Chapter 72

When mingling with classmates, Wen Yu, this young master, was quite down-to-earth. He treated everyone to a meal at a restaurant near the school.

After the exams were over, everyone relaxed, enjoying food and drinks. The guys even ordered some alcohol and started drinking with enthusiasm.

During the meal, they discussed scholarships, and Meng XinYu expressed her admiration, saying, “It’s worth several thousand yuan.”

Ji Anning also found the exams relatively easy and estimated that she had a chance to compete for a scholarship.

Soon, some senior students asked, “Did you give gifts to the teachers?”

Both of them were puzzled, “Gifts too?”

First-year students were indeed quite innocent. The senior students laughed heartily and explained various aspects of competition and behind-the-scenes matters within the school. They also discussed things like bonus points for the student union and various gray-area benefits.

Meng XinYu sighed, “I knew about bonus points for the student union, but I never thought you’d have to give gifts just to apply for a scholarship.”

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“Fvsr vlypkdt!” Kk Gddkdt rkdnble bkx, “R’x vlzzkdt usw! Psd’v usw eyal!”

Eld Zw bye nsddlnvksdp yv vbl pnbssz yde nswze lypkzu pvakjl wr nsdhlapyvksdp. Tsolhla, kq cu ydu nbydnl bla tayelp olald’v yp tsse yp svblap, ulv pbl pvkzz xydytle vs plnwal vbl pnbszyapbkr, kv oswze cl kdnalekczu lxcyaayppkdt!

Jyple sd bla kdvwkvksd, Eld Zw oyp bktbzu zkjlzu vs rwzz psxlvbkdt zkjl vbyv!

Wen Yu, reluctantly coerced by Ji Anning, finally agreed, “I won’t manipulate anything behind the scenes. Let’s wait for the results first. If your grades are competitive, I’ll put in a good word. No one should think they can outmaneuver you.”

When the results came out, Ji Anning’s scores were significantly better than in her previous life, and she was indeed eligible to compete for the scholarship.

In fact, her ability to get into Huada University in the first place demonstrated her intelligence. It was just that in her previous life, her energy and time were consumed elsewhere, unlike this life, where she could fully focus on her studies.

Before the winter break, the scholarship results were announced, and both Meng XinYu and Ji Anning received scholarships. They were ecstatic, and even their intentions for using the scholarships were quite similar—they both wanted to buy a laptop.

In high school, they used computers sparingly, but in college, they felt the need for one.

The two of them went shopping together and bought laptops.

Bai Lu envied them, saying, “I should have worked harder. With a scholarship, I could have bought the phone I wanted.”

Once the vacation started, everyone went home. That year, the Chinese New Year came early, at the end of January, so the Spring Festival travel rush, known as “chunyun¹Spring Festival transportation rush” also began early.

The school helped organize ticket purchases, and most students had already bought their tickets to go home.

Bai Lu left as soon as the vacation began and had no intention of staying at school for even a single day. However, Chen Hao stayed at the school and persisted until the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

During this period, he continued working at the company Wen Yu had introduced him to. Since it was the vacation season, he had more free time. The company was swamped with year-end work, and he worked diligently, earning some good feedback.

The feedback from his colleagues reached Wen Yu, who nodded in approval and then informed Ji Anning, “He works during the day and distributes flyers after work.”

Although their family wasn’t well-off, they hadn’t spent much in the past, so they didn’t have much financial pressure. Their days were simple—study, play games, and Chen Hao even persisted in training to stay fit. Life was quite pleasant.

But now, everything had changed.

From carefree students, they suddenly faced the pressures of life. Chen Hao even complained to Wen Yu, “I suddenly understand those married middle-aged men.”

After a moment of thought, he added, “Actually, not just middle-aged men, even girls like Anning work so hard, and I heard Xin Yu is also working.”

They were all dealing with life’s pressures. At this moment, he truly envied those who were born into favorable circumstances.

“Does your dad need a son?” he asked Wen Yu, hooking his arm around his friend’s neck. “One who’s 1.8 meters tall and snores when he sleeps?”

Wen Yu responded with an eye roll, “Get lost, my family inheritance is not for you!”

Ji Anning’s situation was quite similar to Chen Hao’s. With the vacation, they had more time, so she decided to work tirelessly and earned significantly more than Chen Hao.

Carrying too much cash wasn’t safe, especially since she often took public transportation. Ma Ge reminded her once, and she thought about it. She decided to have the photographer transfer the money to her.

Every time she received a transfer notification on her phone, it felt as refreshing as taking a big bite of ice cream on a scorching summer day or sipping hot soup on a cold winter day.

On the thirtieth day of the lunar calendar, Wen Yu brought Ji Anning home.

