Yang Zinuo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
On the way back, the bus conductor broadcast New Year's greetings through a loudspeaker. The streets the bus passed were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, exuding a joyful atmosphere of the approaching New Year.
"Hey, remember last year's Chinese New Year? Old Gu, you fell into a snowdrift while patrolling the field. Jingya rescued you, and you two even secretly kissed in the woods, your lips were all raw from biting each other!"
Yang Zinuo recalled excitedly, "You two got together not long after, how fast time flies, a year has passed in the blink of an eye!"
Fortunately, the seats around the three of them were empty, otherwise, with Yang Zinuo's loud voice, the bus would have turned into a gossip scene.
Shen Jingyan glared at him: "What nonsense are you talking about! We... didn't sneak away... it's because Brother Yun fell down..."
Because of her shyness and embarrassment, her explanation was incoherent.
Gu Zhiyun calmly took Shen Jingyan's hand and said, "I took the initiative and now I even have a fiancée. That fool surnamed Yang hasn't even touched a girl's hand."
As he spoke, he deliberately showed off the engagement ring on Shen Jingyan's hand.
Yang Zinuo was speechless and could only turn her head away, pretending to watch the fireworks.
What's so great about a broken silver ring?
When he has money, he'll buy Feifei a diamond ring!
The moment the idea popped into his head, he was startled.
Why, why did he immediately think of Feifei?
He was glad that these were just thoughts he kept to himself and that he hadn't said them out loud.
Otherwise, Old Man Xu might really have launched a satellite!
Back in the capital city compound, every household had hung up red lanterns and pasted up Spring Festival couplets. Everyone was busy preparing New Year's dishes, and the aroma of meat and wine filled the courtyard.
Shen Jingyan and Gu Zhiyun returned home happily, only to find the house completely dark.
It was completely dark, and the entire living room was pitch black.
"Dad, Mom, are you home?"
In the darkness, Gu Zhiyun seemed to hear a sob.
He quickly fumbled for the light switch and turned it on.
Fang Ru and Gu Huaiqian were sitting on the sofa, but their expressions were clearly not right.
Fang Ru's eyes were red and swollen from crying, while Gu Huaiqian sat on the sofa like a statue, his eyes empty and lifeless.
"Uncle, Auntie, what happened?"
Shen Jingyan hurriedly stepped forward and asked.
Fang Ru wiped her eyes with a handkerchief that was already soaked, and tremblingly took Shen Jingyan's hand and said:
"Jingya, it's all our fault. Our family has dragged you down..."
Shen Jingyan grasped Fang Ru's cold, pale hand: "Auntie, everything's fine, why are you saying this!"
"Dad, what exactly happened at home?"
A sense of foreboding welled up in Gu Zhiyun's heart.
Gu Huaiqian sighed deeply, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes more pronounced than ever before.
The couple looked energetic this morning, but now they are listless and dejected, as if they have aged ten years in a single day.
Gu Huaiqian took a piece of paper out of his coat pocket and silently handed it to Gu Zhiyun.
Gu Zhiyun and Shen Jingyan were both somewhat confused.
Chen Jingyan was anxious. She took the note from Gu Zhiyun's hand and opened it to read.
Upon seeing the words written on it, their pupils suddenly contracted.
It was as if an invisible hammer had struck their hearts heavily.
That piece of paper was a notice issued by the Admissions Office of Imperial University.
Gu Zhiyun's admission qualification was revoked.
The reason given was utterly ridiculous: because the Gu family had been landlords for four generations, belonging to the feudal and backward exploitative class, their social class was deemed too high, and the Imperial University revoked Gu Zhiyun's admission qualification in order to give more poor students the opportunity to attend university.
Gu Zhiyun stood there blankly, a deafening roar filling his ears.
Because of their family background, all three of them were sent down to the countryside to undergo labor reform, which they accepted.
During his three years at the forest farm, Gu Zhiyun worked diligently and without complaint.
However, his college entrance examination score was the result of countless days and nights of hard work. Why should his admission be revoked just because of his family background?
That's unfair! It's so unfair!
He crumpled the notice into a ball and threw it away violently.
"I'll go to the admissions office of Imperial University tomorrow!"
Shen Jingyan had never seen Gu Zhiyun so grief-stricken, but she was also shocked by this sudden bad news and couldn't think of a single word to comfort him.
Gu Huaiqian looked at Gu Zhiyun with heartache and said in a deep voice:
"Zhiyun, now that things have come to this, don't you understand who's behind this? What's the point of going to the admissions office?"
Gu Zhiyun clenched his fists and pressed his pale lips together.
Fang Ru became agitated. She threw the handkerchief aside and stood up angrily, saying:
“I’m going to find Zhao Guangsheng. I want to confront him face-to-face and ask him why he revoked my son’s admission! Does he really think he can control everything? Even if I lose my job, I will fight him to the end!”
Seeing that Fang Ru was really about to rush out the door to argue with Zhao Guangsheng, Gu Huaiqian quickly pressed her shoulders down and pinned her to the sofa.
"Aru, what's the point of arguing with him? Don't you know why he revoked Zhiyun's admission? What's he up to?"
Fang Ru clenched her knees, her molars grinding together: "Shameless, utterly shameless!"
Gu Huaiqian collapsed in pain next to Fang Ru.
"He wants Zhiyun to beg him, to grovel and beg him."
Gu Zhiyun naturally understood the conditions for seeking Zhao Guangsheng's help to regain his admission.
Those were conditions he would rather not go to university than accept!
"Those who do many evil deeds will surely perish! Does he think that just because he has some power, he can control other people's lives? I'm going to report him to the Ministry of Education!"
Fang Ru said indignantly, "I would rather break ties with him and become his enemy than let Zhiyun be ruined by Zhao Yanyan!"
The approval that Gu Huaiqian and his wife gave Shen Jingyan warmed her heart.
She took Gu Zhiyun's hand and smiled brightly.
"Yun-ge, it's nothing, let's repeat a year together!"
Gu Zhiyun was stunned: "Jingya, what...what did you say?"
Shen Jingyan said optimistically, "Brother Yun, I'm not going to university this year either. I'll retake the exam with you, and we'll apply to Beijing University next year! The country's policies are getting more and more lenient every year. Next year, admissions won't consider family background, only scores! It's no big deal to start school a year later! We haven't reached the end of our rope yet!"
Gu Zhiyun looked into Shen Jingyan's eyes. Her gaze was firm and radiant, more beautiful than a rainbow after the rain and brighter than the stars in the night.
"Jingya, I can't hold you back..."
He was filled with guilt.
"Brother Yun, we're in this together. Have you forgotten who I am to you now?"
Shen Jingyan shook the ring on her ring finger.
Fang Ru burst into tears of excitement and ran over to hug Shen Jingyan tightly.
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