Fresh off a business trip from Beijing, Ding Yawen pushed her suitcase through the door of an upscale café in Lujiazui and immediately spotted Lu Jiaping sitting not far away.
Lu Jiaping and Ding Yawen had been college roommates. After graduation, they each made different life choices. Lu Jiaping chose marriage and motherhood, becoming a homemaker, while Ding Yawen devoted herself to her career, striving relentlessly for twelve years.
Their different paths hadn’t distanced the two close friends. No matter how busy they were, they always made time to meet up. Even if they didn’t talk much, just sitting together brought them joy.
Ding Yawen, dressed in a suit, looked travel-worn but impeccably made-up. As she sat down, she frowned at Lu Jiaping, who wore a loose T-shirt with her hair casually tied up. “My dear, this is Lujiazui! You come here for a hundred-yuan cup of coffee wearing slippers?”
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Lu Jiaping smoothed her hair. “After dropping off the kids and doing housework, I got your message. I was still mopping the floor—how could I have time to dress up? I rushed here just to see you.”
“No matter how busy you are, you could always spare ten minutes to tidy up.” Ding Yawen waved over a server. “One vanilla latte and one iced Americano, please.”
Lu Jiaping’s hands weren’t idle as she busily replied to WeChat messages.
Ding Yawen reached over, snatched her phone, and placed it face-down on the table. “I’m not even as busy as you are. No phones during our date.”
Lu Jiaping sighed helplessly and explained, “I was chatting with other moms about this year’s middle school admissions. The computerized lottery system is really stressful. Next year, Yuxin will be applying too. If she doesn’t get accepted into a top school early, with my luck in the lottery, she’ll probably end up at the worst middle school.”
Ding Yawen didn’t fully understand but said, “Yuxin’s grades have always been excellent, and she’s only in fifth grade. Why are you so anxious already?”
Lu Jiaping sighed. “Kids get more disobedient as they grow up. Anyway, enough about me. How have you been lately? You look so happy—do you have good news? Are you planning to get married?”
Ding Yawen’s expression darkened. “Don’t mention marriage. It gives me a headache. Every time my mom calls, she nags me about getting married. It’s so annoying.”
Lu Jiaping sipped her vanilla latte and chuckled. “You’re half a year younger than me, about to turn thirty-four, and still not planning to marry? Your Jianhui is really patient—fourteen years of a long-distance relationship. Tsk, I can’t even imagine.”
Ding Yawen stirred her coffee. Her heart was fully devoted to her work, which she cared about far more than anything else. “Our station is launching a new program, a talk show. I’m interested, and I have the skills, so I’m thinking of competing for it.”
“Doing what? You’re a reporter—are you switching to programming? Don’t tell me you’re going to be the host?”
Seeing Ding Yawen nod, Lu Jiaping grew excited. “A talk show host? Like… ‘A Date with Luyu’?”
Ding Yawen smiled, pleased. “It’s not certain yet. Switching roles comes with a lot of pressure.”
Lu Jiaping looked at her with admiration. “Yawen, how could you not succeed? You’re the most amazing woman I know. There’s nothing you can’t achieve. Here’s to our future anchorwoman—may your career be bright and successful!”
Raising their coffee cups like glasses of wine, the two women chatted happily and freely.
However, the small gathering was just that—a small gathering. Ding Yawen’s phone rang; it was a call from the station, summoning her back to work. Lu Jiaping also stood up, preparing to pick up her two children from school.
Elementary school let out at 4:15, while kindergarten ended at 4:40. After picking up the children and bringing them home, her eldest daughter Jiang Yuxin finished her homework, only to have tutoring or extracurricular classes in the evening. In short, Lu Jiaping hardly had a moment to herself at night.
On her way to pick up the children, Lu Jiaping received a notification from the school’s parent app about the recent unit test results: Jiang Yuxin scored 89 in Chinese, 94 in math, and 98 in English. Aside from English, how could she score so poorly in Chinese and math?
The school didn’t allow ranking, but as the head of the parent committee and close with several mothers of high-achieving students, Lu Jiaping had formed a dedicated group chat. Whenever test results came out, a quick exchange would reveal her child’s class ranking.
This time, Lu Jiaping was furious—eighth place, not even in the top five. Jiang Yuxin had been slipping since the second half of last year, finishing fourth in the final exams last semester. Now, she had dropped all the way to eighth.
The group chat continued buzzing, but Lu Jiaping was in no mood to keep up. She quickly messaged the teacher to ask about the points lost. In Chinese, the essay had cost eight points—and if not for her neat handwriting, the deduction might have been even greater.
Outside Tianxin Elementary School in Pudong New District, parents crowded the entrance, waiting to pick up their children. The school bordered three major roads, with heavy traffic flowing by, so even for the older grades, most parents still came to collect their kids.
Lu Jiaping was among them, standing in the crowd at the school gate. A fine spring drizzle fell, bringing a biting chill that clung to her skin and soured her mood.
A woman squeezed through the crowd and greeted her warmly, “Yuxin’s mom, you’re here early too!”
Lu Jiaping immediately put on a smile. “Hello, Jiaqi’s mom!”
Jiaqi’s mother leaned closer and whispered, “So, Yuxin’s mom, how did your Yuxin do on this unit test? It’s so annoying that the school doesn’t allow ranking—we can’t even tell how our kids are doing in school.”
Lu Jiaping’s smile remained unchanged, her tone growing more formal. “She didn’t do well, but one test score doesn’t mean much. The school has always said grades aren’t everything—we should take it in stride. Oh, school’s out. Jiaqi’s mom, I’d better head over now.”
Jiaqi’s mother nodded quickly. Once Lu Jiaping had walked away, she muttered under her breath, “What’s with the act? Everyone knows you sign Yuxin up for tutoring based on her grades. Who are you trying to fool?”
Lu Jiaping picked up Jiang Yuxin and said nothing at the school gate. Only after crossing the main road, nearing the kindergarten, did her expression darken. “Eighty-nine in Chinese, Jiang Yuxin. Explain how you managed that. The teacher sent me your essay—you lost eight points. You didn’t even address the topic properly, and your writing was incoherent. And the reading comprehension section was a mess!”
Jiang Yuxin mumbled, “This test… was a bit hard.”
Lu Jiaping grew even angrier. “A bit hard? Why wasn’t it hard for others? At least seven classmates scored higher than you! Think about why others can get high scores and you can’t. Cao Shixun got a ninety-six in Chinese, with a perfect essay score. If you’d gotten full marks on the essay, you would’ve beaten him!”
Jiang Yuxin looked up and said discontentedly, “Mom, the school said we shouldn’t rank students. Can you please stop privately ranking me every time? You even said at the parent-teacher conference that one exam result doesn’t mean much. I…”
“How dare you say that!” Lu Jiaping was furious. “I send you to school and give you everything you want, but look at how you’re doing! How can you have the nerve to talk back after scoring so poorly? You’re so disappointing! I can see your mind isn’t on studying at all!”