Someone advised her, “A-Yao, not just anyone can get into university. Take our Educated Youth Point—several people have been trying for two years and still haven’t passed the exam. Besides, you don’t have a foundation, so it’ll be even harder.”
Meng Yao replied, “It’s fine. I’m not afraid. I can learn slowly.”
Immediately, a few female educated youths spoke with sarcasm, “What’s there to learn? Didn’t we hear you’re getting married? And to a capitalist, no less—so rich. Why bother with university?”
Ever since the Meng family’s two daughters found their matches, no one in the village wasn’t envious. But who could blame them? Not everyone had a grandfather who was a revolutionary martyr.
The women at the Educated Youth Point also compared themselves openly and secretly. They were educated and knowledgeable, yet none of them had married as well as a village girl. Who could accept that?
For a moment, when they heard Meng Yao wanted to take the university entrance exam, not a single person was willing to teach her. Seeing their true colors, Meng Yao snorted coldly and prepared to leave.
Just then, a male comrade walked out of the room, a smile on his face. “Learning knows no bounds. If you want to learn, learn; if you want to take the exam, take it. Does learning discriminate? Can city folks learn while country folks can’t?”
“Comrade, which parts don’t you understand? I’ll teach you.”
The speaker was Ji Ming, refined and wearing a pair of glasses—the leader of their Educated Youth Point.
The crowd fell silent, no one uttering a word.
Meng Yao had come to ask questions. Since someone was willing to teach her, she didn’t care about others’ opinions and handed her test paper to Ji Ming.
Seeing Ji Ming lead Meng Yao to a stone bench nearby and genuinely start teaching her seriously, the people in the yard gritted their teeth in jealousy. Ji Ming, the group leader, was known for his good character, respectable family background, and gentle personality. Many educated youths secretly admired him. Yet this woman, already engaged, was still clinging to a male comrade to teach her.
What a fox spirit!
Ji Ming looked at the last few major problems on the test paper for a while and suddenly laughed.
“What are you laughing at?” Meng Yao couldn’t help but ask.
“These last few major problems—even if I explained them to you now, you wouldn’t understand. You need to solidify your foundation first to solve them.”
Ji Ming then flipped through the earlier parts she had already completed, making simple annotations. Meng Yao glanced at it—covered in red marks.
She couldn’t help but ask, “Is it that bad?”
Ji Ming stopped writing and looked into her eyes through his glasses. The girl’s skin was fair and delicate, her features exquisite, especially her eyes, which were as lively as a deer in the mountains. He shifted his gaze uncomfortably.
Clearing his throat, he said, “Not that bad, but there’s still a lot you need to catch up on.”
Meng Yao said directly, “Just tell me, what do I need to do now to reach the level required for the university entrance exam?”
Seeing the determination in her eyes, Ji Ming told her the truth. “Looking at your test paper, I can see you’re quite clever. You even managed to deduce some formulas on your own. The fastest way now is to take supplementary lessons.”
“A tutor can focus on your weak areas. Once you catch up, the rest will depend on your own practice.”
Meng Yao frowned. Tutoring fees were no small expense. How could she gather that much money?
Ji Ming could tell she was struggling.
“Actually—”
“I understand. Thank you, Comrade Ji.”
Meng Yao spoke, cutting off what Ji Ming was about to say next. He smiled awkwardly. “Alright, then let me explain the mistakes in the earlier part of your test paper first.”
Ji Ming really wanted to say, “How about I tutor you?” But then he remembered she was already engaged. Spending all day studying alone with a man would likely harm her reputation.
Fortunately, he didn’t say it out loud.
After clarifying the mistakes in the previous exercises, Meng Yao thanked Ji Ming, picked up her two little chicks, and headed home.
Halfway there, seeing no one around, she used her thoughts to store the two chicks into her Space, fantasizing about them growing up quickly so she could sell them for money.
If this method worked, she could eventually save up enough to attend tutoring classes.
The two chicks, placed inside the Space, huddled together fearfully. Meng Yao observed them for a while until they seemed to adapt, looking around curiously and frolicking in the open area.
After watching for a few minutes, Meng Yao finally sighed in disappointment, accepting that these chicks wouldn’t grow as rapidly as the vegetables planted in the ground.
So how could she get the money for tutoring classes?
Asking her parents was out of the question—the family was already struggling financially. If she attended tutoring classes, Meng Yu would surely demand to go too, and there was no way they could afford double the fees.
After much thought, she decided to go to the county town tomorrow to sell the fresh vegetables from her Space. Although vegetables wouldn’t fetch as much as meat, it was still some income, enough to buy study materials and slowly figure things out.
No sooner had Meng Yao arrived home than rumors began spreading in the village about the Meng sisters aiming to take the college entrance exams. Some were encouraging, others jealous, and some looked down on them.
But most were just waiting to see them fail.
After all, even educated youths who had studied for years found the exams challenging. How could two girls from the Meng family, with little formal schooling, possibly compete with city folks?
As soon as Meng Yao put down her bag, Meng Yu stormed in from outside.
She shouted at her, “Did you not sign me up?”
Meng Yu admitted expressionlessly, “That’s right.”
Meng Yu was furious, pointing at her and yelling, “You vicious woman! Did you deliberately not sign me up, waiting to laugh at me for not being able to take the exam? If I hadn’t asked the educated youth who returned from the city today, I wouldn’t have known you can’t register on someone else’s behalf!”
“I’m going to tell Mom and Dad, so they know how petty their daughter is.”
Meng Yao slammed her bag onto the table, her eyes cold.
With no adults at home, she saw no reason to tolerate Meng Yu any longer.
“Go ahead, tell them. The sooner, the better. You didn’t even bother to handle your own college exam registration and expected others to do it for you. Now you want to blame me? What am I, your servant or your mother? Why should I take orders from you?”
Meng Yu was stunned. She had never seen Meng Yao like this and took a step back in fear.
“Not only will I not help you register, but don’t expect me to accommodate you anymore. If you dare eat the food I cook, I’ll tear your mouth apart. If you throw dirty clothes at me again, I’ll burn them. And if you keep pushing your luck, get out of this house!”
Meng Yu was frightened by Meng Yao’s fierce expression but quickly grew angry herself. “Why should I leave? This is my home!”
Meng Yao sneered, recalling her suspicions, and deliberately said, “Your home? Is this really your home? Are you even a member of the Meng family? Are they really your parents?”
Meng Yu suddenly turned off the engine, her eyes filled with terror as she stammered incoherently, “Meng Yao, you’re insane! You’re completely unreasonable. I’m not talking to you anymore. I’m going back to my room to study.”
With that, she fled in a panic without looking back.
Meng Yao watched her retreating figure and curled her lips into a mocking smile. It seemed her words had struck a nerve, hitting right where Meng Yu felt guilty.
In this life, she had plenty of opportunities to figure these things out.