearing his grandmother's muttering, Chen Pan, who had already filled in his first choice on the first day he received the application form, immediately turned to look at her.
"Although he didn't say it explicitly, anyone with a discerning eye could tell he liked you. If he didn't, who would have given you 30,000 yuan when you were in trouble? If he didn't like you, who would have stayed by your bedside for ten full days? If he didn't like you, he wouldn't have dragged you along for your subsequent follow-up appointments. And for the past year, he's walked you home almost every night.
At first, I didn't like someone secretly liking you. But from the moment he chose to give us 30,000 yuan after you fell off the roof and stayed with us in the hospital, I knew he was a good kid. When choosing a partner, you should consider character, personality, family background, education, appearance, build, and height. Maybe at the beginning, he was a little short, a bit dull, his family was a bit complicated, and his financial situation wasn't as good as it appeared, so he wasn't a perfect match.
But now everything has changed. Now, in my eyes, he is really good in every way. I have considered him as your future partner for a long time. I thought you liked him too and would choose to go to the same university with him for the sake of your future, but I didn't expect——"
Grandma Chen didn’t say the rest of the words explicitly, but the meaning was already very clear.
Obviously, in the eyes of the other party, Qin Yang has become completely different since the time he drove with them to Xi'an three years ago.
"you--"
Seeing that she was still stubborn at this time, Grandpa Chen, who had always been very polite and respectful to her, immediately pointed his finger in anger.
Chen Pan reached out and slapped the finger away. Then, looking at her grandmother, she continued, "Grandma, do you feel like I've been receiving Qin Yang's care for me for free? Do you always feel like, Qin Yang is so good to me, and if I knew how to repay his kindness, I should be with him, and should respect him and discuss it with him when filling out my application? Do you feel like, if I hadn't accepted Qin Yang from the beginning, I shouldn't have accepted all his kindness and care?"
"I haven't thought about it that much. I just feel that people should know how to repay kindness."
Seeing her granddaughter speak so clearly, Grandma Chen, who was sitting on the right side of her bed, lowered her voice.
With a deep sigh, he stopped his grandfather from speaking to him again. Then Chen Pan shifted his body on the bed, looked at his grandmother, and said word by word: "Grandma, you only saw what Qin Yang did for me, but did you see what I did for him?"
"..." Grandma Chen was speechless for a moment, but her eyes clearly showed her disapproval. Obviously, in her eyes, she only saw the time when Qin Yang went to the hospital to accompany Chen Pan three years ago, the three times when Qin Yang sent them to Xi'an, and the time when Qin Yang brought Chen Pan back every night for the next year.
After sighing again, Chen Pan said calmly, "Grandma, have you ever thought that without my help, based on Qin Yang's previous grades, he could only get into a junior college or a second-tier university?"
"I, this is impossible—"
Without giving the other party a chance to speak, Chen Pan continued calmly: "Grandma, you take everything too superficially. You only see that he has been the one to accompany me back home for the past year. But you don't know that during the fifteen minutes from school to our house, I have been accompanying him to learn English and memorize words every time. Yes, I admit that Qin Yang has a very good memory, and his Chinese is actually better than I thought. But his English is not good at all, and I was almost the only one who helped him with tutoring later.
On our way back, I spent almost every night urging him to memorize his homework and accompanying him. 80% of his extracurricular time at school was spent helping him with his homework. I can honestly say that even without his guidance, I would still be second in my grade. The reason I asked him to tutor me later on was simply to create a sense of mutual support, and to avoid him feeling like he owed me too much.
Moreover, when he taught me, or I taught him, it was a different way of studying and reviewing, so I didn't reject it. But that doesn't mean that my help to him can be ignored. Again, without him, I would still be able to get the score I have now despite my hard work. But without my dedication this year, he would never have been able to achieve his current score in just one year after leaving school, four years later.