Ji Anning had some guesses about Wen Guoan, but they were all shattered when she met him. Wen Guoan was not the middle-aged man she had encountered in the time vortex.

The person she saw was much younger than Wen Guoan and much more handsome. He was the kind of handsome middle-aged man who could captivate even young girls.

Wen Guoan, in contrast, looked much older and wasn’t as handsome.

He was very warm and friendly toward Ji Anning, like a neighborly old gentleman. On the other hand, Wen Yu’s mother, Cheng Lian, was quite critical of Ji Anning, and she could sense it from her well-groomed and luxurious appearance.

Ji Anning arrived in the morning and had a regular family meal with Wen Yu’s parents. After lunch, they chatted for a while, and then she got up to take her leave.

It was a standard guest protocol.

Before coming, she sought advice from someone older, although she didn’t have many older people around her. She consulted Ma Ge, who was at least thirty years old and presumably knew more about social etiquette.

When Ma Ge heard that she was going to meet Wen Yu’s parents, he blinked a few times and carefully explained everything he knew about the etiquette of being a guest.

The makeup artist also joined the conversation, asking, “Hey, I see your boyfriend seems to come from a pretty well-off family. If you meet his parents, do you think they’ll give you a big red envelope?”

The assistant chimed in, saying, “The first time I visited my boyfriend’s home, his mom was quite frugal. She only gave me 800 yuan.”

The makeup artist scoffed, “That’s too stingy! The first time I visited, I got 2,000 yuan.”

All this talk stressed out Ji Anning because she knew that Wen Yu’s parents were not likely to be tight-fisted.

Sure enough, Wen Yu’s father was quite generous. When Ji Anning was about to leave, he took out a small box and said, “As a token of our first meeting, this is a gift. It’s an antique piece that my mother used to wear. It may be old, but please accept it.”

This was even more pressure than receiving a red envelope.

Ji Anning was just about to decline, but Wen Yu immediately took the box and said, “No need to decline, I’ll accept it.”

Wen Guoan burst into laughter.

Father and son didn’t give Ji Anning a chance to decline at all, singing in harmony as they presented the gift.

Cheng Lian watched the father and son happily playing around, with an expression that clearly showed her indifference to their antics.

After Wen Yu saw Ji Anning off, Cheng Lian said, “Is it necessary to dig out your mother’s stuff to give it to her? It’s just a college romance, and how many of those actually last?”

Most couples tend to break up after graduation, and many don’t even make it to graduation before splitting.

Wen Guoan calmly replied, “Our son has grown up, and it’s his first time bringing a girl home to meet his parents. Why are you being so petty? Besides, our family doesn’t lack anything.”

Cheng Lian raised her eyebrows and left in annoyance.

She had been going through menopause in recent years, and her temper had become unusually volatile. Wen Guoan couldn’t be bothered to deal with her.

In the car, Ji Anning carefully opened the box and was taken aback.

Inside the box lay a jade bracelet, entirely emerald green, translucent, and radiant.

“This…,” she began.

“Keep it!” Wen Yu asserted, “It’s not money; this is the wishes from our elders.”

“But it’s too valuable, and it’s your grandmother’s heirloom,” Ji Anning protested.

Especially the latter part made her feel even more pressured.

“My grandmother’s jewelry collection is practically a mountain by now,” Wen Yu chuckled, “But my dad was willing to go into the vault and pick something specifically for you. It shows that he really likes you.”

Ji Anning replied, “…”

Comparing it to a mountain of jewelry did little to alleviate her psychological pressure.

“It’s a gift from our elders; just accept it,” Wen Yu insisted as he took the bracelet out of the box and put it on Ji Anning’s wrist.

Ji Anning had small bones, so the bracelet easily slid onto her delicate wrist. The emerald green, lustrous jewel complemented her wrist beautifully.

“Looks great,” Wen Yu said. “Just wear it.”

It really did look beautiful, and Ji Anning had grown fond of it. Wen Yu’s father was indeed amiable and a very approachable elder.

Ji Anning touched the bracelet and inquired, “Is it just your family of three? Do you have many relatives?”

Wen Yu replied, “Not many. My dad is an only child, and he’s much older than most of my relatives from his generation. We don’t have much interaction.”

As for Cheng Lian’s side of the family, he didn’t mention anything at all.

Ji Anning thought for a moment and asked, “You’re so good-looking, just like your mom. Are your relatives good-looking too? Do you have any particularly handsome uncles or anything like that?”

Wen Yu responded, “There are no uncles, and my mom is also an only child. As for relatives on my maternal grandfather’s side, she doesn’t really keep in touch. Basically, there aren’t many close relatives around.”

