Zhou Shengnan raised her face, which had long been tormented beyond recognition, and through her tear-filled eyes, she seemed to see two familiar figures.
At first, she thought she was seeing things and subconsciously rubbed her eyes. By the time she tried to see clearly, they had already silently come to her side, pulled her up from the cold ground, and even thoughtfully brushed off the loose soil on her.
Zhou Shengnan stared blankly at the two of them, unsure how to react. Xiao Jiu reached out and tenderly wiped away the tears still clinging to her face.
“Sister Shengnan, we haven’t been able to get in touch with you for a long time. With the floods, we just wanted to come and see you. You don’t look well.”
Not only did Xiao Jiu look at her with heartache, but even Pang Weiwei's eyes were red as she touched her rough, unrecognizable hands, her voice choked with emotion.
"How long have you been enduring this on your own?"
One sentence was enough to break Zhou Shengnan's defenses. Suddenly, grief welled up inside her, and the anger and grievances she had suppressed for so long turned into helpless sobs.
Zhou Shengnan cried, transitioning from initial sobs to full-blown wailing in just five minutes.
The person sitting blankly on the bed, probably hearing his daughter's heart-wrenching cries for the first time, stopped sitting there and stared blankly at Zhou Shengnan.
"I can't get into university, so you can all go back and never come looking for me again."
After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Shengnan felt she had vented her emotions enough. Suddenly, she stood up, wiped away her tears, and resolutely told them to leave.
However, Xiao Jiu only glanced at the woman, then exchanged a look with Pang Weiwei, and the two of them pulled Zhou Shengnan to the small garden outside.
Xiao Jiu deliberately found a spot where Zhou's mother couldn't see her, and the first thing she said was...
"Sister Shengnan, you've studied for so many years, and it's almost time to see the results. Are you going to give up?"
“I have no choice. You've seen it yourself. I have a mother like that. Do you think I can just abandon her?”
Zhou Shengnan clutched her chest, writhing in unbearable pain, but Xiao Jiu looked at her as if it were perfectly natural: "Why not?"
Under Zhou Shengnan's astonished and widened gaze, Xiao Jiu continued speaking.
"I think she's using your father's death to avoid work and the pressure of raising children, and she wants to drag you down with her. Why doesn't she drag her son down too? Isn't it because her son is unreliable? Look at how she was just now, does she look like she's mentally challenged? Why can't she be a little selfish and get into university first?"
Pang Weiwei immediately nodded vigorously: "That's right, Sister Shengnan, putting everything else aside, even if you don't get into university, junior college and vocational school graduates are directly assigned jobs and have urban residency. Isn't that better than you wasting your time by her side?"
“Shengnan, go join the army and go to military academy. You can send her your monthly allowance first to ease her burden, which won’t mean you’re neglecting her. In the future, find a husband’s family that she will fear, otherwise she will be a burden to you for life. She’s probably betting on your reluctance to let her go.”
Zhou Shengnan frowned, seemingly lost in thought, and Xiao Jiu continued.
"When she can't keep up the act anymore, she'll try to exchange you for a dowry. Think about it, you have younger siblings and older brothers and sisters-in-law, and your father is gone. She must feel like the sky has fallen, and she'll try every means to get money. Only when she has money in her hands will she feel at ease. So there's still room for negotiation between you and her. Talk about money, use money to exchange for your future. I think it's worth it. Think about it."
“Sister Shengnan, we women are born to face all kinds of unfairness. You are not bad at studying. If you back down now, you may have to work hard in the fields for the rest of your life. Are you willing to spend all those years studying only to marry a farmer and have a farmer’s child? To be stuck with hardship and suffering for the rest of your life?”
Unexpectedly, before they could exchange more than a few words, the nurse rushed out in a panic and called out.
"Zhou Shengnan, Zhou Shengnan, your mother is going crazy again! Come back right now!"
Xiao Jiu grabbed Zhou Shengnan's hand and quickly recounted how Yuan Yuan had made her choice.
Then they stuffed a handful of money and tickets into her hand, and she didn't even bother to count how much money there was.
"The opportunity is in your own hands. Success or failure hinges on this moment. You need to consider whether your reputation is more important than your future. Even if your reputation is ruined and you can't join the army, there are other options. But if you let her control you like this, then your future..."
Xiao Jiu shook her head and sighed, "We're staying at the guesthouse across the street. Come find us tonight if you've thought it through. We need to have a deep conversation. Go buy some food; you're so thin, it breaks my heart."
Zhou Shengnan was eventually dragged away by a nurse, complaining as she walked about how difficult her mother was and even suggesting that she be sent directly to a mental hospital.
"I've never seen a mother who torments her daughter like this. She's so irresponsible! Even we can see that she's deliberately making things difficult for you, so why do you still indulge her so much? I think it's all because you spoiled her!"
"Xiao Jiu, do you think Sheng Nan will listen to me?" Pang Weiwei sighed heavily as she looked in the direction Zhou Sheng Nan had left.
Xiao Jiu shook her head. "I can listen to her, but what's hard to get rid of is her selfish mother. Let's go back to the guesthouse. It would be best if we could wait for her tonight. If not, we'll leave at dawn."
She's done more than enough; she gave the money and the tickets, and said all the right and wrong things. As a classmate, that's enough.
Pang Weiwei used her own pocket money to come out this time, so where would she get extra money to give Zhou Shengnan?
If Zhou Shengnan really gives up like this, she will only feel sorry, but she will not actually donate money or goods for her. After all, she is also supported by her parents, unlike Xiao Jiu who is so generous.
In her eyes, classmates are just classmates.
But in Xiaojiu's eyes, she only thought about saving one girl, one.
After all, her transmigration itself was a feat of defying fate, and within her limited abilities, she wouldn't mind lending a hand if she could.
Moreover, she's not stupid. Some of the money was wasted, but some of it would yield a return.
——
Fortunately, Zhou Shengnan didn't keep them waiting too long; she came over around nine o'clock in the evening.
I sincerely presented Xiao Jiu with an IOU.
"Jiu'er, thank you for lending me the money and tickets. I'm short of money, but I'll accept them as a loan."
I'll be discharged tomorrow. If she wants to stay, let her stay on her own; I'm not going to interfere anymore.
Family matters prevent me from leaving on a whim. I will try my best to manage things, especially since you have just arrived. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to leave now.
So I will find an opportunity to talk to my family before leaving, and try to avoid a complete falling out.
But if nothing else works, then I'll resort to extreme measures to fight for my future!
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