Gently shifting his body, Chen Pan raised his head and continued without any guilt, "I helped him with his studies, so I never felt guilty about him sending me home at night. You know, in our school, as long as I was willing to help others like this at that time, everyone would happily escort me home every day. Some people would even prepare breakfast for me.
As for his past care for me, I admit he was truly kind back then. But he did all this because his mother had a life-threatening cancer. It was only with my help that she underwent surgery early, and she's still alive today. Nothing between our two families was ever a one-sided advantage. I saved his mother, so he later gave us the first chance to sell the house. He accompanied my grandfather to the police station to file a report, and when he came back, I explained how to set up promotions and membership cards. He lent us money, and we repaid it with interest.
Later, we were developing a cash register system. While we were at it, I told him about it and suggested we work together. It was precisely because of that system, which allowed him to rely on it for inventory and accounting, that he felt truly confident in handing over his shop to his cousin. These things may not seem like much, but you have to understand that in Liuping, he was the first to implement membership cards and install a proper cash register in a small shop. Even though we were only a year or two ahead of others, the profits generated during those two years were enormous.
“That’s right!!”
Seeing that his granddaughter had reached the point, Grandpa Chen, who was sitting on the other side, nodded quickly, while Grandma Chen remained silent.
Chen Pan ignored the other party's silence and continued loudly without any guilt, "At least I dare say that after I told him about the membership card, I completely revitalized their small shop. Later, relying on a membership card, his annual profit must have been more than one or two times higher than before. These things don't disappear just because I don't say anything. It's precisely because I'm useful enough and have helped him a lot that he is grateful to me from the bottom of his heart and is willing to help us when I'm in trouble.
Anyway, I have a clear conscience towards him, and I've never felt like I owed him anything. If I were to break things down, I'd actually feel like I've always been his benefactor, always helping him. I helped him support his mother, increased his family's income, and introduced a formal cash register system, freeing him from having to monitor his small shop every day. This way, he could truly focus on repeating his studies.
I helped him review and improve his grades, and there was always a give-and-take between us. I never felt like I owed him anything. So, when it comes to something so important in my life, I definitely wouldn't be so foolish as to be wronged just because he drove me a few times and gave me rides for a year.
"But these things can't be calculated like this—"
After hearing so much from her granddaughter at once, Grandma Chen felt confused.
Seeing that she was still hesitant and entangled, Chen Pan said bluntly: "And grandma, how do you know that I didn't refuse his offer to send me off? Could it be that I refused, but he still insisted and suggested that I tutor him on the way. Then I thought about it and went along with it? In this case, should I still thank him? Shouldn't he be grateful to me? In this case, if he wants to be with me, he should try hard to catch up with me. But he didn't catch up, who can I blame?"
"You are the only one who can quibble. I can't argue with you."
Completely confused by her granddaughter's attitude, Grandma Chen replied helplessly. But when she said this, the expression on her face was no longer as firm as before.
Seeing her like this, Chen Pan smiled and said slowly: "Grandma, you don't have to take what I said above too seriously. In short, life is not a TV series. You have to know that the relationship between Qin Yang and I is just a little better. We have never really talked about the future and feelings. Besides, we are both very realistic people. When it comes to the college entrance examination, I will not consider him, and he will not consider me either. We are both independent people. We have very clear plans for the future and will not change our ideals for anyone."
"Pan Pan is right. We are indeed very grateful to the Qin family. But this gratitude does not rise to the point where Pan Pan goes to the same school with him just to repay his kindness. Besides, Yang Yang is a sensible child. Not many people knew that he sent Pan Pan home in the middle of the night. As for walking together during the day, boys and girls nowadays are not like that.
Don't think that Yangyang treats Panpan so well, but maybe in his heart he always treats Panpan as his sister. Anyway, other people's families haven't said anything about this matter yet, so let's not rush into it." Fearing that his wife might do something bad, Chen Aiguo said it again with special care.
"Oh, I get it. I won't say anything anymore and I won't care anymore." Seeing that they were determined not to listen to her, and realizing that applying for university was indeed a serious matter, Grandma Chen finally sighed and said nothing more.
