The news that Lu Wanwan and Gu Mingyue were taking the college entrance examination spread quickly.
Zhong Yuxiu angrily exclaimed at home, "Who has such a big mouth!"
She never mentioned her two children taking the college entrance exam to anyone, for fear that gossip would burden them.
If the children do well on the test, everyone is happy; but if they do poorly, others will gossip behind their backs, which will only make them more upset.
Having lived in the family compound for so many years, Zhong Yuxiu has become accustomed to the sycophantic and servile faces of those who fawn over the powerful and belittle the weak.
"Mom, it's okay. It's nothing shameful. People can know if they want, but Wanwan and I won't be affected by what they say. Please don't worry."
Lu Wanwan chimed in, "Yes, Mom, let's just live our own lives. What others say doesn't matter. Getting into university is something we earned through hard work. If we don't get in, we can try again next time. No matter what they say, it won't change anything. It's not worth getting angry over it."
Seeing the two of them so composed, Zhong Yuxiu's anger gradually subsided. The children were all so perceptive; she didn't need to worry about them unnecessarily.
As long as they move towards their goals, those idle gossips are nothing but fleeting clouds.
I just didn't expect that there would always be people eager to be scolded.
Since buying the sewing shop, Gu Mingyue has been going there whenever she has free time, thinking about renovating the place. Behind the shop is a small courtyard house.
She could enter through either the front or back door, and planned to make a partition in the middle, so she took the opportunity to renovate the sewing shop.
Qin Xiangping knew that she had taken over the sewing shop, so she came to help. The group gathered all the scattered items together, planning to use what could be used and sell what couldn't.
Chenchen was having a great time playing with her grandparents at home, completely forgetting about her mother.
Every time he came back from outside, I could hear his cheerful voice.
Today was unusually quiet.
When Gu Mingyue entered the room, she saw her mother-in-law sitting to one side, holding Chenchen with a bad expression, and a strange woman sitting at the other end of the sofa.
The other person was dressed smartly, wearing a woolen overcoat and with makeup on. From a distance, one might mistake them for someone's bear that had escaped.
When the other person saw Gu Mingyue return, their eyes lit up. "Yuxiu, this must be my niece-in-law."
Gu Mingyue saw that her mother-in-law was reluctant to respond.
She blinked and looked at Lu Wanwan.
Lu Wanwan cleared her throat and said, "Sister-in-law, you're back. Let me pour you a cup of hot water."
He then pulled Gu Mingyue toward the kitchen, and in the meantime, Gu Mingyue asked who that person was.
Lu Wanwan sighed and said, "We have a distant relative, someone we're not even that close to, who's like a cousin, named Fu Ailan."
Lu Wanwan hated her the most. Every time there was a holiday, she would come to her door, not to ask for favors or to bring gifts, but purely to cause trouble.
Like an investigator, every time he comes, he greets everyone first, and then asks each person what they have been doing during this period.
To exaggerate a bit, they'd love to find out exactly what you ate yesterday.
Because she was an elder, Lu Wanwan didn't dare to complain, but Zhong Yuxiu wouldn't tolerate it.
Therefore, Zhong Yuxiu did not give them a friendly look as soon as they arrived.
As the two women came out of the kitchen, Fu Ailan waved for them to come and sit down.
As soon as Gu Mingyue sat down, the other person grabbed her hands.
"When you got married before, your aunt wasn't home and couldn't attend your wedding with Lu Lin. I heard you're preparing for the college entrance exam this time. How did it go? Are you confident?"
Here it comes, here it comes!
Before Gu Mingyue could answer, she continued, "If you ask me, it's better to find a good job than to go to university. My son, your cousin, works at the Industry and Commerce Bureau. He goes to get off work and leaves on time every day, gets paid on time, and even gets subsidies. He's more sought after than a college graduate."
Alright, Gu Mingyue understood. So this person came to show off.
"Someone in our compound received their acceptance letter a while ago. Which school did you apply to? Why haven't you received yours yet?"
Zhong Yuxiu couldn't hold back any longer, "You don't even know which university it is, why ask so many questions?"
Fu Ailan didn't like hearing this. "I'm just showing concern for the child."
"Alright, is it really that important to you? Stop loitering around me, and if you have nothing to do, go home and stop getting in my way."
With her parents-in-law not home, Zhong Yuxiu is the eldest daughter in the family. Unlike her elders, she doesn't care about saving face and is reluctant to break off relations.
You have to be rude to people like Fu Ailan, otherwise they'll take advantage of you.
In front of the younger generation, Fu Ailan felt a little embarrassed after being spoken to like that, and muttered, "What's so smug about it? It's not even certain whether you'll pass the exam."
Who failed the exam?
Lu Qinming strode in from outside, looking at Fu Ailan with unfriendly eyes, and repeated, "Who are you saying failed the exam?"
If you were to ask who Fu Ailan fears most in this family, it would probably be Lu Qinming.
No matter how smug or thoughtless she was, she wouldn't dare to say anything bad in front of Lu Qinming.
Lu Qinming gave him a cold look, then softened his expression, revealed a smile, and handed the envelope in his hand to Gu Mingyue.
"Mingyue, this is your admission notice. I saw it at the gate when I came back and brought it over."
"My sister-in-law's college acceptance letter arrived?!" Lu Wanwan was overjoyed, but then noticed Fu Ailan's embarrassed expression and snorted, "Someone just said she wouldn't get in, now she's proven wrong."
Knowing she was in the wrong and had nowhere to hide, Fu Ailan slunk away.
The eyesore finally left, and the family happily opened the admission notice.
However, when registering, Gu Mingyue applied to the Department of Economics and Management, while Lu Wanwan applied to the Department of Chinese Literature. Both of them applied to the same school.
Lu Wanwan looked on enviously, then, realizing she hadn't received any news yet, she lowered her head. "Could it be that I didn't pass the exam?"
Just as she was feeling disappointed, a pair of chubby little hands grabbed her, "Goo goo~"
Chenchen stood up and hugged her tightly, gently patting her arm as if to comfort her.
Lu Wanwan's heart was instantly filled with joy, and she gave Chenchen a quick kiss. "Is our little darling comforting Auntie? So cute."
Chenchen saw her smile and giggled happily.
"There'll definitely be no problem tomorrow. We compared answers after the exam, and the scores weren't that different. It's probably because we applied for different majors, so the admission notices were sent out at different times. We'll just have to wait a little longer," Lu Mingyue comforted her.
Lu Wanwan nodded; all she could do now was wait.
Just then, the phone rang. Zhong Yuxiu answered it, and her son-in-law's voice came from the other end.
"Mom, is Wanwan with you?"
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