As he explained, Ji Anning suddenly realized that Wen Guoan’s reasoning was valid. Their family really wasn’t… thriving in terms of relatives.

However, Ji Anning was frustrated because she couldn’t extract any useful information. Even in Wen Yu’s home, there was nothing unusual, and it didn’t seem like anything major was about to happen.

Ji Anning couldn’t help but sigh, regretting that she hadn’t paid more attention to Wen Yu earlier. When he had suddenly disappeared from school, Sun Yaxian had apparently inquired about it and might have even mentioned it in class.

However, at that time, Ji Anning was just relieved that nobody was bothering her, and there was no way she would have gone to Sun Yaxian to listen to gossip. Now, she was left in the dark, and it was frustrating.

“Why sigh on New Year’s?” Wen Yu said. “Be happy.”

He paused for a moment and added, “My mom is just like that, not very talkative when meeting people, a bit stubborn. I find it annoying too. Just ignore her.”

Wen Yu was quite dissatisfied with Cheng Lian’s attitude today. He had clearly informed his family in advance, but Cheng Lian had been so cold towards Ji Anning, which irritated him.

Wen Yu had misunderstood the situation, but it conveniently masked his true feelings, so Ji Anning didn’t bother explaining.

When they arrived home, she said to Wen Yu, “You should go back early; it’s New Year’s Eve.”

Wen Yu asked, “How are you spending the New Year?”

Ji Anning smiled and replied, “I’m making dumplings. The filling is all prepared.”

Wen Yu gave her a kiss before leaving.

This day was New Year’s Eve, and after spending this night, they would enter the new year.

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Please support my new novel, coming soon. It will replace Married to the Male Lead’s Hidden Rich Brother every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It’s an ancient era genre called “Casting Nets to Catch a Husband.” It was about a beautiful girl who was sold by her family and became a prostitute.(More like a geisha because she just performs dances and sings for the men.) She died before they can sell her body to the highest bidder and woke up (rebirth) to the time before her family sold her. Here you go…

Casting Nets to Catch a Husband

Liu Yu, with her exquisite beauty, was sold into a brothel by her heartless parents in her previous life and died on the night she left the pavilion in the most luxurious brothel in Yangzhou City.

When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the year she was fifteen, just one month before being sold to the matchmaker by her parents.

With her rebirth, there was one urgent matter at hand.
Within a month, she had to find a good husband for herself, escape from the Liu family, and avoid the fate of being sold in her previous life.

She took all the money she could spare, knocked on the door of the matchmaker’s house in Changfeng Town. And as soon as she left the matchmaker’s house, she met a young man. The matchmaker whispered to her, “Lu Chengxiao, the third son of the Lu family, the owner of the Lu Feng Cloth Shop.”

Liu Yu understood; he was her third target.

Recently, Lu Chengxiao had encountered a beautiful woman several times and admired her. He was thinking it was a match destined for marriage.

It wasn’t until one day when they met in the mountains, the beautiful woman twisted her foot and couldn’t move so he carried her all the way.

When he returned to deliver the medicine, he saw the beautiful woman walking lightly, with no sign of a twisted foot. The heat behind his ears receded, and his eyes grew colder. He turned and went back to Changfeng Town.

Several days later, the beautiful woman shyly handed him a purse, thanking him for his help.

Lu Chengxiao sneered, “Thanking me for helping? That day, I turned back and saw the lady walking normally. Why would I need to help?”

“I can’t accept this purse. If we privately exchange gifts, it might be hard to explain later. It’s better for the lady to keep her dignity.”

Alright, this one couldn’t work. Liu Yu took back the purse, curtsied, and walked away…

Lu Chengxiao thought it was a decisive rejection, until several days later, he saw Liu Yu drop an embroidered handkerchief in front of the bookshop where the young man, Chen Sheng, worked. The gentleman picked up the scented handkerchief, and the beautiful woman blushed and thanked him. What a beautiful encounter.

Lu Chengxiao: “…”

A wave of frustration welled up in his chest, and he clenched his teeth as he tossed and turned in his dreams.

Until later, when he saw Liu Yu about to stage a falling-into-the-water scene, Lu Chengxiao panicked. He jumped into the river before Chen Sheng, pulled her ashore, held her slender waist, and couldn’t help but feel both angry and pained. He didn’t even want to ask more questions. He just held her in his arms and almost begged, “Don’t you want a good marriage? I’ll marry you!”

【This is a story that begins with scheming, falls into love, with a heart full of sincerity, and ends up in a marriage. It is also a story of two major businesses rising, with elements of urban and farming life.]

Tag: Rebirth, Love at first sight, Sweet Romance, Ancient Era