In mid-July of that year, Chen Pan carefully filled out her college entrance examination application form. Her first choice was Beijing Normal University, her second was Sun Yat-sen University, and her third was East China Normal University.
Although she wanted to apply to a normal university, she also considered her grades and did not blindly choose normal colleges. She took all aspects into consideration.
Her first choice was Beijing Normal University, Qin Yang's first choice was Xi'an Medical College, and their second choice seemed to be Chongqing Medical University.
The formidable squad leader who had dominated Chen Pan for years had chosen Harbin Institute of Technology without hesitation. His college entrance exam application form, from first to sixth choice, had all been Harbin Institute of Technology. He was the kind of ruthless individual that Chen Pan envied and admired the most.
Chen Pan's good friends, Cai Xiaojing and Wei Dong, also barely made it past the first-tier admission line this year. They were the type of couple whose husbands helped them study, and when it came time to apply for colleges and majors, they both unexpectedly chose the same school and the same major. Wei Dong, in a fit of circumstance, had chosen a less prestigious school himself, cooperating with Cai Xiaojing. It was then that everyone realized the two were serious about their relationship.
As soon as the college entrance examination was over, everyone seemed to go crazy.
Those secret crushes and loves that could not be expressed before, now everyone seemed to be unable to bear it, so they all took the opportunity to express and hint at them.
After all, this is an era when most people around get married at the age of 17 or 18. Chen Pan always has a feeling that children nowadays are more mature than those in the future.
Of course, this is only mental precocity, not physical precocity.
At this time, everyone rushes to express their feelings, as if they hope not to regret it later, and it seems that most of them don’t really think about the future.
Anyway, we took graduation photos, had a farewell dinner together, and went to the Black Spring Reservoir behind for another walk.
Everyone seizes the time to secretly take a photo with the person they like, secretly say a few words, or secretly give something as a gift.
It gives people a feeling that everyone is very bold, but also very simple.
No matter how everyone operated, Chen Pan, who was mentally very old, and Qin Yang, who was physically a few years older than everyone else, were both very calm.
Of course, when the class took a group photo this time, the two of them stood together openly and took two separate photos at everyone's urging.
About half a month after submitting the college entrance examination application form, at the end of July or the beginning of August, letters of admission notices were quickly mailed from all over the country.
As for this special express delivery, postal workers are not allowed to deliver it in Longcheng. Students are required to come and pick it up in person with their ID cards.
This period of time is a particularly wonderful time.
All the students who did well in the exam were particularly excited and happy at this time.
Those who did not perform well in the exam have already quietly gone out to work or stayed at home.
Just when she was feeling anxious and excited, on August 8, Chen Pan received a call from Liuping Post Office asking her to go over and pick up her college entrance examination admission letter.
"Which school is the admission letter from?"
Back then, the internet and computers weren't really that developed. Even by phone, she couldn't find out which school she'd been accepted to, and their school wasn't very well-informed. So, when asked this question, Chen Pan was incredibly nervous; she honestly had no idea which school she'd been accepted to.
"It's Beijing Normal University, congratulations, classmates!!"
Everyone knows that the school is very good, so the postal worker who spoke to her subconsciously smiled and congratulated her.
"Thank you, I'll get it later, thank you!"
Chen Pan thanked him politely, but after hanging up the phone, Chen Pan couldn't help but lean over the phone table and suddenly burst into tears.
At this moment, Chen Pan actually didn’t know why she was crying, but she just wanted to cry and couldn’t help it.
Ever since she received the call, Grandpa Chen and Grandma Chen, who had been staying at home recently, came over in a hurry.
Seeing her suddenly cry with joy, the two elderly people couldn't help but suddenly tear up. Wu Cuicui, who was sitting next to her, and Chen Zhenzhen, who came to help during the summer vacation, also showed a complex expression of envy and jealousy.
Anyway, at that moment, everyone in the room felt complicated and excited.
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